We straightened the apartment and waited. At 1000 the hired-car driver arrived as scheduled. Then Jennecke came to refund our deposit and wish us a good trip.
The driver did well and put us at the Feison Cruse Terminal, a rudimentary pair of sheds next to the slip, at 1045. We dropped our luggage where told, then joined the line outside in the wind. After a bit we gained entry into part of one shed. The line then went ouitside again, eventually into the second shed. There we went into a Disney-wend until we reached the check-in kiosk. Then it was fast to take a picture of the person synchronized with a picture of the passport. Then we were shown outside to what D calls the Bataan Death March around the stern and up to the forward entry (the after position was taken up by fork-lifts loading pallets into the ship.
We went to our extra-price Neptune suite at 1135. Very nice arrangement of furniture with lots of space compared to our usual verandah cabin. Cousin Fran says we'll be spoiled by this.
We did our must-do checkin at the lifeboat station and we listened to the safety presentation on the suite TV. We checked out the Neptune Lounge (part of the package) and got holes put in our door-keys for our lanyards. Then up to the Lido for a throw-together sort of lunch with people milling around trying to figure out what's where.
Loading the ship with supplies took far longer than foretold. Instead of departure at 1500, it was after 1600. The sailaway ceremony scheduled for 1500 sort of fizzled out as people decided to move on. We unpacked and stowed the luggage. Steward "K"for Komang welcomed us and volunteered his help.
D decided to go to mass at 1700. When she came back we went to the main dining room (MDR). Service, food and wine were very good. We returned to the suite.
Now we had time to look around as the ship left the IJ. The first thing we saw was hundreds of power-generating windmills offshore. They're everywhere!! The array can be seen out to the horizon. Incredible. I'm watching them as I type this.
We skipped the welcome for 3, 4, and higher Star passengers. Too much happening. But then we ran out of things to do and returned to the suite to rest.
We'll soon get accustomed to this ship - it shouldn't be hard since we've cruised several times on her sister ship Oosterdam.
At 0900 we're off the Denmark coast making 14 knots on course North. Sea State 3, overcast, occasional fog.
Today, we'll cruise over the wrecks of ships sunk in the greatest gunnery battle in history (Jutland) on our sea day en route to Oslo. The locations of the 25 wrecks are shown here. Ten thousand men died in these waters that day.
O tried showering but got only very hot, very hot, water. Called Guest Services to get fixed. Washed, then breakfast in the MDR at 0800 ahead of the crowd. Returning to suite we sensed a backup of the sewer system somewhere near. Pew. Several staff nearby apparently fixing the problem.
Gradually the odor cleared and the water problem was fixed insofar as the shower is concerned. Tub has a leak and is unusable.
We went to the Viking lecture in the theatre. Typical college professor lecture by Dr Thorsteinn Hannesson.
At 1230 the overcast broke to scattered clouds. But the temperature is 50*f with a 25 knot wind from the West. Nobody is walking the decks. Ship is lightly rolling and D reports mild queasiness. Skipping lunch for that reason and to prepare for Pinnacle Grill tonight.
At 1400 the laundry was returned nicely pressed and wrapped. The shower water repairman also returned with a new part - it seems he had installed a temporary fix earlier.
O tried a canned Seagrams G&T from the lounge - it's almost, but not quite, exactly unlike a real G&T.
The repairman left and came back with another person to continue the repairs. Last seen they were both on the floor working something at deck level. We left to attend the 1630 officer's reception for Neptune+ passengers in the Crow's Nest.
O spoke with the Captain for a while swapping stories, especially of Rotterdam V, our first voyage. He served a short span on V. A nice lady named Lindsey from Mississippi chatted with us for a while. A Belgian couple joined us at a table and we swapped stories with them -very nice.
We returned to find the repairmen gone.
We dressed for our Pinnacle Grill dinner. Up to the Pinnacle Bar for D's Stinger & O's Gibson. Then across the passageway to the Grill. Seated, we found our waitress Yulia from Bali. She arranged our paired wines and our dinner selections. All served very nicely. We left quite satisfied. We arrived back at the suite at 2100, exactly show time; we decided to skip it tonight so we can better get up early tomorrow to tour Oslo.
It's a brief stop, only 0700-1500, so we'll tour selectively. We've selected Oslo Highlights which includes Vigeland park, a huge setting of statuary never explained by the sculptor. Some 200 statutes of varying sizes, all showing some milestone or event in the lives of humans.
We rose at 0645, grabbed some little things in the lounge and reported to the theatre to join the Group 1 tour. We were told to wait 20 minutes for the ship to be cleared. They sent us to the gangway where we waited for a further 20 minutes (staff brought chairs to help wait). We then waited a little longer. We got off the ship almost an hour late.
The Yutong EV bus ran smoothly through downtown and the major attractions that were pointed out by our guide. She spoke excellent English. Tracks for trams abound. Guide says Norway leads in number EVs - didn't mention the source of the electricity.
We eventually reached the Vigeland park inside Frogner Park. We were told we'd walk 850 meters to the place where we would rejoin the bus.
Vigeland is a fantastic exhibition of statuary all done by one man, Gustav Vigeland, who never said what any statue represented - leaving it to the viewer. All statues are nude, for timelessness - no costume to grow outdated over time. Each one is of some life event, and a number of groupings show the cycle of life from birth to death.
There are a number of pictures of the park in the multiday photo slideshow, later. The most famous one is the Angry Boy (R). People touch his left hand for luck, which polishes it.
We went on to the museum containing the ancient Viking ship but we were so pressed for time that all D & I saw were Fridthof Nansen's ship Fram in which he explored the Arctic. Our guide rounded us up and we arrived back at the ship at 1100. I suspect the bus was to be used again for another tour after ours as the reason we had to be back so quickly.
The standing waiting, and the walking (with quite a few steps) gave us to go aboard and stay there. There's not much in the walking distance we could make.
The MDR was closed (shore day) so we did the Lido. Many others had the same idea at the same time, so it was slow. Then we returned to the suite.
Later, the repairmen returned to fix the tub's piping. In a bit he said it was fixed but curing & not to use the tub till tomorrow.
Underway at 1530. We're watching the scenery while inside the cabin (57*f outside with wind). Commentary furnished while cruising down the estuary. Lots of rocks & shoals; many little lighthouses and marker buoys. Quite a few sailboats enjoying the day. In places the channel is very narrow. Reminds us of the Stockholm archipelago.
Dinner; we sat with two sisters from Canada. Holly from BC and Mary from Toronto. Good chatting about travel in Canada, etc.. Then a nightcap in the Ocean Bar and off to bed.
Link to Photos IJmuiden - Oslo
We're motoring NW toward the Faero Islands today. The clocks were set back one hour, now on Greenwich time. Rose, grabbed coffee, danishes, banana, etc., in the Lounge.
Took notice that the ship is running directly into the swells, thus we are pitching slightly. Sea State at least four what with the extensive whitecaps. Some clouds, then sun.
Off to the second episode of the lecture set, this one concentrating on the migration from Scandinavia and Ireland to Iceland and Greenland. Dr Hannesson said it ends in 1408 when the final communication from Greenland was received.
He used photos of places we've seen like the Snofur ship in Reykjavik and L'Anse aux Meadows on Newfoundland.
Then back to the suite briefly and back to the pool deck for a hamburger. The MDR and Lido offerings didn't attract us. Burgers were good.
Did web tasks then down to the Bingo. Pricey for larger prizes. Probably don't need it again. Caller from the Bahamas, nice guy. He stayed on as announcer for Team Trivia, which had its usual set of goofy players. The theme was Colors. We did poorly. Then back to the suite to do nothing until our appointment at Cannileo.
Back in the suite O received word from our insurance agent that the non-payment note sent us on the 9th was negated by our check arriving on the 10th. All's well.
A ship bound easterly passed by, perhaps bound to Bergen.
We did Bingo and Trivia in the Billboard Lounge; didn't do well, but we enjoyed it.
Took it easy till time for Canaletto. Nice table and service. As with most Italian food, our entrees were heavy and we left some of it. O didn't leave any of the cheesecake dessert, though.
Back to the suite then to prepare for early activity tomorrow.
We docked in the harbor at Runavik (upper right in picture) for shelter in the variable weather of the Faeros.
We're told the population of the Faeros (all 18 islands, two uninhabited) is 56,000 people and 70,000 sheep. Maybe more. Sheep, that is. The Faero Islands are an independent nation under Denmark oversight somehow - even the guide couldn't define it.
After some nibbling of rolls & coffee we joined our 0800 tour. The nice Volvo bus wandered a bit then dove into a tunnel. The lines on the water (R) are inter-island tunnels. Yes, there's an intersection in the tunnel. Here's the Tunnel Guide.
We came soon to the roundabout that joins two islands and did a 360* + 270* turn (an extra full circle so folks could get pictures) and headed for Thorshavn some 11km away. Nice tunnel.
Cloudy today, which is not unusual. Our guide John tells us they only get snow on the tops of the hills in the winter but the wind is nearly constant. The soil is thin on top of the rocks so only a few species of tree can grow there.
First we stopped at the national museum. Surprisingly, it's quite large. It has great exhibits of local boats and thing of the sea. Also a large set of older clothing and photos of early days. There's a nice room with full windows that appears to be used for groups, especially children - we saw crayons and games.
We did a tour of the city of 25,000 to see all its attractions. Aside from being rocky and multi-layered vertically it appears to be a good place. There is a small university and a number of churches (including Moravian). It has a nice small stadium for football. It has all the usual stores, and various industries. The city buses are free, just hop on and go. No mention of tax rates.
The bus then parked at the harbor; the guide took some on a hiking tour but O had back pain and did not go along. D wandered the pier taking pictures. A modest-sized ferry came along and backed in immediately beside us. The bus driver moved over to give the hikers more room to board.
After the hikers returned we returned through the tunnel to the ship at Runavik on Eysteroy (East Island). Took pictures of the town sign and boarded Zuiderdam.
MDR closed so we grabbed light things in the Lido to hold us to dinner. We were underway at 1555 and ran around the islands on the east side, then NW toward Iceland. Fully overcast. Word describing this part of the day - bleak.
D wants a tee-shirt beyond what she brought so we went to the sale of such things at 1800. She bought a bargain tee for night-wear.
Then to the MDR for dinner. D had veal, O had salmon, both nice. Had a lot of fun with the waiter due to a misprint in the menu, which listed a Raspberry Mousse containing four cheeses.
Back in the suite we noticed the Sea State is down to one, no pitching and that we're banging along at 18 knots on course 300*. Sunset tonight will come at 2316 GMT.
Photo link for today's pictures.
Iceland tomorrow. Next page, please.
