Live from Emerald Princess - Norwegian Fjords and North Cape 6th August 2016

[Eppe4]

Thank you, I'm really enjoying writing it. It will be a great memory jogger in the future and it's fun taking people along with us now!

 

If this is your "first" live, then I think we're all waiting for you to cruise again. Can't wait for your next post. We board the Regal on 8/30 for 25 days sailing the Baltics, Northern Europe and a t/a into New York. We have already packed our rainy weather gear, but how have the temps been?

 

Thank You for taking the time to be so helpful to all of us sailing after you!

[Working 2 Cruise]

Wonderful live from. Thank you!

[johnsuttoncoldfield]

Thank you, I'm really enjoying writing it. It will be a great memory jogger in the future and it's fun taking people along with us now!

 

Really enjoying your writing style and find myself looking forward to your ongoing “live”

I am boarding on the 20th as you disembark, hopefully for a little more sunshine than you are experiencing but in contrast I suspect you are benefiting from that clear fresh air.

Just one question, I usually avoid the school holiday period as I prefer the more sedate lifestyle these days but wondered if the, I assume high volume of little dears on-board , are overly affecting your experience?

I’m sure you both would have been great fun to be sailing with but alas, please keep up the excellent report.

[KYteach]

Really enjoying your live from Norway. We are doing this cruise next June--and are checking out ports through your cruise. Hope we have better weather at the beginning!

[Cruise club]

Your live blog is great, being informative, entertaining and well written. We are on the med cruise on the 20th August with our family and grandchildren. We are regular cruisers and only cruise in school holidays if we are with family. It is useful to hear the buffet is overcrowded which will obviously be worse on our cruise with the high number of families occupying extra berths in cabins putting passenger numbers up! So we will avoid if possible. This ship is similar in design to ruby and P&O Azura and Ventura both of which have badly designed buffets in my opinion. Sorry about your poor weather we were very lucky when visiting both Norway and the baltics and they are even more beautiful when the sun is shining. We have never used the PES lounge, but your blog has persuaded my to give it a try. Enjoy the rest of your cruis and I look forward to reading your next instalment

[Frflatt]

Sunday 14th August 2016 - Tromso

 

Tromso, gateway to the Arctic, Paris of the North. As we woke this morning the sun was shining and we were sailing into this beautiful city through an amazingly gorgeous fjord. Looking out from our balcony on the port side we could see the Arctic Cathedral and the bridge in the distance. Soon the Emerald Princess turned through 180 degrees and thrust onto her berth which was situated about 45 minutes walk or a ten minute drive from the city centre. At least the thrusters were working today; they had failed yesterday as we approached Honningsvag and we had to abort our first attempt to dock, return to open sea to get the thrusters working and then return to port - it only resulted in a minor delay.

 

We didn't have an organised excursion planned for today as we were going to do the city highlights on foot. Accordingly we had a leisurely coffee in the piazza, accompanied by people watching, followed by a light breakfast (egg, bacon, sausage, black pudding, beans and soft rolls - I find the bread to be thin and hard and the toast too crisp) in Horizon court to set us up for our day's adventures.

 

We seemed to spend a long time getting ready but eventually we set off on our outing - we wished later we had been quicker and had longer in the city. We opted to take the Princess shuttle into town - we could have walked it but it isn't a particularly pretty walk and I have plantar fasciitis and didn't want to cause myself problems later in the day. The shuttle cost $5 per person each way and is well worth it. The drop off point for the shuttle is the Radisson Blu hotel and is a good location in the centre of town.

 

Once off the shuttle we walked along the waterfront towards the bridge as our first destination was the Arctic Cathedral on the other side of the fjord. The views from the bridge are worth the walk in themselves; spectacular. Once over the bridge the Cathedral is immediately in front of you. It is so completely different to the cathedral in Trondheim yet it is equally impressive. The entrance fee to the church is 40 NOK and worth every penny. The interior is simple, white paint and pale wood that emphasises the brilliant colours of the east window; it is a place of prayer in which one's eyes and mind is drawn to the Christ depicted in the stained glass.

 

Our next destination was to be the cable car up the mountain in order to take in panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside. The walk from the Arctic Cathedral to the cable car is short - no more than ten minutes and passed some lovely houses - and we were soon there. The only problem was that several hundred other people were there too as it seemed a number of coaches had just arrived so the queue snaked back into the car park. We waited in line for about 15 minutes and had hardly moved; there are only two cars on the line and it was taking about six minutes for each car to arrive, off load, and a new group of passengers to board. As each car only seemed to take about 16 people we worked out that it could be a couple of hours before we managed to board and was therefore not worth the wait. A pity but in a busy schedule probably the best move to just miss it out.

 

We walked back down to the bridge and crossed back to the town centre. Wandering along the waterfront, Geoff had the opportunity to photograph lots of boats and I enjoyed the view. All that walking was thirsty work and the sun was very hot so we stopped for refreshments in one of the quayside bars. We knew that things were expensive in Norway but were still surprised that two beers (from Mack, the local brewery) cost 223 NOK or about £21! But it was such fun sitting in the sun, watching people with beautiful scenery in the background that we had a second beer.

 

Suitably refreshed we continued our walk through the town as far as the Arctic Museum, enjoying some local graffiti by Reddy along the way. After a short while we wandered back along the waterfront to the waiting shuttle bus and the return journey to the ship.

 

Once back on board and with bags and coats stowed in the cabin we went up to the PES lounge in Skywalker's. Tonight was beef tartare, which was good but I'm not sure about it sitting there for two hours getting warm. From a vantage point on the starboard side we watched the sail away and the passage through the fjord which was stunning. Tromso is a truly magnificent city and for me is probably one of the highlights of the cruise; we would happily come back to spend a weekend here. Obviously only after having remortgaged our house to be able to afford it!

 

Following our evening ablutions, we ventured out for dinner; tonight we went to Da Vinci and were spoiled for choice with the menu. Geoff had tempura vegetables followed by lamb and barley soup and chicken tikka masala for mains; I had mushroom tart, delicious, lamb and barley soup, really good, and chicken tikka masala, absolutely scrumptious. We both commented that the food on this cruise has been the best we have had on a ship both in the choice, variety and quality.

 

After dinner it was up to Explorers Lounge for Sherlock Holmes - a sort of trivia/quiz game - it was interesting but we wouldn't necessarily go again. We got 34; the winner got 44. Geoff is always certain there is some cheating going on when such high scores are declared. By this time we were ready to retire for the night so off to our lovely luxury bed to refresh our batteries for our day in the Lofoten islands tomorrow. We used the midship stairs for this. Having seen the many complaints about the Royal Class ships not having this luxury, it is always strange to note that no one ever seems to use them on the Emerald.

[Frflatt]

If this is your "first" live, then I think we're all waiting for you to cruise again. Can't wait for your next post. We board the Regal on 8/30 for 25 days sailing the Baltics, Northern Europe and a t/a into New York. We have already packed our rainy weather gear, but how have the temps been?

 

Thank You for taking the time to be so helpful to all of us sailing after you!

 

Hi, thank you for your encouraging words, much appreciated.

 

The temperature has hovered mainly around 10 centigrade - 54ish Fahrenheit - but the wind and the damp have made it feel cooler. Have usually been wearing 4-5 layers!

 

Enjoy your TA and hope it's warmer for you.

[Frflatt]

Wonderful live from. Thank you!

 

Thank you for travelling with us.

[Frflatt]

Really enjoying your writing style and find myself looking forward to your ongoing “live”

I am boarding on the 20th as you disembark, hopefully for a little more sunshine than you are experiencing but in contrast I suspect you are benefiting from that clear fresh air.

Just one question, I usually avoid the school holiday period as I prefer the more sedate lifestyle these days but wondered if the, I assume high volume of little dears on-board , are overly affecting your experience?

I’m sure you both would have been great fun to be sailing with but alas, please keep up the excellent report.

 

Hi, thank you, I'm really enjoying writing this 'diary'.

 

I'm sure it will be warmer for you next week - we had looked at that itinerary and we would have booked it if we hadn't been on this cruise.

 

There aren't that many children on board this week - probably 100 or so. We were chatting with a member of staff who commented that last week there were 800 and next week they're expecting 900! The children have been, on the whole, very well behaved and it's been pleasure travelling with them. Hope you have a similar enjoyable experience next week.

 

Have a good cruise with fair weather and calm seas.

[Frflatt]

Really enjoying your live from Norway. We are doing this cruise next June--and are checking out ports through your cruise. Hope we have better weather at the beginning!

 

Thank you, I'm sure you'll have a great cruise - Norway is beautiful what ever the weather and the cloud and rain only makes it more dramatic and rugged!

[Frflatt]

Your live blog is great, being informative, entertaining and well written. We are on the med cruise on the 20th August with our family and grandchildren. We are regular cruisers and only cruise in school holidays if we are with family. It is useful to hear the buffet is overcrowded which will obviously be worse on our cruise with the high number of families occupying extra berths in cabins putting passenger numbers up! So we will avoid if possible. This ship is similar in design to ruby and P&O Azura and Ventura both of which have badly designed buffets in my opinion. Sorry about your poor weather we were very lucky when visiting both Norway and the baltics and they are even more beautiful when the sun is shining. We have never used the PES lounge, but your blog has persuaded my to give it a try. Enjoy the rest of your cruis and I look forward to reading your next instalment

 

Thank you. We did look at the Med cruise and would have done it if we weren't on this one.

 

Yes, we're told there will be 900 children next week so will be very busy.

 

Having been on Regal, Royal and Eclipse previously we find the buffet here very poor in design and organisation. The Cafe Caribe portion is only open for very limited hours and the other part then gets very crowded. We also find it difficult to get a seat at times and end up wandering around with food going cold! Oh well, we're on holiday and can't let little things like this get to us :rolleyes:

 

Enjoy your cruise, have fun.

[Frflatt]

Following along, one day I'm hoping to do this cruise

 

Thank you, I hope you get to do it too.

[Frflatt]

Thank you very much for taking the time to do a live. Like you I have been on Regal, Royal and Emerald. On Regal and Royal what I miss is the wrap around

promenade deck plus in most of the inside public spaces little or no view of the ocean.

 

Will be following you thread. Both of you have a great cruise.

 

Thank you, yes the views are very good from most public areas and on a cruise like this with amazing scenery it is appreciated.

 

We are having a wonderful cruise despite the weather!

[Frflatt]

We are doing this cruise next year on the Pacific Princess! Thanks for sharing your experiences and observances!

 

Thank you - hope you have a great one next year too.

[Frflatt]

Hi

 

We did this cruise in a few weeks ago, you will have a great trip if you have

 

never been north before,

 

some amazing sail ins and outs so if you are early birds great experience,

 

you will find Emerald has many more great viewing areas than Royal

 

which her a great ship for this type of cruise,

 

try observation deck above bridge, or skywalkers for views

 

yours Shogun

 

Thanks Shogun for this and all your helpful comments/suggestions.

 

Love the view from Skywalker's- sitting there now waiting for sail away from Gravdal and catching up on replying to earlier posts; it may take some time as the Internet is very very slow!

[Shogun]

Hi,

 

We find Norway very expensive, as such cruising is such good value when it comes to touring Norway,

 

this is one cruise we will repeat in a few years, as there is just so much to see

and do,

 

have you any plans to return to Norway,

 

yours Shogun

[anthonyy7]

Great review, a fjord cruise is on our bucket list. Some friends of mine were on that serenede of the seas and I heard it was a rough ride!

[MawganTr]

Surprisingly, there are actually more like 300 children on board although you wouldn't know it. We've always been surprised in the past at the high numbers they report on children yet never knowing where they are. I've assumed they are all in the clubs. However, having our children with us for the first time and with them using the (excellent) 'kids' clubs, we have found that actually less than 10% use them at any one time. 30 or so in the 8-12 group and about 20 in the teen lounge. As teachers, we are sensitive to child antics yet they've been no trouble!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[rlyans]

Have loved following your cruise. I lived in Norway for acouple of year about 40 years ago. Last summer my wife and myself returned to Norway and rented a car and drove all over lower Norway. We were really lucky with the weather and thought the prices were better than people have reported. The exchange rate to the kroner is really strong. I lived also in Trondheim and up in Sortland (close to Tromso Lofloten Islands) I want to do this cruise to see some of the places I live at.

Can you tell me what ports you have been to and are still going to?

Have a blast...Norway is so beautiful. And you have the best attitude about how if things don't go perfect it's still the best time. We've been on 14 cruises and never had a bad one. ENJOY NORWAY!!!l

[Mom33]

Thank you for your live reports. We will take this cruise in June. Wondering if you will be adding pics when you get home? :)

[Lizzymint27]

Thank you. We did look at the Med cruise and would have done it if we weren't on this one.

 

Yes, we're told there will be 900 children next week so will be very busy.

 

Having been on Regal, Royal and Eclipse previously we find the buffet here very poor in design and organisation. The Cafe Caribe portion is only open for very limited hours and the other part then gets very crowded. We also find it difficult to get a seat at times and end up wandering around with food going cold! Oh well, we're on holiday and can't let little things like this get to us :rolleyes:

 

Enjoy your cruise, have fun.

 

 

 

 

Just read the '900 children on board next week ' quickly booked the AIDP ;)

[Frflatt]

Monday 15th August 2016 - Gravdal (Lofoten Islands)

 

The weather that greeted us this morning was in stark contrast to the beautiful sun of yesterday; it was overcast with drizzly rain. Today was a tender port day so it was more difficult to determine when we had reached our destination.

 

Our usual morning coffee in the piazza was followed by our preparation for a morning ashore. Today we were booked on a Princess excursion - an easy drive to two beaches and a fishing village. I know I've said it before but the excursions on this itinerary are particularly expensive and lots of folk on the ship have organised their own excursions - on our roll call there were people who had hired cars and were offering spare seats. We might consider something similar next time just so that we are able to explore in more depth.

 

Our excursion met at 9.30 in the Wheelhouse Bar and once checked in we proceeded to the Princess Theatre to wait to be called. Because of the tender use there was some delay in getting off the ship but before long we were on our way. The ride over to shore was a little bumpy but not too bad and we were on terra firma within 10-15 minutes. The rain was a constant drizzle, not heavy but unrelenting! However, we were soon ensconced in our comfortable, dry and warm motor coach and on our way.

 

The guide was a knowledgeable young lady who told us about the geography and history of the island as well as all about fishing, fish quotas, drying fish, cooking dried fish and fish exportation. The dried fish reconstituted and cooked is apparently like jelly - it sounded revolting, she wasn't really selling the concept to us! Apparently the main customer base is Italy.

 

Our first two stops were beaches with beautiful white sand and clear turquoise sea; if it had been a sunny day it would have been glorious. It's easy to understand why people say that these beaches remind them of the Caribbean, except of course for the weather. At the beaches we stopped for 10 and 20 minutes respectively. The passage between the beaches was exciting as we had to go through a tunnel in the mountain; a 880 metre single track road with passing places. Our driver, who seemed very experienced, advised us to close our eyes when cars were coming towards us - just like he does.

 

Our third stop was at a fishing village. This was clearly a working village and was interesting to see with the red fishermen's cottages - we were told about their history - that are mainly used by tourists/holiday makers nowadays. The large dry dock boat house had interesting paintings all over it and it was worth the visit just to see this - the local artist is apparently an American who has lived there for 30 years and has dual nationality.

 

The drive back to the ship was uneventful and by the time we got back to the pier the rain had stopped. Rather than get straight back on the ship we climbed over a small hill to reach a beach that was close to the dock. The beach was lovely with sand seemingly made of hundreds and thousands! We spent a little time there before returning to the tender. As we boarded the tender the rain began again and the wind got up which meant that the trip back to the Emerald Princess was rather rough and took double the time the earlier journey had taken as we seemed to zig zag across rather than take a direct route.

 

Once back on the ship we changed and and went to the Horizon Court for a light lunch - I had tuna and salad and Geoff made himself a roast beef roll. Refreshed we went in search of a quiet spot to relax and catch up with emails etc.; we ended up in Skywalker's overlooking the stern. We stayed there until it was time for PES lounge. Tonight it was salmon, but we had eaten lunch so didn't partake. In any case I won't eat salmon on a cruise ship again as last time I ended up with food poisoning and actually collapsed, required medical assistance and more importantly damaged a new pair of sunnies. By the time sail away came typically the sun had come out and the sky was clear - the island looked glorious as we sailed away.

 

At 7pm we were in Adagio for 80's music trivia - Geoff is a child of the 80s so knows a lot about music of that era and got 40.5 out of 60 which he found extremely disappointing; he identified the artist and song within a few notes of it being played but the year eluded him. So back to our stateroom to dress for dinner.

 

Having said yesterday about the food on board and the choice available it follows that there was nothing on tonight's menu that appealed to us so we decided to visit the buffet. There wasn't much in the buffet either and strangely, whilst it was very busy, only one side of the Horizon Court was open. I got some beef stew and mash potatoes with carrots and brussel sprouts - the veg were more blanched than cooked - Geoff again had a roll but this time with turkey.

 

After a disappointing supper we went to relax in Explorers Lounge where their had horse racing - we didn't place any bets but it was fun to watch. Then to International Cafe to get dessert and hot chocolate before retiring for the night. Tomorrow is a sea day and apart from catching up on laundry and going to the Captain's cocktail party we have nothing much planned. Let's hope that the weather will be warm enough to top up our tans!

[Shogun]

Hi

 

Sorry to hear the weather was not playing the game does it know you are on vacation,

 

when we were there it was amazing they were selling bikinis down town folks were sitting out in the streets eating ice cream,

 

the islands are beautiful the seas the sands etc,

 

weather back home is having a mini heat wave so as you head south you should find some sun.

 

yours Shogun

[Geoffa30]

We've arrived in Aaelsund and it's going to be a sunny day with highs potentially of 22c. Captain said yesterday it's 32c at home but will deteriorate over the next few days to be stormy by the time we arrive in Southampton. Apparently it will be a 'challenge' embarking on the next cruise on Saturday.

[makawe]

I am enjoying reading your live blog particularly since we will be aboard Emerald for our inaugural cruise in January. Many thanks for the fanatastic updates, sorry your dinner was uninspiring...at least dessert is top notch.