1st Time HAL Rotterdam Norse Legends Review 9/9-9/16/23

[boone2]

Great review and amazing photos 

[Trish Traveler]

Cont'd. Wed. Sept. 13 - Geiranger – 7am-5pm  Tender Port

We also stopped back in the Dutch Café for another Bossche Bol (only the 2^nd this week and we shared it again!) with coffee, and a nice snack of Toasted Ham & Cheese with curry ketchup dipping sauce.  Yum! 

And the Dive-In Menu:

 

**Sailaway through Geirangerfjord**

Refreshed and ready for the big event which would be sailing through the Geirangerfjord departing at 5pm.  This time we arrived early to get a good spot by the railing of the Bow on Deck 5.  Once again, the cruise director gave wonderful narration all the way to the highlighted waterfalls.  We quickly saw one substantial waterfall on the right/starboard side.  Ooh-Ah.  Not long after we approached the Seven Sisters Waterfall (right) and the Suitor (left).  Wow, what an awesome sight to see both of these right across from one another.  I have to say, I was really most impressed with the Suitor!  So the legend goes that the Suitor turned to his bottle (you see the long necked bottle at the base of the waterfall) when the Seven Sisters declined his affections.  The captain stopped the ship and then slowly did a 360° turn (not sure if they always do this).  In addition, since it was to be the Rotterdam’s last visit to Geiranger for this season, they played Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye” song over the loudspeakers.  Goosebumps to experience this visual beauty and hearing that splendid voice so appropriate for this moment in time.  Pinch me! 

 

Rib Boat Tour:

First Waterfall ?

Approaching 7 Sisters Waterfall:

It's hard to count how many sisters there are!

The Stupendous Suitor with his bottle:

Rib boat approaching the Suitor below:

 

The water churning from the 360 turn:

We decided to spend more time viewing the fjord from our balcony.  We relaxed with cocktails – Aperol Spritz and wine, while under our blankets until 8PM enjoying all the beauty of the fjord.  No MDR for us tonight.  So many ribbons of waterfalls, occasional farms, a fish farm, a pretty rainbow and a portion of the sunset topped off this magnificent experience for us.  It did get cold out there, but we had jackets, hats and gloves.

Another Rainbow!

Amazing to see those mountainside farms:

Fish farm:

[Trish Traveler]

Cont'd. Wed. Sept. 13 - Geiranger – 7am-5pm  Tender Port

I forgot to include this photo earlier from the Eagle Bend viewpoint toward Geiranger, but as you can see it wasn't very good with the glare from the angle of the sun at this time of daay.

[Trish Traveler]

Cont'd. Wed. Sept. 13 - Geiranger – 7am-5pm  Tender Port

Orange Party tonight!  We did bring orange tops to wear, which is as much participation as we did.  But it was fun to see the festive party taking place in the BB King Nightclub.  They offer special orange cocktails.  I think there were some Dutch Snacks also.  Our after dinner drinks just happened to be somewhat orange: Manhattan & Cosmopolitan.   Lots of dancing and hooplah, especially when they played some Dutch favorites which included lots of jumping.  So fun to watch!  There were plenty of Dutch pax onboard with a Dutch ship sailing out of a Dutch port.  The vocalist Stephen Barry was performing a second show in the theatre, but we were too late for seats.  We spent a little time at Music Walk enjoying the great music in that area, before retreating to bed.  This port day definitely exceeded all of our highly hyped expectations.

 

This photo was taken much earlier before the Orange Party began = no people yet.

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

1 hour ago, 57redbird said:

WOW!!!

 

That's how I felt often on this cruise!! 🤗

[Trish Traveler]

1 hour ago, Bizziecruzer said:

Really enjoying your journey. Excellent review. 

Thank you!

[Trish Traveler]

56 minutes ago, boone2 said:

Great review and amazing photos 

Thank you!

[MeggMegg]

Wonderful review. Thank you for the pictures.

[Trish Traveler]

33 minutes ago, MeggMegg said:

Wonderful review. Thank you for the pictures.

Thank you!

[ottahand7]

Fabulous photos and great reviews of your days.  You have been blessed with beautiful weather. Thanks.  

[Trish Traveler]

2 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Fabulous photos and great reviews of your days.  You have been blessed with beautiful weather. Thanks.  

Thank you!  Yes, we had much better weather than anticipated.  We were ready for the intermittent showers we did have.  Plus...it gives you rainbows! 🤗

[Gogoddess5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about your experience in Amsterdam and on the Rotterdam. Beautiful photos! You have inspired me to consider visiting Amsterdam and to booking a sailing in that part of the world.  I sailed on Rotterdam last fall (Caribbean)…she is my new favorite ship.   

[Trish Traveler]

8 hours ago, Gogoddess5 said:

Thoroughly enjoyed reading about your experience in Amsterdam and on the Rotterdam. Beautiful photos! You have inspired me to consider visiting Amsterdam and to booking a sailing in that part of the world.  I sailed on Rotterdam last fall (Caribbean)…she is my new favorite ship.   

Thank you!  Glad to share and inspire you. Go... you'll love it!  Rotterdam is a beautiful ship!

[Trish Traveler]

Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

While up early getting ready, we had the bow web cam on the TV so we could see what was ahead as well as our own balcony starboard view.  DH said, I think we are going to be going under a bridge.  So I popped out to the balcony and sure enough there was a large suspension bridge in front of us.  Cool.  Looking at a map now, I believe it was the Askoy Bridge.  Another promising weather day – partly cloudy and dry as of now. 

 

Another DIY exploring on foot day was planned by researching and plotting our interests on a map of Bergen.  Bergen is the second largest city in Norway, but still we knew that the main highlights we were interested in were within a reasonable walking distance for us.  And I was also pretty sure that we were going to be docked at the container port of Jekteviken which is further than the Skolten Cruise Terminal near the Fortress and Bryggan, which the HAL TV port info show was incorrectly still listing as where we would dock.  I did not attend the port talk earlier in the week, so I don’t know what info was given there.  At the least I think that HAL could have passed out a basic walking map to the main town attractions.  And as far as I know, there was no shuttle to assist any mobility challenged guests into town.  We saw some pretty colored buildings on one side and our approach to the container/cruise dock.  They're getting ready to plug in for shore power!  And I just read that HAL’s entire fleet is now shore power-capable!

[Trish Traveler]

Cont’d. Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

After breakfast, we headed out as soon as the ship was cleared with our own maps in hand.  Of course, my wifi was not working this morning while on the ship to get exact walking directions on my phone. Our first destination was to be the Floibanen Funicular to beat the crowds.  Even with a map it was a little tricky, but we just basically walked what we thought was the general direction.  The side streets were very empty and we enjoyed the sights along the way seeing a few of the things that were on my list anyway. We saw the massive National Stage Theatre which is beautiful.

 

[Trish Traveler]

Cont’d. Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

 

We departed the ship at 8am and reached the Floibanen station at 8:40 stopping for a few photos.  With no line, we bought one way tickets (85NOK/$8USD) with a plan to walk down (you can always change your mind and buy the return trip at the top).  It’s one funicular car with several separate sections, and they operate a red and a blue one.  Ours didn’t have seats (some do), but it’s only a short ride up (5-8 minutes). It does make 2 stops along the way, so don’t get off till the very top for the overlook on Mt. Floyen. 

Outstanding views of colorful Bergen from the overlook up top.  Plus, it really helped me to visualize where everything was that we had been looking at on maps.  We were thrilled to once again be in a port on a nice day with mostly clear views!  It’s more than just an overlook up there.  There are friendly goats to see, a cool rustic kid’s playground and troll forest.  It looked like a variety of hiking trails begin from here in addition to the one down back to town.  There was a gift shop, and I believe a café and ice cream shop.  The restaurant building was closed for renovations.  You'll see from my photos how empty it was up there, which is why we get an early start.  Naturally many more tourists were enjoying this large space up there when we left.

 

 

Here comes Blamann "the Blue One"

Here comes Rodhette "the Red One"

Don't miss the friendly goats up there!

We enjoyed our time up there before following the trail down to the city centre.  At one point we saw a sign with arrows pointing in two different directions and I felt like the Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz deciding which way to go, but I wisely asked some locals who said “either way, but the one to the left is more scenic”.  The switchback hike down is on gravel and/or asphalt, through the forest with some great views of the city, until you reach residential areas and it will include some stairways also.   It was somewhat challenging and took us about 50 minutes.  My legs were a little rubbery after that, but once on flatish ground I perked up again to continue sightseeing.  

Love all the green grass roofs:

Almost down to Bergen City Centre:

[Trish Traveler]

Cont’d. Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

Since we could see the steeple, we headed over to the Bergen Cathedral/Domkirken, which unfortunately was closed even though the hours online showed 10-2.  Onward to the bustling harbor area which was colorful and historic.  We walked through the Fish Market to see the interesting offerings of fresh seafood.  They offer 

many ready to eat dishes, as well as ready to cook for locals. 

Bergen Harbor:

First peek at the pretty wooden Bryggen buildings:

Wow, what an interesting boat that is!!

Bergen Fish Market:

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

Cont’d. Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

Continuing on we walked the wharf to see the colorful, old Bryggen buildings which are also on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  You must take the time to walk through the wooden passageways to see more shops and scenic wooden architecture, and feel the cultural history of this place.  We saw some walking tour groups back there.  This whole main street has lots of shopping and restaurants.  We walked further along and saw the beginning of the Fortress property and a military ship which Google says is a NATO warship Frigate Brandenburg F215 sailing under the German flag – that’s interesting.

The Bryggen passageways:

 

 

 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

Cont’d. Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

 

I forgot to mention earlier that we also used some of the Rick Steves Bergen touring information videos we found online which was really helpful in our planning also. We were hungry now and on a mission to find the 3 Kroneren food stand we had read about online for their famous Reindeer Sausage, which is not far from the harbor.   It is served on a bun like a hot dog and comes with mustard, lingonberry sauce and fried onions.  Really delicious, especially paired with a Bergen Hansa Beer.

 

 

 

There is lots of eclectic street art and murals in Bergen to enjoy as you walk the streets.  We continued on to a large square where we found the impressive 4 sided Sailor’s Monument, which is very detailed and covers a lot of Norwegian history.

The art below was across the street from the above McD

Sailors Monument:

Hey, she's not part of the monument! 😊

[Trish Traveler]

Cont’d. Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

It began to get more cloudy, windy and cold with drizzle beginning to fall.  Umbrellas up.  We decided we had plenty of time for one last touristy stop at the Magic Ice Bar.  It was a bit of a walk but sounded like fun even though it is a bit kitschy. They do take reservations, but since I wasn’t using cell service, we decided to take out chances walking over there…in the rain.  We figured since this may be the most Northern place (close to the Arctic Circle) we ever visit then an Ice Bar seemed to fit the theme.  It cost 300NOK with one drink included.  They give you a large, hooded cape and gloves to wear in there.  It isn’t real large, but it also wasn’t crowded when we were there in the middle of the afternoon, so we could easily walk around and see all the absolutely cool frozen art!  Then we got our icy drinks at the ice bar and sat on fur skins on an ice bench with an ice table.  It was perfect to end our day in Bergen. 

But first we had one more hilly walk back to the ship where HAL had hot cocoa waiting for us.  It was awesome to see the Rotterdam plugged into the port electric shore power.   We had logged 20,000 steps already, so it was time for a hot tub soak and then a Margarita!  Enjoyed our sailaway from beautiful Bergen which is a fascinating city with so much to explore, of which we only saw a portion.  The pilot stayed with us a long time as we saw the pilot boat come to pick him.

Cool to see the Rotterdam plugged in!

View from our balcony before sailaway:

Pilot Boat:

[Trish Traveler]

Cont’d. Thursday, Sept. 14 – Bergen  - 8am-5pm

Time to get ready for another Dressy Night.  Back to the MDR with a short wait with no reservations.  Our delicious choices for the Gala Dinner included Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Sunchoke Soup, Cracked Pepper Tenderloin w/Grilled Shrimp, Fruit Crisp and Dulce de Leche Coconut Tart (the tart was dry and not that good – I didn’t need the calories anyway).  The World Stage show this evening was Step One Dance Company again, called In Tandem:  tango, etc., which we did not attend.  We found that for us, our favorite nightly entertainment was definitely the Rolling Stone Rock Room Band.  Surprise… Chocolate!! It wasn’t until 10pm, but be on the lookout for some chocolate in the Music Walk area.  I ended up with those extra calories after all! 

 

[Trish Traveler]

Friday, Sept. 15 –  SEA DAY

It was nice not to have to set the alarm this morning.  However, we did wake up in enough time to enjoy a sit-down breakfast in the MDR only served 8-9:30am.  HAL has a great breakfast menu with many items tantalizing me, but I just wasn’t that hungry to try more.  My usual to try once on every cruise is the Eggs Benedict, which was very good, but had regular ham, not the traditional Canadian Bacon.  I generally don’t care for those pressed type hash browns, but was pleasantly surprised that it tasted almost like a potato pancake.  DH had standard fried eggs, bacon and hash browns. 

Lovely to be served breakfast.

There were plenty of activities on the Daily Program that looked fun/interesting, but I wanted to get the bulk of our packing completed so I wouldn’t have to think about it the rest of the day.  We then walked with our luggage to the mid-ship elevator bank where HAL provided a scale to weigh your luggage.  We hadn’t added anything that heavy, but I just wanted to make sure I had it within the 50# airline limit, so I wouldn’t have to fiddle at the airport.

Scale near elevators mid-ship

We did a little shopping for T-shirts and stuff at the “Rotterdam Bazaar” shops sale.  It was cloudy and cool outside, but we walked some of the outside decks to explore more (even though it is a fairly small ship, we were so busy this week; there were still some areas we hadn’t seen yet).  We also enjoyed more of the wonderful art throughout the ship.  I once again had trouble getting WIFI, so I went to the Guest Relations desk to have them fix it so I could check in for my flight.

Notice the oil platforms in the sea:

 

 

Below are some screenshots of the info I saw thru the week, although the second one is more understandable while in the fjords I guess:

  

 

[RuthC]

Thank you for such extensive descriptions of places I have known so well. I love Norway, and in all my travels, still haven't been able to get enough of it. You have barely scratched the surface! 

Might I suggest, when you do go back again, that you go around the time of the summer solstice---on a cruise that goes to North Cape, or even as far north as Svalbard. There is nothing like being north of the Arctic Circle over the solstice! Watching the sun drop, then roll along the horizon without dipping below it, and start to rise again, is thrilling. Rolling over in bed, rousing just enough to look out, and the sun is shining in, is something you will never forget. 

[Trish Traveler]

4 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Thank you for such extensive descriptions of places I have known so well. I love Norway, and in all my travels, still haven't been able to get enough of it. You have barely scratched the surface! 

Might I suggest, when you do go back again, that you go around the time of the summer solstice---on a cruise that goes to North Cape, or even as far north as Svalbard. There is nothing like being north of the Arctic Circle over the solstice! Watching the sun drop, then roll along the horizon without dipping below it, and start to rise again, is thrilling. Rolling over in bed, rousing just enough to look out, and the sun is shining in, is something you will never forget. 

You're welcome. Yes, I know there is so much more to explore in all of those places 🤗  That sounds amazing to see summer solstice and more of the northern ports.  Another dream would be to see the Northern Lights.  Maybe someday.

[Trish Traveler]

Friday, Sept. 15 –  SEA DAY

Soon it was time for our last buffet lunch.  I saw that they were having Fried Shrimp and a variety of Asian appetizers like Spring Rolls, Egg Rolls and other tasty savory treats.  The odd thing was that they served these items in the small, Sweet Spot which became very crowded.  I mostly ate the Asian dishes which were all delicious.  I took a bunch of photos of many of the other lunch offerings that day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It did get sunny in the afternoon for our journey back to Amsterdam with pretty mild seas.  We can never get enough of that aft view.  Ahh!  Time for afternoon coffee and a special treat from the Dutch Café – this time we thoroughly enjoyed the perfectly prepared Triple Berry Pannenkoek (like a crepe).   I finally made it to one trivia game and played just for fun, while I enjoyed a Gin’s Cup which was a recommendation from the waitress for the least sweet item on that particular menu.  I find as I get older, I prefer less sweet drinks and more with bitters or more tart flavors.  We really wished we had a few more sea days to relax, recover from all our physical activity and enjoy this beautiful ship.