Cruise B425July & August 2024
on the Caribbean Princess
around Iceland and Greenland
Cruise B425| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
28th July 2024 |
Southampton Hampshire England |
Aboard by 12:20 |
 |
29th July 2024 |
Falmouth Cornwall England |
Prom Walk & Bus to Truro |
 |
30th July 2024 |
Cobh Co. Cork Irish Republic |
Train to Cork City |
 |
2nd Aug. 2024 |
Akureyri Iceland |
am Garden pm Waterfall |
|
3rd Aug. 2024 |
Isafjordur Iceland |
am Waterfall pm Town |
|
4th Aug. 2024 |
Reykjavik Iceland |
am Old Town pm New Town |
 |
7th Aug. 2024 |
Qaqortoq Greenland |
am Town pm Town |
|
8th Aug. 2024 |
Nanortalik Greenland |
am Town pm Town |
 |
13th Aug. 2024 |
Southampton Hants. UK |
Home at 08:40 |
Cruise B425
SoToN, UKI got up at 6:20 and had some Boots sandwiches for breakfast. At ten o'clock I phoned for a Streamline taxi to take me to the railway station. Here it was rather crowded with the train going to Dorchester South ONLY on the wrong side of the tracks! The Cross-Country train was delayed, so I caught the 10:50 Waterloo service instead.
At SoToN I took another taxi to the ship. I was given a baggage label and deposited my suitcase at drop-off point number three. There was no queue for check-in, where I was given my landyard with electronic medallion instead of a cruise card. I then only had to wait fifteen minutes, during which time I ate some more Boots sandwiches, before going through to security. This was also quick, so I was on board by 12:20. I had a glass of apple juice sat out on the aft verandah in the bright sunshine.
At one o'clock the cabins were released and I found that I had an inside double state room on deck ten (C deck). At the shorex desk, I found out that they had stopped using tour escorts. I then had a bowl of my favourite bean soup in the buffet. At two o'clock I dozed for three quarters of an hour, until awoken by my steward Dominador (Dominator?) Mateo. I then started work on this blog.
At 4:15 I went to the sailaway, but didn't join in the usual YMCA and Electric Slide dances. At five o'clock I went to the solo travellers meet up, hosted by camp Alexander from California. There were a dozen ladies and three men present. I was sat next to Filipino Nory (Leonora) from the Bronx in New York City. It turned out that she was a dancer, so we agreed to go to the first dance session.
I slipped out at 5:30 to get an early dinner in the Coral Main Dining Room (MDR). Here I was sat with a couple from Edmonton in Canada and two couples from Dallas in Texas. I had the potato soup, the Greek salad and the stewing steak to eat. I had several glasses of iced water to drink.
At 7:50 I slipped out, before the dessert course, to go to the first dance session. Here I did several waltzes, rumbas, cha chas and jives with Nory, and one tango, but we were the only dancers present. At 8:50 we moved along to the theatre to hear Christina Johnston from Framlingham, Suffolk, also home of Ed Sheeran. She sang a great mix of musical theatre and opera, but I had trouble staying awake and Nory slipped out early. Up on the top deck I couldn't get a good mobile signal off the South Devon coast.
At 9:30 I had one small slice of pepperoni pizza. I went to sleep at ten o'clock, knowing that we had an early start tendering in the morning.
Falmouth, Cornwall, UKI awoke at six o'clock to the dawn from the bridge cam on my television. At 6:30 I had a bacon croissant as an early breakfast. At seven o'clock the tannoy announced we were already cleared, so I rushed down to collect a water shuttle (tender) ticket number two. I was immediately dispatched down to the landing platform, where I got on the local Duchess of Cornwall ferry. We left at 7:25 for the twenty minute run to the Falmouth docks.
I gave the free shuttle bus a miss, instead walking around the moat of Pendennis Castle. I traversed the promenade going south west passed the three lovely beaches. I then turned inland at the Swanpool. I got to the main road at 9:30, having walked over four miles, ready for my bus pass to come into play.
I then caught the 9:42 bus into Truro, the county town of Cornwall. I spent two hours photographing the sights, including going in the magnificient gothic revival cathedral finished in 1910. I bought two bars of soap in Poundland and some snacks in the Holland & Barrett health food shop. I then had two mugs of decaff coffee in the Wetherspoons bar, before catching the 12:14 bus, which was ten minutes late, back to Falmouth. I went in the town hall, the art gallery and tourist information office as usual, before catching the free shuttle bus back to the port. This had five seats across each row and was nearly full when we left.
Back at the cruise terminal, I had to wait fifteen minutes for the next tender, this time one of the ship's own, to take the twenty minute run back to the ship. En route, I chatted to an Asian couple from Luton, whose seven year old daughter had autism and had only just started talking. Back in my state room, I ate my two tomatoes and one banana that I had brought from home, before sleeping for fifty minutes. At four o'clock I had a mug of decaff coffee in the buffet, before updating this blog.
At five o'clock I went to the solo travellers meet up with American Susan from Dawlish in Devon, American red head Christina, Nory from the Bronx, Minda from LA, Benjamin from Germany, John from Sheffield and newcomer Gala also from Germany. At 5:50 Minda led Nory, Ben and myself down to the Coral MDR, where we were joined by Evelyn and Dama.
I had the French onion soup followed by a prawn cocktail, which I shared with Ben. Next up, I had the English style roast beef & Yorkshire pudding with bangers & mash on the side, also shared with Ben. As it was Nory's birthday, she got given a rich chocolate cake, which again I shared with Ben. At seven o'clock Nory, Ben and myself went to the ballroom dance session, where I did THREE tangoes with Nory and the usual ballroom and Latin American dances.
At eight o'clock we managed to find three seats together near the front of the theatre for Crystal Cimaglia's excellent Celine Dion tribute show. I had previously heard her in April on the Regent Seven Seas Splendor crossing the Atlantic. Her show again included "I'm Alive" (line dance: "We're Alive"), but not "I Drove All Night". She also sang one Stevie Wonder song and a Freddie Mercury medley. She finished with "My Heart Goes on". At the end cruise director Sophie came on wearing her life jacket!
At nine o'clock I retired to my state room to update this blog, as Nory & Ben went on to the country & western night. I went to sleep at ten o'clock after another exhausting day, having done ten thousand steps equal to four miles of walking.
Cobh, Co. Cork, IrelandI awoke at twenty to six as the dawn came up on the bridge camera. At 6:30 I had the full English breakfast minus any eggs in an experiment. At 7:15 I was one of the first to leave the ship.
I caught the 7:30 train into Cork City costing €6.90 (£5.84). In town, I walked into the centre going in the famous English Market and crossing the River Lee several times. I got to the (Queen) Elizabeth (the First) Fort before it had opened, so pressed on for Saint Finbarre's Anglican cathedral, but wouldn't pay to go in. This was my second gothic revival church in two days, after Truro cathedral the previous day.
At University College Cork's campus, I went in the Catholic Honan chapel, but the Gluckman Gallery hadn't yet opened. I crossed the River Lee again to get to the Cork City Museum which had free admission. It had a large exhibition on the Irish War of Independence in County Cork.
At eleven o'clock I had had enough and started walking back. I met two ladies from the ship who were looking for the cathedral. One was from Hampshire and one was from Surrey, although the latter was originally a Yorkshire woman. I recognised that they had been watching me dance with Nory on the first evening.
I was impressed with the Elizabeth fort which had free admission. I walked almost the entire ramparts and went in the little museum which had details of convict women transported to Australia. Outside I chatted to an Australian couple from the ship.
Back in the city centre, I bought a ham & cheese submarine roll from Tesco, which I ate in the garden of the Triskel chapel, now a concert hall. My last stop was at the Crawford Art Gallery, which had free admission. It will be closing in the Autumn for two years of reorganisation.
On the quayside I bumped into Nory, so we walked back to the station together. We managed to catch the next train, but it was standing room only. Back at the ship, I slept for one hundred minutes, before having a decaff coffee on the pool deck. I then updated this blog. Just after five o'clock, I moved down to the solos meet-up where Christina was organising us.
At 6:40 I moved further down to the Palm restaurant, where a couple from Brisbane and myself joined a sharing table with a couple from Nebraska and a couple from up state New York. I had the chilled potato and salmon soup followed by the Wiener Schnitzel escalope of pork. However service was slow and I didn't get my dessert. At seven o'clock I danced with Nory to the recorded tunes doing the usual ballroom and Latin American dances. We also did our first samba together.
At eight o'clock we went to Shane Hampsheir's (sic) excellent Sinatra & Friends show. He began with "The lady is a tramp" and finished with "Crazy little thing called love". He sang Sam Smith's "The Writings on the Wall" falsetto! I had heard him twice before, once on a Celebrity Silhouette westbound transatlantic crossing and once on a Regent Seven Seas Splendor eastbound transatlantic crossing.
At nine o'clock I uploaded my photographs from Falmouth, Truro, Cobh and Cork City. At ten o'clock I went to hear Shane's excellent swing show for a second time and managed to stay awake. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock having done twenty thousand steps, equal to eight miles of walking during the day.
First Sea DayI awoke at 6:30 and ate an egg Florentine with crispy bacon, baked beans, a hash brown and a grilled tomato for breakfast at seven o'clock. Back in my state room, I worked on my Plate Tectonics lecture. At nine o'clock I went to Debbie Shields's interesting fifty minute talk on Akureyri.
At 10:45 I caught the end of Tyrone's shorex presentation, before checking out my laptop with stage manager Allan. Unfortunately my computer was flickering, so I had to copy my files on to their laptop instead. At noon I joined the solo travellers table in the Palm restaurant, where I was sat at the head of the table, between American Susan from Devon and Carolyn from Leeds. The latter used to play the viola on the Saga ships. I had the corn chowder soup, the Mediterranean meatballs and the ice cream sundae to eat.
At two o'clock I went to the future cruise presentation, which took fifty five minutes, giving me just five minutes in which to set up. At three o'clock CD Sophie from Bristol introduced me and I gave my forty minute talk on Plate Tectonics to a surprisingly large audience in the huge theatre. It was interrupted by THREE tannoy announcements. At the end, I had a few questions to answer and I got to meet fellow speaker Mei-Yan Lu, originally from Taiwan, but now a Professor at San Jose State University (SJSU) in California.
Back in my cabin, I failed to doze and instead updated this blog. At five o'clock I went to the Wheelhouse bar as usual, but it was closed for a private suite event. I moved down to the Vines Wine bar, where German Benjamin and Sheffield John joined me. Later Carolyn, Jill from Essex, Pip and Jon arrived.
At seven o'clock CD Sophie introduced the senior officers in the piazza alongside the wine bar. A pyramid of champagne glasses was then filled, but I didn't manage to nab a glassfull. At 7:30 the seven of us moved along to the Palm restaurant, where Rosie from Coral Gables was already ensconced. Here I had the cream soup, the tenderloin of beef and the crepes Suzette to eat. I was sat between Rosie and John from Sheffield at the head of the table as before. The party didn't break up until 9:20, when I updated this blog.
At ten o'clock I went to the second house of the excellent Bravo 'popera' production show. This included ten dancers, nine musicians and five singers, one of whom was guest soprano Christina Johnston. They sang "I dreamed a dream" from Les Mis partly in French and the "Habanera" from Carmen sung entirely in French. I particularly enjoyed the songs from My Fair Lady and "Somebody to Love" by Queen. They ended inevitably with "Time to say goodbye" sung partly in Italian. I had seen this show previously on the Sapphire Princess, when I had been able to catch both houses. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock, having done nearly seven thousand steps, nearly equal to three miles of walking during the day.
Second Sea DayI got up at six o'clock to the dawn on the bridge camera. At 6:30 I had the cheese tartlet with bacon, beans, hash brown and a grilled tomato to eat. I had just one large tumbler of orange juice to drink. Back in my state room, I updated this blog and worked on my Volcano talk.
At 9:30 I went to Debbie's sixty minute talk on Reykjavik. When she ended at 10:30, Allan set me up and I left my Akureyri & Isafjordur photos running. I called in to the entertainment office to finally collect my wifi code.
At eleven o'clock I gave my forty minute talk on Volcanoes to a good sized audience. I had a lot of questions to field at the end. Annina & Brian Cooke from Ringwood came up to remind me that we had sailed to the North Cape of Norway together on the FOCL Balmoral in 2011.
At noon I joined the solo travellers table for ten in the Palm restaurant. I had the soup, the fish & chips and the sherry trifle to eat. I was sat between Jacqueline and Carolyn.
I then slept for fifty minutes before catching the end of the naturalist's fifty minute talk on the Arctic. Here I met up with Professor Mei-Yan Lu from San Jose State University (SJSU) and she bought me a mug of tea. We took our drinks up to the Skywalker nightclub, where we were joined by American Susan from Devon. The latter brought us some canapes from the counter.
At 4:30 Mei-Yan had to return to her husband for their own in-cabin canapes. At five o'clock I left Susan to join the solo travellers, but they immediately took me back up to the nightclub. I was sat with Jon, Carolyn, Nory, Christina and Anita.
At 5:30 I went to the Island restaurant for the first time. Here I sat with Barbara from British Columbia, Anna & her friend from Connecticut in New England and a couple from Rotnest Island off Perth in Western Australia. I had the cullen skink (killing skunk?) soup, the beef stroganoff and the sugar free chocolate cake to eat. I slipped away for the dance session at seven o'clock in the Explorers Lounge with the seven piece show band. I mainly danced with Nory, but did one cha cha with Susan and one salsa with Italian Sabrina.
At nine o'clock we had the second dance set to the house band which climaxed with a samba. Back in my state room, I watched my Plate Tectonic lecture. I went to bed at 11:15, but it was now only 10:15 on Icelandic time. During the day I had done seven and a half thousand steps equal to three miles of walking.
Akureyri, IcelandI awoke at 7:45, but it was now only 6:45 on Icelandic time, having slept for over eight hours. I had the mini pizza pie with bacon, beans, hash brown and tomato for breakfast with a tumbler of mixed fruit juices to drink. I then sat in the elevated Skywalker nightclub as we sailed up the fjord.
Back in my state room, I updated this blog. I got off the ship at 9:15 and walked into town. I photographed the inner harbour and went in the Hof building which houses the Tourist Information Office. Outside I bumped into Nory and we decided to walk via the church to the botanical garden. We parted again back at the Hof and I walked back to the ship. In my state room, I watched my Volcano lecture, before going for lunch. Here I had the cream of broccoli soup, but it was actually cream of cauliflower, which I augmented with some grated cheese. I then had two minute steaks with gratinated mushrooms, green beans and chips.
Back in my state room, I slept for fifty minutes, before heading back into town. At the Town Hall square, I headed north to get to the out of town shopping mall. I walked alongside the river to get to the waterfalls. Unfortunately it started to rain, so I walked back to the ship.
Back in my state room again, I watched the Naturalist's Arctic lecture which also covered Antarctica, whilst backing up my day's photography. At 5:30 I went down to the Island restaurant where I sat with Barbara from British Columbia again and two couples, one from Barlaston in Staffordshire and Martin & his wife from Barnard Castle in County Durham. I had the borscht soup, the chicken pie and the famous Love Boat dessert to eat.
At 7:30 I danced with Nory to the Duo in the Wheelhouse Bar. I did the final rumba with Italian Sabrina. At 8:30 we did it again for their second set.
Back in my state room, I updated this blog. At ten o'clock I went to Georgina Jackson's show time. She sang and played the trumpet, but I kept falling asleep, as my body clock was at eleven o'clock on BST. I went to sleep at 11:15 having done over twenty one thousand steps, equal to over eight miles of walking during the day.
Isafjordur, IcelandI awoke at 6:40 ready for my usual breakfast of a mini pizza pie with bacon, beans, hash brown and tomato with a tumbler of mixed fruit juices to drink. I was off the ship at 7:30 and went in the wi-fi hut on the quayside which had several local maps to take away. I then walked around the southern outer harbour, the seafront prom and the main street. Here I met up with Nory and we headed off for the waterfall. Unfortunately we went too far around the head of the fjord and had to double back when we spotted the waterfall. The latter was worth the effort of walking five miles to get there.
On the way back we went in the new Lutheran church. The sun had been shining all morning, but it was quite windy. Back at the quayside, Nory went into the wi-fi hut, whilst I went up to the buffet. I had two minute steaks with pasta in cream sauce, green beans and chips to eat.
Back in my state room, I slept for fifty minutes. I then headed a back into the town, but it had clouded over and the wind had got up. I photographed the boats in the northern inner harbour and went in several of the shops. I got as far as the post office in the little shopping mall, but it was closed on Saturdays.
Back at the quayside, I went in the wi-fi hut again, before having a mug of decaff coffee in the buffet. Returning to my state room, I updated this blog and back-upped my day's photography. At five o'clock I went to the solo travellers meet up in the Crooners bar. When Christina arrived she said we were relocating to the Elite cocktail party in the Skywalkers nightclub. Here I sat with American Susan from Dawlish, John from Sheffield and others.
At 5:30 I moved down to the Palm restaurant, where I sat with a lady from the Sierra Nevada mountains of California and a couple originally from North Leicestershire, but now living on the Suffolk coast. I had the French onion soup, the spaghetti puttanesca and the sugar free crepes to eat. At seven o'clock I danced with Nory in the Club Fusion to recorded tracks. I did just one dance with Italian Sabrina, whose husband has trouble dancing.
At eight o'clock we went to the Princess theatre for the Born to be Wild production show, but it was full so we had to sit on the steps instead. This performance involved a road trip on a pink cadillac car which revolved on the stage as the backdrop moved. The four singers sang lots of great songs including Route 66, whilst ten dancers strutted their stuff.
At nine o'clock we went to Shane Hampsheir's cabaret in the Explorers lounge. It was advertised as Swing, Soul & Rock 'n' Roll, but mainly featured the great songs of Michael Buble. When he finished, Nory stayed put for the game show, whilst I went back to the theatre to see the excellent production show from a proper seat. I went to sleep just after eleven o'clock having done twenty four thousand steps, nearly equal to ten miles of walking during the day.
Reykjavik, IcelandI got up at six o'clock, ready for my usual buffet breakfast. I had just one tumbler of the mixed fruit juices to drink. Back in my state room, I updated this blog as I waited for us to berth.
I got off the ship at 9:20, but just missed the first shuttle bus away, so had to wait twenty minutes for the next one. Dropped off at the Harpa concert hall, I photographed most of the sights in the old town, before walking around the old harbour. At the Maritime Museum I used their free wi-fi, before heading back. I toured the extensive indoor flea market, but bought nothing as usual.
Back at the drop off point, I chatted to Annina and Brian from Ringwood, who said that they had given up on being a dance couple on the FOCL ships after just six cruises, as it was too much like hard work. They said they usually cruise with P&O and had been with them in Reykjavik last August when they had had a heatwave.
Back at the ship, I updated this blog and sorted out my maps ready for an early lunch and my siesta. I had the broccoli soup with extra grated cheese, followed by FOUR lamb chops with green beans and chips to eat. I then slept for eighty minutes, before catching the free shuttle bus back into the city. I headed for the new town with its Bohemian shops. I visited the famous Hallgrimskirkja church and photographed a few more sights. In one of the tourist information offices I had a complimentary small black coffee to drink. In another I was photographed on a snowmobile or skidoo.
Back at the quayside, I visited the Videy ferry office. Back on the ship, I rushed to get to the five o'clock rendezvous at Crooners bar. American Susan from Dawlish arrived and escorted me to the Elite guests' cocktail party in the Skywalkers lounge. Here we sat with Dom and Ben.
At 5:30 I moved down to the Island restaurant, where I sat with Martin & his wife from Barnard Castle in County Durham. I had the chicken broth, the steak Diane and bananas Foster to eat. At seven o'clock I danced with Nory in the Club Fusion to recorded music and then in the Wheelhouse lounge to the Spanish speaking duo from 7:30. When they finished at 8:15, we moved down to the Princess theatre to see the local folkloric show. This consisted of two amusing actors telling stories from the Icelandic sagas.
At the end, back in her state room, Nory gave me her spare bottle of bubbly for me to take home as a gift for my neighbours. I then went back up to the Skywalkers lounge to watch the sailaway into the setting sun. I had one slice of pepperoni pizza to eat, only my second of the cruise, before adjourning to my state room to update this blog and backup my day's photography. I went to sleep at 11:15 having done nearly twenty four thousand steps, equal to nearly ten miles of walking, during the day.
Third Sea DayI awoke at 7:30 ready for my usual breakfast in the buffet with a tumbler of orange juice to drink. Back in my state room, I worked on my Glacier lecture and updated this blog. At 9:30 I went to Debbie's talk on Qaqortoq which she called KaKorToK.
At the end, Allan got me setup, but one of my animated GIFs was locking up, so I couldn't leave them running. At eleven o'clock I gave my forty minute talk on Glaciers with all my videos working correctly. I had a lot of questions to field at the end.
At noon I went to the solo travellers lunch organised by Christina. I was sat between American Susan from Dawlish and Jacqueline. I had my favourite lentil soup, the poached salmon salad and the ice cream sundae to eat. Also present was Christina, Benjamin, Jon, Carolyn and a new Oriental lady, making eight people on a table for ten in the Palm restaurant.
I then slept for one hundred minutes, but thus missed the Longevity Secrets Talk. At five o'clock I waited at the entrance to the Skywalkers nightclub for an elite member to let me in. I was joined by Pip, Ben and John, but no one eligible, so we moved down to the Crooners bar instead.
At 5:30 I dropped down to the Coral Main Dining Room (MDR), but it had a queue already, so I continued on down to the Island restaurant below. Here I sat with an elderly couple from Phoenix, Arizona and another couple from Toronto, Canada. I had the mushroom soup, the BBQ pork ribs with chips and the peach flambe to eat. There was no dancing at seven o'clock, so I updated this blog in my state room.
At 7:45 I went to the Wheelhouse lounge to dance with Nory to the Mexican Duo. They had a fifteen minute break and then we continued. When they finished at 9:30 I watched my Glaciers talk on the television. I went to sleep at 10:45, but it was only 9:45 on Greenland time.
Fourth Sea DayI got up at 6:15 ready for my usual breakfast in the buffet. Back in my state room, I updated my Fjords talk. I then did six circuits around the two top deck swimming pools. Back in my state room again, I watched the first half of Prof Mei-Yan Lu's forty five minute talk on Longevity.
At 9:30 I went to Debbie's thirty minute talk on Nanortalik. When she finished, Allan set me up and I left my Fjord animated GIFs running. At eleven o'clock I gave my thirty five minute talk on the Story of the Fjords.
At noon I went to the Palm restaurant for the solo travellers lunch. Here I sat between Jill from Southend and Dom from California. We were opposite Jacqueline from Oregon, English Jon and English Pip. I had the Pig melt burger with chips and the ice cream sundae to eat. I then slept for eighty five minutes, before working in my state room.
During the afternoon I worked on my laptop. At 4:30 I went to the International cafe, where Dom bought me a cappuccino. Then Mei-Yan joined us with her MacBook, as she wanted help with accessing agent Robin's web site.
At five o'clock the three of us went up to the Elite cocktail party in the Skywalkers lounge. Here we were joined by Jacqueline, Gill, Jon, Benjamin and Fran. The latter had just been released from two days of isolation.
At 6:15 I got changed into my "dress to impress" Navajo bolo from Arizona, but very few guests wore formal dress. In our party of solo travellers only Jon wore a black tie outfit.
At 6:30 I joined Nory in her cocktail gown in the Wheelhouse bar, but the Mexican duo didn't show up. Instead we chatted to a couple from Chesterfield in Derbyshire. At 7:30 I joined the singles at the large table for ten in the Palm restaurant. When Rosie arrived they inserted an extra place setting. I was sat between Fran and Ben. Also present were Dom, Gill, John, Carolyn, Jon, Pip and Anita in black. I had the vegetarian bean soup which tasted like oxtail, the Chinese duck and the sugar free dessert to eat.
At ten o'clock I went to the excellent Broadway production show which included "Hey Big Spender" and other hits. I particularly liked the (New) Jersey Boys songs and the ABBA Mamma Mia musical medley. There were four singers and ten dancers in the company. I went to sleep at 11:15, but it was now only 10:15 on Greenland time.
Qaqortoq, GreelandI awoke at 7:35, but it was now only 6:35 on Greenland time. After showering, I dressed in my long johns, Reyjkavik tee shirt, long trousers, long sleeved polo shirt and the blue Essex police heavy jacket that June had given me. I had my usual breakfast without any eggs, before getting on the second guest tender (water shuttle) away at 7:45. It drizzled all morning, but I nevertheless took lots of photographs on my very first visit to Greenland.
I walked passed both power stations to photograph the Caribbean Princess anchored in the bay. I doubled back to the centre and then out the other side of the little harbour to the Great Greenland tannery. This prepares seal skins for the international market, although the European Union has banned their importation. They had a short video in the foyer with free loos, but we weren't allowed to photograph the workshop. I went inside the new Lutheran church to take some pictures.
Back at the pier, I caught the 11:30 tender back to the ship. At noon I had the corn chowder soup and the Parmigiano chicken with pasta and various vegetables including cauliflower cheese. I then slept for forty five minutes.
I caught the 2:30 tender back to the shore and visited the Heliport and some more shops, but it was still drizzling. I was surprised that such a small town had four supermarkets full of expensive imported produce. Wearing my deck shoes, as my heavy boots were still wet from the morning, I slipped badly on the wet grass. The old church had opened, so I got a photograph of the interior. I caught the 3:45 water shuttle back to the ship, where I updated this blog.
At five o'clock I met Mei-Yan at the entrance to the Skywalkers lounge. Later we were joined by solos Jon, Pip, Gill and Fran. At 5:30 I went to the Coral MDR for an early dinner. I was sat with two father & daughter couples, one pair from England and one from Melborne, Australia, although the latter daughter now lives in Orpington, Kent. The other couple on the table of seven were South Africans, who now live in north east New South Wales in Australia. The husband was an airline pilot firstly with South African Airways (SAA) and then with Quaint Arse (Qantas). I had the split pea soup, the lamb stew in Guiness gravy and the chocolate cookie with vanilla ice cream to eat.
At seven o'clock I danced with Nory to the recorded music in Club Fusion, notwithstanding my nasty fall that afternoon. I also did a rumba and a social foxtrot with Belita the ship's Environmental Officer also from South Africa. At 7:45 we went to the Princess theatre to hear Lorraine Brown sing. I particularly enjoyed her MoTown medley. She finished with a tribute to Dame Shirley Bassey ending with "I am what I am" and a standing ovation.
Back in my state room, I updated this blog. At ten o'clock I went to hear Lorraine again, this time sitting towards the back of the auditorium. I managed to stay awake through out her excellent show time. I went to sleep at 11:15.
Nanortalik, GreelandI awoke at 6:35 ready for my usual breakfast in the buffet. At 7:25 I was on the first guest tender away. It was dry, but overcast during my morning's walk around the small town. I shelled out DKK100 (US$10, GB£6.93) for the excellent outdoors museum. This had eight buildings open to the public, with just two closed. I was particularly interested in the whaling, kayak and telecom buildings.
After one hour exploring the outdoor museum with lots of photography, the church had opened up for our inspection. Nearly back at the tender dock, it started to drizzle. It took three quarters of an hour to get back to the ship, which I did on top of one of the ship's tenders. At noon I had the cream of broccoli soup and grilled salmon & chips for lunch. I then slept for half an hour.
At 1:30 the tenders became free-flow without tickets so I proceeded ashore, again on top of the one of the ship's tenders. Unfortunately there was an enormous queue of guests on the land wanting to come back to the ship, and a queue of tenders waiting to unload and reload their pax, so it took me another three quarters of an hour to get ashore. I walked north beyond the city limits to the rock quarry, but didn't feel confident going around the head of the bay to the ruins on the previous site of the town. My left leg was rather stiff after my fall the previous day, so I returned to the town centre. However the queue was as long as ever, so I wandered around and then sat on a seat overlooking the inner small boat harbour.
At five o'clock, the supposed time for the last tender, I joined the end of the line. It again took me three quarters of an hour to get back to the ship. I had thus missed the solo travellers meet up and an early dinner, so I went to the buffet instead. I had the minestrone soup with extra cheese and the gammon with pasta and chips to eat, whilst photographing the passing icebergs.
At seven o'clock I danced with Nory to the recorded music in the Club Fusion. At eight o'clock we went to listen to Tony Bayliss's excellent "From Green Beret to Cabaret". He began with Elton's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", continued with his "Rocket Man" and followed this with his "Pinball Wizard" from the film of the rock opera Tommy. He played both piano and electric guitar whilst singing, with a couple of microphone problems along the way.
At 9:15 we danced in the Explorers Lounge to the Mexican Duo's Tribute to Latin Music. I retired at ten o'clock and updated this blog, going to sleep at 10:30.
Fifth Sea DayI got up at six o'clock ready for my usual breakfast in the buffet with a mini pizza muffin instead of an egg. Back in my state room I worked on my laptop, creating photo albums for our Greenland ports. I also authored a powerpoint presentation on Nanortalik. When the crew drill ended at 10:40, Allan set me up and I displayed my photographs taken the previous day in Nanortalik.
At eleven o'clock I started on my Viking lecture, but after ten minutes the big screen went blank. It took the technicians ten minutes to find the offending HDMI cable, having changed everything else on the podium. I raced through the rest of my presentation ending on time. At the end, I set my Oceanography animated GIFs running ready for my next talk. After I had answered some tricky questions, I went to hear the Naturalist talking about Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Explorers Lounge.
At 12:45 I went back to the Princess theatre to a reduced audience to give my forty minute Oceanography lecture for the very first time. At two o'clock I had the sweet & sour pork with cauliflower cheese for lunch in the buffet, before sleeping for an hour. At four o'clock I went to the Crew Office to buy another £14 wi-fi voucher for the second week of the cruise.
At five o'clock I descended to the Island restaurant, where I was sat with the couples from Barlaston and Toronto again. Also present was a couple originally from SoToN, but now living north of Auckland in New Zealand. I had the crab soup, the Caesar salad, the lasagna and the cherries jubilee to eat.
At 6:30 I danced with Nory to the Mexican Duo in the Wheelhouse lounge sat with singer Lorraine Brown. I did one social foxtrot with Italian Sabrina, but Lorraine didn't dance. At eight o'clock we went to the Princess theatre to hear the excellent Polish violinist Michael Bacala. He began with "We are the Champions" and ended with "Time to say goodbye" and the Can Can from Orphesus in the Underworld by Offenbach. I then adjourned to my state room to work on my laptop. I went to sleep at 10:30 after another busy day.
Sixth Sea DayI got up at 5:30, but it was now 6:30 as we travelled east into the Icelandic time zone. I had my usual breakfast with a small pizza muffin instead of an egg. Back in my state room, I finished preparing my Qaqortoq powerpoint slides, ready to show at the beginning of my final lecture.
Just after nine o'clock, I went to hear the Naturalist's fifty minute lecture on whales and dolphins. At the end, Allan set me up and I tested my videos. I left the Qaqortoq slides running and returned to my state room to prepare a Viking cruise bid.
At eleven o'clock, I gave my forty minute talk on Scandinavian pop music. When I played the heavy medal music by Lordi from Finland, ten people walked out! All my videos worked except for the final one, Barbie by Aqua which had sound only.
At noon I went to the solo travellers luncheon, where I was sat with Rosie, Fran, Dom, Jacqueline, Jon, Anita and newcomer Elisabeth originally from Denmark, but now living in California. I had the corn chowder soup and the cheeseburger with chips to eat. I then slept for over an hour, so missing Mei-Yan's talk on Thailand. In my state room, I watched the twenty minutes of my Viking talk they had recorded after the cable failure and the whole of my brand new Oceanography talk.
At five o'clock, I moved up to the Skywalkers lounge, which was empty as the Captain's cocktail party was going on downstairs in Club Fushion. Here I chatted to Prof Mei-Yan about lecturing on cruise ships. At 5:30 I went to the buffet, as I was short of time, to have the cream of cauliflower soup with extra cheese and the roast lamb with mushy peas, mushrooms and sweet potatoes. I forewent dessert, instead going to the piazza.
At 6:15 Nory and I danced to the Mexican duo on the hard stone floor of the atrium. We did several chas chas and rumbas, plue one tango and one waltz. I also did one social foxtrot with Italian Sabrina. At seven we caught the end of the Captain's cocktail party which ended fifteen minutes later. Back in my state room, I updated this blog.
At eight o'clock, we went to hear Lorraine Brown's excellent second show. I particularly liked the Diana Ross and Whitney Houston medleys. She also sang the wonderful "My baby just cares for me" song by Nina Simone. She finished with two Rodgers & Hammerstein songs: "You'll never walk alone" from Carousel and "Climb every mountain" from the Sound of Music. We again gave her a standing ovation at the end.
Back in my state room, I had run out of drinking water, so I had to visit the buffet to refill my empty bottles. Here I bumped into Polish violinist Michael Bacala, so we had a chat. He said he hadn't had any more Saga contracts this year, but didn't mind as he works a lot on Princess and Celebrity. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock, having successfully completed my contract of seven enrichment lectures.
Seventh Sea DayI awoke just before seven o'clock ready for my usual breakfast. At 9:30 I went to Debbie's forty five minute talk on SoToN. I spent the morning working on my Nanortalik presentation.
At noon I went to the solo travellers lunch in the Palm restaurant. Here I had the hot & sour Chinese soup, the spaghetti with prawns and the ice cream sundae. I then slept for an hour.
Just before three o'clock Nory rang to say that the Mexican duo would be playing in the Piazza. She had found this on the Princess app, but it wasn't in the printed program. We danced on the hard stone floor of the atrium, including one social foxtrot with Italian Sabrina. We were watched by singer Miss Lorraine Brown and filmed by speaker Prof Mei-Yan Lu.
At five o'clock I went to the solo travellers meet up in the Skywalkers lounge. I was sat with Carolyn, Dom, Fran, Jon, Pip, Ben, Anita, Rosie and Mei-Yan. At seven o'clock I danced again with Nory to the Mexican duo, this time in the larger Explorer's lounge.
At 7:25 I slipped away to the Palm restaurant to join Dom, Pip, Jon, Ben, Rosie, Carolyn, John, Gill and Anita at Fran's birthday dinner. I had the tomato soup, the wedge salad with blue cheese dressing, the Surf & Turf (which they called Land & Sea) and the cherry (not sherry) trifle to eat. The lobster was good, but the tenderloin beef was better! I had two glasses of Fran's complimentary bottle of red wine to drink.
At 9:30 I bagged a seat in the packed Princess theatre for the ten o'clock production show Fantastic Journey. This was a high tech, high energy show featuring "Poker Face" by Lady Ga Ga and "Un, Dos, Tres" by Ricky Martin. I particularly liked the dozen illuminated drones, but some of them crashed before the end of the sequence. I also liked the illuminated costumes with a cut down Pearly King's look. Towards the end of the show the complicated moving scenery failed and the curtain came down. After five minutes guests started to leave as did I. Outside the theatre, I heard the show restart, but went to bed anyway. I went to sleep at eleven o'clock, but it was now midnight on BST.
Eighth Sea DayI awoke at 6:30 ready for my usual full English breakfast, but with a mini pizza muffin instead of an egg. Back in my state room, I worked on my laptop. At 9:30 I went to see Rosie get her free cruise award in the Piazza, but it didn't happen. I chatted to Fran, Anita & Dom, before moving along to the Princess Theatre.
At ten o'clock CD Sophie introduced the Indian Head Chef and the Roumanian Maitre d' at the start of the culinary demonstration. After five minutes of their strong accents, I departed. Back in my state room, I worked on this blog whilst listening to Christian's 53 minute talk on Franklin, Erebus & the North West Passage.
At noon I went to the solos lunch in the Palm restaurant, where I joined Susan, Jacqueline, Jon & Dom. I had the cream of potato soup, the Cobb salad with poached salmon and the chocolate sundae. Just before one o'clock, Anita and an oriental lady arrived, as Susan and I departed. I then slept for seventy minutes, awoken by a phone call from Nory suggesting we meet at the BBQ restaurant at five o'clock. By four o'clock I had nearly finished packing.
At five o'clock I met Nory outside the Planks BBQ speciality restaurant, but it didn't open until 5:30, so I went to the solos meet-up instead. In the Skywalkers lounge I chatted to Jacqueline until Dom arrived, when I returned to the Planks BBQ restaurant. Here I had the corn chowder soup whilst Nory had the salad. We both had the enormous pulled pork AND pork ribs main course, I had the chocolate cake dessert and Nory had the fruit plate to finish. At seven o'clock we danced to the recorded music in the Club Fusion. At 7:30 we had one last fling with the Mexican duo in the Wheelhouse lounge.
At 8:15 we thanked them for their music and left the venue. I then bagged a seat in the Princess theatre for the single performance of the farewell show. I chatted to the head of the history department at Warwick University sat next to me. When Nory arrived all the seats were taken, so she had to stand on the sidelines. The show began with the production company singing "Dance, Dance, Dance", but one of the dancers was still missing. The Scottish cocktail pianist then played and sang. Next up, Michael Bacala played his violin, finishing with the finale of the William Tell overture. The Scottish comedy musician Nathan Phan, the Asian Magician, then did a couple of tricks whilst singing. After the officers parade, CD Sophie sang "I'm alive" (line dance: We're Alive) to finish the show.
Back in my state room, I updated this blog. I went to sleep at 10:40.
SoToNI awoke to the dawn on my television at 05:25 an hour before my alarm. The grilled tomatoes having run out for several days previously, my favourite tin canned tomatoes made an appearance in the buffet. Back in my state room, I finished packing and updated this blog. I was off the ship by 07:20 and home by 08:40. During the day, I did two loads of laundry, one lot of ironing, mowed the front lawn, went shopping and dealt with the post, as the next day I was off cruising again!
Cruise B425Jon later wrote: "Thank you very much for all of the lectures you gave; they were very interesting and I learnt quite a lot. Thank you also for all of the conversations we had too - they were really engaging and insightful. I have started to read your blog about our journey and am finding it very enjoyable as a recap of the trip."
Score card:
191 Cruises 48 Cruise ships (see below) 16 Night cruise 14 Cruise companies (see below) 14 Elevators 14 Full English breakfast with no eggs 7 Enrichment lectures by me (PT, V, G, F, V, O, SPM) 6 Destination lectures by Debbie Shields 6 Island restaurant dinners 6 Beef dinners 5 Palm restaurant dinners 4 Production shows 4 Pork dinners 3 Salmon lunches 3 Swimming pools 3 Coral restaurant dinners 3 Naturalist lectures by Christian Gunn 3 Salmon lunches 2 Enrichment lectures by Prof Mei-Yan Lu (SJSU) 2 Buffet restaurant dinners 2 Pork lunches 2 New ports (Qaqortoq & Nanortalik) 2 Panoramic elevators 2 Waterfalls 2 Lamb dinners 2 Pasta dinners 2 Steak lunches 2 Pork lunches 1 Planks BBQ speciality restaurant dinner 1 Triple height atrium 1 Bird's beak bow walkway 1 All round promenade deck 1 New lecture (Oceanography) 1 New country (Greenland) 1 Botanic garden 1 Lobster dinner (S&T, L&S) 1 Chicken dinner 1 Chicken lunch 1 Duck dinner 1 Lamb lunch 1 Fish lunch
New PowerPoint Presentations:
128 Slides Nanortalik 112 Slides Qaqortoq
1) "Continents Adrift: The Story of Plate Tectonics"
Martin, who has degrees in geography, geology and theology,
gave an illustrated talk on this great theory of earth science.
(Included coverage of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean)
2) "Volcano! The Story of Volcanology"
An illustrated talk on the geology, geography and history of volcanoes.
(Included coverage of the volcanoes of Iceland)
3) "Glacier! The Story of Glaciology"
Martin, who has been on three university expeditions to Norwegian glaciers,
gave an illustrated talk on the geography, geology and history of glaciers.
(Included coverage of the glaciers of Iceland & Greenland)
4) "The Story of the Fjords"
Martin, who has degrees in geography, geology and theology,
gave an illustrated talk on the geography, geology and history of the fjords.
(Included coverage of the fjords of Iceland & Greenland)
5) "The Story of the Vikings"
Martin, who has degrees in geography, geology and theology,
gave an illustrated talk on these Scandinavian sailors and warriors.
Martin has previously given this lecture on the following Princess cruises:
H820 and
H920
6) "Oceanography: the Sciences of the Seas"
Martin, who has degrees in geography, geology and theology,
gave an illustrated talk on the geography, geology, biology,
chemistry and physics of the oceans.
7) "Scandinavian Pop Music"
Martin shared his love of popular music with the guests.
Included coverage of Bjork the Icelandic pop singer.
8) "The Story of the Irish Sea" or "The Story of the English Channel"
Martin, who has degrees in geography, geology and theology,
could have given an illustrated talk on this great waterway.
* Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines * Saga Shipping Company * Voyages of Discovery * Seabourn (Carnival) * Princess (Carnival) * Cunard (Carnival) * P&O (Carnival) * Celebrity (RCCL) * Silversea (RCCL) * Regent SS (NCL) * Oceania (NCL) * Marella (TUI) * Ambassador * Crystal
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