I. July 29 - August 5, 2026.
II. August 6 - August 14, 2026.
If there is an anchor for this trip, it was Joe P that
persuaded both Ellie and we to get on this Disney Cruise from Southampton to
Norway where we will visit some of the towns and sights (mostly towns, fjords,
and hiking trails) in Southwest Norway.
For Anne and me, we decided to fly over to London a few days earlier to
catch a few BBC PROMS 2026 concerts (we ended up going to three). Ellie had a conference in Madeira, so she
left in early July, her family joined her in the UK in mid-July. Anne and I met up with them for a day in
Bath. Joe P and family went on a
National Geographic cruise in early July, then flew to NJ to spend a few days
with us, and we (7 of us) flew to London on the same flight. They would stay at a different London hotel,
but we met up on a few occasions. Ellie had
planned to spend a few days at the Marriott Vacation Club in Mallorca. Since August 12 was going to be total solar
eclipse visible in Mallorca, we all decided to visit as well. Joe P and I for three nights, Ellie will stay
a few more days, then stop over in Lisbon for a few more days before returning
to NJ around August 20. Her plans are
subject to change as I finish this blog entry.
7/29/2026 Wednesday. Between Joe P and we there were 7 of us, so
we took two ride-share cars into Newark (an Uber and a Lyft). We checked in one piece of luggage so CC didn’t
have to haul it all over the airport; turns out she did quite a bit of it
anyway.
Just as we went through security and settled at the United Club, we got a message from United that UA904 would now leave at 11 pm due to mechanical issues (scheduled departure 7:50 pm). We were glad that we all could get into the United lounge: Anne, Joe P and I each could bring in a guest, and Jess was traveling in business class. Soon after the departure time got moved up to 8:30 pm as they substituted a different plane, then to 9 pm, then 9:15 pm (why bother?), and finally to 9:35 pm when we boarded. The pilot then explained a couple of times that paperwork for the maintenance needed to be signed at a “higher level”. When the plane was ready to leave, the pilot told us there were 40 planes ahead of us. All said and done take off was at 10:53 pm. Meanwhile the tail numbers changed from N668UA to 653 to 657 to 672 and finally 671, all 767-300ERs.
Joe’s flight from Boston earlier in the week (he hopped back for a day) was also delayed by several hours. Not the best way to run an airline, or an airport.
Accommodation. Overnight UA904.
7/30/2026 Thursday. Both Anne and I managed some sleep (we flew Business also). The clinking of silverware woke me up in time for breakfast, Anne slept through it.
The plane approached the airport from the East, so we overflew the city of London and I could see many of the landmarks: the Thames (including some rowing shells), Millenium Dome, London Eye, Hyde Park, and Royal Albert Hall. Touchdown was at 10:21 am.
LHR, Terminal 2 in this case, is a sprawling behemoth. The walk from the Gate to exiting the terminal was about 0.8 miles. Joe P and family took a train (Elizabeth) to their hotel (Hyatt Regency Churchill). Anne and I “discovered” this Arrivals Lounge and decided to stop by to get something to eat. (A benefit of flying business on United.) We took an Uber to the hotel. The roads were not as congested as I remembered them.
When we got to the hotel at around 1 pm, the receptionist told us our room was ready (good news). However, the bad news was that the AC was down, and probably wouldn’t be fixed today. Little did I know (or anticipate) that the AC in the room would be out for our entire stay. They did send up a fan which helped a bit. The room was still too warm in the afternoon.
The Executive Lounge had functioning AC, we had snacks there and then went to Royal Albert Hall for our first PROMS concert, titled “Korngold’s Violin Concerto.”
We did share an instant noodles after we returned to the hotel.
Accommodation. Marriott London Kensington (4 nights).
7/31/2026 Friday. We met up with Joe P’s family for a visit to the British Museum. Because of difficulties walking long distances, I spent most of the time sitting at the café in the atrium. I revisited the Assyrian exhibit. Many sections were closed, and the ones that remained open were again disappointing. (Perhaps I was expecting too much; but it was my visit to the British Museum several years ago that raised my expectations.)
We then took the bus down to the Trafalgar Square area to visit the National Gallery. The main “attraction” was afternoon tea at the Ochre Café. For 35 GBP per person it was reasonable, and they served up a lot of food. Quality, however, was only adequate.
Our evening concert at Royal Albert Hall was “Bruch’s
Violin Concerto” performed by the young violinist Daniel Lozakovich. We left right after the concert and managed
to grab an Uber to return to the hotel.
8/1/2026 Saturday. Ellie and family are spending a couple of days in Bath, so we decided to go visit them. It costs about 75 GBP for a roundtrip ticket to Bath from Paddington, but one can buy a two person rail pass for 35 GBP (good for a year) and the ticket price would drop to about 50 GBP per person; we were ahead a little by going that route. (Ellie bought a family pass and paid less for five people; go figure.)
After stopping by Ellie’s hotel (Abbey, a Marriott brand) we started out for lunch, a short walk away. My legs began to feel wobbly when I was close to the restaurant (Robun) and I tripped, scraping my left elbow and bruising my left arm and hip (those became apparent a couple of days later). Things could have been worse (a broken bone, for instance), but the scrapes were something I had to contend with for a while. There were also damages to my iPhone as it slipped out of my hand; hopefully the screen protector did its job.
Last time we went to Bath we decided to skip the Abbey. It was first used as a monastery in 675 AD, and the current building was completed in 1611. Seating capacity is 1200, with an interesting interior design of “fans” supporting the roof. There is a museum that details the history of the place (I didn’t visit).
We spent sometime at the Abbey Hotel for coffee (kids could grab free drinks from hotel refrigerator as Elite members). Ellie insisted on buying me a walking stick.
Our return to London was booked for the 6:44 pm train, but grabbed an earlier train (that evidently is allowed). That would also explain why so many “reserved” seats were vacant as we also had seats reserved for the 6:44 pm one which we wouldn’t be using. And as far as I can tell, the system didn't know as our tickets were never scanned.
We could still grab snacks at the hotel after we got back to London.
8/2/2026 Sunday. The Anglican Church Holy Trinity Brompton is the “birthplace” of the popular course “Alpha.” We heard its retired vicar Gumbel preach at St. Paul’s Bloor Street in Toronto last year. Nicky and Pippa Gumbel now look after a “Bible in a Year” program. HTB is about a mile away, so we decided to join their 11:30 am service this morning. The place is not that big (they now have several locations), and was full by the time service started. Most of their services are labeled “informal,” I would call them contemporary. It was quite a show (perhaps too much) with strobe lights on stage. The sermon “Come unto me” was given by the warden who jokes about holding the keys to the church (he literally does).
Anne had dropped off our laundry earlier in the day, so after church service we took the bus to Earl’s Court Station which is close by. Joe P and family came to our hotel; they and Anne went off to lunch at Nando’s (there were quite a few to pick from). I felt too tired and stayed behind – and managed to sleep for an hour. We told them about the huge Natural Science Museum on our way to HTB. They decided to visit.
Joe P also got tickets to tonight’s PROMS concert, headlined as “Kavakos Plays Tchaikovsky.” They left after intermission as they needed time to pack. For them it was an exhausting day. At the end of the concert, I felt good enough to walk the one mile or so back to the hotel.
8/3/2026 Monday. Today is the start of the 7-night cruise to Norway from Southampton. Disney has arranged buses from several hotels in London, and one of the pickup points is our hotel, which makes the logistics easier.
When I checked out, I talked to the front desk supervisor that our stay was a disappointment. Lack of AC was the most critical to our comfort in the hotel; the afternoon heat made it impossible to stay in the room. Then for most of the time we had to wait very long for an elevator as the other one was not working. During breakfast food often ran out, or ran low, a problem if one is in a hurry. Finally – and to me the most inexcusable – is that the soda machine in the Executive Lounge didn’t work most of the time; that was readily solvable by putting some soft drinks in the many refrigerators in the lounge. She said she will reflect this to her management, and also offered me a choice of 20% off the bill or 50,000 points without prompting on my part; I opted for the latter.
Joe P took a taxi from where he was staying to come to Marriott. The last bus was to leave at 10 am, but 17 stragglers delayed the departure until around 10:45 am for the 2 hour ride to the cruise port. (I suspect not all 17 showed up.) Traffic in London and surrounding areas was surprisingly good (in general true for most of our stay), and the bus was comfortable.
Check-in at the terminal was quite slow, which was a surprise given how efficient Royal Caribbean was, and Disney is supposed to be a “better” cruise line. With pain in my legs while I stood, I had to find a place to sit while Anne stood in line. It was about 1:30 pm that we got into our room. Ellie got in about an hour earlier from Salisbury. We (all twelve of us) went to have lunch.
There wasn’t much to do until the boat docks Wednesday morning; which suited me as I felt quite tired. With grandchildren around, Anne found a lot of energy.
Since I seem to have balance problems after walking a mile or so, I decided to cancel those shore activities that may be strenuous by that measure.
Our dinner time was 8:30 pm, so it’s after 10 pm that we finished. The steak I had was of higher quality than Royal Caribbean, I must say. So far the desserts haven’t measured up yet.
Accommodation.
Disney Dream (7 nights).
8/4/2026 Tuesday. Today was an at-sea day. While there were many activities scheduled throughout the day, I was a bit “beaten” to participate in any. Anne did go to a couple and thought the quality of the programs was quite high.
There was some excitement as a helicopter (mostly likely from the Netherlands) had to land on the ship to take care of a patient. We did see the helicopter, but other than advised not to go near the landing site, nor point cell phones at the helicopter (reflections may distract the pilot), we were not told much of what transpired and what the final resolution was. Piecing together bits of information and conjecture, the aircraft first dropped off a few personnel to tend to the sick person, and it circled the ship several times before landing again to pick up the patient. From the track of the ship, it turned south towards Amsterdam and afterwards returned to its northerly course. The ship had been cruising at around 20 knots, and after the incident it went faster at 22 knots; as a result, there is more rocking, or perhaps the North Sea is rougher than the English Channel.
We did see other marine traffic, including a large container ship (Maersk Milan). There were a few sightings of oil rigs, the ones we saw didn’t look particularly active. The oil production in the area is in decline, with many oil rigs being decommissioned.
Before dinner all 12 of us went to the atrium to have some family photos taken.
More bruises showed up on my left arm and my left hip as
a result of a fall while we were visiting Bath.
Kuau and Ellie took the four older kids on a hike. Joe P & Jess took the youngest two to go into town to stroll around, and to buy some yarn. Anne and I took it easy, so we did the short walk to the Viking Adventures area for an electric boat ride in the harbor (booked through GetYourGuide). For today the boat had about 15 passengers, one group in English, and the other one in German. From what I remember of what the guide said, this used to be a herring town, and during herring season one could walk across the boats from one island to another. For some unknown reason the herring population collapsed (he thinks the fish went somewhere else), and now there is only one herring processing plant. He also mentioned the Disney Dream visits once a year, and last year skipped because of weather. Waterside apartments are expensive at 6 to 9 million krone (1 DKK = 0.15 USD).
We were offered town side dropoff, and we took the short walk from the pier the “the big orange church” to pick up the shuttle bus to get back to the ship.
It rained today, at times moderately heavy. The ship provided ponchos, so we managed to
keep dry.
