GregD

Day 4 brought us to Alesund, and as you saw earlier the views are stunning. The landscape is lush and wild, and truly amazing. Our excursion today was Stranda Mountain Explorer, and it did not disappoint. Our guide was fantastic. We also lucked out weather wise because typically it’s cloudy and rainy. We had the most fabulous blue skies after the morning clouds burned off. Watching the landscape appear before our eyes was amazing. With the nice weather, and our amazing driver, who managed to hit the ferries that we took right at the point of departure afforded us to make a couple stops and some amazing viewpoints. I took 140+ pictures with my DSLR that I need to go through, but for now I’ll leave you with a couple of teasers until I can pick the best and get them uploaded with some better WIFI.

Even more

I just can’t get over these views!

Last night the seas were much gentler which resulted in some great sleep. It’s always a little trippy when traveling north and you walk outside at 1045pm and it’s still bright out. This morning, our coffees were delivered and I wandered a bit while the rest of the family slept. We arrive in Alsund at 11:00. We have been sailing close to the coast the whole way up and the scenery this morning is stunning. The pictures don’t do it justice.

Dinner brought us to Wonderland. While I was looking forward to this, I’m willing try try anything once, and don’t mind weird food, I was apprehensive for The Boss and the kids. Heather is les adventurous than I am, and is also put off by certain textures. The kids also can be really picky too. The boss and the kids said they were willing to go in with an open mind and try it. They also went in knowing that they didn’t have to eat anything they didn’t like. Worst case scenario would be a message to Leroy to have Johnny Rockets delivered to the room. The kids were won over as soon as we walked in and they got to “paint” their menus and Lava Flows topped with cotton candy were delivered. the kids both got the Mac and Cheese fries as an appetizer. Lydia got the wonderland burger, and Johnny got the popcorn chicken. They both enjoyed their meals, which made for happy parents. We allowed the waiter to bring us a collection of appetizers that he thought we would like. We started with the liquid truffle mushroom risotto. Heather didn’t touch this one. She doesn’t like mushrooms at all. Flavor wise, it is definitely earthly, and has a texture that also would have put her off, so I ate hers. We followed this with the liquid lobster. This was good. It was rich, briny, and delicious. Heather did like this one. We then proceeded to the tomato water. We both though this was “different” but not terrible. Next were the crispy crab cones. These are eaten bottom to top and we’re delicious. We were then told to eat the Mad Hatter’s Purple potted shrimp. These were our favorite at this point of the meal, and there was a spicy sauce in the cup to dip the shrimp in. Next came the reconstructed caprese. Here they used gelatin to firm up a Bloody Mary to make the tomato, and the olives. This also tasted good. The final appetizer was the birds nest. Picture a smoked deviled egg, only the yolk was made with blue cheese and mustard. Absolutely delicious! Our entrees we’re the braised short ribs and the pork belly. Both were outstanding! Desserts consisted of The World, Forbidden Apple, and the mushroom garden. The world dessert was decadent, the forbidden apple and the mushroom garden was okay. (Pictures forthcoming) After our meal, we were all glad we gave this a try, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Captain was also there having dinner himself with two guests of his.

Our day mirrored that of @Lovetocruise2002 since we did the same excursion together. We managed to have lunch at one of the local restaurants in the fish market area if the port before heading back to the ship. Heather and Lydia got fish and chips, I got mussels and Johnny got chicken nuggets. The menu was geared towards tourists since there were universally liked dishes on it, but it was fresh seafood forward, and the seafood was delicious. We also had the same afternoon tea setup in our room too. After tea my kids wanted to ride the bumper cars again and D14 from our “friendly” neighbor (neighbour?) came along too. Someone must have forgotten to tell her that Canadians are supposed to be friendly, because she was cutthroat out there with the bumper cars. I was attacked relentlessly! Each time she had a smile on her face too maybe that’s the “nice” part. They smile while they are secretly trying to hurt you. Way back when, I had talked about about having a genie would be beneficial, and today proved it. We walked into the seaplex and the line for the bumper cars wrapped around the entire outside. Leroy walked in and we were the first ones into the cars. Their protocol is that Star Class guests go onto the floor every other turn. We did two rounds and the kids were ready to do something else. Lydia and D14 headed off on their own. Johnny and I went to the pool. Tonight is wonderland for dinner….we shall see how it’s going.

Someone also wanted to try the French Toast. @Lovetocruise2002, he said it was “sent straight from the heavens.”

After a long and rocky night we made it to Kristiansand. Good morning Norway!

“Hey Leroy, the kids are back in the stateroom watching a movie. Can you send them two slices of cheese, and two slices of pepperoni pizza?” ”sure thing!” 20 minutes later

They certainly are! Hahaha, I just noticed that! It shrinks the file size down considerably for easier uploads. When I tried doing that on the individual photos earlier, that caused them to rotate.

Dinner brought us back to CK. The food coma is already setting in. RE, the snack delivery earlier. Heather and I again got escargot, I also ordered the Maine Lobster Salad. Lydia had Caesar Salad, while Johnny had chicken noodle soup. For entrees, Heather had the Pappardelle, which she said “didn’t do it for her.” I tried it and the sauce seemed too sweet. I had the veal tenderloin, which was good. Lydia ordered the kids steak, while Johnny had a special request of chicken alfredo. It wasn’t on the menu, but in typical fashion, our waiter, who has been superb, said that he could make it happen. Following dinner, we all said we were stuffed so we were going to skip dessert…..so of course, we got dessert…..

We spent the afternoon attempting to walk off some calories on the walking track bit it was so windy at the bow they had to close the path! we made it one lap before they closed the bow, so we decided to soak in the indoor pool and hot tubs. The Boss grabbed our first drinks, and the bartender was surprised and pleased when she asked for a receipt to sign so she could tip him. Our next few drinks we ordered were suddenly MUCH stronger. While chatting with that bartender we found out he signed off of Oasis the day we got on in February.

The ship certainly is rocking tonight!

Afternoon snack delivery. The Italian in me is cheering! (Thank you @Lovetocruise2002 for the visual reminder about PicCollage! This will make the slower data connection so much more manageable)

Heather and I just finished a nice soak in the hot tubs. Leroy asked us if we wanted to do the flowrider. There was a special star class event. We were in the hot tub when he sent us that message. Told him there was no way I was trading hot steamy water with cocktails for cold water and North Sea winds.

If there is a charge Leroy hasn’t mentioned it. I am also on the first northstar ride in three of our port days and he has not mentioned there was a charge. If I remember I’ll ask him if there is a charge for non star class guests

Yep, reading you Alaska blog I was expecting the slowdown

Current speeds

Joff is back!

For lunch, Lydia ordered the Crispy chicken kara-age heather and I had the spicy crispy shrimp roll and the futomaki roll. the kids had the beef and chicken teriyaki internet is starting to get fun as we get further north. Pictures are rotating automatically when I upload smaller sizes and I forget how to rotate them back, so looking for suggestions

Just let Romina know that you want to eat there on filet night and she will make it happen regardless of what night it is.

It’s a rule for dads to get as many embarrassing pictures of their kids and blast them to everyone right? If so mission accomplished, if not, oh well, enjoy anyway!

Someone just had her first she’s a geisha cocktail. New favorite she said

We were also scheduled for the northstar this morning, but that got canceled due to weather. Leroy already has us rescheduled for later this week. We also decided to check out the concierge lounge. There are a few people here, as well as a stowaway. Hopefully someone doesn’t scare him away, the Captain came on to give an update, and the closest land is 40 miles away. He still has a long journey to Kristiansand too. Lunch is at Izumi today