Izzywiz

Monday 27th February 2017

Tromso - 08.00 to 03.00 the following morning

A.M. Very cold with long, sunny periods and no wind. Temp was -3*C.

P.M. As above until about 15.30 when the wind got up and then the temperature dropped noticeably.

 We had left the TV on overnight in case there was an announcement of a 'lights' sighting but no luck yet.

The alarm went off at 06.00 and, after a bit of a struggle to put on all the thermal clothes, we made it out on deck for 06.45 where we were able to enjoy the snow-covered fjord sides and the little villages as we headed towards the dock in Tromso.

We had breakfast and went out on deck again to see the ship pulling up to its berth before heading down to the cabin to await the call to disembark.

The free shuttle busses were right by the ship and we were on one of the first busses and were dropped off in the town centre at 08.45.

We wandered around for a while and took a lot of photos. I found it quite hard to walk as some places were completely clear and others were covered in thick snow or ice. I was ready to come back and we got the 10.45 shuttle so that I had time for lunch before my tour departed/.

Tromso.

·         The 'sail-in' is pretty but not as dramatic as some as the fjord is wider and the mountains are lower.

·         The dock area is industrial.

·         There are free shuttle busses into town that ran at 20 minute intervals until 23.00.

·         The journey is 10-15 minutes.

·         It is walkable but the pavements were very icy.

·         The Arctic Cathedral is on the other side of the fjord so, to walk, would mean going into town and then across the bridge.

·         The cable car is close to the Arctic Cathedral but I'm not sure if that is walkable too.

·         The town centre is relatively small with a variety of shops, cafes, supermarkets, picturesque buildings, open spaces and the harbour area.

·         Prices are high compared to the UK. It was £1 to use the toilet in the small shopping mall!

My tour was Discover Tromso.      13.00-16.00

·         The tour group met in the car park at 12.45 for a 13.00 departure. Our coach was late departing because we were waiting for 1 passenger. The guide and the P&O rep consulted and decided that our tour should leave at 13.15.

·         The guide explained some of the history of the area as we drove up the hill and around the back of the city and through some pleasant suburbs.

·         Our first stop was for 15 minutes at the Arctic Cathedral. We were lucky because, with there being sunshine, the huge stained glass window glowed and was very impressive.

·         We were then taken back across the bridge and driven through the town centre before travelling along the shore line to the museum. We had 45 minutes there to explore. There were a lot of interesting exhibits relating to the Sami People and Arctic exploration.

·         There was a shop, toilets and a café.

·         From there, the drive took us through more suburbs to the Planetarium where we had a show about the Northern Lights. That was our last stop so the coach took us back to the ship. We arrived just after 16.00.

·         It was a nice excursion and I'm glad that we were taken over the bridge and through the suburban areas as it gave a good oversight into the way local people cope with the extremes of the climate.

My husband did the husky sledging tour on his own because he is more mobile than me and could sit comfortably on the low sledge.

Husky sledging. 16.30 -20.00

The bus left the port terminus at 16.30 and took about thirty minutes to reach the Tromso Wildlife Centre. The journey was during sunset and the views were quite dramatic. The centre was out in the country side and we were originally taken into a large wooden building for coffee/tea, cake and to meet our guide. This building was comfortable with tables, chairs, fire pit, toilets and a small shopping area. The guide was excellent and explained everything about the dogs' working life whilst we walked around the site visiting the kennels, breeding area and sleight boarding area. All of the dogs were very friendly and people were allowed to cuddle the puppies. I was on a sleigh by myself with the driver.  The ride took about thirty-five minutes over undulating ground and at times you could see the lights of Tromso in the distance. The ride out in the deep snow was a wonderful, although bouncy, experience.  We got back to the ship at 20.00.

Hi cazza f

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising. I see that you are booked on the Aurora ‘Search for the Northern Lights’ cruise in October 2021. Thank goodness that it is quite a long time away as things may have returned to some semblance of normality by then. We did a vey similar cruise on Oriana in late February 2017 and had an amazing experience. I keep a very detailed diary and these are relevant entries that you might find useful for your planning. Fingers crossed that you will get your retirement cruise. I'm not sure if the weather in October will be as cold as we had it in February but it will be cold non the less.

It will take a few posts to complete the review so please be patient.

My Review of the Feb 22^nd 2017 Oriana cruise ‘To find the Northern Lights’

I have some mobility difficulties so wasn't able to participate in the more strenuous activities....booo.. but my husband is fit and active.

This is my pre cruise check list. I bought most of out cold weather clothing in places like Aldi and Mountain Wearhouse when they had sales.

Cold weather clothing and items

Wednesday 22nd February 2017

Boarding Oriana.

A.M. warmish, overcast and breezy.

P.M. Cool, drizzly and windy

Sea conditions. A bit rocky.

Clocks went back 1 hour.

Gate 4, berth 10 - Mayflower Cruise Terminal.

Our check-in time was 13.30.

We arrived at the car park at 12.45.

Check-in was quick and straightforward.

We had cruise car parking as part of our booking price so we put the parking ID in the front window as we drove through the dock gate and there were officials who guided us to a drop-off lane right by the terminal entrance.

A porter was there immediately to take our checked luggage. A couple of minutes later, an official took the car details and our key and then we were able to enter the terminal building.

The first official gave us the standard health questionnaire to fill in. Once that was done we walked a few yards to the second official who looked at our eTicket and then gave us the appropriate coloured card to indicate the correct check-in group. There was plenty of seating, toilet facilities, free magazines and a 'pay for' snack bar.

There are not many advantages to having mobility issues but this was one time when being disabled gave me an advantage as I was given immediate access to check-in.

Once the formalities had been completed, we went through security (similar to that used at airports) and then boarded the ship. The whole process took about 30 minutes. 

Once on board we had to wait about 10 minutes before the announcement came that the cabins were ready so it took less than an hour from arriving in the car to settling in to the cabin. 

We had just started unpacking the carry-on cases when the first of the big cases arrived, swiftly followed by the other cases and the camping chair.

Muster drill.

This took place at 16.30. Our station was in the Harlequin lounge. We got there early which was good because there was not enough seating for everyone. We had to take our life jackets and put them on after the Captain's talk and the demonstration. We were then shown the TPA......Thermal Protective Aid....which is a huge yellow bag that can be put on in the event of hypothermia!!!

Saturday 25th February 2017

Andalsnes - 08.00 to 17.30

A.M. Extremely cold with some sunny intervals.

P.M. Extremely cold with wintery showers and a very strong wind.

Sea conditions. Very bumpy through the night but calm in the fjord.

I made sure that we didn't sleep through the alarm by using the telephone's automatic call service (very easy to set) as well as my alarm clock as we wanted to see the sail-in and sunrise. I was up at 06.15 and it was well worth it. We got out on deck just before 07.00 to be greeted by snow covered mountains and the small town of Andalsnes in the pale pre-dawn glow. Apparently, a metre of snow had fallen in the last 24 hours and turned everywhere into fairyland.

There were lots of people already on deck and we shared the sunrise before heading to the buffet for a semi 'full English' breakfast.

We debated whether to but on full 'arctic clothing' and chose to do a partial dress-up. Thank goodness we did because it was extremely cold and very slippery underfoot.

·         The Scenic Rauma Railway.

·         We were in the first group and had to meet in the theatre at 08.45 but there were a lot of people already waiting when we got there at 08.35.

·         The station is directly opposite the ship's berth so it was a 2-minute walk.

·         We were escorted to the platform where we were met by our guide. 

·         The train arrived at 09.10 and we were told which coaches to use.

·         The train was warm and comfortable with a toilet for each coach.

·         Seats were arranged in pairs and, in our carriage, the majority were facing backwards. There is one set of 4 seats where 2 face 2 and we got the pair that faced forwards.

·         The train came in from the left and departed to the right.

·         We felt that the majority of the best views were from the windows on the platform side.

·         The journey lasted approximately 1 hour and there was a sporadic commentary in English to explain points of interest.

We all got off at Bjorli station where coaches were waiting to take us on a scenic ride back to Andalsnes.

We had been told that the coach could not access the waterfall because of the heavy snowfall. We probably didn't miss much as all the waterfalls that we could see from the train were frozen and snow covered.

We had 2 very short stops on the way down the mountain.

Our guide, Neil (original from Ipswich but had lived in Norway for many years), was very informative.

Andalsnes

Andalsnes is a very small town with a population of about 2,500. It is pleasant but there isn't much there.........a few shops, a good supermarket, cafes, a museum and some factories and houses.

It is a 3-minute walk to the town centre in good conditions.

I had booked all our excursions as soon as they became available on the P&O website so we got all the ones we chose and were in the first group for the train journey.

This turned out to be a good choice as the people who went later in the day encountered the bad weather. We had great views and some sunshine too.

Sail in to Andalsnes...

sunrise

Andalsnes town centre

some more wake pictures...

Grand Princess

and Splendour

Diamond Princess wardrobe and welcome sign

Welcome sign taken from Splendour as we sailed along the Suez Canal

 climbing the wall on Splendour

and winning 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' on Splendour

my last W is the wedding anniversary balloons outside our cabin on Ocean Princess

I have a few Ws to add...

The first ones are 'watching and waiting'

Me watching something on Royal Princess  but I can't remember what, hahahah!

officers on watch in white uniforms....

Splendour

 and Boudicca. Note the wheel as well....

and lovely waiters on Ocean Princess

This waiter was watching our arrival into Cabo San Lucas on Infinity

11 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

I honestly thought the heading was going to be 'Under the lifeboat'😊

Avril

I love your sense of humour Avril xx

and my last Vs are...

Vegetable carving (fruit as well)

Royal Princess

Boudicca

Violin Virtuoso from a local entertainment group in Zanzibar on our Boudicca cruise

and lastly...

Valentine's evening on Superstar Virgo

We have sailed on 3 ships with names beginning with V...

Costa Victoria

MV Van Gogh

and Superstar Virgo

My Vs begin with....

Views of Venice from Splendour

Views of Vienne vineyards from MV Van Gogh on the Rhone River

and Vienne

View of the sail-out from Vigo

Views of Valparaiso from Star Princess

View of Vesuvius when sailing into Naples on Discovery 2

and the view of the volcano as we sailed into Puerto Quetzel, Guatemala, on Celebrity Infinity

These Us are a bit tenuous to say the least...hahaha

this is Radiance of the Seas arriving 'Down-under' in Adelaide

Our passion for travel means that we do land tours as well as cruising and we had a fabulous trip to Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Botswana in 2018. Part of the trip involved a 4 night cruise on Lake Kariba on the MV Umbozha (my tenuous U) so these are photos from that trip along with some feathered travelling companions...

cabin under the wheelhouse

upstanding fishing rods

Underway for a sundowner drink and nibbles

African pied wagtails

Wire tailed swallows

I also have some under the bridges pictures to add...

Grand Princess and Sea Princess going under the 25th Abril bridge as we left Lisbon

under Sydney Harbour bridge on Sun Princess

Suez Canal bridge on Splendour and Boudicca

under the Bridge of the Americas, Panama Canal on Norwegian Crown

and lastly, under the Centennial bridge on the Panama Canal, Celebrity Infinity

Theatres

Grand Princess

Boudicca

MSC Armonia

Thomson ships

Destiny top deck

Spirit with a tender hanging up 

 and my last one is our Grandson's turtle, Rocky, enjoying its first cruise

Rocky and baby Pebble on the top bunk on Discovery 2

Loving the Ts and the continuing creativity. I remember a chocolate bar called 'tiffin' in the 1950. Mum always bought me a bar as we came home from my swimming lesson.....such happy memories and the P&O tiffin looks delicious too.

I struggled with the Ts but here are mine....

Tenders and tugs

The crew members are always so helpful

Boudicca

Constellation tender access

Diamond Princess

Ocean Princess

Sun Princess

Those trio puds look delicious!

My last Ss are

Sweets on Arcadia

Sauce on MV Umbozha

Security leaving Splendour after sailing throigh pirate waters

Splash fun on MSC Armonia 

Solarium on Splendour

sick bags on Oriana

and my last S is my DH unpacking our scrabble set on Star Princess

S is also for 

Snoozing and sun loungers and both...

Arcadia

Boudicca

MV Umbozha

Royal Princess

and MV Regency after a hard morning visiting the Valley of the Kings...

It was a bit easier to find things for S so here are mine...

S is for sail- aways and sunset sail-aways....

Arcadia

Adonia

Sunset sail-away from Sydney on Sun Princess.

and sundowners on our Lake Kariba cruise

and sunsets on Norwegian Jewel in the Pacific

and on Boudicca while sailing in the Indian Ocean

This is my favourite and was taken as we sailed away from Stone Town, Zanzibar

my last Rs are rain and rough seas...

Celebrity Constellation in the Indian Ocean

Emerald Princess in the Pacific

Sea princess off the coast of Western Australia

on Star Princess around Cape Horn

and lastly on Splendour in the Med...

R is also for

the Reception desk on MSC Armonia

Rear deck viewing Splendour of the Seas

the rose that was made by our restaurant waiter who said that I reminded him of his Mum..

our room on the MV Regency Nile cruise

and restaurants on MV Van Gogh

Splendour

and the restaurant on Thomson Spirit

Lots of great Ss but I haven't had time to post my Rs so please bare with me while I try to catch up.

Rs for Read..

recover from a 90 minute work out in the gym on Splendour

and relax

Hi Graham, we also loved Splendour and that class of ship. We found it to be a perfect size and particularly liked the solarium so that is why we enjoyed Marella's Discovery 2 (ex Legend) and are looking forward to trying Fred Olsen's new ships which are a similar size and design. Oh to start cruising again....

Isabel

Good morning fellow cruisers. Q was quite a challenge and, after much memory questioning, all I could come up with was our love of the quizzes on board. We have been doing them for many years and always enjoy being part of a team. I hope you don't mind me sharing the name of one team. It was a mixed team with us from the UK and 3 other members from the US. One member suggested that we be called US/UK which when the slash is removed become USUK (say it phonetically ... U SUK....hahaha). The quiz master refused to call us that especially when a Canadian lady joined us occasionally and we became CAN/US/UK or, rather rudely CANUSUK!

We won the progressive trivia on Splendour of the Seas

some quiz team photos

We have accumulated quite a few quiz prizes over the years

I couldn't find my P&O alarm clock.

my last Ps are a bit tenuous but....

party time and pretend mummies on our Nile cruise

Promenade cabin on President 1 on the Yangtzee

and our cabin on Princess Panhwar, Myanmar

It's a puzzle on Diamond Princess

and Pizzas on MSC Armonia

Sun Princess

and Discovery 2 with the pizza chef

P is also for Palm trees on Sea Princess

Posh seating on NeoRomantica

Patagonian glacier on Star Princess

I have some Ps to add..

The first pictures are of Princesa Amarosa which was our first cruise as a married couple in 1992. We sailed from Cyprus to Egypt, Israel and the Greek Islands and, although the ship was old even then, we loved every minute and haven't stopped cruising since...

th pool on Princesa Amorosa

P is also for 'through the porthole' pictures. The first ones are on Boudicca in Greenland..

and this one was taken on Costa NeoRomantica

My next 'o' os for old friends. we met Evida on Royal Princess in 2008 when she was one of our table companions and she was delightful company. In 2011 she tapped me on the shoulder as we sailed under Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sun Princess and we then met up on a few occasions for a drink and a chat. We were playing scrabble on deck on Celebrity Constellation when Evida  appeared by our side so, once again, we met up occasionally for a chat.....a lovely lady

This s a bit tenuous but it is the outside deck on Splendour of the Seas

and finally, Oriana in Andalsness, Norway when it was 'Oh' so cold

Loved the nap picture Damian but time for some Os now. These took some searching for....

Opera an MSC Armonia

Outside cabin on Boudicca

obstructed View cabin on Braemar

and Ocean princess