Hello From Nieuw Statendam! Voyage of the Midnight Sun

[Windsailer]

1 hour ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

Exploration Central - Deck 12, Starboard

Thanks! Really apppreciate the response. 

[Sea42]

9 hours ago, MAVIP said:

Could you locate Carina? Have a perfect 2nd seaday! 

Lenny

I haven't. I will ask around see if I can find her.

[Iamthesea]

Carole, I just finished catching up with your review.  I was made aware of your postings from Susie when we were on Sebastains excursion.   I had no internet connection since night before last.  Finally got the problem resolved this morning and have been reading ever since.  I have been following along with Lorraine’s review, so thrilled to have another.😀

 

You photos are beautiful.  How is it that I can take the exact photo that turns out to look awful.  LOL 

 

I think we all agree that this ship experience has been delightful.  Club Orange, especially!  We did have a rather long wait this morning for the first time.  Not sure why because there were plenty of empty tables available yet lots of people were given buzzers.  I think the staff count started off low (they must have been up all night helping to make all those towel animals that Lorraine posted about.🤣)

 

Kazu, Vince and I agree that the tours previously set up by you have been the best!  Eggy and Sebastian have been perfect tour guides.  Looking forward to Geiranger tomorrow.

 

BTW, Carol, if you have not already heard, the “left behind” couple did make it back to the ship.  My understanding was that they thought they were to be back at the bus at 1:30.  They were able to take a city bus back to the ship.
 

Glad that you love your Neptune Suite.  It looks amazing!  We tried to upgrade by Upsell to one of the forward Neptunes on the bow.  None were available, but after the rough seas the last couple of days, perhaps that’s a good thing.  We do love our Signature Suite in the middle of deck 7.  Not too much movement, and just the right amount of space.  Love the bathroom and the amazing storage.

 

Now that I know what you look like ( from your photos) I will look for you to introduce myself.  🙂

Edited May 24, 2023 by Iamthesea

[Sea42]

In Honningsvag we booked a tour with Blue Puffin as did several of our roll call members. Sebastián was a fun and informative guide! We were very happy with the ease and speed of communicating with himm. The price was roughly $130pp.

We stopped at a fishing village to learn more about making a living by fishing in this remote environment. The colors of the boats and gear really popped. My photos don't do it justice. 

Our next stop was to learn about King Crabs and the effect that they're having on the local ecosystem. I found some locally made chocolate in the little nearby cafe.

That next stop was really just a shopping stop. A Sami couple were there, in traditional dress, and a couple of their reindeer. I did pick up a magnet made from antler with etchings on it

They took cash or credit cards.

Then it was off to Nord Kapp. We had fantastic weather for our visit but the winds were still brisk and I was happy I had my hat! In addition to wandering the ground, we watch the film and explored the visitor's center. 

The ride back to the ship was reindeer overload, involving way too many photos on my part! We also passed by a tiny little beach, which of course Sebastián claimed was the northern most bech in Europe.

Back in Honningsvag we strolled about,  had an adult beverage or two and then made our way back to the ship. 

Evening sailing took us past Nord Kapp and we were treated to a view of th globe.

[mocruzer]

What great weather you had at Nordkapp😀  We're thinking of doing that cruise next year on the Rotterdam.  

[Sea42]

8 minutes ago, mocruzer said:

What great weather you had at Nordkapp😀  We're thinking of doing that cruise next year on the Rotterdam.  

It was a beautiful day! It was the one place I thought maybe I should bring a winter type jacket on the cruise. I had brought along a fleece hoodie and rain jacket and some combo of those has worked everywhere so far. But the rain jacket/wind breaker was all that was needed at Noth Cape.

 Tomorrow in Geiranger is looking to be our worst weather for any of our ports. 40F with rain. We've been lucky with the weather so far so we were due.

[mocruzer]

41 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Tomorrow in Geiranger is looking to be our worst weather for any of our ports. 40F with rain. We've been lucky with the weather so far so we were due.

When we were on Rotterdam last summer and sailed out of Geiranger, they opened the bow for beautiful viewing and nice commentary from a Norwegian lady.  Hope they do the same for you🙂

[mocruzer]

Looks like rain today in Geiranger.  I see Mein Schiff got the floating dock and hope tendering is not too tedious.   

[Sea42]

2 hours ago, mocruzer said:

Looks like rain today in Geiranger.  I see Mein Schiff got the floating dock and hope tendering is not too tedious.   

It did drizzle now and then but a mostly dry day. Over 300 people on HAL tours were late coming back due to a bus mishap (Mein Schiff) on the road back to the port. Of course the captain waited and we had a great sail back out of the fjord. I even talked my husband into experiencing part of it from the aft hot tub!😁

[Lido deck main]

Sure enjoying your trip report.  Thank you for taking the time for us to travel with you.

[Sea42]

The last two days have been great! Geiranger was amazing. We took the Waterfall Walk up to the Fjord Center as did many other people. There was another large ship in port with us, so the going was very slow. That was OK though because it gave us plenty of chances to catch our breath on the way up!

 

The Fjord Center itself was packed when we arrived. There were several buses in the parking lot and the line to enter was out the door. We decided to continue walking and try coming back later. There were several trail options to choose from. We chose to walk a few km to a lookout. It was a challenging, uphill walk so unfortunately we didn't reach our end goal but it was a very peaceful walk through the woods. It was a mix of gravel path and stone steps.       

   

Back at Center the crowds had thinned so we had a leisurely look at the exhibits. 

Our visit was complete with a waffle and hot chocolate on the patio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Sea42

[oakridger]

I love walking in the woods and that makes me want to be there now!  I'll be in Norway in about a year and hoping my new knee will be installed and working well by then!   😊

 

Thank you for this review,

~Nancy

[Sea42]

10 minutes ago, oakridger said:

I love walking in the woods and that makes me want to be there now!  I'll be in Norway in about a year and hoping my new knee will be installed and working well by then!   😊

 

Thank you for this review,

~Nancy

Best wishes for you with your new knee! My husband has had both of his replaced and it has helped him so much.

[Sea42]

Some negatives from Nieuw Statendam:

 

5 out of our 14 days were sea days. It would have been so nice to have guest lectures on board! There is such an opportunity here for talks on history, the environment, the ice age etc.

 

No laundry service for the final 2 days. Thursday evening was the last time we could send in laundry for this cruise ending on Sunday.

 

On these cold weather cruises the ship can be very crowded especially at meal rimes. Hardly anyone is using the outside decks to hang out or eat, so inside seating is at a premium.

 

Related to the prior issue, Club Orange should be open for lunch on sea days!

 

I don't mind background music in the dinning room but IMO it should be instrumentals only.

 

That's about it for my negatives. None are major to me except the first one.

[kazu]

27 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Some negatives from Nieuw Statendam:

 

5 out of our 14 days were sea days. It would have been so nice to have guest lectures on board! There is such an opportunity here for talks on history, the environment, the ice age etc.

 

I agree - there should have been one for this itinerary.

 

 

27 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

 

No laundry service for the final 2 days. Thursday evening was the last time we could send in laundry for this cruise ending on Sunday.

 

that’s standard Carol.  Some people put a lot out on the last night so they need to anticipate the possibility of 48 hour turn around and they want you to have the luggage back in time for packing at your leisure.  

 

 

27 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

 

On these cold weather cruises the ship can be very crowded especially at meal rimes. Hardly anyone is using the outside decks to hang out or eat, so inside seating is at a premium.

 

Related to the prior issue, Club Orange should be open for lunch on sea days!

 

That’s a brilliant idea.  I hope you wrote it on your survey.

 

 

Appreciate all your observations 👍 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

It has been a wonderful cruise with fantastic weather. I'm just sorry that we weren't able to meet everyone who has been adding to this great roll call. Safe travels home everyone to those of you who aren't staying onboard (and we're are part of the unlucky ones who have to go home).

[Sea42]

4 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I agree - there should have been one for this itinerary.

 

 

 

that’s standard Carol.  Some people put a lot out on the last night so they need to anticipate the possibility of 48 hour turn around and they want you to have the luggage back in time for packing at your leisure.  

 

 

 

That’s a brilliant idea.  I hope you wrote it on your survey.

 

 

Appreciate all your observations 👍 

I thought it was going to be Friday morning. We haven't been on hal recently so that's probably just a faulty memory on my part!

It has been a wonderful cruise though I wish you had been here with us!

[Sea42]

2 hours ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

It has been a wonderful cruise with fantastic weather. I'm just sorry that we weren't able to meet everyone who has been adding to this great roll call. Safe travels home everyone to those of you who aren't staying onboard (and we're are part of the unlucky ones who have to go home).

I hope you have a safe, uneventful journey home!

I too thought we had better than expected weather for this time of year. I will always remember the amazing waterfalls on this trip!

[kazu]

19 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

I thought it was going to be Friday morning. We haven't been on hal recently so that's probably just a faulty memory on my part!

It has been a wonderful cruise though I wish you had been here with us!

 

Me too. 💔. But the elbow needed another surgery and it is what it is.  I’ve so enjoyed following along with you all.  

[singleflyer]

As someone sailing this ship solo in July through the fjords; do you think Club Orange is worth it?  I already have a Veranda and no aft Verandas are available.  

[aliaschief]

Enjoyed following your cruise. Thanks for sharing.

[Sea42]

6 hours ago, singleflyer said:

As someone sailing this ship solo in July through the fjords; do you think Club Orange is worth it?  I already have a Veranda and no aft Verandas are available.  

@cruising sister  or @kazu might be able to answer to answer this better from a solo perspective but I would say yes for the fact that dinning wait time is much better. Also, if there are many tender ports on your itinerary having priority for tendering is nice.

 

[cruising sister]

Club orange was worth it for me. As a solo traveler they really took care of me. Meals were quicker and a great small environment. On a pinnacle class ship I would do it again. 

[jakkojakko]

Just for comparisson. We are/were on the same trip and had fixed dining early. All meals took no longer than 1hr and 15 minutes and average around 1 hour.

So no complaint about mdr.

[kazu]

@singleflyer I completely agree with @cruising sister.  We both have sailed solo.

 

If I am on a Pinnacle Class ship, I will definitely do Club Orange.  And, in fact I am in October 😉. The environment is nicer than the MDR IMO and especially nice if you are a solo.  I shared a table with CC friends some nights and ate alone on others.  The staff took very good care of me.