Anthem OTS Norwegian Fjords Review, 9-3-23

[WorkingForOBC]

Feel free to do what you wish with this compliment, but I think your husband has a great eye, and I'm enjoying his compositions. 

 

Also, really looking forward to the rest of your report!

[aubreyc1988]

Before I knew it, we were boarding Anthem around noon, no lines, just walked straight on

 

 

 

TJ found his first duck (if you know, you know)

 

 

 

 

We did hide a few of our own

 

 

 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

*

We had early set time dining. For the first time EVER, we got seated at the big fancy table in the MDR. I thought this was reserved for VIPs but maybe not. I've never been seated here before so I was shocked. I thought maybe it was because we are diamond, but the ladies next to us were not so no idea. Maybe it's random draw, if you know, feel free to chime in

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

Not much to report on the first sea day. I didn't take many photos of the Anthem, big oversight on my part, but to be honest, there's lots of photos of the anthem you can find haha

 

I am sad to report that these next two photos are the ONLY slot wins I had, at any bet level. The gambling was brutal, and after these two nights of slots, we switched to tables. While tables were better, it still was a drain and we lost every penny we brought  you know how it goes sometimes. So if I do not talk about the gambling much this report, it's because jack sh*t happened. I may have gotten a couple of full houses playing UTH or a couple of good runs on Blackjack, but nothing to write home about really. I did learn how to play Let It Ride, so that was fun. AND the casino was non-smoking, due to UK laws so that was REALLY nice. The bartenders were amazing and I did drink enough to make the gambling losses more palatable. TJ also got to Prime, so we are both qualified for the next calendar year

 

 

 

Casino does BADLY need some new games. Some of the ones on Anthem are ANCIENT and no one wants to play those

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

Day Three has us in Stavanger, Norway 

 

We booked a Royal Caribbean excursion for this one, called Manafossen Waterfall Hike. The total excursion was about 5 hrs long. 1 hr to the base of mountain, then waterfall hike, then 1 hr back to the port. No food was provided, even for a fee, which was surprising given the length of the tour. The tour was labeled as "Strenuous" but I was told that it was "Royal Caribbean strenuous" and that most people would not have a problem, as it is a 800meter hike. And remember, initially I booked my inlaws on this excursion too. They are in good shape, but they ARE in their 70s so I was hoping this was doable for them. I wanted to do Pulpit Rock, but thought it would be too much on them. Whenever they canceled, I just decided to keep Manafossen and not do Pulpit Rock anyhow.

Here we are coming into port

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

And here are a few bad photos I took as we were driving to Manafossen

 

 

 

 

We also stopped once on the way there for scenic photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

And here are some more van pics

 

 

 

I have ZERO pictures of the hike going up. I had to concentrate on staying alive. I am serious, idk why but this excursion took a lot our of me. I was pretty scared going up, with my anxiety levels increasing as we went. 

 

 

 

But I stuck it out and made it to the top. My legs were shaking hard AF when I got to the top but it was breathtaking.

 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

 

*

[aubreyc1988]

BOY, am I GLAD I made that decision! Manafossen Waterfall Hike was INTENSE. And you really didn't know how intense it was going to be until you were halfway into it and there was no backing out. There would have been NO WAY they could have made it up there. I BARELY did and I was shooketh by the time I got to the top. I am short and I have short legs, so most of the rocks I was climbing were about half of my height, which made it hard for me to heft myself onto the rock steps. I honestly cannot believe I made it up to the top of this waterfall. There were parts of the trail up that were just a piece of flat vertical rock and a chain and you just had to sort of pull yourself up. Other parts of the trail had HUGE rocks mixed with small rocks going up the steepest incline. I have NO IDEA how these older people made it up, to be honest. When we all got to the top, I think everyone was shaking in their boots LOL. I *almost* didn't bring my hiking boots and just brought my Nike running shoes and believe me, you NEED hiking shoes in Norway

It was incredible at the top and I was pretty proud of myself for getting up there.

I was pretty worried about going back down, as were a lot of people, but I excelled at going back down. Idk, I always find it harder going up, maybe because I am shorter and it's harder to go up steep stairs vs. down. And it also took way less time to get down, thankfully. Some people who did really well going up didn't do so hot going down.

[aubreyc1988]

On the way back to the cruiseport, I am pretty sure the whole bus fell asleep so no van pics of the way back.

 

After being dropped off at the port, we had enough time to walk around, get some stuff to take back home, and grab a snack

Here is the AIDA in port with us today
 

 

And here is Anthem 

 

 

We walked around some

 

 

 

 

*

And here is where we went for a sandwich and a waffle. This was called a princess waffle and it was tasty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

 

I just looked and saw that I forgot to take photos of our staterooms on the ship. They were very nice. We had one room in the aft and one forward. I liked the forward room better, as it just seemed to have better views from the balcony and closer to elevators. They were almost identical to Harmony/Symphony rooms we had. I love the layout and the storage in these balcony rooms. A HUGE point to Royal for the balcony size as well. On NCL, this would probably be categorized as a Large Balcony.

 

We slept in the aft because it was less noisy and less motion. Crazy having two rooms! Sucks my in-laws were not able to come, we never would have used two certificates otherwise but we DID get double points, so at least there is that.

Here we are sailing away from Stavanger

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

The next day, we arrived in Olden, Norway. WOW, what an amazing port. We didn't book with the cruise line this time, instead, we did Olden Adventures, Troll Cars to Briksdal Glacier. It's another 1 hr bus ride to the troll car area, which is where a LOT of buses stop. You can hike to the glacier from the bus area, which I think is two miles, and everyone else who is there is taking troll cars (Which are like modded John Deers, see photo below)

 

 

It was really foggy in the morning, but it did clear up around 7:30am when we were waiting for our excursion bus 

 

*

 

*

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

 

 

 

See, here is a photo I took while waiting to get on the tour bus and it already cleared up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

It was pretty nice weather, maybe 60F

I stopped by the gas station to get a snack and got these chips, which just kind of tasted like BBQ. I was afraid there would be no lunch on the excursion and I was correct so really glad I picked these up

 

Once on the bus, it takes about 45 min to get to the bus area to get on the troll cars

 

 

I wish I had a better photo of this area. There were probably like 10-15 busses and the drivers could really maneuver these things around people and to tight parking spots.

Hopefully, at the end of this review, I will have some video clips of this trip to show you guys because all of my videos are SO much better than my photos. I took video footage of most of the ride in the troll car, which was so thrilling and fun. We went right by a waterfall, got soaked. It was so magical.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

The Troll Car ride was about 10 min, maybe less (basically 2 miles) and it was so scenic and pretty, definitely a must do. The hike would have been nice as well, but after the Manafossen hike, I was glad to mostly get shuttled around

 

Once the Troll Cars stop, you get out out and walk maybe 10 minutes to the Glacier 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

This trip was so packed with activities, I never styled my hair, just washed and conditioned it and let it do it's thing, lol. Looking at these photos, I cannot believe how fast it is growing from my bob I got last summer.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[mac_tlc]

Enjoying your review! We did the Arctic Circle cruise on Jewel in June and it was fabulous. We did the Loen Skylift in Olden and it was a highlight ! 
 

One of the best cruises we have done. 
 

 

mac_tlc

[aubreyc1988]

45 minute journey back to the ship. 

 

 

Forgot to mention that after our Stavanger excursion, we never made it back to the MDR. Our dining time was 5:30am and it was just too early. I couldn't get back on the ship, shower, and make it to dinner in time so just gave up.

When we got back on the ship after our Olden excursion, it was about 2:30pm and we went to Sorrentos for pizza. One of the sales team members sold us on a later dinner at Izumi for a 30% discount and free sake. We stuffed our faces and then went to the top decks to watch us sail out of the fjord for the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

I like the slight RCI logo in this one up above 

 

 

 

I love the way the water looks in these 

 

 

 

 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

8 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Enjoying your review! We did the Arctic Circle cruise on Jewel in June and it was fabulous. We did the Loen Skylift in Olden and it was a highlight ! 
 

One of the best cruises we have done. 
 

 

mac_tlc

 

Oh I bet that cruise was amazing! I'd love to do it one day! 

[Crazy planning mom]

13 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

On the way back to the cruiseport, I am pretty sure the whole bus fell asleep so no van pics of the way back.

 

After being dropped off at the port, we had enough time to walk around, get some stuff to take back home, and grab a snack

Here is the AIDA in port with us today
 

 

And here is Anthem 

 

 

We walked around some

 

 

 

 

*

And here is where we went for a sandwich and a waffle. This was called a princess waffle and it was tasty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You earned that waffle after the hike.

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

 

 

The next day, we were in Geiranger, Norway. We booked a private 2 hr Tesla tour with Geiranger Fjordservice as to Mount Dalsnibba and a few other stops. As soon as I finish this review, I am leaving a negative review on this tour. When we got to the meeting spot, the driver looked confused and said "Oh there are supposed to be four of you" and I said "yes, but two canceled, so just two now" He seemed a little confused and I then said, "We paid already for the whole car, so it's not a big deal, just two people instead of four". Then he nods and says ok, and tells me that he's spilled coffee in the front seat. I was sort of thinking "um ok well we aren't sitting in the front seat" LMAO but I didn't say that I was like "Oh ok no worries we will sit in the back"

After we get into the Tesla, he tells us that he's actually not a tour guide, but a truck driver. Something happened with the tour guide/tour company and he was asked to drive the car for the day. The company did not let us know and we basically had a ***** tour guide, which sucked. I mean, the first thing he said after we got into the car was "I hate cruise ships and tourists". OK then, GREAT start as we are tourists who came by cruise ship. And then throughout the tour, he kept on kind of shitting on Norway and how much he just wanted to leave, etc. Whenever I asked a mundane question just to make it less awkward, his answers would be like "Tourists ruin this" and "Soon they won't allow you guys to come" - And I'm not saying he doesn't have a point, tourism does tend to ruin things, but c'mon, what a wet blanket. He was saying how much he wants to tour Miami and I thought to myself "hope you find a good tour guide" lol

IDK, really pushed my limits but the scenery was amazing. My husband of course zoned out and was just taking photos and he lets me ease the awkwardness but on the way back I just sort of sat in silence. Whenever the tour ended, I think he expected me to tip him, but one of the few times I had not tipped someone. Really pissed me off, to be honest. I paid a ***** ton of money, esp since my inlaws didn't get to make it, to be told over and over how much he disliked tourists and cruise ships. Like jesus, keep that to yourself for 2 hrs and maybe you would get a tip.

Ok time for some photos (these are on the way to Dalsnibba)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

 

 

 

And here is Mt. Dalsnibba. Because we were a private tour, we left about 1 hr before the busses, it gets MUCH busier.

 

 

 

 

 

you can't tell, but that brown grating...there's nothing but air underneath that and a steep drop. Lots of little bits of dried puke from people looking down

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

This was us pretty much the whole trip, having to pee real bad and not being able to find restrooms lol

 

 

SO MANY CAIRNS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

After Mt. Dalsnibba, we went back down the mountain to the drop off point, although we did stop twice,  at a lake and at a bridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We chose to get dropped off at this building so we could see the waterfall and walk the rest of the way to the ship. This waterfall is easily accessible by the cruise port and doesn't cost anything, just your time and energy

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

 

 

 

*

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

We got back on the ship after this because we had an appointment to go on the North Star, the pod that goes over the ship. It's best to use it when in port. They have free sessions and paid sessions. They have a cool bar up there, so we each got a drink and it's about 10 min at most in the pod. It was OK. I mean, we had just been to the top of Mt Dalsnibba so hard to top that haha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by aubreyc1988

[aubreyc1988]

We then made our way to the forward balcony room to sit out there while we made our way out of Geiranger Fjord. The captain does a 360 turn so everyone can see the Seven Sisters Waterfall, which is spectacular. I recommend just seeing it on the balcony. 

 

 

 

 

*

 

We also went to the decks but it was too chaotic and a worse view.

 

 

*

 

*

 

*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by aubreyc1988