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[daddyof2]

...and the report has pushed me the last bit of the way. Mediterranean cruise booked for next year!

Oh, excellent  Sorry I'm such a terrible influence.... 

When are you doing it?

The August 13th sailing

[never2old]

The August 13th sailing

Oh, 2 weeks before me!!! Lucky you!

Apologies for the delay! I'm working on the next update, coming up very soon!!

[never2old]

Back in the ship, we went to grab a quick snack from the fast food places on deck 9 before our excursion, and ate enjoying the view...







Cars anyone?



Or a little splash?



It was almost time to meet up for our planned excursion, so after a quick stop our cabin to get our tickets, we went to meet up our group in Fathoms, in the After Hours part of the ship

The view from our cabin:



Fathoms is one of the 3 bars in the evening entertainment part of the ship (After Hours), where from 9pm (I think it was) only adults are allowed. There's also a piano bar, Keys, and O'Gills, an Irish pub. We didn't get to try any of them, of course... I think our daughter would have been quite happy to stay a bit longer in the kids clubs in the evening, but the rest of us needed our beauty sleep



I like these lights



There was a desk by the entrance where you checked-in for your excursion, they check everyone's there, give you your group assignment (and a sticker so you don't forget), and once everyone's there you all leave together.



Can't fault it. Really well organised!

We followed our group out of the ship...



... and got to our boat, the Fjordfart....



We were going for a little cruise to the Lysefjord. First we most sat inside, though quite quickly we went upstairs to the top deck to enjoy the beautiful views. Despite the cold wind (we were travelling quite fast most of the time) it was really worth it.















We stopped for a coffee break (and some Norwegian waffles, with cream... yummy!!!) in the Lysenfjord Centre, before going back on our ship to continue our trip















The pictures don't do it justice, it was really quite something!! To take this I had to look all the way up, it felt like the mountains were closing over us!







Some locals...





Our final stop was Pulpit Rock. Though I have to say, from the bottom it's note as spectacular as I'm sure it is from the top....





On one of the excursions you could go on a hike up to Pulpit Rock. I heard from those who did it that it was really tough (a few guests didn't make it to the top), though the view from up there was worth it. Though you needed to be reasonably fit to make it there! I heard also that a couple of guests (former DCL cast members both of them) actually got engaged up there! Talk about a romantic spot for a proposal!!

On the way back to Stavanger I stayed inside the boat with my daughter; I didn't quite go to sleep (though quite a few people around me were) but I did feel my eyes closing a couple of times...)

Final part of the day coming up soon!!

[never2old]

After the boat trip my parents went for another walk around Stavanger, and we headed back to the ship. We went back to deck 9 for another bite, and watched a bit of Tarzan on Funnel Vision while we ate  



After that my husband took Alicia down to our room for her nap, while I stayed upstairs a bit longer to enjoy the views....





The pools were all open, and all in use!!





Gamle Stavanger:











Beach volleyball anyone?



Deck 10





And down to deck 4





And the Atrium, on the way back to our room



We loved Stavanger. It's actually a big city (the 3rd largest in Norway), but all the points of interest are within easy walking distance of the port. We didn't have time to go to the Petroleum Museum, nor to visit the Maritime Museum (it was actually right next to our ship, but they were already closed when we came back from our excursion). And there were plenty of excursions organised by Disney that sounded really good. Basically, we could go back and still have plenty to discover...

The show tonight was a magician. My daughter was feeling a bit tired though and wanted to watch TV, so my parents and my husband went to see the show and I stayed with her to watch the Disney Channel (of course). A bit later, before dinner, the princesses had scheduled meet 'n' greets, so I went with Alicia to see Belle...







We then met my husband in the Promenade Lounge, a lounge (duh) where they were playing live music. After a drink we went back to the Atrium to see Cinderella









By now it was time for dinner, tonight it was Lumiere's.







After her dinner they came to pick up Alicia along with the children to take them to the kids clubs, while we finished our meal. Later there was a comedian in one of the adults-only bars, so my husband went to check it out while I went to pick up Alicia from the Oceaneer's Club. On the way back to our room though we met the one princess we'd miss earlier, Rapunzel... She was by the lifts, talking with another couple, so we stopped to say hello





You see why my daughter adored this cruise, right?

And then we saw Mickey Mouse was in the Atrium, so of course we had to say hello...







When we got to our room, we had a letter from Anna waiting for us. There was going to be a scavenger hunt!! We had to look for clues all around the ship, and at the end get a reward!



After a long (and brilliant) day, we all slept very well!!



Next: Alesund!

[DisneyRon]

... I'm going to have to look into booking one of these now don't I....?
That is awesome never2old, wonderful photos and very cool experiences.

[daddyof2]

Next August can't come quickly enough, my children are going to love the meet 'n' greets

[never2old]

Tuesday: Alesund!

Our next stop was Alesund. It's known for its Art Nouveau - after a fire in 1904 destroyed most of the town (at that time built mostly in wood), leaving 10,000 people homeless (but miraculously only 1 person died), the town was rebuilt (in stone and brick, this time) in the Art Nouveau style, which was the fashion at the time...

Today it's not only a tourist destination, but it's also Norway's most important fishing harbour.

We got into the harbour early in the morning, so by the time we woke up we were already there. The meeting time for our excursion this morning was 09:30, and after a delicious breakfast in Cabanas overlooking Alesund and surrounding areas, we went to meet our group in the Walt Disney Theatre. There were quite a few excursions meeting there, but they had us seating by groups (we were in group 3) and soon enough we were all walking down to deck 1 to disembark and get our bus.



I should mention, it was also my birthday When we were leaving the ship and checked-out with my card, the lady at the desk immediately wished me a happy birthday! In fact throughout the day, whenever I had to use my key anywhere, they always wished me a happy birthday. When we came back to the ship after our excursion, all the cast members checking people coming in and their bags (like in an airport, you and your bags get scanned) started singing happy birthday to me!! Disney Cast Members are really the best

Anyway. Our excursion was the Alesund Highlights. First we took a bus drive to the Sunmore Museum, an outdoors museum with houses dating back to the Middle Ages.

Arriving at Sunmore



We followed our guide through the old houses. It really felt like we'd suddenly stepped back in time a few hundred years... One of the most beautiful places I've ever visited



Now if you've read anything about the cruise, you'll know that they had a special event with Elsa and Anna. It was held here, in the afternoon (in fact they reserved the whole area for it) We hadn't booked it because a) it was very expensive and b) by the time we could book the excursions (people who've cruised before get priority) it was fully booked anyway. I did hear from people in the ship that it was really good! They had a traditional wedding, and lots of locals doing different demonstrations and talking about the Norwegian traditions. And at the end, Elsa, Anna and Kristoff, of course.

We didn't get to see any of that, unfortunately, but at least we got to meet Sven's cousin, who was already there, getting ready for the afternoon's festivities...



All the houses in Sunmore had the traditional grass roofs - it was cheap, very good form on insulation in the cold, and waterproof (there was birch bark underneath the grass). And if the grass got too long, they could simply put a goat on the roof to sort it out!!



Buildings like this is where they kept the food. They're built on pillars that the mice and rats cannot climb, and there is a gap between the stairs and the door (for the same reason). Funnily enough we had the exact same type of buildings in the north of Spain, where I used to spend all my summer holidays!





We went inside one of the houses. Unfortunately it was where they were keeping some of the equipment for the party in the afternoon, which didn't leave much room for all of us!













The views around us were simply stunning



This was the school:



The boat houses, by the water







Fishing was the main source of income for the people living here!

Next to the water there were also some small houses, not for living, but for people who came from far away (usually by boat) to change from the travel clothes to their church clothes, before going to Mass! They also took turns taking the priest from one community to another, in their boats...

Other than the outdoor museum, there's a very good boats exhibit, with mostly fishing boats dating back to the time of the Vikings









There were some more 'modern' boats as well... Like this 'Klegg'; originally a one-man motor fishing boat, it carried 6 men and a woman across from Norway to the Shetland Islands during WWII, so that they could take part in the fight against the Nazi occupation of Norway. Many fisher men helped to evacuate people from Norway into England with their fishing boats, it was known as the Shetland Bus



After Sunmore, we went back on our bus and headed towards Mount Aksla. The  drive up there was very spectacular - and a bit scary, particularly when you have two buses going on opposite directions, on a rather narrow road...  Once on the top there was a German bunker from WWII, used during their occupation of Norway....



... and a great view point, overlooking the area (and a restaurant and shop, but we didn't go in)











You can see the white and red Alnes Lighthouse (on Godoy Island).





After about 15 minutes admiring the view from top of Mount Aksla, it was time to head back to town. Before going back to the ship we did a little tour of Alesund, while our guide talked to us about the fire that destroyed the town, the reconstruction, and a bit about the economy. Before heading back to the Magic we stopped to visit the WWII memorial, a statue commemorating the Shetland Bus.



After that we headed back to the ship, and went up to deck 9 for lunch in Cabanas.

Since it was my birthday I could treat myself



The view from our table by the window



And from outside in deck 10. You can see Mount Aksla, and the viewpoint where we'd been earlier. If you don't want to take a bus up there, there's a path with 418 steps that will take you there...





We went back to our cabin to get ready to go and explore more of Alesund - and on the way take a few more pictures of the Magic.... This is the carpet outside the cabins



And some details from the room:





The lamps by the bed:







Toiletries



I love the towels



The bath tub in the split bathroom



Shower curtain...



Continues soon!

[DisneyRon]

  To bad the Anna & Elsa event sold out so quickly, but it looks like you had a great time regardless.

[daddyof2]

I love the detailing, THAT'S what makes Disney so good

[never2old]

Back to Alesund!

We took Alicia's push chair so that she could have a little nap while we visited (we're lucky that she can still fall asleep in her chair!) and started our walk around Alesund. Once more the ship was docked right next to the city center, so it was really easy to navigate!

It's not really obvious when you walk around town but Alesund is built over multiple (small) islands; the city center is mostly on 2 different islands (you can easily cross from one to the other via small bridges). Other islands are further away, and  are connected through bridges or even underwater tunnels!

Alesund was very different to other Norwegian towns we'd seen (or would see). Because of the Art Nouveau architecture all around it really reminded me of Germany, for example (except that here we were surrounded by snow covered mountains and the sea, of course... )

Despite the grey skies, it wasn't actually too cold (except when it got windy), and it stayed dry all the time.



Mine from World War I. In 1920 the mine was first displayed to collect money for the benefit of the families of lost seamen.












Salvation Army




















My parents












We were never too far away...



After a walk around the town we went to the Jugendstil Center. It's an old pharmacy (when you come in you can still see lots of details from the pharmacy). They have a museum with an exhibition on the Art Nouveau (which we didn't actually visit...  really need to go back!!) and a wonderful cafeteria with delicious coffee and cakes and cookies and muffins...















We decided to head back to the ship, so that Alicia could go a bit to the kids clubs, and we could rest a bit before the evening show.



Once Alicia was in the Oceaneer's Club, we went up to deck 10 to enjoy the views.















I'm not usually one for selfies... But sometimes you have to













Since it was the first time the Magic was in Alesund, they'd sent a band to play for us before we left



Time to go to the adults area of deck 10... There's Cove Cafe, where we got delicious coffee (for a supplement.... but totally worth it, only place onboard that had good coffee!!). They also have lots of cakes (for free...) to take with your drink...


I went for a coffee with liqueur, and a little chocolate cake. Then we sat in a couple of the long chairs to enjoy our drink. So relaxing!!

Later we went to pick up Alicia from the club, and went around the ship looking for the clues for Anna's Scavenger Hunt. On our personal navigator (each day, the navigators list all the activities going on in the ship) there were clues leading to places in the ship, where we had to find an image and write it down on our form. So for example we had:

Sing and play - This family lounge is really funky - or dance the night away "like a chicken with the face of a monkey"

That took us to the D Lounge, and there, by the entrance, was a picture of a troll rock.  Or outside Animator's Palate, another of the clues, there was a carrot:



With Alicia we went round the ship finding the 3 clues for the night, before heading to the theatre for the show. Tonight it was "Villains Tonight", a fun show starring Hades.



After the show and before dinner we had time to meet lots of characters. Tonight some of them were wearing traditional Norwegian clothes!!













Tonight we were starting our second rotation of the restaurants, and so we were back in my favourite, Animator's





I love the butter knives!!



Once we'd finish dinner and got our desserts, all the waiters came to our table singing Happy Birthday to me And my husband had ordered a chocolate cake!!!



I also got a birthday badge



Cake was delicious, really tasty chocolate sponge, with chocolate mousse, covered in chocolate....

One of my favourite birthdays I think

Our towel animal for the evening:



Next: Geiranger!!

[c3po]

Thanks for your report. I'm really enjoying - especially because I live in Norway. I thought the photos of the characters in traditional Norwegian dress were hysterical!

[norhel]

Lot's of nice pictures and great report.

[never2old]

Thanks all

Next - Geiranger!

This was probably the port of call everyone was most looking forward to.

Located at the end of the Geirangerfjord (a 15km-long fjord) Geiranger is a very little town; I read somewhere that it has only about 200 permanent residents. There are a couple of hotels and a camping site, and in the summer it's a very popular destination (with campers and cruise ships!) It's also the fjord that inspired Frozen's Arendelle.

The previous night Commodore Tom announced that we would start entering the Geirangerfjord at 5:45 AM, and recommended people be ready by 5:30 AM. It was also written in our personal navigator, and our waiters in the restaurant also reminded us. Probably my one regret of this trip though, we did not get up for it.... I spoke with people about it later and apparently it was not only beautiful, but also very special. There were a few people in the top deck (including lots of cast members taking lots of pictures), they had hot drinks and breakfast being served...

Instead we stayed in bed, and woke up once we were already in Geiranger. When we woke up and looked out of the window...  . My pictures don't do this place justice. Mountain tops covered in snow, waterfalls everywhere... Stunning.



Geiranger is very small and doesn't have a proper dock for big cruise ships; since a couple of years they have the Sea Walk - basically a floating jetty. Only one ship can use it at the time - in our case the Disney Magic Two other cruise ships that followed us to Geiranger had to tender their passengers to the pier...



The fjord behind us




We met my parents for breakfast in Cabanas



and then got ready to explore a bit the town before our excursions, for which we had to meet our groups a couple of hours later.

The Sea Walk



Today was not a particularly sunny day... It was on the cold side (especially on the Sea Walk, where it felt very windy), and it was raining on and off (mostly on) all day.  Well, raining... My parents went on a different excursion than us, and for them it was actually snowing!!









We went through Geiranger towards a waterfall we'd seen from the ship, at the other side of the town.












We went past the camping site towards the waterfall. We were surrounded by the mountains (and the fjord behind us). Gorgeous anywhere you looked!!





















I made a little video of it on Instagram: https://instagram.com/p/4lXgzYRvLe/

There was staircase going up next to the waterfall, but with a 4 year old who was being a bit moody this morning we didn't really feel up to it...



I went up a bit, while my husband stayed with Alicia









Oh look.... Never out of sight



We then started going back towards the ship













Back in the ship we had a quick bite, grabbed some fruit in case we were hungry later and went to meet our group for the excursion.

Continues soon!

[Mileto]

MAGICAL, FANTASTIC, BRILLIANT!

How may we thank you, never2old, for the time taken and the wonderful places you lead us to! It's a completely new world, such beautiful places on earth still to be discovered!

Thank you! You tell it like a real fairytale and I like your sence of humor and the eye for detail.

Following you till the end of the journey. Maybe some question about the organization, but at the end.

Thank you again! 

[DisneyRon]

Gorgeous photos Never2Old, that landscape is breathtaking.
Looking forward to seeing more.

Also, I really need to look into doing one of these, it looks like an absolute blast (though I did see the unpleasant 200% charge for single travellers). It'll be expensive, but still...