Viking Saturn—Bergen to Reykjavik-July 5-July 19

[StuLaurie]

On 7/9/2023 at 7:03 PM, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks! How long a hike is it? Hard?

Clay the hike is not that bad if you are ok with stairs. The stairs are steep but there is a platform at every section to stop and catch your breath and to take photos. It took us 40 minutes up and 20 minutes down but we stopped often to just take it all in. The waterfall is not to be missed. Let me see if I can add some photos to give you an idea of the stairs. 
 

[Clay Clayton]

4 minutes ago, StuLaurie said:

Clay the hike is not that bad if you are ok with stairs. The stairs are steep but there is a platform at every section to stop and catch your breath and to take photos. It took us 40 minutes up and 20 minutes down but we stopped often to just take it all in. The waterfall is not to be missed. Let me see if I can add some photos to give you an idea of the stairs. 
 

Thanks!

[LindaS272]

It was more fun for us to discover it without knowing every detail beforehand.

[CCWineLover]

7 hours ago, SJD117 said:

It’s 74 degrees F in Tromso, Norway. The further north we go, the warmer it gets!

 

Again - fantastic pictures, Dave.

What wonderful weather!

 

What excursion(s) did you take in Tromso?

[plbullock]

On 7/9/2023 at 11:22 AM, LindaS272 said:

On that hike in town up to the Fjord center. There’s a photo of the waterfall above the town, and I think that is the one that feeds the cataract down to the harbor. I’ll post the part of the stylized map that shows the “waterfall” trail to the fjord center.

Thank you so much!!

[SJD117]

30 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Again - fantastic pictures, Dave.

What wonderful weather!

 

What excursion(s) did you take in Tromso?

We took the Portals of the Arctic morning excursion, about 3 1/2 hours. It hit the city highlights, including the Polar Museum, the tram up to the alpine, and the Arctic Cathedral. The afternoon was spent buying swag. Tromso is a very pleasant city to empty one’s wallet.

[SJD117]

Amazing cloud formations last night on the sailaway from Tromso.

 

 

[SJD117]

The temperature on the bus coming back from North Cape this morning read 25 degrees C, or 77 degrees F — astounding! The sunny skies and warm weather are the talk of the town. We even saw a couple of swimmers today, enjoying Norway’s version of Copacabana Beach — the so-called northernmost beach in the world. (Who really knows?) But the local reindeer (6,000 on this island) don’t like the warm temperatures at all.

 

@Clay Clayton I’ll let you know about the conditions in Svalbard, which is 400 miles north of us and undoubtedly cooler than here. But if trends hold, I don’t think you’ll need your “puffer” jacket. A light jacket and windbreaker/rainjacket should suffice for the wind and cooler temps. (BTW, I haven’t used my windbreaker once on this trip.)

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, SJD117 said:

The temperature on the bus coming back from North Cape this morning read 25 degrees C, or 77 degrees F — astounding! The sunny skies and warm weather are the talk of the town. We even saw a couple of swimmers today, enjoying Norway’s version of Copacabana Beach — the so-called northernmost beach in the world. (Who really knows?) But the local reindeer (6,000 on this island) don’t like the warm temperatures at all.

 

@Clay Clayton I’ll let you know about the conditions in Svalbard, which is 400 miles north of us and undoubtedly cooler than here. But if trends hold, I don’t think you’ll need your “puffer” jacket. A light jacket and windbreaker/rainjacket should suffice for the wind and cooler temps. (BTW, I haven’t used my windbreaker once on this trip.)

Thanks!  After seeing the beautiful weather y'all are having, I'm wishing we had chosen your departure.  With our luck it will be two weeks of rain everyday😢

[LindaS272]

Narvik snippets:

Making a Silk Purse Out of a Sow’s Ear

Definitely thought Narvik might end up to be a dud, but we made hay while the sun shone.

Dave ended up booking the Arctic Train for us independently (much cheaper than Viking’s excursion), but I sent him on it alone & I booked the afternoon excursion to the Sami camp.

We went into town in the morning on the first shuttle (though it’s a short walk) and took in the Narvik War Musuem. I would highly recommend that you watch the movie “Narvik” on Netflix before arriving to get the best feel of what was happening in the first allied victory of WWII in 1940.

There’s not much else in town to do and nothing was open when we arrived on a Sunday morning. Dave loved the Arctic Train and showed you a few pics already.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Sami Camp as I am always interested in native heritage and have never experienced anything with the Sami.

Our guide, Ronald, the Sami shaman, was gracious, welcoming, & told us many stories  as we sat around a fire in an enormous yurt built for introducing a good-sized group to Sami culture and ceremony. He asked us to spread the word so that Sami may become known to the wider world. Like all native peoples, they have had a struggle to be recognized within their own countries, and have experienced the suppression of their language and the taking of their lands and livelihoods.

[DGHOC]

Thank you Linda and Dave for your great trip report, I'm following keenly.

 

We've seen Norway in the winter and did the train from Narvik when all was covered in deep snow. Dave's photos were similar to mine but sunny and green, I'd definitely like to visit Norway during the summer months and shall investigate this itinerary.

 

Continue enjoying your fab trip!

[SJD117]

We’re on our way to Longyearben, about to pass Bear Island (the southernmost island in the Svalbard archipelago). The temperature has dropped like a rock — 77 degrees F yesterday, the low 40s and misty today. Brrrrrr! Perfect weather, though, for the Saturn’s Blue Nose ceremony in about an hour. Linda assures me that she will jump in the ice-cold water with no hesitation.😁

[SJD117]

North Cape — the (almost) northernmost point in continental Europe.

 

 

 

[SJD117]

Fishing vessels in Honningsvag, Norway.

 

[CCWineLover]

Fantastic pictures!  You have been so fortunate with weather.

We were at North Cape just a year ago in July, almost to the date, and it was SO cold, foggy and somewhat miserable!

[CurlerRob]

8 hours ago, SJD117 said:

We’re on our way to Longyearben, about to pass Bear Island (the southernmost island in the Svalbard archipelago). The temperature has dropped like a rock — 77 degrees F yesterday, the low 40s and misty today. Brrrrrr! Perfect weather, though, for the Saturn’s Blue Nose ceremony in about an hour. Linda assures me that she will jump in the ice-cold water with no hesitation.😁

 

@Clay Clayton - alert! Normal Svalbard weather is back. Repack the puffy! 😈   🍺🥌

[Peregrina651]

25 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

 

@Clay Clayton - alert! Normal Svalbard weather is back. Repack the puffy! 😈   🍺🥌

 

There is nothing worse when traveling than being cold and wet.

[Clay Clayton]

2 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

@Clay Clayton - alert! Normal Svalbard weather is back. Repack the puffy! 😈   🍺🥌

But the prediction for our days there is 45° high and 35°low so I am not repacking yet🤞

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

There is nothing worse when traveling than being cold and wet.

Other than being hot and sweaty!

[LindaS272]

Brilliant sunny day here in Svalbard. Did a somewhat strenuous hike up a glacial valley to find fossils (with Hurtigruten). Wonderful to be outside of town in the vast terrain. So reminded me of Alaska. Due to a mother & daughter who missed their pickup place, we got a late start up the valley and had to come back for them, so I’ve titled this excursion “Glacial Hike, & Maybe Fossils.”😎

 

Kent asked about a review of the ship’s ambience. In order to avoid the trolls (if that’s possible), I’ll only comment on food 👍; “entertainment” 👎; lectures 👍.  One side note about the entertainment—other than the first night with a destination violinist, we have not been to the shows. The advertisements were not compelling as several were British entertainers from obscure talent shows. A definite negative in my book. The background musicians have been fine.

[Frenchberet]

1 hour ago, LindaS272 said:

Brilliant sunny day here in Svalbard. Did a somewhat strenuous hike up a glacial valley to find fossils (with Hurtigruten). Wonderful to be outside of town in the vast terrain. So reminded me of Alaska. Due to a mother & daughter who missed their pickup place, we got a late start up the valley and had to come back for them, so I’ve titled this excursion “Glacial Hike, & Maybe Fossils.”😎

 

Kent asked about a review of the ship’s ambience. In order to avoid the trolls (if that’s possible), I’ll only comment on food 👍; “entertainment” 👎; lectures 👍.  One side note about the entertainment—other than the first night with a destination violinist, we have not been to the shows. The advertisements were not compelling as several were British entertainers from obscure talent shows. A definite negative in my book. The background musicians have been fine.

Happy you hear you have good weather!  What’s the temperature?  Are you the only ship in port?  Hope you have a wonderful two days there!

[slewis7]

I am a bit jealous of the weather you had in Honningsvag.  We very recently were there aboard the Venus on the wonderful “Into the Midnight Sun” itinerary and it was cold and rainy.  We still had a blast going Viking’s King Crab Safari excursion.  We even enjoyed the included North Cape excursion despite the gloomy skies.

[janetcbl]

3 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

Brilliant sunny day here in Svalbard. Did a somewhat strenuous hike up a glacial valley to find fossils (with Hurtigruten). Wonderful to be outside of town in the vast terrain. So reminded me of Alaska. Due to a mother & daughter who missed their pickup place, we got a late start up the valley and had to come back for them, so I’ve titled this excursion “Glacial Hike, & Maybe Fossils.”😎

 

Kent asked about a review of the ship’s ambience. In order to avoid the trolls (if that’s possible), I’ll only comment on food 👍; “entertainment” 👎; lectures 👍.  One side note about the entertainment—other than the first night with a destination violinist, we have not been to the shows. The advertisements were not compelling as several were British entertainers from obscure talent shows. A definite negative in my book. The background musicians have been fine.

I was curious how Hurtigruten did cruises. I have only taken it many times up and down the Norwegian coast where it was not a cruise ship, but a ferry transporting people,cars and freight between stops.  But over the years slowly saw it becoming more upscale and seems to be very much into cruises, especially in the Antarctica. 

[Lanzy]

On 7/12/2023 at 7:19 AM, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks!  After seeing the beautiful weather y'all are having, I'm wishing we had chosen your departure.  With our luck it will be two weeks of rain everyday😢

Clay!  A familiar name from past CC  Viking Forums!  My daughter and I signed up for the July 19-Aug 2 Saturn cruise only a couple of days ago!  Nice to see these lovely photos...didn't find a CC forum for our cruise! 

 

[Clay Clayton]

38 minutes ago, Lanzy said:

Clay!  A familiar name from past CC  Viking Forums!  My daughter and I signed up for the July 19-Aug 2 Saturn cruise only a couple of days ago!  Nice to see these lovely photos...didn't find a CC forum for our cruise! 

 

Welcome aboard!  The roll call for our cruise is here:

 

[Twitchly]

12 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

I’ll only comment on food 👍; “entertainment” 👎; lectures 👍.

This sums up our experience beautifully.