Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/17/24 (Haugesund, Norway)

 

I awoke to an overcast day, knowing that we were not on a fixed schedule.  Our ship was due to make port in Haugesund around 9:00 am, and RQS had planned to take an exercise class at 10:00 am.  So RQS joined me for an early breakfast (not eating anything) while I feasted again.  (Reminder to self: Aim to have breakfast in the main dining room next time.)  

Around 10:00 am, RQS went to exercise, while I went to the atrium to relax and catch up on reading the daily news.  (She found that no one but her was at the exercise class, so she had the leader to herself - a private lesson.)  RQS texted me to tell me that she made it up to our cabin when the power went out.  First, it was the lights in the stores (closed for the time in port), followed by everything else for a few seconds.  Then, the emergency power and lights kicked in.  We were told NOT to take the elevators at this time, so I told RQS that I'd come up when it was safe.  Once I heard the ultra low pitched sound of the ships engines kicking in, I went up to the room to meet RQS before having a light lunch.

Shortly after lunch, we took the shuttle bus into Haugesund.  $8/pp (approx.) isn't an unreasonable price to be shuttled into town and back, given the price of gas (or electric) in this neck of the world.

Later on in the day, we went to the main dining room for dinner.  Compared to what we've had in the past on NCL, Princess's MDR now shows itself to be better than what we have been finding on our NCL trips.  Hopefully, our Autumn Bermuda trip will show that NCL has rectified the problems we've seen on previous cruises....

One thing of note:  We chose an all-inclusive package (Princess Premier) which gives us 4 devices of unlimited internet use on this cruise. This is a much better deal than I could have gotten on any other cruise line that I've sailed on.  However, there is a minor glitch.  When we sailed out of the US, we were connected to a United States based IP address, and the ads presented to us were geared to the US market.  However, on this cruise, the IP assigned to us was either UK based or German based.  This means that we've been getting ads geared for the UK and EU markets, some of them in German.  In the Google search results for Linens and Things above, I got responses from European stores with prices listed in Euros.  There are also some sites that I cannot reach due to EU restrictions.  I guess that I'll have to wait until we return to the US to order a new dress from Lane Bryant, or to order a new wig from Wig Outlet.  But what I find most interesting is that I keep getting forced to German sites of international businesses based in the USA.  Even my high school German has proven to be no use here....

2023 Bermuda Cruise - Day 5 (Port Day)

Thursday, November 23, 2023 (Thanksgiving)

As usual for us, RQS and I didn’t start getting moving until it was lunch time. After a forgettable meal, it was off the ship and off to see Hamiltion for only $19.00. (No, we didn’t get overpriced Broadway seats at a deep discount. Instead, we went to Bermuda’s capital city on a bus from the Dockyard area. I highly recommend using the archipelago’s mass transit if possible, as it is safe, clean, and convenient.)

It is about a half hour’s bus ride from the dockyard area to Hamilton, and well worth it if one wants to see Bermudans in their native context. RQS and I felt very safe using the bus into town, and we were impressed by such a small archipelago can have such a healthy center of town. The bus terminal is centrally located, and provides for an easy transfer between bus routes. Once in Hamilton, we decided to walk around before returning to the Dockyard and our ship.

After a few minutes of walking around and taking pictures (including the above at City Hall), we found an Irish Pub at which we enjoyed a “real” lunch (as compared to what we’ve been having on the ship). Although the prices were a little pricey compared with the mainland, the service was good, the food tasty, and the place accepted US currency. (In fact, the Bermudan dollar and US dollar are equal in value and equally accepted in most establishments.) While eating, I finally had a reliable internet connection, and I sent Thanksgiving greetings to both friends and family. However, there is one thing of note: I received two messages of concern - one from Social Security asking me to call them (I’ll log on to their site (login.gov, from which I can connect with Social Security) to find out whether the message was a scam or whether it is real.), and the other from my bank, saying that they stopped payment on one of my checks. Since I likely sent out one paper check to a gas card company, I figure that I can wait until I return home to investigate this issue further. 

By the time we finished lunch, it was approaching the time we had to return to the ship. Instead of taking the bus back to the Dockyard area, we decided to take the ferry back to the ship. Luckily, we had a day pass for Bermudan mass transit, as it is accepted on the ferry, and is a quicker way of getting between Hamilton and the Dockyard area. (Note: Bermuda operates a system of ferries to get people from opposite ends of the archipelago, as they can efficiently carry more people between their terminals than their buses.)

Arriving at the ship, both of us wished we had more time in Bermuda, as there is so much more that we have yet to see. And we intend to do that in future visits.