Live/Silver Cloud: Norway Coast/Fjords July 1-16 Reports

[newlondon]

Terry, Mr. Scales gives us info we may not want to know,i.e. lbs. gained

[TLCOhio]

We are now arriving, Wednesday morning in the harbor of Bergen. Just passed under the large suspension bridge and we see the 2,720-passenger Costa Magica in port. That mega ship was with us in the Hellesylt-Geiranger fjords. Way too large for us. We liked the more manageable size of the Silver Cloud. The new Seabourn ship, just started last month, is also in port. More to come here. It will be super busy in Bergen today.

Yesterday, as predicted, we did get rain, but it was mainly in the morning. Had some major fog as we went up to the major mountain overview of Geiranger. Could see nothing from up there, but we were at that point. The closer overlook provided some nice port pictures.

Sorry, no time to do photo posting this am. Lots of time on the final sea day tomorrow to catch up with so many great visuals, etc. To be mostly sunny and a high of 68F in Bergen today. No rain predicted today.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[rojaan19]

Originally Posted by TLCOhio

Because duct tape has done over a 1000 days traveling with Silversea and has many more planned for 2010-12, the staff decided to go much above and beyond. We got the nice benefit!!! It was very special and nice, including the time to talk and learn more from the Captain and other key staff. It pays to not only read Cruise Critic, but to say “HI” on the roll calls, etc.



THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Hey Terry I think I would like to go cruising with Duct Tape too !!

Really enjoying your daily log and photos.

Ann

[LN50]

Thanks for all the photos, excellent quality, makes me look forward to our cruise on Sojourn to the fjords in September.

[duct tape]

For the first time we were able to take the finicular/tram ride up the mountain to see the aerial view. Every other time we have been in Bergen it has poured rain! We have been VERY luckly with weather on this trip. From the mountain you could also see the MSC "Gigantia" (for want of a better name), she dumped about 4000 people into the line for the tram! Oh well, it moved quickly. This has been a really good trip and I think all have had a great time! Even the Captain commented of the apparent camaraderie of this particular group last evening during his farewell speech. Bought some local shrimp, strawberries and raspberries in the street market and had a picnic at the pool deck!

[Paulchili]

Terry,
I just caught up with this thread and inhaled all of it as fast as I could.
What great reporting, incredible pictures!!! Thank you.
We did an almost identical cruise not too long ago and it was fun re-living the adventure.
We spent 32 days on the Cloud last year and I couldn't agree with you any more about the great staff; they are all special but Jorge stands out.
I recognized some faces of the staff from your pictures.
We too were lucky to be on duct tape's trivia team (Hi duct tape!).
I am glad you had a fantastic trip. I was reading along while you worried about every little detail anticipating the cruise. I hope it lived up to your expectations.
Thank you again

[TLCOhio]

Being up a little past 7 am on our last sea day on the Silver Cloud going from Bergen to Copenhagen, we are greeted by rather rough seas, dark clouds and some rain. Not the best, right now, but after our spectacularly perfect day in Bergen yesterday, who can or would complain.

The weather has super, wonderful on this trip with just a couple, little, very minor examples. In this part of the world, you don’t often get this lucky. Bergen averages 300+ days of rain each year. That doesn’t mean it rains all day long on each of those 300+ days in Bergen, but to have the great blue skies and sunshine we did there is not an often happening. As I post later some pictures from Bergen, you will see what we loved so much here. We have been very blessed with such nice weather to make our experience even better.

THANKS to NewLondon for explaining the “Mr. Scales” question! Sorry for being so slow. I asked duct tape and it was explained to my slow brain that one. Agree that traveling with duct tape and/or any of the experience Silversea travelers also helps the process and to know more. Appreciate the nice comments by LN50, Paul Chili and others. Let us know any questions or comments.

Duct tape’s posting summarized things well: “For the first time we were able to take the funicular/tram ride up the mountain to see the aerial view. Every other time we have been in Bergen it has poured rain! We have been VERY luckily with weather on this trip. From the mountain you could also see the MSC "Gigantia" (for want of a better name), she dumped about 4000 people into the line for the tram! Oh well, it moved quickly. This has been a really good trip and I think all have had a great time! Even the Captain commented of the apparent camaraderie of this particular group last evening during his farewell speech. Bought some local shrimp, strawberries and raspberries in the street market and had a picnic at the pool deck!” This is especially true from someone so experienced around the world and on the Silver Cloud. There has been a great “CAMARADERIE” on this ship between everyone involved. A longer, 15-day cruises has added to that “potential”, but it has worked very, very well in so many ways.

Just had a nice chat with Giuseppe Bagnato, the hotel director on the Silver Cloud for the next two months. He took over from Gianni who left yesterday morning to fly to Frankfurt and then Mexico City for his son’s wedding on Saturday. Gianni has been super wonderful and every effective. Giuseppe has worked on and off with Silversea since 2000 and has done parts of a couple different World Cruises. He is recently married and has also done some work in Austria with the hotel business. He, like the Captain, is from far southern Italy. He noted his main job focus is “making the customers happy”, building staff morale (which is very high now) and worrying about whether the containers of supplies arrive in the main ports on time.

More to come later.

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[patnlcc]

Hi Terry. I am going to be as sad as you when your trip comes to an end. I have enjoyed every second of your posts and especially the wonderful photos. Promise you'll do the same on your next cruise - hopefully with Silversea again!! Wishing you and your wife safe travelling back to Ohio. Pat

[TLCOhio]

We just did the Bridge Tour on our last sea day. The staff spent lots of time with us and the Captain dropped by, chatted and answered various questions. He has a great sense of humor with wonderful charm and class. I asked him which Silversea ship he liked best and he said that the Silver Cloud would be it. He said this ship gets the highest ratings from passengers and because of that, the central office lets him and his staff run things without too much interference. He also told us about the large red pepper that hangs on the bridge that is an Italian good luck charm. He said that he got a larger one to bring better luck. That system was working well with the weather we had on this cruise.

From all of his past cruises up along the Norway Coast, many with other cruise lines, he said that July is always the best month and that the weather on this trip was the best he had ever experienced here. He will be on the Silver Cloud until August 23. He’ll do two months off and then be on another Silversea ship. He will then be off for Christmas and New Years before re-joining the Silver Cloud in January.

Lots more pictures and details to come.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


The Chief Navigator, from Argentina, is starting our Bridge tour on our last sea day.:




The Captain is review some of the past weather info from earlier on our trip.:




On the Bridge deck, the Captain is answering questions during our tour.:




Here is the Captain posing with me (in red sweater) and another passenger from South Carolina during our Bridge tour.




Here is how one of the computer screens looks on the bridge showing the sea chart for our routing into Copenhagen.:




Here’s a “bonus” picture of Jorge doing a great job finalizing details from the earlier International Buffet at noon on the Silver Cloud.:

[newlondon]

We had Jorge on the Wind for our Norway trip. He does a wonderful job!

[TLCOhio]

It’s late afternoon and part of the packing up is completed, etc.

Been dealing with the TOTAL IDIOT in charge of finances on this ship who doesn’t want to believe the written e-mail from Laura, the Reservation Supervisor in Ft. Lauderdale, who had confirmed before starting this cruise about the added 3% credit charge we would get hit with (because Silversea uses a UK processor). She told me clearly and in writing I could write a check to settle up my account. Sadly, these finance people do not understand customer relations and/or that ship people do not know the details on how this secret charge hits your credit card when you return home. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!!

For better news, I have some visuals to share, plus more to come. Below is some from a galley tour, including with the pasta-making operation on this ship for daily, fresh production of this great dining delight.

To answer an earlier question, here are some exact size details. The balcony is 64” deep by a width of 110”. The closet’s overall size is 48.75” by 71”. Within that space are the various drawers, etc. The bath has an overall size of 58” (tub width) by 85”. That 85” size is a little misleading as there is an angle taken out for the door, plus some angling with the sink’s set-up and cabinet. This gives you a better ideas on these detailed specifics.

For this journey, our total miles were 3271 nautical miles. This was from the original plan. A few more miles were added to do the Trollfjord and as the Captain adjusted some plans to avoid rougher waters in the open seas. The longest segment was July 1-3 in going from Copenhagen to Flam for our first fjord experience.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


During a galley tour, we talked with Chef Douglas Hope and then saw the pasta-making operations.:




The pasta is made fresh each day starting with this very fine mix from Italy. Only one type and color of pasta is used and made. Fresh eggs, etc., are added.:




This pasta machine is super sophisticated and expensive. It has different attachments to produce ravioli, etc. They can produce over 100 different types of pasta with this machine. This chef also custom makes the sauces each day for La Terrazza.:




In the Panorama Lounge late in the one of the afternoons, they had a chocolate special with lots and lots of desserts and treats all from that magic item. Plus, there was nice piano music while you enjoyed.:




As we sailed out from Bergen after 11 pm, here was the spectacular sunset from the Silver Cloud. Shown are the two dancers on the ship who performed and gave lessons. Beautiful!!!!:

[Keith1010]

Terry loved the pictures of the Galley Tour and from the bridge and along with your candor about the credit card issue.

Wishing you the best as you finish up the cruise and also a very safe flight home.

Keith

[basedow]

Terry, I believe you, with your enthusiastic and succinct postings and magnificent photos, will be single-handedly responsible for an upsurge in SilverSea booking for the Arctic cruise next year!

What a magnificent journal! Bravo!

[TLCOhio]

From our earlier sea day, July 12, here are some pictures from our dinner at Le Champagne. The pictures tell so much of the great story. There were so many wonderful courses, that it takes two posts to show fully the range of what we enjoyed.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


Here’s an overview of the setting for the Le Champagne dinner. It is a roomy setting for a small group of only sixteen people this evening. There are five different menu options, two from France, one from Italy, one from Spain and one from America with wines paired for each different course. For this evening, our theme was “Best of Burgundy”.:




The first course has these various bite-sized “Tastes of Burgundy” as a “light”, opening sampler. The cone-shape items were a fois gras blend where each at our table got one of these treats.:




This was the second course featuring, what else, Burgundy snails with herb butter and tomato fondue.:




This was the main course of whole roasted chicken with crayfish with a Pinot Noir wine.:




Then there was this “cheese course” of a Burgundy cheese brioche with fresh grape coulis.




Next was this little extra light delight in this nicely style glass added before the grand finish. Dessert and more? Read the next post!:

[TLCOhio]

Here is more from the “Best of Burgundy” at Le Champagne.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


Here is Le Champagne Chef Randy Acenas and Maitre D’ Adian Matei visiting our table near the end of our dining in this special room.:




Here is the spectacular dessert, called Chocolate Eiffel Tower. One person at our table, not me, as they say . . . “ate the WHOLE THING!”. Very rich and great looking!:




If you want an after-dinner drink in this room, here is a sample of the selections. What’s missing?:




Later in the evening, there is piano playing and entertainment in the Panorama Lounge at the back of the Silver Cloud on the scenic 8th level. He has a computer screen, so that guests can sing along as Sharon from the Washington, DC, area and Sheila from near Oxford in the UK are doing here.:




Another example of late evening fun was this session of “Liar’s Club”. They all told good and interesting stories for what a word or phase meant. Then teams had to determine which one was telling the truth.:

[Decebal]

Wow, your last set of pics are amazing, and so nice to finally put a face to the incredible "reporter".

Is the food salty, for someone on a low sodium diet, would they feel the difference?

[Needhamite]

Originally Posted by basedow

Terry, I believe you, with your enthusiastic and succinct postings and magnificent photos, will be single-handedly responsible for an upsurge in SilverSea booking for the Arctic cruise next year!

What a magnificent journal! Bravo!

Terry,
I completely agree with Basedow. Your reports and photos will certainly drive interest in Silversea and particularly in this itinerary. I am very glad that I booked the 2011 North Cape trip (on the Silver Whisper - my favorite ship) three weeks ago!
Thanks again for your dedication and thoroughness. Have a safe trip home.
-Peter

[TLCOhio]

Bergen is not only a super lovely city with such great history, BUT, on July 14, for our to visit there from 8 am to 11 pm, the weather turned out to be spectacular.

As the seat of Norway’s medieval kingdom of Norway for six centuries, Bergen is a former Viking stronghold encircled by deep fjords, towering mountains, and sweeping glaciers. Today's Bergen has much of the medieval flavor remaining around Bergen's harbor. We explored the cobblestone streets, saw its pastel-color wooden houses, bargained in some of the many artisans' shops and visited the famous and always-entertaining Fish Market. You can watch the locals haggling over today's catch and enjoy a quayside lunch of freshly caught salmon or fish and chips.

Rated by Frommers as more scenic than Oslo, Bergen was the base of the medieval Hanseatic merchants. Those historic timbered houses are set around Bryggen or The Wharf, a center for crafts and workshops. Its prime row is mostly reconstructed 14th-century structures, some of which were originally destroyed by fire. Det Hansseatiske Museum depicts commercial life on the wharf in the early 18th century and is highly rates with well-preserved wooden structure. Its art museums is highly-rated with religious icon, local art, etc.

We did a special two-hour tour for our group of six with Anne Lien, the owner of Bergen Guide Service. You can reach Anne at www.bergenguideservice.no or by e-mail at anne@bergenguideservice.no.

Anne was super great in giving us the details about the unique history of the Hanseatic merchants, how their building were built, what’s caused the crooked-look of today and what’s being done to preserve these unique structures. Plus, so much more about Norway, its people, the current economy, etc.

In the afternoon, after some of the big crowds had lessened, we took the Floibanen funicular railway to the top of a 1050-foot high peak for scenic views. This cable car has been operating for over 80 years and was refurbished in 2002. The Funicular Lower Station is situated 150 meters from the Fish Market. At the top of the Mount Floyen, there are hiking trails and places for lunch or dinner. The trip takes seven minutes and both cars are on the same cable going up and down. Mariakirken or St. Mary’s Church is the most outstanding Romanesque church in Norway.

Bergen is Norway’s largest port and has a population of 252,000. Scenic Bergen completed our voyage with its dramatic backdrop of seven rounded mountains and cobbled streets. It entices you to take memories and photos cherishing the land of the Norsemen.

For July 14, the average high is 62 and a low of 51; record high of 73 and record low of 44 on this date. Sunrise of 4:37 am and sunset of 10:50 pm. Latitude: 60.4° N.
Tourism Office: www.visitbergen.com/en

We docked at the fairly handy Skoltegrunskaien Pier. This put us within about a 10-15 minute walk of the main attractions at the market and warehouse area. We were in port with the somewhat small Adriana III that we saw in other Norway Coast ports, 2720-passenger Costa Magica, 450-passenger Seabourn Sojourn (that was just inaugurated in June and where they would not allow the Silver Cloud Captain to visit while they shared a common port stop on July 14) and the 2568-passenger MSC Poesia.

Below are the first of three groups of visual highlights from Bergen.

THANKS for the added, nice comments! Keep it coming. Questions and suggestions? Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


In Bergen, this is the great vista on this sunny day from the top of the Floibanen funicular railway station and its scenic overview.:




As we did our tour of the Hanseatic merchants warehouses in Bergen, this is the view with in the background stone building is shown that was used to store records and valuables that would be safer from fire than if held in the wooden buildings.:




With our guide, Anne, this shows more of the warehouse building where fish products would be stored until they were ready to ship to other cities in Europe.:




The space between these various wooden warehouse buildings is very narrow. It is not just the fronts that are 300-years old and historic. These buildings stretch back at some distance with various shops and offices here.




Near the tourism office in its historic building is a shopping near the Fish Market. In this area is this building and the statute in the square.:




This picture shows the Floibanen funicular railway coming up the steep hill with the harbor, fish market, etc. in the background. On the top left, the Silver Cloud and Costa ships can be seen in the harbor.

[TLCOhio]

Here is group two of added pictures from lovely Bergen. For those who have been to Bergen, do these shots cover many of the key attractions in this charming city?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


These are the building fronts in the historic Bergen Hanseatic merchant warehouse area.:




Right nearby is the Fish Market with lots of options to buy food to eat on site or just watch, enjoying the “show” as people ask questions and buy the various fresh fish items.:





Here’s a closer look at these historic building fronts, people taking pictures, etc. :




In the Hanseatic warehouse area, this folk music group is entertaining as people sit outside, drink beer (at $12 each) and enjoy the great weather day.:




In the market area, here’s one of the sales tent offerings for local woolen products.




From the Silver Cloud as the sun is getting ready to set, here is the view of the Bergen harbor on our sail away at 11 pm.:

[TLCOhio]

Here’s round three on some of my many Bergen pictures.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio


From higher, here’s a view of the Fish Market area and other buildings in the main part of Bergen.




Here’s one of the statutes overlooking and guarding the Fish Market.:




More historic building details in Bergen.




What do people from Ohio who are OSU fans do when visiting scenic places like Bergen? They spell out O-H-I-O!!! Go Bucks!