Celebrity Silhouette, Norwegian Fjords Sept. 1 2019

[Bimmer09]

Well that was a fun excursion, at least when I was up on the top deck, free to roam.

Carol had a situation when she got back on the boat after the waffles- a couple had taken our seats. "Somebody took ours" was the excuse. Carol rousted them. Two wrongs don't make a right!

That aside and forgiving Norway for raining on us, we had a nice 3 hours on the water in such a beautiful place. Now we would have some time to enjoy Stavanger or the harbor part of it at least. We needed another fridge magnet and I needed to have lunch on Norwegian soil for the last time as our next port would be Southampton.

 

These boots are made for walking and that's just what they'll do

 

a little beauty

 

fridge magnets here?

 

score!

 

we resisted these

 

back outside

 

ageless beauty

 

 

[silkismom]

NANCY SINATRA

[phabric]

I have taken the same Stavanger boat tour 2x.  Both times for our waffle stop we had a small restaurant and ate inside..  I had sunny weather both times and stayed on the upper deck the whole time.

Edited October 18, 2019 by phabric

[mitaxi]

9 minutes ago, phabric said:

I have taken the same Stavanger boat tour 2x.  Both times for our waffle stop we had a small restaurant and ate inside..  I had sunny weather both times and stayed on the upper deck the whole time.

Was this tour  through the  Cruise line  or independent??   Have this port next June.... thanks for any information

 

Michele

Edited October 18, 2019 by mitaxi

[MJSailors]

4 minutes ago, silkismom said:

NANCY SINATRA

  Yes !

Our aerobics instructor uses the song for one of our routines. Selected for the beat rather than the lyrics,no doubt .

When I hear it in class, I wonder what was on the B side of the record.

Now, back to your excellent review and photos, Norris !

 

[phabric]

20 minutes ago, mitaxi said:

Was this tour  through RCCL or independent??   Have this port next June.... thanks for any information

 

Michele

My cruise and excursion was with Princess in August both times.

 

It is very windy when the boat is going.  I wore a thin spring jacket with a hood, sweater, a wool hat, thin gloves both times.  I need them, I gave a lady another pair of gloves.

 

There were seats in the lower level with a bathroom, I think some kind of snack bar(?).  On the upper deck, no seats, I sat on a life jacket box the whole time.

 

Another person had a review (I forget which cruiseline] they took a independent fjord Cruise in Stavanger, cheaper than cruiseline, with no stop for waffles.

Edited October 18, 2019 by phabric

[Bimmer09]

Carol had her Rick Steves restaurant recommendations for harbor dining. One was closed and the other one was this

 

the front part was a glassed-in restaurant and the back part was a fish shop. I really wanted to sit outside on this lovely harbor. It was very busy when we looked in and that was another negative. We walked on

 

 

 

some restaurants were closed and didn't serve lunch. That surprised me given the 2900 passenger ship across the harbor. Dinner only.

 

We liked the look of this one as it had an awning to keep the rain off should it come again

 

I went in and asked the only waiter there if we could order outside and the answer was yes. He brought us menus which beats guessing what the chef can cook

 

 

 

this was my reward for getting soaked at the waterfall

a crisp, cold Norwegian lager

 

lunch is my favorite meal of the day particularly if eaten outdoors somewhere nice

and especially on vacation. I had imagined just this when I was back in Chicago packing

 

We ordered some food...

 

[Bimmer09]

Well, here I am eating fish and chips again with mushy peas

 

Carol had her teriyaki salmon, washed down with ginger beer

 

this was (I regret) only our third meal in Norway-Bergen, the buffet in Voss and now Skagen and each one was simple food done just right. Next time we go we will look forward to the food

 

As we ate under the awning there was a downpour of Miami magnitude (my measurement for rainfall having spent so much time there) The closed restaurant next door was getting a wash-down while we stayed dry

 

the bill-roughly $77. Beer was $9 each and I had to enjoy 2 of those

 

more soon...

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Before we left I went to use the restroom and took some pics of this over 200 years old restaurant along the way

The espresso machine is from this century and I wish I had it at home

 

we have 2 espresso machines at home ; one a Capresso make which can also brew drip coffee and grind the beans and the other is a Nespresso which uses pods of really good coffee and comes with my seal of approval. I can't exist without coffee but I spurn any flavoring such as hazelnut, kimchee or halibut.

 

There are two cooks in the kitchen and I stop to thank them for a delicious lunch and promise to write a TripAdvisor review. I will write a bunch of them about London and each port in Norway after I finish this. 

 

I pass a couple of dining rooms

 

the wood on the walls is original

 

after the restroom I visited the wine cellar

 

time now to move on...

[Bimmer09]

It has stopped raining and we enjoy a walk along the harbor front

 

 

 

we will leave within the hour

 

 

By the ship there are enticing little streets climbing up from the harbor. I resist the lure to go up there with the camera. I have since seen beautiful photos from these streets ( in this review) and regret not going up but I hope to return to Stavanger someday in the future.

 

 

One last longing look back and I step onto the gangway for the last time

[hockeyguru32]

4 hours ago, MJSailors said:

  Yes !

Our aerobics instructor uses the song for one of our routines. Selected for the beat rather than the lyrics,no doubt .

When I hear it in class, I wonder what was on the B side of the record.

Now, back to your excellent review and photos, Norris !

 

 Side B was day Dream by Dora Hall

 

[MJSailors]

Thank you, hockeyguru32. I thought it may have been another song by Nancy Sinatra,but couldn’t think of any.

    Now,back to our regularly scheduled Bimmer09 review !

[Bimmer09]

The little alleyway I didn't explore. Next time!

 

 

now we are back on board

 

waiting for the departure

 

Carol was too  tired to attend Afternoon tea in the buffet so ordered room service tea and cookies-they were out of scones

 

Stavanger Sailaway

I went up to the Sunset  bar when I returned to the ship. Just a couple there, without drinks.

I went to the bar which was deserted. No bartender. Odd. I went behind the bar and opened the door to the stockroom and there was the bartender reading his cell phone. "We're closed!"

Say what? "Go downstairs".  I did go downstairs and get my drink there after searching between the sofa cushions for a bartender. Stellar not-service!

 

Back up to Sunset and I acted as the "go downstairs" host to the other people who came along.

 

For the 5.30 sailaway I went back down to our cosy cabin

 

we pushed away from Norway

 

 

 

 

[PurpleTraveller]

Thank you Norris for allowing me to follow your Norwegian adventure. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing Norway through your eyes and wonderful narrative and photos. It bought back great memories of my June cruise. I will definitely have to go back to Norway - it is just so beautiful! Thanks again for an excellent review! 

Allison

[Bimmer09]

Oil rig tender at a guess

 

 

I'm looking left and right as there is something to see on each side

 

 

 

 

the industry is mainly on the starboard side as we leave

 

residential to port

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

looking back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

more, much later

[Bimmer09]

The Stavanger sail away  is a pretty long one and these photos prove it. Even though it iS Norway's  4th largest city with a population of 120,000 which is miniscule, it is stretched out along the shore with single family homes predominating.

 

leafy suburbs

 

 

 

 

 

It's not a tourist city, it's a city that serves the oil industry that has made Norway rich

 

 

imagine seeing the Silhouette sailing past your window once a week!

 

new houses being built

 

now we see farmland so we must be leaving the city behind

Edited October 20, 2019 by Bimmer09
correcting capital letters

[Bimmer09]

Sunset on the North Sea

We took a nap after the farmland, as fatigue and the love of naps kicked in.

When we awoke the sun was going down

 

there is no such thing for me as one picture of a sunset -the light and the clouds are ever-changing so I wait it out, knowing no two sunsets are exactly alike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

last one

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Dinner  in the Grand Cuvee and it was weird and I mean the lighting. Red.

 

our new wait staff

 

If you eat with your eyes then I was suddenly not hungry

that was tomato bisque

 

a shrimp (tiny ones) cocktail

 

Caesar salad 

 

the reason for the red lights becomes more apparent when suddenly music erupts and waiters on the far side of the restaurant abyss parade while waving napkins furiously. Diners clap their hands for a couple of minutes and then the waiters go back to bringing people food. I don't think fake or real baked Alaska played a role. I guess the last Elegant Chic night was the reason for the celebration

the lights now changed to lavender

 

Beef Wellington, a favorite of mine. Carol's notes say "under seasoned and soggy crust" but I guess it is hard to season with so many different tastes to cater for. Soggy not usually a good word when put next to crust however

Carol's citrus roulade "much like a twinkie"

 

This dinner, memorable but for the wrong reasons, would be our last in the MDR as we had booked the Lawn Club Grill for our last night onboard

 

[Bimmer09]

After dinner a smoke for me as we sailed in the dark North Sea

 

but it's cold and we are soon back inside where there is a band playing

 

the band was on deck 3 (and 4 through 15)

 

Carol in an elevator. I love those panoramics!

 

I drift away to take random photos

 

 

cool...

Silhouette is a floating art gallery

 

 

World Class bar

 

and your bird can sing

 

 

Sushi on 5

 

late diners

 

I meet up with Carol back at the band and we ride up to 15

my favorite deck lighting. It's been raining

 

this comes a close second. Beautiful pool deck at night

 

time to go back down to deck 7 where we live

 

and the band plays on

[Walt fan]

Your sunset pictures are the best Norris.  Can you imagine living in a place like Stavanger?  Do you ever get "tired" of the scenery or just get used to it?  I wouldn't.  

[Buffetfan47]

Awesome sunset pics. I have a lot of sunset pics but most in the tropical locations we tend to go to. I have also noted the way the view changes minute by minute as the sun goes down.  I tend to include palm trees, sea oats or beach chairs in the frame of my sunset pics. This was from Infinity sailing away from Ft Lauderdale last year. Miami skyline in the background.

[Tigrou]

6 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

 

 

and your bird can sing

 

 

 

The Beatles.

 

Enjoying your review so much, especially as I'll be boarding Silhouette on Thursday.  Thank you.

 

[Bimmer09]

10 hours ago, Walt fan said:

Your sunset pictures are the best Norris.  Can you imagine living in a place like Stavanger?  Do you ever get "tired" of the scenery or just get used to it?  I wouldn't.  

 

I can imagine it. I lived in somewhere scenic-a fishing village on the Irish Sea, right by the harbor

and I didn't tire of the scenery or long for somewhere else but when I moved to London my homeland became back-burner which it still is.

 

If you are asking did I become blasé about the scenery every new day in Norway then the answer is no- but I was only there for 4 days.

 

Norris, thanking you for the photo compliment!

 

 

[Bimmer09]

15 hours ago, Tigrou said:

 

The Beatles.

 

Enjoying your review so much, especially as I'll be boarding Silhouette on Thursday.  Thank you.

 

 

Thank you and Bon Voyage!

Have you sailed her before?

Norris