Cruise Reviews, Ship Reviews by The Avid Cruiser

Shore Excursions In Luleå Sweden: Gammelstad Church Cottage

Ralph Grizzle — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:25:34 +0000

The Avid Cruiser visits Gammelstad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that represents the best-preserved example of a “church village.” Villages like Gammelstad were once found throughout northern Scandinavia. The 424 wooden houses that radiate from the early 15th-century stone church, were used only on Sundays and at religious festivals to house worshippers from the surrounding countryside who lived too far away from home to return on the same day. Gammelstad is fewer than 20 minutes by car or bus from where the cruise ships dock in Luleå.

Silver Spirit Sails

Ralph Grizzle — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:31:51 +0000

Beautiful aerial photos of the new Silver Spirit at sea.

One Day On Delta: Two Mechanical Failures

Ralph Grizzle — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:35:55 +0000

Clearing security four times, as I wrote in an earlier post, when, in fact, I only entered one airport from the outside was quite enough to test any traveler. But today on Delta, there were also two mechanical issues. The first, from Amsterdam’s Schipol, caused only a delay. The second, from Atlanta, caused a delay and then a disembark after we were comfortably seated, and then another delay. I still don’t know what the outcome will be. It’s possible that we’ll be delayed again. As is often the case from Atlanta, I will arrive home hours late, today, at least three hours beyond what was scheduled. And I pay good money for this!
I realize that the airlines must put safety first, and I applaud them for that, but with so many delays and so many people on delayed incoming flights running through Atlanta’s airport to try to catch connections only to find that the connections too are delayed – well, clearly, something is wrong with the system – you might say one big mechanical issue in need of repair.

Posted from my Blackberry.