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

Category: Culinary (page 2 of 4)

2026 May 29; At Sea, sailing back to Southampton.

May 31, 2026 / / 3 Comments

Today was the last day of our 5 day “expedition” to see a Mega Liner with over 4000 people on board and to sample the MSC product. An un-expected bonus was the 2000 extra, due to the holiday time in the UK. At least we could now see what a “full to capacity mega liner looked like”. And we had the option to disappear back to an oasis of peace, the Yacht Club on Deck 14,15, (cabins only) deck 16 (Sky lounge), Deck 18 (diningroom) and Deck 19  (Outside bar and Sun deck). There is no deck 17 on the ship as the Italians indeed seem to consider that an unlucky number. I wonder if that was already the case in the Roman day as all the Gaul & Germanic tribes could have just painted XVII on their shields and Julius Cesar and his army would have run back to Italy, without the help of Asterix and Obelix. A quick AI – google gives 2 options:

Option 1: In Italy, 17 is considered an unlucky number primarily because its Roman numeral form, XVII, is an anagram for the Latin word VIXI. Translated to English, vixi means “I have lived”—implying “my life is over” or “I am dead.

Option 2: Ancient Rome & Disasters: The destruction of the Roman Legions XVII, XVIII, and XIX in the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest caused the number 17 to be associated with bad omens.

All the pasta is made fresh on board, and there is also a station to press/form the mozarella.

So that piece of history made it also to MSC, whch considers itself an Italian company, although the ships are Malta Flagged and the owner Mr. Aponte lives in Geneva.  But they have a Dutch Captain on the MSC Magnifica so  the whole happening is quite international, especially if you see Indian Cooks, making pasta and being from Madras. (very dark skin color, and I could not get him in the above photo).

The Ampfi Theatre. This is a multi level sun bathing area and when they take the stretchers away, guests can sit on 3 levels watching a show around the pool.

So we went to the one area we had not been to yet, the Horizon Pool and Ampfi theatre. With behind it, the Sport Plex, children gaming area, Do-Re-Mi-land for the small ones, the Sky Lounge (do not confuse it with the one that is part of the Yacht Club) as this one is for the whole ship but Adults Only. And there is also a Smoking Lounge that seats about 20 people focussing on their suicide mission.

This is the bar for the Ampfi theatre area. Waiting times are somewhat longer than in the Yacht Club Lounge.

With  anywhere between a 1000 and 2000 kids on board (nobody could or was willing to tell me how many there were on the ships manifest) the Kids Zone and Sport-Plex was heaving. That is all situated around a teens bar.

This is the kids bar, where various sorts of soda’s can be obtained from dispensers or from the bar stewards. Everybody is given a wrist medallion that you can use to pay for items. I believe parents can limit the amount childeren can spend.

Renting the bowling alley sets you back 45,– pounds for 1 hrs. or 25,– pounds for 20 minutes with an unlimited number of players.

The bowling alley with 2 lanes. I have no idea how this works with keeping score when you play when the ship is moving. And even very large cruise ships can be restless in strong seas.

This area is of course a magnet for a lot of kids and the parents have to be either very rich, or very organised with their budget as the prices charged are not cheap.

One of the Fruit machine, or flipper machine areas in this section. Again very popular.

There is a Formula 1 race simulator (10 minutes) which sets you back 11,– pounds. A 3D-Interactive  cinema which is 8,– for kids and a  VR Hologate Arena which is 12,— for 10 minutes.

This little lady had ended up in a sort of Guardians of the Galazy game and was just asking her father if she could beat the cr….. out of somebody.

The toddler area 5 – 11 years is at least 60 feet long but it it is totaly screened of from the rest to avoid “peeping toms”. It is not free but a good location to park little Johny and little Sandy for a few hours so the parents can have some quality time together. As a result it was really busy there with 3 Youth Counsellors manning the entry desk for the intake of new kids. That is nowadays a lot of work as there are numerous -disclaimer -forms to be filled out.

I could not see who was more excited. The small kids to get rid of their parents or the parents trying to get rid of the childeren.

We walked back through the Lido restaurant which is officially called “Market Place”. It being a sea day, the Exe. Chef had laid on some extra options, Including a chocolate Extravaganza. Not very big but then the cruise prices are not so big either on the lower decks.

With a nice cake on display, there was a considerable line building for photos.

When the photo taking had been done an even larger line was building to consume as much as possible. With around 2000 going to the Lido, it must mean that the cooks must have had preared a very large quantity of it.

The cooks still putting the finishing touches on this small show buffet.

We did not wait to see it all disapearing but went back to our own little buffet area in the Sky Deck Sun area. While walking forward we also saw that the chefs had laid out a small pasta station (small is relative here, as there were 3 chefs and a 2d Maitre cooking pasta “A la Dente”.)  And cooking very fast as the line was building quickly.

The pasta station on the outside deck, next to the big open air pool.

As mentioned , the Yacht Club is on Deck 15 to 19 with the open air sunbathing area and bar on deck 19. All these decks areas are screened off by glass doors, which only open with your cabin door-key-card. If walking from deck 15 is too much, the area has its own lift. You can spend your whole cruise there, without ever leaving and many guests do so, only descending into the maddening crowd for the evening show (With our own seating area) or to go to a speciality Restaurant of which their are several. All around 55,– pounds a person without drinks)

The small buffet on Sky Sun Deck. It is not very big (it only has to serve about 200 guests max)., but comes with its own 3 cooks and no waiting line. Several butlers ensure that your drink is at your table before you have even thought about which roll to select.

After lunch we had something special coming. Last night we spoke to the table next to us and the couple told us they were especially on board to see their small grand daughter dancing. It turned out that MSC has an arrangement with one or more English dancing schools, who get a discounted cabin fare, can bring their own school on board and are then allowed to perform for 45 minutes in the show lounge. Good business as with each child/dancer, a whole whole extended family comes with them.  So we decided to go.

The show was called “Celebrate” and was of very high quality for an age group of dancers between 11 and 17 years old.

We were very  pleasantly surprised at the quality and also the stamina of all the dancers. There was certainly professional potential there. As a matter of fact one of the professional cast on board, came from one of the dance schools that had performed on board in the past. The Auditorium was filled to capacity and at the end a standing ovation was their rightful thank you.

Then it was time for getting the suitcases packed as they had to be out by midnight but also we have to be out of the cabin by 07.30. As that was the official disembarkation time for the Yacht Club. But breakfast is open until 08.30, so were are going first as we have a 5 hours drive coming, on busy roads. Expected weather tomorrow: sunny, 26 oC / 79oF  and as it is a saturday, their will be a lot of weekend traffic.  My final blog, review and verdict about the cruise, will be on Sunday evening, or Monday morning.

2026 May 26; Cherbourg, France.

May 27, 2026 / / 1 Comment

And so started our first day on board the MSC Virtuosa. We had ordered breakfast in the cabin which was delivered by our own Cabin Steward. He had to apologize as there was no magarine on board, so we had to have butter. But we think it has more to do with the fact that all the Stores and Provisions that came on board yesterday had not all been sorted out yet.  I wonder how many cabin breakfasts are ordered if there arel 6000+ guests on board. We think it must be considerable as there were mistakes in our order. So a rush job. A cheese plate is quite different from a meat plate. It is not the same color so you really can not miss the plate. I had also sent up a copy of one of  Holland America books to Captain Lefering as we had sailed together in the grey mists of time with Holland America. At lunch time a nice thank you note came back and with it a little bag with chocolates from the large store on board. These 5 day cruises are very intense for a cruise ship captain so I was not expecting that there would be time for a chat.

The sea side of the terminal which you normally do not see. But the ship is so big that it takes up the whole pier. The black oblong box across the little park, is the end of the French nuclear submarine. Le Redoutable.  There are still plans to restore the old gangways seen on the left but nothing has been happening for a long while, and they are in quite a sorry state.

We decided not to go ashore with the heat it is supposed to go up to 32oC, plus the fact that we have been here many a time and have done all the shore excurions. But we had several thousand guests marching ashore to invade Cherbourg, so we would not be missed. The town had their shuttlebus system ready and they must be used to mega liners visiting as instead of the regular size buses they used bendy-busses, so double the size but still with only one driver. I ran ashore quickly to look in the maritime bookshop but there was nothing new for me. They were doing a good business with selling Titantic – Revell plastic kit models.  They had about 8 different kits for sale, but in the book department there was only a new book out about Le Redoutable, the french submarine which sits in a dry dock basin as a museum next to the cruise terminal.  On the way back I overheard one of the French shuttle bus drivers complaining to the security guard about his guests on the bus. It seems that the whole bus had filled up with black guests and they had started a sing-a-long which was not in line with this french ideas of culture. I would have loved to have heard it  as normally the harmonizing is incredible. When we were last here, there was a sole security guard “protecting” the door from the museum side to the terminal side and was checking ids . She had now been replaced by a single male guard with a gun, who was checking nothing. I just wonder how many passengers a ship has to bring in, before a security guard gets upgraded with a pistol ? Up to 2000 no gun? 3000 – 6000 a hand gun ? over 6000 a machine gun ??. Guiding these large number of guests back on board, was too much for the local staff and hence the ship provided crew to stand in the terminal, to push the flow, to one of the 2 gangways or if needed to the lift. Also inside at the security check when entering the ship, the regular security guards, there seem to be about 30 of them, had help from housekeeping. That is all extra staff that then is not used to provide service to the guests. So we are already figuring out that all the focus is on selling stuff, restaurants, bars and shops and beyond that, you need to be in the Yacht Club to get some personal service.

Entrance to the chocolate shop and factory Jean Philippe..

So we went into the ship, to see what it was like with most guests gone ashore. Well most venues were closed for lunch, with only one general restaurant open for lunchtime and some of the – to pay for- other food outlets opening up in the course of the afternoon when most guests were returning. What was open was the chocolate shop and cafe.  And that brings me to the first main difference with other mega liners as this ship has a large, very large, choclatier shop (and chocolate factory)  on board with cafe area for ordering and enjoying.

Plenty on display and for sale, and not cheap, but then it is a “branded” product by the world famous Choclatier Jean Philipe. Note: the Stiletto shoe on the counter, can be bought and modified for creating your own choclate selection.

The choice of chocolates is very large and most of it seems to be made on board. I counted on this port morning, when all was quiet, at least 10 attendants in function so it must be a large happening. And also a very succesful happening. One thing that intrigued us was that you can order a chocolate shoe (like a high heeled stiletto), select the color of chocolate you want to have it made from, then they poor the shoe and then you can have it filled up with your selection of “bons-bons” as we call it. I did not look at the price but it looked like a nice present regardless. Then they also have the ship as  a silhouette in chocolate and a lot of other stuff.

Buy your own ship in chocolate.

From there we walked up and aft to the Lido Restaurant on Deck 16 after the breakfast here finished at 10.30. We walked through it yesterday and the place was a big mayhem with so many children milling around with special focus on the pizza outlets. I was not amazed that there is no Ice Cream stand in the place; imagine the horror if a 1000 or so childeren descending on that outlet, not counting the adults.

With so many guests being and staying in the Lido for a prolonged breakfast, the staff has barely an hour to clean up and to have lunch themselves. Before lunch starts at 12.00 hrs.

The setup is the same as on any other ship, with 2 identical line ups on the port and starboard side and with sufficient beverage and tea stations. On port days it can handle the crowds without much of an issue but on sea days it is cramped, even with it being such a big ship. It does not call for a relaxed experience but is similar to Holland America and Celebrity during Thanksgiving cruises, when all the families decide to go for lunch at the same time. But here they have that every day.

The crepe and gelati station on Deck 6 in the main parade. The prices are around 7 pounds a cup.

For those who want a free icecream, you have to go to a sit-down restaurant. There is ice cream in the outside to the pool bars or you can go to the Crepe & Gelati outlet on Deck 6.  But that is not free of charge.  Prices on board are in English as the ship is homeporting in the UK and a soft ice cornet in the pool area is 3.80 pounds. (We pay 3,– on the beach in our home town, so the price is not that outrageous)

For lunch we returned to the Yachtclub as at least we get personal service there. The menu’s are the same as in all price included restaurants (Menueto, Symphony and Bolero) but In the YachtClub the dishes have been tarted up a little bit with more attention to detail.

This is the Yacht Club day lounge, seen from the Dining room level. Panoramic windows offer a magnificent view and good service does the rest.

The show tonight was a magician so we decided to skip him and walk through the ship after dinner. Her ladyship wanted to inspect the handbags. She only has 100 of them and is missing a small blue evening one that can hold her phone, so we are on a mission. I wanted to see  the ceiling again as it changes twice a day and the 2nd time is at 21.10. (This time co-incides with most guests coming either out of the show or out of dinner). I was not disappointed and with loud sound effects the ceiling changed from fishes in the ocean to thousands of small photos. The handbags were either too big, too small, the wrong model or the wrong color………. or much too expensive and thus my bank account could take a deep sigh of relief.  When looking around, the logo shop, the liquor shop and the parfume shop were doing good business but the expensive shops were empty.

A picture ceiling where the colors keeps changing.

Another bar that makes a great impression on the kids on board is the Robot Bar or better called the “The Starship Club”. Here you can order a drink, cocktail or other mix; your name goes on the TV monitor so you can follow the progress of the drink being mixed. Quite nifty but it is a novelty and the process is quite slow. Hence on the side there is also a regular bar, for “quick orders”. If you order via the robot, you get your glass in a small box honoring the occasion. The staff is quite busy with stopping “little” johnny’s and not so “little” johnny’s from trying to touch the robot and the other equipment. I do not think it is a big money spinner but certainly a nifty gadget and focus point.

The Robot Bar, called the Starship Club.

Apart from entertainment in the lounge, there is also non stop action in the Virtuosa Bar, next to the chocolate shop on deck 6, it has a band in the evening and lots of quizzes during day time.Straight above on Deck 7 there is a similar space called  the TV studio and Bar, also for quizzes and Disco.

This is the Carousel Lounge. Which is during the day time using its LED banners to promote Wellness, which is located on deck 7 above the show lounge.

Then at the stern of the ship, the end of Deck 7, there is “Caroussel” Lounge. This is a 270o circular theatre for special shows such as acrobatics and related. A sort of Cirque due Soleil but then on a smaller scale. This is a pay-for lounge and a ticket sets you back 18 pounds.

Finally there is the Horizon Ampitheatre, a half circle open space on deck 16 at the stern, which is during day time a regular outdoor space but can be used in the evenings for performances. So far I have not seen anything advertised.

And the guests kept marching on. This was at 22.30 hrs.

While walking around, there was a never ending flow of guests, on the way from one place to the other and now all the pay-for venues on Deck 7  (steak house, pub, sushi, etc.etc.) were full.  We decided to retreat to the cabin as her ladyship wants to go to the Aurea Spa tomorrow, and wants to go fairly early, to see if we can beat the crowds. The use of the regular Wellness facilities are included in the Yacht Club price everyday, but no treatments.

Here a better photo from our cabin, in the Royal Suite Class. The machine on the left is an Nesspresso machine and Still and Sparkling water is delivered daily, as is a complimentary fridge with soft drinks and beer. But you only get one small box of Pringles and some nuts free for the whole cruise. Not pictured, but present is a kettle for the British for their cup of tea in the morning. (Photo courtesy MSC Cruises)

Tomorrow we are in Zeebrugge, for Bruges. Weather is expected to be sunny again but now with temperatures of 18oC / 65o F in the morning and rising by about 6 to 7o celcius during the day. Inland in Bruges is will be somewhat warmer. If one does not buy a tour (*) then there is the complimentary shuttlebus to the Gate from where you can take the local coastal tram or try to get a taxi, or pay 11 pounds for a transfer from the ship to Blankenberg. (With Cunard and other more upscale company’s this shuttle is included. So I had hoped that MSC would extend that also to their Yachtclub people but no such luck)

(*) We have now found out that sometimes you can get the tours with a big discount if they have not sold out. One came down from 150 pounds pre cruise to 59 poundson the day,  so if you are NOT that bothered, have a little gamble on sold out/not sold out and save yourself a considerable amount of money.

The lay-out of the cabin with a floor space of 307 square feet. In some of these cabins, the sofa can be turned into an extra 2 beds, but then 2 extra wardrobes are added which takes space away from the rest of the cabin. The two (brown) wardrobes in this diagram, one for hanging, one for laying, offer enough space for one week but not more. So if you do a longer cruise, you either have to recycle your clothes or rotate from the suitcase.

 

 

Day 05; 19 April 2026, At sea.

April 20, 2026 / / 2 Comments

So today we had a relaxing day at sea, while on our way to St. Malo. The distance is just too long to do it during an overnight and too short to run at a normal speed. So the ship is trundling along at 11 knots. This is just above minimum stabelizer speed of 10 knots and thus we had a comfortable ride although there was a long running swell from the West. Wind from the North East made it a bit chilly when on the windy side (starboard) of the ship and thus we saw very few guests walking around the decks. With this speed the ship is running on 2 engines, which together have enought output to make a speed of 16 knots. When the Rotterdam VI came into service in 1997, the company opted for one fast ship in the fleet, which could do 25 knots and thus visit more ports on a long cruise in the same time span. Fuel prices put a quick stop to that idea but the Borealis is still capable of doing that 25 knots, if needed.

Suuny but windy day on the ship. This photo was taken on the back of deck 8, where the 2nd pool used to be. The rim is still there but the centre has now been reformed in a sort of rock garden with a small stream running through it. The ring in the foreground is the entertainer stand.

When I was on board the Rotterdam VI, (Captain Bas van Dreumel) for a Fleet Master visit and Covid broke out, the ship was in lay-out “awaiting the end of Covid, which expected in about 14 days” in Puerto Vallarta. Then the challenges with the ms Zaandam cruise occured and the ship was sent to meet the Zaandam to provide extra medical care. Then  we put 4 engines on line (engine 5 was under maintenance) and raced with 23.5 knots towards the Zaandam. Those exploits are documents in the blog archive on this website. And I think that was the last time an attempt with the ship was made to run full out. I asked the first captain of the Borealis about it in 2023, when we went for the 3 day maiden voyage, if they had tried it out during the post lay-up trials and he said that chief engineer almost had a heart attack when it was discussed. But now with fuel costs and related, 25 knots is a dream (or nightmare) from the past. And so far during this cruise the ship has not gone faster then 15 knots, to maintain the schedule and that is nowadays for most cruise ships the same. Even to such an extent that one sees all sort of unusual bow forms appearing on the ships, all designed to have an optimum fuel consumption at lower and average cruising speeds.

Two modern cruise ships bow examples. An MSC mega liner on the top photo and the Icon of the seas (RCI) at the bottom. These bows are to give maximum fuel reduction at a certain average speed and a a comfortable ride when ploughing through bad weather.

We found out yesterday that the formal night (although advised on the website when booking, so one could plan their cruise) had been changed from todays sea day, to tomorrows port day (with last tender to the ship at 1900 hrs.) That caused a lot of confusion and quite some irritation as formals are normally on a sea day. So there is time to dress up, a special effort can be made to  enjoy cocktails and a have a nice stylish evening. Now people, if they want to participate, have to rush back from shore and get ready at the last minute. It will be interesting to see who many fail tomorrow to adhere to the dress code. We tried to find out why the change had been made but none of the crew knew anything than apart from “Operational Reasons”. It looks like  this ships management does not operate much transparancy with their teams, so that they can give a meaningfull answer to the guests. We are having dinner with the Hotel Director tomorrow and if I sit next to her, I will ask, as it does not make sense to me at all.

We opted for a quiet day just to see what was going on in the ship. By 10 am. the lounges were full as everybody vacated their cabins to let the stewardess do their jobs and with all the extra furniture added recently, there was ample space for everybody to sit and partake in what was going on. To my amazement, the Crows nest / Observatory had only 1/3 of the seats occupied. Maybe looking at the sea was not as exciting as going to other activies, who knows. This is day 5 of the cruise and the first time that Bingo popped up. It seems that the British public is much more interested in the daily “pub quiz” than in Bingo. (Although Bingo is quite popular in the larger cities in the UK) When it is time for “The Quiz”, the Morning Light pub, the Sports Bar and the Piano Bar are filled to capacity with eager people to try and win. I never stayed long enough to find out what the first prize is but it is a very popular past time.

The main lounge was open this morning for Church service, conducted by the Cruise Director and his assistant. I have not seen anything publicized about there being a priest, reverend, vicar or something similar on board. The days that on British ships the sunday service was conducted by the Captain (as being the on board representative of the British Monarch who is the head of the Church of England) are long gone. Overhere with a Norwegian Captain it would a bit odd anyway. Then the lounge closed again and the lectures had to take place in the Auditorium. Today’s topics were “How to build a Castle” and where “Cognac and Armagnac” was coming from. So the lighting technicians had time to work again although today there were signs outside saying that the lounge was closed due to rehearsals.

Then we went for lunch and opted for a shared table, same as we did during the first sea day. Today the main topics were a. what went wrong with the shuttle service yesterday and b. the reduction in wheel chairs, scooters and rollators we see on board. The latter might take some explanation as this is fairly new. For years the scooters, electric wheelchairs, rollators and related came on board in and abundance of numbers and sizes, and not only from guests who had booked handicapped cabins. Hence these mobility aids were left in the hallways overnight, causing a danger during an emergency as they blocked the emergency routes. Then the company’s tried to alleviate this by asking the guests when booking if they had a mobility add, and the size (so it fitted through the cabin door)  and that it had to be kept in the cabin. A lot of guests where not exactly truthful in their admissions and thus the problem continued to exist. Then Port State Inspectors turned their attention to it, and now the rule is, the mobility device has to be able to go into the cabin and stay there during the night. If not possible then you are not allowed to bring it on board. And yes, now over the whole cruise industry, guests are being refused on board, during embarkation, if the mobility device was not pre-registered and does not fit in the cabin. Hence the numbers of scooters and very wide electric wheel chairs, seen on board has reduced considerably.

Another topic that popped up was the increase in single cabins. (If you follow Holland America Line, then you will have noticed an announcement recently, that HAL is going to reconfigure a number of cabins on each ship to single occupancy) There is a large increase in single travellers, I think mainly to do, with the divorce rate among the baby boomers ,who have now time to travel, being higher than the generation before who did not, or were not allowed to divorce. The industry has been so far a bit ambivalent about single travellers, who needed to occupy a regular stateroom, marketed for 2 people. And are then charged anyways from 150% to the regular full price. The lack of single cabins on board had to do with the cost of building them as a single cabin needs the same “pipe” facilities as a standard double occupancy cabin. That price lays around $50.000 per cabin during  the newbuild. So although a single cabin can be made smaller, the newbuild price does not come down very much. Hence a lack of interest in cruise company’s to focus on single cabins. But now there is a new trend building momentum, of more and more single travellers, with funds to pay for single cabins. Thus the company’s are now looking into meeting them half way, making the cabins smaller, so more single cabins fit in the same section of deck and then not having to charge 150% or 200% to the single traveller but a more reasonable fare. How this is going to work out in the future nobody knows but it was interesting to talk about it, as one couple at the table, where planning to contine cruising, if one of them passed away. Main concern was, if the wardrobes would stay of a reasonable size, so that single cabins were also of interest during a longer cruise.

Future cruise desk. There is another one at this side but they now only have one person instead of 2. Fred Olsen does not offer much discount or extra’s anymore for booking onboard, so less and less guest book onboard. And thus they have reduced the FCC to one. Serving mainly those who have a hard time dealing with on line booking.

After lunch we decided to go for a walk, to convince ourselves that we could walk off our “built up” calories and to make room for more during the evening. As tonight there were extra appetizers to enjoy as we were going to the repeater party. With Fred Olsen it is called The Oceans Cocktail Party, as the repeat club is called “The Oceans Club”. They have Diamond Elite, Platimum, Gold and Silver levels. As we have done through the years several short cruises, we have now reached Silver level, more than 50 days……………. so party time. We have sailed on the Black Prince, where Fred started its modern cruising, then the Black Watch (ex Royal Viking), then the Balmoral (ex Crown Cruise Lines), followed now by Borealis and Bolette. Everytime mainly to see the ship and how it operated. The party started at 17.00 hrs. so we showed up at 17.15 to let the build up of early & eager free drinks persuers flow in. We had to run the gauntlet again, as the whole ships staff were lined up again in the entrance. This would have been ideal to have had this party in formal set up, but “for operational reasons” all the officers were in regular day uniform. Once the party started they were all gone and we never saw them again. One would think, if they have to be there anyway, then why not stay and do a bit of socializing.  Even the Hotel Director was gone and it is her department.

The Captain reading out the “numbers” for this party, with how many in each repeater day group. Cruise consultant on the side waiting to start her presentation.

The person in charge of administering the program is the Future Sales Consultant, a Lady called Nanomi from the Philippines. She invited the Captain to say some wise words (giving the repeater numbers for this cruise) acknowledging the top days on board, a couple with having 1200+ days. They received flowers and a bottle of champagne and then she showed how Fred Olsen had made their latest advertisement series. What I liked was that she then did not leave, as most of the staff with other company’s do, but she invited guests on the dance floor (the resident guitarist was providing music) and then danced with a large number of single ladies…………… so they were happy and another cruise sold. Compliments as I never have seen that dedication before.

Our future cruise consultant on the dance floor doing a sort of line dance with a gaggle of Ladies.

After the party we had to some time left before we had dinner at 19.00 hrs. in the Colours and Tastes restaurant, so we tried to find our sofar elusive inhouse pianist who we had seen playing at the Chef’s Table but who had eluded us thusfar in any of the public rooms.  We caught him playing in the Morning Light Pub between 1800 hrs. and 18.45. hours providing the sole spot of entertainment in the ship as first sitting was in the diningroom and 2nd sitting getting ready. (The next wave of entertainment started at 1900 hrs. with something going on in all the lounges) It is worthwhile for Fred Olsen to do this, as nearly all British guests go for cocktails and order a drink (or two) instead of what one sometimes see, is that the lounge is full of”concert attendee’s” and not a single drink insight.

The forward side of the Colours and Taste Restaurant.

The Borealis has one speciality restaurant, the Colours and Tastes, located on Deck 4 midships, where Holland America used to have the Marco Polo which later was changed to the Pinnacle Restaurant. When the ship was taken over and came back in service in 2022, they kept the restaurant as is, but now it has seen a refit, and is a lot les atmospheric but also a lot barer bulkheads, also tables and carpets are a lot lighter. We did not like the fact that the windows into the corridor has been changed from framed in 3 partitions with dark wood to a single wide window, that made it look as if the diners were part of an establishment in a certain area of Amsterdam, known for showing off the wares for having a good time.  Also the lack of table cloths did not do it much good, This restaurant has a cover charge of 20.00 pounds a person so a table cloth could be expected instead of a marble colored formica top.

The Italian Menu. Ample choice and very well prepared.

The menu rotates here every 4 days, from Meat Grill, Italian (2 menus) and Far East. This cruise there was only option 1 and 2 going so we went for Italian. Which was very good with attentive service provided by Adi Setiayo from Bali and overseen by the Maitre from India. The latter remembered me from our last cruise, so one way or the other I must have made in impression.

All the Holland America paintings have been removed and replace by the modern Olsen House style. One left over, are these plates who used to be in display outside the Lido midships bar.

We decided to forgo the comedian again and went for a quick round, around the ship and then decided to turn in early as I wanted to work on the blog, as there will be little time tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are in ST. Malo which is a tender port as the tidal difference is about 12 feet or 4 meters. Then a tender platform is much easier to get on and off from, than a steep gangway.  We are expected to start tender service around 08.30 in the morning. We have tickets for 11 am. Weather is supposed to be sunny but windy with temperatures around 14 – 15oC or 59oF. out of the wind.

Day 02; Pauillac for Bordeaux, France.

April 17, 2026 / / 7 Comments

At 07.00 we arrived at Pauillac. The Captain had explained last night that he had never been here but that did not really matter as it was thick fog so he could not see anything anyway. The town is located in the estuary of the river Gironde and the river is still very wide and deep here. So nearly any sort of ship can dock as the length of the berth is 300 meters plus. I came by here the last time in 2010 with the ms Prinsendam but we went up the river all the way to Bordeaux. The Prinsendam could do this as her funnel was lower than the clearance height of the bridge just outside Bordeaux and the length of the ship was just short enough to swing around in the river at high tide. According to the french pilot it “izzzze not possible to zwing on ze low tide az-ze the zhippe will go bumpe”. He spoke english with a distinct french pronounciation. Luckily here at the much wider part of the river, the chance of going “bumpe” is a lot less and thus the good ship Borealis docked without any hiccups.

A left over from the Holland America Line days. Terracotta soldiers. I have no idea why Fred Olsen kept them, but it still looks nice.

We are docked about a 1 mile down river from the town of Pauillac at a rather new berth, so I assume it was put in by the authorities to entice large cruise ships to visit, and then for the guests to go by coach to Bordeaux. There is a smaller dock, more of a breakwater to protect the local marine just outside the town, and that was used by river boats today. We saw their guests lateron marching accross to the road to go and visit a local winery.

A change from HAL days. The whole Explorer Lounge was changed directly after take over, into a chinese tea room and Garden Room. See here the garden side. As nearly all British are wild about gardening , this works very well on this ship even if not expected on a cruise ship. In the morning this place is really full and many guests are examining the gardening books laid out on the large center table.

And that is what Pauillac is all about. Wine, wine, wine. The town itself has over 20 wineries and estates and the local Office du Tourism, is nearly completely dedicated to selling wine and accessories such as bottle openers, which are available in a dizzying variation of designs. Due to the mile travel distance Fred Olsen had laid on a 15 minute shuttle service; first stopping at the train station for those who wainted to take the train to Bordeaux and then at the Tourist office for those who wanted to inspect downtown. With taking the train came the advise,  that as it was a branch line, the service was not very frequent and ” sometimes did not go at all”. Luckily in this case not a big problem as we are here for 2 days so everybody can make it back even when delayed by a train “that did not go. The shuttle service also ran through the night, albeit with a lower frequency but I think not many will have gone ashore during the night as the nightlife here in Pauillac only seems to consist of a Pizzaria staying open past midnight.

The Boulevard of Pauillac following the rivers shore line. As one can see it is not the most exciting place and the road is a main district road which can be very busy. But the place is all about wine and not about regular shopping or night life.

We decided to go ashore around 11.00 once the rush at the shuttlebus was over. The ship was conducting a General drill and we were treated to announcements over the General P.A system. This is understandable for drills but the ship does it for nearly everything. Arrival announcements in the cabin, Cruise directors updates in the cabin, gangway movements due to the tides etc. Luckily this captain is not big on announcements but Fred Olsen has another Norwegian captain who likes making announcements and standard comes into the cabin just before departure. If that is in mid afternoon he upsets those having an afternoon nap. Not for a short announcement but with reading out half of the Berlitz Guide write up for the next port. And that all with a grating Norwegian “Hu-de-Buh” accent. It can really spoil your afternoon nap. Announcements can be made, like it was done during Holland America Line times, over the tv on the “View from the Bridge” channel, but this is not used here and everything comes into the cabin. Maybe appreciated by all the hearing aid owners on board but not by me, I like my piece and quiet when in the cabin. Well that was my rant for the day.

Another shot of the boulevard of Pauillac. How a British telephone box ended up here, I do not know but there was no telephone inside. Maybe once in the past it had a direct line to the UK, especially for British home sick tourists. Who will ever know how it came to end up so far into the French Country side.

Company’s are nowadays required to make regular announcements to keep the guests informed and knowing the ship intimatelly, I could follow the proceedings quite well. Fire on B deck with the assembly of the teams outside the Engine Room meant that the fire was in the cold room/ store room area as the assembly station always has to be 2 vertical sections (e.g. 2 firescreen doors sections) away from the fire. The area of the fire is called the HOT zone, the first area away, the WORK zone (only people in breathing apparatus allowed) and the 3rd zone is called the SAFE zone, where everybody is allowed to assemble and support the teams who are going to tackle the fire.

The shuttle service was extremely well organised with English speaking traffic controllers at both ends of the route and the shuttle service ran on its 15 minute cycle, even during French Lunch time when it is not uncommon for a shuttle service to be completely shut down for an hour. By the time we arrived at the Tourist office and the end of the downtown boulevard, most of the town had gone for lunch so shops and all related were closed. The cafe’s on the boulevard were all open and were doing a roaring trade with about 50% French and the rest English and American customers. Unfortunately the mussles are not in season yet (July to January) otherwise we would have gladly joined in. You can of course find restaurants who serve mussles (frozen) all year around but this is sort of frowned upon by many french restaurants.

This is the main historic highlight of the town, the church of Saint Martin, rebuilt in 1826. They charge 5,– Euro admission but unless you are really into churches, not the most exciting place to visit.

So we walked the front streets and the back streets and did not see a single (french) soul. The church of Saint-Martin is a bit of a strange happening as it was a rebuild of a previous church. This one was razed down when it became too small and then by using materials from another church down the road, a new church was cobbled together in mid 19th. century Greek Style. It resulted in a very austere design and definatelly did not have the “wow factor”. But because of living in England we are spoiled anyway as even the local church in our local back garden is from the 12th. century with all the stories to tell that come with it’s history. Then her ladyship wished to inspect the local supermarket to see if the prices were similar to those in England. They were. Petrol prices were higher than in the UK but that had mainly to do with the amount of tax levied on the basic petrol price by the French Government. For the rest the prices were much higher than recently, courtesy of Ball-room Johnny and his activities in the Middle East.

I could not resist this photo. It seems that the local authorities are really concerned that somebody would steal heir bottle bank, so they put a fence in front of it. But it was still used.

By 14.30 hrs. we were back on board and decided to test the pizza’s in the Fresco restaurant. That was a resounding success with the caveat that the free wine and beer for lunch does not extend to outside eateries on board. So I have to find out how it works for the small restaurant at the hamburger bar starboard forward of the Inside pool as it is inside.  Somehow it does not make sense but we do not really care whether it is free or not. How much free “chateau plonk” and Heineken beer can you drink anyway ??.

The outdoor “All Fresco” sitting area for the Pizza place. I like the layout much better than with Holland America as it looked a lot less gloomy.

Then it was time to upload the blog and to get ready for cocktails at 19,00 hrs. For tonight we selected the Piano Bar on deck 5 with the Resident Piano Man Paul Burton. He has been with Fred Olsen for a very long time and a firm favourite of the guests. Or as he says himself, I am very popular with guests, waiting / killing time, before going to dinner. He prefers to play music, at least in the early evening, of composers long dead, and also tells then something of the background of these old songs. So this evening he dissected two songs from the movie Casablanca (Humphry Bogart and Ingrid Bergman) and I found out that the music in this movie was on average much older than the movie itself. It was just repackaged for that movie. One is never too old to learn something new. So he promised to continue to reveal  more of this useless and irrelevant information during the course of this cruise.

Dinner options for the Lido buffet evening meal. It is a buffet line, but not much self service as the cooks are handling the plates and also the tongs for rolls etc. It all helps to prevent Noro-virus from spreading.

Dinner was of the regular good standard and as expected it was a much less hectic affair tonight. Guests where not marching in en-masse when the doors opened and I think quite a few went ” for casual” to the Lido restaurant, called “The View” here on the Borealis. Dress code was casual today and indeed a lot of T-shirts were observed but many gentlemen, including Yours Truly, still opted to wear a jacket or a more stylish tropical shirt.

The show tonight were the 4 singers, mentioned before. We are now all confused as the ship gave the impression that they had just boarded but tonight we found out that they had been at sea already for nearly 6 months. What is nice with Fred Olsen is, is that the company does not enforce standarization that much so all the ships are equal in entertainment quality with the program strictly controlled by a manager in the office. Hence the 4 singers could sing tonight their own favourites and as we have learned through the years, if you let them sing their own favourites, songs that work the best for their type of voice, then you always get a very good show. Tonight was no different.

Tomorrow is our 2nd day in Pauillac with more tours to Bordeaux and the surrounding country side. Most tours are half day but there are 2 tours of 7 and 8 hours long, giving more time in Bordeaux. Temperatures are expected to go up a bit, sunny with a maximum of 23oC / 74oF here on the river; so Bordeaux. more inland, will be a few degrees higher.

2026 Feb 19; Barcelona, going home and Verdict.

February 22, 2026 / / 8 Comments

By 05.45 hrs. some 20 sleepy guests had assembled in the lounge and were by 06.15 on the coach to the airport. The check-in was already open so we could flow straight through. Although early in the morning, Bacelona airport was already very full, with early flights going to the USA and Far East via various hubs in Spain or Europe. That was maybe the reason why we were taken so early to the airport as our flight was not until 11.10 hrs.   But all went well, and flying via Amsterdam brought us back to England by 17.00 Hrs.

The verdict.

This was a very nice cruise on a beautiful ship (if Nordic laid-back is your taste) and with very good service. The weather was not that great but then we do not go on a cruise for sunny weather or to bake in the sun.

The organisation for pre boarding and leaving the ship also went very well, if you keep an eye on the Italian penchant for making everything chaotic.

The drinks package of $ 25,– a person a day, was well worth having, if you enjoy cocktails and drinks in the evening. Wine, Beer and soft drinks are included with lunch and dinner.

There is only one announcement a day, the arrival announcement. For the rest is all quiet, except that on sea days the Captain seems to do a noon time “Voice from the Bridge” announcement. There is all day, soft classical music wafting through the public area’s. Whoever choose the music, did a good job as it was never irritating.

The ship has self service laundry’s on each deck and they are free. They come with Iron Board, a settee and a TV for when you get tired of looking at the the washing machine program. Much appreciated by myself as I always need an ironing board for my shirts after travelling. (Even after having done a training class on U-tube……………….)

There is the Viking Society for repeat guests but there are no medals or tiered levels based on days sailed. You simply get more discount if you sail more. They do throw a party each cruise and it comes with a short show by the Cast.

The Glare, testing friendliness. I do this every cruise, as standard. Looking each officer and crewmember straight in the eye when passing by, with a sort of open eye stare and observe the reaction. The crew  all scored 100%,; all cheerful and friendly. And looking at their body language it seemed to be a happy crew.  Officers were less; only very helpful and friendly when approached but not always when passing by or just being around in general. That gives a total score of 80%.

I did not see any engineers this cruise but the deck department did not always make the cut and also Front desk was lacking. Not when at the desk, “all smiles and concerns then”, but when they walked by.  Special compliments to General Manager Emma Harking from England. So far the most active and the most omni-present Hotel Manager I have seen on our last 10 cruises.

The food was without exception presented and cooked to a very high standard, I just found that for the quality of the cruise and standard the choices were a bit limited in the World Café for the rest nothing what so ever to remark.

So do we recommend Viking? Please read the daily blog and if you want to have a laid-back cruise with good food, nice crew and very little challenges, then yes.   This was a 7 day cruise and the ticket price included flights from our preferred local airport in England.

We had booked the lowest standard cabin, which is still an outside cabin with balcony, as we did not have any idea about what Viking was all about.  Total cost came to £5,468.00 UK pounds, or 4567 in euros or 5490 in US dollars. That gives a British per diem, per person of  290 pounds a day.   AND WE THINK THAT FOR THE SERVICE PROVIDED, WHICH HOVERS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 5* AND 6*, IT IS VERY GOOD.

So we have booked another cruise , on the Viking Polaris in 2028 with what Viking calls The Northwest Passsage but it is more of poking the nose in (Baffin Bay) and then going back again. That is a 13 day cruise from Nuuk in Greenland and as it is a sort of Expedition ship and with difficult flights and a higher cabin catagory, a lot more expensive. But one only lives once…………… and thus we do it while we still can.

Our next cruise is in April, when we do a 5 day return to the ms Borealis (ex Rotterdam VI of Holland America) as My Lord And Master wants to see the latest upgrades they have made. It looks like that Fred Olsen has now completed / restored all what Holland America had but some of it went sort of by the way side after Covid.

I hope you will join us then.

 

2026 Feb. 18, Day 07 Barcelona Day 1, Spain.

February 22, 2026 / / 1 Comment

This morning we docked in Barcelona and were assigned Berth B, while the Costa Tuscani was at Berth D. Between 2010 and 2020 Barcelona heavily invested in new and state of the art cruise terminals which  now run from A to H  and then there are still the 3 small (old) ones at the World Trade Center. Unfortunately the mood in Barcelona has turned against the very large influx of cruise visitors and now there is the plan to demolish 2 of them again.

Cruise terminals in Barcalona

How that will work with nbr. H, I do not know as that one seems to have been built with MSC investments so their very big ships can dock there.  I do somewhat understand the concern of the Barcelonan’s as with all 8 big terminals full: with on average 2000+ guests on board, there are at least 16000 extra people milling around in downtown (and most of them, marching, during some moment of the day up and down the  Las Ramblas If it is a change over port day, then the approaches to the airport are clogged up with tour busses.  So a definite challenge to for the City Fathers, City Mothers and City Persons, (I am very inclusive…. to find a good balance between the needed revenue a large chunk of money for the Gaudi Church (La Sagrade Familia) and other buildings comes from the cruise industry) and still protecting the locals way of life in down town.

Photo of the Atrium taken from deck 3 down to the grand piano (Steinway size B) This is were we will wait tomorrow for the coach to the airport.

We have been to Barcelona many a time, so we decided to stay on board. Also because we have to pack in the afternoon,  we had booked a speciality restaurant booking in the evening, and we have a  coach connection to the airport at 05.45 tomorrow morning. And we were far from the earliest casualties as some guests were leaving at 02.45 in the morning.

The stern of the Viking Saturn. On top the Norwegian flag, as Viking is the last cruise company to have Norwegian registration which must be costly. Under the flag, the “Infinity pool water catcher box” under the deck 7 pool. At the water line, the “duckfoot” an extension with a dual purpose, it improves stability as it increases the surface size of the ship and also it inproves fuel economy as it acts as a “spoiler”, which you often see at the back of sports cars. (Photo courtesy, somewhere on the internet)

But it gave me the chance to walk the ship from top to bottom and to have a very good look at the interior. The outside of the ship is not so much different from the current design of other cruises ships, with a dumpy funnel, a macrodome, balconies all around the superstructure and the public rooms on the lower and the top decks with the majority of the cabins in between. But the inside design of the ship (and those of the other 12 Viking ships as they are all similar) varies considerably from other cruise company’s.

What I think is very cool is the gangway button in the lifts. When you do not know where the gangway is, you just push the button (above deck 8) and it goes to the right deck. I wish all ships would have that.

If the theme of the mega liners of Carnival, RCC,NCL and Celebrity is noise and action, here the theme is Nordic Tranquility. That might not be enjoyed by everybody but the fact that Viking is able to keep churning out a new ship each year (and this year even 2 with LNG propulsion) means that there are more than enough people who do like it.

The deck display next to each lift. Good and easy to read. The  only irritating thing is, it rotates with the gangway deck indication. So you have to wait until it comes around again.

This success is due to 3 things: smaller ships (40 – 60.000 tons is small nowadays), very good and balanced service and an harmonious interior that is consistent through the whole ship.  The ships must have been designed by a team that was given a concise briefing, did their job, and then the results were checked, to see if the briefing was followed. The President, Mr. Torstein Hagen comes from a maritime background and does therefore understand that a ship has to remain a ship, and that the end result should still be a ship and not a coorporate and ego-tripping muddle of Sr.Vice Presidents. And I think that has worked very well on these ships.

This is Deck 2 portside Atrium with sitting areas and game tables, both analog and digital.

The centre of the ships is “The Atrium” but is also called “The Living Room”.  (Saga Cruises has a similar concept).  It is mainly a lounge to sit and relax, especially on level 3. There is no library but there are bookcases full  (with very high quality books) in every corner and on every level. As well as in other lounges like the Explorers Lounge (crowsnest) on deck 7& 8). Game corners  everywhere integrated as a part of the overall concept. And the game corners were very busy, especially with guests travelling together and who enjoyed time together before the afternoon tour or after the morning tour.

Portside Forward Atrium Corner, deck 2. “Viking Museum”.

Then there is a bit of Nordic history (up and until the early 19th. century Sweden and Norway were one country) on level 2. Here is also the Future Cruise Specialist, whose office is hiding behind a very nice Viking Saturn model. Look for the model and you know where it is. The most lively part of it all is on deck 1. Here is Guest services located, but it has no counter. No, there are 6 desks with attendants (number in use depending on expected traffic during the day) so a discussion can take place in a more intimate and professional setting, instead of being “processed” at a long counter with multiple  slots.

Two of the six front desks. These two are in use on very busy days,

Shore excursion has a small stand there, for meet & greet, but for more indepth issues they take you to one of the Guest Services desks.  Diagonally opposite is the Bar, a combination of a coffee and cake stand and a regular bar.  I think it is located in this corner to be next to the Gangway, so guests can pick up a coffee before going off the ship or have a drink when coming back after an exhausting tour.  Then late afternoon it changes more and more into a bar and there are always 20 – 30 guests present. By 18.00 hrs. the cocktail crowd starts gathering before dinner, for cocktails and to listen to the Resident Pianist or the Classical duo. (The latter alternate between the Livingroom and the Explorers lounge)

The bar in the Atrium. To the left are high chairs & tables for eating your cookies or a lunch time roll. Low chairs and tables are all around the Atirum.

To my amazement it all works here extremely well, there is no noise, just the buzz from polite conversion with a tinkling piano in the background. The fact that the space is 3 decks high has no impact at all on the atmosphere. Where you walk the deck is marble but were you sit it is all carpet and thus no scraping noises and also no echoing noise.

A corner of the “Chefs Table” speciality restaurant.

Behind the Livingroom is on Deck 1, portside is the “Chef’s Table” a speciality restaurant (see further down) with a rotating menu. On the starboard side is Manfredi’s the second speciality restaurant that focusses on Italian Cuisine.  (see write up from some days ago). On the port side there is also the “The Kitchen Table” were there is a separate chefs cooking area and also options to do cooking classes.

The starboard side of “The Restaurant”. As you can see there is art everywhere and the long blueish painting is called “twilight” by Kenneth Blom painted for the ship in 2023.

Then on deck 2, there is the main dining room called “The Restaurant”.. (I think the designers wanted to ensure that a guest would not get confused about its purpose……….) This is horseshoe shaped and runs all the way around the stern. With in the center aft, a table for 14 guests. Indeed the Captains table, although Captains tables are not a regular feature of the Viking program. Normally a Captains table is 10 seats or less, but 14 can work very well, if there are Captain & 3 officers in attendance, you have a host at “each corner” of the round table).  I used to do that in the grey mists of time when on the South Pacific cruises and I resurrected the Captains tables from the old World Cruise days. Officers loved it, much more than having their own table as they knew that the Captain would run the show, keep things under control and would ensure that conversation flowed. (as well as the booze)

The Parfume and gadget shop. There is also a boutique and a jewellery store.

Then going towards the bow, there are the shops, on deck 1 and deck 2 (in my opinion overpriced and with very limited choice) and on deck 2 also the Spa, gym, and beauty salon. This is all very nice but I did not see too many customers. But maybe that was because we did not have any seadays.  On Deck 1 is the show lounge and that is a very clever set up. At each side in the back there is a Cinema and in the evening they pull away the bulkhead with the movie screen and it becomes part of the Show lounge.

The “Star Theatre”. The cinema on the starboard side is open and now part of the Theatre. The port side is still closed as there was a movie in progress.

The sightlines are very good as there are no pillars. (Every show lounge on every ship, can be without pillars, but it depends on how much a company wants to pay. Because a “free view” lounge without deck supports” calls for a heavier steel deck construction and that costs money, but it can be done. The seating rows are benches  and then a row in front of chairs( see the brown pillows in the above photo) and there are small tables in between for drinks. Also that works, unless you have a very – very tall and big person in front of you.  Drinks are served before the show starts from a very nice and large bar in the staircase behind the show lounge. Directly behind the showlounge is the Night Club called Thorshavn.

The Torshavn night club as seen from the entrance. The light stand on the left is fabricated in the shape of trombones. Not original as Holland America has the same one on board on the ss Koningsdam since 2016.

Then you get Deck 7 and 8 (outside deck).  At the bow, is the Explorers Lounge with music in the evenings. The only thing that irritates is  that the constellation display on the wall behind the bar, reflects onto the front windows and thus it is hard to see outside after dusk. But you can solve that by going up one of the 2 glass staircases to Deck 8, where there is no reflection. The music can still be heard as there is a gap with below.

Deck 8, upper level Explorers Lounge. Mainly meant as a quiet study area with lots of books about exploration. Note all the books in the bookcase.They are all real and of high quality.

Deck 8 Explorers, is mainly meant as a quiet place to read or work on the computer. There are nice books and a lot of Nordic heritage on display, including old farm utensils. Above this lounge, on deck 9 outside are games (skittles, ping pong, mini golf) but insulation is very good as I could not hear anything below, although there was a very lively group at the poing pong table with very piercing voices.

The study table at the far right corner has a glass top and doubles up as a historic display case about life in (winterly) Norway.

On the starboard side, deck 7, is a small food outlet (I would call it a small catering hatch that looks after a very small restaurant called  “Mamsens”. This is a Nordic version of breakfast and lunch nibbles based on Nordic specialities. Apart from the waffles, it was a bit too far out of range for our taste interest.

Mamsen is located in the starboard aft part of the explorer’s on Deck 7 and is a very small restaurant.

It was also never very full and the Chinese guests on board where complaining to the chef about why there were no noodles. Somehow they did not grasp the concept, and the chef, a very cheerful lady from Zimbabwe, could not make them understand either.  I listened to  the conversation with great interest, especially when one of the group tried to get into the kitchen to verify if there were indeed no Noodles.  (Maybe “Mamsen” is also a word for noodles in Chinese or Korean ???).

One might expect a “Blond Helga” as cook in a pure Nordic restaurant but here we had a lovely lady from Zimbabwe.  And no, she did not serve noodles.

Behind deck 8 Explorers are cabins and behind on deck 7 Explorers is the winter garden  and then the covered pool. Main focus point of the Winter Garden is “High Tea” in the afternoon. (When the General Manager found out about our experience with “the trolley” from the beginning in the cruise, she was there every afternoon to make sure it did not happen again. On each side of this place are seats and loungers, that Viking calls “The Lanai concept”.

The Wintergarden, a bright and open space.

As a side note, I have never seen a Hotel manager / General Manager so omini-present as this Emma from England. I hope that Viking appreciates it as she was everywhere, where the regular supervisors could not be for a moment. It is always nice to see a hotel manager walking through the diningroom, but he/ she does not need to be there as it is full of supervisors and related. Better to keep an eye on the flow in other areas.  So very Good.

The “ceiling” of the Wintergarden. Nordic pine made to resemble a forest. I wonder if the birds would like it when the Dome is open.

The aft part of Deck 7 has the small “Hamburger Bar”. The product is extremely good but it is a bit limited. Hence guests switch for one lunch between the two venues as the Lido, called the “The World Cafe”, is just  behind it. Again very good food but I had expected a few more options to choose from. There is a very small asian outlet, which is extremely good (Asian Chef). Then there are the regular counters, topped off with a nice ice cream stand.

The World Cafe. This is the portside.

Behind it all, another bar, which is very busy as softdrinks, beer and wine are included at lunch time for everybody. (Same as Saga and Fred Olsen and also most 6 star company’s) Then there is an outside terrace, called the “Aquavit Terrace”,  which today was in use as it was chilly but sunny. The stern of the ship has a infinity pool with in the front a jacuzzi.  To stop the Infinitiy pool water from raining down on the balconies below, there is a sort of box hanging under it. This makes  the ship look a bit weird from the outside. The first time I saw it, I thought it was some sort of cherry picker basket for cleaning windows.

The Infinity pool at the stern of the ship on deck 7.

On deck 8 aft, carefully hidden away from the guests, is a black glass wall under the aft end of the funnel. Inside is a Officer / crew bar. A very clever setup and it would other wise have been a wasted space  and there is also a hidden corner for smokers. For guest smokers there is a smoking section on the sb. side midships but I never saw it very busy.

Guest smoking area on deck 8 sb. side. Still a very civilized way to slowly commit suicide.

That completed my tour of the ship. Then we had to pack. Luckily we had not bought very much, apart from a Soup Spoon in Pisa.  But we still had to go the shops on board as we had booked another cruise with Viking, on the Viking Polaris to the West side of Greenland and Baffin Bay. For that we received $200,– on board booking credit but it had to be spent this cruise on board. Unusual, as it normally goes on the credit for the next cruise that you have just booked. So the shops still made some money as all the “on board bookers” came marching in. Now I am the proud owner of yet another Power Bank, a set of suitcase locks (TSA approved) and some perfume for her ladyship. It made the day of the very friendly Turkish shop attendant who could just scrape in her commission before she left tomorrow to go on leave in Antalya. Her next ship is the Viking Star for another 6 month contract.

The “Kitchen table” on Deck 1, where under guidance of the chef you can take cooking classes and also eat your own cooked food.

We had booked the Chefs Table for 19.00 hrs. on this last day as most other days were filled up. The higher category cabins (all of them, apart from us sinners living on deck 3) could make their bookings from home but the standard Verandah cabins  had to wait until on board. It did not make much difference in the end, accept the early times being booked up. Tonight we could go at 19.00 hrs., after cocktails, and the place was nearly empty. I think the packing and leaving the next day had reduced the enthusiasm for a “last extravagant supper” somewhat. This restaurant runs in 3 set- menu cycles,  Italian, Asian, Californian, but the names might differ somewhat from ship to ship. If you take a future cruise, it might be different again, as Viking has 21 of these options floating around the fleet. 5 courses with wine  included in the cruise fare.

The most puzzling thing on board is this staircase that leads from the back of “The Restaurant” deck 2 to the back of Manfredis Italian and the Chefs Kitchen on deck 1. and it goes nowhere else. It looks like a very posh way for the Dining room manager to commute between his restaurants. The piece of art on the wall is called “paper and wood” by Johanne Ness and Hanne Overland.

With it comes a wine paring of 4 different wines. Also included. If you have bought the drinks package ($ 25,— a day, but going up) then you get slightly better wines. Price wise I think, as wine is very personal, a I preferred the “cheaper” Pinot Noir with the Asian lambchops much more than the Spanish Tempranillo offered. But as far as wines are concerned, I was already very happy that they stored our favourite white wine (Austrian Veltliner, in this case Bereich Wachau) as Veltliner is not always on board. (Azamara has it, but Cunard does not)  So we had a very good dinner and then it was time  to put the suitcases outside as at 05.45 we had to be ready for transfer to the airport.

The blank bulkheads in the forward and aft staircases are covered with scenes taken from the Bayeux tapestry depicting the Normans (Norseman or Northman or Vikings) coming from Normandy, France, led by William the Conqueror in 1066 and defeating the English/ Anglo Saxon King Harold at Hastings.

Weather for tommorrow for when going home:  Overcast with rain during the day and temperatures aruoud 13oc / or 55 oF.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/ships/viking-saturn.html

 

 

2026 Feb 16; Day 04, Marseille, France.

February 18, 2026 / / 0 Comments

I have been keeping an eye on the weather in the Nord Med., an area which is called “The Gulf of Lions” or Gulfo de Lions. (Lions as in correct spelling) The chance of a strong Mistral wind (funnel wind from the Rhone valley is always present) but regular northerly winds can be a problem is well. Those were blowing during the early mornings and that resulted in the appearance of the MSC ship in Villefranche. But it looked like that by 07.00 hrs. the wind would have died down sufficiently for our ship to safely sail into the new harbour of Marseille.

The port of Marseille. The ships are coming in at the far northern end of the breakwater.  The south side (although much better for windy codiitions) is only used by small craft. (Photo Courtesy” Med-Mediteranee)

The port of Marseille lay out is its own worst enemy as the sail-in channel is perpidencular to the northerly winds, so when the Mistral blows you get a higher number of port cancellations, especially with the cruise ships as they catch so much wind. And it can play havoc with the ferry schedules.  For us the wind had died down and we had no problem sailing in, swinging around and docking. At the other side of the dock was the MSC Orchestra the 2nd cruise ship in port.

We had booked / included in the cruise package / another walking tour, this time of the downtown  Marseille.  To my utter amazement, the tour guide was Dutch, having lived in Marseilles for 20 years being married to a frenchman. To the amazement of some of the fellow guests on the coach, she spoke english by translating Dutch straight into English. I think in english, so my english sounds much more native, She did the same with French, but for English and German she went back again to thinking in Dutch and then giving the english translation, Dutch syntax and idiom included.

Marseille is the largest city in France after Paris with about 2 mln. inhabitants. It is overcrowded and not exactly clean, although the multitude of cultures (many from North Africa and old French colonies) make for fascinating glimpses of how  other cultures live and work. (especially the small markets, each dedicated to their own cultural background with local products and marketeers screaming in their own language).

Palais Longshamp. Great museum collection and great gardens. And the outside is not shabby either. (Photo courtesy: Packyourbags.com)

So we drove around the port, up and down the  streets, and got a good impression of how Marseilles functions. First with a photostop at Palace Longshamp. This is a very impressive building, built between 1831 – 1869 to celebrate the completion of a canal that brought fresh & safe water to the city. It took 30 years due to planning problems and construction costs but now houses several musea.  We stayed on the coach as it was raining, so we let the photo-op go.

The Porte d’Aix in Marseille. Commemorating all sorts of victories the french had in the 19th and 20th century.

A very peculiar thing is that Marseilles has an “Arc de Triomph” (official Porte d’Aix or Port Reial) same as in Paris, about the same size, but looking slightly different on the outside. Officially marking the entry point when coming from Aix-de-Provence, but several governments were involved in the building process and wanted to mark the Arch for several subsequent battle achievements. There was the end of the American war of independence in 1784,  then the French Spanish Expedition in 1824, and when it was completed in 1839, it was to honor “all sorts of victories” so a very multifunctional monument.

Most of the sightseeing tour was along the Corniche (bench in English) which runs along the whole coastline of Marseilles. The road is officially named after the American President John F. Kennedy. It is where the most expensive houses are located, included Gated-Communities, and the best fish restuarants, often in converted houses from the fisherman days. The weather was horrible while driving along the coast so we were quite happy to sit in the bus and let the -french- world roll by. Photostop at the Corniche was the monument for fallen french soldiers in the East Med. and Africa during the First World War. Although we mostly think about Flanders Fields during WWI,there were many more theatres of war. In Eastern Europe, in the Balkan and also in Africa.

The “MonumentAux Morts Des Orients. Erected in 1927.

I took this photo from the coach as you cannot miss the monument, it really dominates the local sky line.  Most people in front of it, were from our busses, as the French themselves waited for better weather to have a look at it.

I felt straight at home. What Macdonalds is for the Americans, is HEMA for the Dutch. So we had to visit.

Then the rest was by Coach, followed by an hour to walk around downtown. And there we found a HEMA. This is a dutch shop /chain that sells anything you need for your house. It is very very Dutch, so finding it in the deep south of France, is about the same as finding a Wal-Mart on top of the Swiss Alps. Even the packaging was in Dutch but it did not stop the French from buying up a storm.

The Atrium bar. To the left is a sitting area with regular tables and from there you can spread out over the 3 floors of the Atrium, which is officially called “The Living Room”

Back on board it was time for lunch and this time we tried the “nibble” selection at the Bar on deck 1 of the Living Room. This is the 3 deck atrium of which the corner on deck 1 also functions as cocktail place and related. It serves small sandwiches with shrimps, salmon and beef and is a great for those who are peckish but do not want to be tempted by being exposed to the Lido outlay (called the World Cafe on this ship)

Wendy the Future Travel Specialist in full swing. We were quite impressed with her as she was able to rattle off every port of each cruise listed in the brochure.

Viking has a repeater program, The Viking Explorer Society,  (On average they have a repeater rate of 60 to 90% on board) and that means that you might get a drinks package and gratitues included on you next cruise depending on the promotion going at the time.  There is no tiered program as with Cunard or Holland America. To recognize everybody there was  a party in the Atrium and although we were not “repeaters” yet, the Future Cruise Lady had invited us. And with free drinks…….. who can say no?  So we got a few wise words from Wendy the future cruise specialist, some more wise words from the Cruise Director and then a short show from the ships cast / singers.  There are no medals or other gifts but the biggest day holder (this cruise 160+ days) was recognized with a bunch of flowers.

As the whole ship decor is “Scandinavian bare” it does not look very impressive during the day time with the tables not being set. But is is very cosy in the evenings.

The evening show was the Cruise Director himself who is also an ccomplished singer. He performed a selection of songs from the last 40 years. We did not go as it conflicted with our dinner reservations in “Manfredi’s” the dedicated Italian Restaurant on board.  And when one has to choose between food and culture, guess what wins.  It is free of charge and the menu is standard Italian restaurant style, as people would expect it shoreside. With a decent range of entries and very pleasant service. It is evey night booked to capacity and with Viking higher cabin catagory’s  you can book  at home, while mere mortals like us, have to wait until on board, and then it depends on space still available. However it turned out not to be a problem and we have also booked the other speciality restaurant, “The Chefs table” for the last night. That one has a set menu.  Then you can book cooking classes for  $60,– a person and for that you also get an apron. They run the classes in the evening so you will eat your own cooked dinner at dinner time. We saw a group of very excited ladies marching out around 9 pm. followed by a group of spouses, drink in hand, who looked rather less excited.

Tomorrow we are in Sete, France. (It is  pronounced Sept, without the t) Weather is supposed to be dry and sunny but with a cold wind blowing from the North giving noon time temperatures of  12 – 14 oC /  54 – 57oF)

 

 

2026 Feb 15; Day 3 VilleFranche, France, for Monaco.

February 17, 2026 / / 2 Comments

To get to Monaco, you can anchor in front of Monte Carlo (Hercule or Fontveille) harbour, dock at the cruise ship pier, anchor at Villefranche or at Cape Ferrat in France. For reasons not entirely clear we went to Villefranche, while we found out later that the downtown Monte Carlo Cruise Pier was not in use that day. The reasons for that can by myriad, especially in France when dealing with a Sunday situation. The only nice thing for the afternoon tour was, that it included for each tour a 45 minute drive, as Monte Carlo was part of the excursion.

Villefranche bay. From anchorage nbr 1 it is only 5 minutes to a very nice tender dock, right in downtown.

My Lord and Master had decreed that she now has approved Viking  Cruises and had found out that there was an North West Passage cruise (partly, just in & out) in 2028. Under the well established rule, if we book now and early then we save money by speadning it ………………, so we had a meeting with the Travel Consultant. And we booked a 13 day in 2028 from Nook in Greenland, up and into Baffin Bay with the expedition ship Viking Polaris. So that takes away my pocket money for the next 3 years.

To recover from the shock I decided to forget my diet and invest in some comfort food by visiting the Pool Grill for a BBQ hamburger. That is all cooked a-la-carte and was very good. As mentioned before, the food is very good on board but somewhat limited in volume and variation, compared to the exuberiance of some other companies, like Holland America Line and Celebrity. But the quality is very good.

One of the 4 ships tenders. Well laid out and easy to operate with all the latest gadgets

For the tour we had to take our bla-bla boxes again to receive a lot of useful information while walking through Monaco. The ship has the best tenders we have encountered so far, it was just a pity that the tender drivers have not been trained very well in using the latest gadget called “the bow thruster”. That is a great gadget but you have to have a little bit of forward momentum for it to work optimaly. When going astern the pivot point of the tender goes back and that negates the positive force of the thruster somewhat. So both on arrival and depature from the Villefranche dock there was a lot of See-Sawing to get the tender alongside. With extra waiting while everybbody was seeing the show, but eventually we got there.

Monte Carlo / Monaco is very small, and downtown is even smaller. Our walking tour Started at number 19 and ended at nbr 22, and that is not more than a 15 minute walk.

The coach drive to Monte Carlo goes along some very narrow roads and a few times we were right on the edge of where we could look down an awful long way.  Because the tour is included in the cruise package, we were not expecting it to be very intensive and we were right. But it was a nice walk from the coach (parked in  a 5 story underground parking garage under the Oceanographic Museum) through the botanic gardens into the local Cathredral where the Grimaldi’s (The Princes of Monaco, who rule the Principality) are buried and then for a photo-op at the main palace.  Then 1 hour of free time and back to the ship with a promise that the coach would do a full lap around the Formula One circuit.

The late 19th. century Cathedral. Homebase for the Royal Family of Monaco.

The Catheral is from the mid 19th. century so not so old but is very interesting with many side chapels dedicated to various Saints.  The past rulers of Monaco are buried here, starting with the churches completion.

The grave of movie starr Grace Kelly, or Patricia Gratia as she was known in Monaco.

Only the direct Monarch and his spouse and those in directe line are buried there, the rest is buried somewhere else. One “mass grave” had the remains of those who ruled before the Church was completed. (So for modern times, Prince Rainier is there, so is Princess Grace and the next one will be the current ruler Prince Albert, wife and oldest child)

The main Monte Carlo harbour, called Hercule, is not the only one. Just to the West is “Fontveille” which a much smaller and quieter affair. This photo was taken from the lookout point in the Gardens just under the Cathedral.

Monaco is only 4 square kilometers in size, so if you do not break on time, you are out of Monaco and back in France. Hence Monaco has the euro and a lot of French rules & Social Security accepted. But is has local police, local taxes (only the Monegaskan Passport holders are tax exempt, who make up 20% of the population) and local driving rules.

We had to be back on time at the bus, except one couple who arrived / were found by the tour escort  30 minutes late, without much of an excuse, as it is nearly impossible to get lost in this area. “Walk down to the gardens and you cannot miss the entrance to the car park. But it brought us back 30 minutes late to the ship. But now comes the nasty part, the tour escort had talked up this full lap around the Formula One circuit. Then with great aplomb announced where the starting line was and then waffled off about underground traffic tunnels. We never did the full lap. And I was hoping for the full lap because when you go under the hotel, even a coach engine sounds like a roaring ferrari, due to the acoustics.

The F1 Grand Prix circuit of Monaco. We only saw the section V to A1. We have been here before but a pity for the guests for whom it was the first time.

Coming back to where the tender is the driver nearly ran into a leaving bus, could not handle the hand break while going uphill and then refused to make more room for the other busses coming out. Compliments to the lady bus driver of the other coach coming out, she managed to get around our coach with about 1 inch to spare. On arrival at the tender pier we had to wait 20 minutes for the next tender and then other five while the tender driver gave the “not how to dock show” by the wrong use of the bow thruster.

The main palace of Monaco. It is mainly a working palace with the direct family scattered around it in various villa’s.

We were supposed to be all by ourselves but in the aftrnoon the MSC Splendida came in. She had not been able to dock in Marseilles due to strong winds. Apart from the city being a port of call also a number of guests were supposed to disembark and embark, so after arrival a large shore tender came out to arrange that. We had fun and games with the small parking area’s with 900+ guests and 12 busses, so let alone what they will face with handling the approx. 2200 guests on board.

For cocktails we went back to the Explorers Lounge and then to dinner. The company had laid on a barbecue and dancing on the stars on Deck 7 under the Magro Dome. We went to have a look, but the barbecue was very limited so most people got extra from the buffet inside. It turned out that the dancing under the stars was not a continious party but more like a show where the various entetainers all did their own little thing.  As (with the dome closed) the music was deafening we decided to go for a regular dinner. This BBQ gig did not get much of attendance as there are not many high tables around the pool, so one would have to hold the plate on ones knees. We are now spoiled by the “White Night” with Azamara, so this was a bit of a let down in comparison.

So we went for a regular dinner in the diningroom. While waiting for the Maitre to figure out a table we met an American couple who we had talked to while waiting in the show lounge the night before, and decided the share a table. Good company, as they had also travelled the world, lived in Germany, and an enjoyable time was had by all.  Maybe due to the size of the ship, or the international travel experience  most guests enjoy the interaction with other guests they have never seen before. It splits the crowd in a sort of 3 groups. Those who march according to the daily program and do their town thing, the second group who already travel in a group for the duration of the cruise, and a 3rd group, who are by themselves but enjoy cocktails and interaction with other fellow travellers.  So one does not need to be exactly lonely on board.

Tomorrow we are in Marseilles. The weather is supposed to be windy during the night but the wind should die down on arrival, so if the captain is a luckily man he won’t have much programs in getting in. With us is the MSC Orchestra which came in early due to the expected wind during the night. Weather, overcast with rain, temperatures around 11 – 14oC /   49 – 58oF.

 

 

 

Day 10, 2025 Dec. 26; At Sea. Day 2.

December 27, 2025 / / 3 Comments

This morning we woke up to a slighty moving ship with a movement that a sailor calls “gentle” but a landlubber calls “annoying”. But the weather chart stays positive and the Bay of Biscay and surroundings remained very gentle, or -blue- on the chart.  So happy campers all around today.

Weather / sea forecast for today.

This is our second day at sea since leaving the Canaries Islands. 2nd Day of Christmas, called Boxing Day, as in England that used to be the official day of opening the “boxes” with the presents. Most of the crew finds this very funny as in their cultures they open their presents during Christmas Eve. So the joke of the day was, “have you been boxing ?”

As a reference to last night for those who do not know what Christmas “crackers” are. These are paper tubes and you pull at each side, with the person opposite to you at the dinner table. They then come apart with a “crack”.. Inside there is a paper crown (referring to the 3 kings of bethlehem) and the idea is to wear them during the christmas dinner. Inside is also a present, the quality depending on how expensive the cracker is. We had a honey stick, a wooden stirrer to get the last honey out of a honey pot & and a small steel cake form to make christmas cookies. Then there is the (rather naff) Christmas joke. “What sort of nut can you use to hang something on the wall ?……………. a wall-nut.

After breakfast we went for a walk-a-bout and ended up with a Q&A interview from the Cruise Director with our Lady Orchestra Conductor. Which was interesting to listen to as not many of us really know what goes on inside an orchestra. Unfortunately, no “juicy” anecdotes to liven it all up, but still very interesting. One could see that she is a real conductor and not an entertainer.

We made it early to lunch to day as we were sort of pressed for time as at 13.30 hrs. we had the 4th. and last recital of Robin Colville the piano player and we did not want to miss that. After that there was a full 1h.45 min. musical show in the Theatre at 16.00 hrs. which Lesley did not want to miss. I never know if my “cultural time span” can last that long, so we investigated first if we could find some places to sit, where she had a good view and I could slip away if to all got too much.

The Maestro explaining his first piece and on the balcony two saiors (the dark shapes in the corner under the saffolding) tying up the steps. Life is never dull on a cruise ship.

The piano recital was very good as usual but as it had been pushed to 13.30 it sort of interfered with the ships routine. While the Maestro was explaining the background of his first piece, above him on the balcony, suddenly “swish-swish’ could be heard caused by two sailors securing a scalfolding with pulling ropes through. Luckily they saw the light and did not start working, while below Griegs Solveits Song burst out of the piano. Then half way through the concert a steward came by with a trolley with rattling crockery. He had to go in the pantry in the back to prepare for English High Tea at 15.00 hrs. After the plates had been transfered to their locker, he switched on the pantry light (luckily there was a pole between the pantry and the stage so the performance was not affected). And then he switched on the heating cabinet (I think for warming up the teapots). Now all of us in the back could listen to Griegs First Piano Concerto accompanied by electric humming from a pantry. This was most likely a worlds first: ” Variations on Grieg’s Piano Concert no.1 by a Heating Cabinet”. ……….. I love to be part of World First premieres…………………………….

After the concert we walked past the shops and suddenly they were busy. This occurence happens near the end of the cruise and is called “The On Board Credit Effect”. If you got spending credit with your cruise and have not spent it, then now is the chance. The shops responded accordingly with 15% extra discount on certain items. We have run out of on board credit already, courtesy of cocktails every evening and the daily internet cost, so my bank account will take another hit when we leave the ship.

For the latter we got the luggage tags today. Cunard has the system that you have to pull off the old tags and then you get new ones and hence new ones were delivered. There are also companies who tell you to leave the tags on, as it incorporates the disembarkation color. Disembarkation time depends on what sort of cabin you have, or if you are independent or have scheduled transport. With our cabin level we can leave at any time, so we will aim for 08.03 off the ship, with the taxi waiting to take us back to the hotel at 09.00 to collect the car. Then I hope to be on the way by 10.am as it is a 5 hr. drive home, plus stopping for petrol and groceries.

The poster being used in the UK for this musical

Today we had a special cast / stage performance of a musical/play called “Come from Away”, telling the story of the little Newfoundland town of Gander that suddenly had to host 7000 air plane passengers when the USA closed its airspace when 9/11 occured. Doubling the size of the town when a large number of planes deviated to their old airport. The whole effort lasted1h.45m, and there was a full house. One at 16.00 hrs. and one at 20.00 hrs. And it was really, really good, with  a well deserved standing ovation at the end.

This picture comes from a website advertising the musical in the UK. There is a scene in there, “Kiss the Fish”, which is a tongue in cheek ceremony to become a “NewFoundlander’.  The town of Gander granted “membership” to all stranded passengers who were there and agreed to “kiss the fish”.

According to those who had seen the performance in London with “real professionals” and paid a high ticket price for the privilige, advised that this one here on board was soo much better. And I am not amazed as with the plethora of (large) cruise ships out there, the stage shows and its actors are getting better every year as the supporting teams behind them are getting more and more professional and better financed. Again no photos from the show itself, as somebody will  get upset when you do so……………..

Then it was cocktail time and we met Pamela Curtis. This was the Lady who was the highest repeater this cruise with 1250+ days. I posted the photo on day 3 when she got the flowers during the Captains Loyalty party. That photo was seen by my blog readers in Los Angeles, who then contacted Mrs. Curtis to let her know that she was now world famous. She then contacted me to meet for a  drink and a chat. Hence tonight. This is for my readers in Los Angeles.

Cocktail Time in the Commodore Club with the highest day repeater on board,

Tomorrow is our 3rd sea day, passing the coast of Normandy and then entering the outer reaches of the English Channel (or La Manche in French, as we are on the French side). Looking at the weather chart and knowing the way a Vista Class ship behaves, I think we will get some more movement. Not really rolling or pitching but more of the yawning movement that we also had south bound. It should not affect anybody very much as we all had enough training southbound.

Day 9, 2025 Dec. 25; At Sea.

December 26, 2025 / / 5 Comments

On departure the Captain announced that we would have a smooth ride home, only somewhat marred by a strong wind on the bow. In general he was right. The sea swell was not predicted to go above 3 meters and that is something a Signature/Vista class ship can handle without too much issue.  However where there is 3 meters, there is also 3.5 meters and 2.5 meters and hence the ship was not completely still in the water.  I think the guests who occupied the cabins at the stern, did not completely agree with the captains assessment as there was some movement; and around lunch time today the ship was even pitching  But compared with going south at the beginning of the cruise we are having an easy ride.

The sea state expected today. It is still mainly blue. and that is good.

We opened our Cunard presents this morning and found two nice christmas balls for the tree at home and two christmas crackers with inside white and brown truffles. And the card from the company. Lesley and I have stopped giving each other presents a long time ago as after so many years of marriage we already have everything and if not, the wish is so electic that both would buy the wrong present. Hence  you could say that this cruise was our christmas present. And a very nice one, albeit a very expensive one.

The presents we found on our bed last night. Nothing “big” but nice to receive as a souvenir. The teddybear on the christmas ball is dressed in a Cunard Bell-boy custome.

After breakfast in the cabin (not that we are so posh but it is the best way to stay away from a very calorific breakfast), we had a walk around and were just in time to see Father Christmas arriving in the Atrium. This ritual is nearly the same on every ship. Santa Claus suddenly pops up out of the funnel greeted by as many screaming children as possible (we do not have that many on board this cruise but they still were capable of making a lot of noise). Then it goes in parade into the ship, at a distance followed by  the parents, as not every little Johnny stays with the group. Some of them see this as a chance to explore somewhere he has not been yet and then needs to be scooped up by Pa or Ma.

Santa Claus in the Atrium, flanked by his elf and two “snow persons”.

Cunard uses the Atrium for these occasions as Santa can sit on top of the stairs and thus can be approached that way by the childeren but also a lot of guests can have a look down from one of the 3 levels and at the same time do not need to stay for the whole “procedure”. Also adults were invited to have their photo taken with Santa Claus, an Elf, and two “snow persons”. Quite a few still felt like children at heart……….

At 10 am. The captain hosted the Festival of The Carols and Lessons in the main Theatre. This is a typical english thing, grounded in the fact that the King is the head of the English Church. On the ship the Captain is his representative and thus assumes that title of head of the church as well. Therefore it has been a long tradition on the British ships that the Captain leads the Sunday Morning church service on board.  On the British cruise ships this tradition is still here and the Captain still heads the service, at least when sundays are at sea. For Christmas, this service had been padded out somewhat with carols and the Master of the Vessel reading “The Lesson”. There is a merchant navy prayer & sermon book out there, so if there is a Captain, who is not so familiar with the spiritual side of life, then there are templates that can be followed.

That was as much christmas as we could find, the rest of the morning had the standard items, with dancing in the Queens Lounge, Shops sales, Casino open, etc., followed by the next music recital by Maestro Robert Colville, who did not disappoint and even did two encores  (Highland Chatedral and Variations on Lambeth Walk) so he over ran the alloted time. That caused several of the audience to leave because when it is time to choose between culture and lunch, …………………………………….guess what wins.

His Majesty the King, Charles II of Great Britain & the British Commonwealth. The general focus of his speech was on working together and reconsiliation.

By 15.00 hrs. a lot of guests were assembling in the Royal Court Theatre to listens to the “Kings Speech”. For me of dual persuation, feeling British after 32 years but still having a Dutch perspective on life, I always feel it necessary to follow both.

His Majesty King Willem Alexander of the Kingdom of the Netherlands spoke about cherishing of what connects us. Our mutual responsibilities, Our Democracy, Our Rights of Law and Our Environment. And the need to instill these values into our children.

No doubt the other Kings and Queens of Europe had similar messages for their loyal subjects in a world that is getting ever more polarized and less repsectful of each other.( I do not know if there is a International Queen & King conference before christmas but it would make sense as most of the contents of these speeches were similar but with a local tweak)

So with these  Royal Reflections,  I hope 2026 will be a better year.

The crew had their christmas downstairs, also received presents from Cunard, and had Santa Claus downstairs for photos.  Upstairs the afternoon was the regular seaday routine with offerings from all the concessionaires and then by 17.00 hrs. cocktail time geared up again.  Tonight was formal night with a theme of Red & Gold. Looking around the ship, quite a few of the ladies, including my Lord & Master, had found a dress with red & gold. I could join in with a red jacket and gold cumberbund & bow tie, but in general the Gents where less brave than the Ladies. (Although I saw a few gentlemen in very fancy jackets). As mentioned before, we normal go to the Commodore Club for cocktails and 99%  were in formal, and about 60% color themed. The amplifier challenge from last night had been fixed and tonight we had a Duo, called the “Radio Duo” with smooth songs.

Christmas dinner was a variation on the christmas dinner but (I assume) re-imagined by Top Chef Michael Roux so a lot of the trimmings were not present. But we had fancy christmas crackers to pull.

The Lavelles. Three British Ladies who gave a very nice show. They will do another one later on in the Queens Lounge. (Photo Courtesy from somewhere on  the internet, a poster of when the Ladies were performing)

The show tonight was  a group of three Ladies “the Lavelles” who sang Motown hits from the 1980’s etc. And they were very good. Motown is not my first choice but the songs were belted out on “full volume” and high energy.  This was followed by a short performance from the cruise staff and cast with the 12 days of Christmas. The nice thing of this song is, that if it is done right, it goes completly wrong and ends up in complete mayhem. We were not disappointed………. and it was good fun to watch. Unfortunately I cannot show photos as there was this voice on the Tannoy again, advising everybody that recording was strictly forbidden. As mentioned before, I will never understand that.

Tomorrow is our 2nd day at sea, and the weather looks very good. Smooth seas, hardly any wind and with only a low swell running. Tenperatures are slowly dropping and by the time we reach Southampton, it will be down to 6 or 7o Celcius.

 

 

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