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@DougnSamI prefer deck 8 aft cabins for the proximity to the Lido deck. It will be easy for you to go up and view the scenery from the starboard side and the aft. Your room is under tables that are frequently used by people who prefer to eat outside or would like to have a seat and enjoy their New York pizza. This is not an area where deck chairs are set up in the morning or collected at night. It is not an area where carts are rolled through to set up the buffet. If you are worried, go for deck 7 but I would keep deck 8. (I was once on deck 5 and I believe the person in the cabin above me did calisthenics every morning when the got up at 6. I awoke to 30 minutes of rhythmic jumping. There are no guarantees for a quiet cabin.)

This information belongs on your Roll Call.

This should be posted on your Roll Call. Here is a link

You can order this from room service. It is complimentary. Hang the tag on the door before you go to bed and it will be delivered at the time you request.

Do you have excursion credit through HIA? You can use that to book excursions. After you have used up your credit, you must pay for excursions in advance of the cruise.

Just off the Rotterdam, I did a Live thread if you are interested. All announcement from the captain and cruise director were made in English and Dutch so I am confident that Dailies and menus will also be available in Dutch.

CHIANTI-BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIB shallots, onion, roasted butternut squash, vincotto in the Canaletto are one of my husband’s favorite and the restaurant cover is only $25 as opposed to $46 in the Pinnacle.

This was not the menu on the Rotterdam last week. There were some new entrees, horrible crab legs with a $25 upcharge and asparagus and mushroom risotto which I had a half order of and it made an excellent side. The one thing that I would truly miss on the menu posted on this thread is the chocolate soufflé.

Were you able to get an aft when you booked on board? I wanted the same cabin for both legs. I could not get a deck 8 aft for the Norway portion and like to be on a higher floor. I would only consider cabins for 2 so I did not get moved and no connecting cabins. I settled on a cabin in the aft portion of the ship on deck 7. Are there any special bonuses for booking on board or was it the FCD credit? I received $300 pp for Norway and $150 pp for the transatlantic with a $100pp deposit for each segment. Finally, did you book as two separate cruises or did you do the 27 day as one cruise? If you can book as two separate cruises it seems you have the opportunity to get a lot more OBC although would have to see cost difference in fare. The cruise consult was very patient with me; I was with her for 45 minutes. We priced all the different scenarios. Booking as a b2b was slightly less expensive but I could get more OBC with two separate cruises and it worked out better for me.

It is the last Norwegian cruise of the season in October. I also booked the transatlantic that follows it to sail us home. Regardless of the Northern lights, I am excited to travel north of the Arctic Circle.

@VMax1700 @Quartzsite Cruiser I decided to take a chance on the Northern Lights and booked this cruise while onboard. There are 3 ports above the Arctic Circle. All ports will be new except Bergen which I hope to see on a sunny day.

They were scripted. I usually go see them once. We did have experts on our 22 day SA & Antarctica cruise on the Oosterdam in February.

Today is our final sea day. I was happy to see that the always well attended “City at Sea” was being shown on the big screen by the Lido pool. There is also a Nordic Pioneer lecture I haven’t heard before. Thanks for following along. It may be a few days before I post again but I will be happy to answer any questions when I get home.

I had the lobster again last night. It was tasty, not at all spicy. Once again the presentation was lacking. Rice was served in a bowl on the side.

Mandal, another rainy Norwegian port. View from our balcony. We got in line for the tender at 10:25 and arrived at 10:55. There is a nice building at the dock with information, a miniature golf course, what appeared to be a public library and a coffee shop. You walk across a bridge to a cute small town. While wandering we came across the home where Vigeland was born. There is one of his sculptures in the garden. Like every Norwegian town we have visited, the flowers are beautiful.You can hike to the top for a nice view (we didn’t).Tender returning to ship

It wasn’t the most beautiful dish but it was delicious.

First world problem…trying to spend the non refundable onboard credit. Ate in Canaletto tonight. Might be my favorite specialty restaurant onboard because I love pasta. BROILED LOBSTER TAILS spaghetti with garlic and olive oil, asparagus, warm crab mayonnaise $19 upcharge.Delicious.

We used the tram to return to where the shuttle dropped us off in the morning. What a mess. Over 200 people waiting for a shuttle. No indication of where to line up. Apparently, all the drivers were taking a break at the same time. Utter confusion. Some very angry passengers. After about 30 minutes, a bus arrived, luckily we were standing in the right spot. To end on a more positive note, the view from our aft cabin.

The Gothenburg Botanical Garden is gorgeous. We could have stayed there all day!

We booked a Gardens of Gothenburg tour with our travel partners to use some nonrefundable OBC. Yesterday the phone rang in our partners cabin waking the sleeping husband. It was Shore Ex stating that the tour time had changed from 8:30 to 9. Half asleep, he said ok and hung up. When planning our breakfast time last night, we realized that we were now had 2 different excursion times, 8:30 and 9. Guest services couldn’t help. They said shore excursion would open at 7. I called this morning at 7, there was no way to put us on the same tour. We requested and received a refund. A free 15 minute shuttle is required to get from where we are docked into downtown Gothenburg. We took it at 9. When we arrived in the city center, some very helpful tourist information folks explained how to get to the gardens using the tram. You just tap your credit card upon boarding. I checked my credit card notifications when I returned to the ship.The garden is free so did our day cost .20pp instead of $120? 🤷‍♀️

The planters prevent terrorism attacks in the city. They are made of iron. A car can’t drive through them. I’m sorry my explanation is not very clear . The guide gave an excellent explanation. Basically a lot of large cities have ugly cement barricades. Here is an article if you are truly interestedSecuring Cities in the Global War on Terrorism: The Case of Oslo

Pictures from the city center Planters are used for protection instead of cement blockades.Memorial for the victims of the worst mass shooting in Norway. Gorgeous flowers for the garden club.

Vigeland Sculpture Garden exceeded our expectations. Do not miss it.

We booked an extraordinary 4 hour walking tour with Andrew from Tours by Locals, $475 for up to 10 people, we had 8 so $60pp. Opera house Saunas

Oslo: Sailing in for our 11am docking. The bow was open. These pictures are from our aft can.