Copenhagen to Copenhagen June 11-25 Sailing The Coast of Norway

[nancygp]

6 minutes ago, Mahogany said:

Understood. Is it now going to be hard to choose between the new Crystal and Seabourn? 😀

Hum ..  we sailed the old crystal exclusively for 17 years.  Since that time we’ve cruised sesbourn 3 times and have several future bookings.  We have nothing booked with new crystal.  Currently, very happy with Seabourn 

 

nancy

 

 

[sfvoyage]

1 hour ago, nancygp said:

about a year ago, Seabourn offered former crystal cruisers a loyalty match promo.

 

How does the status match work in regards to Seabourn club points? 

 

For those who qualified for a Diamond match, did Seabourn start them off with 0 club points or start/top them off - in case they have some SB club points to begin with - with 250 points, so that they will only need 400 more points to reach Diamond Elite?

Edited June 24, 2023 by sfvoyage

[nancygp]

2 hours ago, sfvoyage said:

 

How does the status match work in regards to Seabourn club points? 

 

For those who qualified for a Diamond match, did Seabourn start them off with 0 club points or start/top them off - in case they have some SB club points to begin with - with 250 points, so that they will only need 400 more points to reach Diamond Elite?

The promo ended quite some time ago.  We each received 250 points points for the diamond status a start..not considered days sailed…just points.  Lower levels got gold silver,,etc. Please keep in mind that we had close to 30 cruises with the defunct crystal and most were 11 day + and mostly 14;days.

 

what’s your point?  There’s a thread from almost a year ago if you want to read all about this..some posters weren’t very pleasant and some where very nice

 

heres the thread from a year ago..I think you commented.

 

so,glad we found and love seabourn

 

nancy

 

 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by nancygp

[sfvoyage]

57 minutes ago, nancygp said:

what’s your point?  There’s a thread from almost a year ago if you want to read all about this..some posters weren’t very pleasant and some where very nice

 

No point. I was just wondering how the match worked in addition to the status.

[SwankPooch]

I had 39 cruises with Crystal, and 4 with Seabourn . Seabourn would only top it off to 250 days (Diamond).

[SLSD]

7 hours ago, Mahogany said:

Susan, may I call you Susan? (Since others have 🙂). Though we've never met, I have enjoyed your posts from other cruises and would love to meet you on a future cruise.

Thank you for all the interesting posts and fabulous photos. I have been to Norway, as far as the North Cape, with Seabourn but am taking a Silversea cruise to Norway in August (my friend's chance to see Norway) which only goes as far north as Trondheim. But it has been enjoyable to anticipate my trip while reading about yours. Oh, that we will have similar weather!

Fiona

Yes, you. may call me Susan.  I am so envious that you are going to be in Norway in August.  We will return!  I'm glad you have enjoyed my comments here.  I always enjoy when others take us along on their cruises.  

[SLSD]

We are all packed, in our suite and just getting ready to disembark in Copenhagen. We packed light for this trip--just two carryons and one medium size bag.    If there is some down time along the way, I'll post further as I have additional comments about our Seabourn cruise.  

Edited June 25, 2023 by SLSD

[JSC77]

SLSD and jondfk, and the others on board who have been posting, thank you so much for all of your comments. As I have mentioned, my wife and I will be on Ovation in just over one month for 21 days, embarking in Reykjavik and continuing on to a repeat of your Norway itinerary. It has been very helpful to read about the ship, crew, atmosphere, ports and excursions and more.

We are very excited to be back on Seabourn soon, particularly with such a great itinerary.  
Thanks again to all of you and travel safely home!

[SLSD]

At some point, I am going to go through each port and mention those that we know for sure were easy to walk into.  We don't know about every port as we took a couple of long excursions and did not see the port at all.  

 

I also wanted to mention a great Seabourn service moment from yesterday.  As we were reboarding the ship in Skagen, Denmark, Mr. SLSD's hat flew off of his head and into the water.  He would have been content to just let the hat go--but the crew there at security assured him they would retrieve it.  When we returned to our suite after lunch, the hat was at our suite.  The crew does go beyond the call of dutry.   

[PSahoy]

Ha SLSD. Same thing happened to me on a Zodiak. The Ventures team made a joke of it quickly turning the boat around with a long pole with grabber saying we were off to catch Jaws. Currently in Copenhagen on a self guided tour. Safe trip home—it was a pleasure meeting you both.

[Mauzac]

10 hours ago, SLSD said:

Yes, you. may call me Susan.  I am so envious that you are going to be in Norway in August.  We will return!  I'm glad you have enjoyed my comments here.  I always enjoy when others take us along on their cruises.  

 

I, too have very much enjoyed your observations, especially as we do the Norway part on 6th August.  🙂

[robertmartha]

Safe travels home SLSD. Thank you again for taking us along on your sailing.

Bob

[LMB01]

11 hours ago, SLSD said:

We are all packed, in our suite and just getting ready to disembark in Copenhagen. We packed light for this trip--just two carryons and one medium size bag.    If there is some down time along the way, I'll post further as I have additional comments about our Seabourn cruise.  

I laughed out loud!

 

We are packing for our 2 weeks in Norway - 2 carryons and 4 large checked bags that will each have to be weighed so as not to exceed the 70lb weight limit!

 

I don’t travel light!

Edited June 25, 2023 by LMB01

[galeforce9]

3 hours ago, LMB01 said:

I laughed out loud!

 

We are packing for our 2 weeks in Norway - 2 carryons and 4 large checked bags that will each have to be weighed so as not to exceed the 70lb weight limit!

 

I don’t travel light!

My kind of packer 😁

[nancygp]

4 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

My kind of packer 😁

Mine too…wish we could pack less..oh well😄

 

Nancy 

 

 

[PAZE]

On 6/24/2023 at 10:14 AM, PSahoy said:

I am currently sitting on Ovation on deck 11 facing the lovely Skagen harbor as crew is setting up poolside for going away party. I’m going to hijack SLSD’s excellent blog—thank you!— to add my unqualified enthusiasm for one of the very best cruises I’ve taken. Norway was a revelation; I knew it was beautiful but not to this degree. For giving me incredible access I thank the destination team as well as the Ventures team for some extraordinary up close experiences and fascinating commentary on my Zodiac excursions. Everything my Ovation traveling partners have said about the exemplary staff, service and food is spot on. The words “no” or “sorry” don’t seem to be in their vocabulary. There’s been a convivial and overall group of very happy passengers of which I am one. This will be remembered as a Seabourn winner and for those who will be visiting Norway soon on Ovation bon voyage. You’re in for quite a treat! Now back to your regularly scheduled programming with SLSD…PS thanks also to jondfk for his commentary as well.

Thanks for your commentary. What were your favorite excursions?

[PSahoy]

Two of the Ventures zodiacs in Farsund, bus tour over the fjord in Loen, bike ride in Skagen, cruise to Pulpit Rock in Lysehaven. 

[SLSD]

We are home after a very full day of travel, and thinking back over the last two weeks on the cruise on the Norwegian coast.  

 

Here is a list of the ports we visited and what we enjoyed in each.  

 

We began in Copenhagen and, on our own, went to Tivoli Gardens in the evening.  It was delightful and fun for people watching.  There were many Danish families with children.  Many restaurants that looked to be of good quality, sidewalk cafes, and lovely gardens.  

 

Alesund, Norway.  We took a guided excursion which was valuable in terms of learning the history of the town and of the area.  I especially found interesting our guide's comments about World War II and what happened to her family at at time.  This is an EASY town to walk on your own.  It is a very short walk from the ship to the old part of town.  We especially enjoyed a sidewalk cafe on the sound and a family owned bakery. 

 

Svolvaer (Lofoten) Norway.  We took a long excursion here with a very good guide (Dutch, who has lived in Norway for 12 years).  It included a trip to the archaeological site where the largest ever Viking (long) house was discovered.  A short distance from where the house was discovered, a replica has been built.  If you like this kind of thing, it is well worth seeing.  The area is also beautiful.  We saw a number of villages as well as islands.  We stopped at a charming restaurant for lunch.  

 

Because our tour was so lengthy, I'm not sure if the town of Svolvaer is easily walked or not.  Perhaps Psahoy, Jon, or Bizinsider knows and can tell us.  

 

Tromso, Norway.  This is another very walkable town with the most charming part of the town a very short walk from the ship.  There is the Tromso Cathedral where we listened to an organ concert, a good restaurant for lunch, and plenty to see there.  We also took the Cable Car in Tromso to see the view above the city.  There is another famous (modern) church that we toured.  I could have skipped that one.  Tromso has an excellent museum which we enjoyed.  

 

Honningsvag, Norway.  The excursion we took from this port was the transfer to the North Cape.  This was one of the BIG highlights of our trip.  While I am not a bucket list person and not a person who has to say "I've been there", there is a special feeling at this place--which is the farthest northern point of land in Europe.  (The actual farthest northern point is close by--but not easily reachable without a five hour hike.). For us, taking the transfer to the North Cape is a MUST DO!  Thank you to the person at this sight who told me that!  While at the North Cape, be sure to take the time to watch the spectacular film that is shown in an auditorium there.  The drone footage is beyond awe inspiring.  We will talk about the North Cape for a long time to come.  The bus trip (about 30+ minutes)  has some great scenery.  

 

The evening of the day we visited the North Cape, there was scenic cruising --especially around 11pm until after midnight.  We sailed around the North Cape.  It was magical. 

 

We could have walked into the town of Honningsvag, but didn't.  Perhaps someone here did and can report. 

 

Loen(Olden) Norway.  We were actually anchored outside of the village of Olden which is a short distance from Loen.  We did not walk into Olden, but talked to people who did walk into the village and enjoyed it.  

 

Instead, we took a long excursion that was supposed to include scenic ferrying on a fjord, but didn't due to an issue with the ferry.  We did do an extensive tour of the mountains which was enjoyable.  And this included the town of Geiranger with its rushing river and a lunch at a hotel.  

 

Skjolden, Norway. This was one of my favorite ports due to the excursion we took which took us over the mountains (coming and going) to the town of Lom where we saw (inside and out) the 12th century church which I discussed and provided photos of above.  We also visited the Mountain Center which included the recently found artifacts dating to the 900s revealed by melting glaciers. 

 

We did not walk into Skjolden so I can't report on that.  

 

Stavanger, Norway is a big place!  It is the center of the Norwegian oil industry.  We took the Cruise to Pulpit Rock here.  If you don't plan to hike to the Pulpit Rock or see it by helicopter, I would recommend the ferry cruise.  It was very enjoyable and included a stop for a taste of Norwegian waffles.  

 

Farsun, Norway.  We walked through this town.  It is an easy walk and you can walk up to the cemetery which overlooks the entire area.  We were in Farslund on a Friday morning and were surprised at how few people we saw.  It is not a busy place.  While it is a very charming town and fun to walk through, we didn't find a place we wanted to have lunch.   There is a hotel which serves lunch, but we chose to return to the ship instead of just eating indoors in a hotel.  

 

Skagen, Denmark.  This is a great city for walking and I do think SB will be providing a shuttle.  Be sure to ask.  We loved our tour which was the Legacy of the Skagen Painters and included a well curate art museum and two artists' homes which were delightful.  

 

We did not take any zodiacs even though we would have been quite capable of doing so.  I heard a mixed report about an early zodiac trip to see puffins.  Friends we met on the cruise were disappointed in this Ventures expedition--but perhaps it is because they are from Alaska and didn't find it very special.  In fact, they did not find Norway to be nearly as beautiful as Alaska.  I disagree.  The two places are quite different.  

 

I hope this list of the ports helps in terms of which we were able to easily walk through.  There were lots of excursions offered and of course we only know about what we did.  I'm glad Psahoy gave a report on his favorite excursions.  We were on a few of the same ones with him--which is how we met.  

 

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by SLSD

[SLSD]

A few other comments.  I consider most of the food served on Seabourn to be high quality hotel catering, not fine dining.  With the exception of one meal, all the food I ate tasted good, but generally did not wow me. When I say this, I am mostly talking about The Restaurant.  I DID enjoy having lunch in The Restaurant and thought the food was quite good.  It was probably related in some cases to what was being served in The Colonnade. 

 

With the exception of lunch (from the menu) on the first day of the cruise on the veranda of The Colonnade, we did not eat there.  I am well aware that it is not a buffet in the evenings (as we have dined there on previous cruises).  I don't like the ambience of the insdie of the Colonnade, but do enjoy the Veranda.  We probably should have gone there on a couple of evenings.  We did not try the Sushi restaurant, but had intended to.

 

  Our favorite restaurant was Earth and Ocean and we dined there four evenings.  I like the creativity of the menus and the execution.  It is also a very comfortable place to dine in good weather which we had a lot of on this cruise. 

 

We dined at the TK Grill two times.  I had the Dover Sole one evening and the Ribeye Steak the other evening.  Both were well executed along with side dishes (which are smaller than pre-pandemic).  We especially enjoyed the whipped potatoes, glazed carrots, and mushrooms.  I was not a fan of the lemon tart, but enjoyed the multi-layered coconut cake.  We took the cookies with us when we left the ship the next day and they came in handy on our day long trip home.  We found the wait service in the TK Grill to be less professional than in The Restaurant and somewhat intrusive.  

 

We enjoyed room service breakfast quite a few mornings as well as breakfast in The Restaurant on other mornings.  We did not go to the Colonnade for breakfast.  

 

All food comments are extremely subjective and I'm sure that most may not agree with my assessment.  

Edited June 26, 2023 by SLSD

[SLSD]

We did not receive a Seabourn tote bag on this cruise.  Next time, I will take the one I have at home as they do come in handy.  

 

The hair dryer was adequate.  It gets VERY hot, but does not blow with the force of the dryer I have at home.  

 

Here's something else about the towels.  Toward the end of the cruise, we were brought a combination of fluffy towels and the thin scratchy ones.  Believe it or not, the fluffy towels were less absorbent than the thin towels.  I think this is because fabric softener is being used on the fluffy towels which is a sure way to reduce their absorbency.  

 

As a final comment--we LOVED our cruise of Norway.  What a fabulous country.  There was so much to see.  We cruise to go places, not for the ship.  Seabourn provides a very comfortable base for travel to new places.  But, when I think back about a cruise, it is the places we have been that I think about--not the ship.  This doesn't mean we don't appreciate Seabourn. We do!  

Edited June 26, 2023 by SLSD

[SDuckers]

31 minutes ago, SLSD said:

We are home after a very full day of travel, and thinking back over the last two weeks on the cruise on the Norwegian coast.  

 

Here is a list of the ports we visited and what we enjoyed in each.  

 

We began in Copenhagen and, on our own, went to Tivoli Gardens in the evening.  It was delightful and fun for people watching.  There were many Danish families with children.  Many restaurants that looked to be of good quality, sidewalk cafes, and lovely gardens.  

 

Alesund, Norway.  We took a guided excursion which was valuable in terms of learning the history of the town and of the area.  I especially found interesting our guide's comments about World War II and what happened to her family at at time.  This is an EASY town to walk on your own.  It is a very short walk from the ship to the old part of town.  We especially enjoyed a sidewalk cafe on the sound and a family owned bakery. 

 

Svolvaer (Lofoten) Norway.  We took a long excursion here with a very good guide (Dutch, who has lived in Norway for 12 years).  It included a trip to the archaeological site where the largest ever Viking (long) house was discovered.  A short distance from where the house was discovered, a replica has been built.  If you like this kind of thing, it is well worth seeing.  The area is also beautiful.  We saw a number of villages as well as islands.  We stopped at a charming restaurant for lunch.  

 

Because our tour was so lengthy, I'm not sure if the town of Svolvaer is easily walked or not.  Perhaps Psahoy, Jon, or Bizinsider knows and can tell us.  

 

Tromso, Norway.  This is another very walkable town with the most charming part of the town a very short walk from the ship.  There is the Tromso Cathedral where we listened to an organ concert, a good restaurant for lunch, and plenty to see there.  We also took the Cable Car in Tromso to see the view above the city.  There is another famous (modern) church that we toured.  I could have skipped that one.  Tromso has an excellent museum which we enjoyed.  

 

Honningsvag, Norway.  The excursion we took from this port was the transfer to the North Cape.  This was one of the BIG highlights of our trip.  While I am not a bucket list person and not a person who has to say "I've been there", there is a special feeling at this place--which is the farthest northern point of land in Europe.  (The actual farthest northern point is close by--but not easily reachable without a five hour hike.). For us, taking the transfer to the North Cape is a MUST DO!  Thank you to the person at this sight who told me that!  While at the North Cape, be sure to take the time to watch the spectacular film that is shown in an auditorium there.  The drone footage is beyond awe inspiring.  We will talk about the North Cape for a long time to come.  The bus trip (about 30+ minutes)  has some great scenery.  

 

The evening of the day we visited the North Cape, there was scenic cruising --especially around 11pm until after midnight.  We sailed around the North Cape.  It was magical. 

 

We could have walked into the town of Honningsvag, but didn't.  Perhaps someone here did and can report. 

 

Loen(Olden) Norway.  We were actually anchored outside of the village of Olden which is a short distance from Loen.  We did not walk into Olden, but talked to people who did walk into the village and enjoyed it.  

 

Instead, we took a long excursion that was supposed to include scenic ferrying on a fjord, but didn't due to an issue with the ferry.  We did do an extensive tour of the mountains which was enjoyable.  And this included the town of Geiranger with its rushing river and a lunch at a hotel.  

 

Skjolden, Norway. This was one of my favorite ports due to the excursion we took which took us over the mountains (coming and going) to the town of Lom where we saw (inside and out) the 12th century church which I discussed and provided photos of above.  We also visited the Mountain Center which included the recently found artifacts dating to the 900s revealed by melting glaciers. 

 

We did not walk into Skjolden so I can't report on that.  

 

Stavanger, Norway is a big place!  It is the center of the Norwegian oil industry.  We took the Cruise to Pulpit Rock here.  If you don't plan to hike to the Pulpit Rock or see it by helicopter, I would recommend the ferry cruise.  It was very enjoyable and included a stop for a taste of Norwegian waffles.  

 

Farsun, Norway.  We walked through this town.  It is an easy walk and you can walk up to the cemetery which overlooks the entire area.  We were in Farslund on a Friday morning and were surprised at how few people we saw.  It is not a busy place.  While it is a very charming town and fun to walk through, we didn't find a place we wanted to have lunch.   There is a hotel which serves lunch, but we chose to return to the ship instead of just eating indoors in a hotel.  

 

Skagen, Denmark.  This is a great city for walking and I do think SB will be providing a shuttle.  Be sure to ask.  We loved our tour which was the Legacy of the Skagen Painters and included a well curate art museum and two artists' homes which were delightful.  

 

We did not take any zodiacs even though we would have been quite capable of doing so.  I heard a mixed report about an early zodiac trip to see puffins.  Friends we met on the cruise were disappointed in this Ventures expedition--but perhaps it is because they are from Alaska and didn't find it very special.  In fact, they did not find Norway to be nearly as beautiful as Alaska.  I disagree.  The two places are quite different.  

 

I hope this list of the ports helps in terms of which we were able to easily walk through.  There were lots of excursions offered and of course we only know about what we did.  I'm glad Psahoy gave a report on his favorite excursions.  We were on a few of the same ones with him--which is how we met.  

 

 

I need to bookmark this post for when we book this cruise.  Your reporting has me very excited to do this itinerary.  Thanks for spending the time (and effort) to make such detailed reports of both your meals and the ports.  Sorry you are back to the heat of Dallas now!  That may be quite an adjustment.

[SLSD]

19 minutes ago, SDuckers said:

I need to bookmark this post for when we book this cruise.  Your reporting has me very excited to do this itinerary.  Thanks for spending the time (and effort) to make such detailed reports of both your meals and the ports.  Sorry you are back to the heat of Dallas now!  That may be quite an adjustment.

We landed at DFW airport after midnight last night and the heat, even at that hour, was stifling!  

 

The itinerary was wonderful--even without Flam.... One of our guides told us what the issue was in Flam.  He said that Flam will only allow a certain number of cruise passengers a day.  Evidently, they are counted for each ship and Seabourn must have booked the port AFTER others---and was not able to go there as the limit had already been reached.  

[torst]

SLSD, thank you for your many insights.  We disembarked in Copenhagen so that you could board.  I was particularly interested in your Earth and Ocean comments as on an eleven night cruise we ate there five times.  Imaginative, tasty, interesting food and fabulous service.  For us the best food experience on board. 

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, torst said:

SLSD, thank you for your many insights.  We disembarked in Copenhagen so that you could board.  I was particularly interested in your Earth and Ocean comments as on an eleven night cruise we ate there five times.  Imaginative, tasty, interesting food and fabulous service.  For us the best food experience on board. 

Yes, the best food experience we had as well.  That smoked chicken spread is addictive!  Every night I told myself that I would skip the bread and spread--but didn't.  There were so many dishes I really enjoyed.  My only wish is that the menu did not repeat so quickly.  

[purpleally]

On 6/24/2023 at 11:22 PM, SwankPooch said:

I had 39 cruises with Crystal, and 4 with Seabourn . Seabourn would only top it off to 250 days (Diamond).

“Would only”. Seabourn owed you nothing.