11/20 and 11/21: Not much to report as in our first port of call we found a hidden patch of ice and both took a tumble. Lynn was ok and I really took a hard hit. So I have been ship bound, letting things get back together. Now it is 11/22 and I am more mobile, All is ok. Getting mo bettah all the time.
11/22 we were to have docked in Alesund but the weather did not allow. We have sought shelter from storms in Molde. We are staying on the ship doing laps as the skies are grey and it is raining.
We were shipboard for the next day (day at sea) which helped me recover from the fall. Weather is a bit stormy.
The night of 11/23 we had to sail into some open water outside the shelter of the fjords and coastal waterways. Well, it did get rather rough.
There was a wave that hit during dinner time which almost knocked me out of my chair. My wine glass slid across the table, I MADE A SAVE!!!.
The ships captain announced we would hit a rough stretch of water at about 0200-0400. BOY DID WE EVER. One wave knocked over the chairs in our cabin, Glasses fell off the shelves and the mini bar opened up and the contents were spread across the room. Should add the table in our cabin moved a good 10 feet, the curtain separating the sitting area and bed came off it’s tracks. We were lucky as no glass ware was broken and all bottles stayed closed. We crawled about the floor and restored the mini fridge contents. Then BOOM another big wave hit emptying the mini bar again. We finally secured the mini bar door with a fallen over chair. We then made it back into bed after getting the bathroom in order. It was quite a ride. The next day we did get a Certificate commemorating our rough sea passage.
Now to my intent of this blog entry: A review of Hurtigruten.
This is our second sailing on Hurtigruten, the first was great and this voyage was just as great.
On this trip we were upgraded to a Mini Suite. This included many benefits.
1. A nice size room
2. A mini bar that was always restocked
3. A clothing package to included a wool hat, wool sweater, and jacket. (All very nice Norwegian products)
4. Dining in Rost the upscale restaurant.
And other benefits.
The biggest and best element of the above was the dining. Yes there’s a menu but should one choose there is a 5 course chef’s selection paired with various wines. The was outstanding, the food was inspired by the coastal cuisine and all was fresh and locally sourced. For our 12 day on the ship not a single item was repeated. The attending to the detail of each course was impeccable. The wine pairings were AMAZING!! Lynn is not a drinker and the head bartender made her special non-alcoholic pairings for the meals. I will say this everything we had was delicious. I will also say, many of the courses I would never think about even considering as a menu choice. Once I tried some of those questionable items and enjoyed the flavor, I was hooked. These chef’s choice meals are served in a surprise style, meaning you did not know what was coming course to course.
I am now even a greater fan of Hurtigruten. To the surprise of many, our Captain was a female and she runs a tight ship. She was totally concerned about our safety and overall voyage. All the staff was AMAZING!!! They did not give any excellent speach and tipping in not encouraged or expected. I did learn the staff are employees and not under a contract. They are paid an annual wage. They work 24 days on and 24 days off.
The expedition staff was always available and made some very enjoyable presentations.
Needless to say we are looking forward to sailing with Hurtigruten next summer from Dover to Reykjavik. While not in a suite, we will have a larger cabin with room to sit.
Today 11/25 when got off the ship and were on our way to our airport hotel, Lynn realized she had forgotten her jewelry. After checking into our hotel we were able to contact the ship and her jewelry had been located. We jumped on the first train from the airport and return to the ship and retrieved her left items. We were going to return to Oslo anyway but we are thankful this worked out.
Lastly one of the most enjoyable highlights of this trip was the making of new friends. Wonderful conversations were had filled with many laughs and sharing of travel stories.
So tomorrow starts the journey home.
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