| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
|---|---|---|---|
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25th June 2022 |
BoMoH --> SoToN |
On board by 12:45 |
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26th June 2022 |
First North Sea Day |
Fjords Lecture |
 |
27th June 2022 |
Stavanger Norway |
Hike to Maanafossen Waterfall |
|
28th June 2022 |
Olden Norway |
Fjords & Glaciers All day tour |
|
29th June 2022 |
Hellesylt Norway |
Majestic Scenes of Hellesylt |
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30th June 2022 |
Haugesund Norway |
Aakrafjord & Langfoss All day tour |
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1st July 2022 |
Second North Sea Day |
Glaciers Lecture |
|
2nd July 2022 |
SoToN --> BoMoH |
Home by 11:45 |
| Flag: | Date: | Port: | Comment: |
I awoke at 6:30, half an hour before my alarm. Just after nine o'clock I phoned for a Streamline taxi to take me to the National Express coach station, as the trains were on strike. Unfortunately the coach was one hour late, so I had 90 minutes to kill. In Southampton I immediately jumped in to a cab to the ship. I off loaded my large case and whizzed through check in, so that I was on board by 12:45.
I had two pieces of southern fried chicken with chips for lunch in the Quays grill sat with a couple from Brighton. At 1:30 the cabins were released and I found I had an outside double cabin on deck four with a picture window. I then explored the huge ship. At 2:50 I dozed for three quarters of an hour, interrupted by a tannoy annoucement in the corridor outside. I then had my first decaff instant coffee of the cruise in the cabin.
At 4:45 I did six lengths of the cool indoor pool, followed by fifteen minutes in one of the many hot tubs dotted around the decks. At six o'clock I walked along the promenade deck as P&O's Ventura sailed passed us. I then touched base with Nitin in the Club House's sound booth ready for my first talk tomorrow.
At 6:15 the Celebrity Silhouette, which I have been on once, left port. I then dined on the ham & lentil soup, the roast lamb and the trifle in the Horizon buffet. Up on the top deck after dinner, I watched the sail away down the Solent in the bright sun shine.
At eight o'clock I went to the Voxen trio of young female singers in the Sky Dome. Unfortunately the acoustics in this glorified swimming pool were atrocious! At 8:30 I went to the Rock On trio of young male singers in the main Headliners theatre. They sang heavy metal rock anthems, half of which I didn't know. Both shows were very loud!
Back in my cabin I updated this web log and then had an early night in anticipation of losing one hour. During the day I had done over thirteen thousand steps, equal to over five miles of walking!
I awoke just before six o'clock having slept for nearly eight hours, but it was now nearly seven o'clock on Norwegian time. I had two mugs of decaff instant coffee in the cabin, before abluting. At 7:45 I checked out the break fast buffet on deck 16, before descending to the Aqua restaurant, where I had TWO eggs Benedict with a tomato juice, sat next to Daniel and his aunt from Bognor. They told me that they had received an email explaining that it would not be possible to berth at Geiranger after all. Apparently the level of the famous floating walk way was not compatible with the MS Iona on her maiden call here. However another cruise ship did use it that day. We will spend all day in Hellesylt, with the Geiranger tours going on the local ferry instead. Lucky that I found out before I gave my fjords lecture!
Up on the top deck, I did seven laps of the jogging track, equal to one mile of walking in the bright sun shine. People were already luxuriating in the numerous jacuzzis dotted around the top two decks! At nine o'clock I touched base with the Shorex team for an update.
At 10:30 I went to the Club House ready to set up when the children's dancing had finished. CD Neil came to say hello and I got his permission to escort the tours. Theny set me up and Alex introduced me. I gave my 40 minute talk on the Story of the Fjords to a nearly full house in the Club House. At the end, I had to deal with lots of questions!
One couple wanted to know more about the so-called Washington state fjords. One lady wanted to know about the tidal range in the fjords. One man, who works for the Ordnance Survey (OS), liked all my maps. One chap wanted to know about the fjord rock slides. One lady, who knew Susan Joyce one of the Poole line dancers, wanted a picture with me!
Afterwards, I went to the Shorex desks again to collect the wish list form, which I immediately filled in and returned. I then lunched in the Horizon buffet on butternut squash soup, roast pork and cherry cheese cake. At 1:15 I slept for two hours, before having my two mugs of decaff instant coffee in the cabin, whilst up dating this blog.
At four o'clock I went to the Sky Dome swimming pool, but it was roped off for a rehearsal. I spent the next half an hour swimming in both of the infinity pools at the back of the ship. This was my first time in an infinity swimming pool! As it was a formal night I changed into my ruby red outfit and took my complimentary drink voucher to the Crow's Nest bar at the front of the ship. Here I chatted to English James, Mexican Amando, a lady from Lancashire and a chap from Bournemouth who I half recognised.
At 5:45 I picked up my tour brief from the Shorex desk, this was for my second choice Hike to the Maanafossen water fall, before going to the Aqua restaurant for the Celebration dinner. I began with the chicken chowder soup, continued with the beef tenderloin, followed by the cheese plate and ending with two chocolate truffles. I was sat with Val and Hazel from Norwich, who are keen line dancers. Val gave me her complimentary bloody Mary, so I had two of them with my meal!
The two ladies had left Norfolk at 7:15 a.m. yesterday morning, but had not got to the ship until 5 p.m. They had been delayed at Heathrow and on the M25 due to the rail strike. When they got to Southampton, the city was grid locked, owing to the late arrival of the Sky Princess (?) ship. I was very lucky to have got on board on time at 12:45 yesterday, before the city locked up!
At eight o'clock I went to the Spark show on the Sky Dome's two retractable stages on top of the swimming pool. This was a hi-energy, hi-tech dance performance with jugglers and acrobats. I slipped out at 8:25 ready to go to Tom Crosbie's show in the Headliners theatre. He was billed as the Performing Nerd, who mostly solved Rubik's cubes very quickly, including blind folded and behind his back. He also performed memory tricks with Trivial Pursuit cards and the complete works of William Shakespeare. He said that Nerd was originally spelt Knurd by Harvard students, which is actually Drunk backwards! It was a bizzare show and a few people walked out mid way, but the time flew by, so I must have been impressed.
I then had to do one circuit of the top deck in the bright evening sun shine, in order to complete my ten thousand step daily target, equal to four miles of walking during the day. I went to sleep at 10:15 after a super first full day on board Iona!
I awoke at 6:45, having slept for eight and half hours, ready for my two mugs of decaff instant coffee in the cabin. Having abluted, I updated this web log, waiting for the restaurants to open at 7:30. I went to the Coral restaurant for the full English break fast sat with two ladies from Manchester and a Greek man from Rhodes with this English wife. The former pair had had a long day coming down to SoToN on a coach. I was very lucky to have got on board on time at 12:45 the day before yesterday, before the city locked up!
I went up to the top deck to watch the sail in to Stavanger passed the DNV (Det Norsk Veritas) building which is the Norwegian Lloyds Register equivalent. When Weejay had finished servicing the cabin, I up dated this web log and got ready for my hike. At 9:15 I was by my coach on the quay side with guide Alex and driver Raeder. We had a nearly two hour ride out in to the mountains with a queue for a convoy passage through a tunnel undergoing road repairs.
We then had a short, but very steep, climb up to the Maanafossen (Morna Force) water fall. There were chains for holding on to as you scrambled up the rocks. The water fall was huge and magnificent. We were given a bottle of water and a Norwegian kit kat chocolate bar (Kvikk Lunsj) in lieu of lunch. We then had the rather shorter drive back to Stavanger. This tour had been a lot of driving, for what had been a rather short hike!
Next I headed for the tourist information office to use their free wi-fi, as the ship's inter net was expensive. I went in a few establishments to collect leaflets and then up to the Watch Tower to photograph the ship on the other side of the harbour. We were told that she was the largest ship ever to have berthed in Stavanger!
Back at the ship, I slept for three quarters of an hour, before doing a DOZEN lengths of the cool pool all to myself, by the Beachcomber's bar on the top deck, with views of the mountains as we sailed away. At six o'clock I handed in my tour escort's report form and collected my next assignment.
I then used the ship's app to request a seat in the Opal restaurant, which was granted minutes later. Here I was sat with a well travelled couple from Bristol and a lady from Bognor who was on board to care for two disabled chaps. I began with the tomato soup, followed on with the sirloin steak and finished with the rum & raisin ice cream.
At 8:30 I went to the production show time which was set in a music Festival. This had some great pop songs including Oakley & Moroder's "Together in Electric Dreams", ELO's "Hello Mr Blue Sky", Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" and George Ezra's "Shotgun". It was all very loud with dramatic visuals on the many screens around, above and behind the stage.
At 10:30 I went to hear comedian Ian Jones, who was an authentic Lee Evans tribute act. He was rather naughty and not at all politically correct. You wouldn't have liked it if you were Irish or Cornish! I slipped out at 11 o'clock to sample the late night buffet for the first time in years. I had a small kebab and a small piece of chicken on the bone for supper. Whilst eating, I was able to watch a very late sun set across the Norwegian sea. I went to bed at 11:15 having done over fourteen thousand steps, equal to nearly six miles of walking during the day!
I awoke at six o'clock one hour before my alarm, ready for my two mugs of decaff instant coffee. At 6:30 I broke my fast in the Horizon buffet with a small sirloin steak and three different types of eggs. I spent some time in the Crow's Nest observatory as we sailed up the majestic Nordfjord. When we got near to Olden, I went up on to the top deck, where Norwegian Gem was tendering into Loen. Thankfully we had a proper berth in Olden.
At 9:15 I was on duty on the quay side with Norwegian guide Rune & Polish driver Greg for my first choice Fjords & Glaciers tour (GBP 105). Our first stop was at Kjosnesfjorden, which is a fresh water lake and not a sea water fjord at all. Here we had a 20 minute wait for another convoy through a tunnel under going repair. The next tunnel we traversed was a former record breaker at over five miles in length and which had been declared open by Walter Mondale the Norwegian-American Vice President. This actually passes under the Jostedalsbreen ice cap!
Our next stop was at the famous Glacier Centre (Bremuseum). Unfortunately we only had half an hour here, of which a quarter of an hour was taken up by a spectacular 120 degree film. The drone or helicopter shots of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap and its associated outlet glaciers were magnificent. The shortage of time meant that I didn't get to see the climate change exhibition or the outside exhibits including the model mammoths. Our next stop was a photo opportunity at the base of the Boyabreen glacier.
At 1:30 we had a huge Norwegian buffet in the Thon Hotel at Skei (pronounced Shy). This included various meats, but only one sort of fish and no famous shell fish at all. The international cheese board was also missing traditional Norwegian cheeses, but Rune came around with slivers of brown goat cheese (Geitost) for us to sample. I had a selection of the dessert mousses and a bottle of apple juice (Eplemost). We had rather too much time in this rather modern village for my liking. Our final stop was at a view point above Utvik village over looking the Nordfjord. This had been a really excellent tour!
Back at the ship, I took a couple of photographs of Olden village, before going back on board. I then slept for half an hour only to be awoken by a tannoy message to say we wouldn't be departing yet due to a medical evacuation. At six o'clock I handed my escort report in, but Deisy told me that I couldn't do the planned bike ride, so I must choose something else. Having already done Mount Dalsnibba and the Fjord Centre in Geiranger, I opted for the Majestic scenes of Hellesylt (GBP 45), which I have not previously visited. However Deisy warned me it would be an early start at seven in the morning!
I then joined the virtual queue for the Pearl restaurant, which almost immediately pinged me with a table. I was sat with couples from Ashford in Kent and Seaford in East Sussex. Our table was right by the rear window with a magnificent view as we finally sailed away from Olden in the sun shine. I began with the broccoli soup, continued with the roast lamb and finished with the Brownie ice cream.
After two hours of dining, I went up to the top deck to view the spectacular passage down the Nordfjord back to the sea. I was unable to book to see the Festival production show again tonight, as I had already seen it once yesterday. Back in my cabin, I updated this blog and up loaded my phtographs. I went to bed soon after nine o'clock, having done over eleven thousand steps, equal to over four miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 4:30, having slept for over seven hours, ready to watch the sail in along the Great Fjord (Storfjorden). I worked on my blog and photos until 5:45 when I went up to the top deck and to the Crow's Nest observatory to watch us inch in to Hellesylt. At 6:30 I broke my fast in the Horizon buffet with a cheese omelette with the usual trimmings including a large tinned plum tomato for the first time this cruise.
Back in my cabin I awaited the start of disembarkation, with me on the quay side at seven o'clock. Here I met guide Kristin and driver Niels. Our first stop was at the Hellesyltfossen water fall in the village, where we were berthed. We then drove up into the misty mountains. Our next photo stop was in Norangsdalen where the sun was beginning to burn off the mist. We got back down to the bright sun shine at sea level at Oye on the Norangsfjord coast. Here we also photographed the outside of the period, wooden Union hotel.
It was rather windy beside the huge landslide that had created a lake and flooded a village back up the valley. The water surface was too rough to see the foundations of the houses flooded by the rising lake waters. Back up at the mountain pass, the mist had gone but it was cold in the bright sun shine. The Strekane viewpoint was also misty, so we couldn't see the famous Geirangerfjord. The final stop, overlooking Hellesylt enabled us to take pictures of the Iona berthed at the head of the Sunny Light Fjord (Sunnylvsfjorden) which lived up to its name! The tour was over by ten o'clock despite having EIGHT photo stops en route!
I then spent two hours photographing the village on my first proper visit here. I also used the local wi-fi to up load my photos to FaceBook. I received an email from SilverSea offering me two more cruises round Britain, Iceland and Norway, but I had to decline them.
Back at the ship at noon, I lunched al fresco on the southern fried chicken & chips sat on the promenade deck outside the Quays grill. I then slept for one hour, before up dating this web log over my two mugs of decaff instant coffee. Back ashore, I walked a couple of miles south east along the road up the valley to the Stadheimfossen water fall. I came back along the foot path on the other side of the river. After one more wi-fi session opposite the school, I came back on to the ship.
At 3:40 I did six lengths of the cool pool under the sky dome. I then spent ten minutes in one of the warm whirlpools with a view of the Hellesyltfossen water fall through the windows. At four o'clock the pool and jacuzzis were closed for a show rehearsal. They had to dismantle the rails over the steps into the pool, so that the retractable stages can glide across.
We had another delayed departure, not getting away until 5:20, which I watched from the Crow's Nest observatory bar. This had a one hour knock on effect on the following day's tours, so mine was put back from ten until eleven in the morning. At six o'clock I handed in my tour escort's report form and collected my next assignment. I then joined the virtual queue for the Coral restaurant, which almost immediately accepted me. I was sat with a pair of merry widows from Northants and a well travelled couple from Hampshire. The latter pair had a lot of interesting cruise adventures to relate. I began dinner with the chicken noodle soup, continued with the grilled salmon and finished with the strawberry ice cream.
At eight o'clock I went to the Rise show in the Sky Dome, in which the performers appeared as different birds (flamingo, toucan, kingfisher, love birds etc). It was the usual juggling and acrobatic acts, as with their previous show Spark. I slipped out at 8:20 to catch Jayne Middleton as Annie Lennox in the Headliners theatre. She was very convincing and sang all the famous Eurhythmic and solo hits, of which I knew the majority.
Back in my cabin, I up dated this web log and back upped my pictures. I went to sleep at 10:30 having done twenty five thousand steps, equal to ten miles of walking during the day.
My alarm, which I had forgotten to cancel, awoke me at six o'clock and I got up at 6:15, ready for my two mugs of decaff instant coffee in the cabin. At 7:30 I broke my fast with TWO eggs Benedict, TWO slices of toast and a glass of tomato juice sat by the rear window of the Pearl restaurant. Back in my cabin, Weejay had already made up the room, so I was able to work on my Glaciers talk. At 9:15 I went up to the Crow's Nest observatory bar to watch the sail in to Haugesund. I was able to log on to the Aibel Shipyard's wi-fi at the third attempt!
At eleven o'clock, one hour later than planned, I was on duty by the coaches for my Aakrafjord & Langfoss water fall tour (GBP 120). My guide was Brazilian Christina and my driver was Norwegian Kjell (pronounced Chel, as in Chelsea)! We had a one and a half hour ride out to the Aakrafjordtunet cafeteria, where we had a buffet lunch for one hour. I gorged myself on the lovely smoked salmon, the air dried ham and the brown goat's cheese. I finished with a punnet of fresh strawberries, washed down with plain water. This buffet was better than the previous one I had had in Skei (Shy).
We then had a boat ride across the fjord right up to the famous Langfoss (Long Force) water fall at over 600 metres high. Our next stop was at a fjord side farm for photographs. Here Alex, who had been my guide back in Stavanger, recognised me and remembered my name. We then went back to the water fall again, but this time by coach. One American family started walking up the steep hiking trail, which held us all up for 15 minutes. Our final stop was at King Harald's obelisk back in Haugesund. This had been another excellent tour.
Back on the quay side, as I was doing my final wi-fi session of the cruise, I got a phone call from the ship asking me where I was. I was one of the last back on board the ship! Having up dated this blog and handed in my tour escort's report form, I joined the virtual queue for the Pearl restaurant. This was quickly satisfied and I hosted a table towards the huge, rear windows as we left Haugesund. I began with the cauilflower soup, continued with the gammon & chips and finished with the chocolate sponge with salted caramel ice cream. I was sat with a couple from near Solihull in the West Midlands and a couple from Horley near Gatwick.
I slipped out just before 8:30 to catch the second Rock On show, which was better than the first. I enjoyed the Beatles/Stones medley, "Black Velvet", "The Show Must Go On" and others. So this was rather more classic rock than the heavy metal of their first show, but it was still very loud! I had to do one lap of the top deck in the bright sun shine, to reach my daily target of ten thousand steps, equal to four miles of walking during the day.
I awoke at 6:20 ready for my two mugs of decaff instant coffee. At 7:30 I broke my fast with TWO eggs Benedict, TWO slices of toast and a glass of tomato juice, sat by the rear window of the Pearl restaurant. We were going at 20 knots, so there was some vibration at the back of the ship. The top deck jogging track was too windy, so I did four lengths of the sunny side promenade, equal to one mile of walking.
Back in my cabin, Weejay had already made up the room, so I was able to work on my Glaciers talk again. Just after eleven o'clock I gave my 35 minute talk on Glaciers in the Club House for the very first time, but they couldn't get the sound to work on my video clip. At the end, I had some questions about global warming to field.
At noon, I lunched al fresco on the southern fried chicken & chips sat on the promenade deck outside the Quays grill. I then slept for two hours, before up dating this web log over my two mugs of decaff instant coffee. I then started work on the slides for my next cruise to Spitsbergen in two weeks time. At 3:40 I did seven laps of the top deck jogging track in the warm sun, but cold wind, equal to one mile of walking.
At four o'clock the sky dome pool closed, in spite of what the programme said, so I did a DOZEN lengths of the top deck Beachcomber cool pool all to myself. I walked the length of the ship to have a final six lengths in the top deck infinity pool, which was warmer. Walking back through the sky dome, I had just one slice of pepperoni pizza, which was surprisingly good.
Back in the cabin, I dressed for going home and started packing. At 5:35 I was seated at a sharing table in the Pearl restaurant by the huge rear windows, but I had to wait for more sharers to arrive. They were a couple from Kidderminster in Worcestershire and a couple from Rayleigh in Essex. The well travelled latter pair remembered me from the Braemar in Tenerife and for other cruises too, since they had done over forty cruises each. I dined on the vegetable soup, the lamb shank and the cherry cheesecake.
At 7:30 I went to Katy Stephenson's show in the Club House. She sang classic pop songs by Whitney, Amy and Dusty, no surnames needed here! At 8:30 I went to Tom Crosbie's second Rubik cube and playing card show time. He did a memory trick with the London A to Z guide and finished with a picture of Elvis and Alan Turing made up of many Rubik cubes. I seem to remember having seen the latter done before, so perhaps I saw his show years ago? I spent the next hour wandering around the ship, even discovering new places like the gym. I went to bed at 10:45 having done over ten thousand steps, equal to four miles of walking during the day.
I got up at six o'clock excited to be going home, but it was now only five o'clock on British Summer Time (BST). Immediately there was a dramatic sun rise over Bognor Regis! I up dated my Access data base, before abluting. At six o'clock (BST) I broke my fast with a cheese omelette & back bacon in the Horizon buffet. From the window there, I watched the sail up the Solent passed Hythe.
At 6:40 I did seven laps of the top deck jogging track in the bright sun shine, equal to one mile of walking. I was able to latch on to the Red Funnel ferry free wi-fi and finally get confirmation of my Spitsbergen cruise with Saga in 16 days time. Back in the cabin, I up dated this blog for one last time on the ship. I finished packing at 8:20 and was off the ship by 8:30.
I only had to wait five minutes for a taxi to the National Express coach station. Here I had an hour and a half to kill, so I got out my lap top and worked on this web log. On time a brand new private coach pulled up outside the coach station and we piled on board without having to show our tickets. Back in BoMoH, I jumped in to another taxi and was home by 11:45 after another super cruise! Back home, I was pleased to get my first contract for next year, but six more cruises this year to go on first!
162 Cruises 37 Cruise ships 24 Elevators 19 Bars & Cafes 14 Restaurants 10 Entertainment venues 9 LED Screens in the Headliners theatre 8 Day cruise 7 Nights cruise 6 Different restaurants for dinner 5 Meals in the Pearl restaurant 5 Different restaurants for lunch 4 Meals in the Horizon buffet 4 Tours escorted 4 Pools swum in 3 Storey atrium 3 Quays grill lunches 2 Enrichment lectures given (Fjords & Glaciers) 2 Meals in the Coral restaurant 2 Meals in the Aqua restaurant 2 Lunches ashore 2 Sea days 2 Sofas 1 Meal in the Opal restaurant 1 New port (Hellesylt) 1 New town (Skei) 1 New ship (Iona)
Silver Wind Silver Muse Silver Moon Silver Spirit Silver Whisper Silver Dawn Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Solstice Celebrity Eclipse Celebrity Edge Celebrity Apex Black Prince Black Watch Balmoral Boudicca Braemar Saga Rose Saga Ruby Saga Sapphire Saga Pearl II Quest for Adventure Spirit of Adventure (Old SofA) Spirit of Adventure (New SofA) Spirit of Discovery Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) Queen Elizabeth (QE) Queen Victoria (QV) Queen Mary 2 (QM2) Crystal Symphony Crystal Serenity Seabourn Odyssey Seabourn Sojourn P&O Oriana P&O Iona Ambassador Ambience Sapphire Princess VoD Discovery