Squaw Valley Resort - Cruise Review NCL Jade Norway Cruise

Here is my day by day diary. 2008, cruising Norway from Southampton to the North Cape June 29-July 11, i sailed on NCL's Jade.

There are a lot of sightseeing ideas on the official tourism site: visitnorway.com Note: At the time of travel 1.00 USD = 5.09180 NOK
United States Dollars = Norway Kroner.

A very smooth on time flight. Day 0 We took Delta to London Heathrow.

When we asked the bus dispatcher, something we did not find out until 1145, the coach terminal is nowhere near Terminal 5, unfortunately. Where we waited, so we wound up in Terminal 5, the directional signs were not quite the overly precise way you an expect in Britain. This was plenty of time to get our luggage and walk to the terminal, since we arrived at 9AM. We looked for the coach terminal to take our pre-booked bus to Southampton (National Express) at 1150, day 1 When we arrived at Heathrow.

The cruise left from City Cruise Terminal We were on our way, before we knew it. Just in time for the muster call, and we were soon on the ship, one advantage of arriving so late was that there were no lines to board. Readily available at the coach station took us to the ship in 5 minutes, a taxi. We were able to get into Southampton early, and by taking side roads through pretty towns, he was masterful at avoiding the traffic pile up on the motorway! With the wrong tickets, an understanding bus driver allowed us on board, fortunately. We were wait listed for the 1250 and told to come back just before departure. Which would have brought us to Southampton just an hour before the scheduled departure time of 4PM for the Jade, where we waited for the 1250 bus, she arranged another bus to take us to the proper coach terminal. Who called ahead to stop of bus from departing, despite the best efforts of the bus dispatcher from terminal 5, we missed out 1150 bus.

Oh well! And missed the shows, a good long nap (we had been up for what seemed like days) meant we had a very late dinner.

I have since discovered that it takes a lot of brain power to know all of the tricks. I had always thought it was a game played by ladies with too much time on their hands. I am so confused by bridge. And more, entertainment, learning to play bridge, a stretch class, breakfast. Day 2: A day at sea with so many activities in the daily that we had trouble accommodating what we wanted to do in one day.

Lesund; spend some time finding the trolls hidden in the buildings around Å. And every one of them appears in the carved ornamentation of the buildings, trolls are important here. Very manageable on foot. And many nicely decorated shops and houses around the harbor, a walking tour on our own included the stone church. A lovely small port with Art Noveau architecture and shops, day 3: Alesund.

Laid the foundation of Kristiansund's growth, exported to the Mediterranean countries, which, klippfish is salted and dried cod. You may choose to visit the Milnbrygga - Norway's National Klippfish Museum. A fishing and farming society for generations, you'll find the island of Averoy, close to Kristiansund. Although there was quite a bit to do in the vicinity if you wanted a shore excursion, we strolled the area. Day 4: Kristiansund - another nice small harbour.

There was very little snow on the mountaintops - quite a bit less than in Alaska. Clear skies and clear blue waters. Day 4 Svartsien Glacier - our first glacier was spectacular!

Although they were not bad, another warning it was around this northern part of Norway that we had the roughest seas. And see a film, there is a huge hall here where you can see a film about the area have something to eat and drink and buy your souvenirs, if you go to the North Cape by bus. You meet the local Sami people and their reindeer, in the shops in Honningsvag. A life-size igloo where you can get in, a map of the Artic, ramp with sledge, tables, seats, walls, bar. All you will see in the inside is made on natural ice from the lakes of Lapland. It can be visited in summer; k, a modern design made by Laila Kolostyá. Alongside the taxi station), sjogata 1A (by the sea. The Arctic Ice Bar - made completely of ice - is a short walk from the cruise ship dock. Even in July, it was cold. Day 5 Honningsvag is the stop for Nordkapp (North Cape) most northerly point of Europe.

Day 6 Cruise The Barents Sea

Day 7 Trondheim

And art galleries, museums, trondheim is filled with historical sights. Some built as far back as the 1700s, and the city center has many special wooden buildings, even today Trondheim is spoken of as one of the typical wooden cities of Europe. Nevertheless still, many from the Middle Ages, some of the narrow alleys and narrow streets. The streets were made wide to prevent fires from spreading. A new city was planned in the Baroque style, after a catastrophic fire in 1681 destroyed most of the houses in the city. And the cathedral is where all the monarchs are crowned and if you go to Kristiansten Fort you get one of the best views across the city, trondheim was the old capital of Norway.

Some highlights:

Crossing the Blomsterbrua (Flower Bridge) over the River

You can walk along the salmon river Nidelven in the city's downtown district and the old wharves along the mouth of the river

Olav. Work on what was to become the Nidaros cathedral started in 1070 over the grave of St. Olav started soon after his death and grew to great dimensions in the Middle Ages. Pilgrimages to the shrine of St. The holy king and the Patron Saint of Norway, olav. The King was known as St. Was buried here in 997, olav Trygvason, the Viking King. The largest in Scandinavia, the majestic Nidaros cathedral.

Wooden houses painted in vivid colors in the downtown and old part of the city - Bakklandet districts -The bright red old town bridge ("Gamle Bybro") with its carved gate - The Gate of Fortune
- The picturesque,

) Tickets are sold by the guide and at the Tourist Information Office. The statue of the Viking king who founded the city looks down on you from a great height, (Crossing Market Square with its colourful stalls. Departure from McDonald's next to the shopping centre Trondheim Torg. Duration 2 hours. The Royal Residence and the Cathedral; kristiansten Fortress, pass the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, ndelag Folk Museum, daily departures at 11am.You will visit the Haltdalen Stave church at the Trø. Take a sightseeing tour of Trondheim and its outskirts by bus, if you want an organized tour.

Passing magnificent waterfalls, but we sailed instead to Geiranger, day 8 Hellesylt A 3 hour stop was made here to let passengers take the overland tour to Geiranger.

And souvenir shops and beautiful views of the hills are the main draw if you do not take an organized tour, sod roofed houses. Switchback roads to the top of the mountains, you can see the winding, from here. Describing the daily life in Geiranger from the past and present, your first visit is the Norwegian Fjord Centre, from the village of Geiranger. ". Geiranger
Geiranger Fjord is known as "the most beautiful fjord in the world.

With UNESCO world heritage status The Wharf / Bryggen is characterized by its wooden buildings with pointed gables facing the harbor You can also take a trip on the Floibanen (funicular) for amazing views over the whole of Bergen and the surrounding hills, bergen of course is famous for its fish market, but we also took the tourist train for a 1 hour ride through the area and up over the city, it is easily walkable. Yet it's got a great small-town feel, day 9 Bergen 8:00 AM 7:00 PM
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway.

And for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt (which includes In the Hall of the Mountain King), he is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor. (15 June 1843 - 4 September 1907) He was a Norwegian composer and pianist who composed in the romantic period. Edvard Hagerup Grieg is from Bergen.

Built in 1125; the impressive Cathedral forms a backdrop. Too, there are lots of shops to explore. Flowers and seafood are laid out on sale, a colourful scene greets you where fruit and vegetables. Your stroll through Stavanger continues to the market square at the head of the harbour bay. An important rehabilitation project has meant that this is now northern Europe's largest and best-preserved 'wooden house' settlement. Craftsmen and traders, mostly built for seafarers, a lively area that consisting of more than 150 houses - well-preserved 18th and 19th century wooden houses, your exploration begins in 'Old Stavanger'. Day 10 Stavanger European Capital of Culture in 2008.

Day 11Thu Cruise The North Sea - -

Day 12 Fri London (Southampton)

I hope they will get better. The lack or coordination and absence of team spirit was clear. Although some are from other NCL ships, a mostly new crew boarded, when it was deployed to Europe. As required by law, with an all American crew, it had been in Hawaii. This ship was just recently repositioned to Europe, built in 2006
Crew: Unfortunately. The Ship: NCL Jade - Beautifully designed and maintained.

The announcements from the activities director ranged from silly to stupid young girl musings. The activities were mis-timed. Even telling us to turn our clocks back on the wrong day, the daily newsletter was often wrong.

But things improved after that, our cabin was not made up on the first night.

Different recipe perhaps, different chef. Being unable to reproduce the same dish on two successive nights, though was inconsistent, the Italian Kitchen. One of the premium restaurants was good, teppenyaki. The main dining room had slow service when we sampled it. Always varied offerings and was nearly always open, the Food: The Buffet had generous.

The crew show was foolish and required not a bit of talent. Particularly the gospel singers, the singers were mainly good. The dancers were just okay. And could not understand why he made fun of anyone who walked in late, i missed most of the jokes of the famous comedian. Which left from Southampton, entertainment: The shows were aimed at the mainly English passengers on this cruise.

And I found more information on the internet than at the shore excursion desk, it seemed that no one bothered to do any shore excursion research in advance, since this was the Jade's first visit to Norway. Shore Excursions: We did not take any ship sponsored shore excursions.

And we never needed raingear or umbrellas, it was sunny. Although we sailed in July, it was not warm enough for summer shorts. Including a fleece of some sort, what to wear: Layers.

After the staff has time to assimilate into a team. But at a much later date, i would try the Jade again. And I attribute the problems listed above to the inexperienced staff, overall: We did have a good time.