LIVE from Jewel May 15, 2024 - 27 nights

[twangster]

Just now, Biker19 said:

The place doesn't seem too concerned with the timing of the return of the car. The more important part is conserving the battery charge. We booked the "one hour" Panorama tour but went way past the return point indicated by the GPS (we returned the car after about 1hr 20 min) - the only thing limiting us was the battery going down to less than 1/4 state of charge left. However, both of the tours are uphill so as long as you have some charge left, you get some recharge on the way back down hill and should not run out of juice.

 

We must have had a better battery.  We reached Eagle Lookout with about 25 - 30% but that was after the all uphill portion at full out.  By the time we were back in Geiranger the regenerative downhill momentum and braking had the battery at 50%.

[Biker19]

7 minutes ago, twangster said:

We must have had a better battery. 

We started at about 70% state of charge and was down to two bars (three bars seemed to be 25%) at the turn around point (about three km past the scenic bridge and recommended turn around point). We turned the car in with three bars.

Early in the day bookings and the two-hour tours are likely to have fuller battery charge.

Edited June 2 by Biker19

[twangster]

Just now, Biker19 said:

We started at about 70% state of charge and was down to two bars (three bars seemed to be 25%) at the turn around point (about three km past the scenic bridge and recommended turn around point). We turned the car in with three bars.

 

We watched two cars go off and then the lady there plugged a car in right in front of us.  Less than a minute she unplugged it and said here is your car!  Ummm....

 

We were at 100% to start.  She must have been just checking the charge when she plugged it in briefly.  

[barbeyg]

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

The place doesn't seem too concerned with the timing of the return of the car. The more important part is conserving the battery charge. We booked the "one hour" Panorama tour but went way past the return point indicated by the GPS (we returned the car after about 1hr 20 min) - the only thing limiting us was the battery going down to less than 1/4 state of charge left. However, both of the tours are uphill so as long as you have some charge left, you get some recharge on the way back down hill and should not run out of juice.

@Biker19, appreciate the additional info. 🙂  Early in his work career, Ken managed an electric golf cart fleet, so he sees conservation of the charge as a challenge. And like @twangster he will try to see how much he can “recharge” going downhill. I envision looking like @Hoopster95’s dog video…and like this at the end. 😂

[twangster]

19 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

. Early in his work career, Ken managed an electric golf cart fleet, so he sees conservation of the charge as a challenge. 

 

 

I drive an EV so I lost my range anxiety a while ago.  I drove the Twizy like I stole it.  I kept my eye on the SoC but it had zero impact on our experience.  I spent zero time thinking about trying to conserve the battery.  

 

 

[twangster]

Last Twizy item.

 

I recommend booking one well before your visit.  They are popular for good reasons.  I booked this one in February 2024 for a May 2024 visit to Geiranger.  

 

If I can ever come back to Geiranger by cruise ship I'll book a Twizy again.  

 

The two hour rental was 1790 NOK including VAT.  In February this ended up on my US credit card as a $170 USD charge.  We were able to go places a tour bus couldn't and we covered more ground.  

 

A very memorable excursion.

[twangster]

Minstrels Duo in the Centrum.  
 

 

 

Short video as there are a lot of side conversations going on here.  

[twangster]

Ugh.  Where did this rain come from?

 

8pm.  

 

 

[twangster]

Calm seas despite the rain.  
 

Where are my fellow posters? I need a break! 

[twangster]

Harrison Smart 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hoopster95]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

Calm seas despite the rain.  
 

Where are my fellow posters? I need a break! 

Twangster shines the bat signal out into the clouds and hoopster responds! You sure you want me to talk?? I have plenty to say if you’d like 😆🤫🤐

 

Yep re the rain…. I just checked the forecast for tomorrow And were due for Rain/showers during parts of the day in Tromso. Let’s see what happens.

Edited June 2 by Hoopster95

[twangster]

Centrum is empty.  Schooner is empty.  Magician in the theater.  He is good, saw him last cruise I think, Apparently a lot of people got off today?   But it’s a sea day.  Hmmm.  

[Hoopster95]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

Centrum is empty.  Schooner is empty.  Magician in the theater.  He is good, saw him last cruise I think, Apparently a lot of people got off today?   But it’s a sea day.  Hmmm.  

Let me see… Grandeur, Indy, Oasis, Odyssey, Brilliance, Voyager… all sailed in the last 6-7 months. This ship by far and away is the winner for the deadest most boring ship ever.

 

Wave Benders were disgustingly horrible on their first set tonight. Almost nothing worth attending this afternoon on a sea day… I went to the flash mob practice where about 25 people Showed up but the new activity team girl Fabi doesn’t know the steps to Thriller and is trying teach it! Highlights of the day were bingo And watching FAA hit unforced error after unforced Error against Alcaraz at the Pitt Stop televisions.

 

After very late 10pm magician show (I predict theatre will be empty) They have Liar’s Club scheduled at 11 tonight … everyone will be in bed by that time for Tromso arrival tomorrow.

 

I’m in the Centrum right now and they were struggling to get singers for Rock-a-Rokie … most people, as has been every day and night, just sitting there for Hours it seems, sleeping or just staring out into Space. finally a couple of Cruisers volunteered and there’s a woman Singing Right now “I will survive” and getting the crowd cheering and clapping.

 

Overall really disappointing ship experience. Thankfully I’m here for Visiting Norway

Edited June 2 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

Jewel Has a massive Centrum Problem… there’s seating for only about 20 people down there. How can You run a game show or have people Particulate anything if there’s a hundred on deck 5 and 6 staring down not wanting to be involved?

 

 

[Hoopster95]

A word on food today, specifically the WJ.

 

lunch: satay chicken skewers with a fabulous peanut sauce, stir fry broccoli and snap peas, and a shanghai noodle

chicken with red peppers/cabbage/onion.

Normally you can’t find any type Of hot sauce at all other than tobacco… on this ship there sambal oleak as well as peanut oil! Super delicious lunch.

 

Dinner: Italian night… and yes the MDR items were available in the WJ incl lasagna, chicken Parm, caprese salad, etc etc  But the best we’re the mini tiramisu cups… they each had a mini Finger cookie at the bottom and I could taste the Frangelico. Also the Boston Cream Pie was great. In summary, like previous nights, food has been stellar.

 

Go figure… Great food, crap entertainment. Usually we get complaints in this forum the other way around.

Edited June 2 by Hoopster95

[Hoopster95]

And now for the RC singers jazz cabaret… 20 people seated and the rest of the 300-400 standing everywhere on multiple

decks… also sitting & standing on the staircase 

 

 

[twangster]

It’s basically karaoke night in the Centrum.  
 

Bypass.  

[twangster]

12 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

Go figure… Great food, crap entertainment. Usually we get complaints in this forum the other way around.

Have you not been on this class before?

[Hoopster95]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

Have you not been on this class before?

 

Lol! 😂 hehe….
Well, Brilliance had a great activity staff and CD on the Hawaii/Alaska sailing. And the very very VERY most fun ships in the last year have been Grandeur and Rhapsody by a huge mile even over the big girls. Voyager last week was excellent as well. 

 

I guess my expectations were too high coming in. They can’t all be “the best” can they? 😉

[island lady]

On 6/1/2024 at 4:21 PM, twangster said:

Eventually we got to the good stuff.  Waterfalls, more waterfalls and after that there were some waterfalls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful!!  Always a fan of the magical waterfalls!  Though I always wonder...the volumes of all that fresh water being dumped into the salt water.  😮 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

It’s basically karaoke night in the Centrum.  
 

Bypass.  

 

Which always reminds me of one of the Bond movies when Bond asked...."who is strangling a cat"?    LOL!!  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2 by island lady

[twangster]

1 minute ago, island lady said:

 

Which always reminds me of one of the Bond movies when Bond asked...."who is strangling a cat"?    LOL!!  

 

 

Sounds like a trivia question 🙋‍♂️ 

[twangster]

Here is a picture of tonight. Late.  

 

 

It's late.  But not after dark.  Yet it's nightime.  Somewhere.  But not here?   It's not morning yet, but it will be soon.   Soon it will be night time dark, but after that, soon it will be daylight morning.  Well okay it's already nightime, as dark as it gets, here but it's not dark.  Not just yet, not here, yet somewhere else.  Here, it's daylight.  Even thought it's night.  

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Here is a picture of tonight. Late.  

 

 

It's late.  But not after dark.  Yet it's nightime.  Somewhere.  But not here?   It's not morning yet, but it will be soon.   Soon it will be night time dark, but after that, soon it will be daylight morning.  Well okay it's already nightime, as dark as it gets, here but it's not dark.  Not just yet, not here, yet somewhere else.  Here, it's daylight.  Even thought it's night.  

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in Tromsø, Norway, from the end of May to the end of July. During this time, the sun doesn't set above the Arctic Circle, and days can last up to 1,600 hours

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/things-to-do/nature-attractions/midnight-sun/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsPCyBhD4ARIsAPaaRf2Ht69cBzNzKA4z3g1Qljo22FpgXkmrt99MwUN4vDpNy7iKCbtKuRoaAlfUEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[RobInMN]

12 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in Tromsø, Norway, from the end of May to the end of July. During this time, the sun doesn't set above the Arctic Circle, and days can last up to 1,600 hours

 

https://www.visitnorway.com/things-to-do/nature-attractions/midnight-sun/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsPCyBhD4ARIsAPaaRf2Ht69cBzNzKA4z3g1Qljo22FpgXkmrt99MwUN4vDpNy7iKCbtKuRoaAlfUEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Keep in mind, Norway does Daylight Savings, and the ship has likely changed to Norway time, so true "midnight" is actually 1:00 AM.

We did the Arctic Circle cruise in 2022, and went North of the Arctic Circle only a few days after Summer Solstice. I stayed up to 1:00 AM to take pictures. Posted some in this forum previously. We crossed the Arctic Circle on Thursday, and they announced on the ship that the next Sunset would be Monday 🙂, when we dropped back south of it.