Devall Travels

That is the question.   After a wander around the new Saga cruise ship "Spirit of Discovery" all other summer vacation options are pretty much nullified. The "Cruising!" blog is linked on the right -----> I had hoped to have a bike holiday but we'll have to see.  Maybe I'll have to look at a short break somewhere. I had looked at Czech for the MotoGP and France for maybe a tour.

Flickr photo album .

Arrived Jondal early morning. Awakened to the loud noise of machinery as we anchored in the fjord off the town. Good job as we may have overslept!!  The mountains towering in the background are snow capped. Out of the bright sun it is very chilly. After breakfast we had a more leisurely start as we were part of the second wave of people on the Folgefonna Glacier trip. In wave two we were coach 5! So possibly the most popular of the trips to date. Firstly as the roads are very narrow we had a short trip some ten miles further up the fjord to a small village, Herand, with a harbour. Our guide today is a young guy studying in England at Warwick, but who is back home know. Very knowledgeable about the area and Norwegian history. His name is impossible to write from the sound but is something like Chirtle!! Then we set off up the mountain. Waiting occasionally for cars and campers. Plus a long wait for coach 1. Eventually we a...

Up at 0800 with coffee from our steward for the day. It seemed a little early for a holiday but there is so much to do! The night was a bit of getting used to the sound of the air con and also sleeping in different beds. We chose twin beds instead of a double. I don't think either of us slept too well. Of course at sea there is no phone signal so blogging isn't real time. Need to find a wifi signal in the first port of call. Apparently according to Tripadvisor they have a McDonalds! And so to breakfast. Once again in the Pole to Pole Restaurant, and once again restrained. You could easily put on a stone a day with the amount of food that can be consumed. Slimming World it ain't! At 0945 we had the welcome talk and some information on the excursions. We have two and they are Friday and Saturday in Stavanger and Jondal. One small worry was that the Jondal trip to the glacier was cancelled. Luckily there are two and it was the hike and n...

I  didn't sleep very well, something to do with the loud aircon and too much to eat and drink the night before. Tea arrived at 8am - thought we had ordered coffee ?!  Then off to Pole to Pole for breakfast.  Had a selection of fruit and muesli followed by scrambled egg, baked beans, mushrooms and tomato, toast and coffee! We needed to book a table in the East to West specialist restaurant so after the "Welcome on Board" session with the cruise director we sorted the booking for Monday night, Next step was to get some exercise! off to the Verandah Deck where the sun was out so we delayed the exercise temporarily and grabbed a coffee before walking up to decks 11 and 12.  Paul got me to play my first ever game of crazy golf which was quite good fun but I don't think I will be taking it up - I was pretty useless.  Back to down to the Beach Club where Paul was dying to help himself to an ice cream.  He managed to make a pi...

The driver arrived early and we weren't quite ready. So in the end we arrived early at the port and got straight on in time for tea. Leaving misty Dover and tug-free heading into the Channel. Time for the phone to have mobile data turned off! The list of what is going to happen appears in a newsletter called "Today". It told us today was a casual day so we didn't need to dress up for dinner. My new suit can wait until tomorrow. Once tea was over, and we were very restrained, we had enough time to get back to the cabin to see the luggage was waiting for us, but just in time to get our life jackets for the emergency drill. Our lifeboat is number five and is accessible from Deck 9. Our cabin is 6050 on deck six. Once that was over there was time to get back to the cabin and unpack before heading to the bar for a cocktail. Haven't had a screwdriver in my hands since Sunday... and then it wasn't a vodka and orange one....

Our first proper cruise.  We had done an overnight in-port stay as a taster, then a two night cruise from Edinburgh to Dover.     So we have taken the plunge and will take to the high seas on a Saga cruise to the Fjords in Norway. The itinerary is: 12 Jun Dover, England Embark Saga Sapphire. Depart 1600. 14 Jun Stavanger, Norway Arrive 0800. Depart 1800. 15 Jun Jondal, Norway Arrive 0700. Depart 1400. Land by launch or tender. 16 Jun Olden, Norway Arrive 0800. Depart 1700. 17 Jun Bergen, Norway Arrive 0800. Depart 1700. 19 Jun Dover, England Arrive 0800. Disembark Saga Sapphire after breakfast Still over six months to go......