SUNRISE: None SUNSET: None
Another very pleasant sea day again today, in which we participated in a packed programme of activities and fun, as the Balmoral headed south again.
We got up at 8.00am (in the dark!) as usual, and went up to the Thistle Restaurant for our breakfasts. I enjoyed crispy bacon, sausage, tinned tomatoes and mushrooms, washed down with orange juice and coffee. We went out on the deck briefly, but it was very chilly and there was a brisk wind; I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some snow today.
Looking at the Daily Times to see what was on today, we saw that the Oceans Club cocktail party was being held in the Neptune Lounge at 11.15am, but before that there was a golf putting knockout at half-ten in the Lido Bar. I decided I would do my hair and makeup now, so that all I needed to do was change into something smarter for the cocktail party afterwards. 🙂
All the usual suspects were in the Lido, and George was walking around with his clipboard taking names. We sat on our bar stools and awaited our turn to play. I fared a bit better this time scoring 25, but Trevor only got 20. Once again, it was a golfer who scored an impressive 50 and won (I think it was the same bloke as last time).
We then hotfooted it back to 5007 to change for the cocktail party. I wore a pair of black trousers, diamante slingback sandals, a black camisole top and a sequinned zip-up jacket. As we approached the Neptune Lounge we saw the waiting queue, and one lady (who was casually dressed) looked at my outfit and said that she wasn’t going to sit near me, as she would feel a right scruff. While one or two people had made the effort to dress a little more smartly, most were just in their casual clothes. I can’t understand that – it was a cocktail party after all!
As the doors to the Neptune opened, we all filed past Captain Steffan and his senior officers, as well as Simon and members of the entertainments team and Future Cruise staff. Walking down to the front, we took our usual seats and a waitress came over immediately with a glass of cava each for us. There was a magnificent ice sculpture at the front of the stage, complete with carved fruit and vegetables, and there were cut-glass trophies and bottles of champagne which would be awarded to those on this cruise who had sailed the most nights with Fred Olsen.
On the stage, members of the San Juan String Trio played a selection of tasteful tunes, as our glasses were replenished and waiters came around with tasty little canapés. Then Simon the cruise director came onto the stage and welcomed everyone to the Oceans party and thanked us for cruising with Fred Olsen. He then introduced the Captain, who was clapped onto the stage.
There were a couple of awards to be made; one to a solo traveller who had just passed her 1000th night on board a Fred ship. She came to the front to be presented by and photographed with Captain Steffan. Then a couple were awarded for having over 700 nights on Fred. Trevor and I have a way to go; we are Platinum Oceans members, but we have ‘only’ spent 266 nights on board. 🙂
The party went on until 12.00 noon, so Trevor and I went near one of the loudspeakers, so we could hear the captain’s midday navigational information. He informed us that we were still above the Arctic Circle at roughly 68°N, and we were passing by the Lofoten Islands. Trevor and I had visited Leknes in the Lofoten Islands in November 2014; it is a very picturesque archipelago with wonderful mountains and lakes and hidden coves and beaches. Despite its northerly latitude, it gets the benefit of the Gulf Stream, so the weather is milder than you would expect.
We had to go out on deck and take some photos. At midday, where the sun is closest to the horizon without actually rising, it almost looked like daylight. The mountains were snow-capped and the overall palette consisted of the cool shades of blues, greys and whites; Mother Nature’s stark beauty in all its majesty. This is Norway! 🙂
We decided to go up to the Avon Restaurant once again for lunch, so we could make the most of the views. We didn’t eat a lot as we had had a large breakfast, but I still enjoyed a selection of cold meats and crisp salad vegetables. They were washed down with the inevitable cava.
After lunch we just pottered around the ship, looking in the shops to see if they had any bargains and wandering around, acknowledging the passengers and staff who we knew. At two o’clock we returned to the Lido Bar and put our names down for the Baggo; this is always a lot of fun. We sat on our bar stools and enjoyed a cocktail each as we looked towards the large window at the stern, where once again it was pitch dark outside.
While we were fascinated by the phenomenon of the polar night and we were pleased we were experiencing it, we decided that in the future we would prefer to winter in Norway in November, late January (when the sun has returned) or February; at least some daylight allows you to enjoy the beautiful scenic cruising that these parts offer; in the dark you can’t really see anything! 🙂
We proceeded through the Baggo knockout, getting as far as the semi-final before we were knocked out again. The Baggo would be followed by the indoor kurling, but we would be unable to take part in that because we were doing something different this afternoon; attending the Grand Tea Dance in the Neptune Lounge. 🙂
Returning to 5007, we got changed into something more suitable for dancing. I wore a printed velvet knee-length dress with fishnet tights and silver diamante sandals, and Trevor put on a smart pair of trousers and a shirt, as well as his formal shoes (you can’t dance in trainers!).
We then made our way to the Neptune Lounge for 3.30pm, where there was a small queue to collect plates of food. There were lots of sandwiches, cakes, pastries and giant home-made cookies, and we piled our small plates high before heading for our usual seats at the edge of the dance floor, where tables had already been set with cups and saucers, a milk jug, spoons and napkins. A waiter approached with his teapot and filled our cups. Couples were already whirling around the dance floor as the live band played alongside a talented vocalist. How extremely civilised was this? 🙂
As each dance was announced, we got up to do the ones we knew, with the result that it took ages to eat our food and we had to watch that our tea didn’t get cold. We each accepted a refill, and went back to get second helpings of food. We had already decided that we wouldn’t be going to dinner tonight; maybe we’d have something light in the self-service buffet later on.
We really enjoyed the tea dance; it was the first one we had attended. It lasted until 4.30pm, and then we returned to 5007 and settled down for a half-hour power nap, before relaxing, reading and watching TV, trying to avoid the news which is never very good anyway.
Around 6.30pm we wandered up to the Thistle Restaurant. As we passed the Ballindalloch, we could see table #51 and we noticed that Alex and Diane were there on their own tonight; Tom and Chris had also decided to eat elsewhere. We just had a small selection of a couple of the dishes that were on offer, and I finished with some cheese and a cup of coffee.
The entertainment in the Neptune Lounge tonight was called “Forever 80s” and featured the Balmoral Show Company performing some of the great music and fashions of the 1980s, which is probably my favourite music era (as I was in my 20s at the time). It was a fabulous show and we really enjoyed it a lot.
Afterwards, it was time to go and participate in the quiz in the Lido Lounge, which was hosted by Hubert “Easy Peasy” Greaves, making it a lot of fun. Many of the passengers doing the quiz were joining in with Hubert’s exclamation of “Ow!” in true Michael Jackson style. We didn’t win.
Later on, they were putting on a game of “Higher or Lower”. We thought it would be similar to Play Your Cards Right where you had to guess whether the next card would be higher or lower than the previous one, but the game was simpler than that. George and Rosie had brought out the bingo number-selecting machine and, at the press of a button, a number from 1 to 90 was displayed. Players had to go to the left side of the room if they thought the next number would be higher, or the right side if they thought lower.
Whichever side was incorrect was eliminated, and so the numbers taking part diminished until there was only one person left, who was declared the winner and received a Fred Olsen baseball cap. It was all good fun and a good ice-breaker. I took part in the first three games but sat the rest out afterwards.
We just remained in the Lido Lounge where I enjoyed a couple more Aperol Spritzes before we returned to our cabin just after 1.00am, as usual.
At some point during the night we would cross the Arctic Circle once again on our way to Trondheim, where we were due to stay in port for New Year’s Eve.
After settling down in our comfortable and cosy cabin, we slept very well as usual, and looked forward to whatever tomorrow would bring. 🙂