We have just returned from a mini cruise to Norway. This was onboard the new Saga ship “Spirit of Discovery”. Having previously travelled with Saga on one of their older, smaller ships we were very impressed by the style and comfort of the new vessel. It is about twice the size of the older ships which gave two obvious advantages. Firstly the greater size made for smoother sailing. Although the sea was fairly heavy with a 3-4 metre swell and Force 6-7 winds the passage was generally quite calm although it helped that the wind was predominantly from the rear. Secondly the larger size gives room for a proper raked seating theatre seating 400 plus and nearly full every time we attended.
We had a slight scare one evening when the crew came and lashed down the veranda seating and secured all loose objects in the cabin. Annette suffers from seasickness but having taken tablets she slept well. As far as we could tell the climate was no worse that night than most others.
We were rather taken aback by the luxurious accommodation. I suspect I booked a higher grade than I expected ( or wanted ) as we made the reservation in rather a hurry. On arrival in our two room suite we were greeted by a complimentary bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. This was followed by our butler anxious to provide various services, meals in the cabin etc. Frankly the butler was rather an irritation as we finished up looking for an excuse to use his services. The pre dinner canapes were not greatly to our taste.and we only finished up booking a speciality restaurant with him once.
The gimmick is that this was a boutique cruise. This seemed to me to mean lashings of free booze. We both drink only very moderately. I was taken aback however to be charged a pound for an orange juice in one of the lounges. I made use of the mini bar for cans of mixers but the rack of spirits doesn’t appeal to us. I guess a glass of wine with a meal was our alcoholic limit. One feature of cruises is that the amount of food is simply enormous and often good quality at that. I was somewhat amused to have fish and chips ( line caught cod ) served in elegant trays lined with fake plastic newspaper. Over the top pretentious I thought.
By accident two of the three trips we went on called at a museum of houses. These were genuine old houses transported and rebuilt on large museum sites. The first was quite interesting with the oldest from about 1650 being a wooden farm house. This featured a central hearth with smoke left to exit from a hole in the ceiling. It contained two double beds. both small. one for the farmer and his wife and one for his parents. Apparently folk slept sitting up as lying down was considered death like. At the second museum we focused on the large collection of old boats.
Later houses from early 1800’s had proper chimneys and some measure of private sleeping quarters. Houses from say 1850 onwards seemed to be fairly modern with separate rooms albeit with stairs which very steep. Even later say by 1900 or so they had electric stoves.
The early wooden houses were built several feet above ground on columns of stones so the wood rotted less quickly. The flammability risk was high and Alesond had 80% of its houses burnt out in 1905. In Bergen some of the early wooden houses are still in use as shops. These were built rather later than 1650 and much modified since. Incidentally prices in sterling are very high. Even tourist trinkets seemed to cost a minimum of £5. Norway appears a very prosperous tidy nation built on wealth from offshore oil and gas. Many of the ports we visited had oil platform support vessels.in the harbour. Although there is a lot of talk about fishing my impression this is now quite small scale and more recreational than commercial. Having said that Alesund had a small fish market still in use.
I wasn’t much impressed by the entertainment on offer. The weeks highspot seemed to be a vocal quartet who had a rapturous welcome with at least half the audience giving a standing ovation. I thought it quite a slick act and quite well done without being outstanding in any way.. Perhaps we are too used to only seeing the cream on TV? I suppose I’m just not very interested in singing groups.
One big advantage of Saga travel is the door to door service. However our driver on the return journey was a slave to his satnav following it straight into a blocked motorway despite warning signs miles previously showing a recommended diversion.. More worrying still he drove with one hand on the wheel while chatting away. I was glad to be back. My lesson from the trip is to be much more careful booking in future. .
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