The overnight heavy rain had stopped and the sun was shining but we had a late breakfast and started planning our day. But first things first, we visited the site reception office to check whether the Safari tent had a casserole dish as we are planning for the first night a chicken casserole and a suitable dish would be very useful. The receptionist said they do not have a casserole dish but why don't you take a look and see what there is there so you can have an idea of what you might need. So off we went across the little stream to the group of four safari tents and looked in the one we have rented for the family. It has two bedrooms upstairs, both with singles and a landing space that would have room for a cot and downstairs there is a double bed and room in the lounge for ‘Pickles’ the dog bed.
The BBQ is a charcoal one and not a gas and so we need to buy some charcoal and fire lighter’s before Saturday. So after looking around the tent and the rest of the site and looking at their Thetford Loo cleaner, we jumped in the car to look for a suitable pub to meet Joanne and Tim and family for Friday. Noel’s geography was a little out and so off went in the completely wrong direction until we reached Emsworth with Noel swearing that del Quay has to be here somewhere until we resorted to the map and discovered we should have gone east instead pf West, well you cant be right all of the timer.
We came across the pub we have booked for Sunday lunch which looks Ok and with Good Trip Adviser reports but decided that for the first arrivals and pub by the sea would be better and so we arrived at the Crown and Anchor Pub at Del Quay where we had a light sandwich lunch which was excellent and subsequently booked for tomorrow lunch. From there we went to Tesco to purchase charcoal briquettes and fire lighters and then on to Waitrose for some food for tonight and vegetables to make the casserole for tomorrow night.
We returned to the site and had a nice cup of tea and a cake and in the evening we had some filet of cod with mashed potatoes and tined peas, although the cod was fresh it did not have the taste that we expected and it was rather bland unfortunately. Clearly the frozen cod we get from Costco is much better as is the fish we get from the Fish Shop in Courmeilles , France and so we felt a little let down.
So a good day all in all and now for an evening of reading and music and perhaps a little TV, lets see.
The rain had stopped and there was quite a bit of sun about and after breakfast we headed of to Rowlands Castle Railway Station where Noel could board the 10.46 to London. The journey up was interesting and can you can see some lovely houses, one was a great looking modernised farmhouse with Llamas in the garden. The only problem about these houses is that as you can see them from the train they can also have trains running by every few minutes on the busy Waterloo to Portsmouth Line.
The train arrived on time and any by 12.30 I was at the restaurant and during the next three hours we had some good food and excellent chats about the past. Most of the attendees were ex company directors including myself and we could reminisce about the various bits that were challenging or made us laugh in the Company. There was also planned a function the evening but it would make it too late for me being located on the South Coast and also by late afternoon I start to get a little tired.
Jennifer on the other hand after dropping me off at the Station headed towards Chichester and whilst on the way spotted a sign for a Roman Ruin called ‘Fishbourne Palace’ where she spent a good couple of our exploring the ruins and learning a lot about its history. A good walk then a light lunch followed by a trip to the Chichester Waitrose Supermarket which was a great place to shop she discovered and much better than the Waitrose in Weybridge.
Fishbourne Roman Palace
Anyway Jennifer enjoyed her visit there and then came to meet me at the Station in the very heavy rain that had started.
We returned to the caravan and enjoyed a nice Chicken salad sandwich and yes, of course, a glass of wine. The evening was spent reading and listening to music.
Ah tomorrow we can have a lay in.
Well we agreed to move the caravan from its storage near Gatwick Airport, about one hour away from Weybridge and with lots of bad traffic risks, to a place nearer home so that we could use it more frequently. Having to go an hour to collect and then get organised as against 10 minutes is great for us and based upon this change of location we decided that we would have a holiday on the South Coast near Chichester in a place called Bosham.
So at about 10.30 we left home and ten minutes later we were with the caravan and getting it unlocked , changing a fuse which had blown and after checking the tyre pressures, and the wheel nuts and battery we were on our way by 11.15 en-route to the South Coast. Our route took us on the A3 via Guildford etc. and down to near Portsmouth where we joined the A 27 East. We had one stop en-route and also a truck had broken down on the entrance to the Hind head Tunnel which slowed us down for about 15 minutes but finally we reached our destination caravan site just outside of Bosham. We are staying at a site called Concierge Camping which we had visited about a month ago when we did a tour of sites in the area and liked this one very much indeed although its quite expensive as caravan sites go.
We arrived at about 13.00 and spent a little while chatting to Guy the owner and then the gave us the info on our location and by 14.30 the caravan was set up although we still needed to transfer the food shopping and bedding to the van but this did jot take to long. Clearly a cup of tea was called for by this time and we had a little rest and a shower in the very nice facilities that they have here, background music in the shower no the less.
Dinner was a nicely roasted pork chop with veggies, as they say, and a bottle of plonk to wash it down. It started to rain a bit and in fact it rained pretty much all the night but had stopped when we awoke in the morning. The caravan is very warm and the central heating is excellent and so we lack for nothing.
Tomorrow Noel has to go to a colleagues retirement party in London and Jennifer will get a free day to herself.
Later in the week the rest of the family will arrive to stay in a Safari Tent, sounds like a fun weekend
After a smooth crossing back from Bergen we arrived in Newcastle Port at around 06.30 just as the sun was rising.
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| CHEERS !! |
So we had to be up early for a shower and breakfast around 07.45 as the notification from the crew was that disembarkation would start at around 0730. We finished breakfast and headed back to the cabin and were surrounded by air blowers and dehumidifiers everywhere with crew still drying out the wet carpets etc. At 0815 they announced we could get o the ship and and after a quick trek accords the dock we collected our cases from the collection point in the car park and were on our way shortly before 0845.
We decided to us the A1 (M) again and it was a pretty quiet journey except for one part near Doncaster and the of course on the famous M25. We arrived home just before 15.00 after had two stops en route for a drink and lunch.
We are glad to be home as the continual rocking of the ship was beginning to get to us.
A very pleasant evening catching up on the Singapore F1 GP which had a very interesting start.
Well that is it for the moment and out next travel plans are to a caravan site towards the middle of next week and with the family joining us for a long weekend.
Still have a lot to do on the Blogger and also organizing the photo blog whilst have sold a few things on ebay and need to get that organised as well.
Forgot to mention that when we go back to the cabin last night the information surrounding our disembarkation had arrived and yes its bloody early.
We had breakfast this morning and when leaving the 10th Floor Spey Restaurant was faced with a flood with water several inches high in places and it was pouring down the corridors and dripping through the roof from the 10th to the 9th Deck. I didn’t know that you could sink with water coming through the roof however about 20 minutes later announced that that a pipe to the swimming pool had broken and so all the water you could see was from the swimming pool. The service staff and engineers were running all over the place with towels trying to stop it but no doubt some of the most expensive cabins/nee suites will have been affected. How they will fix before the ship leaves on its next cruise on Sunday afternoon I am not sure. Perhaps that's enough excitement for today.
We returned to the cabin and have decided this is a morning of R & R and then after lunch we will do our packing, bags must be put outside your cabin between 2200 and 0200 and must weight more than 20 kilos. As I always carry a set of baggage scales with me this should not present any problems!!!!
On leaving our cabin for lunch we noticed that the cabin opposite which is an internal cabin for people with a disability was being emptied and there was a very wet bed and carpet being sorted and apparently the biggest smell in the room was not that of wet carpet but of chlorine from the swimming pool water. Some people were complaining over lunch about this but where else could you get a swimming pool delivered to you cabin door?
A nice restful afternoon in the cabin with sometime outside on the balcony as it is really sunny and warm outside and even on the outer decks people grabbing the sun. Later in the afternoon it was bag packing time, why is it that it takes less time to pack when you are leaving than when you are leaving from home, either to much distraction oir to much choice of clothing. Anyway whatever we wear tonight will also be tomorrows wardrobe until we get home.
We had our usual table in the restaurant and dinner with a couple of glasses of wine. The food has been quite good really and so no complaints about that but we do have some niggles to share with Fred Olsen on their web driven questionnaire which I gather will be sent out after we get back to the UK.
A final goodnight glass of wine in the observatory lounge and then early to bed in view of the early start and as breakfast is served from 0630 only 0830 we had better be up with the lark as we could also be one the first or second group of people off this vessel due to the fact we have a suite.
According the ships information the ‘MV Balmoral’ has 710 cabins with a max passenger loading of 1350 with 510 crew. Following the problem with the pipes it now only has only one swimming pool instead of two.
Tomorrow will be a long journey back from Newcastle down the A1 and A1(M) with a couple of break en-route and we hope to be home mid afternoon.
The phone started ringing at around 08.00 from the Medical Centre to say that they had booked a Dentist appointment for in town and that I should be available to leave at 0930.
There was a slight communication with regard where to find the Taxi but we did and he took into town which was already showing lots of white entertainment tents etc., but more of that later. We arrived at the Dentist and after a wait of around 30 minutes, we did arrive early, the lady dentist took a peek and then quoted me a price to fix it of around £90.00 which I thought was quite reasonable. Half an hour later all was complete and we left the building and started to walk around the old port area.
We were aware from the news that there was going to be cycle races in and around Bergen over this weekend but its a much bigger event that we thought and even Chris Froome was due to make an appearance in the time trials for Team Sky. However the negatives about the racing is that they were putting up pedestrian safety barriers everywhere and of course the white marquees everywhere and beginning to close off some roads to cards and and pedestrians, this is not the Bergen we know, even some of the famous waterside fish restaurant had to be moved to make way for this big event. We stopped and had a tea and a cake, an early morning and quick breakfast makes you feel a little hungry late morning.
We continued walking about the area for about another hour and then decided we would go to the fish market for lunch and chose one of the outdoor restaurants in a large gazebo with heating and enjoyed a large bowl of fresh shrimp with salad and bread roll and a glass of Chardonnay. Noel was still having trouble from the split pea soup and the effects it can have on the system and realised he was safer back on board the ship than walking around streets hoping for no problems but with all the tourists from the boat and others for the cycling finding ‘the gents’ might be a challenge whilst Jennifer opted to go on the hop–on hop-off bus tour . So we phoned the taxi company that brought us to the Dentist and fifteen minutes later he arrived but not in a taxi but a 15 seat minibus as they had run out of Taxi’s. I chatted to the driver on the way back to the port and he said that due to the cycle race some cruise ships had to be diverted away, which was not good for business whilst there were still Hotel bedrooms still to be had so perhaps having this event may not bring the money expected. When we arrived at the Ship I undid my seat belt and was reaching for my wallet and he said ‘NO CHARGE’ as according the laws re taxi fares there must be a meter in the Taxi and as this was one of their minibuses used without meters he could not charge me, well that saved me £15.00.
Jennifer returned about 90 minutes later and we sat on the balcony overlooking the town in the sun until it was getting a little cooler and time to dress up for the evenings formal event. On the P & O Arcadia which we used two and half years ago their ‘formal night dress code’ was very organised, if you wore fomal wear than the ship was yours but if you did not then only the café and associated bar was available. On this ship there seemed to be no such rule, so in the bars you have people in the finest sitting next to a couple in holey jeans and tea shirts and trainers, not good. So you wonder why that have this formal night at all?
We had a nightcap in the observatory and then headed down to bed whilst noticing that the swell was increasing due to that fact we were now on the high seas heading for Newcastle. Tomorrow is a day at sea and then off the ship, no doubt early
We arrived in Olden overnight and we awoke to the sound of rain on the balcony, oh well, it is Norway in the late Summer early fall.
We had our usual breakfast just in time before they close the buffet. Noel is still watching diet and has the same boring breakfast each morning of a little bit of Muesli and two Weetabix and a yogurt. Of course all around are people starting with fruits and yogurts and then moving on to the full English, Its far to much for me and Jennifer. Likewise at lunchtime we eat lightly but there are people with plates full of food and we wonder if they do the same at night.
Noels tummy, for the want of a better word, is playing up due to the soup from yesterday and so we are spending the morning on the ship and we might go away ashore this afternoon if things have improved.
I forgot to mention that that when we had our first night on board and we were complaining about the seating arrangements and timing, there was an Elderly American and his daughter travelling together on his ‘bucket list’ and they had booked through and agent in California and it seems like the agent screwed up badly with their arrangements. First of all they could have travelled from from San Francisco to London and then up to Newcastle about 14/15 hours but they were put on flights from LAX to Portland Oregon and then to Amsterdam and then on to Newcastle taking almost 36 hours and from arriving at Newcastle Airport they went straight to the ship. That was tiring enough and then they checked in to the room and of course someone assumed that with a male and female travelling with the same surname they were a married couple and so they gave them a double bed instead of two singles as requested and this was only corrected the next day as the crew was to busy. Ridiculous and so one can understand why they were so upset when we sat down to dinner. Did I mention how noisy the restaurant was? you could hardly hear yourself speak with table so close to each other .
So after a light lunch we decided that we would stay on board as it was safer for Noel in his current state and so we stayed in the Cabin and passed the time of day by sleeping and Jennifer doing some sewing and reading. Later in the day they delivered the canapés which looked good although when chewing on the smoked Salmon on toast came across a very hard bit??? which after a bit of investigation turned out to be a part of one of Noels rear Molar teeth, Damn.
So off we went to the Medical centre where they could arrange a referral to a Dentist in Bergen, and from there back to cabin to arrange an appointment with my Dentist on Monday and also phone the travel insurance company to let them know of this new occurrence.So tomorrow in Bergen we will visit a Dentist at some time during the day and also the port to try and sample some seafood for lunch, all being well. I forgot to mention that whilst as Guest relations we checked on the cabin account and yes the web based cabin account does not work due to poor Internet Wi-Fi, which seems strange for a ship based
programme and the other bill which showed us reaching nearly £ 200 has now been reduced to about £60.00 which is about right.
In the evening it was ‘British Night’ and all the food was of British heritage but with a German Chief Chef and Asian cooks you can guess how the Bakewell Tart turned out, nothing like the real thing. Noel had the roast beef and Yorkshire pud which was very good whilst Jennifer had the best British dish of them all Chicken Curry Marsala and rice.
We spent about 45 minutes in the observatory lounge watching the mountains and villages slide by in the Nordfjord and then headed back to the cabin just after nine pm for some blogging and reading.
So an exciting day tomorrow a visit to a Norwegian Dentist, cant say that I am looking forward to it.
We arrived in Hellesylt early in the morning , as usual, and after breakfast we walked in to town, more of a village really with very little in the way of shops, I think there was one tourist shop, a Hostel and a Church on a hill.
Anyway we went for a walk around the area and took a few photographs and Jennifer wanted to visit the Church which was on a steep hill, I can go up but not down so easily with my knees, and so Jennifer went up the hill to the Church and I sat around and admired the view for a while and then headed back to the ship. Jennifer returned at about 12.00 and shortly afterwards to ship was got ready to sail away.
We went for lunch in the Palms Café and we both had the split pea soup, which was excellent although it cam back to haunt Noel all afternoon and evening. The ship then sailed through the fjords for about 90 minutes and reached Geiranger where you have to use a float out walkway to get to the shore. This was good as in the past it was by boat transfer which is not good for many people.
This is a much bigger town and we know that we have been here before when we did our road trip many years ago in Jennifer MGF. This place has three Hotels and lots of shops and two camp grounds for Caravan and Motor homes right by the side of the Fjord and of course with stunning views, and a great place to stay if you want some piece and quiet.
So we walked around for a couple of hours and then it started to rain and we headed back to the ship for a cup of tea and rest before Dinner. Jennifer had the Red Snapper with scallops and Noel the Lamb Shank and both were excellent and washed down with a couple of glasses of Merlot. After dinner we went up to the observation lounge to see us us depart Geiranger Fjord which we did until it got to to dark .
When we arrived at the lounge it was quite empty but at about 9.30 pm it started to fill up and then shortly afterwards they had to have a quiz ??? why, which leads me on to a moan.
There are almost thirty items listed on the ships newspaper outlining all the entertainment for the day, from quiz to talks (one about a murder) and one asked why is this all necessary when you are sailing through some of the most attractive scenery in the world. In every bar and lounge there seems to me music played all the time and the only place for peace and quiet if the Library which is often full. Can’t people just enjoy their own company and and the views.
Another moan is the inclusive wine deal, each time you have a drink you hand them your ships identity card which states that you have the ‘all inclusive’ but you keep on having to sign chits with your name, cabin and signature, why???. Is it not possible for the ship to use the card only. Also you can access your on-board account through the TV or through the ships internet portal, if you compare them they are different and both seem to be wrong. We seem to being charged for drinks which are included in the package anyway we will have to sort this out later today before it gets worse. I did try to access the Ship Wi-Fi portal this morning but that is not working- say no more…
We awoke to clear skies at around 0830 and following a quick cup of tea in the cabin headed upstairs for breakfast. The room was a little more busy this morning as nobody could leave the ship for any tours as we don't arrive until around 14.00.
Following breakfast we returned to the cabin and Jennifer started to catch up on her sewing and Noel on some magazines that we had brought with us. We also watched on the TV the ravages left by the Hurricane in Florida but we understand that Sarasota where we have stayed before, missed the best part of the storm, as it veered East again. Not sure how it affected Rotondo West where we have booked a house to stay in late December for five weeks. It also depends on how the infrastructure is coping before we finally commit to going and then if we decide to cancel what will we do then, Cape Town???.
So an easy morning followed by a slightly early lunch, we usually have a sandwich and a soup but as Noel’s last night dinner was quite small he decided to try the beef with oyster sauce and broccoli with rice which was very good, but only a small portion.
The boat arrived in the harbour on time and by 14.00 you were free to go ashore and so off we went and did a reasonable walk along the harbour front for quite a a way taking the odd photo. We also discovered a, what we call a ‘Chinese Shop’ which will sell anything and in this case we found a very cheap plastic computer mouse for about £ 8.50 and so plus batteries it cost just under a tenner. Thank heaven’s as using the computer to try to adjust photos without a mouse when you are not used to is is difficult. We also found a SPAR food shop where we acquired some salt free nuts.
The weather was holding up quite well and the outside temperature is due to reach 17c degrees this afternoon with the possibility of rain later but it was mostly blue sky with clouds
The town is composed of multiple islands which are all served by ferry boats and some of the ship tours include this ferry ride but somehow it will never compare with the Hong Kong Star Ferry crossing of Kowloon Harbour. There were quite a few shops compared to the other towns including a shopping mall which was quite nicely laid out. The amount of housing overlooking the Harbour entrance would indicate quite a large population for Norway and there appears to have been a lot o conversions from old warehouses in to apartments.
After a couple of hours of walking and sitting watching the world go by we adjourned back to the shopping mall to test out the cake shop and was very pleased with the result. Jennifer had apple pie with ice cream and a Noel bun, both were good. Then we returned to the ship at about 17.30 and spotted the Hurtegraten Passenger Ferry which visits all the ports up the West Coast of Norway just leaving town . It looked quite busy.
So back on board ship we tasted the canapés before heading off to the restaurant for our 18.15 sitting. So far the preplanning of Noels Low Irritant high fibre diet with NO Garlic, tomatoes and fatty cheese BUT ITS GETTING BETTER.
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| Umbrellas to fore |
It was a bit colder this morning and there was rain around and there were lots of people going on organised tours. One of the main tours and the major reason people visit here is the famous ‘Flam Railway’ which travels through some of the most beautiful parts of Norway. We had been on this trip some years ago when we did a self drive holiday in Jennifer's MGF open top sports car and fabulous weather and so we decided not to do it again.
If you wish to know more see following link
The Famous Flam Railway
However we decided to have the day walking around the town and taking a few photos. Flam is quite a nice but small place and there is only about 400 residents and so often when a couple of cruise ships arrive they dwarf the local population several times over. The lake and the mountain here are quite stunning and although the weather was not good we were able to walk around for a while and find a free Wi-Fi signal where we could pick some emails and Noel for to download to hopefully regain some lost photos.
By mid afternoon we decided that Noel would go back to the ship for a sleep and then Jennifer would go for a walk around as she wanted the exercise.
So we both enjoyed the day and were ;looking forward to an early evening dinner with a couple of glasses of wine and watch the world go by as we left to cruise through Naeroyfjord in the early evening light from the observatory lounge.
The back to cabin to check out the latest news on the storms in the Caribbean and Florida. Boy these storms look really bad and wooden homes will never survive winds of the speed predicted.
Oh well that was a pleasant day.
The Ship arrived in Eidjfjord overnight after sailing through Lysefjiord and then up through the islands, which we could not see as it was dark, and finally arriving at about 0730 which for those anxious travelers with tours meant an early start to the day. For us it meant a late'ish breakfast, they close at 10.00 and then we did some walking around the very small town with one of everything viz Hotel, Café, Tourist shop and a Loo plus a few houses dotted around.
The Fjords are really quite beautiful with lots of inlets etc. , the river that runs from the hills down in to the Fjord is well known for its salmon fishing which you could do as a tour but extremely expensive. This tour includes the possibility to eat you own catch for lunch but as the boat has to sale at 13.30 its pushing it a bit.
So having walked around the town, Jennifer wanted a longer walk so of she went whilst Noel stayed behind and watched the world go by. We re-joined the ship and had a sandwich lunch as we sailed off down to the Fjord and now we are heading for Flam where you can take the famous railway, again at extra cost but as we have already been on this train some years ago we decided to forgo this trip. For the rest of the afternoon we let the scenery slip by as we slowly passed by mountain villages and lakes but no big towns. There was in places still snow on the high outcrops.
In the evening Noel loaded his photos from his camera on the PC and then found they had all been deleted, all 47 of them including video, not sure why this happened but it is very annoying as I now don't have any photos of the first part of the trip which is extremely annoying. In addition my little computer mouse has packed up so times are tough in the technical departments at the moment.
In the evening it was Formal night so we put on our finest and as we had booked at the ‘Grill’ for a good steak we were quite surprised that perhaps only about 40% of the guests bothered to dress up which was quite unusual really. The dinner was very good the steak, we both had Rib Eye was very tasty and tender and together with a glass or two of Merlot it went down a treat. We thought about testing out the evening show and already thirty minutes before it was due to start there were several hundred people waiting so we gave up on that idea and went to a lounge bar for another glass of wine. The Fred Olsen rules about an inclusive drinks cost is that is strangely does not include tea or bitter lemon, you can drink yourself silly with wine, beer or spirits ,all included, but for a cup of tea you have to pay £2.00 , bloody silly really.
We went up to bed and had a quick look at the news from Florida and if it carries on this way there is a strong chance we will have to cancel our trip at the end of the year as based on what happened to the Islands there may not be an infrastructure left, we shall what happens
By contrast, unfortunately, Noel was still suffering badly form the previous Sundays evening meal of SpagBol which in the past had not caused a problem but for some reason it did, perhaps they have changed the recipe. So as a result we spent pretty much all of the day on site so Noel could be near the facilities. It is very annoying as it seems to be one step forward followed by two steps back but hopefully by the end of this year it should be better still, we hope.
A few glasses of wine and we sat outside as the BBQ was cooked, its always a little bit of a challenge when using an unknown 
A really nice evening and once the kids had gone to sleep we sat around for a while just chatting which was a nice thing to do.
