Cruising the Norwegian fjords without Disney! COMPLETED - Page 16 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Hooray! Quiet seas and sunshine! What an unexpected bonus. The sunshine made the upper deck look so much nicer, but I can certainly see that the decor doesn't match the DCL ships. The surcharge restaurant looks beautiful, though, and the nice, big stateroom.
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Monday 30 April – part two: getting sunburnt in the North Sea?
We were back at the atrium and this is where I think they really did miss a trick, especially with Disney’s stunning atriums. However, I can understand that this would essentially be wasted space, but if only this was a bit bigger and bolder, I’d certainly appreciate it.
We carried on walking, and came across the Malabar, which is where they were doing a cookery demonstration. I got some photos, while Mark decided to stay and watch the cookery demonstration. That’s the great thing about a cruise, you can each do what you want to do.
I chose to head back to the room, and I was very glad I did. The sun was blazing outside and it was lovely just to sit outside on the balcony, soaking up a few rays. However, perhaps I should’ve packed the suntan lotion. Maybe I would have to give in and go to the shop to get some. That’s something I would never have thought I’d have needed in the North Sea at the end of April.
I sat outside for a few minutes, admiring the oil rigs outside...
... and how the sun was glistening on the water...
When Mark came back to the room, I gave in, and we headed downstairs to the shop to go and get some suntan lotion. It was actually reasonably priced, which surprised me. My goodness, never would I have thought that was a purchase we’d need for this cruise...
Then it was back to the room for some rest and relaxation. On the way back, I got a couple more views of the atrium from the elevator...
Mark sat outside for a few minutes, before retreating back in, as it was a bit cold. Cold? Cold? Cold? How did that happen? Me? I was still lathering suntan lotion over me to ensure that I didn’t burn, before braving the cold. I managed about 20 minutes out there reading, before also retreating back inwards. It was pleasant, but the wind was whipping a little bit, making it a bit chilly.
After a bit of time inside, I braved the great outdoors again, and now it was much nicer and warmer, so much so that I had to re-apply my suntan lotion a couple of times, and in the end, had to cover up my left arm with my shawl, it was getting so hot. So now I have officially got sunburnt, wearing factor 30 suntan lotion in the middle of the North Sea on the last day of April. That’s absolutely insane.
Every so often, I’d grab a shot of the landscape outside our room. It was just perfect.
You can see where we were by this point...
About 1:00pm, we decided to head out and get some lunch, as I wanted to make sure that I’d eaten plenty of time before my massage. We went for the Meridian restaurant, as this is allocated to those passengers on Freedom Dining, rather than the likes of us who are allocated a restaurant, and I figured this would be the only way to try it. It’s a nice place, although to be honest, it didn’t feel that much different to the Peninsula. The theming is definitely lacking here.
This was a buffet, with soup, rolls, salads, sandwiches, some hot meats, and then desserts, and we certainly piled our plates up. They also had some amazing food sculptures:
We were then directed where to go, which is a neat trick, as it ensures that all the tables are filled up in turn. We were seated with three other couples and chatted away to them, although one woman didn’t seem enamoured by the idea of cruising with Disney. Oh well, you either get it or you don’t, and those who don’t leave it all the more free for the rest of us...
Yeah, I'd think lots of people who cruise with other cruise lines wouldn't dream of cruising with Disney. Fine by me - more staterooms available for us Disney-addicts
Who'd have thought you'd spend the day applying sunscreen and soaking up the rays?! Did they have something like the Navigators delivered to your rooms at night with the next day's activities? Any lectures or films on the next-day's port?
Who'd have thought you'd spend the day applying sunscreen and soaking up the rays?! Did they have something like the Navigators delivered to your rooms at night with the next day's activities? Any lectures or films on the next-day's port?
they did - Horizons I think they were called... There were lectures on the ports, but we didn't go to them, as the way they were described, I wasn't clear if they were about the ports or the shops there - I suspect the latter and that didn't interest me. To be honest, the line-up of activities didn't do a lot for us, a big difference to Disney.
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they did - Horizons I think they were called... There were lectures on the ports, but we didn't go to them, as the way they were described, I wasn't clear if they were about the ports or the shops there - I suspect the latter and that didn't interest me. To be honest, the line-up of activities didn't do a lot for us, a big difference to Disney.
I hate those "lectures" that are really ads for the shops!
Monday 30 April – part three: you have to pay for this here?
As we came out, we found a Costa Coffee, which is like our equivalent of Starbucks – although in fairness, we have probably about the same density of Starbucks as you guys do – which just figured.
On the way back, we stopped off at reception to ask about when we’d be going ashore and be back on board for the next couple of days, so we could work out a good time to go to some of the restaurants with cover charges. They weren’t particularly helpful, and to be honest, that was our experience with them yesterday as well. I feel as if they’re up themselves, and I don’t like people like that.
We walked through Malabar, Sindhu, and along to Manhattan on our way back to the room, seeing a bit more of the ship.
Malabar Sindhu Manhattan
Then it was time for me to head off to my massage. I arrived and met my therapist Jenny, who certainly gave me a very firm massage, but then again, that’s how I like that, as I find that you don’t get any benefit otherwise. Usually, when I finish a massage, I feel better, but stiff, but this time, Jenny must’ve done something different, as I felt much more supple. I was quite pleased that there wasn’t a hard sell on the products used. I just said, when she showed me the massage oil, that I had some at home and that was the end to that. I was also quite pleased that the gratuity was automatically included, which was a nice touch. Revitalised, I headed back to the room to discover Mark had been sleeping while I’d been gone.
Look how far we’ve come.. ... and it’s still beautiful out there!
We settled down to watch a movie called Fool’s Gold, which wasn’t bad, although the TV was annoying, as it was hard to set it to get the brightness and contrast right.
About halfway through, I decided to go up to deck 15 to go and get some ice cream. I’m never sure what’s included here and what’s not. I checked on the price board and there were prices for everything else, except scoops of ice cream, so I thought therefore it must be free. Wrong! I was staggered when I was asked for my room key. Ok, so it was Carte d’Or, but even so. I was not impressed.
Eventually, I came to the conclusion back in the room that I’d have to wash my hair ahead of formal night tonight. This wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I had no choice. As part of my massage, I’d had a scalp massage, and that always leaves my hair feeling horribly oily, and that’s exactly what had happened here. I headed into the shower, battling with the exceptionally limited pressure. It wasn’t a particularly good shower, and here Disney really do come into their own. Considering this is a relatively new ship, I think about two years old, I’m surprised this aspect of the ship isn’t better...
I briefly logged on to the Internet to post on the boards and Facebook and check the weather forecast. I’d heard someone say earlier that it would be in the low 60s in Stavanger tomorrow and I was silently cursing, as we hadn’t brought any cropped pants with us. Well, the forecast said exactly what it had before we left home – the mid 50s. That’s better. Sadly, it was looking like it would be raining in Bergen in Friday. Typical, as the weather over the last couple of days had been dry, very rare apparently for that town.
We sat there for a while, reading or playing games on the computer (Freecell can be addictive! ) until it was time to get ready for formal night. Of course, Mark was mumbling and grumbling about having to get dressed up. I’m sure the words “trussed” and “chicken” were used at least once. This topic of conversation came up more than once with people we met this evening – why it is that men hate dressing up for formal night and women love it....
Finally, we were off and headed for the atrium, with Mark getting a few photos of me. Love having my photo taken while I’m all dolled up!
I couldn’t resist getting this unusual shot of the main light in the atrium in a mirror
We found someone to grab a photo of the two of us:
Definitely some things in this update that DCL does better, but the ship really does look beautiful and there's some interesting art work. Incredibly annoying that you couldn't get a straight answer about the port times in advance. Also, the water pressure in the shower would definitely get to me!
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Maybe I would have to give in and go to the shop to get some. That’s something I would never have thought I’d have needed in the North Sea at the end of April. 
Me? I was still lathering suntan lotion over me to ensure that I didn’t burn, before braving the cold. I managed about 20 minutes out there reading, before also retreating back inwards. It was pleasant, but the wind was whipping a little bit, making it a bit chilly.
So now I have officially got sunburnt, wearing factor 30 suntan lotion in the middle of the North Sea on the last day of April. That’s absolutely insane. 
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