Day 3 with Fred Olsen to Norway

Steve Newman continues his voyage from Liverpool to Norway (and back) with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines...

Yesterday, we were invited to the “Traditional English White Glove Afternoon Tea” held in the Observatory Lounge.  Scones, cream, jam, pastries, mini chocolate éclairs, sandwiches and tartlets, plus chilled champagne with a choice of four teas. The whole affair was rounded off by the waiters in their impeccably smart outfits.

This morning we came in to Bergen. There can’t be many cities with such a beautiful approach by sea, with all the islands and coloured houses in the woodlands lining each side of the fiord. There were also two White-Tailed Eagles soaring over the  cliffs, which made the birders aboard very happy!

Today is Norway’s National Day, so we are looking forward to the parades and banners in the city. Tell you all about it tomorrow!

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line. The UK’s cruising specialists.

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With Fred Olsen to Norway Day 2

Continuing Steve Newman's Norway travels with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines from Liverpool...

A day at sea today saw lots of activities going on. The birders congregated at the stern and we managed to see gannets, fulmars, puffins and little auks. We’re all looking forward to the white-tailed eagles in Norway! Traditional deck games were going on throughout the day whilst some people practised their golf swing in the nets. It was so warm some people were in the Jacuzzis outside beside the pool and the deck chairs came out on the aft deck.

Internet access is very good, with a special room with eight computers and printer. There are also various Wi-Fi hot spots around the ship if you need to download attachments, etc. One of these is the ship’s library with a large selection of textbooks, paperbacks, jigsaws and board games.

Once again the food was superb and we tried breakfast in a different restaurant. A great buffet saw us sitting and chatting to new friends until it closed at 10am. We followed this by a walk around the promenade deck (five circuits is a mile - something our expanding waistlines suggested!).

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Fred Olsen Chase Northern Lights Again In 2013

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has added a new Norwegian itinerary in 2013, giving guests more opportunities to seek the amazing experience of seeing the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena.

The exciting 14-night voyage is aboard Boudicca and departs from Portsmouth on March 13, 2013, following the success of a similar voyage earlier this year.

The new itinerary, ideally suited to a cruise line with a strong Norwegian heritage, calls first at Ålesund, the pretty Norwegian town famous for its Art Nouveau-style buildings and national Art Nouveau Centre. Alesund is also close to Runde Island, home to one of the largest colonies of puffins in the world (above).

Next is Tromsø, far up into the Arctic Circle, where Boudicca will stay for two nights, giving guests the maximum chance of seeing the Northern Lights. From here, guests can choose to take Fred. Olsen’s ‘Chase for the Lights’ tour. This year's first-ever ‘Norway Winter’ cruise was lucky enough to see this amazing natural light show from Tromsø several times. 

Boudicca then calls at Alta (Finnmark, Norway), the most northerly port on this cruise. From Alta, guests can travel to Hammerfest, thought to be the most northerly town in the world. On the return voyage, the ship visits Kristiansund, with its picturesque old town and quaint wooden buildings, complete with a unique ‘Klippfish’ – or ‘dried cod’ – Museum, before sailing back to Portsmouth. 

Prices for this special cruise start from £1,599 per person, based on two adults sharing an inside, twin cabin, Grade ‘I’. The price includes all meals and entertainment on board, and port taxes. 

For bookings, visit this link to our sponsors The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's leading cruise-agent specialists.

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Hurtigruten's 'Taste of the Arctic'

Want to take a short voyage and sail through Norway’s beautiful Lofoten Islands next winter? How about visiting the Art Nouveau town of Ålesund with its myriad of turrets and spires all covered in snow? You can now do both on a brand new ‘Taste of the Arctic Voyage’ introduced by Hurtigruten for 2013. 

Sail from Bergen in the south along the coast and up into the Arctic Circle to Tromsø, or take the voyage in reverse. Until now, the only winter short break available was all north of the Arctic Circle from Tromsø to Kirkenes and back. Prices for the five-day ‘Taste of the Arctic Voyage’ travelling south from Tromsø to Bergen lead in at just £1080pp, including flights, on selected departures from January to March and November to December 2013.

Depending on which direction guests choose to sail, they will experience many of the highlights of a full 12-day ‘Classic Round Voyage’ from Bergen to Kirkenes and back, including the Lofoten Islands, Seven Sisters Mountains and the fascinating towns of Bergen, Tromsø, Ålesund and Trondheim. Excursions are also pre-bookable in both directions, including dog sledding, snowmobiling and a Northern Lights safari by cable car in Tromsø. 

 

For those with a keen interest in the coastal wildlife, Hurtigruten has introduced two new bird-watching excursions. Those travelling on a seven-day ‘Classic Voyage North’ or the ‘Classic Round Voyage’ from May 1 to August 31 can take an expedition to Runde Bird Island near Ålesund. This is home to Scandinavia’s largest sea bird colony, with more than 500,000 of them nesting here. Amongst them are Atlantic puffins, blacklegged kittiwakes and guillemots. Prices for the expedition to Runde Island are from £133pp. 

 

The new Birds of the Arctic excursion can be enjoyed from Vadsø for guests travelling northbound, or from Vardø for those journeying southbound, from April 15 to July 31. The Varanger region is one of the most attractive and popular bird-watching areas in the Arctic due to it being directly in the path of migrating birds. This is the only place in Europe that you are likely to spot the rare Steller’s Eider. Prices cost from £247pp for this full day excursion. 

 

For those looking for more flexibility and better value, Hurtigruten has also included more packages with flights for next year. These are available on two itineraries, the ‘Arctic Highlights Voyage’ from Tromsø to Kirkenes and back and the ‘Classic Round Voyage’. Eight new departure dates are available for the ‘Arctic Highlights’ itinerary, departing on selected dates from January to March and October to December from four regional airports in total, including Belfast, which is brand new for this year and Edinburgh, previously only featured as a flight-package departure airport for the ‘Classic Round Voyage’.  

 

Furthering Hurtigruten’s aim to bring guests closer to the Norwegian culture, new music and culinary concepts are being introduced on all ships in 2013 following a pilot scheme this year. Local delicacies will feature on the daily menu affording a real taste of the coast while guests will also be able to enjoy Norwegian music played on board.

 

For more information visit this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's premier adventure-cruise specialists.

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Cape Verde - Final Day

World of Cruising's blogger-in-chief Steve Newman finally reaches the end of his latest trip, an adventurous cruise to the Cape Verde Islands with Noble Caledonia...

Our last day in Cape Verde and another fabulous day exploring Mindelo, the capital of San Vincente island and one of the most attractive of all the Cape Verde towns.

There is a strong British influence here in the architecture, and the fish market was a real eye opener. However, the ladies who run the stalls are very proud and don’t like having their picture taken when they don’t look clean, so we had to ask first. Most of them were happy to have the fish taken but not them!

The vegetable market (above) is great, with a balcony running all the way around it so you can look down on all the stalls. We also went to a traditional bar/cafe for a coffee and a type of lemon/coconut treacle cake. It wasn’t a tourist place at all as the locals were watching football and shouting at each other in Creole/Portugese. Fantastic!

Lastly, we visited the workshop of a family who have been making and repairing guitars for 300 years. It was great to see the two brothers and one of their children steaming the wood and making the fret boards entirely by hand and with no imported materials. Then they played a couple of songs for us, which once again got our guides up and dancing along.

After lunch we had a choice. Walk into the town and explore or go for a swim on the white sand beach just some 300 yards from the ship. A fabulous cruise. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

For more information about Noble Caledonia’s Cape Verde cruise or other voyages, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK’s luxury and adventure-cruise specialists.

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Cape Verde - Penultimate Day

World of Cruising blogger-in-chief Steve Newman continues his latest trip, an adventurous cruise to the Cape Verde Islands with Noble Caledonia...

Today we visited the western end of San Antao Island, having anchored off the pier which is being renovated. 

Much drier than the eastern part end, it still had amazing views down steep-sided gorges. As it was Sunday, the population came out of church not in their Sunday best but in their brightest colours. 

Going along the road, this sea of vivid colour parted around us as we drove through it in the minibus - like a shoal of fish when you go snorkelling.

Our guides also broke into an impromptu dance session, showing us the four traditional dances of the island at one point, with one playing drums and the others really showing us the rhythms of the Vape Verdes.

It was our last zodiac cruise of the trip (above) and, walking down the gangway on to the floating pontoon, an osprey wafted past us. 

Then we had a short one-hour cruise to the neighbouring island of San Vincente and its capital Mindelo, one of the most attractive of all the Cape Verde towns. I am so looking forward to exploring it tomorrow!

For more information about Noble Caledonia’s Cape Verde cruise or other voyages, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK’s luxury and adventure-cruise specialists.

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Cape Verde Part Six

World of Cruising blogger-in-chief Steve Newman continues his latest trip, an adventurous cruise to the Cape Verde Islands with Noble Caledonia...

An interesting start to the day as the captain had to reverse the ship onto the small jetty here at Tarrrafal on the island of St Nicolau (above).

Then I walked around the port to the market, watching the locals bartering and buying fish on the pier as the boats came in, followed by a tiny cargo boat that must have been a Tardis inside judging by the amount of cargo that came off of it!

Shop owners from the surrounding villages came down to collect their orders in their battered 4 x 4 trucks.

The mountain scenery on the island is very impressive and we drove through some spectacular landscapes to get to the capital Ribiera Brave. 

This place is just like Ciutadella and old Palma with very narrow streets and Victorian style lanterns. 

Later on, we watched some traditional dances called Mazurka. I’m not a great one for this but the music and the dancing was really very good and had my feet tapping!

For more information about Noble Caledonia’s Cape Verde cruise or other voyages, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK’s luxury and adventure-cruise specialists.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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Cape Verde Part 5

World of Cruising's arch-blogger Steve Newman continues his latest trip, an adventurous cruise into the Atlantic with Noble Caledonia...

About 60 Atlantic spotted dolphins came to play on the bow wave this morning. The sea was boiling with them as they swam towards us.

Plenty of Gull-billed terns, shearwaters, red-billed tropic birds and a brown booby also put in an appearance but we have still seen no whales yet.

We also passed two local fishermen in a tiny boat fishing with a single line to catch deep-water species on our way to the island of Brava. It was our first zodiac landing and it was fun (see above)!

The island has mist-shrouded peaks and plunging valleys with hairpin roads that hang on to the mountain-side by their fingernails. 

 

The capital Nova Sintra is high in the mountains and has a cool climate with hibiscus, bougainvillea, dahlias and bananas and a host of other tropical plants growing in the gardens.

For more information about Noble Caledonia’s Cape Verde cruise or other voyages, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK’s luxury and adventure-cruise specialists.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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Cape Verde Part 4

World of Cruising's arch-blogger Steve Newman continues his latest trip, an adventurous cruise into the Atlantic with Noble Caledonia...

Up at 6am as we left port to sail the 18 miles to the island of Maio.  This is unique as we are the first cruise ship to visit the island by tying up to the jetty, so the Mayoral party came to greet us. 

Fantastic watching the sun come up as we scanned the ocean for the Cape Verde humpbacks and dolphins. 

The expedition team helping us with identification of the birds are itching to see whales. We had a really good lecture this afternoon on whales and dolphins so we are all ready tomorrow to identify them from the bow.

Maio has quiet dunes and secret beaches but the little town is fascinating to explore with its pastel houses. The birders walked over to the salt flats and back along the white sand beach while the shoppers headed to the town and then the beaches for a swim.   

None of us had seen water so clear and so inviting. The people are even more laid back here than on Santiago! 4pm saw an ice cream social event in the bar - a great relief to those of us coming back to the ship!

For more information on Noble Caledonia cruises, follow this link to The Cruise Line the UK’s luxury adventure cruise specialist. 

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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