SLSD

It is disappointing to hear that the premium suites get premium towels, while other get inadequate towels. We have never felt a need for a larger than standard suite as it is plenty large enough for the two of us. I understand that some people just need more room for various reasons--because they like it--or spend more time in their suite than others, etc.

I will ask Cristian how long he will be on board.

Thank you for this suggestion!!

I am just out of a cooking demonstration with Chef Trevor Connolly, Executive Chef de Cuisine. He told us (when asked) that he has been with Seabourn since December, but in the cruising industry for 20 years. He was asked about the menus for the ship--and he offered that all are prescribed by the corporation and that there is no room for change--except on a very few nights--such as tonight, which is our second formal night. Today, Chef Connolly was demonstrating how to make a simple Steak Diane. He said his usual recipe would be a lot more complicated with additional ingredients. This is the pared down version he said.

You see it like I do. I have to use two towels to dry off after a shower. The towels are not absorbent.

I'm sure that up to today everyone here might have considered me to be a total Seabourn cheerleader. That has never been the case. While the service has been impeccable for us this voyage, I do have a couple of observations which are less than complimentary. First, the towels in the bathroom are not great at all. They are small, thin, and scratchy. If we had such towels in our own home, they would have been replaced some time ago. Also, while our excursions have had excellent guides and have been enjoyable experiences, the buses have been too full. Every bus we have been on has been almost if not completely full. This is not ideal, especially at a time when there is still the Covid virus everywhere. I would have expected SB to arrange for less crowded excursions. If they were asked, they might say that this is what is available. I haven't asked, so I don't know. I will be leaving a comments in the comment boxes at Seabourn Square. I don't have any other complaints--so other than one poor meal, the towels and crowded buses, everything has been as expected and quite nice.

I'm sure other items on the menu were excellent. My husband had a pasta dish which was perfectly fine. I just won't order the tried and true (previously) salmon again. I made a mistake in not telling our very fine waiter (flawless service always) that my plate was close to inedible. I've thought about it some more--and now I think the pasta that accompanied the salmon was NOT underdone--but rather also a victim of the warming lights which had made it hard and starchy. There is much to choose from on the menu. I was just unlucky last night. I did see several people ordering the chicken cordon bleu and it did look good.

We continue to enjoy sailing along the Norwegian coast and are all set for another relaxing sea day today. I plan to attend the cooking demonstration at 9:45am while Mr. SLSD will be content to work on his projects. I would give the food on this cruise a solid B+. This is just my own assessment and I'm not even going to ask Mr. SLSD for his opinion. I think the best food I've had so far has been our meals at Earth and Ocean and one lunch in The Restaurant. I find that just a bit surprising. The biggest disappointment was last night in The Restaurant. I punted and ordered what has always been tried and true on past cruises--the salmon from the Classic Menu. For this entree, the salmon comes accompanied by orrichete pasta with some peas and carrots in a cream sauce. First, the pasta was was undercooked--not even approaching al dente. The salmon was overcooked and even a bit tough--as if it had been sitting under a warming light for a good long time. Yes, I should have sent it back but I am so well fed by this point in the cruise that I didn't really need more food. My salad had been very good and I knew that a dessert was on the horizon. When asked how our dinner was--I said it was fine. I regret that now. I should have been honest and sent it back--but asked that another plate not be brought. I just hated to disappoint our cheerful waiter who has done some an exemplary job at every single meal. While I am not a foodie, I am also hard to impress when it comes to food. Most everything we have been served as been good, but few things have knocked my socks off. Our favorite restaurant has been Earth And Ocean. Everything we have been served there has been quite good and has left us looking forward to our next meal there.

We ended up NOT doing the Galley Lunch--much to my approval. We had a wonderful lunch at the Pool Grill.

The galley lunch is alive and well--but we did not go. I've been to a number of galley lunches and it just is not our thing. We had lunch at the Patio Grill today along with quite a few others. I feel guilty about not providing photos of the galley lunch! Next up is the second lecture by Steve Wozniak. I hope my spelling is ok. Today has been a very relaxing sea day. I've loved it!

This voyage has included one of the best lecture series I have ever heard on a Seabourn ship. Jennifer Eremeeva is the lecturer. And while she says she is a Russia expert, her knowledge and explanation of Norwegian history has been superb. She has provided her card (pictured here) which includes a link to a reading list (including some movies to watch). I thought that some of you who are doing this itinerary later might like to have the reading list ahead of time. I will warn you--you will end up Subscribed to her website if you want the list. That is not a bad thing--there is a lot on her website of interest. Today's lecture was on King Haakan's War and the reading list looks very interesting: https://jennifereremeeva.com/lectures/reading-lists/vikings-iceland-scandi/king-haakons-war/

Wow! We were totally unaware that this was happening. I do hope the person will be ok.

I am not much of a sweet eater, but I think one of the best sweet things on the ship is Grandma'a Cake. I'm having my first piece this voyage this morning. It is very moist pound cake with a bit of nuts and cinnamon.

Today is a sea day. We will probably take in several lectures and Mr. SLSD wants to attend the Galley Lunch. We'll spend the rest of the day relaxing, enjoying the ship and doing some reading.

Last night was magical--and that is not a word I use very often. Before 11pm, many of the passengers gathered in the Observation Bar and out on the deck to see the Midnight Sun. While it was too cloudy to see the sun at its most glorious, the views were still spectacular. For me, the BESt part was that we were sailing around the North Cape--the same place we had been earlier in the day. So, the large cliff you see in the photo below is the same cliff we were standing on midafternoon. This means that we were sailing around the northernmost piece of land of Europe. To be totally accurate, the most northern point is actually the land you see jutting out to the right, but to go to that point would take five hours of hiking we were told. We stayed in the Observation Bar and out on the deck until well after midnight. When we finally left, the bar was still filled with happy people reveling in the beauty of the evening. As you can see--except for some clouds, it was a magnificent evening. The avid photographers were out with their big cameras. I looked at some of the photos one of them had taken. He had captured scenes with people standing on the cliff enjoying what we were seeing from a different vantage point. My photos were taken with my Iphone.

We've seen film of the snow plow cutting a passage. It could be absolutely magnificent! We saw a awe inspiring film at the North Cape Center yesterday which showed us the area in the snow. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Yesterday, our guide for the transfer to the North Cape told us that it is only two days a month that there is weather like we had yesterday. Someone told us that for the two days previous, the trip to the North Cape had to be cancelled because it was too windy for the buses to traverse the road. There was concern that the buses could be blown over. I tried to capture some of the views while we were on the bus, but none of the photos I took capture those venues. I hope you are fortunate to have the good weather we had. Today, we are at sea with blue skies.

This has been a wonderful cruise JSC77--both in terms of what we have seen and the ship Ovation. The crew is in top form--especially our waiter in The Restaurant (Crisitan). If you want virtually flawless service at dinner, ask for one of Crisitan's tables. The only thing is that his tables are in the middle of the restaurant--not my favorite location---but it is worth it in terms of service. I assume everyone else is getting the same kind of service--but of course I cannot be sure.

The excursion from Honningsvag to the North Cape is about 3.5 hours.

A view of the city of Honningsvag from this morning. The drive to the North Cape from Honningsvag is through tundra--yes--the kind of topography we all learned about in fifth grade. It was fascinating. No trees grow in the this area, but there are all kinds of low growing plants that reindeer feast on. Some of the plants are quite green and other are brown.

There was a winding road up to the North Cape. We were amazed when we got there at the very new and elaborate center built by the Norwegians. It's a multistory building, mostly underground due to the extreme windiness of the site. We were extremely fortunate today as the weather was picture perfect. The sky was blue with very few clouds and almost no wind at all. So--we found ourselves at the North Cape at the Northernmost point of Europe--with the North Pole straight ahead. The site itself is magnificent. We didn't fully realize how magnificent until we watched a film at the center. The photography done via drones showed where we were and it was breathtaking. I've taken a few photos but they do not completely convey the magnificence of the area. The second photo shows the monument marking the Northenmost point in Europe. The third photo looks toward the North Pole. The last photo shows a NATO radar station in the area. There are actually two of them.

Ovation arrived in Honningsvag at around noon this morning and by 1pm we were headed to the North Cape. On the way, we stopped at a Sami Camp. Samis are the indigenous people of the Nordic lands. They are the only people in Norway allowed to herd reindeer. We had learned about these people at the great museum in Tromso yesterday. They have endured discrimination in Norway as well as in other Nordic countries. Now, they have their own Parliament and are consulted about policies which affect them. The young man in the photo who was showing us a reindeer from his flock told us that he is modernizing and changing from old ways. After stopping at the Sami camp, we continued on to the North Cape. What an experience. I'm still pinching myself. Were we really there? What a thrill. I'll post some photos later.

Loula told us this morning that Seabourn has changed its mind and is going back to the title of Cruise Director. She said that her name tag labeled Entertainment Director would be going into the bin. She is happy about this as she says that Cruise Director better describes her job. This morning we had scenic cruising on our way to Honningsvag. Mimosas, Apple Cider, and Hot Chocolate were served in the Observation Lounge. It was a very relaxing morning.

Some of the passengers got up at 4:30am this morning to get on RIBS (Zodiacs) and motor around Storstoppen Island, I took this short video of some of them returning to the ship a few minutes ago. IMG_5816.mov

We were treated to an organ concert at the Tromso Cathedral. I hope this video will play. IMG_5788.MOV