Today we travelled up North; to the Top of the World, as our cruise is called. This meant going full speed as it is a long way to Spitsbergen (or Svalbard as the Norwegians call it) as we also had some sightseeing to do while on the way. The day did not start very promising with high winds from the East and very low skies with fog banks all over the place. The first scenic stop, or better sail by, was Bear Island which is about half way up between the Nordkapp and the south point of Spitsbergen. The island roughly looks as an inverted triangle with some hills and mountains to the south and it flattens off towards the North. Flat: seen in relation to the average height of everything. Compared to the Spitsbergen you would call it flat, compared to Holland you would call it mountainous. With full sea speed it takes about an hour to sail by the island and we did so. Keeping the island on the West side, we could sail in its lee and thus keep the guests on deck fairly well out of the wind chill. Today it was not a cruise, it was an expedition. Continue reading

Apologies for the delay but at the top of the world there is no Internet connection. Capt
Albert, 28 July 2009.

The town of Honningsvag is located just at the east side of the Nordkapp in a sheltered bay. Basically we sail east, then south, then north into the harbour and then dock on an easterly heading. Full circle to get there. It is really located at the top of Norway. We started sailing along the top of Norway in the early morning and passed the Nordkapp at a distance around 07.30. After departure we had a good look at her from nearby. During the night the wind had started to freshen up from the East and that was less good news, as it blew the clouds away and that could mean a greater chance of fog. So I said a little prayer for overcast weather during the day. Continue reading

Hello readers,
Lesley here, Albert’s wife at home in England .

Just in case you were wondering what had happened to Alberts daily entry here is why you are not seeing it.

At the moment they are way above the arctic circle as you will all know and so they will have run out of satellite signal for a few days, the same thing happened to me on a small cruise ship I was working on a couple of years ago when we went so far north.

I expect them to be back in coverage in a day or two.

Norway as part of the Scandinavian Peninsula is a long and vertical country. You have to travel quite a ways to get from the lower point of the country, North of Denmark all the way to the top, South of Spitsbergen. From 58oN to 71oN that is roughly 780 nautical miles as the crow flies. As we are going all the way to the top and beyond there has to be some sea time in between ports to make it possible. We travel of course more than the 780 nautical miles to get to the top as the Norwegian coast is not straight and we have sail around rocks and islands and other protrusions. Today was thus a day at sea while we travelled from Kristiansund to Honningsvag which lies just around the corner (past it) from the North Cape. With a ship you try to sail as much as possible in a straight line and with Norway that works quite well, if you stay about 4 miles off the coast to start with. The coast, laying in a North Easterly direction, then recedes away from your course line and you only have to make the occasional course change to follow the general direction of the coast. Continue reading

As the bumpy seas were caused by a disappearing weather system near the top of Greenland, the waves became less and less during the night and by the time we arrived at the pilot station the ship was only going up and down with a very gentle movement. By coming midnight it should all be gone. It was a regular traffic jam at the pilot station, two supply vessels going in with inbetween another cruise ship, the Deutschland of Deilmann Cruises. This is a cruise ship that operates in the same market segment as the Prinsendam but as it is almost completely devoted to the German market it is not really competition as such. The ship is a little bit smaller than our Prinsendam with 23000 tons but comparable in what it does for cruises. What it was doing today however confused all of us including the pilot. It sailed inside, picked up the pilot and swung around and went outside to open waters again. As per our own pilot, the ship was destined for Molde but for that you can sail inside through the fjords and there no need to be in the open waters. Anyway the Deutschland raced out and we raced in. Continue reading

Bergen is tucked away inside the Norwegian Fjords and as a result it takes a while to get there. Regardless whether you come from the North or from the South, it is a considerable distance to the dock. Thus the pilot boards early to enable a timely arrival. We had a bit of a wobbly night, with a long swell running from the Greenland area where they had had some very inclement weather a few days ago and the swell generated by that weather front came rolling all the way down the Norwegian Coast. We had wind as well, coming from the South West and so the pilot boat skipper decided to wait a bit further inside the entrance before he came alongside.
That was just fine by me, because then I was also completely out of the swell. Once you are inside the mountains on the side of the fjords they provide great shelter from all the elements except rain. The whole coast line of Norway is dotted with pilot stations serving all the various small and big ports inside the fjords. The Pilotage system is divided in area’s as the whole coastline is much too big to take one pilot onboard and keep him onboard for all the calls. Each port that we do this cruise we will stop at a pilot station, get a pilot onboard and disembark him/her again at the end of the call. Same as we do on other cruises, only this time it is all within one country. Continue reading

Today was our first sightseeing day and it was a great day. Most guests are hoping for sunny weather during their cruise but that is one thing you do not want to have when sailing through the fjords. The sun creates glare that makes it more difficult to see the sights, also you cannot see very much at the “sunny side of the ship” and if the sun lasts for a few days you get that hazy stuff called fog and then you do not see anything at all. Overcast is perfect even if it means the occasional shower. You can also watch the scenery from the bar, preferably with a glass of wine in hand. At least that is what my wife and I do when we are cruising in our spare time. Lysefjord is not that far away from Oslo so we trundled up the coast in a nice and sedate way, to be at the pilot station at the Brochure time of 11 am. The pilot had obviously not read that brochure as he came racing out early and was onboard just past 10.30am. Not that I minded we could just do a bit more sightseeing this way. Continue reading

This morning we arrived at our first port of call of what is called the “To the Top of the World cruise” which is a 21 day effort of which we now still have 19 days to do. Last call we had sightseeing in the morning as our arrival was at noontime and departure at midnight. This time we had an early arrival and a 4 pm departure, so we did the sightseeing on the way out. At least for those who have regular sleeping patterns. I also had to enjoy the morning session. We picked up the pilot at 3.30 am to ensure a timely docking at 8 am. The wind had indeed abated during the night and there was only a fresh breeze blowing at the pilot station. By the time we arrived at Oslo it was wind still but raining and it continued to do so throughout the day in fits and starts. This was a Sunday call which meant that all the shops were closed. However with the Norwegian prices, that might have been a blessing in disguise. My chief officer is still crying over a 300 pound Norwegian jacket that he bought, thinking that it was a lot less when he looked at it. Even the prices at the Norwegian Salvation Army are much higher than in the rest of the world. It is simply a very expensive country. However most of our guests are onboard to see the world and so the lack of shopping was not an over riding factor during this call. Continue reading

Departure Yesterday was a continuation of the day; it was a very breezy affair. First I had expected to be delayed due to the luggage loading. In Dover you cannot use a conveyor belt or put luggage cages onboard. This is due to the tidal height difference, so what they do here is use a cradle and lower the luggage down towards the break door of the ship and then lift each bag into the ship one by one. That is time consuming but it is the only way possible. However they did finish on time and as soon as the Balmoral was clear of us, she left 30 minutes earlier, it was our turn. While we were waiting for the Balmoral to pass by, dark clouds were coming closer and closer from over the ocean. So I told the pilot that I was not leaving until this heavy shower had passed by. There can be strong winds hiding inside a shower and that would endanger our departure maneuver. It was going to be an interesting affair anyway without this extra wind. Thus we waited another 20 minutes until most of the rain had passed. Continue reading

Thus we raced with full speed from Guernsey to Dover, trying to stay ahead of the inclement weather. I did not make it as early as I had hoped for, the current in the channel was stronger than expected and against us. However the wind stayed away and we were treated to a spectacular thunder and lightning show; caused by a large rain system laying over England and France which moved as fast to the North as we were approaching England in the same direction. Thus we could see ships lit up against the horizon from miles away. A very strange experience indeed. As explained before, the Dover Strait is covered by a Vessel Traffic Separation scheme and that means that you first have to travel up the channel on the French side and then make a perpendicular crossing to the Dover side. By crossing on a 90o angle in relation to the other traffic there is no confusion on the other ships about what you are doing. Sometimes there is a ship that ignores the rules but as all traffic is closely monitored by both sides of the channel, advice to “better your ways” is quickly coming. Continue reading