Narratives from Navigator in Norway

[flossie009]

So here we are back on Seven Seas Navigator for a 20 night cruise from Southampton, up through the Norwegian fjords, past the Artic Circle into Russia and then back down to finish in Amsterdam.

 

 

 

Yesterday our son kindly picked us up from home for the 2 hour drive to Southampton. Traffic was slow at times (start of the school holidays and very hot weather meant many people travelling).

We arrived at the QE2 Terminal just after 11:30am and efficient porters had our luggage whisked away to the ship before we could blink.

Regent started the check-in at 11:50 and so it was straight up to the Pool Deck for a very welcome drink and delicious lunch.

All suites were made available very early at 12:30 and all our luggage had been delivered before 2pm. All very efficient.

 

We know that some guests had very difficult journeys down from London both by road and rail; Navigator was an hour late leaving Southampton as it waited for those who had been delayed.

 

It was good to see some old friends on board for this cruise - both guests, officers & crew.

No Meet & Mingle this cruise but we met with @GrJ Berkshire at lunch after boarding.

 

 

 

Last night, after a drink in Stars Lounge, we dined in Compass Rose with friends who we had met on previous cruises. Very good to see them again and to catch up on gossip.

[flossie009]

Today is a lazy sea day.

The weather is good and it is forecast to be warm and sunny for our first few stops in Norway. It will get much cooler as we go North of the Artic Circle.

 

Looking Forward on Deck 12

 

Looking aft

 

 

There are two excellent lecturers on board this cruise - Terry Bishop and Michael Scott. The latter will keep us all well informed about the beautiful landscapes, flora & fauna that we will see during this cruise.

 

Today we took lunch in La Veranda where we found the selection of dishes to be very extensive and tasty; some new selections that we had not previously seen on Regent.

We sat in Prime 7, which is used as an overspill from La Veranda at lunch time; the makeover it received during the recent drydock has much improved the venue - it is now very light and airy.

 

Tonight is Captain’s Welcome Party. Following dinner on a hosted table in Compass Rose we hope to make the show - a Variety Show featuring the Navigator Production Cast and Irish comic, Billy Boyle.

The Seven Seas Lounge is a fine example of a well designed theatre at sea, with all seats giving a perfect view of the stage.

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2019 by flossie009

[Gilly]

Bon Voyage - and looking forward to the trip!!   Thanks for taking us along, @flossie009  !

[ronrick1943]

Have a great cruise and enjoy your time, looking forward to reading post on your journey.  Photos look great and add to the soy.  Thanks so much for taking the time.

[LynnRuns]

Just got back from a wonderful 2 week trip to Norway. It was stunning. Enjoy!

[1982CruzStart]

HI Susan, really looking forward to your posts as this is a cruise i want to take in the future. Have a super cruise and will see you in a few months on our next cruise. 

[RJ2002]

Thanks for taking us along.   Enjoy your cruise on the Navigator.

[liptastic]

Flossie excited  to look forward to your live blog. This looks a great itinerary and even better on the lovely newly refurbished Navigator.

We are restricted to shorter cruises due to work commitments and negotiating leave together,  so following along with your blog will keep me going .

Have a great cruise.     Jean

[boblerm]

Flossie009, wishing you a wonderful cruise and looking forward to following along!

Bob

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Enjoy your journey! 

We sailed this itinerary last year and loved it. The ports and excursions were so interesting. 

Go safe, come safe. 

Sheila and Herb

Edited July 26, 2019 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[forgap]

Thank you for your insights into this itinerary!   We booked and cancelled this for 2020.   We are not huge fans of the Navigator and I am prone to mal de mer.   Can’t wait to hear your impressions!  

[Boatmans Lady]

Thank you Flossie for taking us along with you.

Good to see The Navigator looking so good in the sunshine.

[Zqueeze1]

Thanks for taking us along. We are still suffering from the post cruise blues so your narrative will pick us up. Nice pics!  Have a great cruise!

Z and TB

[flossie009]

Thanks to everyone for their kind & supportive comments, which encourage us to be fairly regular with this “narrative”.

Also, thus far the Wi-Fi has been superb; much better than Regent cruises over the last couple of years. Looks like some investment has been made to try to match ‘supply’ with ‘demand’. This makes posting a live blog with pictures a little easier and less frustrating.

(Fingers crossed that I haven’t jinxed it by posting that)

 

Captain’s Welcome Party last night was well attended and everyone had dressed up for the Formal Optional night. Not many Tuxedos but most men were wearing jackets, many with ties. 

We had a very enjoyable dinner with GM Franck Galzy and two other couples, both of whom are on the ship for the full 77(?) night Grand Artic Voyage.

 

We managed to get to the show, which was very good - a full house.

 

Hopefully some more later today after we have been on our late morning excursion.

 

 

I will leave you with a piece of Art that caught our attention in one of the stairwells:

 

Art for art’s sake?

 

[Hambagahle]

THANK YOU Flossie for these great posts!   I am so happy to have another virtual cruise.

 

The painting (?) if it is one above looks as though it is a collage of jelly beans!!

 

Wishing you quiet seas and not too much rain on the Norwegian coast.   Have a wonderful cruise

Gerry

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking us along.

Looking forward to more!

Have a wonderful time.

[1teach53]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your adventures with us! Your cruise will be a welcome break for those of us sweltering in the heat. What a beautiful part of the world. Have fun! 🎉🍸🎉

Karen 

[briar14]

Flossie, glad you are posting about this cruise. We were supposed to take it but had to change to a similar itinerary in 2020. I am sitting in SC with a brand new knee instead. I am looking forward to reading about everything but especially the tours you chose. Have a wonderful cruise!

[flossie009]

Today was a warm & sunny day in Haugesund, Norway. We arrived mid morning and departed just before 7pm this evening.

 

Arriving in Haugesund

 

We took an excursion to the Nordvegen History Centre at Avaldsnes, where we learnt about Viking history.

For 3,000 years chieftains & kings based here controlled the strait that gave Norway its name.

 

King Harold “Fair hair” and his wife

 

One of our guides describing recent archeological excavations

 

 

The museum included various examples of beautifully worked Viking jewellery:

 

 

 

 

 

[flossie009]

We then took a 20 minute walk to a reconstructed Viking farm to see a LongHouse and other structures, together with re-enactments of daily life.

 

Inside the LongHouse 

 

Chopping wood for the fire

 

Archery practice

 

An interesting Viking structure

 

The excursion was well organised, with interesting guides and kept to time.

 

Tonight we dined in Compass Rose at a shared table.

Entertainment in the theatre  was a very talented violinist

 

We will try to be up early tomorrow morning for the scenic sail in to Flam. Again good weather is forecast 😎

[flossie009]

Thanks for all the supportive comments. We will try to keep this blog going in between food, drink, entertainment & excursions!

 

@briar14, Jan - Hope your knee recovers soon. If there is anything specific you want us to investigate on this itinerary please ask away and we will do our best to help you with planning your cruise next year.

[Boatmans Lady]

Flossie, your weather has been much nicer than here at home [I am across the county line in Beds] it has rain, nice steady earth soaking rain, most of the day and temps have cooled.

 

Enjoy your sail into Flam and I'll look forward to your narrative and photos.

[Gilly]

@flossie009 I love that this itinerary kicked off so strongly.  All too frequently, a UK embarkation means a few days mooching through familiar territory, but wow - I loved your account of your day in Haugesund and your photos immediately made me want to visit for myself.   All I have to do is to tempt dh to that itinerary... 🤔  ( I'm working on it!! )

[flossie009]

Flam is looking beautiful in the sunshine this morning. We are so lucky to have such good weather for this itinerary.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, @Gilly, this itinerary is very good with just the right amount of sea days scattered amongst the ports to allow us to relax between sightseeing.

It has been many years since we last sailed out of Southampton - very civilised not having to battle through airport security & immigration to get to the cruise.

Mind you, it sounds like we were lucky not to meet up with the P&O ship, Britannia, returning from Norway; we might have had a real fight on our hands 😱

[Mudhen]

Thank you taking us along, Flossie! We've considered a Navigator cruise for next year, so will be watching and listening to your reports! Must agree that the Navigator has the best itineraries...at least the ones that appeal to us most.