Heading to Dover

This morning I was up at 0630 and had hoped to outside up on the sundeck (deck 11)  however due to extremely strong winds and roughish seas most access to unprotected areas  of the ship ( i.e. where I like to sit and watch the world go by) have been roped off by the crew so no one can go there.  Too bad: (

There were a few people eating breakfast but not nearly as many as normal. Too rough I guess.

Athough we still have a day at sea it feels like the trip is over. Our disembarking info has been given to us with instructions on our time to catch our transfer bus. Dad and i have decided how much tip money for Bibiana and all I am really waiting to do later tonight is pack.

Haugesund-last port of call

We had a busy day today.
I was up a 6 AM watching our sail-in past many small islands before arriving at our last Norwegian port of call.

This small city didnt have much to see and do as far as I initially thought but I was wrong.

Our only plan was to visit the Viking museum on a nearby island at our convenience (not a cruise tour),
A very good dixie land band serenaded us from dock side and I took the time to record a few minutes of music.
Dad and I caught the municipal bus to the Viking museum.The walk from the bus stop to the  museum was about a kilometre which I hadn't expected.Dad made it fine so that was good. The museum itself was good but unbeknownst to us at the time we missed some of it due to us wanting to get out of the rain. As it turned out we were travelling with Anne and Greg from Colorado (we don't plan to be together all the time but it just turns out that way!). Because of the potential long walk back to the bus and the fact it was raining we got a cab. With four of us paying
it wasn't horribly expensive.

We left Dad at the shuttle bus pick up point in the city centre and the three of us walked to the Dokken Museum. It is a similar type museum as the Fort Museum except with houses and buildings were used for the herring fishery. We had a super guide who obviously loved his work and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

As I write this we have left port and are slamming through North Sea waves of  about  10 feet high. Could be a lousy night for sleeping!

Sailing in Sognefjord

Dad and I skipped supper with Lorne and Judy (the California couple) in order to be outside when we sailed down the fjord. I had seen a couple hours of it this morning before Dad woke up and I wanted him to see the waterfalls. We sat outside on deck 11 (the sun deck) watching wonderful scenery, followed by magnificent scenery, followed by......you get the picture.

Speaking of pictures I was snapping photos like crazy and took quite a bit of video. There were quite a few people up there with us.

As this is the longest fjord in the world we will be in it for many hours but I think the best part was finished by 8:30 so we came in.

Another great day

Another post and photos from Skolden

Dad walked back to the ship while I uploaded my last blog post. While doing all the internet emails etc I overheard some people talking about some beautiful waterfalls nearby. They are partially visible from town so Dad saw some of it but he was already gone so I walked about 1 km to get the photos posted below.

Skjolden on Sogne fjord

This morning we cruised in to Skjolden  which is at the head of thevworlds longest and deepest fjord.

I found wifi at the local co op that I was able to connect to (other locations dont seem to work even though in some cases I have paid).

I was up at 0600 to watch us come up ths fjord. There is a tremendous waterfall about one hour away from port so I want Dad to see it on the way out. One of the photos below is the waterfall.

Last night we went to the entertainment to watch two brothers play on one piano.  Good fun.

I decided not to take a tour today, One looked like fun but the price was almost  $280 Can. GULP

Aalesund

Today I  awake at 0500 and was outside watching us come into the dock side st Aalesund. Now this is one beautiful city!

Dad wanted to sleep in so at about 0800 I left the ship to explore on my own.I soon caught up to Greg and Anne ( a neat couple from Colorado who are our sometimes table mates at supper but who tend to eat at the buffet). Together we joked and laughed our way up to a fantastic viewpoint (see photo below) climbing over 450 steps in the process.

I visited  a church and walked around before enjoying a plate of fish and chips while looking out into a canal in the middle of town.

As usual most of my photos are on the other camera but I have a couple on the tablet which I will attach. Speaking of the tablet; it is starting to give me much grief (this is the third attempt to write the blogpost)

For some strange reason I couldn't connect to internet hot spots downtown even though other people are having no difficulty. I was able however to use the Princess wi fi to email Caro and if this blogpost uploads it is through Princess.

Trondheim

Dad and I ate sitting in front of the Trondheim Cathedral. It is Sunday and we have enjoyed a couple of hours walking around the old town. The cathedral is very beautiful and we stopped in while a service was on. Dad was able to sing along in english while the congregation sang in  Norwegian. A very compact building ( for a cathedral that is).

We had previously walked to the old town bridge and an area of cafe's along the old waterfront.

This city used to be capital of Norway way back when and its old town is very pretty.

The sail is this morning took quite a few hours passing by many small and low lying islands many with farmlands. I was up watching by 6:45 AM and we didnt dock until 10 AM.

At sea

Today was a sea day.The weather was drizzly and overcast so it was a good day not to be in port.

This morning I went to a number of seminars including one on modern cartography.  Pretty interesting.

There was an auction on board for the paper navigation chart (only one of its kind) that was used  by the ship (it is really just symbolic as electronic charts are used). It was signed by all the officers and Princess would match  the dollar value for a charity.It would make a great wall hanging when put in a frame. I started the bidding at $100 and kept up until $175 but dropped out then. I think it went for $350.

I also met the captain when Dad and I went to the Captain's Circle appreciation cocktail party. Princess Cruise Lines gave out champagne bottles to the 3 people (or couples) with the most total nights on this cruise line over the course of their cruising vacations. Third and second place each had over 600 nights sailing while a couple from Hawaii placed first with over 1400 nights!! Wow.

Tonight was a special lobster night supper so many people had that including Dad. Naturally I had ravioli.  It came with a special mushroom sauce.mmmmm good!

I am attaching a photo of the room. I am sitting on the ledge area by our window. A small portion of my bed is showing in the bottom left. Dad's bed is the one  in the middle of the photo.

Nord Kapp day

What a beautiful day. Sunshine all day long. We went on  a 3.5 hour tour that included a 45 minute drive (each way) from Honningsvag to North Cape. The drive was spectacular with many photo ops. We stopped at a souvenir location run by the local native population. One fellow was in native costume and had a live reindeer so all the tourists could take photos.

We saw multiple small herds of reindeer on the way to the cape. The cape itself it is very high, flat topped cliffs with long range views. It is the very farthest north part of the European continent and as such is a major tourist attraction. There is a neat building on site which has restaurants (with free wifi!)  and a small museum describing the last voyage of the Scharnhorst battle cruiser in WW2. Very interesting.

As we left the port the rains returned and we were back to dull overcast rainy weather.  As usual we had supper with a couple from California. They are great people and we have nice conversation.

Photos at Nordkapp (North Cape)

Beautiful drive .More in next post

On our way back to the mainland

We had a nice quiet day as we are at sea.

Today was  very special (at least on this cruise) being that it is has been sunny for most of the day. People are out on deck 5 enjoying the lounge chairs and basking in the sunlight. It is only about 12 degrees but it feels marvelous! I imagine there will be quite  a few people waiting up until midnight and going upstairs at 11:45 PM  for professional "midnight sun" photos. Not me!  Sleep means more than waiting up for that!  I want to be up early as we come into port, as I usually am.

Today I watched a seminars on ancient world cartography and on modern ship navigation. Both very interesting.

Dad spotted a whale earlier in the day but I haven't been so lucky. Every sea day we spend time in the Pacific Lounge during "happy hour" scanning the horizon for wild life while enjoying an "adult" beverage or two.

Thank you family

Tonight Dad and I went to the Steakhouse where we had our special Father's Day supper thanks to Pat for Dad's gift money and a continuation of money gifts from my family. Thanks again everyone!

The steaks and trimmings were absolutely awesome.  Dad commented that his was one of the best he had ever had and mine was sure good as well!

As we ate our meal the ship was sailing out of the Svalbard Archipelago, our route covered in low clouds. We passed beautiful mountains topped by these same low clouds; and saw massive glaciers curving around the mountains before sliding down into a waveless dark blue ocean. Honestly the scene was just like an old time  back and white photo expect taken with a blue filter. What a photogenic scene of greys,with various shades of dark and light blues.

The photo below was taken just as we left the dock at Longyearbyen.

Farthest north town in the world

Today we have sailed into Longyearbyen Svalbard Islands (Spitzbergen)

Dad and I have walked around this town of 2000 people located about 800 miles from the north pole. A very stark beautiful landscape. There are snowmobiles everywhere. This is a neat place but really not much to do unless you take an outrageously priced tour.

The town was originally based on coal mining and hunting but now relies on tourism- both cruisers and those heading on land or sea for very serious intense tourism in the wilds.

The tourist office has free wi- fi so I am using it.

Bibiana. Our room attendant

Great conversations with her about her life on board. Nice lady

Photo of library

This library is considered the best in the fleet. The photo shows a portion of the room. The woodwork is phenomenal.

I reread my previously published posts noting my many spelling mistakes. Oops.  Sometimes I am very rushed to type and then publish when I am on shore using a hot spot however on board I can make a draft blogpost offline so I have no excuses for my mistakes.

North of arctic circle

Spotty internet. Trying a photo

On the way to Longyearbyen

It is 0745 and as usual I am the only one enjoying (?) the promenade deck (deck 5). I found a spot where an exhaust manifold blows warm air onto a deck chair. It is a cold morning and overcast -we have barely seen the sun since England. A deckhand has just  finished placing and securing all the deckchair  pads in position on the chairs and tonight he will remove and safely stow all of them waway with there being a good chance 99% of them not been sat on even once (mine the exception)

Dad and I slept good last night ( Dad is still sleeping). Dad has been able to do quite a bit of walking and sightseeing but is does wear him down as expected. The Norwegian Sea is calm this morning so no pounding of  waves through the ship making it very easy to catch up on ZZZ's.

We have met some wonderful people on this trip. I can't imagine anyone making this cruise their first unless Longyearbyen is the target. While the weather has not been "nasty" it has not been "Caribbean warm" to say the least! Sunshine minutes are few and far between.

We spend a lot of  our free time reading. While Dad tends to go read his Kobo ereader in the Pacific Lounge on deck 10 (where I, incidently, have moved to to warm up while continuing to write this post) I tend to read in the cabin.

We knew before we came here that Norway was very expensive and now I hear the British people  toursits on shore complaining so I know that is not just my "frugal" self finding it so bad!! HA HA

Both of us are nojoying the voyage. Dad has enjoyed going up the cable car/finiculars while my thing has been the fjords. It will be so neat.  to be in Longyearbyen tomorrow!

In Tromso

This town (small city) was a pleasant surprise.  To get around was easy on the city transit. The downtown was within an easy walk and there was an area of traditional buildings. After souvenir shopping Dad went back to the ship while I carried on to the Polar museum. A number 1 Trip Advisor location it was a very informative,beautiful place and dirt cheap ($10 Can) by Norwegian standards. Lots of stories and artifacts of the hunting and exploring in this area and Stitzbergen. It also showcased some of the Norwegian explorers and hunters. A very worthwhile place to visit.

Up mountain in Tromso

Dad and I caught the local bus to the tram and although it is a rainy drizzly day we had enough time to take photos and as there is wi fi here I took the opportunity to make a blog entry even though it is only 11 AM.

Update. Bought some souvenirs downtown and am using the store wi fi as the tram wi fi didnt work

On our way to Tromso

We are on a sea day as we head north and will be crossing the Arctic Circle later today.  The sea is pounding us, bouncing up and down,sending shudders throughout the ship and plumes of spray outwards , sometimes shooting past our window and we are closer to the center of the ship! I was in the entertainment lounge at the very front of the boat for two hours this morning and the motion was causing me a slight case of nausea. Suck it up Roger,it's going to get worse.  Ha ha.

I spent 4 hours on deck last night as we made our way back out to the sea. Had some great conversations with some well traveled people. Much food for thought for Caro and I for future travels. The way out was just as awesome as in the morning and the captain made the comment over the P.A. system that the fjord ranks up with Tracy Arm and  those of New Zealand as the most beautiful he has seen.

I am going to attempt to send this via Dad's Internet account on board so if this gets posted on fathers day it all went good!

Speaking of father's day. I used some of my father's day gift money towards our day excursion yesterday. Thank you everyone♡

Geiranger tour

Before heading back to the ship I have time to upoad some photos taken in the last 2 hours. We went on a tour  bus up to the top of the mountain. Unfortunetly the mountain top was foggy BUT the way up was amazing.
It turns out I tookmost of my photos on my regular canon camera  and not the tablet camera so that is too bad

Hellesylt/Geiranger

I was up at 6:30 AM after a fitful night of sleeping due to rough seas.
We were already sailing up the beautiful fjord. MAGNIFICENT!!!,even though it was cloudy and fog shrouded on the mountain tops. Waterfalls everywhere and farmyards clinging to the mountain sides 500-1000 feet above the waterline with no roads or power lines visible. Hmmm-interesting life style for them as it looked like each farm had a boat jetty at the sea but man oh man the  walk down (or up!) Must be hellish- no need for fitness classes!

As I write this at 8:30 AM the ship is offloading ( by tender) those people on trips originating in Hellesylt and finishing at our main stop,Geiranger. Dad and I will be getting off there for a private 2 hour bus tour. No doubt there will be many more photo ops in our 12 mile sail up another fjord branch to Geiranger!

Update at 10:30. We have just completed our journey up the fjord tp Geiranger and I honestly can't remember the last time I felt so amazed at the natural beauty (maybe the Grand Canyon?). At one point I counted 15 waterfalls cascading off the mountains. Peopke were samplibg photos like crazy. Truly MAGNIFICENT!!!!

Bergen harbour

A photo taken from my location where I uploaded my previous blog entry

Bergen

It is 10:30 AM in Bergen and Dad and I are up the finicular .We were a little thirsty so we bought two glasses of pop- $12      yikes!

Later we  walked  the section of town that is a Unesco World Heritage site and checked out a WW2 museum. Dad went back to the ship at noon totally tired out and I went back to the old part of town to finish this update and upload at the tourist center which overlooks the harbour. Very very cool!

Cruising the North Sea on the Pacific Princess

We woke up to mild seas after sleeping 12 hours.  NOW I feel good!

This ship is the smallest in the Princess line and our cruise is part of a round the world trip this ship is on. We over heard that there are about 180 people of the 700 passengers who are holdovers from the portion across the north Atlantic and before.  Two of these people are the California couple at our supper table. They started in LA and have been onboard since May 10th.

The ship passengers appear to be of  higher economic staus than me. There are very few younger people on board and that makes sense because this is a long cruise with a ship not really set up for kids at all.

We are passing a few ocean oil rigs. It  reminds me that my brother in law
worked as a welder on them many years ago.

Tomorrow is our first port, Bergen.Norway. I hope the weather is as nice as today; high overcast clouds with a high of about 20. I imagine it may well be the warmest day of the trip.

On Board June 15 2016

We were up at 5ish this morning and had a big breakfast at the hotel. The hourly bus to the airport happened to be there at a good time for us so we hopped on it rather than a cab (and it was cheaper too).

We had a 2 hour bus ride from the airport to Dover,  passing many beautiful towns and a large Manor house,  a gorgeous drive.

We were on the ship in no time and we're soon exploring .

Our maid is from Mexico City. I had a good coversation with her. A very nice lady.

Promptly at 5 PM we moved away from the dock and a few minutes later we were moving past the famous White Cliffs of Dover before turning imto the English channel.

Our supper tablemates for the week are two American couples (not connected with each other). Both couples are extremely well traveled and make my travels look like nothing! It is going to be a great 2 weeks  talking to them

On Board June 15 2016

We were up at 5ish this morning and had a big breakfast at the hotel. The hourly bus to the airport happened to be there at a good time for us so we hopped on it rather than a cab (and it was cheaper too).

We had a 2 hour bus ride from the airport to Dover,  passing many beautiful towns and a large Manor house,  a gorgeous drive.

We were on the ship in no time and we're soon exploring .

Our maid is from Mexico City. I had a good coversation with her. A very nice lady.

Promptly at 5 PM we moved away from the dock and a few minutes later we were moving past the famous White Cliffs of Dover before turning imto the English channel.

Our supper tablemates for the week are two American couples (not connected with each other). Both couples are extremely well traveled and make my travels look like nothing! It is going to be a great 2 weeks  talking to them