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Ocean Liner History and Stories from the Sea, Past and Present. With an In Depth focus on Holland America Line

2026, August 08: At Sea.

August 9, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Today was a full day at sea while the good ship ms Aurora sped through the North Sea northwards to Norway. During the night we sailed through the English Channel and this morning we passed my home town on the Norfolk Coast but too far away to even see the coast.

The ship is under the command of Captain Karl Shephard who went to sea in 2000 as a cadet on coastal tankers. And that makes now feel really old as I made captain the year he became cadet. He then joined Carnival UK in 2003. Carnival UK is  part of Carnival Corporation of Miami and controls Cunard Line and P&O Cruises. This set up makes it possible to rotate officers between the two company’s, which in the beginning caused quite an upheavel as both company’s  have a very unique tradition and culture.  I remember that the Cunard crews had a collective heart attack when a P&O commodore (Bernie Warners) took command of the Queen Mary 2.  The Commodore title has since been retired and I think the only company that still has one is Princess Cruises.

Captain Karl Shepherd, Master of the ms Aurora.

So also Captain Shephard was assigned to the various ships within  the two company’s and this continued when he made Captain.  In the old days this would be unheard of but now the bridge & engine watch routines of all company’s under the Carnival Umbrella are standarised by continous training at the company’s simulators at Almere in the Netherlands . And so company routines and tradition do not matter that much anymore.  The product delivered on board is now categorized as a “Brand” and decided on market demands and is now less and less an organically grown “way of doing things”. Hence a captain is now less a “Master of the vessel” but more a Technician who provides a navigational and safety service to the product. There is still the legal side of course but also that is taken more and more over by the shore side as there is nowadays constant communication. So the function keeps changing and evolving in a ever changing world.

We started our day with breakfast in the cabin. The P&O cabin breakfast card is quite limited compared to some other company’s but sufficient if you do not have a big appetite and can live with a focus on Continental Breakfast. It was delivered by our Butler but it was not different than regular room service. Butler service normally means setting the table but that did not happen, although we have a round full size table and table cloth in the cupboards. I hope to find out in the coming days what the exact brief of the Butler is as there is no listing available of what exactly the Butlers duties are.  That is so far also the hardest thing here on board; the cabin is full of little cards and I will post a table full of them at the end of the cruise, with do’s, don’ts and advise but very little about the EXACT perks that come with a suite.

Same for the TV.  The On Board TV system is not as advanced as on other ships. There is no in house movie library, only a dedicated channel with movies)  and there was also no listing of the TV programs. or which channel the news is on etc.  When mentioning this to the Butler, he said but we have a weekly TV program and I can get one “if you want to”. So he brought one but it begs the question why was it not standard in the cabin on arrival ?

There is a cabin directory  but the information about the Peninsular Club (*) loyalty program  is not the same as what is delivered. Same goes for information on the P&O website.  It does not detract from enjoying the cruise but little details do reflect on the care a company shows to the guest / customer.

(* What is irritating and somewhat nasty, is that depending on the Club level, you get 5%, 10% or 15% off on all on board purchases. BUT that only kicks in when you have spent your On Board Credit. So if your Travel Agent has secured a good deal for you with P&O, with on board credit included, then you as a loyal customer are penalised by not getting your discount you are entitled to after investing a lot of money in previous cruises)

The Inside Pages of “Horizon”, the daily program of the ms Aurora.

We continued our day with exploring the ship and so far really like it as has a lot of features which makes laid back cruising and enjoying cocktails in the evening very nice. P&O still has a dress code and announces that it enforces it, which means dining rooms and certain public rooms are only accessible when you are in formal. If you do not want to dress up, some other venues are still available including the Self Service Restaurant. So before going on our round we scrutinised the Full Colour daily program and together with the one from the Sky Princess, it is one of the most extensive programs I have come across. Compliments.

The Port Talk or Destinations Ashore. Not done with the Shore Excursion manager standing behind a Podium but having an informal chat sitting down with the Cruise Director.

Lesley wanted to see “Let’s Talk destination” as being a Shore Excursion Expert after 40 years escorting Tours on  the ships.  This was an overview by the Shore Excursion Manager assisted by the Cruise Director. She wanted to see it, as A to find out something about Haagesund where we are tomorrow and B. to see what they exactly talked about.  Lesley was very impressed. Instead of being a pure sales -spiel for the ships tours, this was a genuine Destinations Briefing. All the important details in the port, including walking options, local buses, local tours, shops, were included. It was really about supporting the Guests to have the best cruise experience possible.  I wished that more company’s would focus more on the guests, than on the revenue. The Shore Excursion Manager, from Brazil and ably assisted by the C.D. did a very good job. Compliments.

The Ships library. With a very good selection of books. There are four lines like this one with bookcases.

While Lesley was enjoying the Port Talk, I went around the ship for photos and to see how the ship passenger flow worked. It was a sunny day  and the ship has a lot of area’s protected by wind/glass screens, so every deck stretcher was taken. As if ……… we did not have enough in England sun in the last few weeks…………   Behind the “Crowsnest” (it is really called the Crowsnest, same as on the HAL ships) there is a library with a nice selection of books. No librarian present so it is all “on your honour” for borrowing. Looking at the pocket book exchange there are a lot of readers on board.  There are 4 cosy seats in the window for readers and in good Library Custom, three were full of guests sleeping and the 4th. one occupied by a musician reviewing his charts for an upcoming performance on board.

One corner of the “Uganda Room”.

On the other side is the “Uganda Room”. The ms Uganda is a legendary name in British Maritime history. She was built as a  troopship and regular passenger carrier for the  British India (B.I) Line,  a company which became a subsidiary of P&O. Then she became a Summer Holiday ship for children and then went as a Hospital ship to the Falklands during the 1981/82 war.  When back, there was a concerted effort to save her as a museum /hotel (Same as the ss Rotterdam V in Rotterdam) but it did not work out, so she went for scrap. But it is nice that the ship is remembered by means of a lounge on board the ms Aurora. This space is now being used for informal gatherings (Bill W lives here) and church services.

A full size model of the ss Uganda. With the B.I Lines funnel colours.

Behind this, is the Upper level of the Crystal Pool area with a magrodome. When HAL was bought by Carnival in 1989, the trademark/copyright which Holland America held after it had bought the Home Line ships, went to Carnival Corporation and all new company ships since that time now have a magrodome. Today, with the sunny weather it was open. Tomorrow it will be probably be closed as rainy weather is coming.

Part of the “Crystal Pool” with the Magrodome on top.

This deck doubles up as Sports deck, with 3 pens for golf club swinging, shuffleboard, paddle tennis / pickle ball etc.etc. and several staircases connects between Deck 12 (with the Bars) and Deck 13 for the Sports. With so many people using the area, P&O has stratigically stationed several bars here, with the Crowsnest Bar inside, Crystal Bar at the pool, The Riviera Bar  midships and the Pennant Bar at the stern, and all within easy reach by walking one Deck.

Three Golf practising Pens in a row. I have never seen so many on a ship.

To make it easier to find these Bars and all the other venues, each daily program has an small insert that gives all the opening times of the Restaurants, Bars, shops and other Onboard services, so you can put it in your pocket as a quick reference. Very handy. For those who drink beer, nearly every bar on board has at least one Draft beer and the brand of what is on Tap varies from bar to bar. So you can set up a personal Pub Crawl if you want to try them all.

The center of the Anderson Lounge. So far the pinnacle  (at least in my taste) of what a cocktail lounge should look like.

The center staircase has a small Atrium  that goes 3 decks high and some of the public rooms are located around it. On  Deck 5 there is the Pursers Desk and Future Cruise sales, Deck 6, has some shops. Deck 7 and 8 have all the main Public Rooms. Around The Atrium on Deck 7 are some more shops and then behind it is an open area called “Charlies” with behind it the main cocktail lounge called “Anderson” (after one of the founding father of P&O). This lounge with a large bar could have been pulled straight out of a London Gentlemen’s Club. With bookcases (fake), chesterfields, cosy chairs and nice sitting areas. Good for book reading in the morning and drinks and good conversation in the evening. Background music by the piano player comes wafting in from Charlie’s sitting area outside.

At the corners of this lounge there are fake”bookcases, and some clever clog decided to use them to store a fire hose reel and a fire extinguisher in it. Not exactly the standard fire locker you expect but I am all for it. I am a great safety promoter but looking at a fire extinguisher during cocktails is a bit much. So this is a perfect solution.

This music arrangement also makes it possible that one Deck up, The Raffles Bar and Cake place can be used in the evening for cocktails and drinks as well. And believe me, on a British ship, you do need it, as 90% of the guests will come out for a drink before dinner. (and then have a drink during dinner as well)

One of the two large laundry rooms on board. Not visible in the photos are the six ironing  boards. And the very good news is, they are free of charge.

Before I could park myself here and have a nice drink, I was called to order and had to proceed to the Self Service Laundry to de-wrinkle various pieces of garments as tonight was formal night. I have always been good in packing but since we are full time cruising I have reached new heights in my efforts. My wife’s formal night dresses are now being sandwiched between layers of bubble wrap and thus arrive wrinkle free on board. So do my formal jackets but regular shirts and Ladies Tops are more difficult and hence we had to go and iron.  The Aurora is enhanced by several large self service laundries with a lot of machines and 6 or 8 ironing boards. For us there is one located on deck 9 and one on Deck 11. We are on deck 10 so nicely in between.  While there is still the idea out there that most of the laundry is done by women, I find more men in the laundry rooms than women. Either we are more emancipated then the world gives us men credit for, or the men are sent out with a mission, while her ladyship goes for a cocktail.

One side of “Carmen’s Lounge” located at the stern of the ship.

We had received an invite for a Captains cocktail party this morning but it did not say why and also not all cabins on our deck had one. But if there are free drinks involved, a Dutchman has to go and so we duly showed up at 19.45 hrs. at Carmen’s lounge. This is a smaller show lounge with a large dance floor (hence the name Carmen as it has a Flamenco theme) but is also used for all sorts of other activities.  When we entered there were loads of  officers lined up but not in a very organized way, so the “Meet and Greet” was a bit erratic. We came in on the Starboard side and I saw the staff captain hanging around but he was more interested talking to a lady (ships nurse ??) then to take his function as second in command seriously.

The lounge during day time, in use for dance classes as it has such a large dance floor. In the evening they have ballroom dancing here and that event was well attended when I passed by the first night of the cruise.

It turned out this was the “Welcome on Board” party  for a group of about 300 people. I never found out if there was a First sitting party as well, or anything else, as we have about 1800+ guests on board. (There is a sign at the Pursers Office saying “the ship is booked to capacity so no changes possible” so we must have that number of guests on board).

The captain turned out to be a very personable man with excellent microphone and communication skills and he  gave a nice chat of where we are, where we were going and the expected weather (rain and swell for the next two days). He did not introduce any officers. although they were scattered around the lounge but did not socialise very much.  I introduced myself as there is nothing worse for a captain to find out that there is “another one” on board as crew love to gossip. I am already being addressed as “captain” by the cabin staff and waiters in the ship and I am a retired person.  So letting the captain know on forehand is always a good thing to do and I think he appreciated that.

Then it was time for dinner and as I expected it was less hectic then the first night. It was still fast but now I clocked  1 hr. and 15 minutes instead of the one hour last night (including the waiting time). The waiter even had time introduce himself and his name is Mohammad Ali.

So I had to tell him a story of when I was captain and had a dining room steward of the same name. That steward was not very good so in the end Muhammad Ali was fired.  To our utter amazement he showed up again about 3 months later. He had moved to another ship but so had I. The security officer was ordered to investigate and then found out that this gentleman had gone home, gotten himself a new passport but now in the name of Ali Muhammad. Had applied again, got a new company I.D number and arrived back on a Holland America Line ship.  Very creative but not a wise thing to do when there is a captain around who is good in remembering faces. So Ali M. was removed from the ship and was then duly arrested by the American CBP for having used a falsified name  / passport.

The “Triptonics” in action, they will be back for another show 2 days from now.

So after talking to a real “Ali M” it was time to go to the show. Tonight it was a male group called “Triptonic”.  Three British  male vocalists which sang a variation of Pop songs and some Musicals but is different forms of harmony. Different than expected, but very, very good. All three had quite a track record outside this group, with appearances in the West End and other well known venue’s. That took us until 23.00 hrs. and then it was time to turn in.

Tomorrow we are in the port of Haagesund, one of the larger and one of the oldest towns in Norway. The captain advised there would be a chance of rain and wind and I looked at the 500 millibar weather chart, looking at the progress of the bad weather system coming over, it will rain for sure. Temperatures 14oC / 57oF with wind and rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2026 Aug. 06; Southampton, England.

August 8, 2026 / / 3 Comments

So we are on the way for our next adventure. 12 Days Norway with the ms Aurora of P&O cruises. She was the last P&O ship on our list that we had not sailed with before, and suddenly the opportunity popped up. Lesley managed a very good price so we are in one of the suites, called the Sunda Suite.  As is normal, we drove yesterday from Cromer down to Southampton, with the roads being unusually calm. Even the M25, the ring road around Greater London, had less mayhem than normal. Her Ladyship is moaning about the petrol prices which have gone up 30 pence since Trump started meddling in the Middle East, and with each hiccup announced around the Strait of Hormuz the petrol price goes up much faster than  it comes down.  But it will not stop us from cruising though.  This time no Cricket matches in the planning so all was quiet around the Hilton Hotel. It was irritating that a large Mercedes Maybach had blocked 3 car park spaces, while  with the Golf Club nearby parking spaces are always at a premium.  But as somebody left, I could slip in.

Today, we arrived at the time advised to us at one of the smaller cruise terminals in Southampton port. After lining up outside for about 15 minutes, we were let into the terminal for check in. P&O operates a priority system for their “Penininsula Club Members”,  which does not applies to us as we are in the lowest tier, but as we have a cabin in the one-but top cabin category it does applies to us again. So the flow through was very quick. Because you get your cabin -key-ID cards only at your cabin we had to go through 5 Boarding pass checks to get to the gangway.  Cabins were not available until 13.30 hrs., this also applied to the top cabin category, so  we had to wait in the public lounges or go for lunch. This is always irritating as everybody leaves their hand held luggage / trolleys all over the place. and in the walking paths. With some company’s you can go to the cabin to drop of your hand luggage and then go for lunch. Not with P&O, they had closed all the Fire screen doors in the cabin corridors. But we could do boat drill as its the same as with other company’s.  You go to your Assembly station, ours is in the Movie Theatre and then get checked off. Then watch the safety video in the cabin later and all is well in the world. So we had a little walk around and a drink in the Raffles Bar.

Note: For the rest of  the cruise you will come across a lot of names which are related to the history of P&O, either names of old company ships or lounge names after the founding fathers of P&O back in the 1830’s.   Raffles of course refers to Singapore, either to Mr. Raffles, the founder of Singapore or the Raffles Hotel which rose to fame in the days of the Raj.

The ms Aurora of P&O Cruises.  To appeal to the British market the bow sports the British Flag since 2014, but the rising sun logo on the is still there at the very pointy end. That rising sun logo is repeated  on the blue funnel. (Photo courtesy P&O)

The ms Aurora is a cruise ship that came into service in April 2000 and has a size of 76,152 Brt. and a guest capacity of   1878 in 939  cabins. This gives a space ratio of 40, which makes it comparable to the Vista Class of Holland America. She is one of the faster cruise ships still out there, with a service speed of 24 knots and a top speed of 29 knots. I do not think that the cruises nowadays are designed with that speed but to get to Norway from Southampton she will have to make 21 knots.  The ship being from 2000 makes her the oldest unit in the P&O fleet, and the reason that we wanted to get on board as I expect that she might be sold  in the future as P&O is concentrating on much larger ships. Her near sister Oriana, (of which the Aurora is an improved version) was sold of in 2019 to China (it is now called Piano Land) when the bigger ships came on line. At the moment her cruises are planned into 2028, so she might be here for a while.

Sitting area of our suite.

We have cabin B226 on Deck 10 this cruise which consists of a double cabin size, with a sitting area, dining area , bedroom area and then a bathroom with bath, separate shower and two wash basins. Very well laid out and with plenty of storage space and a walk-in wardrobe. Which is large enough for a long cruise but with not enough coat hangers, so we had to ask for more and were given extra metal laundry hangers as there were no more extra wooden hangers on board. Not something that really goes with a request from a top suite.  Apart from a cabin number, it cabin also has a name “Sunda” named after an old P&O ship which in turn was named after an island in the Indonesian Archipelago.

Then the deck has a number but also a name (we are Britannia Deck), so altogether is can be a sure recipe for a lot of confusion. The cabin numbers on Deck 11, also start with letters and are then in the 100 series.   So if you go somewhere, you have to give the letter and the cabin number otherwise they do not know if you are on Deck 11 ( with the letter A) or on Deck 10 (with the letter B)

Dining area of our cabin.

By the time we made it to the cabin, our luggage was waiting and shortly after the butler (Mr. Anoob) and the cabin stewardess (Miss Rachel) popped up, for introduction and explanation.  It is going to be interesting to see what the Butler function exactly entails as the P&O information is not very pertinent, but big on “could” or “might” instead of “should”.  Apart from a large cabin, there are not that many extra perks that go with a suite.  There is no Concierge Lounge but Breakfast can be taken in the Sindhu restaurant if you like,  and that other Room service menus are included, while for the other cabin categories you have to pay for it.  Toiletries in the Bathroom are by the White Company but you are warned not to the take the bottles/ left over contents home at the end of the cruise. You do get a hair conditioner and body lotion as a gift to take home though.

Our section of the dining room. The ship has 2 of them, the Medina and the Alexandria and we are in the latter. Apart from that there is the Lido (called the Horizon Restaurant) and the speciality restaurants, Sindhu (Indian), The Glass House (a sort of English Tapas lounge) and the Beach House, which is really part of the Lido, but has a separate menu with a cover charge.

The Medina Restaurant is the “As you wish” restaurant, and you get a beeper, or follow your line in the queue on “The App”. The  Alexandria has fixed sittings, with first sitting at 18.15 hrs. and the 2nd sitting at 20.15 hrs.  We had asked for a table for 2 or a table for 6 in the dining room. As, expected we got a table for 2 as it is more or less connected to having a suite. Tables for 6 can also be nice as you can meet a lot of interesting people. We saw during the first dinner, that the tables for 6 were not more than half full, so a table for 2 worked out better. So either the ship is not full or guests decided to go somewhere else, We will find out tomorrow night, which is formal night and the British tend to go regular dining then.

With the cabin came a welcome bottle of champagne, the real stuff and not chateau “Plonk” so with the canape’s it was time to have cocktails in the cabin. The Aurora departed from Southampton at 16.00 hrs. as it is a tight schedule to get to Norway on time. It was just too chilly to sit on the balcony (double size) but the full size windows still showed Southampton waters in full view, while having a glass of bubbly.

The ship has 3 lounges for shows, and the two main dining rooms. Then there is a plethora of bars and drinking area’s.  So we decided to go to the Crowsnest, overseeing the bow and thus similar to Holland America or Cunard.

The middle part of the Crows nest with the Bar at the back. The Lady in the center was busy laying out Arts and Crafts materials.

This Bar & Lounge is  very well laid out and comes with a small bandstand in the middle and a bar at the far end. To our utter amazement it was very quiet, maybe because it was a first night, but very unusual for a British Ship. But they had Craft beer on Tap, so I was a happy camper. So was her Ladyship as there was a large range of Gin brands to choose from.

The Crowsnest Bar. I have not yet figured out if the bar has a name but this is a “Half Model of the P&O passenger ship, the  ss Straithard, one of the three sister ships, which  maintained a regular intermediate service to Australia from Tilbury / London.

We have fixed sitting dinner this cruise, starting at 20.15 hrs. as this time makes it almost certain we will make the 2nd show at 22.15 hrs.  As not un-expected on a first night, First Sitting had run late and there was a long queue meandering through the Sports Bar, Casino and into the corridor. But once the doors opened, it went very fast. And so was the service. I hope that the waiters slow down a little bit in the coming days because this was not dining, it was just “Lunch break” eating. Three courses and Coffee/Tea and it was all over in  1 hrs. including the waiting time outside. The food came piping hot out of the kitchen, so there they must also there been working at a frantic space.

But it gave us time to back to the cabin to brush our teeth and then walk to the “Curzon” theatre in the bow of the ship. I estimate that it can take about 700 guests and was almost full when the show started. A very good revue show with a cast of 8 dancers and four dancers/singers.  The Cruise Director popped up to advise us that there was an hour forward and a sea-day tomorrow. We already knew that from the Daily Program and the card in the cabin but he confirmed it. With these sorts of announcements I understand that some company’s do not have the Cruise Director putting on & taking off the shows as it does not add anything to the evening.

So tomorrow we are at sea, heading full speed to Norway. Haagesund is going to be the first port and there is a chance that we have to tender. Weather looks very nice. Smooth seas, sunny and temperatures around 16oC / 61oF.

 

2026; July 19, Review and Verdict.

July 21, 2026 / / 10 Comments

As with every review, to those who read this, this is an extremely personal review of what I think of a cruise. Some readers find me very critical but I believe that it is never without good reason and as I put a link to this website in each and every request for feed back (we all get those via an email at the end of the cruise) I hope that the cruise companies see it as positive. You can never improve your product if you do not get feedback and certainly not if that feedback has no details. Not necessary with the names and functions of the crewmember(s) but if needed with the function of the high ranking officer involved. Having a leadership function comes with responsibilities.

So  this 7 day cruise to Norway had beautiful weather with no influence of the heatwave laying over the UK. (Apologies to those for whom 90o to 100oF is not unusual but in the UK 90 – 95oF is a big deal). We did not cancel any ports, did not crash into an iceberg and did not lose anybody overboard. We had some medivacs, one by helicopter and some in the ports but that can be expected with 4000 guests on board. And we were the only ship in port in most ports.

To start: I do not like large cruise ships as it becomes more a destination in itself instead of a real ship that carries you around in good style. So the Sky Princess was too big for me. But that is personal. We had the added entertainment of the World Cup football, with the three 3 main lounges full of happy & not so happy punters, being cooped up several evenings. Princess must have made a killing with the drinks.

For the rest, this was a very good cruise. The ship is well maintained. It offered something for everybody with the caveat that you have to book everything in advance on the App, which you can download from the Play store, if you want to get the best out of it. Worthwhile, at least Lesley and I thought so, was to have the Princess Premier package. It comes with enough special restaurants (at $55,– a cover normally but you have to book the restaurant’s early on the app or try to get a booking when you first board otherwise the Premier package would not be worth it ), gratuities included, unlimited drinks (up to $20–) and a small amount for shore excursions as well. Lesley decided to up grade to it while dealing with the booking, so with our standard routine of going for cocktails and a good glass wine for dinner in the speciality restaurants, we think we broke at least even, even when we were also having drinks in the Concierge Lounge, during cocktail time,

If you like a suite, then the Princess Concierge lounge is a great bonus. It is a lot better than what you get on Cunard. It is about the same as with Holland America (except that drinks are here included from 1700 – 1900 hrs.) and on the same standard as the MSC Virtuosa Yacht Club.

The Glare:  I came to about 70% with those working on deck failing as standard, middle Hotel management scoring about 90% and the hotel staff 100%. Apart from the bridge tour, I did not come across any Deck and Engine officers so no rating there. Sr. Hotel staff participated in a lot of Games with the guests and this seems to be some sort of a signature item for Princess. I am all in favor, but do wonder if you loose on seadays about 2 hours of the 10 hours you are allowed to work, so what has to give?.  Hopefully they have more middle management to take the slack as other company’s do.

Things that impressed us:

  1. Food in the speciality restaurants. Of a very high standard but you have to pay for it of course. Steakhouse, Pizzeria, Italian, all very, very  good. Same as in the International Cafe, which is free of charge (you only have to pay for drinks), where you can get sandwiches and cakes.
  2. The medallion. I wish that every company had something like that. No searching for a door key or cruise card. Plus when you order a drink, one’s name, cabin no. and cruise package comes up  on the tablet of the waitress /waiter when being approached.  And it is nice to be recognized with Sir Albert or Capt. Albert and Lady Lesley.
  3. Embarkation in Southampton. This is the fastest we have seen in the last 10 years. 5 minutes from Taxi to Check in and 5 minutes from Check to going on board. Compliments.
  4. Places to sit, except on sea days around the Atrium, we never had problems finding at seat. Even with 3920 guests on board.
  5. Going ashore. Thanks to the medallion that goes very smooth and with 2 gangways out, there was never a long line.
  6. Disembarkation went well, with the remark that they do self -disembark also in between the regular colour tags. That showed things down, bottle neck at the gangway and on the long pier sky bridge. With guests pulling, towing  large suitcases and being in the way of  those who had put their luggage outside the cabin.
  7. Shows in the main theatre. Without any doubt, the best we have ever seen on the high seas. Even the show on the last evening, first performance ever, was pulled off without a glitch, and looked as if the cast already had several months of routine. Really, really impressive.
  8. Service in the Concierge Lounge with nibbles and soft drinks all day long.  It is on par with the Holland America Neptune Lounge and that means very high standing.

Things for improvement:

  1. Service in the restaurants.  In the three regular dining rooms it was not very personal, it felt like being on a conveyor belt with tables constantly being reset around you. The crew tried to be friendly but had not much time. Service in the speciality restaurants was slightly less speed driven but all the staff cut corners. Instead of the correct serving at the table, they all had invented short cuts, something one does not expect if there is an extra cover charge. One waitress forgot a drink for Lesley and when questioned, just announced “Oh I forgot” and did not even bother to apologise. So I had a word with the Maître.
  2. Lectures. I understand that with only 2 sea days that has to be a bit limited, but there are 3 public “theatre” lounges so there is space. I was not impressed that the lecturer was put on at times when 3/4 of the ship was still in bed or at breakfast and his second performance was moved without advances warning.  Princess must we able to do better here, as they have cruises with a lot more seadays, so they have the routine.

Compliments to:

  1. Waitress Judith, serving in the Crown Bar and in the International Cafe. Polite and friendly and always having a moment for a  personal chat.
  2. Suite concierge ladies, Anna and Dorothy, very friendly and personal. That is their job but this felt genuine. Same for the 2 bar tenders who came in, during the free drinks period 1700 – 1900, for trying to get me drunk. I appreciated the attempt and it showed that they / Princess were not shrinking away from pouring a few extra free drinks. they kept everybody well lubricated.

I did not mention our cabin steward. He did his best, but I think he was just starting, as he was often checking his “perfect cabin setup manual” to get it right, but he is not here yet. But I have high hopes as he seemed to be keen and willing.

So in short: If I will sail again on a 4000+ guest ship, then I will choose Princess. It was on the whole very pleasant to be on board.

Thank you to all my readers, who follow the blog. Our next escape is on 7 August 2026 when we will make a 12 day cruise on the ms Aurora (from 2000) , the smallest and oldest ship of P&O Cruises. https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-ships/aurora/overview

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2026; July 17, At Sea.

July 19, 2026 / / 7 Comments

And thus with an hour back, the last seaday arrived while the ship sped through a peaceful North Sea towards Southampton. The captain announced that he hoped to be docked by 07.00 hrs. but I think he will be a lot earlier as otherwise he would call down the wrath of his Chief Housekeeper very much who has to get all the luggage off so that disembarkation can start on time, which is 07.00 hrs. for the first luggage tag.  By this morning we were passing the border between Denmark and Germany, by 11.00 hrs. We passed, far away, the metropolis of Cromer (my home town is 10 times bigger than Olden) by about 19.00 hrs, we will be in the channel and around 3 am tomorrow morning we will be abeam of Nab Tower for the Southampton pilot station.  After arrival we can leave anytime being in a suite, although they have scheduled for 07.45 hrs. when our colour luggage is off,  with our own transport we do not care very much whatever time we arrive.

Wise words and a nice welcome by the Master of the vessel.

Yesterday the Concierge suddenly popped with an Invitation to visit the Bridge at 09.30 this morning. I did not ask for it, but the concierge had found out what I did in a previous life, so I got one. Lesley was more excited than I was, as since all the Carnival Corporation ship bridges are the same since 2016, there is not much different to observe. It turned out that, although Princess does not do bridge tours officially, if you write a nice letter, you might still get one and the 4 top suites seem to get it included in the cruise package.

The Navigation center of the bridge. At sea, 2 of the 4 stations are occupied. There is a navigator (2nd. or first officer) and a Co navigator (3rd officer) The main duty for the co-navigator is to answer the phone and any alarms so that the Navigator can fully concentrate  to stay on the planned track. They can swap positions if they want to have a break.

So we were all assembled by Anna and Dorothy our 2 concierges, then checked off by the Chief Security Guard and then with the Chief Guard in the lead and -not so chief- guard in the back, we were marched to the bridge. I felt like an illegal  immigrant but the ship remained secure from any threat or hi-jack. There we were received by the Captain for a short Q&A and then handed over to two deck officers for the tour. The captain then disappeared again most likely to pack his suitcases as he is going on leave tomorrow. A 3rd officer and 2nd Sr. did the tour.  The bridge tour was very well organised, we even received a flyer with the pertinent information. Then we were split into two groups and moved to each bridge wing.

To my amazement for a ship built in 2019, the Sky Princess does not have Azi-pods but regular Pitch propellors and two rudders. I wonder why.? Did they listen to an old fashioned captain or was it a budget decision ? Nobody on the bridge claimed to know.

The bridge layout is identical to the Pinnacle class ships and the new  Seabourn ships. So I can assume that the new Carnival and P&O ships are the same as well. The center navigation island has 4 chairs, + one for the quartermaster. There is  GMDSS communication console (for regular and emergency communication) behind it and then on each bridge wing there is a docking console. As the bridge wings stick out from the ship considerably, there is no glass floor as the captain can see the side of the ship without any problems. Princess has a mix of British and Italian Officers a left over from the days that P&O/Princess was one company. In the same way as Holland America has a mix of Dutch and British Officers, a left over from the days that HAL could not get enough Dutch. That problem has raised its head again in recent years as during my last visit to the Rotterdam (VII) there was a Vietnamese Lady Deck officer in the 8-12 watch.

Having two navigators on duty is not a luxury, but a necessity. Just look at this chart of the English Channel. The rules and regulations are getting are getting more complicated each day. And even an overview chart as this one, needs to be kept updated, see the white paper texts glued in.

Then it was back into the ship to see what was going on. Quizzes and games everywhere and all very well attended. With some difficulty we had found out that there was also a lecture, by a world famous actor, that I have never heard of, but when we watched it on TV it was very interesting to learn how one gets  a role, or a walk in, or  a small part.  We found him on the TV on the first seaday but his lecture was a t 09.00 in the morning so we missed it completely. The second lecture was scheduled for 13.00 hrs. in the afternoon, so we were going. Then at the last moment the Cruise Director (28 years with Princess) rescheduled it to 09.30 in the morning  so we missed it again and by 1700 hrs. on our last day it was still not on the TV. It does not seem that Princess is big on lectures but maybe they do more during cruises with more sea days, as you cannot fill all those days with Trivia and games.

Princess has nice touches of history and I liked this one, A small display next to the Guest services desk. A little commemoration of the christening of the ship. The two godmothers of the ship, Captain Kay Hire and Engineer Poppy Northcutt from Nasa who went into space several times. Very appropriate for the “SKY Princess”. (I have uploaded the full dpi of the photo, so if you want to read the text dust expand or download the photo)

We did found out that they play movies on the top deck Screen 3 times a day. Contrary to Cunard they do not hand out head phones, so everybody there has to enjoy the sound. Forest Gump was the movie of the day, to be followed by Lilo & Stitch and the place was full. In Norway you are not allowed to have noise on the outside decks (so there was not even an emergency drill. although that is legally allowed, if done with discretion. So  only on the first and last seadays there was a full day of movies. I did not see popcorn but the bars, soft ice sand and the Hamburger outlet were well attended.

We decided to have lunch in the Concierge Lounge as the small “tapas” make it easier not to get carried away with all that is on offer. Still it was hard enough as they had excellent rolls with barbecue diced chicken in a sauce I had never tasted before. So there was the temptation, but if one is tempted then there is nothing better for one’s Mental Health than to yield to temptation. So I yielded twice.

Tomorrow our cruise is coming to an end and apart from buying 2 bottles of “no Ten Tanqueray Gin” (50 % cheaper than ashore) we have not bought anything so what came out of the suitcase should fit back in. But why does it always seem to be more difficult to -repack on the ship than to pack at home ? Even following the same process step by step. I even put my wife’s formal dresses back in the bubble wrap that I use for coming out. (No wrinkles and creases due to travelling) I do it for the way back as well as it save’s me time not having to iron it all again when at home. I do most the ironing at home, my wife even admits that I am better than her, as I was a sailor all my life. Even with a ship’s laundry available at your finger tips, sometimes doing it yourself saves time and “Housekeeping  Red Tape”

That brought us to cocktail time. We had met some very interesting people on board, multi cruisers and very loyal to Princess, and they explained about things going on that are not in the daily program. or not directly. So one lady always asked for Bible Class, Princess found a Vicar somewhere, and “voila” every morning at 09.00 there was a class in the wedding chapel; and then they do put it in the program.  Maybe I should ask next time if they put a “Real Ale drinking group” together for a daily meet. Same as AA, friends of Dorothy, LHBQT (and all those other letters) and have a RADG meeting in the Take Five jazz bar which is very quiet in the mornings and also have a top secret handshake. I am mentioning Real Ale, as that was about any sort of beers missing. They had New Castle Ale on draft, but that is not the real stuff  than RADG members are looking for.  I found out that there was a veteran’s meeting, (various age groups, from WWII to The Middle East and Kosovo, I went into to pay my respects and asked) but no Masonic meeting. P&O was always great in that, there was even a period that you could not make captain if you were not in it but it is totally different from American Masonic societies so maybe that is the reason.

The final show “Spotlight Bar” first time performed on board, but we did not notice that, it was very good. (Photo courtesy Princess Cruises)

For dinner we went to Pizzeria Alfredo again as it was so very good. To our amazement it was not very busy, (1800 hrs) and also by 20.30 hrs.) it was still quiet, giving the whole Medical department (6 doctors and nurses) the chance to eat out and do some family bonding.  We went early as we  wanted to see the final cast show of the week.  We found out at the end that it was was the first performance ever, of this show, and it was very very good again. Contrary to the first evening, the show lounge was only 3/4 full, but the audience made enough noise to it being not noticeable. This show revolves around music in various bars, you can find in the city. Cocktail bars, Cuban bars, 80’s, 90’s. 2000’s it all came by with very good dancing around and on the tables. The only thing  that was missing was Billy Joel’s The Piano Man.  So in my opinion, married to a wife who knows the London West End shows by heart, Princess Cruises really lives up to the reputation of having the best in the industry.   The 3 shows this cruise were vary varied, so you have to be open to other stuff than just “Mama Mia”, but it was very good.

The “Liars Club”. we did not stay but Lesley from her cruise staff days, liked doing that game show.

Then we made a final round through the ship, and the quizzes were still going on.  Cruise Director and Cruise Staff had assembled in the midships “Princess Live” lounge for “Liars Club”. A golden oldie from the 1980’s but still fun to do.

Tomorrow we will drive home again to the promised land of Cromer Norfolk. The heatwave is nearly gone so it should be a comfortable 5 hrs. drive. After this post, one more will follow with the “Review and Verdict”.

 

 

 

 

 

2026; July 16, Stavanger Norway.

July 17, 2026 / / 8 Comments

For today one more Apartment building was added to Stavanger. Luckily for both the locals and our guests it was only one extra building.

The good ship Sky Princess arrived somewhat early at the entrance to the old port and the captain decided to swing on arrival. Which made sense, as A. it is always better to be docked nose out, so you can get away if an un-expected calamity pops up, and B. they will need the time getting back to Southampton  as it is a long run, and you cannot afford to be late as there are a lot of suitcases to off load with 4000 guests on board (3921 according to the Lady from the Loyalty Desk). Gangways were out by 10 am. and the invasion of Stavanger could start. We were the only cruise ship in port today  so the locals did not have to brace themselves too much. There are days with 3 mega liners in port that the 15000 mark is reached.

Even with one ship in port there was considerable pressure on the facilities. The tour to Lysefjorden with the Pulpit Rock was sold out and here the whole ferry is being filled up. See also next photo.

I took the chance to run ashore and have a quick look at the shop side of the Maritime Museum. I visited the exhibition in the  museum several times through the years, there are some nice models from the Norwegian America Line ships, but the exhibition is fairly static. The maritime history of Stavanger is not that elaborate, having been a sleepy fishing village until well into the 19th. century, before the herring boom and the later oil boom. For the oil boom there is the “Petroleum Museum” on the East Side of the old harbour, which well worth visiting. So the Maritime Museum focuses more on the stuff around fishing. The shop was even smaller than last time and the book section reduced to 2 small bookcases. One with new books and one with second hand books. But nothing there for me, it seems that my collection is getting too all-compassing. I was a bit startled by a question of the sales lady behind the desk. She was on a gap year and helping out here was part of her immersion in the local culture. She wanted to know why I was looking for Maritime Books I said that it looked normal to me, maritime books in a maritime museum. Her Norwegian colleague now collapsed with laughter but the lady herself remained confused even after I pointed out that there were no maritime books on Tik-Tok so I looked for hard copy’s of new maritime books that were not available in the UK. But puzzlement remained, who buys maritime books ?.  So her colleague had some work to do.

They got everybody on board  the tour catamaran but it was standing room only.

We had a tour in the afternoon so we continued our own tour around the ship. Now having a look a the Lido area or the “The Fresh Market Place”. Because of the size of the ship it is open nearly 24 hrs. a day, with breakfast rolling into lunch and lunch rolling into dinner, which is served until 22.30 hrs. They can do this as this self service restaurant is, apart from an identical port and starboard side, also split up in a forward part and an aft part.

The aft part of the Lido restaurant with the “Wake View Bar”.

So while breakfast is winding down in one section, the other section can be set up for lunch. In between the two is an extensive “Pastry Shop”  so that those who get withdrawal symptoms between meal times can still get something.  Scattered around in the area are a few more outside bars which, even in port, were well attended with the nice weather. That Lido continues on the outside, with an elaborate bar and small swimming pool wedged in between. Apart from the Piazza it is one of the most densely populated areas of the ship, where food, booze and sun come together.

“Vines” the wine bar, located on the Starboard side of Deck 7.

Around the piazza there are a few more public sections, there is a sushi bar, manned by two very friendly cooks who are absolutely not from Japan (one is from Ghana, the other from Guatemala) which you have to pre -book as it is very popular.

Bellini’s. Could not get a clear shot, as this gentleman marched in and did not want to wait a few seconds. The need for a cocktail must have been urgent

Then there are two more bars, Bellini’s which is advertised as a Champagne Bar but seems to be selling more coffee than anything else, and then on the starboard side there is  “Vines Wine Bar” and wedged in between is “Good Spirits at Sea”  a cocktail bar. All three are open from 11.00 onwards but until cocktail time they act also as seating area for those who decided to get their lunch from the “International Cafe”, open 24 hrs. a day.

We went for lunch in  the Lido this time, as I wanted Taco’s and Lesley Spaghetti Bolognese which is made fresh on the spot. Drink service was fast and attentive but then the restaurant was still mostly empty as the tours had not returned yet. We did an early lunch, as we had booked (part of our Princess Premium package) a panoramic tour called “Easy Stavanger”.  We did this tour, with another ship, about 10 years ago and now wanted to see if Stavanger had changed.

It had. A large number of apartment building had been constructed, courtesy of the money flowing in from the oil boom. roads had been upgraded and parking garages tunnelled into the rock on which Gamle Stavanger, or the old city, sits.

Some of the apartment buildings gone up in the last few years. All on land left empty for years and years before the oi came in.

Standard and compulsory stop for all the tours is at the fjord were in 1983 King Olav unveiled 3 , ten meter high replicas of Viking Swords. The sculpture is called “Swords in Rock” or “Sverd ifjell”,  and overlooks the fjord. The life size originals are in a Norwegian Museum. It commemorates the battle of Harsfjord in 872 AD which united Norway of the old days. Then Norway became part of Denmark and Sweden until independence  was managed in 1905.

The monument /sculpture of the three swords at the fjord. The authorities were busy with remodelling the bus top, so there was very little space, so we were lucky to be in the only ship in port.

Our guide was very knowledgable and took us in a very pleasant way through the Norwegian history. You do not often get them like this. He even handed out is own made time frame of Norwegian history with an explanation why the Norwegian land was empty between  542 and the early 600. In 542 there was the great meteor bursts in Siberia and the shock waves flattened most of the trees in Norway as well. So most of the population left only two return 2 generations later when the forests had restored themselves. Then there was 782 when king Charlemagne defeated and massacred  4000 soldiers of the Saxon army where the Norwegians were part of. That gave rise to the Vikings as we have heard of them, and the raids on towns and cities as far as the South of France. Apart from raids they also settled down there (Do not forget William the Conqueror from 1066 was a Viking) and they even made it as far as Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland.

Most farms have mixed land. Grass for the cows, vegetables for the markets and also cereals for bread etc.

What was also of interest was that Norway , with all its ice and rocky mountains, can supply about 80% of their town food. For this the Norwegian Government has to subsidise the small farms in the fjords but as it sits on pots of money (from the old and current oil and gas revenues) but it also has to do it, as most of the Norwegians want fresh and pesticides free vegetables and fruit. The story goes that a few “forward looking” politicians wanted to stop these Government Grants, and found themselves voted out of office. Not something politicians like, so since then it has been quiet. It is also one of the reasons that Norway is not in the European Union but has open borders and agrees to most of the international agreements.

The other large apartment building in Stavanger, if only for the day, blocking most of the view of the old town. The houses in the foreground have been built in old Stavanger style but are modern and are part of a large Marina complex.

So, with the tour we were up-to-date again with what is going in Stavanger. We will check again in a few years time. Back on board we had to get ready for the Captains Circle Party, for repeat guests. Although we are first time Princess cruisers, we had been invited because we are Platinum status based on our P&O days. When P&O and Princess split up a number of years ago,  both side recognised the other sides Day count and thus here we are. Tonight was also formal night and thus we knew that the guests at the party would be decently dressed. According to our Concierge the dress code was also enforced at the party, but it turned not to be the case, so there were still a number of guests in T shirts, shorts and Jeans.

The Officers who came on stage to support the captain with saying thank you.

We arrived 20 minutes late (partly to avoid waiting in line and partly because we were talking to other guests in the Concierge lounge) and the Loyalty manager had already started the proceedings. But there were appetisers and free drinks at the bar, so were ok. The captain did his speech and then the three highest day cruisers (between 862 and 1100) were recognised with a bottle of Prosecco  not champagne. Then  a large group of officers appeared on the stage to say thank you, followed by the most mind boggling thing I have ever seen during a repeater party.  Guests were invited to have a photo taken with the whole group on the stage. Luckily there were only 15 of them but still the whole group of officers had to stay on stage for about 20 minutes, as if they had nothing else to do.  I said to the captain when I met him I told him that was for me a call way beyond duty………………..

A new twist of have your photo taken with AN Officer, to have you photo taken with ALL the officers.

We went for dinner to the Italian restaurant Sabatini’s  for the 2nd time as the food had been so good and there were some 20:10 reservations left. The Food was very good again, the service lacklustre with all the serving staff taking short cuts while serving. (Reaching over the table, delayed serving of sparkling water, changing cutlery before the last dish was cleared away,, etc. etc.) So when the Head Waitress popped up to ask how it went, and expecting compliments, she got a listing of all my observations with the request to do some re-training or a refreshment course) She ran off and 5 minutes later there was the Maitre d’hotel to investigate my complaints. I was not complaining, no moan, moan, as it had been a good meal and I was just pointing out that I was not expecting excuses and “I am so sorry” but a promise that it would not happen again. He promised that he would do some training for the benefit of future guests. Maitre left, and the waiter pops up, apologising for his imperfect service. When I asked him what he was apologising for, he could not say, but the Maitre had told him to apologise…………………… and that was not what this was all about.   So I gave up my little bit of trying to lift Princess to a higher level of quality.

It was formal night, so we went for a photo shoot again. In the Princess Premium package we have included all the digitals of any photo shot we had, and each 3 hard copy’s of the best one.

We did not go to the show, as it was “The Trawlermen”  who had a show of a mixture of folk music and sea-shanties. I know American country music, but I do not think that English Sea-shanties should be sung with an American accent.  The 3rd show lounge Princess Viva, was full again eager guests attending the “Trivia quiz”. followed by a game show with the option to win a real Princess Notebook. In the Vista Lounge there was “family dance” going on, so we went to the Crown Bar for nightcap listening to the in house pianist which was most enjoyable.

Tomorrow we are at sea, mainly cloudy skies are expected with with the ship being at sea and going against the wind it will be a lot chillier than in the last few days, with temperatures. Being around 16oC / 61oF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2026; July 15, Olden, Norway.

July 16, 2026 / / 2 Comments

The ms Sky Princess at the Olden cruise ship dock. Somehow it does not seem  right to have a towering white apartment building dominating the Fjordenland skyline. But easy for guests returning to the ship, you can not get lost.

This morning just before 8 am., we arrived in Olden, which is a large city compared to Skjolden as it has double the number of inhabitants. 500 against the 250 yesterday,. Also Olden is a much older cruise port, ships already used to go here in the 1920’s long before there was a cruise terminal, and even longer since they rebuilt / constructed the new dock here, which is nearly identical to the one in Skjolden and in a whole slew of other small places.  Because they have been in the cruise business for so much longer, the locals have built quite an infrastructure with more tours, hop on -hop off busses and the small “Tsjoek-tjsoek sightseeing trains. And instead of one souvenir shop, it has 5 in a row, straight across the dock, including one with more “posh”souvenir shop in the form of wood carvings, high quality paintings. soaps and fragrances. Bike rental was omni present and a bit further out, the local garage was also renting out quad bikes for the more adventurous.

The commercial centre of Olden:  A Supermarket and a large souvenir shop. The small town itself is just behind it.

The town itself is a 15 minute walk and the local authorities have created a dedicated path all the way to the town and in good planning it also leads past another large souvenir shop and the local super market. (same chain as yesterday). Normally you see in every port crew running ashore to the nearest supermarket to stock up on whatever they ran out of, but not in Norway. All are waiting for Southampton as the Sky Princess docks right opposite downtown Southampton and it is only a 10-15 minute walk to get there.  The prices are simply too high in Norway, England is not cheap for shopping but Norway is 3x dearer on some items.

Olden is much higher on the “tourist trap” ladder then Skjolden, and thus, yes, there was the Big red bus

We did our tourist duty and marched to “downtown” which consists out of a few shops, a small white church and a very large school which serves the entire district. And then we marched back again,  sort of in a formation, with a 1000 others. Olden is one of the best ports for tours in Norway and the coaches were rolling in and out in a very high tempo. The tours on Princess are quite expensive which is not much different to other cruise companies, all with a 100 to 150% mark-up. Right at the gangway (similar to what you see in Ketchikan and Juneau. Alaska) you can get it all much cheaper on the dock side, but you have to keep in the back of your mind to add extra time to your plans to ensure you get back the ship on time. The captain will wait for ships tours to return but not for individual escapades.  Like most companies, Princess sets up a refreshment stand near the gangway but this is the most elaborate one I have so far seen on all our cruises. It even  had the option for Bouillon. Favour of the day seemed to be chicken soup.  Two gangways out as usual made for a speedy return on board.

The Refreshment stand on the shore side. Cucumber Water, Citrus Water, Clear Ice Water, Hot Chocolate, Bouillon and Non ice water. Very impressed.

Back on board it was time to investigate the top decks of the ship where we had not been yet. Deck 16, called the Lido, has the self service restaurant with 2 pools, a hamburger bar and the ice cream stand but then there is also deck 17 and 18 as well. Below the radar mast is another pool, for adults only, and in front of that pool is “The Sanctuary”, which is  a separate area’s where you can rent cabana’s ($100 a day and deck stretchers at $ 25– a day). It comes with a concierge and a waiter. Because you have to pay for it, it is a tranquil area where you can roast in the sun without any noise from the rest of the ship. I think it is also a very nice place to sit during sightseeing in the fjords, Panama Canal and going to Kotor.

The Sanctuary on Deck 18 , nice and peaceful and under a Dome so also with inclement weather you can sit / lay outside.

Around the funnel uptake there is a very large fitness area with all the modern machines you can think of, a large class area and also an area for personal training lessons. Funny thing is that with this large area dedicated to health, when stepping outside you can inhale directly the cigarette fumes of the smoking section directly below. Good planning………………. Then a deck higher there is a basket ball court and what intrigued me very much, was a small golf putting green under the TV domes.

This is the small golf putting area under the two Domes. Great use of an otherwise neglected area.

This is the first ship that I see where the area under the Domes, which is really a wasted space, was put to good use by installing a small putting green. Here we also have the jogging track, as the ship has no wrap around deck under or behind the lifeboats. Older Princess ships still have them, but here the space between the bulkhead and the lifeboats is down to about 3 feet. That is enough for embarkation out of the lounges behind the bulkheads but not safe for regular walking. In front and behind the lifeboats the decks are nice and wide again, for sun loungers, but they do not wrap around. So walking around the funnel is the only option.

The Fitness area is quite large, but as the average age seems to be around 50, there are a lot of guests who want to work out. After a few days on board, I think that everybody would NEED to work out, but that is a different story.

Looking at all that torture equipment made us hungry, so a quick stop in the Concierge Lounge was needed for a few nibbles, and then we had another challenge on our hands. According to our Princess Premier package we were entitled to 2 special desserts. But it did not say what.  But our concierge Lady Dorothy, knew the answer, it was 2 special ice creams from the Gelato Bar.  Let me correct myself, here on board you are not allowed to call “Gelato’s” an ice cream. A Gelato is a Gelato and not an ice cream. Same as a Taco, is a taco and not an Mexican Gyro, even when you buy it in Greece. It turned out that this Gelato was  a “Coupe Grande” of about 12 inches high, which normally costs $17,– a piece. Listing to the magical names of “The Da Vinci”,  “The Godfather” and “The Michelangelo” etc. Small Gelato’s cost between $ 3,– and $ 6,–  Even with the cost price, there was a great demand for “real ice cream”, sorry “Gelato’s” instead of the free soft ice from deck 16. So we had our Gelato, and were instantly happy that we had not gone for a full lunch as it was very good, and extremely filling.

These are not ice creams, they are Gelato’s. The Godfather to the left, and the Leaning tower to the right. They should have been even more impressive with fruit and sticks on the top, but the “Gelato” lady was cutting corners a little bit as she tried to keep the pace up with serving.

Next adventure on the list was to visit the “Captains Circle Lounge”.  According to Princess PR speech “this is an Exclusive venue for Elite and Platinum Circle guests to meet your ships officers and fellow guests with drink offers, delectable delights and live entertainment.”

The guitar player and singer in the daily “Repeater party”.. We think it is very nice of Princess to pay so much attention to their loyal customers with offering a daily get-together. The official “Captain;s Circle party is on departure from Stavanger tomorrow during formal night.

Although is is our first cruise with Princess, we were somehow catapulted into the “Captains Circle”  Platinum one from the top due to our sailing dates with P&O, of which we have done about 10 since the 1990’s. When P&O/Princess split into P&O and Princess, two independent Brands, guests kept the same status in both company’s. Hence we are here repeat guests here as well. So it turned out that Princess opens up the Vista Lounge at the stern each afternoon at 1700 hrs. to their repeat guests. On seven day cruises / in port is was quiet, but on longer cruises / sea days, it is quite busy. Today there were about 50 people there, mainly interested in the nibbles (cheese and salad) and their phones. Drinks are not free, but most had a Drinks Package anyway. The singer from the Crown Bar provided background music. Meeting the officers consisted of the “Chief Financial Officer” being present and the Assistant Human Resources Officer. The latter made a direct beeline for us, as he recognised that the two of us  did not look like the normal crowd.  Ship people recognise each other everywhere. He was from Serbia, and had just flown in from the Diamond Princess in Japan, to fill a gap here. There must have been some planning panic in HR as Japan to Norway is a long flight and he was going home in 4 weeks time anyway. But having been in the business it all made sense to us.

Today it was not very well attended, and most of them present were more interested in their phones than meeting other Princess “Veterans” but they said that on sea days it was often a full house.

Time to change, and then we tried the Crown Bar for a second time. Last time we were hindered by the show in the Vista Lounge which ended during cocktail hours and about 500 people came marching out, but now this smaller show lounge was readied for the football game England against Argentina ( the show in the main theatre was brought forward to 17:30 and 19:30 to have that lounge available as well) so there was not much traffic.  Our favourite waitress Judith popped up again, and with the pianist playing all was well in the world.  With our Princess Premium package we were entitled to several speciality restaurants, and Lesley had pushed the button for “The Catch by Rudi” twice and as the time of 19.30 worked out for us, we went a second time. The ship had been advertising the venue on the App,  but when we got there it was still half empty. No way Rudi could compete with the football game.

Shrimp on the Rocks in stunning glass bowl.

So now we could try something else and I was intrigued by the starter “shrimp on the rocks”. It is devlishly difficult to do something with fresh shrimp and on nearly all the ships you see the same shrimp with similar red cocktail sauce. Also Rudi Sodamin could not come up with something better, but had compensated for this with an extraordinary glass cup filled with crushed ice.

The shrimp hanging from a steel hook above the plate.

Main Course again an intriguing inscription: Three S’s. platter, which was Shrimp, Salmon and Scallops.  I large shrimp, one filet of Norwegian Shrimp and 2 scallops, with Parmesan Fries. Nothing special in the food but again it was the presentation. We had again chosen / wriggled a table near the window, to be away from the Piazza side, which was a good thing, as they had a dance competition going and the crowd roared as loud as during a football match. And all the marble does not help. We were both wondering why Rudi’s outlet was in the atrium as Sabatini’s, the Italian was more forward away from the atrium and opposite the shops. It would have made more sense to have Rudi’s there was well and have had the shops in the Atrium as most of the other (Jewellery) shops were already there. The Sky Princess is a very nice ship but here and there one wonders about the new build planning.

After dinner we poked our nose into the Vista Lounge where the game had just started. Two pop-up drink outlets had been created at both entrances and a British Pub atmosphere started to develop in the lounge, as all was still well in the world with 0-0. While writing this, the next morning, we now know that England is out, and Argentina will go against Spain in the finals. The whole of England will be mourning today, with or without a hangover, but many business will be happy as the Government was planning to declare a National Holiday if England would win the World Cup. There is still a collective memory in the good about the Good Old Days of the 1966 world cup and now the hopes were dashed for another   4 years.

In case you are wondering if there is a Casino? Yes there is and it is a big one. We have not been there in the evening as we do not gamble and. we do not smoke.

We went to the liquor shop as Lesley as contemplating on buying more Gin, but the “tax free” prices are not really tax free, just a bit cheaper than ashore, and cannot compete with the prices on the Ferry to Holland. So we let it be. Although the shops are large, most of the stuff sold is the same as on the other ships. We are now in Norway, so there are trolls and Norwegian clothing (did not sell as we have the heatwave) and Russian lacquer work, including baboeska’s. I think the shop logic is, we are very close to Russia, so it will sell. We did not see much interest, and I think that most guests are waiting until Russia opens up again. We have a lot of Ukrainians on board, including Anna our head concierge, and they all say that the country is getting war-weary, but will not give up especially as the Ukraine seems to be turning the tables on Putin.  The Tourist people in Leningrad must be really hurting with all the ships now going to  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Princess is even starting with home porting in Helsinki, so it can do more ports in 7 days, instead of losing a sea day going from Copenhagen to the Baltic Sea.

Photo shop on board on Deck 6 port side Atrium, everything is digital now but during day hours there is plenty of crew around to help out.

Tomorrow we are in Stavanger and we have a tour in the afternoon. The ship is to be docked by 10 am.  I did not see any other cruise ships scheduled, she will dock in the old port. That might be on the East side (so easy access to the Petroleum Museum) or on the west side with easy access to the old town. If it is the latter, I want to run ashore quickly to see if there are any new shipping books at the Maritime Museum which should be located opposite the stern of the ship.

Weather for tomorrow, Partly Cloudy with temperatures around 20oC / 70oF and a gentle breeze.  The weather people are all confused about what happened to their predicted heatwave.

 

2026 July 14; Skjolden, Norway.

July 15, 2026 / / 1 Comment

The ms Sky Princess towering over the small dock of Skjolden.

After sailing in for about 5 hours, to the end of Sognefjord, the Sky Princess docked at Skjolden.  A new pier was constructed here a few years ago and since then the big ships have started to call as well. When going ashore, we saw several First Call plaques in the Security Gate souvenir office. The ms Prinsendam from 2011 (when I was on leave), and then the Delfts Blue plates from the Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam (VII). The dock has been constructed just wide enough for any length cruise ship to be able to put two gangways ashore. Bow and Stern are sticking out and long mooring ropes go to bollards at the edge of the Fjord.   The town is about a 15 minute walk from the ship, which has about 250 or so inhabitants. Downtown is made up of a small Supermarket, the Skjolden Hotel and the Skjolden community center which is made up of a tourist shop, the tourist office,  a small museum,  a community hall and an indoor swimming pool. The latter being used by only 2 people when we were there.

The metropolis of Skjolden with most of the 250 peoples houses in the photo. The first row at the water, just above the curve in the road are Air bnb’s mainly occupied by the Dutch and the Belgians.

Skjolden calls itself “The Gateway to the Norwegian National Parks”, so this is primarily a shore excursion stop for the ship. With full day tours but also a 1 hour shuttle service to the nearest glacier. But a very large majority of the guests opted to march into town and in the case of our Japanese Groups on board, who once again were leading the invasion, to march straight through it as they did not realise that there was not really a downtown.  But the seemed to be impressed by the local bus top, as several took photos when having a seat inside. The route from the ship to the town, led along a number of holiday homes, which were occupied/rented by the Dutch and the Belgians, followed by the option to row in a real Viking boat, do some real Viking Axe throwing or go on a RIB speed boat adventure along the fjord. For the latter one everybody suited up in Survival Suits which for today was a bit over the top as the water was as flat as a mirror.

This is downtown Skjolden with the prominent hotel and visitor center to the left. Not visible but of equal importance the local Co-op shop.

Skjolden is famous for its Cinnamon buns. Sold in the port office and also along the walking road in the two restaurants. The man in the port office said that he baked each day, when there was a big ship in, 540 of them and he normally sold them all. Where the precise number of 540 came from, remained unclear, but maybe that was the maximum capacity of his oven. Interesting to see was also that the souvenir shops were manned by first time immigrants as the lady in port office shop did not look at all like a tall Norwegian Hilde but much more like a seductive Shehezarade.

Norwegians from around Skjolden,from around the turn of the century leaning against their home. Only  one looks like a Viking, the rest could have been from anywhere.

While in the little museum, looking at a wall of old photos which showed farmers living in small wooden farms, I suddenly realised that our (movie) perception of tall blonde Vikings was not exactly correct. Most of the farmers in the photos where not towering Vikings with blond hair and blue eyes, but of small and slender size and had black hair and brown eyes. Even the local family who operated the Co-op store in “downtown” were black haired.  Maybe the Viking imported a lot of Dark haired maidens from their raiding adventures down south, than they are given credit for. No doubt one day a scientist will do a large scale DNA test in the fjords and then find out that the Romans made it up to Skjolden as well.

The local Viking Boat, where against payment, you could row yourself (with 12 others) around the fjord.

So we marched to town and marched back again. We could not get lost as 2000+ of our guests were strung out along the same path as well. The bike rental man did a roaring trade. When we went towards town there were about a 100 bikes waiting, when we came back 1 hour later, they were all gone. He even rented out the option of having a baby box on wheels to be towed behind the bike. This is a safe area to bike as you only come across a few coaches on the road and some locals and tourists, so even if you bike on the wrong side of the road, the other road users are expecting it.

Back on board, we had to face the challenge of where to have lunch as we had not eaten for at least 3 hours and that is a dangerous situation for a cruise ship guest.

Pizza Alfredo. According to the Internet experts, Princess has the best pizza’s on the high seas. I am not an expert but they were very good and very fresh.

Flash back to yesterday. Yesterday with the whole ship ashore we went to Alfredo’s which is a  pizzeria on Deck 7 in the Atrium. Capacity is about a 100 guests but there were only 6 of us, the rest was ashore in Bergen. So good service and with the pizza’s freshly made and not on the conveyor belt system that is needed to keep up with a full house. Even the pizza chef was Italian (or at least he said so) so what else can you ask for ? With our on Board Princess Premium package drinks we can have included drinks up to $ 20,– a glass (with a maximum of 15 drinks a day) so we settled on a Merillo California Pinot Noir, or almost a Pinot Noir as it was slightly blended. It had to stand in for the Bet Gloss a real Pinot Noir, which was out of stock. Some Italian pizzeria’s are embarrassed to serve Hawaiian Pizza but not here, so I was a happy camper to  be able to order a Pizza Hawaiian. And it was excellent. Back to today.

So now today we decided to get some nibbles from our Concierge Lounge as we were not in the mood for a full sit down lunch. But the amount of nibbles and salads available is more then enough to consider it a full lunch. According to our lovely waitress Irma who had the lunch shift, there were never many people there on short cruises and in port, but during a crossing the Lounge was very well frequented.

The buffet in the Concierge Lounge with waitress Irma.

The problem with a buffet like this, even when small, but without anybody else milling around you end up going back a few times, so you still end up with a full meal. Especially if the breaded chicken sandwiches are so very good.  Plus free drinks and impeccable service one can easily while away the hours.

Her Ladyship taking full advantage of what was on offer.

What was missing on the buffet, a nice piece of cake (there were small chocolate cupcakes but not the bigger stuff) So an expedition to the “International Cafe” had to be made. Where they serve Pound Cake in three different versions.  Coffee is $ 5,— but included in our package.

The “International Cafe” on Deck 5.  This is a very quiet moment with only 3 customers inline for coffee. On a sea day I counted 5 waiters serving coffee and 4 bakers serving and re-supplying the sandwiches, cakes and buns.

Today the ship was much busier as the non-tour guests completed their visit to the metropolis of Skjolden in the same time frame as we did and then ran back to secure a stretcher in the sun.  The “World Fresh Market Place” (Lido) was busy and so was the “Salty Dog Grill”. This is the Hamburger Bar. We have not tried it yet but the portions looked very large. But we managed to get an soft ice cream as the crowd with “little Johnny’s” had mainly been replaced with a queue of old “Johnny’s but still eating soft ice.

Then it was back to investigate the ship.

…….to investigate the photo shop if our formal photos were in. You can check them all on the App and then download them, but Lesley has now made it a habit of checking them on the big screen, deleting the bad ones (the photographers post all of what they took) and then later download the good ones. On the big screen you can also mark those you really like and order hard copy’s. We are entitled to 3 hard copy’s with our package and we will make a selection on the one by last day. Unfortunately, for me, the ships photos are not included.

As we were curious, whether the Concierge Lounge was used in the evening for cocktails, we decided to go in at 17.30 hrs. when the free drinks started. and indeed about 10 people where there and a piano player, using the piano in the Wedding chapel, with the doors open towards the lounge.  Then we had a reservation for the general (one of 3) restaurant Cielo at 18.50 hrs. This one is located at the stern of the ship on deck 6. Making a reservation is necessary because of the vast numbers of guests on board. Even with reservations a line had built up.  Following the flow during dinner, it is better to go around 1930 hrs, when it became quieter. But then there is the chance you are late for the Show, which starts at 21.30 hrs. and the theatre doors close promptly.

The aft part of the Cielo Restaurant near the stern of the ship. We had the table for two on the left. For the rest we were surrounded by single ladies.

This was the first main dining room dinner that we did and it was sort of indifferent. The food was good but not special, the service was ok, but not very personable. Again due to time constraints as the staff is friendly enough. But in this case it served us well as we made it to the Theatre just after 9 pm. when the doors opened. And thus we could pick at seat that was up to satisfaction of my Lord & Master.

5 skies show, with the damsel in distress projected in the middle.

Tonight’s show was 5-skies. Something totally different than we have ever seen before. It was basically a computer program based show. The hero gamer had to complete five levels of the 5-skies game, to save a damsel in distress (A digital damsel). So the stage was  very futuristic in setup but the show was extremely good again. We got the show with an un-expected cameo by the captain, as he announced that the ship was gearing up for a medical evacuation. With the order for everybody to stay away from the balconies and no flash camera’s.  Normally  you do not have to announce this in the show theatre but there is always the chance that an important officer or team member is in the show and this is the best way to get them out. The ships crew has either walkie – talkies or beeper but have not progressed yet to beeper phones as I saw the hotel manager, during the day, constantly hunting for a phone each time his beeper went off.  I was impressed that when the captain made the announcement the whole  show stopped and then continued again as if nothing had happened. All music and lights just came back, the cast continued their routine without a glitch. I wonder if that was a built-in routine or the stage crew had been rehearsing it. When the all clear was given after the show by captain again, the same happened in the Atrium, Stop – announcement – Start and no hiccup. Very impressed.

During the medivac the ship was still in the outer reaches of the Sogne Fjord so it did not have to deviate to meet an helicopter somewhere. There would have been an helicopter station nearby as the pilots use helicopters all the time during inclement weather.

Tomorrow we are in Olden, which is located at the edge of the Fajeidtfjorden, which is a branch of the Innvikfjorden which is an inner arm of the Nordfjord system. That means another early morning for the captain for a sail in unless he delegates to the Staff Captain which under BRM navigation rules is nowadays allowed. Weather tomorrow, another sunny day with temperatures in the low 20oC / 68oC. The predicted 29oC/80oF heatwave is petering out quickly so we are having the most perfect cruise weather you can think of.

 

2026 July 13; Bergen, Norway.

July 14, 2026 / / 2 Comments

We did make it to the pilot station at 10.00, and saw the pilot boarding at 09.57. Always nice if you have a cabin in the midships and you recognize the sound of the pilot boat engine. I suppose that will stop when they go electric, but I do not know how good electric engines are versus diesel in bad weather. And they have a lot of that here in the dark winter. Many guests were on the balconies as it was a sunny day with no real wind and 16 knots of relative – ship generated wind- is not something that blows you from your balcony. And it is a scenic ride into town with all the posh houses on the fjords sides interspersed with some industrial activity.  Most of it linked to the North Sea oil exploration. Norway itself derives most of it power needs from White Water but it has large oil deposits and thus sells to the whole world. By 10 am. we were docked with the tranquility of the arrival being broken by announcements of the Cruise Director trying to keep everybody away from the gangway and out of the staircases. In all my years of sailing, I have never been able to figure out what is better: no announcements (so guests are not alerted to the option of going and line up at the gangway) or to make announcements and hope that the guests will listen (mostly they do not).  In port with us was my old ship the ms Maasdam now sailing for Ambassador Cruises as the ms Renaissance and serving the French Market. Later on the Hurtigruten ferry/ cruise ship the Vesteraalens came in. She is officially a mail boat and coastal ferry but a lot of the (few) cabins on board are snapped up by tourists. Especially the Germans as they are heavily focused on it.  Our ship was docked at the Jetkeviken dock, which is a container cargo dock but the regular cruise terminals are too small for a 330 meter long ship. It also means that the walk into downtown Bergen is about 10 minutes longer.

The ms Sky Princess approaching the dock. The terminal facing the sea is the one in use by the local ferries.

As expected, at least 3500 guests marched ashore, so that gave us ample opportunity to inspect and enjoy the ship.  We decided not to go ashore as after a 100+ visits or so, there is not much new to see.  On board we could see a lot more as now there was nobody milling in the way of all the public areas, even if some of them were closed. We even managed to get a free soft ice cream today. There is a complimentary stand on Deck 16 (There is also a Gelato ice cream bar on deck 7, but they charge a considerable amount for artisan Gelato) Yesterday we could not even get near, as there was a enormous pile up of little children in front of it, who were in deep focus on a triple soft ice fix.  (The way that works is, that little Johnny gets a soft ice, rejoins the line, moves through the line while eating the ice cream and is ready for the next one, when arriving at the counter again.)

The Internet Cafe on Deck 7 midships. It is somewhat hidden behind “Collections” which is the chocolate shop. the pocket book exchange is in the back. The two center computer stations have no chairs as they are meant for wheelchair users.

The next discovery was, hidden yesterday by a gaggle of guests who did not know where to go, was the Internet cafe. Complete with printer, so if you have to print out your airline tickets, you do not have to go to the front desk. Here we also found the pocket-book exchange. The ship does not have a library, according to face book, Princess cruises expects everybody to embrace the digital future. But for those who only reluctantly follow modern times, they open up one of the dining rooms for undisturbed reading. In the same way that “The Catch” by Rudi’s restaurant has a section where you can play games. It was only a small pocket book exchange, especially with having 4000 people on board but many might not have found it yet. The only other one I have discovered so far is the one our Concierge lounge but that is not accessible to most guests.

The “Celebration” candy and chocolate store. Although in port the shops were closed, 3 weary shop staff were busy refilling the shelves. Looking at the empty boxes coming out, this shop must be in high demand.

A thing that is more and more coming is the increase of candy and chocolate sales on board. Where a small candy stand was once part of the General Drugstore on board, now a small drugstore section is part of a much larger candy store. If you look at the photo, you see at the top left a read sign hanging from the ceiling: “Spend your on board credit here”. And yes this shop is ideal to get rid of any dollars still left on the account, amounts when not enough left to buy something bigger.

The “Take Five” Jazz Club lounge open everyday from 17,30 onwards.

Another quiet lounge in port is the “Take Five” jazz lounge on the port side, which has a resident Jazz band which plays every evening from 17.30 hrs. onwards. It does not suffer from the “marching crowds” on their way from one show lounge to the other, as it is wedged between  the ships theatre and the photo shop. Main reason is that less people come out of the Show lounge on the lower level and those that do seem to favour flowing / marching through the Casino, which is on the Starboard side. We have not visited  this lounge yet, as we only like old fashioned melodious jazz and are not fans of a Dizzy Gillespy “Glissando’s” going through the sound barrier.

A lonely table in the Piazza, but no goofy’s.

Then we wanted to see what the Cruise Staff did on port days so at noon time we moved to the Piazza for “Goofy Golf” only to find a lonely table but no “goofy’s'” around at all.   There was a cruise staff lady present but she was much more interested n chatting up the Sound Guy then assembling a gaggle of goofy’s to play golf.

But as there was hardly anybody there, I saw for the first time, the center piece sculpture in the lower sitting area.

A double headed bronze sculpture. Located in the lower level sitting area of the Atrium.

I can not tell what it is supposed to be as there was no name plate nearby. And that is a pity, there is a lot of art hanging around the ship but while the framed artwork in the staircases and the corridors all have name plates ( as have the photos in the cabins) the more elaborate art does not.

The art in cabin R604. A photo by a certain Greg S. depicting as shot of the house of Parliament in Budapest and an unknown painting without a description.

I am always very interested in art on board the ships, so I would love to know what this painting is called, who made it, and what it is supposed to mean. Here I can also say that Housekeeping is certainly not into art, as this painting is almost falling out of its frame as the glue around the edges has dried out. But checking that does not seem to be of “perfect cabin set-up” that most ships have.  (Princess has one, as I saw a new cabin steward checking his manual of where the toilet brush should stand. (Left of the toilet when looking in)

We decided to have cocktails on the balcony as it was a very pleasant temperature outside and if you pay for a balcony then you should use it when possible. Our cabin is entitled to canape’s before dinner and what I like is that you have to pre-order them the day before with a sort of Room-Service menu so you can choose out of 5 or  so options. It certainly saves wastage in case people are not in the cabin to eat them, or do not like them.

Then it was time for dinner and as part of our package we had “The Catch” by Rudi included.  We know Rudi Sodamin for a long time. My wife sailed with him in the 1980’s when he was sous chef on the Vistafjord and then for years he was involved with Holland America. That eventually led him to get married to a very rich Dutch Lady that he met during a ms Rotterdam world cruise and with whom he is now living in Monte Carlo. Now he has the “Sel de Mer” restaurants on the Holland America Line ships, “Rudi’s Sea Grill” on the Carnival Ships and “The Catch by Rudi” on the Princess ships.

The menu of “The Catch by Rudi’s” restaurant. The restaurant lay-out is nothing special and I could not get a photo of it, without anybody in it, as nowadays it is so difficult to take photos, especially if there are children in it.

The food was very good, with large portions (The jumbo shrimp looked like the size of a small lobster) and a nice wine list. Service was good, friendly but not very focused, as with the continuous resetting of the tables, it is just a restaurant like the others albeit, with a dedicated menu. Sel de Mer on Holland America started out as a real speciality restaurant with high quality waiters and then it was slowly but steadily was watered down with not so highly trained stewards and having too many guests at the same time for the waiters to serve properly. Here there was no shortage of waiters but they had to keep the pace going to keep it all under control. According  to repeat guests, Princess has been squeezing here  on the product with one full main course removed and the champagne served at the start “watered” down as it used to be in bigger glasses with fruit in the champagne.

This got us through to 22.00 hrs. so we had to skip the show which started at 21.30 hrs. This evening it was an acrobat duo, and her Ladyship prefers shows, so all was well in the world.  When coming back to the cabin, we had another surprise, the TV popped on and showed both our Mugshots on the screen as welcome back. I assume again due to his medallion sending out a signal ahead of our approach.

People who are vain, must love this product as one’s face keeps popping up everywhere.

Tomorrow we are in Skjolden in Sognefjord. And that is a new port for us. It used to be frequented by smaller cruise ships but in 2018 they put in a dock and now the big boys are calling as well. I am looking forward to see how a small town can be engulfed by 4000 invading tourists.

Weather for tomorrow:  Clear Skies, wind still (we are in fjord with steep cliffs on either side) and temperatures with a max. of 27oC / 80oF. so it should be very pleasant to walk to “downtown”.

 

 

 

2026 July 12; At Sea.

July 13, 2026 / / 2 Comments

The Sky Princess. (Photo Courtesy Princess crusies)

Today we are having a sea day so the ship can get to Bergen in Norway. It has to maintain a speed of 19.5 knots to get there on time and I assume that has to do with the fact that it does not fit under the bridge that lets you approach Bergen from the South. S o it can not use the southern entrance & pilot station to the Fjord system in which Bergen is located but has to go to the  northern entrance and then sail south again for 2 hours, to the dock. The captain,  Tony Draper did not elaborate on it. Although he made a nice departure speech it was devoid of much pertinent information.  But watching the crowd while he made his announcement, I did not get the impression that many guests even cared that he made an announcement. The ship is of a size that is it somewhere in between a cruise ship and a floating destination (like the Oasis class of RCI) and then the presence of a captain is pushed more to the catagory of “one of those driving the ship”.  But he has been at sea for 30 years and his first ship was the Island Princess (sister of the Love Boat) the Pacific Princess, a ship I know well as well, as it sailed with us between 1984 and 1986 in Alaska and the winter season to Acapulco.

Captain Tony Draper, Master of the ms Sky Princess. (Photo taken from the ships Daily Program “Princess Patter”)

The Sky Princess came into service in 2019 and of course went out of service again in 2020 when Covid hit the industry. It has a size of 145.282 Gross tons which makes it still a medium sized cruise ship but leaning to the large side. Length of 330 meters with 4 diesel electric engines delivering a maximum speed of 23 knots.  Service speed between 19 and 22 knots, although as with most cruise ships now the service speed lays around 16 knot so the ship can run more efficiently on 2 engines.  Official capacity is 3660 passengers in 1830 cabins (81% with balconies) and a crew of 1200. This cruise we have over 4000 guests on board, courtesy of the school holidays and 1134 crew on board.

This morning we took it slow as we knew that the ship would be large area of “controlled chaos” with over 4000 guests on board. Plus we needed time to figure out how the Princess App works and what you can do with it. Although Princess tries to go digital all the way, it still understands that there are lot of “digitally challenged” people out there and thus there is still a steady stream of paperwork coming to the cabin with all sorts of information and there is still the hard copy of Princess Patter the daily program. (This is named after the daily program on board the first – charter- ship of Princess back in 1965; the Princess Patricia, which was an old ferry . Originally employed between Vancouver and Alaska).  Princess does not stint on things to do on board so going through the densely printed Daily Program takes some time as well. We get fruit in the cabin, and not in small portions and that enough for breakfast after a heavy dinner.

By 11.00 we felt mentally ready to face the Princess world again and went for a walk about and indeed it was very busy everywhere. So if you had not pre-booked for any of the venues then it was hard to get in. Bars and related all had long lines including the International Cafe which s provides free sandwiches and cakes all day, and you only pay for the coffee and drinks. (A bit like the Grand Cafe on Holland America and the Carinthia Lounge on Cunard, but then on a much larger scale; and it is open 24 hours a day. It seems that there are a lot of guests on this ship who wake up around 3 am in the morning and then feel the urgent need make an expedition to Deck 5 to stack up on more calories. We were not surprised that there was a long, long line waiting here and most of those in line were of a weight that should have urged them not to have been in line.

After scrutinising the program we found out that in one dining room (there are three main dining rooms, they are free of charge but you have to book your time) the Estrella, they had a section reserved for Princess Premium guests, and  that includes our cabin. Thus we had to go there to find out what this was. It turned out that the menu was the same but by filtering us out from the rest of the crowd, it was less busy and thus we could have a more relaxed lunch.

With 17 ships, Princess sails everywhere and it has even ships especially designated for the Chinese and Far East market. Which is growing and thus they are dedicating a 3 ships to it.

We were on a mission as at 13.00 hrs., we had to be in the Vista Lounge at the stern to be part of “Cruising with Princess”. Not many people there but the Future Cruise Lady gave a presentation with a little of Princess history, 60 years old this year, what the fleet was made up of,  what new ships were coming and their differences, and where the ships were sailing and how the discount system worked . A sort of “book your cruise” but  without the sales pitch. Also explained was the difference between Princess Plus and Princess Premium the two on board packages that you can buy. We have the premium version which includes nearly everything you want to do.  And if you go to the included speciality restaurants which are all $ 55,– and over, and have a few drinks, then you are already breaking even. Not counting the free internet (for 4 devices, free laundry and a few other things)

Some of the senior hotel staff, participating in the welcome on board games including the Hotel manager.

This was directly followed by “Welcome to new Princess cruisers” happening hosted by the Cruise Director. It was very meagerly attended (we have 1500 new Princess cruisers on board, but only about 50 in the lounge)but turned out to be a nice introduction to Princess with prices given, a few games  and with the participation of the some of the Sr. Hotel Staff. I do not care very much for “Charades” games  but there was free champagne, with refills, so all was well in the world.  Once this was over, we had to run out as it was time for “Bingo”, and we hardly had time to get out of our seats as an tsunami of old ladies swarmed over the lounge all eager to get the best seats in the house.

The digital screen. All the photos you see are from guests whose medallion is in the vinciniity.

Our next mission was the photo shop. As mentioned on day one, we have all digital photos included in our package that we have taken out, so it was time to check what the results were. You can do it from you App. as well and then download them directly but a bigger screen gives more details. Again we came across a nifty thing due to the medallion. Once you come close to the digital display board, your own photos pop up in the rotation of advertised “show photos”. When they take your photo the photographer has a sensor on his camera so the medallion automatically “anchors” the photos taken to your name. All of them appear on the screen and you can delete those you do not want. We are the sinners in the top right.

The whole happening started at 18.15 hrs. with a short show by the cast celebrating drinking champagne.

Then it was time to run back to the cabin to get changed as it was captains formal welcome on board. Princess is really pushing this Formal dress thing but is not getting very far. At least not this cruise. We dressed up but we were in the 10% minority. The most effort I saw was that men had changed into long pants and some of them even made the effort of wearing a jacket and the occasional tie. With such a large ship, I think that Princess has to designate a bar solely for those who make the effort as a sort of thank you. But we like to dress up, so we did. Visited all the Photographers we could find, who were very busy, even with those whose formal consisted out of shorts and a Budweiser T. Shirt.  And then we were lucky to find a space on the edge of the Atrium so we could see the Captains Welcome. 95% of those also around the atrium were still in “beach attire” but nobody seemed to care. I think most guests saw the whole happening as a part of a short show interlude.

The captain advised that this cruise there were 1159 Americans on board and 1134 British and the rest people were from other countries, including 144 from Portugal. He did not go down the complete list (as some captains do, as it is an easy way to get a lot of applause) so I never found out if I was unique with being Dutch.

Captain Tony welcoming everybody on board. I have never seen so many officers introduced. (See the whole circle around the floor) This was done by the Cruise Director but as he only announced name, function and home country it did not take that long. The captain was then the last one to appear, so he could launch directly into his speech.

Which in a way it was, a short show interval, as it was also called  the “Captains Champagne Waterfall”. For this a champagne glasses tower was erected in the Atrium and after the Captains Appearance, the Beverage Manager started poring champagne as a waterfall, down the glasses and guests could join in and have their photo taken. And there were a lot of guests interested.

The Beverage manager on the steps behind the champagne tower starting to pour. A long line was forming on the deck from where I took the photo, of those who wanted to immortailized with the champagne tower.

For us was it was then moving with the crowds towards more food. We had booked Sabatini’s, which is the Italian Restaurant on board. We had already heard that it was extremely popular so we were quite happy to get a reservation at the time of 19.30 hrs. We wanted to be a bit early as Lesley wanted to make the Revue show as Princess has a great reputation for shows.

Sabatini’s is modern in lay-out and nice and spacious. As long you are sitting close to the seaside / windows you are not bothered by the music in the Atrium and you can even hear Andrea Bocelli singing as background music in the restaurant.

The menu is not “designer” Italian for advanced Foodies but features the regular starters and main courses, such as Spaghetti ala Carabonari and other wellknown dishes. The food was extremely good with very large portions. Service was attentive  but fast and the waiters did not have much time for a chat or an elaborate explanation of how it all went. But it was very good. With the large portions we skipped desert which was only two options anyway as we went to the show.

The cast of the Rock Opera. According to the Princess Website  this is a new show and we had the original cast in the show, as seen here on the photo. (Photo Courtesy Princess Cruises)

As mentioned before the Theater is much too small to accommodate all on board, so you have to get in 20 minutes before the start to get a good seat.  There were plenty of ushers around (Junior Hotel officers) to get the crowd to their seats as fast as possible.  With our On Board Package we have preferential seating but all those seats were in the “flat” directly under the stage but then you do not have oversight over the whole stage. But the top rows were still empty and we found out that with such a large stage, the top seats were perfect. At exactly 21.30 they closed the doors and from then on, they did not let anybody in anymore. With good reason as all seats were taken.

I have no photos of the show as we had THAT announcement again but the show called “Rock Opera” was good. It was VERY GOOD, Princess did live up to their reputation with very good singers and very good choreography. Basically it was a mixture of Opera like sounding Musical song, or Opera songs that sounded good on a Rock beat. The cast consisted of 15 members and 6 musicians, all on stage. Very impressed.

A good 50 minute show and by the time it was finished it was 23.20 as we had an hour forward tonight. so we called it a day.

Tomorrow we have the pilot at 10 am and then 2 hour journey through the fjords to Bergen. This might be the last day with cooler weather: 19oC / 67oF and then the British heatwave is expected to descend over South Norway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2026 July 11; Southampton, England.

July 12, 2026 / / 7 Comments

We are on our way to our next cruise adventure, a 7 day cruise to Norway with the Sky Princess of Princess Cruises. A completely new company for us and as they have a ship sailing from Southampton, we grabbed the chance and as Lesley managed to get a good deal by booking early, we went for it.  I do not know anything about the Princess Cruises product so it is all going to be completely new to us. The company is a relatively new cruise company, only 60 years young, compared to Holland America with 150 years, Cunard with 185+ years and the oldest one, P&O which started cruising in 1851 and sailing another 20 years earlier. (Although they did not call it cruising in those days but “excursions”.  Princess is also a sub company of Carnival Corporation and was for a while part of the HAL group under the leadership of Stein Kruse until it was decided not too long ago to abolish this holding company again. It had served its purpose and the “brands” where becoming too different to get any “synergy” out of it anymore, to use some management speak.

The Hilton hotel in Southampton which is an integrated part of the Utilita Bowl, for cricket games. (Photo courtesy Utilita Bowl)

So yesterday we drove to Southampton and stayed overnight in the Hilton Hotel at the Utilita Bowl, which is one of the biggest cricket stadiums in England. The drive down was interesting with a lot of small hold-ups mainly caused by cars that were overheating  or breaking down due to heat related issues. All the roads nearby the Hotel had Crowd Control Barriers in place, to stop wild parking , as there is the “England Men versus India” game tomorrow. While we were checking in, several die hard fans already arrived with cool boxes in tow, all set to spend a sweltering day in the sun, as the temperature is supposed to go up to 90 oF or 32 oC and that is very hot for England. If you want to spend the money, you can book a Hotel room that overlooks the pitch with your own private balcony. I have not even looked at those prices but they must be considerable. We stayed the night before with a “park your car” deal. That includes a taxi to and from the ship, and that makes life as easy as it gets.

The personal medallion. You do not have to wear it around you neck, it works as well when in the pocket,

So the next day the taxi popped as planned and were delivered at the ship right on time for our check in moment. The roads were busy as also in port where the Ventura, the MSC Orchestra and Celebrity Apex. Also big boys with a capacity between 3000 and 6000 beds. The Sky Princess (sailing with 4000+ this cruise) was docked at berth 37/39 commonly known as the Ocean Terminal. This is one of the bigger terminals which makes check in and going through security somewhat easier. Dropping of the luggage was very easy, there were 4 bays and all were clearly marked with the  cabin numbers and with Stewards directing people very efficiently.  Then I was really impressed in the way Princess handles check-in. There were about 500 guests going through the pipe line at the same moment but it took less then 5 minutes to get to the counter, The Lady took less then 5 minutes to verify our passports and give us our medallion. This is a sort of sensor / boarding pass/ cabin key , all in one and should take all the hassle out of being on board.  Even security was fast, noting that the  handling personnel was a lot younger than in  the smaller terminals. With Fred Olsen we always seem to have an older group  that handles security, and they tend to be too friendly with a nice chat and thus the flow slows down.

Lesley has booked an on board package “Princess Premium” which basically includes everything you normally pay for. Including all on board photos. (all digital and 3 print outs) So instead of avoiding the photographers at all cost we are now planning to stop at each stand to see what the result is. And that started directly in the terminal.

The front door screen, reacting when it senses the medallion. You can push the red button for privacy and your names are on the top. When you approach it shows the “mugshots” of yourselves as used y security.

The medallion kicked in and getting on board was a breeze and went very fast.  As Lesley had booked a Suite on Deck 14 (called Riviera Deck) we did not have to wait for cabins to be ready and could just march in. Here the medallion kicked in again. When about 5 feet away from the door, it senses the medallion and the door unlocks. At the same time the cabin steward can see that you have arrived and are in the cabin, so he/she knows when to go in and when to do meet and greet. It is a bit of big brother watching you but it works extremely well and no need to put your hand luggage down, find you cabin key etc.etc.

Suitcases arrived about 1.5 hours after dropping them off, which is for a big ship with  4000+ guests on board not a bad score at all.  While waiting for them to arrive we went to report at our Assembly station after watching the safety video. The ship had quite a bit of challenges to get the crowd to conform with the requirement as 20 minutes before sailing there were still 559 guests outstanding on the Boat drill record. I wonder how they dealt with that as it questionable that they could reach all of those in 20 minutes. We also have a considerable  contingent of Japanese, Koreans and Portugese on board , three nations who are not known for applying the rules on board as expected. Sometimes because of language barriers, sometimes because of a different approach to time constraint matters. And then there is always a group, who do not listen to any announcement at all, do not read any paper work, but do scream the loudest when something happens or they miss out.

But the ship sailed on time and the captain (more tomorrow) was in a hurry as Norway is a long way away from Southampton, so the ship has to maintain an average speed of 20 knots to get to our first port of call, Bergen, Norway. And we are going to have headwinds of about force 7 to 8.

We did a quick walk around to get a feeling for the lay-out of the ship. Most public rooms are on Deck 5,6, 7, and then on the top levels of 16,17.  You can book all your dining room reservations and other things on line before joining but if you want to change them you have to go to the outlet. We had ended up with two speciality dining options at 21.00 hrs. so we went to change them.  If you do not want to do it yourself, then there is the concierge in the concierge lounge,  which covers our cabin classification. That lounge  also has nibbles and hand food from 07.00 hrs. to 14.00 hrs.and then from 17.00 hrs. to 21.00 hrs. again. Between 1730 and 1930 there are free cocktails as well. It is only a small lounge but the Wedding Chapel is  attached to it and they can open the connecting doors and then there is more than enough space.  The concierge lady is Dorothy from South Africa and there is Irma from Mexico and Mi-luh from Bali (She is Indonesian from Chinese descent) as waitresses.

The Ships Theatre near the bow. There are 2 more show venues but this one is for the main shows. The side lines are excellent. except on the front section, where you have to hope that the person in front of you is not too tall.

The ship is setup is the same as are all larger ships nowadays, expecting that not all guests want to do the same thing at the same time, so only a 3rd of the ships capacity fits in the show lounge and also most of the food and drink outlets around the Atrium are based on a continuous flow  of guests. Thus very much based on the American system of moving along from one thing to the other. While the British tend to linger much more in place with multiple cups of tea and a good natter. On the MSC Orchestra that was a real challenge, so let’s see how it works here.

The Atrium in the center of the ship. It goes up 3 decks and a lot of venues are located around it.

We are expecting that the heat wave will follow us all the way to Norway and thus the top decks with the pools will be very busy. We had a quick look to see what the “Sail Away” party was all about but when we arrived there, it was only a very loud band.  They large screen is in use all day long, with the first movie at 10.30 and then running on into the late evening. Tonight they will screen the football match England – Norway and that should attract a large crowd.( It did when we walked by at 22.30 hrs. with hundreds of fans, huddled together and wrapped in towels and blankets, as the English heatwave is currently not extending yet into the night on a sailing ship.

The view towards the stern on Deck 16 with the large TV screen. As you can see the guests were already out in force to enjoy the nice weather.

After unpacking and cocktails in the Concierge Lounge, we descended into the ship and had another drink before dinner in the Crown Bar on Deck 7 near the Vista Lounge, which is the 2nd show venue. The Crown Bar and lounge has live music at times and an ample seating area but is split through the middle by the walkway into the rest of the ship. So if you want to do people viewing, it is a great location. Here we came across the next impact of the Princess Medallion. The moment the waitress approaches you,  your names, cabin number and drinks package pops up on her tablet. So you get always greeted by name and also informed at once, if you drinks order is covered by the package yes or no. With our package nearly everything is covered, as it goes to $20,– a drink. (We also are entitled to 15 bottles of water a day and we have no way how we are going to drinks those, plus there is free water in the Concierge Lounge as well)

For Dinner we were in the Crown Grill, which has a good selection of food but with a focus on meat. This restaurant has a cover charge of $ 55.– a person but for us it is included in the package. The food is cooked in an open kitchen, although from your table you can not see into the kitchen, only the heads of the cooks bobbing by. The food was extremely good, but the service chaotic. nothing arrived on time or was synchronized with other people on the time. Whether the TOP  is not high enough or they were under TOP, but the waiters (dressed as French Brasserie waiters) were keeping up a constant banter to distract the guests from regcognizing the hiccups in the service.

After dinner I was ready to collapse after the intensive drive on Englands Motorway’s so we have a quick walk around and then retired. We have to go forward one hour for Norway but on this ship they do the time change on formal night.

Tomorrow we are at sea. The weather looks sunny but very windy, but not too much swell so the ship should be fairly steady. Mainly overcast later in the day and chilly in the wind an temperatures around 14oC / 57oF.

 

 

 

 

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