Fizz

 Leaving Stockholm, TSH played ABBA music.

In Tallinn, TSH and Diva took the shuttle bus into town. Apart from the extremely hot weather - 28 degrees C - they had a very pleasant walk round the old town. They saw a Scottish pub as well as the compulsory 'Mad Murphy's'. 

They met a guest wearing a T-shirt with some of the words of 'Imagine'. '....all the people, living life in peace....' Whatever would John think of the world now?

And what would Paul think of being described as 'the Beatles' bass guitarist' in a news item in 'Britain Today'.

Regular readers may remember that on a previous visit to the East meets West restaurant, TSH gave the waiter instructions on how to pour beer. Clearly this knowledge was not passed on, as the waiter this time just tipped the beer into the glass, creating copious foam. TSH was, however, shocked when opening a bottle of English sparkling wine in the suite. Even though the bottle had been resting in the fridge for many days, the cork flew off immediately, hitting the ceiling with some force. 

Here we go Again

 

On going ashore in Stockholm, TSH and Diva were greeted with the sounds of ‘Mamma Mia’. Other people on the shuttle bus had remembered to pick up a paper map but judging by the resultant conversations, most were not able to make much use of them.

At one stage, Diva noted the turn they needed to make to get back to the shuttle bus. On the corner was a café called ‘Brod & Salt’. Only later did they discover that it was part of a chain with branches all over the city. TSH proved to be a good guide, as he had been to Stockholm a number of times before. He also had somehow managed to secure Werthers Originals to hand out on the way back to the Spirit of Discovery.

Diva has a lot of sore muscles but no headache.

On return to the Spirit of Discovery, the music had been changed to ‘When all is said and done……its time to pay the bill’.

Diva melts down

 

TSH and Diva decided not to go ashore in Visby because of the driving rain and high winds. Especially since the Captain had advised people going ashore to walk carefully down the middle of the pier as otherwise they risked being swept off their feet.

Instead they went for a walk around the promenade deck. When they decided to go back inside, the heavy door was caught by the wind, collided with Diva and swept her off her feet. She banged her head and shoulders.

The result was attendance by the Guest Services Manager, followed by a nurse with a wheelchair. The rest did not go well. The emphasis was on Diva signing forms which she was not expected to read. She read them, did not sign them and as a result (she thinks), no doctor was called. Her blood pressure was taken and found to be high even by her standards. She eventually returned to her cabin and is so far ok but concerned about possible consequences of the blow to her head.

Crazy Captain

 

There are not many announcements on Saga ships, so TSH and Diva knew that it was not good news when there was an announcement from the Captain during breakfast. The port of Visby was currently closed and the Princess which was to dock alongside the Spirit of Discovery had already left the area. This was due to high winds and a choppier sea than they have so far seen on this holiday.

But the Saga risk-taking captain had decided to persuade the authorities to reopen the port for his vessel so that the scheduled tours could proceed. Diva was shocked by the attitude and felt very uneasy.

Victory

The destination lecturer is good but Diva was terrified by some of his pictures for Riga. He spoke about the regional wildlife and showed close up pictures of wolf and lynx. The Golden Oriole was pretty. 

Before dinner, TSH and Diva hosted drinks and nibbles for two friends who live near their home. Their butler - one of the best they have ever had on Saga or Silversea - set up the table, including champagne on ice.

On formal night in the Grand Dining Room, many guests were looking at their phones during the Euro 25 final match. A cheer from the first table to spot the victory spread round the room. A table near to TSH and Diva were late to the realisation of what had happened but did their own cheer some minutes later. 

Diva is glad she is not tall

 In Gothenburg, TSH and Diva took an excursion which gave views of the attractive buildings, old and new, including the extremely tall building where it is claimed that the luxury apartments can cost            £6 million. For a flat in a high rise in a city!! Part of the excursion was a ride on a canal boat, which gave a different perspective on Gothenburg. But the bridges the boat passed under were so low that everyone instinctively ducked. This moved the excursion into Diva's white knuckle category; The guide stood on a high part at the front facing his audience. He deliberately left it to the last minute to sit down for each bridge but he was disappointed if he expected screams instead of murmurs from the phlegmatic British travellers.

Diva has always suspected she has some Viking ancestry and this was confirmed when they passed Banana Quay and were told that Sweden imports more bananas per capita than anywhere else in Europe.

Another guest told them that the traffic problems around Dover (the ones which disrupted the shuttle buses and stopped them going into the centre) had combined with motorway problems elsewhere to result in some guests from the north-west of England failing to arrive before sail-away. The Spirit of Discovery waited for them as long as possible but eventually had to leave. They were offered a full refund or a night in Dover and 2 flights to catch up with the cruise in Gothenburg. What a nightmare!

The lecturers on Enchanting Scandinavia are just as good as the ones on the previous cruise to Norway.

The Living Room has a cake supporting the Lionesses in Euro 2025.

 

It's a draw!!

The Spirit of Discovery is now back in Dover to disembark one set of guests and welcome the newcomers. TSH and Diva are among the lucky few who are staying onboard. It is surprising how many guests are amazed that 'back to back' is possible. They cannot imagine that there was a cruise before or after their own! They have not worked out that 5% discounts are involved. 

The day in Dover was a little difficult. The plan was to do into Dover using the advertised shuttle bus, which failed to materialise. There appeared to be serious traffic issues in the area and they were concerned that if they made it to Dover they might not easily get back. They stayed onboard and walked around the promenade deck instead.

It has already been recorded that Diva broke a tea-pot in the Britannia lounge. TSH has evened up the score by breaking a wine glass (empty). This happened in the morning and no alcohol was involved in the incident. Diva left a warning sign for the cabin steward, to avoid any injuries.

Photoblog

 

Let there be light

In the morning, TSH and Diva were busy with the sudoku and the crossword in the Living Room when the lights were dimmed so that their aging eyes were struggling to read. Diva asked for them to be turned up again. It turns out that the 'system' can only provide a fixed amount of light (a quantum?)  and if the LR is bright, the jewellery shop is not sufficiently bright to sparkle the diamonds. Guest Services assured her that an electrician would be called but there was no apparent action that morning.

Diva has discovered the 'Slow Horses' novels. She is only on the first one but is impressed.

TSH had fish, chips and mushy peas for lunch. Followed by sticky toffee pudding. 

The weather is now grey but the North Sea is very smooth. 

Diva and the Ironing Board

These are not words which are often used in conjunction. But Diva decided her linen dresses needed ironing and she set out to Deck 10 launderette, where she found two ironing boards neatly attached to the walls. There were instructions as to how to set them down but she failed to work out which lever was referred to, let alone how to twist, pull or push it. So she headed to Deck 8 launderette, where she was lucky enough to meet a woman who had clearly mastered the technique and was prepared to set the other board down for Diva's use. Total humiliation for a Chartered Engineer. But it was not that kind of engineering.

The ship layout is still confusing for both TSH and Diva but on this voyage they have so far beaten the phones into submission and the time change has gone smoothly, with no reversion to some other zone.

In other news, the weather remains warm, the seas calm and there has been no rain!! The fjord scenery has been stunning, especially in the bright clear light. The only disadvantage of the deep narrow fjords is the occasional absence of TV and Internet.

 Following his stroke and his vision problems, TSH has struggled with paper sudoku and he has restricted himself to those available on his Ipad. He would like it recorded that on this cruise he has completed several of the Saga-supplied paper puzzles, as well as visiting the Grill buffet on his own a number of times. Mostly for desserts.

There is a crack

 In Skjolden, Diva studied some movements on the water on the opposite side of the fjord. She was convinced that she was watching a pod of whales occasionally surfacing and showing a flash of white.  TSH maintained that it was a group of birds and when he saw one of them fly off, he presented this as evidence that he was right.

Food continues to be excellent. The duck in East to West is very special and the Norwegian buffet evening presented lots of interesting choices, including venison meatballs and a cocktail called Viking Scream. Diva has discovered that the cookies in the Living Room are far more to her taste than the lunch-time Grill offering of creamy desserts, so the Living Room is where they now have their after lunch tea and hot chocolate.  They are still welcome in the Living Room – perhaps less so in the Britannia lounge, where Diva accidentally tipped up the table, sending many items to the floor. The tea pot was broken and the tea bag made a serious stain on the carpet.  TSH was relieved that he was not involved in the incident.

Standing Room only

 

Saga run an excursion ‘system’ which has participants meeting on board to be allocated a bus number. The trick is to match the number of people with the number of seats on the bus.    TSH and Diva were allocated to bus 13, only to find that there were 6 more people than seats. There was much consternation and recounting and it was suggested that the ‘surplus’ guests should stand until a meeting with another bus. Health and Safety? Eventually this suggestion was dropped and bus 12 was recalled. TSH and Diva were looked at disapprovingly (and sometimes scolded) by those already on bus 12, who just assumed they were late and had caused significant delay to their excursion. No member of crew bothered to explain otherwise.  Diva has explained her fury to the excursion manager.

The highlight of the excursion was the traditional Saga handout of Werthers originals.

Visit to the rainy port

The daily program said that the gangway would be on Deck 4 forward. TSH and Diva have cruised enough times to know that this means 'towards the pointy end'.  But they have not been on Spirit of Discovery often enough to be confident where that is and which way they should turn when leaving their suite. Especially when the ship had taken a tortuous path in its approach to the dock, appearing to make a complete about turn at one point. So when they emerged from the lift on Deck 4 (with other guests - it was not just them) they were met with empty corridors and no sign of an exit. They met a shocked crew member who was relieved to direct them away from the crew area. They had to return to Deck 5 and descend using the correct stairs at the other end of the Spirit of Discovery.

It is a well known fact that it always rains in Bergen. Except when it is 28 degrees C and sunny and TSH and Diva are visiting.  The heat was relentless in a way that was totally unexpected in Norway. So this was a brief visit, although they found some shady alleyways of quaint old wooden buildings that they had not encountered before. They were relieved to return to the air conditioning of the ship. Large glasses of water before lunch.

An excellent start

The drive from home to Dover was fast and comfortable, with only 2 brief stops to collect other guests and to allow Diva to eat her bananas at the motorway services. Embarkation was efficient and the prosecco at lunch very welcome. At the safety muster there was a temporary panic from Diva and a feeling of smugness from TSH, as she could not immediately find her ship card. She eventually dug it out of her bag, deflating TSH, who really did forget his card on a previous muster occasion. They chatted with a guest who had never been on a cruise before. She kept muttering about Titanic (a banned word on most ships) and the orchestra going down with the ship. 

Saga allocate everyone a restaurant booking to avoid confusion on the first night of a cruise and TSH and Diva were a little apprehensive to be sent to La Vie en Rose - a French-style restaurant which is new to the Spirit of Discovery. It replaces the Club, which was one of their favourites. Worry was unnecessary. They were greeted with large glasses of Kir Royale. Diva does not normally drink cocktails. She prefers to know exactly what she is drinking and large glasses of red wine normally satisfy demand. She now loves Kir Royale and will be requesting it forever. As well as red wine. They ate goat cheese salad, steak (TSH), duck a l'orange (Diva) and excellent lemon tart. Service was excellent and red wine plentiful. The new restaurant is a success.

The suite is now well organised and stocked by the butler with the requested drinks. The North Sea is exceptionally calm, although they met one guest who is already wearing wrist bands. How will she cope in a choppy sea?