Posts

June 25, 2017

  Luggage was placed in hallway to be collected before going to sleep. It was taken to arrival hall at the Amsterdam Passenger Cruise Ship Terminal when the ship docked by 7 a.m. this morning.   Deck 9’s Lido Market buffet opened at 6 a.m., so that passengers could have breakfast before leaving the ship.      The morning was cloudy with a light wind and a temperature of 18 C.   Fortunately, our group had one of the first time slots to leave the ship for transfer to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. We were loaded on the bus and were at the airport in about 25 minutes arriving at 8:15.   However the Air Canada counter did not open for Toronto and Vancouver passengers until 8:30. The line got longer and some people got self serve boarding passes and were whisked to the baggage drop-off, while others waited in line for boarding pass and dropping off their luggage. The luggage was coded to the final destination, so there was no getting the luggage in To...
Post a Comment
Read more

June 24, 2017

  Today was the final Sea Day as we return to Amsterdam.   The sun was shining today when it occasionally cleared the light cloud.   The temperature was a reasonable 14 C.   The wind from the southwest is strong, 50 km/hour. While walking laps on Deck 3, the wind gives you a boost as you cross the bow from the starboard side, almost sending you into a jog by the time you turn to walk along the port side.   When the sun has escaped a cloud, it is quite warm on your back.   The waves were about 1.5 meters high with little white caps. We were passing some of the North Sea oil rigs during the day. We could picture the small models that we saw in the Petroleum Museum yesterday as we saw the “oil rig towns” in the distance.     All the passengers received instructions for tomorrow’s disembarkation process.   Our group is part of the first bunch assigned to leave the ship at 7:30 a.m., after docking about 7 a.m.    After walk...
Post a Comment
Read more

June 23, 2017

Image
As we had breakfast, the ship was entering the Stavanger, Norway, harbour.   The dock, at Vågen Harbour, was right beside the mid 19th century wooden fishermen’s houses of the Old Town.   It was a wet morning, but the temperature was 13 C and a little wind.   The rain reduced visibility a bit.   The captain had announced last evening that he would arrive early in Stavanger. The ship was docked 75 minutes ahead of schedule.   We left the ship and found the Information center at the first corner.   There was Internet and few people in the building.   The upload of two days text and photos was completed in 25 minutes, although the second set of pictures took twice as long to upload because more people were accessing the Wi-Fi.    Stavanger is south of Bergen. It is in the county of Rogaland and is the fourth largest city in Norway.   It was home to Vikings who raided Europe and Britain and explored the northern Atlantic Ocean go...
Post a Comment
Read more

June 22, 2017

Image
    The ship was cruising Hardangerfjord when we went to the Dining Room on Deck 2 for breakfast.   We sat with two ladies from California, who are part of a quilting group that has two meeting rooms reserved for their lectures and workshops on sea days. We had just finished breakfast when the ship sailed under the Hardanger Suspension Bridge.   There was a light drizzle and the temperature was 12 C.   We watched as the ship docked, some workers on the ship used   a devise that fired a gentle shot to lob the ropes to the men on the pier.    The tour bus left the Eidfjord Cruise terminal for the first stop, Hardangervidda Nature Centre. We watched a panoramic film about Norway’s fjords, mountains and waterfalls. Then we walked through the centre, and watched the small trout in several of the aquariums. The nature centre is built on to the Hardanger Mountain Plateau which is Europe’s largest mountain plateau.    Back on the b...
1 comment
Read more