These last 2 years, I have had the incredible opportunity to partner with Royal Caribbean and work on board some amazing cruises! I was asked to join on another segment from the Ultimate World Cruise and I was so elated.

We got on board in Copenhagen, had some scenic cruising through the Fjords of Norway and ended in Amsterdam. This cruise was my first that instead of teaching painting classes on, we tried out live fashion illustration as an experience for guests every evening. This was a cruise with only 1 sea day, so teaching would not have been the right fit (as sea days were when I would normally teach classes), and it worked out fantastic in the end. I loved that I was able to reconnect with many of the world cruisers I taught classes to back in January for the Argentina to Antarctica segment. And it felt like a nice gesture we could give guests…a one-of-a-kind sketch of them as a souvenir they can’t buy anywhere, to take home with them.

These sisters were so adorable and signed up to get sketched & brought their Mom along. The sweet girl on the right came dressed up in a skirt with a unicorn on it, so I made sure to get that in there ;)

This cruise really was joy to work on! When I am working the cruise, I get to enjoy the days at port-just like the guests. Which honestly is something I feel so grateful I get to experience. This trip started in the beautiful city of Copenhagen. And I was so excited to visit because not only have I wanted to see more of Scandinavia, I have a long time social media friend & Paint Club student who lives there, Nina. We met up with her at her favorite bakery (which was right next to our hotel, go figure) and spent the day exploring her city. Nina was such a gracious host, and even gave us a gift bag full of Danish delights! That was just so sweet.

Andersen Bakery, Copenhagen was nothing short of amazing. I got a traditional Danish summery strawberry tart.

It was perfect weather for a day of exploring such a beautiful city like Copenhagen.

Gorgeous Sunset our first night in Copenhagen

Our cruise went on to stop in Aarhaus, Denmark and then onward to a lot of Norwegian ports: Oslo, Kristiansand, Haugesund, Olden, and Alesund. As with many cruises you will visit places you might not know as much about and you can often be pleasantly surprised. I actually was most underwhelmed by Oslo. It lacked a bit of charm & architectural beauty that some of these other ports had. It’s hard to not compare each place to the next when you’re on a cruise, which can often be a disservice to a city or town. As I know that only spending a day in each port is only giving you a tiny glimpse into the bigger picture. So you take everything you see and do on a cruise with a grain of salt.

The real gem of this trip of course was our ship cruising through the Fjords that lead us to Olden. Olden was out of this world. The approach into Olden takes you through some narrow passageways and you cruise in at a very slow approach-making it even more calming to take in. To see the storybook like looking Nordic houses climbing up steep hills, and waterfalls streaming down the side of epic mountains was so surreal. We did probably one of the most beautiful hikes of my life, to the Briksdal Glacier.

The calming approach down the Fjord to Olden, Norway.

It is hard not to get overstimulated by all the amazing sites! What was really fun about this cruise was each evening it was a pleasure to draw guests, and talk to them about what they had ventured out to do each day at port. You get to share your excitement and passion about travel with a huge group of people when you are on a cruise.