At the end of
August my husband and I went on our first cruise and we choose Norway as our destination. We packed our bags with
trepidation, unsure if we were going to enjoy the experience of being trapped
on a ship with nearly 3000 other people for seven days.
We arrived at the
port of Southampton in the UK in plenty of time and parked in the shadow of the
huge Celebrity Eclipse. Within minutes our suitcases had been whisked away and
we walked the short distance to the departure area.
Check in was
quick and painless and very soon we were on board and had found our way to our
cabin. It was bigger than I expected with a very comfortable bed, a nice sofa
and a big balcony with comfortable chairs and a table.
We had about
thirty-six hours before we arrived at our first stop in Norway. Bergen is a
pretty town famous for the area of old wooden houses called the Bryggen and the
fish market. It is possible to take a funicular railway up to a viewing point above
the town. Some people went up on the train and walked down. Hubby persuaded me
to do the opposite!
After an hour and
half of walking up hill, we arrived at the top, me exhausted. I was soon
revived with an ice cream and a cup of tea. (I’m easily pleased!) We rode down
on the railway, a short five minute journey.
Our second port
was Flam, a pretty little village at the head of a fjord. A river runs down the
valley and last winter it had burst its banks and swept away the bridge and
some of the roads. They were still rebuilding.
Our third port
was Geiranger. It’s not possible for a cruise liner to dock here, so they
deployed a floating sea walk, an amazing walkway that unfolds and zig-zags out.
The normal population of Geiranger is around a hundred, but it can go up to ten
thousand people when they have a number of cruise ships in port.
We took an
excursion here to the top of Mount Dalsnibba, for a view down the narrow
serpentine road up which we had traveled to the fjord below. Our huge cruise
ship looked like a toy.
At the top
outside the gift shop, I posed with one of the ubiquitous trolls that are found
all over in Norway.
To reach
Geiranger we sailed eighty miles up the fjord and passed many picturesque
villages, waterfalls and mountains.
Our next stop was
Alesund, one of the larger towns that is really a series of settlements on
islands all joined by bridges and tunnels. Early in the nineteen hundreds, the
town burnt down leaving ten thousand people homeless in the middle of the
winter. Since then it has been illegal to build houses of wood. Tradesmen from
all over Europe came to help rebuild and the town it’s now well known for its
art deco buildings.
Our final stop
before we headed back across the North sea to the UK was Stavanger, the oil
capital of Norway. Here we visited the petroleum museum, which charts the rise
of the Norwegian oil industry.
For a first
cruise this was a fantastic itinerary. We loved sailing up the fjords to Flam
and Geiranger. The scenery is spectacular and the only disappointment was the
dearth of wildlife. The only wildlife highlight was porpoises swimming beside
the ship on the way to Geiranger.
My verdict on the
cruise: I’m hooked! I loved being looked after for a week with such wonderful
meals, polite members of staff and comfortable cabin.
Next time hubby
and I plan to head to the Mediterranean for a warmer cruise. I’d love to hear
about your cruising experiences.
Helen lives in South West England near Plymouth in
Devon between the windswept expanse of Dartmoor and the rocky Atlantic coast.
As well as her wonderful, long-suffering husband, she shares her home with a
Westie and a burmilla cat. Helen's latest project is a boxed set called Christmas
Pets and Kisses, full of wonderful stories about love and pets. Her book in
the boxed set is Golden Christmas. Find Helen on FaceBook and Twitter, or visit her website.
Golden Christmas
Two wounded hearts are brought together at
Christmas by a trusty golden Labrador and an adorable golden retriever puppy.
Every Christmas Vicky hides so she doesn’t
have to celebrate the date she lost her husband and son. She doesn’t want to
see anyone but when she finds a dog’s lost ball she meets Jon, a wounded
ex-soldier who’s struggling with his own problems. This brave man touches
Vicky’s shattered heart and makes her realize she can’t hide forever. With his
support, can she find the strength to love again?
Helen, thank you for sharing your cruise with us. I have been a strong advocate of cruises for more than ten years and have tried every cruise line, my favorite being Princess Cruise. I have a similar picture taken with a troll in Bergen. So glad you enjoyed your cruise. At my RWA locale chapter FRW, our conference is held on cruise ship in the Caribbean.
ReplyDeleteWow, Mona. You need to give me a heads up about that one
DeleteWhat a lovely trip! I'm so glad that you took us along with you, Helen :) Now I want to go, too... I've been on cruises before and have always loved the experience. Someday, I'd like to do a Europe cruise.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about trying a cruise vacation but never considered Norway. Now I will. Sounds like a wonderful trip - love the photos!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Mediterranean cruise we took on the Celebrity Reflection in June. Like you, I was leery, but I loved not being overwhelmed with where to eat each night (which is what happens when you're in a foreign country staying at a hotel - usually whatever is within walking distance will do). Glad you had such a good time. I know you worried about the weather.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such beautiful pictures. I LOVE to travel, but I've never made it to Norway.
ReplyDeleteHelen, your trip has inspired me to bug my husband about doing a cruise to Norway. We love to cruise and have gone on many ocean cruises and tried our first river cruise this summer. The last ocean cruise we did was the Baltic, and we had one stop in Oslo.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful! I don't think I've seen pictures of Norway before. Very pretty scenery.
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