Jean and I boarded the MS Marco Polo on Saturday 18th April and our ship departed in the late afternoon on its way to Amsterdam. We ordered some room service ....
 |
| Gorgeous coffee/tea and 'petit fours' ... chocolate dipped strawberries and Belgian chocolates ... yum |
The evening's entertainment was 'A tribute to Broadway' but we were both a bit knackered from the trip to the port (Jean had been up since 4am), so we decided to call it a night after dinner.
Next morning, we arrived in Amsterdam. Jean and I took a longish stroll along the dock side towards the Central Amsterdam station, we went through that and out onto the area where you can hire canal cruise boats. We decided to go on the '100 Sights of Amsterdam' cruise for just 29 Euro (for the both of us). It was an hour sailing up and down the canals and seeing all the important architecture, bridges and places of interest - no we didn't go into the red light district (why?) and no, we didn't score any dagga pips (again, why?). Amsterdam is a lovely city, the cyclists are all a bit manic (a bit like Af taxis really, they just don't have any regard for pedestrians). The weather was really good and only got chilly when we were walking back to our ship. The evening's entertainment was provided by Simon Sands, a UK comedian ... I use the word comedian in the loosest terms because he really was quite bad! The jokes were older than the average age-group of the passengers onboard (about 75 I reckon).
Day 3 we spent at sea and got to know our Captain - Michail Margaritis, his officers and the rest of the crew and staff. We watched a fascinating lecture by Dr. Louise Bonner on the formation of the fjords and Norway. We also did some crafting and made picture frames out of scraps of material. In the evening, we got all dressed up for the Captain's Welcome Party, had our pictures taken and then later in the evening, watched 'Dancing Queen' a tribute to the music of ABBA put on by the Marco Polo showteam, orchestra and ballet dancers.
Sail away, sail away, sail away ...
 |
| "Laydeez an' Jellyman ... this is your Capitan speaking from the navigational bridge. We now prepare Marco Pollo for sell away ..." |
 |
| All dolled up for the Captain's Dinner |
Day 4 - we entered the fjords and took a technical stop at Ulvik and then Eidfjord, where we got off the boat and wandered around this completely gorgeous part of the world. We bought a few mementos from a well stocked but under-staffed souvenir shop which was manned by an old Norwegian bloke - he was pleased when I said 'Tussen Takk*' after paying for the little Viking statue that I got for Ewan. The wind was a bit icy and cold if the sun went behind clouds but it still wasn't unpleasant. These two little places are absolutely perfect idyllic spots to go if you want to do a spot of kayaking or walking around the mountains, so unspoilt and spotlessly clean - all Norwegian villages and cities look like they've been scrubbed with bleach. Evening entertainment was 'Shake the 60's'
*a thousand thanks
Day 5 - we arrived in Flåm a tiny little village and home to the Flåmsbana railway - we had a pre-booked excursion on this train, which took us up into the mountains along one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world. The views were spectacular, this railway line has extreme gradients and the train has five separate braking systems. The train goes up past the Kjosfossen Waterfall but at this time of year it is still frozen over. Once we'd passed the waterfall we stopped at Vatnahalsen and went for homemade waffles, double cream and homemade jam at the hotel. That was heaven! Snow very thick here but it was warm and sunny. We didn't bother with the show this night as it was the 'comedian' again.
Day 6 - we were in Bergen, which is Norway's second largest city and really a gorgeous place. It was slightly overcast when we were in Bergen but not cold and we had a lovely time wandering around all the old historical shops, artists corners and seeing the sights. I'd go back to Bergen in a flash, just to spend a bit more time in the Christmas shop which is open year round (what a treat!). Evening entertainment was 'Rock n Roll dreams'.
Day 7 was spent at sea - Jean and I did a craft (learning how to make a necklace out of fabric) and then we watched a fascinating lecture about the Vikings. The evening entertainment was 'We will rock you - a tribute to Queen'.
We have travelled a total of 1731 nautical miles on this cruise. The cruise was the most relaxing thing I've ever done and well worth the money. The food onboard was five star, absolutely excellent service all round - waiters, cabin stewards ... our room was a nice size. It was a treat having portholes- especially late at night, when I often got out of bed and watched the sea. We only had one rough evening of rough sea (even then it wasn't scary), the rest of the time the sea and the fjords were flat calm. Our beds were very comfy - and I have absolutely no complaints at all.
Day 8 - we arrived back in Tilbury. The cruise coach took us back to Victoria Bus Station and I was able to get an earlier trip back to Norwich on the National Express coach - however it took us over an hour and a half to get out of London (it was gridlock and we still don't know why!).
Anyway, here's a video of the highlights - including all the photos - I am only posting one or two separate photos to this blog and I have had to take off music, compress and re-edit/format the video/photos in order for it to be processed by YouTube - so the images are not as sharp as my originals. Anyway, you get the general idea.
.
