Reservations Rendezvous Cruise around the Fjords!

Date Added 03/09/2019

For this weeks #TravelTuesday, Kyran our Reservations Manager travelled on a Fred Olsen Cruise around the Fjords! Read more below to see what he got up to on his wonderous travels...

DAY 1: TRAVEL DAY

After packing the car and working half a day I have journeyed North towards Newcastle, making a couple of stops on route. I'm very excited and looking forward to my venture representing Johnson’s on this Fred Olsen Cruise (L1921) to Norway. I am writing this sat in my hotel room, which cannot be named, but Lenny Henry stays here quite a lot! 

I found it easier to travel the day before rather than rush on the day of departure. I am acting as a taxi later on picking up a fellow traveller from the airport before our evening meal, getting plenty of rest before tomorrow’s embarkation and the adventure to Norway.

DAY 2: EMBARKATION 

After an early start to pick up another fellow traveller from the airport, I set out very excited for today’s cruise. A short 2-minute drive from the hotel to port, we were checked in and on the ship within 1/2 an hour. The weather in Newcastle is stunning! 

A total of 15 travel agents travelling from far and wide have joined this cruise, including myself. The Balmoral is a beautiful ship, I have only been on her for about 3 hours and already feel at home. We have some welcome drinks planned for this evening followed by a gorgeous 3-course lunch! More updated tomorrow...

DAY THREE: A DAY AT SEA

After a late-night we were up lovely and early to sample the delights of a Fred Olsen breakfast. Some amazing food was followed by our business session, which we got to know each other better and enjoy a game of Jenga. 

Lunch was a BBQ on the poolside enjoying the views of the open ocean, slowly sailing towards Norway before eventually following the coastline. 

We had a great tour of the kitchens from the Executive Chef, behind the scenes of one of the kitchens, learning about how 550 meals are served within 25 minutes. 

DAY FOUR: EIDFJORD

After a lovely Buffet breakfast, we went to our safety briefing for our RIB experience (around £40). We then got suited in our gear and before you know it we were speeding around the Fjords! The scenery and waters were spectacular and everyone was in complete awe of this magical place. A total of 1 hour was spent on the RIB stopping every so often for pictures. 

Shortly after, we let the adrenaline calm down with a light lunch and wondering the local village of Eidfjord. The locals are very welcoming of everyone on the ship and finding your way around is very easy. We caught the local land train to allow us to get fabulous views, a perfect picture stop. 

We are setting sail towards Bergen this evening ready for tomorrow’s adventures.

DAY FIVE: BERGEN

We awoke to the fabulous city of Bergen, an amazing bay full of vibrant shops, locals and a lovely market!

After a lie-in and breakfast, we ventured on the Funicular Railway to the top of the mountain with fabulous views over the whole city! We wandered around taking pictures of the view and enjoyed the resident goats also. On return to the city centre, we grabbed a light lunch on board.

This afternoon we had an amazing walking talk of the harbour side learning fascinating facts about the local area before venturing to Magic Ice, a stunning bar made of solely ice (-5c)! 

Following this we had some free time, a few of us spent time around the shops, we have had a very busy day!

This evening we are fine dining in the Grill, an onboard restaurant specialising in steaks.

DAY 6: DAY AT SEA

After another later night and a lovely meal in the Grill, we all had a smashing lie in. It's an emotional day as it's our last day together. We met after breakfast for a coffee in the cafe, before meeting the captain and having a bridge tour. We had a tour of the main room and learnt a lot about the different types of equipment used to take 1350 of us to the beautiful destinations.

After a light lunch, we had Afternoon Tea, with a selection of tasty delights and tea!

Later, we had fun with a treasure hunt around the whole ship, a great way to enjoy our last day together! This evening we plan on reminiscing our time on the Norway Cruise, L1921. Tomorrow and the early drive home!

DAY 7: DISEMBARKATION 

After another fabulous evening, we were up early after an overnight sailing into Newcastle. We had breakfast together and left the ship very easily, hassle-free, like the whole time on board! 

I have made some amazing friends, which will be forever with me! The whole cruise from start to finish was amazing! Some may say I’m biased, but I guarantee you won’t realise how good it is until you try it! The views, the staff, the people on board and Balmoral, they were all fantastic. Remember Johnson’s offer a varied cruising programme with Fred Olsen including the Fjords! 

I would like to thank everyone including our Fred Olsen Representative Alison Graham who was fabulous and has become friends with us all.

Would I recommend Fred Olsen: YES.

Over & Out!

Kyran