2015 Europe #CruiseTakeover

Cruising Europe 2015

#CruiseTakeover: Upcoming cruise extravaganza (3 weeks in Europe, two cruises, 4 countries, 4 flights and thousands of nautical miles).

As summer approaches, I am getting more excited by the day. My calendar is filled with two amazing cruise experiences that will take me to Europe where I will head north to the Arctic Circle via Silversea Cruises and then after a two-day layover in London, I will embark Azamara Quest for a 14-day golf-themed cruise around the British Isles and Ireland.

Getting ready

With my handy packing list, I am confident that I will have most of the items necessary for a polar expedition and a golf-themed cruise. My biggest worries at this point are making sure I have enough layers to deal with temperature extremes, as well as enough currency in the correct denominations.

Yes, I know that cruising is all-inclusive (especially on the two cruise lines that I am sailing on), but avoiding foreign transaction fees on my credit cards is a major goal of mine. If you don’t know about how to deal with foreign currency and exchange rates you can learn more by clicking here.

I just need to find lodging for my layover in London. Inventory is tight and my usual suppliers are out of rooms in their blocks. That is good for them but not so good for me because London should not be missed but the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club have put a little kink in my otherwise perfect plans.

CruiseTakeover – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Itinerary

By the way, I just downloaded TripIt for the first time and so far I like the way it organizes my travel details. Since I have recently upgraded my phone to the iPhone 6+ (love it, by the way), I decided to try the popular travel app. TripIt really does live up to the hype. I think the program is very convenient and I can see why it has such a loyal following.

Although I will be dispatching from the ships, below are the details in total for my 2015 Europe #CruiseTakeover

Arctic Adventure on Silversea Cruises
Longyearbyen, Svalbard to Tromso, Norway (click here to learn more).

June 20 – July 2 Silversea Cruises – Explorer Expedition Voyage 7513.
LAX to Oslo, Norway. Overnight in Oslo before heading back to the airport for a quick flight to Arctic Norway’s Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Highlights include 7 days of expedition cruising around Svalbard and Bear Island en route to Tromso, Norway.

London Layover
London layover before heading to Southampton to embark Azamara Quest

14 Night British Open Golf Voyage Azamara Quest
Southampton to Leith, United Kingdom (click here to learn more)

Ports: Belfast, Cobh, Douglas, Dublin, Greenock, Guernsey, Invergordon, Leith, Liverpool, Portree, Southampton, Stornoway

Day 1 Southampton, United Kingdom
Day 2 Guernsey, United Kingdom
Day 3 Cobh, Ireland
Day 4 Dublin, Ireland (late departure from port)
Day 5 Liverpool, United Kingdom (late departure from port)
Day 6 Douglas, United Kingdom (late departure from port)
Day 7 Belfast, United Kingdom (late departure from port)
Day 8 Greenock, United Kingdom (late departure from port)
Day 9 Portree, Scotland (late departure from port)
Day 10 Stornoway, Scotland
Day 11 Invergordon, United Kingdom (late departure from port)
Days 12 – 14 Leith, United Kingdom (multiple overnights to enjoy Scotland and St. Andrews for those that are part of the golf theme cruise).