Ports of Scandinavia - LIVE from the Voyager 6/28 - 7/27/2014

[RachelG]

We sit toward the front too. But it has to do with me being deaf in one ear. We don't take the handicapped seats but usually those close behind. And on our recent cruise, no one sat in the handicapped seats on any tour we were on, so the guide invited anyone forward who wanted to be nearer the front after we got started a few times.

[Suite Travels]

I like to be toward the front of the bus too, because of motion sickness issues. Doesn't have to be the very front, and I can compromise--as long as I'm not right at the back usually I'm okay. Of course, the best way to avoid this is to avoid bus tours!

 

Wendy, we avoid bus tours at all costs on any line. We don't want to be held hostage on a tour bus. We do private because when we are done or had enough we can go back to the ship without the wait time for others to return to the bus late.

[Travelcat2]

We have had no communication of any kind for about 36 hours. As usual, there is no sunrise or sunset -- 24 hours of daylight. While I generally have no interest in what longitude or latitude we are at, I do find it interesting that we have been at 79 degrees north and the North Pole is 90 degrees. The Voyager can not go further north as it does not have the Navigator's ability to deal with ice.

 

Note for anyone not familiar with the history of the Navigator (also note that there are different versions of my story). When the Soviet Union fell, the Navigator was only a hull of a ship that was going to be an ice breaker (or spy ship -- depending upon which version you have heard). The hull sat for a long time and was purchased by Radisson who built a passenger on the ice breaker hull. This explains a couple of things: 1) Why the Navigator does so well in icy waters and; 2) Why she has had so many problems.

 

I am going to log out and log in again as this keyboard is horrible.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

Before going into detail of what I consider the most interesting port of this cruise, I have another comment about the buses. As previously posted, some people have disabilities that are not apparent and others that have no disability, sit in the front of the bus and dance at night. There is really nothing we can do about this. I suppose that I technically could sit at the front of the bus since I need knee surgery as my knee is bone on bone, However, there are many people that need those spots more than I do and I walk normally (definitely cannot dance). Many of us are avoiding the front of the bus and are taking the front seats by the rear door (not completely at the rear of the bus). We typically get off of the bus before those in the front because they have to wait for people that move more slowly to get off. Okay, enough about that!

 

Okay -- now about our favorite port. I took notes on this port so this post may be all over the place. We were in Longyearbyten (Spitsbergen). This area was once known as "no mans land". An agreement was signed that permits Norway to run the island but any country that signed the agreement can mine coal and can be treated the same as the Norwegian people (this includes countries like Russia). There are 2,000 people and 3,000 polar bears on the island. Most people are Norwegian followed by Swedish and then Thai (which we found most interesting). While they still do mining, most of the mines are further inland.

 

In the early days, cable cars were used to move coal. They are no longer used but are still there because in 1946 everything that was built was considered to be part of their cultural heritage. When you first see the cable cars from a distance, it looks like a ride in Disneyland. Up close you see smaller, rusty holders for coal.

 

During World War II, the Germans burned down the entire city - remnants can be seen on the mountainside. The city was rebuilt where it is today.

 

When coal was transported by cable cars, coal dust blew throughout the city. For that reason, people remove their shoes before entering a building. Even today, when you enter a public building you remove your shoes. So, if you attend the university, professors and students alike are wearing slippers or socks. Residents consider this a "cozy" environment" and I must agree. We removed our shoes before entering the church (built in 1957). BTW, the church is Lutheran (as is most of Norway) but is open for use of other faiths. If I have not mentioned this before, people of Norway are not religious and the churches are pretty empty on Sunday but are used for weddings and other events.

 

Children begin kindergarten at the age of 1. There are three kindergarten schools, one regular school and one small university. The first things you learn at the university or are new residents of this area is to shoot a rifle. While polar bears are protected, if you fire a flare to scare them away and they continue to attack, you need to shoot them. This occurs about twice a year. Another part of training is having a piece of ice cut out and jumping in with your clothing. You obviously need to get out very quickly.

 

There are only 50 km. of roads there. Most transportation is done with snowmobiles and dog sleds. While most people have generators, if all electricity were to go out for more than 24 hours, Norwegian planes would arrive to evacuate all residents of the city. This has not happened but is part of their emergency evacuation procedure.

 

Being born of dying in Longyearbyden is a challenge. You can no longer be buried in a casket there. The land is covered with "permafrost". When they tried to bury caskets during summer many years ago, the ever-moving land caused them to pop to the surface. Therefore, if you wish to be buried there, your remains need to be cremated on the mainland and brought back. If a woman is pregnant, she leaves the island 3 weeks before the scheduled due date as the hospital is not equipped to deal with complications of childbirth.

 

Part of our lovely excursion was to go to a place where the sled dogs are (huskey-mix - the same as is used in Alaska). I see that I am misspelling Huskey but do not want to use spell-check and lose everything. When pure-bred Huskeys are used, they fight with each other too much. These dogs are lovely and enjoy being cuddled (which I was happy to do). We were served black currant tea and pancakes with sugar -- extremely yummy. It was raining lightly there and some people were cold. There was a room with a fire to warm up and also a place to watch videos of the Northern Lights.

 

Every port we have visited has been unique and lovely. There was something about this port that kept part of my heart.

 

There is more to say but I'll wait until this evening. We were amongst glaciers this morning and I continue to gain insight into the crew on the Voyager. While many people disagree, we learn so much more from the crew of the ships that we have ever learned from fellow passengers (that typically do the same things that we do -- travel the world).

Edited July 20, 2014 by Travelcat2

[Caroldoll]

I am looking forward to Installment 2

[findacruise]

Your description of the port was wonderful and makes me want to visit. I don't care about your spelling! Thanks. Looking forward to more.

 

Joanna

[nancygp]

Jackie,

 

Thanks for another great post. I did the same excursion you did in Longyearbyen and have such wonderful memories...enjoy the glaciers!!!

 

Nancy

[Travel2Learn]

Jackie, thank you for blogging in so much detail. I look forward to reading it everyday.

 

And thank you to posters who realize not all disabilities are readily visible. Some of us work VERY HARD to overcome our challenges, but still require some adjustments. I am thrilled to be able to walk, live independently and travel again. There will always be other passengers who take seats they really don't need, and those who would rather not need them but have had to make adjustments to be able to travel. When it's not too expensive, I book a private tour.

[RachelG]

We visited this port 2 years ago on our silversea explorer cruise. Really enjoyed it. One of our bear guards on that trip and the cruise last year to Baffin Island and Greenland, was a young lady who lives there year round and raises sled dogs. Really interesting.

[Travel2Learn]

We visited this port 2 years ago on our silversea explorer cruise. Really enjoyed it. One of our bear guards on that trip and the cruise last year to Baffin Island and Greenland, was a young lady who lives there year round and raises sled dogs. Really interesting.

 

Did you see polar bears?

[Travelcat2]

Back again after a few hours of no internet. I forgot one thing about our last port. I believe I have posted about reindeer (not at all like the deer we see at home). Most reindeer in this part of the world swim to the mainland during the fall and are herded by the "Sami" people. The reindeer in Spitsburgen are different. They run free and are not owned by the Sami. They are smaller than reindeer in other parts of Norway and people wonder how they stay alive since there is very little green growth in this part of the world (no trees at all). There are two male deer that "hang out" near the city. The locals refer to them as "the boys". We saw them and they look quite content!

 

To switch gears for a moment, I wanted to mention the fact that you can order olive oil and balsalmic vinegar instead of having butter. Also, we had the best piece of beef tonight that we've had on the entire cruise (okay -- I'm going to slaughter the spelling)...... we had chateaubriand. Amazingly delicious!

 

This morning we awoke to glaciers. It almost seemed as if we were in Alaska. The sights were stunning. Gosh -- hope I didn't post this earlier -- if I did, kindly forgive me. The Captain got as close as possible (the Navigator could have gotten closer) and stopped for photographs. Then is made the slowest turn possible so that all of the guests could get a perfect view. Most of the guests we spoke with found Alaska to be more spectacular but still....... being in the Arctic Circle made these glaciers very special. They brought ice on board so we could see it up close (this required lowering a tender and somehow getting a hold of a piece of ice that was approximately 2 feet across. We did get pictures but I am not posting pictures on this thread. Perhaps someone else will. We spent a couple of hours in this amazing area.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I did want to touch on the crew of the Voyager (and the same can be said for other Regent ships). While we do meet people that are extremely interesting (like Mudhen and her DH), most passengers are like us...... we have been on all of the ships and traveled various places around the world. I do not wish to put this down in any way -- our stories are quite interesting. However, on board this ship the crew are from approximately 40 countries. Their background, current lives, etc. are amazing. This is why we spend so much time chatting with them.

 

The one group of crew members that puzzled us were those from the Ukraine, and parts of Eastern Europe. Their smiles do not come so easily and we wondered if they were unhappy to be here or did not like passengers or ????? We have finally learned that "smiles" and openness do not come natural to people in that part of the world. However, once you talk to them and "open them up" they are simply delightful. There is one woman on board, Olga that we have sailed with previously. At first glance, she does her job efficiently but without a smile. We now know her better and her smile lights up the room. The crew at Reception are new to Regent. I'm not sure if anyone pays much attention to them. I stop by at least once a day to ask how their day is, etc. I make them smile and they make me smile. What can be better? I have so many stories that I could tell (don't worry -- I won't). Even if you prefer the company of other guests on board, perhaps you will spend just a few minutes to learn about the wonderful crew on board.

 

Okay -- enough lecturing;) Tomorrow is another sea day and they have an interesting event for Seven Seas Society Gold and Above. On the last segment we had a champagne and caviar breakfast in Prime 7. On this cruise we will have some kind of food tasting (Scandinavian food or Norwegian food -- not sure). This event will take place tomorrow.

 

I'm actually out of things to say (finally). Good night to you all.

[Mudhen]

What a great post! We've so enjoyed reading the blog....it's almost like being there.....well, maybe not quite, but if I make myself some sort of yummy treat, have it at cocktail hour, close my eyes, and make sloshing noises in the sink, it sorta works! haha!

Loved hearing about the reindeer and the "the boys"...too funny!

We also know and love Olga. We included her in our list of special people on the back of the "get off the boat questionaire". We totally enjoy the cruise staff as well. They work so hard, so many hours, it's amazing to me that anyone smiles at all!!!!

Please continue to keep us posted....

J&L

[RachelG]

Did you see polar bears?

 

Yes, we did, though we saw many more up close on our Baffin Island to Greenland cruise. Love the polar bears!

 

Travelcat, George had one Ukrainian server on Oceania that he made his special project to make her smile. She was very efficient but never smiled. So one day, she asked him "is there anything else you need, sir?" And his answer was "yes,to see you smile." And she did. It was a major breakthrough because she smiled at him every times he saw him after that.

[Travelcat2]

Yes, we did, though we saw many more up close on our Baffin Island to Greenland cruise. Love the polar bears!

 

Travelcat, George had one Ukrainian server on Oceania that he made his special project to make her smile. She was very efficient but never smiled. So one day, she asked him "is there anything else you need, sir?" And his answer was "yes,to see you smile." And she did. It was a major breakthrough because she smiled at him every times he saw him after that.

 

I love that story -- thank you for sharing it with us:-)

 

Getting ready for the mornings activities and will report later. As with most sea days, there are many things planned. This afternoon I will do some pre-packing. As each day passes we get more excited to be going home -- even though it is only for 8 weeks and then we are off again. This has been a very special cruise and has taken us places that we never thought we would be.

 

More later!

[Joanandjoe]

We believe two of the best parts of this cruise were sailing the Magdalenen Fjord and the trip to the Bird Sanctuary.

 

The Bird Sanctuary tour involved a bus ride, a small boat in choppy seas, wind and the best views of arctic birds I've ever seen. Eagles abound, and soar....birds float in rafts on the cold water, more numerous than anyone would think possible. Birds fly into your binoculars, and you can see more nests in one trip than most people catch in a lifetime. The commentary is intelligent, and helpful. Okay...water splashed into the boat, the wind whipped some of us inside, and we needed seasickness pills. It was still one of the high points of the cruise. Frugal Joan shelled out 60 kroner for a guide to the birds we saw, a rare compliment.

 

Sailing the Fjord was an amazing experience....green icy water, black peaks covered with snow, lichens and blue ice. Our captain gave us a good long period of time close to the glacier, so the shutterbugs could snap away to their hearts' content. He even turned the ship so both sides of the ship were close to the glacier. Joe and I were thrilled to experience this unique area so well.

 

I'm sure others had equally positive experiences.

[flossie009]

The one group of crew members that puzzled us were those from the Ukraine, and parts of Eastern Europe. Their smiles do not come so easily

 

 

If I had family back in Ukraine I do not think I could hold a smile for too long, given the escalating troubles in that region.

 

 

.

[lincslady]

If I had family back in Ukraine I do not think I could hold a smile for too long, given the escalating troubles in that region.

 

 

.

 

I think this remark was unnecessary - naturally at present we are all feeling the pain of the Ukranians, but it is true that in general crew from Eastern Europe and less 'smiley' than others; as TC said, it is just what they are like, and are often lovely when you get to know them.

[Travelcat2]

We are getting news on the ship but I will refrain from comments at this point. I do understand the feelings of both previous posters.

 

JoanandJoe - Your excursion sounds wonderful (except the part of needing seasickness pills:o )

 

So, this morning they had the Seven Seas Society Gold and Above event. While passengers were doing wine tasting in the Atrium, those of us eligible to attend the event watched the Executive Chef (Jonathan Smid) prepare salmon tartar. Okay -- I know that it sounds as if this dish does not take much preparation. However, as a lover of salmon sashimi, there are important things to know about raw salmon. I knew that salmon had to be frozen before serving -- even if it freshly caught and prepared. I was not aware of how long you need to freeze the salmon (48 hours) or the temperatures. You need to put your freezer on the coldest level in order to reach the level that will kill everything that you should not be ingesting from the salmon (don't want to get into specifics:-). The salmon was delicious and we had our first taste of Aquavit (probably misspelled). While probably not my first choice for a drink, I'm glad that we tried it!

 

Next was a drawing for a prize from the on-board jewelry person. No - we didn't win but that is fine. The jewelry is lovely but I do not wear much jewelry. It was fun to take part in the event.

 

This evening was a continuation of our dinner with Staff Captain Aris. As I mentioned previously, he was with Celebrity for 15 years. We learned a lot about his time there. I expect to see him as a full Captain of a Regent ship in the future -- perhaps when John McNeil sadly retires:-(

 

We are looking forward to our port day at Harstad although we have no idea what to expect. Very happy that we decided against doing an excursion but have learned that the town (20,000 people) is walking distance from the port. And, although we are still above the "Arctic Circle", the temperatures are warming up.

 

Thanks to all of you who have followed this thread for so many days. This is a very unique itinerary and hope that at least some of you consider this itinerary for next year. If the cruise that we originally book had not been full, we may not have had the opportunity to be on this cruise as it is extremely expensive. We feel fortunate to be here which is one reason that we want to share as much as possible.

[nana541]

Thanks Jackie for bringing us along :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Mudhen]

Another great post! The "Gold" event sounded wonderful.....salmon tartare...mmmmm!

I'm a great lover of steak tartare while most folks make a face and ewwww comes out of their mouths. I had some in Prime7 and must say it's probably the best I've ever had! Delish...!

Looking forward to hear what Harstad has to offer.......

J&L

[RachelG]

Glad to hear that the gold event was something special. I would have really enjoyed that one!

[Travelcat2]

Just a couple of comments before walking off of the ship and strolling into town. After several days, we can see trees from our suite (not tall ones but at least trees grow here and they are green). Also, the weather is 75 degrees and sunny. We still have sunset and sunrise at the same time since there is really no sunset or sunrise:) It seems strange to be sitting in the Observation Lounge at 11:00 p.m. with the sun shinning in.

 

Will write more tonight!

[Travelcat2]

Reality is hitting us like a ton of bricks -- mostly the weather. Back to more typical ports, lots of touristy things for sale (none of it made in Norway). Harstad is a nice little town -- we walked it thoroughly in an hour and a half. Our favorite store had a lot of very expensive kitchen gadgets -- some were different that what we see in the U.S. so it was interesting (did not buy anything). It seemed warm to us so we are happy to get back on the ship where we are waiting for the elevators to return to operation (they were under maintenance for 45 minutes).

 

The man who needed to be transported back to the U.S. several days ago (non-life threatening but serious enough to go home) was finally able to get off of the ship. An ambulance and fire truck were awaiting his arrival -- he was the first off the ship -- hope he recovers quickly.

 

That is all from Harstad, Norway. Hope that someone that took a tour can add to my space write-up.

[Joanandjoe]

The man who needed to be transported back to the U.S. several days ago (non-life threatening but serious enough to go home) was finally able to get off of the ship. An ambulance and fire truck were awaiting his arrival -- he was the first off the ship -- hope he recovers quickly.

 

We were Wondering why there was an ambulance on the pier. Thanks for the info, Jackie. We hope he's OK.

 

We took an excursion into the countryside, and saw an old harbor, a former mental institution with an art gallery of works by patients, and the Rokones farm, which is now a restaurant and golf course. A long excursion, but the scenery and weather were beyond spectacular.

 

We're passing through a gorgeous archipelago - islands everywhere. I'm snapping picture fter picture from our balcony. Lovely.

 

Dinner at Signatures tonight, sea day tomorrow.

[xrvlcruiser]

I agree with Joan and Joe - A beautiful tour and the cake at the Farm was wonderful! Just what I need - more food!

 

Peggy