Pre-Cruise
Friday, July 25
The Martin Guitar Factory & Tour - Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Welcome to the Martin Guitar Factory- Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
They had an very informative museum filled with amazing guitars including some used by Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, Don McLean, Willy Nelson, Eric Clapton, & Kurt Cobain.
They had a room filled with different styles of guitars to play.
This custom made backpacker travel guitar was made to fit in the personal storage space of space shuttle astronaut Pierre Thuot.
The fancy 2 millionth guitar produced was beautifully detailed with different woods, pearl inlays (abalone shell) and jewels.
Each center support inside the body of the guitar has the logo and serial number laser cut onto the wood.
The wood veneers are heated to shape the sides of the guitar, then a flexible ribbon of wood is glued to the edges for a larger gluing surface for the tops and backs of the guitar.
The front and backs of each guitar has different patterns of braces glued on depending on which style of body the guitar has.
The bodies, fronts, and backs are paired up and then glued together.
The different necks are cut, sanded and shaped to match the different guitar bodies.
Once glued, trimmed, stained and shellacked, these bodies are waiting for their necks to be attached.
Here are neck and bodies waiting to be joined.
These guitar bodies waiting for necks are the new for 2025 double neck guitars.
After hand polishing, inspections, & corrections, this robot gives the guitars a final polish.
Finished guitars go to quality control where they are strung, tuned, placed in cases for 4 days before being tested to see if they stayed in tune before getting shipped out for sale.
The custom shop is where all the extra fancy work is done on the necks, bodies, and pick guards.
This custom guitar has layers of different woods and extensive pearl work on the neck.
Saturday, July 26
New York City
On Friday we drove from Nazareth to New York City during rush hour. We had traffic delays due to a truck fire, major downpours with lightning, and normal tunnel traffic. Happy to arrive at our hotel the Comfort Inn Manhattan and then return the car nearby.
Our room barely had room for all the luggage needed for a 30+ day vacation! The upside, it was close to the car rental return and the Cruise Terminal. Plus, it made our cabin on the ship feel huge!
While we were at the Martin Factory, we got an email letting us know we got tickets to see John Oliver! With a little scrambling on Friday night, we were able to move our theater tickets in order to go to the taping on Saturday afternoon. We had a fabulous time, so glad we got to go.
Hard to say if Steve enjoyed this or the Guitar factory tour more!
With about 25 minutes to get from John Oliver to the Belasco Theater, we made it just in time to see Darren Criss and Helen Shen in the Tony winning Maybe Happy Endings!
Very happy to see the line still when we arrived 4 minutes before showtime!
Show was so good! I do love great stage design. This show had moving platforms, turn table floor, projections on scrim, and floating "fireflies". Of course the singing and songs were great too!
After a very busy, hot and humid day in New York, we splurged on a pedicab back to our hotel.
Glad we survived the ride.! That ride and driving a rental car in New York City are two things I don't think I ever need to do again!
Cruise Day 1
Sunday, July 27
Boarding the Viking Neptune. No onboard photographers so had a fellow traveler take this shot!
Our neighbor ship the NCL Getaway. We sailed on her with Sophie back in 2017. The Getaway is 156,300 tons with 3571 passengers, vs the Neptune's 47,800 tons and 930 passengers! I do love a smaller ship!
The perfectly times shot of the Empire State Building!
The weather was hazy due to the fires in Canada, it made our cloudy sky very moody.
Got a feel for the days past thanks to the sailing ship passing by.
Tour the Viking Neptune
Check back, we will add more photos as we take them.
Our room.
Lot of cozy spaces to curl up, read or watch the world go by.
This is the indoor Wintergreen where they serve afternoon tea! Doors can open to the pool area as well.
Crafters get together here every morning at 10am.
Pool area that can be covered or not depending on weather. Don't expect we will ever see it open on this trip!
There are plenty of tables to sit and enjoy a burger from the Pool Grill.
The Explorers Lounge at the front of the ship.
The view from the lower level. Note the fog, that mostly what we've seen while sailing so far.
The view from the second floor of the Explorers lounge. Can't wait to see something!
In the morning and evenings they open up a small counter for Norwegian waffles, pickled herring and other local favorites.
Sunset from the Promenade deck.