Monday 13th November- Tilbury...... eventually.

So, we had a little bit of uppy downy on Saturday, but nothing too bad, and yesterday the weather across the North Sea was good enough for the engineers to come and unbatten the hatches.

Peter ran his last classes.  All the passengers seem to have enjoyed it and we have a little space in the suitcases due to all the paper and stuff they’ve used up.  I’ve been buying stuff from the CMV shop make up for it.  I love mocha chocolate, and for the first time in about two years I’ve found somewhere that sells it, (well, Ritz Espresso chocolate anyway), so I’ve bought a stash to take home with me.

We packed our bags and put them out ready for the porters to unload in the morning, and spent our last night watching Stranger Things on the laptop.  We had to put our clocks back one hour, and the alarm is set of 6 am.  According to the timetable, we should be off the ship at about 9.40 am.

So here we are, at 2.40 pm, waiting for the ship to berth.   It didn’t go to plan did it? 

It turns out that, although we had plain sailing, this was not the case around the East coasts of England.  The seas have been so rough that the pilots could not come out to meet the ship.  The Magellan effectively sat outside the Thames Estuary from 2am until 10.30 am this morning waiting for a pilot.  The captain made the announcement to the passengers this morning at just gone 7 am, after we had all vacated our cabins according to instruction.

But we able to go back and make use of them for a little while longer, thankfully.  Peter and I are now sitting in the Hampton Bar where we’ll spend the next few hours until we can get off.

So, final verdict on the cruise.   Well, I liked it.  As I’ve said before, I prefer this ship to the smaller ones simply because it is much more comfortable in rough seas, and it always feels like there is plenty of room for everybody.  We like the pub, and the garden at the back of the ship is also a favourite.  We’ll be very happy to come back on board for the Amazon Cruise.

So that’s it until 7^th January.   I’m getting excited about coming back already, and we haven’t got off yet!

Saturday 11th November – Bergen

Oh What A Night!!  From what I can make out, the only person that seems to have slept through it was our cabin steward.  Every other passenger, waiter, cleaner or barman missed a good few hours sleep as the sea tossed the ship in all directions.  From what I can make out, the captain must have found calm water at around 3am and that was when everyone could finally sleep.

So this morning, no one got up early.  We are not due into Bergen until 10 o’clock,  and no one needed to hurry.  The restaurant closes for breakfast at 9am, so you can imagine what the Bistro was like.  It Peter and I two or three circuits to find a table.

No escorting today, because we had our own ideas of what we wanted to do, which was to take the funicular up the mountain (Mount Floen) and have a walk around the top.  Bergen is known for its rainfall, and today was no different.

Wrapped in waterproofs we made our way past the Bryggen to the little station, and after 180 kronas and a short wait, we were in the funicular car and on our way up.

We’ve been up here before, on a tour which meant we didn’t have much time and I

it was getting dark too.  There was snow today, and the rain had turned to sleet.  But we had all the time we wanted to wait for the clouds to clear.  The views were better than I remember.

Hoping the weather might remain dry, but not expecting it, we set off to explore.  There are loads of paths and tracks leading from the funicular station.  Covered picnic areas, bbq stands, and small notices to keep the kids interested were everywhere.  Despite the snowy paths, a group of Norwegians ran past us, amazingly surefooted across the slippery surface.

Our plan had been to put in a good few miles walking up here, but with repeated bouts of hail and sleet, we decided that a short walk would be more than enough.  (And not only that, our legs were tired and achy from coming down that hill yesterday).

We took the funicular back into the City, and then headed for Starbucks and McDonalds, wanting a little bit of a change from food on the cruise ship.  A wander around the shops reminded us how expensive it is in Norway.  Even the cheapest souvenir tat such as fridge magnet or a pencil would set you back a minimum of £5.  We left it all there on the shelfs.  We did end up buying  a couple of sets of shoe spikes though.  Much lighter than our metal micro spikes, these were what had been keeping them Norwegian runners upright earlier.  It might be a couple of years before we put them to use though.

So that was our day in Bergen.  The captain has warned that he is expecting rough seas again later, so our cabin window remains battened down, but the sea is calm at the moment.

Tomorrow is a sea day, and then we should be back to Tilbury early on Monday morning. Fingers crossed for smooth sailing.

Friday 10th November-Andalsnes

OK – so I missed out yesterday, cos there wasn’t a lot to report, except rough seas, Peter’s classes, and the desire to get into the fjords, port and flat water.  We got there in the end, the ship tied up about 7,30pm and we had a brilliant night’s sleep.  It’s nice when the bed isn’t doing it’s best to chuck you out.

Thing is, it was a bit too much of a good thing.  We didn’t get up till 9am, and it we weren’t ready to leave the ship until 10.  We had plans today though, in the form of a lovely pointy hill right outside the port.  Last time we’d visited Andalsnes, we’d taken a walk up it, and got as far as a viewing platform about ¾ of the way up.  This time we planned to reach the top.

We wrapped up well, thermals, layers, coats, gloves and hats and set off with purpose.  We reached the base within minutes and started up the first leg.  The Norwegians take care to make things accessible to everyone, even the mountains!  A ramp leads from the base meaning even wheelchairs can reach the lower viewing points.  Awesome.

A view from the lower slopes.  Still a long way to go yet. 

The hill is really steep and really hard work.  (Especially for the not so fit such as ourselves).  We started to peel layers off, and wish we’d remembered to bring water. We met people on the way, either going up or coming down.  The younger ones hurtled past us, the older ones tended to have gone so far and started to come down. 

I was surprised when we reached the snow line, as I’d expected it to be higher, but at least it resolved our water problems.

Onwards and upwards we went.  There are parts of the climb which are quite steep.  The Norwegians have provided rails and chains to help, which are very much appreciated.

The views all the way up are brilliant.

Still going up.  These steps run alongside the cliff edge, but there is a chain alongside for the fearful.  (Like me),  We had our microspikes on too, they added confidence on all those steps. 

I even walked out most of the way onto the viewing ramp, although I stopped at the point where the floor becomes  a metal grid and you can see through it.  Peter was perfectly happy there though.

He was also happy to keep going, although I was worried about time and light.  In the end, I waited whilst he went on up for a few more minutes which turned into well over half an hour, because he was determined to get to the top.  He didn’t quite make it to the summit cairn though, although it was near as dammit.

Then  it was time to come down.  I tried the “Winter Route” and decided it was too hairy, so we went down the way we’d come.  It seemed to take forever to get down, but finally we reached the road back into town, and the ship and at last, Tea!

A really good walk.  We loved it. 

There was one little cloud on our day when we got into the cabin though, somebody had sneaked in and blocked out the window in preparation for rough seas.  The captain is expecting really bad weather, and has warned us that once we have left the fjord tonight, we are going to feel it.  He told us that he has two Norwegian Pilots on board, and they are going to do their best to keep us sheltered by hiding behind the various little islands along Norway’s coast.  When that isn’t possible, we are going to be at the mercy of waves up to 7 metres high.  That’s big!

 Peter and I have decided to spend a night in then.  That is, we’re gonna sit in the cabin and watch Star Trek on the laptop.  Tomorrow we’re due to arrive in Berge. Hopefully the weather won’t slow us down too much.

Wednesday 8th November – Sea day

The sea has been a bit uppy downy, but as I’ve said before, I find the Magellan seems to handle it reasonably well.  I’ve not felt seasick at all this cruise, despite us getting force 8 winds and waves/swell up to 5 metres high.  This bodes well for our next cruise in January, when we’ll be crossing the Bay of Biscay. 

Peter ran his classes this morning – he still has to do two as there are 40+ passengers turning up, and the most we can get into the room at once is 26.  We had lunch in the Bistro as always.  In the afternoon, Peter spent some time looking after his online students, whilst I chilled and chatted in the lounges.  I had a quick chat with one of guys in the CMV shop.  We met him the last time we were on the Magellan, and he remembered us.  Mostly because we took about an hour deciding on which watch to buy for Peter, and probably had the staff empty the whole shop window..........  and some!

Anyway, he gave me a little bit of info about the up and coming dry dock, when the Magellan is going to get a new speciality restaurant.  Sounds interesting.  I wonder how that is going to work?

The sea swell grew higher, and the wind blew harder as the day progressed.  The lifts were stopped as a precautions, and many of the decks were taped off as being too windy to use.

Just as it was getting towards evening, Peter and I decided to get our things together ready to go out on deck and have a look out for the lights.  Coats, scarfs etc in hand, we headed upstairs, but to the bistro first, for a cup of tea.   And then the announcement came over the sound system.  The lights had been seen at the rear of the ship.  Suddenly, every passenger on the ship was on the move.  We couldn’t use the lifts, and the staircases filled as everyone hurried up.  It wasn’t quite a panicky rush, but a couple of people took a tumble in the haste to get to the decks.   It didn’t matter that many were taped off as too windy to access, everyone tumbled out of the doors and scanned the skies.

And yes, there it was.  The green haze that we have learned to recognise as the Aurora Borealis.  Sadly, it didn’t really develop much, but it did at least hang around long enough for just about everyone to see. 

Not the best picture, but you can see the lights stretch all the way overhead 

The lights faded away, and everyone went back inside, to hear the next announcement from the Captain.  The weather has been bad enough to really slow the ship down and the decision has been taken to miss out Trondheim altogether and head straight for the next Port, Andalsnes.   We should get there late tomorrow afternoon, and get a night in Port.

Looks like Peter will have to run a couple of extra classes then. I wonder if the sea will calm down by tomorrow?

Tuesday 7th November - Tromso

Tromso is the largest town in northern Norway.  It sits 400km inside the Arctic Circle and the main part of the town sits on the island of Tromsoya,  which is linked to the mainland by bridge.  From our vantage point at breakfast, Peter and I noted that it was not the most appealing of towns, and decided there was nothing that we could see that made us want to go out for a wander in the morning before our excursion this afternoon.  So we just chilled out.

Sunrise at Tromso - it's nearly 10 o'clock and the sun hasn't yet managed to rise over the mountains. 

We think we’ve been before, but if that was the case, neither of us could remember what we’d done last time we visited.  The easy answer would have been to check the blog, but we didn’t have access at the time.

Anyway, we had a tour after lunch - Arctic city and Cathedral – so Peter and I were stood on the quay at 12.30 ready to greet the hoards.   Once the buses were loaded, we were off.

The island of Tromsoya is actually a small one that sits between the mainland and a larger island which protects it from the cold Norwegian sea, with bridges to connect it t both.  The first part of my tour was to take us over the bridges to “Whale Island” where we got to good views of the fjord and surrounding scenery.

Back over the bridge, we were then taken to Tromso Museum.  As soon as I stepped inside the front door, I remembered what it was Peter and I had done last time we visited Tromso.  (He did the same apparently).  My guide was knowledgeable, interesting and had 26 passengers hanging on to his every word as we toured the museum.  I’d already learned quite a lot about the Sami (or Laplanders), on my previous tour, this time I learnt a lot more.  It was very dark by the time we left, (I think sunset here is around 3pm), and the roads were icing up nicely. 

The Arctic Cathedral, not really a cathedral,
but interesting. 

From the museum we were taken to the Arctic Cathedral, which isn’t really a cathedral at all, although it is a really interesting piece of architecture.

Inside the Arctic Cathedral, you can see it is quite small. 

And then back to the ship. That was our last excursion as an escort this cruise, as we’ve asked to be able to do our own thing for the next three ports, with plans to go walking and stuff.  I’m hoping the weather will be good enough.

 And like everyone else, I’m still hoping to see the Northern Lights, only I’ve not got quite as much invested in that hope as the passengers have.  I’m keeping me fingers crossed for them as well as myself.

Tomorrow is a sea day, so Peter will have a couple a classes. Let’s hope the sea stays calm.

Monday 6th November. Honningsvag and the North Cape.

The ship docked about 9am, but Peter and I had a bit of lie in.  We got to breakfast at about 9.30, aiming to fill up good and proper cos we knew we would miss lunch.  We were due on the quayside at 11.30 for our tour escorting duties.

We knew it was gonna be cold.  The North Cape is an exposed piece of rock battered by Arctic wind, rain and sea, so we layered up with thermals, t-shirts, fleeces and coats.  My coat is quite long, down filled and lovely and warm.  It’s zip up, with poppers to cover the zip to help keep the warm in. It has a fur trim around the deep hood, poppers all the way up the neck of the coat, and more poppers making sure the hood can also fit snugly around my head.  I bought it a couple of years ago for our trip to Norway and I really like it.  I also have a fur lined hat, ski gloves, a bright red scarf and a pair of waterproof, fur lined, heavy duty boots.  I am really well set for this freezing Norwegian weather.

Our first problem today was getting off the boat.  The queues were long, which surprised us.  Everyone decided to get off at the same time because they were all going the same place as we were. 

Just as we were heading out of the ship, I decided it was time to do my coat up.  Except I couldn’t!  The zipper flew off, under the feet of the other passengers.  One lady found it and returned it to me, but now I was stumped because my coat wouldn’t do up. ”Great”, I thought as I descended the gangway into the bitter wind and freezing rain.

Our next problem was the fact that we were supposed to meet at the buses.  Except we couldn’t find the buses.  Or the Shore Excursion team for that matter.  I’m using the poppers on my coat to keep it closed, but then I find I have another zipper problem.  The one on the CMV rucksack is completely useless, and the contents are being blown out of the bag and onto wet tarmac. 

Passengers are asking us questions, I’m trying to keep the rucksack closed and me coat together, and we still have no idea where the buses are or where the shorex team are.  This is not the best start to our excursion! 

But it turned out that the buses were simply late, and the shorex team were about on the quayside after all.  They were just wearing invisibility cloaks.  (Or at least it seemed like it).

The buses arrived, the chaos of passengers was organised, and Peter set off on the bus before me.  My bus filled up 15 minutes later, and I followed. 

The bus trip is took us through the dramatic scenery of the Norwegian countryside.  Pools of blue ice filled the dips where there should of been ponds.  Drifts of snow covered the grassy flats, and the harsh rocky crags around us were highlighted in white scrapes of ice. The sky blasted rain, sleet and snow in alternate swathes across the windowscreen and it was awesome!  I wouldn’t like to be outside in it like, but it was still awesome.  Peter has the photographs

45 minutes later, we reached the North Cape visitors centre.    Due to the way this tour works, it was at this point that we finished with our escorting responsibilities, and were free to do as we pleased.

I couldn’t find Peter, so I headed through the centre to the cliff edge that is the most northern point in Europe.  It’s blowing an absolute gale, with freezing rain.  I’m still trying to keep my coat done up with the poppers, which insist on unpopping every time I bend over, and I’m having to hold the rucksack together to keep the contents from falling out, but I made it to the edge and managed to have a look around.  Sadly the weather meant that the view wasn’t much, but I managed to be there.  And I’m pleased about that.

Some of the cliffs to the west, photographed through the rain, as you can see. 

The wind was blowing so hard, it was difficult to keep the camera still.  The North Cape landmark sculpture.

I met up with Peter and we spent the next hour or so exploring the visitors centre.  There’s a film and a few displays that we liked, a brilliant souvenir shop, and a cafe.  It was all good, and given the opportunity, I would go back.  If only in the vain hope that I might get a better view from the cliff next time.

We left a little after 3pm, and it was really quite dark.   Although I think Norway is beautiful, and we love their mountains, I don’t think I could live here.  I couldn’t cope with this darkness all winter.

So now we are back on the ship.  It set sail for Tromso at 5pm.  There was always hope that we might get a clear sky and chance to see the lights.  No go so far.

So Tromso tomorrow.  Apparently we are escorting again.  A cathedral visit in the afternoon, which is fine, I just need to see if I can fix me zipper.   It’s all go this cruising malarky.   

Sunday 5th November. Alta

Today the ship sailed into Alta.  We were a little later than expected, and arrived at 10.30.  Fine by us, cos we got to see the scenery as we sailed along the fjord. 

It’s cold though!  Beautiful.  And very, very cold.

A free shuttle bus had been laid on to take the passengers from the ship into the town centre.  Unfortunately, being Sunday, most of the shops were shut although the cathedral is definitely worth a visit.

An enterprising Norwegian has set up this little souvenir shop on the quayside.  And why not? There wasn't anywhere else to spend our Norwegian Krona 

Peter and I had no intentions of going into town.  Once we found out that we didn’t have any escorting duties, we decided to have a look to see if there was anywhere in the area suitable for a walk.  There’s an app that we can’t recommend highly enough.  It’s called Maps.Me, it’s free, and once you have the app installed on your phone (or any device), and all you have to do is download the map(s) of where you are going when you have wi-fi.  (I downloaded the whole of Norway.) 

Then, when you’ve got to wherever you’re going, you’ve got a really detailed map of the area, it includes all the streets as usual, but it also includes all the walking paths, landmarks, places of interest etc.  With a gps signal it’ll locate you and then help you plan routes, find places, all sorts.   It’s awesome. 

View from the ridge on our walk.

And we used it today to work out that there was a little hill, Losvarkollen,  a few miles away that we could walk to.  A fair amount of walking was through town, but we were able to make it a little more interesting, walking up a small but steep hill to follow the local paths through the woods, over the river Altaelva, through the suburbs of Kronstad, and finally, up our little hill.   It was a lovely day.  Cold, but clear skies meant that we had good views in all directions. 

The Altaelva

And we had another brilliant little something with us.  MIcrospikes!  Basically metal spikes on chains that fit to the bottom of your boots.  We bought them a couple of years ago, and have never used them in the UK.  Today they have been perfect, helping us stay upright through the slippy suburbs and on our climbs up the icy hills. 

Looking over to Alta from the top of our little hill.  That's Alta Cathedral with the spire. 

The walk was around 7 miles all in.  We set off about 11 o’clock, our only concern being that we shouldn’t be up a hill in the dark and not be sure of our way down, especially with sunset due a little after 2pm.   We managed it easily and were back downhill and walking through town just as it started to get dark, having really enjoyed the walk. 

Views across the fjord.  Our ship is hidden behind the little hill on the left edge of the picture.

We got back for afternoon tea, and then turned our attention to the next project of the day; the Northern Lights.  It had been so clear all day, chances of seeing them tonight should bereally good.  We’re in Alta after all, one of the best places in the world to see them.

But the clouds came over and blocked out the sky.  And they stayed.  People sat around the lounges of the ship, coats, hats, gloves and most importantly, cameras at the ready.  Waiting and hoping and waiting.  In the Bistro, people sat in groups, drinking copious amounts of tea, chatting and waiting.   It got later and later.  People wandered out onto the decks, (us included), checking the sky for any sign that the clouds were clearing.

Nothing.

Eventually, we’d had enough, and went to bed.   And so did everybody else.  For the passengers, it must be quite a disappointment.  For many, the Northern Lights are the reason for the cruise and we feel for them.  Maybe tomorrow night 

Saturday 4th November - Mixed Cultures and Green Lights

There’s not really a lot to say about sea days.  Peter did his classes.  People think he’s brilliant.   All the usual.  So I thought I’d write a few notes about the passengers.

First of all, the surprise is the number of passengers under 40.  There are loads of them! It’s nice to see the younger and different attitude and styles to” formal night, they bring a breath of fresh air to the evening.

There are loads of different nationalities on board too.   Although most of the cruise passengers are British, there are a substantial number of Germans, Dutch and Australians about.  There are enough German and Dutch Passengers to warrant all the announcements to be repeated in their languages.  We also have a group of 30 Malaysians on board.  They are bubbly and noisy and friendly and chatty and seem to take over the Bistro when they are in.  Really nice people, although there are a couple of cultural differences we’ve noticed, such as eating grilled tomato and porridge together at breakfast time, or constantly filling large flasks with hot water – we assume to make tea their way.   The crew seem to be from across the globe: eastern European, Indian/Pakistani, English, German, Asian......  A real mixed bag.

Some passengers walk around in socks – which seems a bit odd to us.  Everywhere inside is carpeted, but it is all public areas, just like any hotel.   There’s also the guy that goes everywhere with a grubby looking puppet on his hand.  It looks like a cow with an eye patch or something.  Each to his own I suppose. 

A couple of other interesting things about this multicultural society we have here on board.  We discovered from the Dutch Host that there is no word for sea spray in Dutch, he made one up in honour of Peter’s Art Class .  We also like the fact that our cabin steward is from Myanmar and his name is Naw Wai.  Yep!  It’s pronounced Nor Way.  We ain’t gonna forget his name in a hurry.

We watched the 2^nd guest act in the show lounge last night.  His name is Bruce Thompson, and we really enjoyed the show.  We’ve seen his act before, but it didn’t matter, we were still laughing out loud.  Really funny.

And the final thing that I have to mention about today’s sea day: WE SAW THE LIGHTS!  Yep, a short burst of the elusive Northern Lights graced the front of the ship a little after 10pm.  Not only did we see them, but we even got a couple of photographs.   It wasn’t the best showing, but we are hopeful for more when we get to Alta tomorrow.

We don’t have any tour escorting duties at Alta, so a lie in will be the first indulgence, and then we plan a little bit of a walk out to a nearby hill.   Whether or not we get to the top will be tomorrows question.  Alta here we come. 

Friday 3rd November. Kristiansund, Norway.

The new Kvernes Church

The captain had warned us that it might be rough out at sea tonight, but we have had such easy, even sailing so far, I didn’t think anything of it.   Fortunately, it was night time, and I could sleep through the majority of it.  But it was rough, and it did make the ship move about a bit, and it woke me up several times.

So today I’m not quite as well refreshed as I might be.  Peter and I were both up early to do our tours.  We’ve been allocated different ones this time, but they are also very similar, and finish at the same time.

I had a relatively easy time of it. Kristiansund is an “attractive, modern town built on three islands connected by bridges”.  In fact, the whole area is a system of islands, many of which are connected by bridges or tunnels, and my tour on bus number 6 was another drive out to see the scenery.

The lovely altar inside the old Kvernes Church

There were only two stops, the first at a couple of wooden churches, (one old and one new).  The old church was very lovely, and you could see why it had been preserved.

This boat model is several hundred years old.  Behind is the very lovely decoration on the walls of the old church. 

We also took a drive along the Atlantic Ocean Road. The road is 5 mile long and zig zags across islets and skerries,  all connected by bridges.  Quite dramatic on a windy day under grey skies. We stopped at the highest bridge on the road to take more pictures.

 

The Atlantic Ocean Road

My bus was back at the ship in time for lunch, and despite my usual panic that maybe I’d miscounted and left someone behind (I never have of course), all was well for my tour.

Not so for Peter, (his blog will better explain that), nor for one of the shorex team on bus 7 .  The guide on her coach was, in my opinion, a nasty piece of work.  Basically she refused an escort, saying the bus was full, at a time when it was too late to divert passengers about.  This upset the poor shorex lass, who was very concerned to do her job properly.  At first stop, the shorex girl insisted that a couple of passengers should be moved onto my bus where there was plenty of room, and that she would then be able join as the escort to bus 7.  The guide wasn’t very nice about it and complained that it would upset the passengers.  It all got sorted out in the end, but how does someone like that get a job tour guiding?  Horrible woman. 

My guide on the other hand, was a lovely man and very helpful, going out of his way to assist a few german passengers who had no idea what was going on.  He had no problems with the changes.

Peter also had problems, and because of that, he was quite late back, and we were therefore quite late into lunch, which also meant we really didn’t have time to have a look around Kristiansund City this afternoon.   Maybe another time.

So now the ship has set sail again.  The captain has decided not to tell us the weather forecast until later.  I’m hoping that if it’s going to be rough, it waits until I’m in bed.   Or perhaps we’ll have a clear night and everyone can go up on top decks looking out for the lights.  Who knows.........

Tomorrow is a sea day. I hope it’s calm.

Thursday 2nd November, Olden Norway

The Magellan, berthed at Olden, late in the afternoon.  It was nearly dark at 5pm.

Last night was formal night, and cos we were all dressed up, we had to have somewhere to go.  So we went to watch the show.  The show team put on the Abba show, one that we’ve seen many times before.  I don’t think the singers were at their best, although the dancers were excellent as usual, I think the singers weren’t quite as good as those I’ve heard in the past onboard CMV ships.

We tried out the upper balcony for the first time.  I think we like it.

Silly me though.  When we got on board, I volunteered us for tour escorting duties. We weren’t expecting anything to come of it to be honest, because we don’t know any of the shorex staff.  But,  we got a phone call in the cabin yesterday evening.  And today we were escorting the “Nordfjord Panarama” tour.

It’s an “off the bus on the bus” tour.  Designed for people who can’t or don’t want to walk very far, it is basically a drive around to take in the best of the scenery, with a guide to explain it all and a few photostops.  Easy peasy in terms of escorting, because no-one goes very far.    The escorts are there to ensure that everything on the itinery is covered, and that the passengers get what they paid for. 

So I had a very pleasant afternoon.  The scenery is exactly as you expect from Norway.  Breathtaking!

It was only an afternoon in Olden, so the ship set sail more or less as soon as we finished our tour.    But our day wasn’t over.  After dinner, ( and a quick drink in the pub), we watched the guest act, Andy Leach, in the show lounge, (up on the balcony again).  Yes, we’ve seen him before, and no, the act hadn’t changed much since the last time we’d seen him.  But that didn’t stop his act being fvery funny though, we had a really good laugh.

And finally, we spent a little time on deck looking up at the sky.  This is a cruise in search of the Northern Lights after all.  Nothing yet, but you can be sure that we will report if we do get to see anything.

Tomorrow we are going to Kristiansund and we are escorting again.  Hey Ho.

Tuesday 1st November. On the way to Olden

So today was Peter’s first class;  10 o’clock in the Conference Room.  As always, he’s keen to get everything right, so we were in there before 9, moving the tables around and getting the room ready for the passengers.

They started turning up about 10 past 9!   Peter and I were constantly telling them that they needed to just give us a bit more time as we were setting up.  At 9.40, I invited them in to the class, at 9.50, the room was full, and from that point the door was closed with me stood out in corridor like Gandolph.  “Thou shalt not pass”!

By 10am, I had turned away enough people to fill the room again, so Peter  ran another class at 11.30.  It was a little bit hectic up until that point, as I needed to stay a little longer and do my bouncer thing, find the assistant cruise director, confirm the class and an announcement, get some photocopies of the study sheets made, get Peter some drinking water, and be ready to help him clean up and turn the conference room around ready for the next class.  I even managed to drop into the shore excursions office and let them know that we wouldn’t be available for any of the early tours at Olden.   AND I made meself use the stairs most of the time.  (Our cabin in on 4, reception and shorex are on 5, Peter’s class was on 8 and the tea station is on 10).   Good eh!

The sea has been a little bit choppy, but the Magellan is bigger than the ships I’ve been on before.  I find that she doesn’t move around as much, and for me, she is very comfortable and I haven’t felt queasy at all.  Not the case for many passengers who are feeling a little green around the gills.  Unfortunately though, it is supposed to get rougher tonight.   We’ll see how I go, but I’m fine so far.  It’s formal night.  Peter hates it,  but he looks good in his black tie, and I like the opportunity to wear a nice frock, so he will suffer in silence for me.  (Actually, he’ll not be very silent at all about it, but I can be selectively deaf).

Tomorrow Peter has classes in the morning, and we’ll be in Olden in the afternoon.  Apparently we are escorting, and apparently we need training.