Narratives from Navigator in Norway

[flossie009]

Wednesday, July 31; At Sea

 

Early in the morning Seven Seas Navigator crossed the Arctic Circle on our journey up the coast of Norway towards Russia.

The morning was noticeably colder by some 20 deg F, so it was on with jumpers, fleeces and coats to go out on the Pool Deck to find it had been invaded by Vikings and a Polar Bear.

Rayunt the Bold (CD, Ray Solaire)

 

Terry the Not so Bold (Lecturer & Entertainer, Terry Bishop)

 

Ursus Maritimus, The Polar Bear

 

Shelby the Bountiful (Production Cast Dancer, Shelby Smith)

 

 

It was the occasion of “The Order of the Blue Nose” - a crossing the line ceremony for all those crossing into the Arctic by ship.

Guests were required to pass through the “Arctic Circle” (a hula hoop), get a blue nose (coloured foam administered by Terry) and drink Aquavit (and the drink was free!!).

 

A certificate and photo opportunities were the mementos of the day ............ but no one braved a dip in the pool.

 

 

 

 

[1982CruzStart]

Loving your commentary and photos. Thanks

[flossie009]

Wednesday, cont.

 

Ray Solaire performed an early evening show “Imagine”. A packed theatre enjoyed his performance of singing, magic and puppetry; supported by the show-band and three of the dancers from the Navigator Production Cast.

 

Ray with Elvis

 

 

We dined in Prime 7, sharing a table with a delightful couple from Florida.

Prime 7 is being ably run by Jon who has only recently joined Regent; having previously worked for other luxury lines.

Service, food & wine was perfect. A very enjoyable evening.

 

Prime 7 is one of the venues on Navigator that received a complete make-over during the recent dry-dock. It is now light, airy and feels much less cramped than before.

 

 

 

 

 

There was just time after dinner for us to catch the end of the Beatles Dance Party up in Galileo’s Lounge. A perfect end to a perfect evening.

 

....................... and so it was to bed, ready for an early start the next morning in Hammerfest (more about that adventure later)

 

Note: We have to keep the curtains tightly closed at night because, although we will not see the true “Midnight Sun” it does remain light all night at this time of year with the sun only just dipping below the horizon for a short while.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2019 by flossie009

[Joanandjoe]

Keep up the commentary - it reminds us of our first Arctic crossing on Regent.  We had to kiss a fish!. 

 

Will you be staying on the ship after Amsterdam?  We'll be boarding the Navigator in Amsterdam o August 14.  Keep the ship in good shape for us!  Joe

[flossie009]

Today Navigator visited a grey & cloudy Hammerfest.

 

 

Hammerfest is more than 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle and claims to be the world’s northernmost city.

Remarkably it was the first city in Europe to have electric street lamps (1891).

Post WW2 prosperity was ensured by a huge Findus fish processing factory. Now it is an important base for gas extraction. 

 

We were up  early this morning for a short excursion leaving at 07:25 to visit a Sami camp above the city. The Sami people are nomadic reindeer herders.

On the way to the camp we passed a small group of reindeer by the side of the road.

 

 

 

We were met at the camp by a Sami family who took us into their traditional buildings. The father gave us a talk on their culture, lifestyle & history.

 

Father

 

Son

 

Traditional roundhouse

 

Inside the roundhouse, where we sat on reindeer skins around an open fire while the father told us his stories.

 

The roof opening for the smoke from the fire

 

 

We were then taken to another larger and more modern building where we were served coffee and had the chance to sample reindeer meat, salmon, bread and cloudberries.

 

Bread, reindeer and salmon

 

The view from the Sami camp over the town & harbour

 

It was a short but interesting trip. 

We were back on the ship by mid morning giving plenty of time for those welcome cruising pursuits of eating, drinking, chatting, reading, lectures, games, quizzes and blog writing.

 

 

At 3pm Navigator set sail for our next port - Murmansk, Russia

 

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, Joanandjoe said:

Will you be staying on the ship after Amsterdam?  We'll be boarding the Navigator in Amsterdam o August 14.  Keep the ship in good shape for us

 

Sorry, we will miss meeting you as we fly back home from Amsterdam.

Hope you have a cruise as good as this is turning out to be. The staff & crew on board are superb.

[Joanandjoe]

We love your pictures of Hammerfest.  This appears to be the same excursion that we took there a few years ago, even the same Sami family.  Where's a picture of you wearing a Sami hat?  Joan brought one with her on our two Sami excursions, and people wanted pictures of the Sami man and "his wife".

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

Thoroughly enjoyed the SamiCamp. Glad you did also. 

Loving all your postings and photos. So many good memories of last year. Say hello to Ray for us. Remind him I am the lady with the oxygen on the tram in Newcastle, who’s scooter fell on her leg. Still was a great trip. 

Sheila

 

Edited August 1, 2019 by Bellaggio Cruisers

[RachelG]

Just now catching up and I am loving this blog.  Brings back so many good memories.  And yes, Flossie, the theater on Navigator is my very favorite of all at sea among the ships on which I have sailed.  We looked at this trip, but too many days for us this year.  So we leave for Iceland tomorrow on Silversea Cloud.

[boblerm]

Susan, how was the reindeer meat?  Tough? Tender?  Anything you would compare it to?

[GrJ Berkshire]

30 minutes ago, boblerm said:

Susan, how was the reindeer meat?  Tough? Tender?  Anything you would compare it to?

We found it very pleasant, comparable to venison ( which we eat quite frequently in UK )

As also on this excursion in Hammerfest ,but later in the day. Thoroughly enjoyed the port.

[flossie009]

Today we are in Murmansk.

 

This morning the Captain announced a change in plan for the next few days due to bad weather conditions on our route through the White Sea.

 

We will now overnight tonight in Murmansk and stay in dock until 3pm tomorrow afternoon. We will then set off on route to Archangel, missing the tender port of Solovetsky Island.

So, a day in dock tomorrow followed by a sea day then arriving in Archangel as scheduled on Mon, 05 Aug.

 

Cute little bed-time chocolates tonight to mark our stay in Russia:

 

 

 

Edited August 2, 2019 by flossie009

[liptastic]

31 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Today we are in Murmansk.

 

This morning the Captain announced a change in plan for the next few days due to bad weather conditions on our route through the White Sea.

 

We will now overnight tonight in Murmansk and stay in dock until 3pm tomorrow afternoon. We will then set off on route to Archangel, missing the tender port of Solovetsky Island.

So, a day in dock tomorrow followed by a sea day then arriving in Archangel as scheduled on Mon, 05 Aug.

 

Cute little bed-time chocolates tonight to mark our stay in Russia:

 

 

 

Awe they are so sweet, too nice to ever eat 😊.  Jean

[flossie009]

On 8/2/2019 at 2:54 AM, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Say hello to Ray for us

We passed on your regards to Ray. He sends you his best wishes.

 

13 hours ago, liptastic said:

Awe they are so sweet, too nice to ever eat 😊.  Jean

Oops .......... too late .............😋😋

 

[flossie009]

The weather conditions on our projected route to Archangel have worsened to a hurricane so there have been further changes to the itinerary for the coming week.

 

We will now abandon further attempts to visit any more Russian ports and will retreat back to Norway.

Our forecast itinerary is now:

Today, Sat, 03 Aug: Murmansk

Sun, 04 Aug: Honningsvaag

Mon, 05 Aug: Tromso 

Tues, 06 Aug: Narvik

Wed, 07 Aug: Bodo

Thurs, 08 Aug: At Sea

Fri, 09 Aug: Kristiansund (back on the original schedule)

 

Compared to the original itinerary, 2 Russian ports have been dropped but 3 additional Norwegian ports have been added.

 

Excellent work by the ship’s officers, Regent management & their port agents in being able to make these positive changes at such short notice.

Destination Services have already re-arranged excursions for our call in to Honningsvaag tomorrow (3 days early) and are working away at arranging tours in the 3 new ports.

 

 

The Captain is now waiting for the Russian immigration officials to clear the ship, crew & passengers in order to leave Murmansk and Russian waters. The officials are on board now and Navigator is forecast to sail sometime between 3pm - 6pm.

[mrlevin]

Susan, we have decided to take this trip in 2021 so we are following your daily reports.  Disappointed your time in Russia was limited (did you see the Navy piers in Murmansk?) but really looking forward to your new stop in Narvik.  I went to Narvik in 1980 during my post-college Eurailpass trip of Europe; one of my favorite locations.  They have a wonderful WWII naval museum.  I have been looking for years for a Regent trip that stops in Narvik and I don't believe they have ever gone there so looking forward to your report.

 

Keep having fun and sending back wonderful reports.

 

Marc

[flossie009]

All excursions in Murmansk yesterday were very similar but with each having a specific highlight.
Our “highlight” was a visit to a local hotel for Russian Pancakes. The crepes served were remarkably tasty, served with cloudberry jam & cream. Tea & coffee was also served by waitresses in traditional costume.




A display of traditional Russian artefacts


An oversized Russian Doll in the hotel foyer



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[flossie009]

Other places visited in Murmansk included the Palace of Culture, the imposing memorial statue and an Orthodox Church.


View over Murmansk harbour (a grey city on a cold grey day)


The huge memorial







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[flossie009]

Orthodox Church - outside


Inside the church



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[Ladys Mom]

Susan, your cruise sounds wonderful.  It is tempting us to do the entire arctic trip next summer or the summer of 2022.  Last summer we did the first piece of the voyage (NYC to Iceland) before the Navigator was "dolled up" and we had an amazing time. Safe travels for the rest of your trip.  Keep those wonderful pictures coming.

[ronrick1943]

Nice photos, thanks so much for taking the time.  Looks like a great trip full of surprises, but enjoyable just the same. The ship looks great-looking forward when we'll be cruising on her.

[flossie009]

17 hours ago, boblerm said:

Susan, how was the reindeer meat?  Tough? Tender?  Anything you would compare it to?

 

The reindeer meat was good, although slightly more cooked than the venison we enjoy in the uk which tends to be served rare.

It was tender; the nearest equivalent taste is lamb.

The surprisingly delicious item on the plate was the dark cured & smoked reindeer meat which looked like biltong (the chewy dried beef popular in South Africa); this, however, was melt-in-the-mouth but with a more intense flavour than the other meat 😋

[Fletcher]

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

The weather conditions on our projected route to Archangel have worsened to a hurricane so there have been further changes to the itinerary for the coming week.

 

We will now abandon further attempts to visit any more Russian ports and will retreat back to Norway.

Our forecast itinerary is now:

Today, Sat, 03 Aug: Murmansk

Sun, 04 Aug: Honningsvaag

Mon, 05 Aug: Tromso 

Tues, 06 Aug: Narvik

Wed, 07 Aug: Bodo

Thurs, 08 Aug: At Sea

Fri, 09 Aug: Kristiansund (back on the original schedule)

 

 

 

That's a terrible disappointment for many as I imagine that Solovetsky Islands and Archangel would have been the main reason people booked this cruise.  The Solovetskys in particular are not often visited and mostly by expedition ships.  The weather up there is treacherous.  On our cruise we had perfect weather until we turned south for home.  

[flossie009]

On 8/2/2019 at 12:40 AM, flossie009 said:

Hammerfest is more than 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle and claims to be the world’s northernmost city.

Interestingly, our guide in Murmansk claimed that Murmansk is the most northern city in the world!!

 

6 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

That's a terrible disappointment for many as I imagine that Solovetsky Islands and Archangel would have been the main reason people booked this cruise.  

Really?

Not for us. Our main reason for choosing this itinerary was Norway and are therefore very pleased to be calling at 3 extra Norwegian ports.

A shame to miss Archangel but would not have wanted to battle through a hurricane to get there.

 

[Fletcher]

22 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

 

Really?

 

 Yes, absolutely! Norwegian cruises are a dime a dozen (well, lots of them) but finding one that turns the corner is rather unusual and distinctive.   These old Soviet places are fascinating, IMO.