Geiranger - Norway

OCEANA in the Fjords.........with her sleek lines she glides through the deep velvet waters with ease in all her glory, enjoying giving such a great holiday to so many people. By ship is the best way to see Norway.

A rather exclusive private Yacht was in with us - anyone know who owns this?........

OCEANA at anchor with the boating service under way..................

Good Day All,

On Tuesday 24 August we were at anchor in Geiranger. I am so pleased you enjoyed the photographs in my last blog post. I love to go ashore on the tender and have a walk in the fresh mountain air. As you can see from my photographs it was overcast and misty, with the odd rain shower however regardless of what the weather is doing you cannot help but be inspired and amazed at the awesome beauty and majesty of the place.

The village is made up of wooden houses and hotels, all with spectacular views. There is a year round population of 300 people and between them they welcome over 160 cruise ships and 600,000 tourists each year. Despite the number of tourists this remains a quiet and tranquil village snuggled into the base of the mountains.

OCEANA at anchor.

For the more active there are a number of Shore Excursions that you can take part in such as Mount Dalsnibba, Geirangerfjord Kayaking - the best way to see the Seven Sisters cascading waterfalls, or speed through the water on a Rib - which gets close to both the Seven Sisters and the Bridal Veil Waterfall!

Not everyone travels by coach!

One of the pleasures of walking ashore is that you always bump into someone you know - our Passenger Service Assistants Althea and Shant were enjoying the views........

I love the sound of gushing water - so refreshing...........................

A nice little retreat in the mountains, imagine the log fire burning and the hot waffles with the raspberry jam that is very famous here................who left the gate open?

Flying the flags for Norway...................at the local Hotel.

What a great spot for the campers and caravans.........................

No matter where you have been walking it is always nice to come home to OCEANA.

No prizes for guessing who is in the photograph with Captain Hamish Reid...!

When it is a boating port it gives everyone a chance to take shots of the ship.

In the morning we had a Hotel Managers Meeting to run over the arrangements for the one week cruise to Ireland, Spain and France........it is all going on - never a dull moment in the Hotel Department......

As I write this we are on the way to Spain from Ireland. Since leaving Southampton last Saturday the weather has been fantastic. We could not believe how lucky we were with the weather in Dublin - blue skies! The same for our call at Cobh (for Cork - Cobh is pronounced Cove).

Hope this finds you all well and adjusting to the change of beat as the children return to school and thoughts turn to autumn..........

All good wishes,

James.

Slow down - the past will catch up with you no matter how fast you run away from it.