Going Home On Canada's Birthday

We were up early day was of the ship by just after 7:30. The departure from the ship was relatively easy. The luggage seemed to be arranged much better than in our past departures. We did not need to fill out any customs declarations and there was no passport control. Perhaps that was because we were only in Norway. In any case it was a very easy departure. At the airport we ran into the same problem when we left Canada. The ticket had |Judy's middle name and her passport does not. Thus no quick check in but the line for special assistance was long. It only took a few minutes to get it settled but the wait was long enough. Good thing we were 4 hours early. The boarding was quick. The plane was only 3/4 full. We had an empty seat besides us which made the flight much better than the last time. Even Judy said it was “way better”. Clearing Canadian customs was easy as usual. We had finally arrived back in Canada . We really had a good time on this cruise. With the 11 stops in 14 days we had plenty of time ashore. We rank it up there as one of the best cruises that we have had. It was a place that I have wanted to visit and I am glad we had a chance to do so much. The weather was outstanding with only 1 day of showers. All the guides remarked at how nice the weather was. Until our next cruise. Cheers!

A Lazy At Sea Day

Today was a sea day and the final one of the cruise. We have been up and down the coast of Norway and are currently in the English Channel. It continues to be beautiful sailing with no white caps to be seen. It has basically been that way all cruise. The last day always means packing all the stuff that we have collected in the past 2 weeks. The clothes are the easy part since you just take everything. We started the morning with the zumba

Calm Seas

class. The 30 minute work out was easy again compared to some of the classes we have done on other ships. Later we saw the display of Diana's most memorable outfits. They were all replicas. She was the godmother of the Royal Princess when it was christened. The display included photos and a short note of the occasion when she wore the dresses. The centre piece was her wedding dress. Packing followed – always a chore on the best occasion. The room stewards have a luggage scale which we needed! We didn't want to be repacking on the floor at the airport. We have seen this happen before. The final line dance class was today. He did Sweet Home Alabama and the Tush Push. That is a new one for Princess cruises. This instructor was much better than some of the ones we have see. Still please put the Electric Slide out of it's misery. Many of the people at the class could do the Tush Push. We were among the the Asians who knew how to dance. Actually it was fun. A light lunch and more packing followed. Again the schedule looks full but filled with bingo (twice), Effy sales (over and over) and spa specials none of which have any particular appeal. We did attend the pre dinner lounge for some sushi meeting some people we have gotten to know on this cruise. Then off to dinner. The food has been consistently excellent. Little things have changed but the quality of the food has remained excellent. This ship did not have the crew talent show as we have seen on past cruises. Instead they had a Royal variety show. Apparently it is a “British” tradition. It was a mixed bag with some of the entertainers taking part. Actually it was quite entertaining. Luggage out and has gone already. We do gain back an hour tonight which is a good thing since we are leaving at 7:40 tomorrow. We will be landing in the afternoon of Canada Day. Happy 150 Canada.

Bergen -A Short Visit

Bergen was our last port of call on this cruise. The ship needs to be in Southampton before they begin a yacht race so our stay here was cut short. The ship required us to be back by

Bergen

12:30 and since we had a long tour scheduled, we were up at 5:30. The first part of the tour was a drive around Bergen. We have been here 3 times before and had always just wandered around. It was good to see more of the entire city and learn about it. The main part of the tour involved a long bus ride along some very narrow roads through the valleys with a number of stops along the way, none of which were of any great interest. The guide was Italian who spoke with a very heavy accent which was difficult to understand. He was very knowledgeable about Norway and the places we were

The Falls

At The Falls

traveling through but at such an early hour a number of people we sleeping. We managed to stay awake. The final stop was at a waterfall about 60 kilometers from Bergen. The waterfall we were at yesterday was much nicer. However the one today had the added feature that you could get to it along a short paved path and that you could actually walked under the falls. That was a new experience. Then back on the bus and the 90 minute ride back to the ship. We just got back and the ship was ready to sail. With the very early morning wake up, we needed down time in the afternoon so a rest was in order which basically filled the entire afternoon. The last formal night was tonight. We saw a comedy singer that

The Town From The Falls

we missed last night. We thought she was funny but others were so so. I guess it depends on your sense of humor. We had lobster for dinner and saw a good production show later. Actually the shows are much better than they have been on previous cruises. The party balloon drop in the piazza followed the show. Sea day tomorrow as we get ready to depart early Saturday.

Skjolden – Not To Be Missed!

From Our Hike

Today we were in Skjolden. It is in the same fiord system as Flam, a port we visited

The Skjolden Fiord

earlier. It is at the end of Skjolden fiord, the longest navigable fiord in the world. It is over 4000 feet deep. A few years ago they trapped a submarine in it but never made it surface. We entered the fiord last night around midnight. As we entered a Holland America ship was just leaving. It took 8 hours before we finally came along side. Princess did their planning as this is picture perfect postcard town itself has only about 200 people. Not much of a town but the scenery is spectacular. Hands down it is the most beautiful of all the stops we have made. If planning a trip to Norway, it must be on the list of places to stop. The steep valley walls, the abandoned farms, the fields of hay and the continuous

At The Falls

greenery add to the beauty. We did not have a ship's tour 
today. We booked a bike tour with Adventure Tours. We were off the ship early for a 2 kilometer hike to a lookout. There were lots of people making their way up the hill. It afforded wonderful views of the valley below. The weather was warm and sunny with partly cloudy very blue skies. After the hike up to the lookout, we met our guide for the 7 kilometer ride through the Morkid valley to Drivande Waterfall. There were 4 other bikers and a wonderful guide. In fact he started the company about 4 years ago. 40% of their business comes from the 15 cruise ships that stop here. The bikes we very new and the ride easy, except for a few ups. No harder than the Clearwater

The Falls

bridge. The bikes were different from our bikes and as Judy tried her bike out in the parking lot, I could see another tumble coming. Once we had the helmets (mandatory in Norway) a level of comfort set in. The only problems were coming down the gravel road from the falls. Our guide stopped along the way to explain the features of the area. At the waterfall we had about 40 minute hike up 1000 feet to the falls. Wonderful with a cool spray from the falls. We had a snack of flat bread, cured meat and cheese while listening to the sounds of the waterfall. Just a wonderfully relaxing place. There were very few people at the falls which is in a national park. An easy bike ride got us back to the ship close to the time that we needed to be on board. The 3 hour trip was definitely one of the

The Fiord

highlights of this cruise. We sailed out of the fiord at a slow pace, enjoying the sheer cliffs as we went. Alaska has the glaciers but this has a different kind of beauty. We stopped at the Effy store for our “free gift” and a glass of champagne. We did not buy any of the thousands of dollar jewelry that they have been really hustling during the cruise. After dinner we stopped in at the country western night. We have an early tour tomorrow so lights were out quickly. 

At Sea Headed South

Crossing The Arctic Circle (Sic)

After running around the last 3 days it was a welcome to have a day at sea. The day was sunny but still cool. It was a very relaxing with the typical sleep in. If you are not into bingo, trivia or art auctions there is very little to do on a day like this. It turned out to be a good break before the last 2 ports. I tried to go to a photo seminar but for some reason it did not occur. By then it was time for lunch. I think everyone on ship was in the dining room. We did manage to go to the waltz dance class which was very good. The instructor moves along quite quickly. There was an “outlet' sale event. It is always a good place to find a tee shirt from some area. They had the egg drop contest

At The Captain.s Circle Party

It is the first time that an egg was actually broken. We watch a movie and then readied ourselves for the Captain's Circle party. The most cruised couple has 1800 days cruising on Princess. At 20 (320 days) we are not even in the top 40 on this cruise. It was Italian night in the dining room. Good Italian fare. The production show was a series of songs from the disco era. Tomorrow we will do a long transit of the same fiord we were in on our way to Flam. It is the longest fiord in Norway. We have a bike tour scheduled. Weather looks good so it should be fun. 

A Sunny Day in Gravdal

   After all the doom and gloom of the captain's announcement yesterday we were able to anchor in Gravdal and the tenders were able to operate. In fact the day was partly sunny

Along The Trail

all day, on the cool side with a strong wind. It was a better day than yesterday. We had an afternoon tour meeting on the dock so we decided to go ashore early and just spend the entire day ashore. We caught the tender around 10 and walked into the town of Lofeten. It was about 4 kilometers each way. The Loften islands are a mix of high mountains and flat land. There is a lot of sheep grazing. The walk into town took about an hour along a relatively flat walking trail. The town itself had very little of interest. We did stop at a local pub for a drink. I ordered the locally

Ballstad

bottled beer but never did see the name as the bar keep poured it out for me. It was a nice way to spend a few minutes. Norway is a very expensive place to live. The bottle of beer was about $16 Canadian and that was the going rate the last time we stopped for a drink a few days ago. We were back on the dock for our tour in plenty of time. It was very disorganized. On the ship, tour prep is very precise. Here you had to find the person assigning which buses to take. No central desk, sign, location. Just someone with a clip board. We were off to Ballstad with a guide who was quickly recruited. The town is a fishing village. We got out of the bus and looked at the vessels.

The Beach

Nothing was planned. A bit of a rip off! We then headed north to a large sandy beach surrounded by mountains. Apparently it is the largest one in Norway. The day was partly sunny but the clouds hung on the mountain tops. There was a strong wind In this area many days are foggy and wet. The tour was rated easy and it was that. We took the tour for the photo opportunities and it was semi successful. We caught the last tender back, quickly showered and change and we were off for something to eat. The was a line dance review and I can't believe we did some of the dances. At least we could move around a bit. After dinner we saw the show by Leanne Mitchell, the 1^st winner of the Voice U.K. It was very good with many different

Fun In The Loften Islands

types of music although we thought her “classical” style was the best. We cross the Arctic Circle heading south sometime tonight and I want to get up and take a picture. I missed it the first time. As far as the midnight sun, it is still light out but very overcast – no sun here. We are rocking a bit and the captain gave another warning about the sea conditions. We are at sea tomorrow as the cruise days are slipping away.

A Rainy Day In Tromso

The Bridge

     Today we spent a rainy day in Tromso. This is the first port that we have not been docked

Old Buildings

right in the centre of town. Princess had a shuttle bus service for the 4 kms to the city. We were away early and had a chance to walk around the downtown before we headed to a church service. All churches in Tromso have an 11 am service. Tromso was called “Paris of the North” and was not destroyed in WW2. The result is that the buildings have retained much of their original facades. Being Sunday only the

Arctic Cathedral

souvenir shops were open. We wanted to take the cable car to the top of the mountain, it was the thing to do here. We found the right local bus to get us there. When we arrived the top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds. We figured quickly that there would be no photo ops to be had and decided to simply walk back into town. We stopped at the Arctic Cathedral, arriving just after a wedding. It is a ultra modern structure built in 1965. There are series of triangles of glass, steel and concrete. The inside is very plain except for the stained glass window. It is quite a contrast to the Tromso Cathedral built in 1861 which we visited on our early walk around.     We walked

We Were There

the bridge back to the main part of town, stopping at a photographic museum filled with works by local photographers. It did have a number of interesting shots from the past 100 years. We did try to find a bar to have a local beer but most places were closed. It started to the rain harder so we returned to the ship. The rest of the late afternoon was spent having a cup of tea, a snack a rest. Because of the port schedule on this cruise, the activities on board are limited. Dinner and a production show ended the day. Both were very good. The captain announced that

Bridge Walk

weather is moving in and the seas will pick up later tonight causing us to rock a bit. We are suppose to anchor and be tendered tomorrow and from his announcement it seems that we probably anchor but after that is anyone's guess. There is a wind limit to running tenders in high winds. We do have an easy tour scheduled for tomorrow with photography the primary reason. Even if we get in, the weather could be a problem for taking pictures. As far as the midnight sun we have not seen it in the last day. It remains very overcast.

Honningsvag and the North Cape

Small Fiord

The town of Honningsvag is the farthest large town in Norway at a latitude of about 71 North. Just to the north is North Cape, the last of the European land mass and about 1300

To The Cape

miles from the North Pole. It is around this cape that the convoys of WW2 found their way to Murmansk Russia and thus it saw a lot of action from submarine attacks to the sinking of the Sharanhorst pocket battleship. We we able to spend some time in the town itself but other than many fishing boats, there was little to see. Our tour left in mid morning for the 45 minute ride to the Cape. The landscape was one of tundra, dwarf trees and small bogs. It is much like

North Cape

Canada's north with the exception of no permafrost. The road is only open from May to October and 5 days before we arrived they had over a foot of snow. The cliffs at the cape

are over 1,000 feet high. Apparently we had one of the few days of bright sunshine that occurs. A movie, gift shop, historical info and barren, snow patches and cliffs were the order of the day. We have now been the farthest mainland north and south with our visit around the Cape in South America a few years ago. The trip was escorted but the bus driver on the drive back gave a very good commentary about the area. He stopped so we could take pictures of reindeer, a fiord and a sod house built by the Sami “native”

Selfie At The Cape

peoples. Only the Sami are allowed to own reindeer. In all neat little excursion. Tea and a light lunch and were ready for the rest of the day. We did go to the food action station tonight for hor's d'oevres. The attraction was the shrimp fountain. Dinner was good as always. It was prime rib. Our waiter was on the ball tonight and we were out in time to see the North Cape from the sea. We saw some of the entertainment. It was someone from the British Isles doing and impersonation of a British singer. At least he had some energy. There was a Midnight Sun Party on the open decks a

Reindeer

10:30. There was music, snacks, ice carving, games etc. We were dressed warmly but it was still cold. It is really odd to see sunlight at midnight. Tomorrow we are in Tromso where we will simply spend the day exploring. Weather could be nasty.

At Sea To the North Cape

Today we had one of the very few sea days on this cruise. We are currently at the top of Norway heading east to the north cape area. We passed the Arctic Circle at 6 this morning which means that we will not see any darkness for the next 3 days. The photo shows the

Midnight Sun

sky at midnight. We were up early enough this morning to have breakfast before the 9 am Zumba class. The venue was crowded. The class itself was a bit shorter than others that we have attended and was not hard as we have done in the past. No jumping at all. After that we heard an interview with the captain. That was the first for us. Line dancing was better than we have seen in the past. The class moved along. No electric slide! Yea! We ended by doing the Wobble! A filling lunch in the dining room with a British and American couple. Then came the wine

Chocolate Dessert

tasting and most of the day was gone. Tonight was formal night. We did have out photos taken before dinner, just for the fun of it. Formal night brought a meal of lobster tail, always a favourite with us. Our waiter is extremely slow but tonight was too slow. He seems to disappear from our table. His other 2 tables were on their dessert and we did not have our lobster meals yet. The result was that we were late for the production show and did not find seats. We did stay for the Proud Mary song. The dancing reminded Judy of her zumba class in Florida. We left early because we were tired of standing. We are on a tour to the North Cape tomorrow. Weather looks good with a high of 41 F.

Trondheim – A Big City

  Last night around midnight there was a wonderful sunset. We are down to about 3 hours

Midnight Sunset

of darkness a day as we move north along the coast. We are now as far north as Iceland. By tomorrow we should be above the Arctic Circle which means continuous daylight. 

     We were ashore in Trondheim early. It is one of the biggest places that we will visit . There was plenty to see. We managed about 6 hours of walking around. The short list of places included the outdoor market, the Stiftsgarden, cathedral, Bishops house, the old bridge, the fort, old town and the U Boat pens. After leaving the tourist bureau, we passes through a blocks long open air market. We were early and they were just opening the tents. We stopped at the Catholic

Nidaros Cathedral

church which is now used for concerts. Inside was a “childrens” choir from Minnesota practicing for a concert later in the day. We stopped at the Stiftsgarden which is the summer home of the royal family. Once a private residence, it has 140 rooms. They were home – we waved the queen's wave but we got no response. Next came the Nidaros cathedral. Built starting in 1070 and finished in 1300. It is a previous catholic now Lutheran church. It was a typical Gothic structure with a huge pipe organ. We found out later that the tower is sometimes can be climbed! Maybe next time! We returned later in the day for an organ recital. Next to the church, the Archbishop's residence have been largely rebuilt. The old bridge was the access to the Kristiansten fortress built is 1681. The Nazi executed members of the Norwegian resistance here during World War 2. It afforded nice views of

Old Town

the city. On the way down to the old town and wharves, we passed a bicycle lift. You lock in the right foot, balance and you are pushed up the hill! Easy biking! A walk along the old town next to the river, then a return for the recital and another stroll through the open market which was packed with people. This gave an opportunity to try reindeer hard sausage. Quite tasty! 

     Our last stop was off the beaten path. We needed to ask directions a few times but we did find the WW2 submarine bunkers built by the Nazis. It is a bit out of the tourist area so we took

WW 2 Submarine Pens

our picture and left. Basically the

Selfie

pens are not open to the curious public. Finally a return to the ship for some tea ended the day ashore. After a short rest, we watched sail away. The day was very warm and sunny! We dressed for dinner and headed for the elite lounge. Today the food was assorted Sushi with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.. Dinner and a comedy showtime ended the long day. The comedian was not very funny and neither of us enjoyed the show. Tomorrow is a “restful” day at sea. We need it!

Alesund – A Walk Ashore

At The Top

   

The 418 step

Today we were in the city of Alesund. It is somewhat larger than Flam. For those fans of the Amazing Race, it was one of the cities on this year's race. The city has about 45000. The things to see are limited. We had decided to just wander around and not take a tour at this stop. We were away early today after breakfast in the dining room. Our first destination was Mount Aksla which was the check point on the race. The attraction is the 418 steps to the perfect view point of the city. The vistas of the area and the town centre are quite nice. The weather was overcast again today (usual weather here). We did not find “Phil”. We were sure we had it right! We took a different trail back to the city centre. This trail was sloped with few steps. After the last 2 days of uphill climbs, we did not want to do the steps again which by the the time we started down were quite busy. Besides the Crown

Another Race Venue

Princess there is a Holland America ship in. That make about 5000 extra people in town. We walked through the main mall, then along the small waterway where another part of the race was filmed. Again lots of people. The buildings have a rather unique design. It seems to be a mix of European and Baltic. We walked along the water crossed the bridge and made our way to the Alesund Church. The church itself was not “fancy”. From there we headed back to the ship. We only found one bar but did not go in. It was a hole in the wall where the locals were

gathered. I went in but Judy did not like the looks of the place. We wandered a bit more and returned to the ship.  We are currently farther north than the division between the prairies and the NorthwestTerritories. That places us just “south” of Iceland. Sunrise is

down to about 3:30am and sunset at 11:30 pm. We will be in continuous daylight in a few days. We did go to Afternoon tea today. We found out that is being held but it is not listed as an activity as in the past. It is shown under dining options. As we sailed away there was

Fire Boat Demo

a fire boat demonstration. We have seen others but this was a nice send off.As we left Aseland we spotted where the third part of the race was filmed! Then it was off to see the comic. Neither of us liked him tonight.  Dinner was very good again and we are enjoying the company of our new friends from England and  Australia. We did stop at the entertainment (lead singer of the Hollies) but we left. He never seemed to make a connection with us. Tomorrow will be a long walk around day. The city has just under 200,000 people. 

Flam AndThe Brekkefossen Hike

    We woke this morning docking at the end of a fjord. At least I did – Judy managed to sleep in again. I guess the hike yesterday was a bit much. Flam is probably the smallest town that we have ever been to by ship. It is a busy very little place as the tour buses seemed to be coming and going all day. The main attraction is a train ride through the valley. It stops at a number of small towns. You could take the train and walk back to the ship. We had decided to just explore Flam on our own and not join the hordes that took the train tours.

At The Falls

     I had spent a bit of time learning about Flam and knew that there was a hike to a waterfall not far out of town. The local tourist bureau had a very nice coloured map with the trails clearly marked. We headed for the Brekkefossen – the Brekke waterfall. It is a 2-3 hour hike. Most of the trail is along a flat road but then goes to the knoll next to the falls. The trail itself was not like the rock steps of yesterday but it was straight up. This trail was more typical of what we see in the Banff area. Rocks yes but more dirt and trees. The steady up portion was fine until about half way when water along the trail turned it into a muddy mess and very slick. The steepness of the trail meant that the way down was very slippery. Others on the trail fell but we did not.

The Falls

View Of Flam

The view of the waterfall from the knoll was very 
nice. A good volume of water was flowing over the shear drop near the top. After a bit if a rest we headed back to town. People were jammed in the small “Mall of Norway”. We stopped at the AEgir brew pub. It was crowded as well. This is the local gathering place for all the tourists in town. Of course we had to try the beer. It is a rule that when you are in small foreign town you must try the local brew. I did. It was very refreshing after the hike.

The Fjords

     We decided to watch the sail away for an extended period of time since we are deep into a fjord and this was one of the attractions of this trip. This ship does not have the chart displayed on the TV. We missed being able to follow the track of the ship as we have done in the past. As we move north we are seeing more and more daylight. Sunrise is just before 4 am and sunset is after 11.

The transit out of this fjord took about 5 hours. The views of the sheer cliffs was beautiful. I thought that we were in the main fjord. As we sailed along we could see many more fjords. The main one got wider and wider. We have never seen a fjord like this even in Alaska. It certainly did fulfill the expectation of this cruise.

    The rest of the early evening was spent wandering around until dinner. One thing that we have noticed is that there seems to be less wait staff. In the past there was an assistant for every waiter. Now one seems to roam in the area but not assigned to a specific person. The result is that there is less attention. Plates are not cleared an quickly as they use to be. There does not seem to be true afternoon tea being served. That may be a function of being in port with tours scheduled all day. This is the first time we have encountered a buy on get another for $1 more. We don't recall this promotion on our cruises. Everything else seems to be the same.

    We did see the show tonight. It was the comedian that we saw the first night. I liked him more. He did about an hour show and had some very good jokes. Another walk around day tomorrow.

Stavanger – Pulpit Rock and Another First

    Today we were ashore in Stavanger and had another first ever experience. We were off the ship by 8 am – as soon as it was announced that we had cleared the port authorities. This involved a bus ride to the local ferry dock and then a 40 minute ferry ride across the bay to Tau then another bus ride for the 30 minute ride to the base of the hike to Pulpit Rock.

     

On The Trail

Pulpit rock is a ledge which is at the top of the fjord. The height from the start point is about 1000 feet. The length of the climb is 4 kilometers. Essentially is a straight up climb with a series of downhills in between each level. The entire climb takes about 22 hours. Pulpit Rock is one of the most visited sites in Norway. We did opt for a ship tour for this stop. It is not like hiking in the Rockies. This trail was essentially all rock all the way. The rocks themselves have been arranged roughly in steps but they were not easy to navigate. The climb takes about 2 hours without stopping for any length of time. We collected our lunch and a bottle of water and headed up. Most of the people on this hike were reasonably fit. No bad knees and hips here, just a lot of out of breath people.

    About an hour in we experienced another first. The rocks were very slippery - and got worse as the day wore on and the hundreds of people made their way through the water. Judy stepped and slid down, landing on her back. No problems. However she did stick her arms out and promptly cut and scraped them. We needed a bandage but did not get one until we reached the top of the rock where the guides were. She also needed to fill out an accident report which we did later. Oh, I slid down the same rock and so did the person behind us. My fall was broken by the backpack.

Made It!

Pulpit Rock

    The view from the top was outstanding. Shear drops, a long fjord, rocky outcrops and hundreds of people were all viewed from the top. It was worth the hike. We had our lunch (provided on the bus) as we enjoyed the rain free site. The time down was also around 2 hours but by the time we started down many more tour buses had arrived. The traffic going up the trails was non stop and with that the trail became even more slippery. I did my share of almost going down as we went down.

The Drop

When we were ready to head back to the ship, another first happened! Our bus had backed up in a parking spot, went over the barrier and was stuck! Essentially, it needed a tow truck to get back on the road. We needed to return to catch the ferry to make the sail away time. Fortunately there were 4 buses and the other 3 were not completely full. After much figuring all on our bus were able to find space on the others. We did not need to stand. We arrived at the ship just before it was to sail. The rain had moved in and continued throughout the afternoon. A beer, a slice of pizza and some down time were the order of the day.

After the hard day, we cut the evening short. We did have dinner at the appointed time but decided to skip the entertainer (lead singer of the Hollies). We are looking forward to a walk around shore day tomorrow in Flam. After the strain of the climb today, we can use a more relaxing day.

A Day For Rest – At Sea

    In all the years that we have been cruising, today we did something different. After the long day yesterday – about 36 hours with no sleep we slept in. We did not get out of bed until nearly 11 am. Last night we had a clock advance which was partially responsible but the long day took a toll. We are still a bit draggy today but managed to find things to do all day.

     We did miss zumba and the port lecture in the morning. We did manage a bit if the line dance class and it getting marginally better. He did go over 4 dances while we were there. We missed the first 20 minutes and the electric slide! By noon it was time for breakfast and of course tea at the international cafe. We skipped the champagne art auction in favour of the ballroom dance class. The dance was the Merengue and the instructor taught 5 or 6 moves. Usually they teach 2 or 3 so that was also a pleasant surprise.

After Judy bought her Clinique (enough until the next cruise). We then headed for the Princess Theatre for a talk by Pete Best. He was the original drummer for the Beatles and he talked about the early days in Liverpool and how the band came to be. He is a good story teller. Ringo came in just after they cut the demo for their first album. He was replaced just before recording the final cut. We heard him on the last cruise and he seems to have become a staple on some cruises.

Formal Night

A glass of wine, our canapes and a nap finished the afternoon. We dressed for the first formal night and were on our way to see the comedy and magic show. So the second thing happened that in all our years of cruising has never happened before! We have been locked out of our room because of a faulty key slide. In this case we were locked |IN OUR ROOM. The door would not unlatch no matter what we did. They tried from the outside (after our panic call) and still no response. I started to think that they would be handing down our meals in a bucket. Finally the steward appeared on our balcony. The balconies have doorways that can be opened so you can go from one to another. We escaped through the room next to ours. Fortunately the people had already left! When we returned later in the evening the door handle had been repaired.

Chocolate Dessert

We got in. I hope we can get out in the morning for our tour.

     The Captain's champagne reception waterfall, speeches and a formal photo took place before dinner. Dinner was excellent, followed by a 'new' production show. Gone from this show was all the old style musical show that featured mainly singing and dancing. This one was called Magic To Do which was a simple background story joined by a series of illusion we have seen before. People appearing and disappearing from boxes, etc. It was quite entertaining.

   We packed up for our early tomorrow. We are going on a hike up a fjord. The all day trip is our longest booked tour. The weather is suppose to be cool but no rain! We shall see!

A Long Tiring Day

  We arrived in England early this morning. When we were checking in in Toronto, the kiosk would not print our boarding passes because “something was wrong”. This was the first time that have not been able to do this. Turns out that the problem was that the name on the reservation was not the same as on Judy's passport. The reservation was made with here middle name but her passport does not show it. We need to be sure of this in the future.

   The flight to England was under 7 hours which was about 6 hours to long. We were jammed in as usual but our seats backed on a bulkhead which meant we had about 1 inch of lay back room. The they did not come around with more wine! Flying is getting more uncomfortable all the time. We cleared immigration in an hour. We thought that we would never get out of that airport. The bus had to pick up passengers at 2 other terminals.

The transport from the airport to the ship took 2 hours. We were among the first to arrive and quickly checked it. Princess had an “Elite” lounge set up with drinks and fresh baked goods. The ship started boarding shortly before noon. Having been up all night we were tired but glad we had finally arrived.

   We lunched in the dining room with a couple from Australia and one from England. Both were well traveled cruisers. One had been to the fjords a couple of times and it was good to hear first hand from someone who had already been there. A walk around the sunny deck and a small nap before the life jacket drill followed in quick order. Luggage was in our room by the time we got back. Clothes were put away before the emergency drill. We fought the need to sleep all day! The sailaway party was a bit of a bust!

On Deck

   Our assigned dinner time is 8 pm. We arrived first and immediately asked for a new table. We requested a table of 10 and ended at one with 4. We saw the head waiter and changed to a table of 6. One couple is from Australia and the other is from England.

  There are 1400 British, 900 Americans and 300 Canadians. A good mix! We attended the welcome aboard show with a comedian. He did about 50 minutes and had some good lines. Judy remembers him from a previous cruise. Finally we can get some sleep. Tomorrow is a sea day followed by formal night. We should be able to get our energy back before our first port. A long tiring day comes to an end.

Midnight Sun and Summer Solstice

    Norway here we come. It has been almost a year since our last cruise. We just didn't find something we liked. In any case after the wonderful time in Florida this past winter, we are headed back to the Princess cruise line. The “Midnight Sun And Summer Solstice” cruise heads to Norway, a destination that has been on our list of places for a long time. We have been to Norway before but the ports have all been in the south. This time we are headed along the entire coast right up to the North Cape stopping in many fjords along the way. The writer of the cruise article in the local paper noted that Norway is like Alaska in beauty. We think it will be better because the ports requiring sailing into many fjords. There are 11 stops on the 14 day cruise.

The added bonus on this cruise is that we will be farther north than we have ever been as the map shows. At this time of year we will be getting extended hours of sunlight – hence the “Midnight Sun and summer solstice cruise title. Sunrise will be around 4 am and sunset around 11pm in the southern part of the cruise. As we get near the North Cape we should have 4 days of 24 hours of sunlight. It should be an interesting experience. The map with Greenland and Norway shows just how far north we will be!

    We are sailing on the Crown Princess which is similar to most of the big Princess ships. It will be our 4^th time on the Crown. We are on Aloha deck about mid ships  This is an "upgrade" - part of the package that we booked. The ship does have the International Cafe, the small food bar in the atrium which is where we like to go for daily tea and small meals .

    As the map shows, we sail and return from Southampton England.

Ship Schedule

North Of Iceland!

We have booked four ship tours. After doing the research on all the stops we have a good balance between exploring the ports on our own and the ship's offerings. We have booked hiking to the top of a fjord, going to North Cape at the top of Norway, driving through the Lofoten Islands; going through a fjord to a waterfall. We have also booked a bike tour in one port. The bike tour is only 7 kilometres each way but then we hike to a waterfall. I think we have a nice balance planned if the rain holds.
Being on the west coast next to mountains means that we can expect to use our wet weather gear often!

 We stayed in Toronto last night. We leave early Friday afternoon from Toronto arriving in London at 6:30 am. The overnight time change routine.
    We are ready to enjoy the perks of being “Elite” on Princess.  It means free laundry, on board credits and prepaid gratuities! Anyone that has cruised will appreciate the free laundry luxury. It means that you do not need to pack as many clothes. The mini bar, free internet (basically) and wine tasting are also nice.

        At the bottom of each post is a small icon that looks like an envelop. If you open it, you should be able to send us an email directly to my gmail address from the post. If you have a gmail account I think that you can leave a message on the blog. A simple email will also do it. The “free” internet means that we have time to look at emails. Because of where we are in Europe, we "should" have good internet service. It is always nice to read the comments of people interested in our travels.
    More Later!