Roemin Aboat

Booked a cruise for the family on Queen Elizabeth to Amsterdam just before Christmas.

The day started nice and sunny with the pool very busy. But then a bank of sea fog appeared, the temperature dropped 20deg and the pool cleared! We ate in Qsine for lunch and saw the evening show for once. Just caught the end of the World Cup final and watched Germany beat Argentina 1-0. We are packed and ready to go now, the ship docks at 4:00am and will be disembarking at 8:30.

Back to urban Norway today, docked overlooking a container yard in the port of Bergen. A day for sightseeing, markets and shopping I suspect. But it's still sunny and very warm. We had to take a shuttle bus into the town centre and then we went up to the observation point on Mount Floyen via the funicular railway, for views over Bergen. Walked thought the incredible fish market to the old Bryggen quayside district which is a UNESCO world heritage site. Very pleasant place to wander around on a nice day, plenty of open spaces. Rosemary took the railway back down and found a bargain cake stand, for home, while I walked down the long way (and wished I hadn't). 

Another beautiful morning as we sailed into Flam. Disappointed to find that all the seats on the railway were booked up, but walked round to the marina for coffee instead. We took a tour bus up to the Stegastein view point 2000ft above the fjord for amazing views down to Aurland and Flam. Cruising back out along the Songefjord as the s un sets, more wonderful scenery, bound for Bergen.

Dawn cruise into the fjord after watching the penalty shoot-out, need some sleep but we are off for a  walk first. Beautiful morning, beautiful scenery. We walked up to the old church and then to the Fjords visitor centre for coffee (only 25kr) and walked down the newly commissioned steps beside the raging waterfall. Lots of photos taken. Departed 4pm for scenic cruise down the fjord. Captain made a 360 degree pirouette by the famous 7 sisters waterfall so that everyone had a good view of the falls. Awesome scenery all the way. Its been hot today, 27deg, but very hazy by 6pm - and then there was fog.

Alesund is our most northerly stop and is an attractive town with a wonderful view point high above the town. It was completely destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt in art nouveaux style with many museums. There was a boat festival in the harbour. We used the hoho bus to see the town and save our legs but walked down the 415 steps from the viewpoint in the sun. Another great day of weather for fjord hopping, sunset is at 11:21 today!

Just enjoyed a scenic cruise into the fjord to Olden,  gateway to the glaciers. We now have a bus trip down the valley and a strenuous 2 mile hike to Briksdal glacier.  We are back and it was spectacular in every way. Beautiful blue green lakes, snow topped mountains, roaring waterfalls and the awesome glacier. Tiring, but an unforgettable experience and the weather was perfect.

After a wet start and a late arrival we had an enjoyable day in Stavanger, a bustling harbour town with a nice mix of old and new. Rosemary enjoyed the market and shops while I went round the hi-tech oil industry museum. It ended sunny and warm.

Docked at 7:00am close to the opera house and were breakfasted and off the ship by 9:40! Walked to the nearby Opera house which is a very modern design and features a stone roof which sweeps down into the harbour. It is possible to walk to the top of the roof for fine views down the Oslofjord, so it's also popular with tourists. Then we walked over to the old fort complex which houses numerous military museums and the 15th century castle. The Norwegian resistance museum was particularly interesting because of the close connections with British forces. Finally walked down to the harbour and back to the ship for a late lunch of crepes at Bistro on Five. We sail at 4:00pm so just time to check email and update blog for first 3 days. Although it was mainly cloudy and we had a few spots of rain it is quite warm and humid.  

Started the day early with coffee and muffins in the cabin, then a healthy'ish breakfast later in the sea view cafe. Spent the morning wandering round the ship to get our bearings. Rosemary went to a lecture and I explored the upper decks in the hazy sun. We went to the returning cruisers party for drinks and nibbles then relaxed on our balcony in the sun. I snapped a few seagulls that were following the ship. Its a formal dinner tonite so hope the DJ still fits.

Long drive to Harwich on hottest day of year, but a smooth check in and in our cabin by 2:30. Great aft balcony on Celebrity Infinity with loungers plus table and chairs, which will be good for eating out later in the cruise. Sailed out on schedule at 5:00 into a smooth north sea, opened the complimentart fizzy wine. Dined in the trellis restaurant, coffee at Cafe el Bacio. Clocks go forward so a later night than planned!

Booked the parking at Harwich, bought the Flam railway tickets and completed the on-line check-in, so all we need to do now is pack and go. We have a concierge class cabin on Infinity's panorama deck (8) at the rear of the boat, overlooking the wake. We are due to set sail at 5.00 pm on 4th July, first destination is Oslo, followed by Stavanger (pulpit rock), Olden (for Briksdal glacier), Alesund, Geiranger, Flam (railway) and finally Bergen.

Just booked an aft  state room on Celebrity Infinity for a 10 day cruise to the Fjords in July. It is part of Rosemary's 70th birthday year of treats - at least that is the excuse this year.

Arrived Southampton on schedule at 5:30 am. Early shower and breakfast then next stop home. BTW Sorry I disabled "comments" in order to stop spambots from infiltrating the blog. They are turned on again, now that I can manage them from my PC, and I am expanding the cruise details.   

It's a beautiful warm sunny day and the North sea is as flat as a pancake - just typical! Ah well, a bit more culture, chilling out on the lawn, bling shopping and packing. Need an early night as the ship docks at 5:30am and we are due to disembark at 8:45am.

Two days at sea en-route to Southampton and the end of our cruise. Time for some on-board enrichment. Russian history, scrap booking, talks on the ships systems, glass blowing, cookery demos, cocktail drinking and dining. One final DJ night and then its packing. Disappointingly cloudy and cool again so no sun bathing round the pool or on the balcony today . Apparently we can look forward to a hot BBQ weekend back home.

Walked along the front to the royal palace to see the changing of the guards. We passed the famous little mermaid only a few hundred yards from our berth. It was almost hidden by Japanese tourists taking photos. We coffee'd by the old harbor, just to use up last year's Krone, then went back to the Eclipse for afternoon tea.    Later we had an excellent dinner in the Qsine speciality restaurant with sushi lollipops, lobster snails and other weird and wonderful dishes. Everything here is different. You order any number of course you like, up to 20 that is, on an Ipad and just wait to see what appears! As they say - a unique dining experience.

After four days of intensive sight seeing - today we did - absolutely nothing. Cruising south and east now towards Denmark so we are only getting a bit of morning sun on our balcony.

Tallinn is lovely and relaxed, such a contrast with its next door neighbor Russia. Friendly, picturesque and compact old medieval town. As I write this on my phone we are sitting in a tiny alley cafe in the sun, sipping coffee and eating quiche, away from the hoards of tourists (must be at least 6000) from the cruise ships. Lots of pavement cafes and good quality souvenir shops. Wonder what they do when the winter comes. We are only here for a few hours so we must come back again for a mid week break before it is ruined by all the stag and hen parties.

Today we were taken to the Hermitage Museum complex (world class art in abundance), Church on Spilled Blood (iconic onion architecture) and St Peter and Paul Cathedral (where all the Czars are buried). So much gold in all the palaces and churches it makes your eyes water. There must have been a massive contrast between the rich and the poor, little wonder there was a revolution. We lunched on typical Russian pies called Pioggia a bit like Cornish pasties but many different types fillings including the signature cabbage and egg ! Its been another hot sunny day so we have been lucky with weather. Back to reality tomorrow in Tallinn maybe. There is a barrage across the Baltic with huge lock gates to protect St Petersburg, which is not many feet above sea level, from being flooded by storm surges. The outer ring road follows the barrage and there is a deep tunnel under the lock. Its 3 hours cruising and almost dark when we pass through the gates.