Saturday, June 13--NCL Cruise to Norway

Such a good night’s sleep. We had breakfast in the cafe downstairs then came back up to the room. Ray packed the car then we had to wait, so I watched last night’s Top Gear since last night at 7, I didn’t realize it was so late because it was still very bright outside. Oh well. Thanks to BBC iplayer, I can watch it now.

So, after our entertainment, compliments of Top Gear, we moved on to the cruise terminal. Dock 8.

We were able to board the ship at about 1:00 and had a very good lunch in the Garden Café. Just before 2:00, our cabin was ready & we descended to Deck 5, cabin 5065. We deliberately chose an interior cabin with no window because for 3 days of this cruise, the sun will never go down. Sleep is a necessity and if it isn’t dark, I’m afraid I will get none.

We have never cruised on NCL before, only on Holland America and Disney, so we had no idea what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised with our cabin. It is very nice with much more wood than on other ships, which always seems more comfy to me. The bathroom is larger than some ships and the closet space was quite nicely done, also in wood and with a variety of hanging areas, drawers, and shelves. According to the TV schedule there are movies playing all the time—recent releases, too, such as Last Chance Harvey that we just saw at the theatre.

Room service is available 24 hours and there are 12 restaurants onboard, so I don’t think we will ever go hungry. Our luggage arrived fairly soon and we unpacked then went onto the promenade deck for a walk and to watch as we left Southampton. We passed by Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight while watching wave runners jumping in our wake and watching for castles and interesting buildings on shore.

As we left, the Queen Mary 2 was also leaving with a Grand Princess ship in front of her. The Queen Mary 2 was berthed in Dock 4, just across from where Titanic was berthed. Ray informed me that the first 20 miles of our cruise is on the very same path that Titanic took on that fateful night.

We had dinner in the Grand Pacific Dining Room and had a wonderful waitress from Transylvania named Monica. I had smoked salmon with greens, chilled peach soup, Broiled Salmon Fillet and noodles (yes, I ate noodles—those flat ones that I don’t know the name of for I usually hate anything to do with noodles and refuse to learn their names), and an Italian Crème Cake for dessert. Ray had salmon, some kind of soup, the Lamb, and a cheese platter. We had requested a table for 2 and got it, only they put us at a table for 5 that we had all alone, so we had plenty of room. We read somewhere that this dining room is based on the old dining rooms of the Matson Line ships—that’s when Ray figured out that that is why it seemed familiar. He and his family moved to Hawaii when he was a boy on the Lurline, a Matson ship!

After dinner, we went up to deck 11 and forward to the Bridge Viewing Room. This ship actually lets you watch the officers on duty as they steer the ship on its course. You can also see the navigational charts and follow our course, so that was fun.

Then we went to the Welcome Aboard show. Our cruise director told us about the shows we would be seeing then we saw a little bit of 3 of them—Moscow Magic (a man and woman who did tricks using scarves and candles), Laurence Robinson (UK’s leading tenor), and a comedian named Mike Goddard. The theatre on this ship is beautiful. Decorated very nicely. The whole ship is very colorful and I like it a lot. I also like the Freestyle dining where you can choose your restaurant every night. I think it works much better. Much more efficiently.

After the show, we went back on deck to find that the waters were eerily glassy and the air very foggy. We hoped to see France, but there was no way through the thick fog. We did see a lightship and the sun glowing through the clouds. We tried to find a chart to see where we were, but there weren’t any immediately available.

Tomorrow we are at sea all day, going northward up the coast of England and Scotland in the North Sea. And we have to set our clocks forward another hour, so now I will be yet ANOTHER hour ahead of everyone at home. (Oh, I will have to wait to add pictures for each day when we return as it takes so long to upload them it will eat up all my internet minutes so that I will have none to check emails.)