SLSD

Strange indeed. I don't blame you for washing it again. My only foray to the laundry room has been to iron something on our first day. We've used the ship's laundry service and have been quite satisfied with it.

Yes, I am purposely being very restrained about the canine experience.

It all depends on what you want to see. I particularly enjoy seeing artifacts discovered in archaeological digs. These discoveries were especially important because they are recent and so well preserved. Some people wouldn't give a fig about this kind of thing--but it is my very favorite kind of thing to see. So--the combination of the artifacts I photographed and shared here-- AND the 12th century Stave Church made this LONG excursion very well worth it for us. I will tell you that it is a LONG trip over the mountains and back again. I overheard passengers griping about it as not everyone cares about this kind of thing. But, for US, this was one of the highlights of the entire trip. I also have an aversion to long day trips--and we have taken THREE of them on this cruise. I've groused a bit about it--but would not trade the experiences and would do them all over again knowing what we saw and experienced. I'll post about this later, but we cruise for the itineraries--not for the ship. Yes, we prefer a luxury cruise with a small ship, but our memories are primarily related to the itinerary.

I have a few minutes this morning to make some comments. Yesterday, was one of our two reservations for the TK Grill. It was a reservation for two. We decided it would be fun to expand our reservation to four and include some friends we have met on this cruise. I went to guest services to request the expansion. Because it was so early in the morning, there was no one at the maitre d' station at the TK Grill. I think it is important to go in person and ask for the expansion of a reservation (or an additional reservation) face to face. When I did this, I was asked the name of the other guests and was told that they would check with the manager of the grill and get back to me. The guest services representative told me that the grill was fully booked, but he would ask. Within 20 minutes or so, we got a phone call in our suite telling us that they were expanding our reservation to four people. My point is that I think it may be more effective to ask about a reservation at the TK Grill in person rather than by just calling Guest Services on the telephone. If there is someone manning the desk/podium at the grill--it is even better to ask in person there. And of course, it is important to be cheerful, polite and not demanding. We have a second TK Grill reservation tomorrow evening. We acquired this reservation while on board. Mr. SLSD asked for this additional reservation in person at the grill. Last night as we were leaving the TK Grill at about 9:05 pm, there was someone talking to the maitre d'. As I walked by I could hear the conversation which went something like "Yes, Mrs. _______, we DO have you on the wait list. " It was evident from the tone of voice that the maitre d' was familiar with this passenger and talked to her many times before. And, you guessed it--it is the same passenger who brough a canine on board! (And from the same group who had reserved for themselves a table at tea time by using a jacket draped over a chair for almost an hour when no one was sitting there) She did not have her service canine with her. As a matter of reporting--the canine has been on quite a few excursions with us--and its owners do not follow directives--such as "no dogs off leash" etc. That's all I'm saying here--but much more has been observed.

The other highlight of the long excursion to Lom (from the port of Skjolden) was the Mountain Center in Lom. This museum houses Norway's largest exhibition of glacial archaeological discoveries. As the glaciers are melting, more and more finds are being made. Remarkably, the artifacts are in pristine condition as they have been frozen in ice since the 900s. This exhibition was astonishing--and was also worth the long trek through the mountains. These artifacts come from the early Viking people. There was an early pair of skis, arrows, a sword, cloth, a mitten, knives, a bow, shoes and so many other things. I photographed most everything with the exception of a dog skeleton which was wearing a leather collar. The thought is that the owners of these items were caught in a blizzard and perished on the mountain along with their dog.

Yesterday, we were docked at the pier in the small town of Skolden, Norway. As we were pulling up to the pier, some sheep in an adjacent hillside farm came pouring out of the barn, wanting to greet the passengers I am sure. We took a rather long Seabourn excursion. We usually don't like to take long (7.5 hour) excursions, but this one had a couple high points that were of interest to us. We traversed the mountains (coming and going) to reach the town of Lom. Lom is home to one of the oldest Stave Churches in Norway. the Lom Stave Church is from the 12th century and was worth the long trip to see it. The main part of the church is made from logs. Over the years, the walls have been tarred to preserve them. This church is quite special. I'm only going to share a few photos as perhaps some of you will get to see the church later this summer. Note the dragon heads on the roof life.

I misedited. Boris is on the ship for the summer. It is Cristian who wants to go to Venture.

We definitely plan to return to Norway on a cruise within a few years. Next time, we will do the skylift. You just can't do everything in one day! Just as an aside on the issue of towels. Our room has just been made up for the day and we were given two fluffy large towels and two small, thin, scratchy towels. Evidently, the fluffy ones are rationed out as needed to the veranda suites.

I totally agree that Esther is a superstar on the rise. Her dazzling smile and aim to give great service is just wonderful. I also like Boris. He wants to go to the Venture--and I am sure he will make it there. He is always right there to bring whatever we need. I hope he is having a fun summer. Cristian is very proud of his team. I know he wants to go to the Venture. He is ambitious. I think a lot of the crew want to go to Venture--as it is so. new and only has 270 guests. Bronson--what an appropriate name for the asst. maitre d'. We also enjoyDuncan who serves dinner at Earth and Ocean. He is rather shy but very kind and on top of his job. The manager of that restaurant is also very hardworking and cheerful. He moves so quickly that I have failed to see his nametag. I need to find out who he is and he deserves recognition as well. We've been served by Mietra from South Africa in the Restaurant at breakfast and in other venues. She is on top of everything and is such fun.

It's good to know that you have had equally good experiences in The Restaurant.

I will try to ask about Waldo and Corne. I haven't seen anyone on the crew by those names.

I asked Cristian last night how long he will be on Ovation. He will be on board for the next several months so you should be able to sit at one of his tables when you sail.

On this particular cruise, I definitely think service has improved over previous Seabourn cruises. I don't know if everyone has had this experience. Perhaps we have just been very fortunate--but so far, the service has been impeccable. There has been one odd thing. There is an assistant maitre d' who joined the ship a few days ago. He doesn't display the usual understated service demeanor that most of the staff has mastered. He is somewhat brusque and speaks in a more loud tone of voice. He also interrupts meals and exhorted us to leave comments about the wait staff. He did this three times last night and did it in front of the wait staff--calling them by name, but leaving out the name of the only woman on the team serving our dinner. We had not seen an assistant maitre d' before his arrival. He has not added to our experience in a positive way.

Yesterday was one of those days which was more about the itinerary than about the ship. This was one of the many beautiful sights we enjoyed.

One thing we have learned during our short time in Norway is that hydroelectric power is huge here. We've seen several hundred waterfalls pouring down the mountains into fast flowing rivers whose power is harnessed by hydroelectric plants. I've been amazed at the rivers--both by their speed and the beautiful color of the water. Watch the short video to get an idea of the powerful river flow. Was our lengthy tour of the interior worth it yesterday? While it would not have been everyone's cup of tea, we loved it. It gave us a better appreciation of Norway away from the coast. It did include an enjoyable lunch at a hotel and there was so much to see. By after dinner (at Earth and Ocean) last night, I was wiped out after being up half the night watching the world go by. We skipped the fun deck dance party and I got almost 10 hours of much needed sleep. I heard it was fun. Perhaps someone else will report. IMG_6267.MOV

Once we set out on our excursion, there was more beauty to enjoy. There were mountains reflecting on water, sod roofed farmer's huts, cows who wanted to investigate tourists, snowy mountains, churches and idyllic mountain homes. Here are just a few photos to share.

Here are a couple of photos from the middle of the night as we were sailing down the Nordfjord toward the tiny village of Olden. I especially loved seeing the small hillside farms. And there there were the beautiful mountains in the background. Finally, we got off the ship and looked back to see Ovation and one of the tenders.

One note about the port of Olden. If you want to do the skylift in Olden, it is right at the place you disembark from the tenders. Many people did the skylift and/or explored the small village. This is an easy option for those who wish do that. I heard reports that the views from above were splendid. We did not have time to do the skylift as our excursion returned too late. We were not disappointed as we had many great views to enjoy during the day.

Yesterday was a really packed day. The captain has told us that the pilot would either join the ship or start guiding the ship I I can't remember which) at 11pm. He also said that we should start watching the beautiful scenery beginning at about 3am. I mentally replied to him that this was not going to happen as there was no way I was going to get up at 3am. Unfortunately, just the mention of an important time, set my internal alarm clock and up at 3am I was! It was worth it as magical scenery passed by our balcony. Beautiful mountains, small hillside farm and villages, snow capped peaks, and calm weather. I finally showered and got dressed at about 5am and went to the Obs Lounge where about six or seven other people were watching. I walked out on the deck and quickly came back inside as it was windy AND cold. I had a cup of tea and a tiny pastry and then retreated back to our protected balcony where it was pleasant and warm enough to go out barefooted. There were waterfalls--many of them! Everywhere I looked there was beauty. We anchored in the Nordfjord right in front of the village of Olden There was one other ship close by. In fact, we had followed them much of the way up the fjord. At some point, the huge MSC ship (with 5,000 passengers) diverted to anchor in the Loen area. We had elected to take an excursion called Geirangerfjord and the Roof of Norway. When we gathered for the excursion an announcement was made that the ferry which would have been taking on an excursion through the fjord at developed engine difficulties and that part of the excursion would not happen. A number of people were very disappointed and opted for a full refund while most elected to stay with the excursion to see the rest of an inland mountainous area of Norway as planned. (In the end, the rest of us were told that our refund would be for 40% of the original excursion price. We thought this was more than generous.). While the excursion was long, we enjoyed it. I'll include some photos in my next post here.

I am behind on my reports about the current Ovation cruise up and down the coast of Norway. It has been a very full two days. I need to go through my photos and give a report. I'm already a bit sad that this cruise will be coming to an end on the 25th. I'm currently sitting in the OBs Lounge at tea time during a sailaway from Skjolden, Norway. We are still sailing the fjords and they are beautiful.

The crew has been quite good on our current Ovation voyage. Staffing levels seem very good as well. All service has been even better than on our last SB cruise which was pre-Covid. I requested better towels--and two of the four last night were large and fluffy. Unfortunately, the internet has been intermittent and down whenever I checked over the last couple of days--so I am just now catching up here.

The fluffy bath mat is obviously meant to be a medium to dark gray. No inefficient laundering involved--thank goodness.

Are you going to make me take a photo?

Yes, it is a medium dark gray.

We have a fluffy gray bath mat!