Adventure of the Seas Iceland & Norway Cruise May 30 2014 Sailing Review

[Iluvcruising2]

It was a sunny afternoon. Many passengers were on the sun deck, enjoying the sunshine. It had been a rather cloudy cruise.

 

Check out this video of passengers enjoying the sun deck.

 

Time for our afternoon walk.

 

Made our way to the Town Hall, which was no more than 7 minutes walk from the port gate. This town wasn't big.

 

We visited the church which was next to the Town Hall. Very peaceful inside.

 

Here is a video taken from on top of the Town Hall, near the church, in the rose garden. But no roses, we were too early.

 

This was the bus terminal. We wanted to take the public bus to the Atlantic Road. But no buses were operating on that Sunday, unfortunately.

 

It was a good afternoon walk. Didn't take too long, about an hour or so. Thereafter, we headed back to the ship to rest and prepare for dinner.

 

More pictures on my blog:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/07/adventure-of-seas-day-10-molde-part-6.html

[Iluvcruising2]

We saw her sail by from our aft balcony. This was shortly before dinner time. I read that Aida is owned by Carnival Corp.

 

The AIDA Luna. A relatively new ship. Maiden voyage in March 2009. She is about 70,000GT - Royal Caribbean Vision-class sized.

 

Sailing away from us now.

 

Here is a video I took of the ship sailing past us. Pretty cool because it was unexpected.

[chris_kelowna]

Thank you for your informative - and picturesque! - trip report. If you ever decide to do an Alaskan cruise, you should think about taking an extra few days at the beginning or the end to drive through the Rockies, maybe to Calgary. That is, if your cruise departs from or returns to Vancouver. It's doable in a few days with plenty of time for sightseeing. The sights are spectacular. Thanks again, I really enjoy your reviews.

[gone2c]

It has been a week since your last post. We are doing this exact cruise except for Molde the end of August. We need the last two ports to finish are planning. We have already decided that we no longer need to bring a camera with us. We will just use your pictures to impress our friends (lol). Seriously I can't begin to tell you how helpful this review has been for us. It has enabled us to decide exactly what we will do. Thank you! Now get on it.

[Iluvcruising2]

Thank you for your informative - and picturesque! - trip report. If you ever decide to do an Alaskan cruise, you should think about taking an extra few days at the beginning or the end to drive through the Rockies, maybe to Calgary. That is, if your cruise departs from or returns to Vancouver. It's doable in a few days with plenty of time for sightseeing. The sights are spectacular. Thanks again, I really enjoy your reviews.

 

Thanks for the tips. Indeed, that is one place we would love to cruise in the future. Yes, driving through the Rockies would be a fantastic experience too!

[Iluvcruising2]

It has been a week since your last post. We are doing this exact cruise except for Molde the end of August. We need the last two ports to finish are planning. We have already decided that we no longer need to bring a camera with us. We will just use your pictures to impress our friends (lol). Seriously I can't begin to tell you how helpful this review has been for us. It has enabled us to decide exactly what we will do. Thank you! Now get on it.

 

Sorry for the delay. What a couple of weeks these have been!

 

MH 17 got shot down. Then more and more planes started to crash. Life is fragile.

 

I have every intention to complete the review.

 

In fact, I will start posting on Olden today. Do check back.

[Iluvcruising2]

A short video compilation of the videos I took, as the ship was sailing into Olden.

 

 

The view was mystical, to say the least.

 

Youtube video

 

More beautiful pictures of the sailing into Olden on my blog post here:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/07/adventure-of-seas-day-11-sailing-into.html

Edited July 27, 2014 by Iluvcruising2

[Iluvcruising2]

The port call at Olden was not very long. Ship docked at 8am, sailed again at 3pm. We decided to give the glacier a miss, though my parents went for that one (on a ship's tour).

 

We just got off the ship after breakfast.

 

We bought tram tickets. The trams and buses were just opposite the ship, very easy to get to. Impossible to get lost.

 

The tram made a few stops for photographs. It would bring us on a round trip, around a nearby lake, before dropping us off at the Olden Village. You could also take the tram all the way back to the ship, if you wanted. Here was a stop.

 

A view from inside the tram.

 

More pictures on my blog post here:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/07/adventure-of-seas-day-11-olden-part-2.html

[Iluvcruising2]

We got off the tram at the village centre and spent some time there. Walking back to the ship from the village centre was not difficult at all.

 

I don't know the name of this flower. Really pretty.

 

This was taken in one of the supermarkets. I can read the english line. Can somebody tell me what the other languages are? Especially the last line?

[Iluvcruising2]

During this trip, I took many photos of the prices of typical groceries. The Economist Magazine has the Big Mac index. I think I prefer the Coca-Cola Index.

 

I guess a water index may be possible too. But, I shan't go into the merits of the various indices. Just to give you a sense of the prices in Norway.

 

Oh yes, Kikkoman soy sauce. Very asian.

 

The souvenir store just opposite the ship was very crowded. Don't forget to ask for your tax refund.

 

Many more pictures on my blog post, including a video.

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.com/2014/07/adventure-of-seas-day-11-olden-part-3.html

[Iluvcruising2]

Here is a video clip of the dinner offerings in the Windjammer cafe.

 

[abridalmaven]

Thank you so much. We are taking this trip the end of August and this is helping with plans.

[Iluvcruising2]

Thank you so much. We are taking this trip the end of August and this is helping with plans.

 

Thanks for leaving a kind note. Have a great cruise!

[abridalmaven]

You are welcome. I have one question but I am not sure you will be able to answer it, so just give me your opinion. My friend who is going with us has some mobility issues. Stairs are out. But getting around with a rolling walker or an electric scooter is ok. Looking at the falls, I see there is a Wooden walkway up to a point. Most likely she can get that far. Will she see anything from that point?

 

 

 

And I see a few cities in Norway that seem manageable for her. But as I know from experience traveling in Europe in general the sidewalks are and streets are very unmanageable as they have uneven surfaces and cobblestone streets. So is this true also of the cities in Norway in general?

[Iluvcruising2]

You are welcome. I have one question but I am not sure you will be able to answer it, so just give me your opinion. My friend who is going with us has some mobility issues. Stairs are out. But getting around with a rolling walker or an electric scooter is ok. Looking at the falls, I see there is a Wooden walkway up to a point. Most likely she can get that far. Will she see anything from that point?

 

 

 

And I see a few cities in Norway that seem manageable for her. But as I know from experience traveling in Europe in general the sidewalks are and streets are very unmanageable as they have uneven surfaces and cobblestone streets. So is this true also of the cities in Norway in general?

 

I think the Gullfoss (Golden Circle Route) is fairly disabled friendly. The wooden walkway brings you to a viewpoint and you can pretty much see the entire falls. I am trying to remember Godafoss (Akureyri). I think from a scooter, you should be able to see the Godafoss falls quite easily too.

 

As for the cities in Norway, I can't really recall how disabled friendly they are. I do recall seeing some electric scooters at the Norwegian outdoor museums we visited.

 

At Trollistigen, I think the 3rd and most famous viewpoint would be out of reach for those on electric scooters. I'm pretty sure you can get to the first viewpoint on the scooter. I can't remember whether you can get to the second viewpoint.

 

Also, I recall from the ship's tours brochure that most of the excursions were disabled friendly.

 

Overall, my guess is that it should be too much of a problem.

Edited July 28, 2014 by Iluvcruising2

[oleredv]

 

This was taken in one of the supermarkets. I can read the english line. Can somebody tell me what the other languages are? Especially the last line?

 

The languages are (from top): Norwegian, English, German, Icelandic, Finnish. Not sure about the last one :)

 

Nice pictures and review! I live in this area around Olden and have spent many years in my childhood in Olden with my grandfather :)

Edited July 30, 2014 by oleredv

[Queensland Girl]

I love your review - I am going on Adventure of the Seas to Iceland & Norway 31st August. For the train in Olden did you need local currency or did they take US or Euros for the train. Thanks Judy:):)

[Iluvcruising2]

The languages are (from top): Norwegian, English, German, Icelandic, Finnish. Not sure about the last one :)

 

Nice pictures and review! I live in this area around Olden and have spent many years in my childhood in Olden with my grandfather :)

 

Thanks for leaving a comment.

 

Looks like the last line is a mystery. Martian, maybe.

[Iluvcruising2]

I love your review - I am going on Adventure of the Seas to Iceland & Norway 31st August. For the train in Olden did you need local currency or did they take US or Euros for the train. Thanks Judy:):)

 

Thanks for leaving a comment.

 

For the train in Olden, they accepted both NOK and EUROs. Not sure about USD.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Iluvcruising2]

Olden, sailing away. The ship set sail at 3pm. We had fine weather this afternoon.

 

Many passengers were out on deck, enjoying the gorgeous views.

 

We stayed out for several hours, watching peak after peak after peak go past.

 

Afternoon tea, in the windjammer - scones!

 

More pictures and videos on my blog post here:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.com/2014/07/adventure-of-seas-olden-norway-sailing.html

[Iluvcruising2]

Dinner in the MDR, as the ship was sailing away from Olden.

 

Spanish dip with tacos. Not bad.

 

Some type of seafood salad.

 

Roasted rack of lamb.

 

Doesn't this dessert look familiar? At least the shape of it.

 

More pictures on my blog post here -

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/07/adventure-of-seas-day-11-mdr-olden.html

[RavennaM]

The languages are (from top): Norwegian, English, German, Icelandic, Finnish. Not sure about the last one :)

 

Nice pictures and review! I live in this area around Olden and have spent many years in my childhood in Olden with my grandfather :)

 

That isn't actually finnish really and that sentence definitely doesn't mean "we don't sell beer on Sunday". That could be some sort of weird mix of finnish, swedish and estonian language.

[Iluvcruising2]

Day 12 of our cruise. This would be the last port of call before cruising back to Southampton. Sob!

 

Looks like good weather this morning. We are in Stavanger, Norway. Stavanger is also known as the oil capital of Norway. We were told that this place boomed with the advent of North Sea crude. Look, there was another ship in port!

 

This was the MS Horizon. This ship has an interesting history. Check out my blog post for more information - http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/08/adventure-of-seas-day-12-sailing-into.html

 

 

Prior to today, the ignorant me have not heard of this cruise line before - Croiseries De France.

 

My guess is this cruise line is pretty much catered for the French market. Probably not my cup of tea.

[Iluvcruising2]

The Adventure of the Seas and the Horizon. Two ships in port.

 

Today, we were going to take a fjord ferry cruise, Rodne cruises. We had pre-booked our tickets. We found the guy with the tickets. Very conveniently located on the pier.

 

There was another company operating a similar cruise. Our ferry was the Rygertroll. Sail time was 10am. The round trip would take us 3 hours.

 

This was the inside of the ferry. Quite spacious. Looked empty.

 

Because most of the passengers were on the second deck, enjoying the views!

 

More pictures on my blog here:

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/08/adventure-of-seas-day-12-stavanger-part.html

Edited August 2, 2014 by Iluvcruising2

[Iluvcruising2]

On this blog page, here are three videos of the ferry ride to the fjord and back. The ride was definitely worth taking. Very easy to do. Of course, if you want more exercise, then you have to find your way up Pulpit Rock. Not sure if there is enough time to do this on a cruise stop though.

 

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2014/08/adventure-of-seas-stavanger-norway.html