Our Cruise on the Norwegian Fjords
On Friday September 1st we left Spain early in the morning to fly to the UK. It was very strange for us, packing for a holiday as from the UK we were to go on our first proper holiday since moving to Spain in May 2000 and having no idea what the weather would be like we had to pack for all occasions from casual to formal dress for evenings and for the day for all weather conditions!
Day One – Sunday – Departure
On the morning of Sunday September 3rd we drove from Warboys in Cambridgeshire to Letchworth in Hertfordshire to collect our friend June, who was to join us on a week’s cruise to the Norwegian Fjords.
We arrived at Dover, our port of departure, at 1.45pm and a porter off-loaded our luggage from the car and whisked it away, not to be seen again until we arrived at our cabins. We parked the car, checked in and were shown into a comfortable lounge to await our turn to embark onto the MS Boudicca, one of the Fred Olsen Cruise Ships.
Eventually we were aboard and found our cabins on Deck 4, which very conveniently, were next door to each other. The cabins were spacious and comfortable with twin beds, lots of cupboard and drawer space and a bathroom with loo, sink, bath and shower. There was a TV, tea and coffee facilities, a hairdryer and of course life jackets! Oh, and we mustn’t forget the portholes!
We unpacked and settled in and then explored part of the ship before settling down in one of the many lounges for a nice cup of tea. Then, of course, we had to endure the lifeboat drill hoping avidly that we would not have to do it for real! At 5.30pm the ship began to move so we went on deck to watch the procedure. We watched the tiny harbour control boat fighting the seas to come alongside to pick up the pilot. No mean feat for him, climbing down a rope ladder from our ship onto the deck of the tiny boat bobbing in the water. Of course he received a cheer and handclap from all of us watching from the decks! Although the sea was a little choppy once we were out of the harbour we could feel hardly any movement on board, but that was all to change!
We enjoyed a wonderful evening meal and then settled down and watched an excellent cabaret show by the Boudicca Theatre Company singing and dancing their way through great numbers from the west end shows, after which we retired to our cabins for our first night’s sleep on board. Then the ‘fun’ started! At 3am we woke realising that the ship was no longer still but rolling all over the show. It was hard to even walk from the bed to the bathroom – it was sort of one step forward, one to the left, one to the right and 2 steps back! Did I really drink that much – no I definitely did not!
Day Two – Monday
Time to get up! We had to make do with a quick wash as the thought of standing or sitting in water with the ship rolling around was just too much to bear. We staggered up the corridor and stairs to Deck 6 where our restaurant was and managed to make it without mishap to fall into a chair at our table! Dry toast and a sip of tea was all we could face as by this time we were all feeling more than a little bit queasy. By now we were being hit with Gale Force 9 winds and hitting waves like brick walls and with each roll of the ship so the stomach flipped over! The Captain announced that we should not worry as the ship was perfectly safe but for our safety we should not go on deck and we should make sure we held on to every available handrail, door frame and object to stop ourselves falling over. Did we need telling, I don’t think so!
We staggered back to our cabins and the safety of our beds. Peter and June did venture back up to the restaurant and managed a little lunch but I’m afraid I stayed tucked up in my bed groaning. All three of us did manage to make it to dinner. Tonight was formal dress and the Captain’s Welcome Party. We decided that the Captain would have to do without our company as the less time spent on our feet the better! A view held by at least half of the passengers I would think as there were a lot of empty tables in the restaurant that night.
We managed to eat a sparse meal and transfer our unwilling bodies through to the Showtime lounge to be entertained by two great guys, a Multi Instrumentalist and a Comedian, two excellent performers who took our minds off the raging seas outside. Then we faced the gauntlet again to get back to the safety of our cabins and our beds.
Day Three – Tuesday
Woke up at 6am on Tuesday morning and laid there suddenly realising that the ship was no longer rolling and being buffeted. I sat up and put my feet gingerly to the floor and found that I could move around easily – we were back in the land of the living after more than 24 hours of hell – thank goodness! We were now in the Fjords in very calm waters and due to dock at 8am at our first port of call – Bergen, Norway.
After a very hearty breakfast we disembarked at 8.15am to commence an 8½ trip called ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ and what a wonderful tour it turned out to be. We drove by coach from Bergen to Voss, passing through no less than 40 tunnels on the way. When not in tunnels we were treated to the most wonderful vistas of mountains, valleys, lakes, rushing rivers and waterfalls and dotted amongst all this lovely wooden houses in idealistic surroundings. At Voss, we boarded a train which took us on a journey through rapidly changing landscapes up the mountains to Myrdal where we changed trains to ride on the Flams-banen railway line for a spectacular journey down descending from 867 metres in just 50 minutes from the Hardangervidda Mountain plateau through tunnels, over bridges and past thundering waterfalls.
We rejoined our bus in Flam and drove to Gudvangen to wind our way up to Stalheim’s Kleivene – Europe’s steepest road with a gradient of 1 in 5, navigating 13 hair pin bends on the way and at one point being told that the front of the bus was 2 metres higher than the back end! Scary, or what! It was a bit like the film ‘The Italian Job’! Our destination was the Stalheim Hotel perched upon a cliff 550 metres high overlooking waterfalls and the valley below. Here we had an excellent buffet lunch comprising of too many foods to mention. Then we made our way back down, on a more user friendly road, stopping at the most spectacular of waterfalls, the Tvinde waterfall, travelling back through Voss and back to our ship at Bergen. Only one word describes this day – awesome!
So, back on board, a nap, change of clothes and pre-dinner drink in the observatory lounge to see the sights as the ship sailed for our next port of call. Tonight was casual dress with a Western Theme. Then another excellent dinner followed by another great show by those entertaining youngsters of the Boudicca Theatre Company performing Country and Western.
Day Four – Wednesday
The ship anchored at 7.30am at Flam and, after yet another hearty breakfast, we disembarked at 8.15am to be taken by tender to the dock to join a bus for today’s trip. Today we travelled by bus alongside the Sognefjord to Aurland – a small yet thriving village with its 13th century Gothic-style church. We drove along the side of the Aurland Salmon River ascending the Lavisdal Valley, past Vassbygda Lake to Osterbo Lodge where we were treated to coffee and delicious waffles with home made strawberry jam and sour cream. Naughty but Nice! From here we returned to our ship which was due to sail again at noon for a short sail to Gudvangen.
In the afternoon, after taking the tender from our anchorage point to the port of Gudvangen we were off again on another trip. This time we were off on a ‘Goat Cheese Experience and Visit to Undredal Village’. Another fascinating journey, more mountains, green valleys, lakes and waterfalls and we arrive at Undredal where we visited a fascinating Stave Church built in 1147. The church is still functioning today but has seating for only 40 parishioners! We then went on to a Goat Cheese Centre where we were very amusingly entertained by the owner in his rendering of the local history and the traditional making of the cheese, which contains a secret ingredient that gives it a very special flavour. This was very apt for me, who, since being found to be intolerant to dairy products from the cow, I am now eating goat’s cheese. Unfortunately, after sampling the cheeses (delicious!), we ran out of time and I was unable to buy any cheese to bring home.
Another excellent dinner that evening. Did I mention that dinner consisted of 5-7 courses? And, another good entertaining show by the Comedian and Multi Instrumentalist and then three very weary travellers wended their way to bed to wake up next day at yet another place.
Day Five – Thursday
Today we woke up anchored off Ulvik, but oh dear, it is pouring with rain and very misty. What a shame as today we were scheduled to go helicopter flightseeing and of course it had to be cancelled. Never mind, another time perhaps! So, after breakfast we took the tender to shore and meandered around the quaint port of Ulvik. I will say at this point how charming everywhere we went was with their tiny and sometimes large wood built houses, some still with the traditional grass roofs, which they told us gave excellent insulation. We actually saw a goat on one grass roof chomping away and keeping the growth down! And, everywhere was so scrupulously clean, not a piece of litter ever to be seen and even the sheep looked as though they had had a bath that morning!
We sailed from Ulvik at noon for the short leg to Eidford arriving at 2pm, where again we should have anchored and been tendered to shore but miraculously the ship managed to actually get into dock. During this journey we partook of lunch. Did I mention that lunch was also 5-7 courses if you wished and just as excellent as dinner? I feel the pounds going on folks!
In the afternoon, we boarded a bus that was to take us to Hardangervidda Nature Centre. This was actually very disappointing as it was not at all what we had expected (the one trip, that we did not have a preview of the itinerary). Apart from more lovely scenery the Nature Centre was totally misnamed, so we’ll say no more! However, on the return trip, we did visit the Sysen Dam on the Hardangervidda mountain plateau at 750 metres and had a glimpse of the Hardanger Glacier which was worth seeing.
Then back to the Boudicca once more ready to sail again at 6pm to travel to our last port of call, Stavanger. Tonight is another theme night. This time a British night, of course! Dinner, again excellent, was a traditional British menu and late night supper, which we never partook of, was fish and chips in newspaper! After dinner, another wonderful cabaret by the Boudicca Theatre Group, this time entitled ‘Back to The Barracks’. A good show, even if some of the uniforms were American and not British but only Pete spotted that! This was followed by a good old sing-song. Then, night, night folks we can have a lay-in tomorrow as the boat is not due to dock at Stavanger until noon tomorrow!
Day Six – Friday
Our last day in Norway and we don’t wake until 9am, what a waste of scenery! We had a leisurely morning just admiring the scenery from the ship, after another hearty brekkie of course! Then we had a light lunch as it did not seem long since our late breakfast and then at 1.30pm we disembarked for our last trip of the cruise. This time we were off to Mosteroy Island via an undersea road tunnel, 5860 metres beneath the sea surface and 45 metres below the sea bed. We were visiting Utstein Monastery, one of the royal estates of King Harald Fairhair around 1000AD and later donated to monks who established an Augustinian monastery before it evolved into a country manor in the 18th century. After a very amusing and interesting talk on the history of the buildings and a guided tour, we experienced the wonderful acoustics of the chapel when we were treated to a short classical concert on the organ. Following this we tucked into yummy pancakes with the strawberry jam and sour cream (another inch on the hips!). On the way back to the ship some of us took a short walk through the pretty narrow streets of Old Stavanger.
Tonight is another formal night – The Captain’s Cocktail Party. This time we graced him with our presence! What a farce these evenings are though! However, after a short speech, he did treat us to a rendering on the trumpet and very good he was too. After another lovely dinner (more food!), we went to a very special cabaret show. This was really very special as it was members of the crew who were entertaining us tonight and very talented some of them were too. Most of the crew were Philippians and Taiwanese and dressed in their national costumes they happily sang and danced their way through their own traditional songs and dances. It was lovely! Other crew members sang and played instruments and we also had a bunch of the engine room boys strutting their stuff to ‘Sex Bomb!’ just for us ladies.
Before retiring to bed we took a walk around the Grand Gala late night buffet to see the ice and salt sculptures, the fruit and vegetable carvings and the wonderful display of food. Lovely to see and photograph but we could not even consider partaking of the food, although many people did.
While all this was going on we sailed from Stavanger at 11pm for the 36 hour cruise home. Was it going to be as bad as the trip out we wondered?
Day Seven – Saturday at Sea
Today was a very leisurely day at sea and hooray the sea was like a mill pool, so calm! The sky was blue and the sun was shining and it was like this all the way back to the UK. Of course the sun set and the sky was not blue when night time fell but it was still beautifully calm. During the day we all went off and did our own thing. We played carpet bowls and ship’s putting up on the top deck, Deck 10. I have to say folks, that I won the ladies putting competition. Did you hear that? I won the ladies competition! Peter and I joined the General Knowledge Quiz (and thanks to the very knowledgeable lady sat next to us we came 2nd!) June was very energetic joining in the line dancing and then Yoga! Well done June! I desperately wanted to swim in the lovely heated pool and to sit in the steaming Jacuzzi but could not bear being in what was like a goldfish bowl with everyone looking down on my bits and bulges and not very good swimming style! So I did not do it and will save it till I get back to Spain!
Yes, you’ve guessed it! We had another scrumptious breakfast, another wonderful lunch and another fantastic dinner amongst all this too! I think by now you will have got the message that the food was lovely! The meals were so varied throughout the cruise and at dinner they served different themes – British, American, Italian, French to name but a few and of course Norwegian. I really liked the reindeer and Pete loved the herrings.
After dinner we went to see the farewell Showtime Cabaret. The Boudicca Theatre Company put on another spectacular show joined by equally excellent performances by the Comedian and Instrumentalist and this time the members of the Entertainment team joined them treating us to the funniest, most hilarious comic sketch of ‘If I was not upon the Stage (in this case Sea) Something Else I’d Rather Be!’ that we had ever seen and we laughed so much our sides ached and tears streamed down our faces. We have seen this done many times and Peter has even participated in it a couple of times but it has never been as funny as this one. I do wish I could have video’d it but I didn’t have a camcorder! We joined in a rendering of We’ll meet again and Auld Lang Syne and sadly realised then that the cruise was virtually over!
Finally Pete paid a visit to the Casino and went happily to bed after he had lost his allocated amount of money!
We docked at Dover at 7.30am on Sunday 10th September, disembarked at 9.15am and after getting VIP treatment at the dockside we wended our way back to Letchworth to drop June home and then back to Warboys and back to reality.
Fred Olsen is an excellent company to cruise with. They know how to look after their passengers and have found just the right balance to make up an enjoyable cruise. We had a fantastic time and are already planning our next cruise!!!
Hi enjoyed reading your journey log onboard the Boudicca, having just returned last Sunday 21st Jan 07 from our 12 night trip to the Canaries with Fred Olsen also onboard the Boudicca, very similar experience especially the seasickness for the first couple of days, in fact the first cocktail party was postponed for 1 day as so many people were sick but it was the 9th of Jan and there were terrible storms battering Britain – we too thoroughly enjoyed the shows by the Boudicca Theatre Company (all the same shows and theme nights) – some very talented artists we especially enjoyed a multi instrumental duo ‘Andante’ and a comedian called ‘Tucker’ .
In fact we have now been home almost a week, but miss the ship and the people we met, and will look forward to maybe another cruise in the future, funnily enough our next cruise would probably be to the Norwegian Fjords.
Thanks again
Sue & Andy Knowles
January 28th, 2007 at 12:51 am