More Days at Sea…

Tue, July 23

Saturday and Sunday we had rough seas with waves about 4-5 metres which we enjoyed, especially at night – it’s a nice way to go to sleep feeling the motion of the seas. However the stabilizers do their work very well most of the time. Yesterday the sea was calmer but we were in dense fog. At 11.30am we passed within 14 nautical miles of the Titanic.

We are still enjoying our days at sea and as we venture further into the Atlantic, the weather has improved and the fog has cleared. Today the sea is a steel blue/grey colour and the waves would be about 1 metre high. Very smooth on board. Plenty of activities are available, and I am now a very confident line dancer … although my latest goal has just been to finish the book I was reading!

Yesterday morning we went on the Ultimate Ship Tour, with 12 other passengers. During this 3-hour tour, we were taken to the ship’s engine control room, medical centre, print shop, laundry facilities, photo lab, bridge, galley, medical centre and other areas reserved for the crew. Staff, including the captain, took time to speak to us and explain the workings of the ship which was a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the Sea Princess.

We were not allowed to take cameras with us, but we were accompanied by the ship’s photographer, who took several photos, and this afternoon we had a bag delivered to our stateroom, containing 4 photos, photo frame and a ship apron and two towelling robes embroidered with “Sea Princess”. The print shop gave us each some personal stationery as well, so we had some “show and tell” to take with us to dinner last night!

Torshavn, Faroe Islands

Thurs, July 18

This morning we woke up to heavy fog and could barely make out the outline of the Faroe Islands. Unfortunately whilst we were at breakfast, the captain made the announcement that regretfully he has had to cancel the stop, due to 35-37 knot strong winds, making it too dangerous to try to manoeuvre the ship into such a narrow port. Also tendering was not an option due to the difficulties involved in trying to anchor in such deep water.

We had been looking forward to seeing the oldest wooden house in the world dating back to 900 A.D. as well as turf-roofed cottages and Norse buildings etc. So it was disappointing for many of us who had not been to this out-of-the-way port before.

The fog is now quite thick and there is not much visibility past the balcony railing (maybe not 50, but quite a few shades of grey!) and I can hear the ship’s horn sounding quite often now. So we continue on our way through the North Atlantic Sea on our way to New York.

Oslo, Norway

Tue, July 16

Today we were in Oslo, the oldest Scandinavian capital and Norway’s largest city. It is located around part of a beautiful fjord, 60 miles from the sea and it was very picturesque indeed, as we sailed in to the harbour. We berthed right next to Akershus Fortress and so had the city right at our door.

After a late arrival at 10.00am we left the ship for what we thought was an appropriate tour of the famous Viking Ship Museum, Vigeland Sculpture and Ski Jump.

En route, we heard how Norway was drawn into WWII and how proud the Norwegians are of the work done by their heroic resistance fighters. We also found out that our ship sailed very near the spot where the German cruiser, Blucher, was sunk by torpedoes fired from the Oscarborg fortress, which delayed the Nazi occupation.

At the Viking Ship Hall in Bygdoy, there are three Viking ships to be seen, discovered in 1867, 1880 and 1904 which were all built around 800-900A.D. The ships were very large and it was amazing to see their construction close-up, taking in the high standard of craftsmanship and ship building, when you think that they had to be strong enough to withstand a storm in the North Sea and to be manoeuvrable, yet light enough to be hauled across long distances on land, where necessary.

These ships were eventually used as tombs for noblemen who were buried with jewels, food and furniture for the afterlife, and although grave robbers had taken jewellery and disturbed the burial chambers, possibly in the Middle Ages, there has been a wealth of equipment and grave furniture recovered which is also on display, including a cart and three sleighs, all of them richly decorated with wood carvings.

The next stop was up to Holmenkollen, the cradle of Olympic ski jumping and the site of the 1952 Olympic competition. We really don’t much about ski jumping, but it was still quite interesting to see. It was rebuilt four times and has big side walls because of the strong winds that they get there.

The Vigeland Sculpture Park was one attraction that is a “must-see”; Sculptor Gustav Vigeland has created and displayed some 200 statues, some of them huge. These works in granite, wrought iron and bronze depict the many stages and episodes of human life, and amazingly he devoted about 40 years of his life on these works.

As we were leaving, as flocks of seagulls followed the ship swooping down to catch some fish, we passed a tiny island with a charming little restaurant. What a nice place to have dinner!