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?