Cruising the Norwegian fjords without Disney! COMPLETED - Page 44 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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That's a cool option, to have a tour of the galley. I'm always curious about the "behind the scenes" stuff of everything. I've read some books and articles about what it's like to work on a cruise, and I have a friend that was an entertainer on a cruise for years, and it's all very interesting, and really hard work in a lot of cases.
I still can't get over how lovely that town was. The architecture was great to me. All of the angles in the alleyways just amaze me. Great shots all around!
A self-guided galley tour? Now, that's weird! But so glad you were able to do the tour, and it looks like you guys had a good time while doing so. You are so right...people are either totally wonderful or rude. Never seems to be a middle ground. Glad you were able to sit and chat with a great couple!
I'm with Laurie...not liking the sounds of the teaser for your next installment!
Friday 4 May – part eight: it’s going to be a bit rough tonight...
Once we’d made our way around that, we headed back to the cabin to get some photos of our voyage out of the fjords away from Bergen. The captain had told us earlier that it would possibly be a bit rough this evening, so we’d already taken our travel sickness tablets, and the sea sadly did look a bit choppy. Maybe the journey back home wouldn’t be as pleasant as the one out here...
We assume this was a salmon fishery or something similar... We thought these windsurfers were pretty far out to sea...
We got ready for our second dinner of the cruise at Seventeen, and the weather was certainly a bit more choppy now, which wasn’t good, as Seventeen is at the back and top of the boat, and we knew we’d feel it more up there. My goodness, we did as well. It’s just as well they design things not to move, otherwise I think our dinner would have been rolling around the table! We made it through Ok, although I did stop drinking the Canadian ice wine quite early on, and I did find it uncomfortable – I think that’s the best way of putting it.
Our amuse bouchee tonight was a prawn cocktail, and we loved its appearance...
For appetiser, I went for the ravioli of creamed porcini with baby spinach and wild mushroom foam. It was very nice, although I thought there was a bit too much spinach and not enough ravioli. I could see why they’d made it that way, as the spinach soaked up the wild mushroom foam, but I’d personally have preferred more ravioli.
Mark chose what turned out to be the appetiser of the night, as we saw it flying out of the kitchen throughout the time we were there. I think it may have had something to do with its appearance, as I don’t doubt people were asking what that was that other people had, as it looked stunning. It was the crayfish and lobster “Seventeen” style with a shot of Bloody Mary and anchovy straws. Look at it – isn’t it a masterpiece?
I debated what to have for my entree, and in truth, I’m not sure I made the right choice. I was thinking of having the fried truffle Brie de Meaux with shallot tatin and poached baby fennel, but I let our server talk me into having the Canadian halibut supreme with langoustine tails, baby leeks and brandy lobster sauce. The second it turned up, I could smell that it was a very rich dish, and I really wasn’t sure that was what my stomach wanted. I managed to eat more of it than I thought I’d be able to, but honestly, it was too rich for my taste....
Mark had the Creekstone beef rib eye steak served Diane style with crisp Lyonnais potatoes.
We were then presented with our pre-dessert dish, strawberry soup, which was exactly what I needed, as it was light and helped to settle my stomach a bit after the very rich entree.
For dessert, as I was feeling really stuffed, I ended up opting for the British and European cheese, which came with truffled honey, Medjool dates, and assorted biscuits. It did come with fruit cake, but I opted out of that, after it was described as being like Christmas cake, which usually comes with cherries. The cheeses were lovely, especially the blue one, but again, I struggled with it, as I was so full.
Mark ordered the flambé of golden pineapple with Malibu, saffron syrup, and cracked black pepper ice cream, which meant that we got a stunning show in front of us – and talk about flame on!
We were then served with chocolates, but as we were both too stuffed by this time, we asked them to package them up, so we could take them back to the room. I made my excuses and headed back to the cabin, leaving Mark to bring the rest of the bottle of wine back. Let’s just say that after a restroom visit, I felt a lot better. I think it’s fair to say that something earlier may not have agreed with me.
Mark gave Cheryl and Adrian a call to explain that we wouldn’t be coming to dinner after all, although by now, I was starting to feel a lot better, and thank goodness, we couldn’t feel the motion in our cabin nearly as much as we had at Seventeen, which was something. We didn’t last long before we headed off to bed, despite the fact that it was still pretty light outside...
The weather today was dry and partially sunny, partially cloudy, with temperatures in the low 50s. The best thing today was the views over Bergen and seeing the Bryggen. The worst thing today was how rough the sea got in the evening. The funniest thing today was Today we tried taking the railway to see the views over Bergen And the result was the views were breathtaking. The most magical moment today was seeing the Bryggen.
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I'm sorry your dinner wasn't exactly a pleasant experience, but thankfully the end of the evening was a bit better for you. The pictures as you were leaving port are so pretty - I love the houses on the bluffs!
Too bad you had rough seas for your last night, especially for such a nice meal. I'm glad they didn't keep you from sleeping and hope you had calmer seas for the rest of the journey home. I love the shots of the homes scattered on the hillsides as the sun goes down. The patchy light is beautiful.
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Saturday 5 May – part one: back to sunbathing in the North Sea!
When we woke up this morning, I was relieved to discover that it didn’t seem to be as choppy outside as it had been the night before. You could certainly feel the movement much more than on the way here, but then again, as it had been like a millpond, that wouldn’t be hard. However, you could certainly still go about your way quite happily, which was the main thing.
We headed out for breakfast at the Peninsula Restaurant, managing between us, to deposit a knife and a bit of sausage on the floor (I think you can work out who did what... ) – it’s probably just as well we were on a table for two with behaviour like that...
I headed out on to the promenade deck to get some photos of the way the sun was shining on the water, as it looked lovely.
We headed back to the cabin, and had some downtime there, before deciding to give Imelda a chance to clean up the cabin. We went a wandering around the ship, looking for somewhere to sit and relax, but it seemed the entire ship had had exactly the same idea. The atrium, on all three levels, was packed, with every seat taken up. I did get some photos of some areas that I hadn’t seen before, like the library....
... and I also got a shot of bingo going on in the casino....
... and the entrance to the Playhouse Theatre. I had suggested to Mark going to the talk in there, as it was from a famous footballer. Even I’d heard of him, but Mark hadn’t. We stood in there for a minute or two, listening to him, but it was just far too hot, and we quickly left.
We headed instead for deck 15, figuring it would be freezing up there, but actually it was quite pleasant. We ended up sitting outside by the pool, with the sun beating down on us. It was lovely to be able to do that.
While up there, we completed our survey for the cruise. We weren’t all bad on them, although they did ask us about comparisons to the other cruises we’d done, and as those were Disney, they didn’t come out too well on that... Some aspects they came out very well on, like the cabin, Seventeen and Sindhu, and the ports of call, and shore excursions, but the biggest issues were, to be honest, a lack of friendliness and helpfulness from the staff, which is a shame to be let down by that.
By the time we finished the survey, we were starting to get a little cold, we headed back to the cabin. Our plan had failed, and Imelda hadn’t made it to the room.
When she did arrive, we headed back out to deck 15, although now the resident DJ was spinning the discs... and not making a particularly good job of it. As someone who worked in radio for seven years, I know how to string songs together, and trust me, this guy was just throwing them together.
Eventually, after he drove us nuts enough with his song choices and we were getting a bit cold, we headed off to get a pizza from the pizzeria, which was very nice. We headed into Venezia to get some salad to go with it, and so that we could sit somewhere warm. We sat with a nice couple and happily chatted away to them.
I was a bit disappointed by the desserts, as again there was either nothing I could eat or nothing that appealed to me, so I figured I’d go and get some somewhere else. We went down via the Photo Gallery to see the photo they’d taken of us and Cheryl and Adrian at dinner a couple of nights go, but after checking on their computer system, it looks like it never uploaded, as it didn’t exist.
We headed for Costa Coffee in the atrium and I got a tiramisu gateau and some maddelines, which was exactly what I wanted. However, I was mortified when the guy who served me asked if I wanted coffee. I told him I didn’t actually drink it, and he told me the cakes were only free when you ordered coffee! This sort of thing really annoys me, as it’s just not made clear, and I felt very uncomfortable after that, and was glad to get away and get back to the room.
Next: food painting, New York icons, and female film stars
What a nice surprise after the rough night to be able to sunbathe! Nice shots around the ship. Ooooh, the episode at Costa Coffee would have had me steamed! Honestly, after Disney I'm not sure I could deal with that sort of thing. It's one thing if you know in advance about an extra charge, like Palo or Remy, or the charge for specialty coffees at Cove Cafe (the yummy pastries there are "free", whether you get coffee or not!), but this sort of thing is just mean and I understand why it made you uncomfortable.
Royal Caribbean does the same thing with their specialty coffee shops and the treats there. What really irks me about it...they have the SAME EXACT GOODIES upstairs in Sorrento's at no charge. So basically they make you walk up several decks just to get the same thing only without having to pay (if you aren't drinking coffee). I think that's why so many folks do not realize the goodies in Cove Cafe on DCL are no extra charge regardless if you are drinking coffee or not. On our May cruise, a woman came into Cove and saw me getting a small plate of treats - she was shocked she could just take them without ordering anything else. Gotta love Disney!
Ok, off my soapbox!
What beautiful weather you had! The sun is so beautiful shining off the water!
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We made it through Ok, although I did stop drinking the Canadian ice wine quite early on, and I did find it uncomfortable – I think that’s the best way of putting it. 
) – it’s probably just as well we were on a table for two with behaviour like that... 
The atrium, on all three levels, was packed, with every seat taken up. I did get some photos of some areas that I hadn’t seen before, like the library.... 
We stood in there for a minute or two, listening to him, but it was just far too hot, and we quickly left. 
This sort of thing really annoys me, as it’s just not made clear, and I felt very uncomfortable after that, and was glad to get away and get back to the room. 
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