Sea42

I thought it was going to be Friday morning. We haven't been on hal recently so that's probably just a faulty memory on my part! It has been a wonderful cruise though I wish you had been here with us!

Some negatives from Nieuw Statendam: 5 out of our 14 days were sea days. It would have been so nice to have guest lectures on board! There is such an opportunity here for talks on history, the environment, the ice age etc. No laundry service for the final 2 days. Thursday evening was the last time we could send in laundry for this cruise ending on Sunday. On these cold weather cruises the ship can be very crowded especially at meal rimes. Hardly anyone is using the outside decks to hang out or eat, so inside seating is at a premium. Related to the prior issue, Club Orange should be open for lunch on sea days! I don't mind background music in the dinning room but IMO it should be instrumentals only. That's about it for my negatives. None are major to me except the first one.

Best wishes for you with your new knee! My husband has had both of his replaced and it has helped him so much.

The last two days have been great! Geiranger was amazing. We took the Waterfall Walk up to the Fjord Center as did many other people. There was another large ship in port with us, so the going was very slow. That was OK though because it gave us plenty of chances to catch our breath on the way up! The Fjord Center itself was packed when we arrived. There were several buses in the parking lot and the line to enter was out the door. We decided to continue walking and try coming back later. There were several trail options to choose from. We chose to walk a few km to a lookout. It was a challenging, uphill walk so unfortunately we didn't reach our end goal but it was a very peaceful walk through the woods. It was a mix of gravel path and stone steps. Back at Center the crowds had thinned so we had a leisurely look at the exhibits. Our visit was complete with a waffle and hot chocolate on the patio.

It did drizzle now and then but a mostly dry day. Over 300 people on HAL tours were late coming back due to a bus mishap (Mein Schiff) on the road back to the port. Of course the captain waited and we had a great sail back out of the fjord. I even talked my husband into experiencing part of it from the aft hot tub!😁

It was a beautiful day! It was the one place I thought maybe I should bring a winter type jacket on the cruise. I had brought along a fleece hoodie and rain jacket and some combo of those has worked everywhere so far. But the rain jacket/wind breaker was all that was needed at Noth Cape. Tomorrow in Geiranger is looking to be our worst weather for any of our ports. 40F with rain. We've been lucky with the weather so far so we were due.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise! I wish we were staying on for the next leg as I would love to see it all again. The ship itself has been a great experience with a very competent staff.

In Honningsvag we booked a tour with Blue Puffin as did several of our roll call members. Sebastián was a fun and informative guide! We were very happy with the ease and speed of communicating with himm. The price was roughly $130pp. We stopped at a fishing village to learn more about making a living by fishing in this remote environment. The colors of the boats and gear really popped. My photos don't do it justice. Our next stop was to learn about King Crabs and the effect that they're having on the local ecosystem. I found some locally made chocolate in the little nearby cafe. That next stop was really just a shopping stop. A Sami couple were there, in traditional dress, and a couple of their reindeer. I did pick up a magnet made from antler with etchings on it They took cash or credit cards. Then it was off to Nord Kapp. We had fantastic weather for our visit but the winds were still brisk and I was happy I had my hat! In addition to wandering the ground, we watch the film and explored the visitor's center. The ride back to the ship was reindeer overload, involving way too many photos on my part! We also passed by a tiny little beach, which of course Sebastián claimed was the northern most bech in Europe. Back in Honningsvag we strolled about, had an adult beverage or two and then made our way back to the ship. Evening sailing took us past Nord Kapp and we were treated to a view of th globe.

I haven't. I will ask around see if I can find her.

Midnight in the Artic Circle

@SusieKIslandGirl it was so nice to meet you today! Ive have been enjoying your posts and they helped pass the time until it was our turn to board!

Hammerfest was a disappointment to many I think. We did enjoy our first reindeer sighting, although today was certainly better! In Hammerfest we walked over to the survey marker and then down along the water to the cannon. There was signage in English so we learned a bit about both. We then took the shuttle to town, $20 pp round-trip.The walk was just about a mile. We stopped in at the Museum and the church. Most things were closed as it was Sunday but I did find adorable little sweater for our granddaughter.

It was a very good tour. I hope the person who didn't return to the bus made it back to the ship! At least he had a few hours to make it before we leave!

Yes, they took credit cards but also cash

A bit brisk sailing away from Hammerfest!

Oh it really looks much worse than it feels, so I can use that to my advantage. Honey, could you fill up my wine glass? Lol 😆

Trondheim was up next. I had grand plans that were dashed by someone, who shall remain nameless, dropping the laptop on my foot. Being a bit of a clumsy hiker I've had many broken bones in my toes/feet so I'm confident there are no broken bones this time. Still, no hills for me in Trondheim. We did follow the Midtbryruden trail thru town and that was a very nice walk.

That's great, we're enjoying ship, too! I was a bit concerned reading some of the comments lately but I've experienced nothing that would make me hesitant to book with HAL again. Right now I'm sitting on our balcony watching the reindeer foraging up on the hillside! This is so much fun!!

A few observations on life on the ship. The ship is sailing with about 2700 passengers. We haven't had many issues with long lines or wait times for service. The one exception was surprisingly at CO for breakfast. One morning it was about 10 minutes which was fine but another morning there were 4 couples waiting so we went to NY deli for breakfast bagels. They were good so we've returned there whenever there was a wait at CO. One night at dinner there was a 30 minute wait but we had Pinnacle reservations that night so again not an issue for us. CO'S special items have been very good and are being made right in CO Their lemon shrimp fettuccine with spinach was great! We've also enjoyed the Grand Dutch Cafe a few times. If you go for lunch there has been no line right at 11;30. They have the best hot chocolate that I've had on the ship! There are way too many people that don't seem to know that you let people off of the elevator before getting on! I attended a very fun wine pairing event at the Tamarind bar. Who knew how well wine and sushi were together? Not me, but they do. I'm a library director and one of our summer programs I have planned is kids origami. Seeing I've never done it I'm glad they're offering daily classes. I'm still not great at it but am not completely incompetent anymore!

I'm revising my answer a bit. Last night was quite windy and it was pretty loud in the cabin with moderate vibration. It hasn't been an issue under normal seas though.

It was a beautiful walk! And really most anyone could do it. While the first mile was very steep, it would also be a lovely walk getting off the train in Blomheller and walking in either direction and returning to Blomheller station or whichever station works for your abilities. The miles around there were flat.

I'll see if I can locate Carina for you And give greetings to Gede and Uman.

I can see that with specialty diets it's much more important to have that continuity.

You're not alone. I try a different cocktail before dinner most nights and my wine selection with dinner is going to very with what I'm going to be eating.

Wrapping up our visit to Sunnmore Museum. The buildings on display were quite interesting and many were open for a look inside. The paths thru the property were well packed gravel with small hills. I did see someone there using a motorized wheelchair Also, when leaving the property you want catch the bus across the street from where you arrived. The stop you want will be to the left a bit down the street. Yes, the punishment fit the crime!