20260416 Viking Vela Northern Lights and British Isles - Day 32/32

Viking Vela In Search of the Northern Lights and British Isles Explorer Cruise Day 32/32 – Home and trip wrap-up

The fun part of coming home - updating the map

We wrapped up our time in the Sky Club at JFK before making the walk from Gate 32 to our gate, Gate 46. We were flying First Class on an Airbus A321, the same type of aircraft we flew from Oslo to JFK. The domestic leg was First Class, not Business Class, so just big seats with plenty of leg room, no lie-flats. We pushed back ten minutes early and were off.

We had pre-selected our meal for the flight - a cheeseburger from Shake Shack.

We were excited about a quintessentially American meal - it was a little disappointing

It was an Orlando-based flight crew, and they were obviously antsy to get home. We were scheduled to land at 11:03 pm. We touched down at 10:18. That's all good, except our driver wasn't scheduled to arrive until 11:45, allowing for luggage retrieval. She was in the middle of a run from the airport to The Villages when I first let her know about the updated arrival target. She said that she would get there as soon as she could.

Our baggage came out quickly once again, and we were ready to go at 10:55. She arrived at 11:23, so the wait wasn't too bad. The ride home went smoothly. We were chatting with her the whole way, so that made the ride pass quickly (and ensured she stayed awake). We pulled in the driveway at 12:40 am.

I turned the inside water back on, turned on the water heater, dumped the remaining ice in the ice maker, and turned it back on, and we unpacked just enough to be able to get ready for bed. We were in bed a little after 1:00 am. That equates to 7:00 am, where we started the day, so we were both ready for sleep. We woke up a little after 8:00 am, so we're making the shift back to Florida time. That gave us a few hours before we hop in the truck and head back to Orlando to pick up our daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, who were in Orlando for a conference and will spend the weekend with us. No time for rest! We finished unpacking and will leave shortly.

So, let's talk about the trip. It started poorly with a canceled flight from Orlando to Amsterdam. Thanks to the tireless work of our travel agent and friend, Lisa, she got us rebooked out of Tampa the following day and scored us a hotel in Orlando, where hotel rooms were scarce. We got to Bergen a day late, but still in advance of the trip.

Sailing went well, and the Northern Lights sailing was amazing. We saw plenty of auroras, fulfilling a longtime dream of Arlona's to see them. The second part of the trip through the British Isles had a couple of hiccups as the weather caused us to miss ports in Wales and the Shetland Islands. Viking came to the rescue, adding an extra day in Liverpool (where we took the train to Wales) and in Stavanger, Norway. That was another happy accident because the last time we were in Stavanger, it was a short port day, and we never really saw the city.

We reconnected with a whole bunch of amazing Viking crew we have sailed with before, and met a whole bunch more who we hope to see on future cruises. We met many nice guests, and for the first time in a long time, didn't run into any guests whom we had sailed with before. We met three Villagers and two Michigan Tech alumni, so that was fun too.

We set foot farther north than we had been previously, walking in Alta, Norway, at 69°57'N. We visited three new countries, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, bringing us to a total of 115. None of them is a United Nations member state, so we remain at 93 in our quest to visit 100.

What ports did we like and not like? 

The great: Liverpool, Edinburgh, London, and Oslo.  We could spend (or already spent) more time there. Alta. The town was small but interesting. The Northern Lights put this one over the top.

The good: Bergen, Stavanger, Aberdeen, Kirkwall, Belfast, Conwy, Dublin, Dover, IJmuiden, Narvik, Tromsø. All were worth the visit, with interesting things to see.

The just-okay: Ullapool. The sail-in was stunning. The town was just OK - not much to see or do. Tilbury. A small town, but a necessary part of seeing London from a cruise.

What's next for Kolbs on the Road? We will be taking an American Cruise Lines river cruise from Portland, Oregon, to Clarkston, Washington, traveling from June 2 to June 10, one of our shorter trips. But that will get us to Oregon, our 50th U.S. State. Come back on June 2 for our next adventure!