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DFDS logoPrincess of NorwayDFDS logo2
Newcastle - Bergen - Newcastle
with short stops at Haugesund & Stavanger
20 - 23 [becoming 24] February 2007
DFDS logoDFDS logo2
Review Part 1
These are my ramblings as we went along, rather than a 'review'
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    Back at the end of September 2006, DFDS announced the availability of 250 free trips on the Newcastle/Bergen run, to be taken between November and the end of February 2007, to inaugurate their new vessel Princess of Norway ex Fjord Norway, Spir, Spirit of Tasmania, Peter Pan. This news of course ran like wildfire across the internet and within about 48 hours or so all the free trips had been booked. I chose a mid week trip due to the fact one gets a full day in Bergen, rather than a couple of hours early morning on the weekend trips.

    Princess of Norway Funnel

    Princess of Norway began sailing for DFDS the 2nd week of November 2006 but initially suffered from constant late arrivals due apparently to an engine problem. She was withdrawn from service in January for a few weeks to be repaired and at the end of December we were notified to a slight alteration to her timetable. Was the North Sea hard going? Anyway we would find out... our due date arrived, 20th February and I must say having a booking confirmation stating *Valid ticket if Paid* and showing a Grand Total 0.00 Gbp was wonderful.

    We left home just after 11.00 and quickly made our way north up the A1 with clear roads, arriving at North Shields just after 15.00. We stopped in view of both Queen of Scandinavia and Princess of Norway at the Royal Quays Outlet shopping area for a coffee and then drove down to Royal Quays Marina [former Albert Edward Dock] where we found Earl of Zetland, a 1939 Shetland/Orkney inter island ferry now serving as a bar/restaurant and conference centre. To be honest she looks well past her prime and very shabby.

    As it was approaching 16:00 we made our back to the Ferry Terminal and drove into the long term car park. One pays on entry, £8 per night, so were relieved of £24 and given in exchange a piece of paper indicating we were returning Friday on Princess of Norway, to leave on the dashboard. The Port of Tyne International Passenger Terminal was quite full with the passengers for Queen of Scandinavia to Amsterdam still checking in. They boarded at 16.30 when our check-in for Bergen opened. Plenty of room and fine for a ferry/cruise terminal. One can't however view the vessels docked.

    Earl of Zetland

    Queen of Scandinavia

    There is a Costa Coffee and small shop selling drinks/sweets etc.. There are also 3 lovely large models within the terminal, Prince of Scandinavia, Queen of Scandinavia and Winston Churchill; I wasn't the only one taking photograph of them either. Boarding time soon arrived.... passports were only checked on entering the secure area and people were picked out randomly for bag checks. No scanning of everyone's bags [although there were some scanners there for use]. It is a fair distance along a walkway to board, but there is a conveyor belt running alongside on which you can place your bags if they are heavy. On to Princess of Norway, deck 4, where a crew member asked which deck we were on. On being told 9, he opened a door on to a car deck and indicated the lift over the other side that we should take. It was devoid of vehicles at this time. Going down first we saw the lower car deck on which there was at least one trailer. We arrived at the cabin, the furthest forward and the furthest starboard one can get, directly under the bridge; the cabin, along with that to port, with the most movement on the whole ship.. no problem, the forecast says F6.. or did yesterday anyway - little did we know. Queen of Scandinavia had been due to sail at 17.30, as our boarding began. There was no sign of her as we walked along the gangway, so she had obviously departed on time.

    Cabin 9002... a narrow entrance hall leads into the main cabin, which we cannot yet see... the light switch is on but no light... the bathroom light works.. ah that gives me enough light to see there is another switch over the bed. With this on the main lights now work. A double bed along the forward bulkhead under the window, nice.. not the upper and lower berths we had expected. A tall single wardrobe and a shelf by the bed, above which are 2 x 220 V European pin outlets and what appears to be a couple of network sockets and also one for an aerial. A shelf also runs along under the window. The bathroom is a decent size too, with a glass fronted cupboard for toiletries, other shelves and a decent sized [double length] curtained shower with shampoo in a dispenser. No other toiletries supplied. There are 2 towels, which are small and thin. Adequate, but it you require a huge fluffy bath sheet, bring your own. The water pressure and temp is fine. There is no bath mat which does leave the floor a bit wet. We quickly hung up the few shirts we had brought and shoved the case under the bed. All cabins are non-smoking. There are no telephones in the cabins but there are booths around the vessel with satellite phones and cards can be purchased at reception.. or so it says.

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    9002 Bathroom

    By now it was 18.20 and the ship's time is an hour ahead, so thought we would go and find where to make a reservation as advised for the 7 Seas Buffet Restaurant. This however was not required, we could be seated in 10 mins or if preferred.. now.. so we chose to go straight in. Seated to port by a window this is a very nice restaurant and the food was excellent, just don't expect British fare. The Norwegian Sushi was presented in such a manner that even I was tempted to try several of the items and I never touch these. It was delicious! There was much other seafood, shrimps, crayfish, lobster, many types of salads and the hot food was stuffed turkey, lamb, pork etc meat balls in roast veg, and other items I did not have a clue as to the name [the mash potato contained swede]. Open sandwiches and many different types of bread [all delicious and able to slice for oneself]. Glasses of iced water were brought to the table.

    There was a children's section with Spaghetti Bolognaise and hot dogs. A variety of gooey desserts, with soft serve ice cream and a selection of sprinkles. Also a cheese board with Sage, Brie, just ripe Danish Blue and Cheddar with a wide type of biscuit selection, fresh fruit too. Then the coffee. We had a bottle of wine - total bill £50 for two. Pricey for a ferry I think, but a better buffet than one often finds on ships. You will however need to be prepared to try 'new' dishes as you won't find much off a British or American dinner table here. It is stated that all service charges are included in the prices, but it is customary to leave a tip.

    Duty Free Shop

    We had sailed from North Shields on time as we were being seated, but it was dark out there and we could not see an awful lot. Could make out what appeared to be some smart new apartments and townhouses along the banks, followed by a few trawlers tied up together in a small marina. After dinner we strolled around the ship seeing what was about. Pianist in the Navigators Bar, Columbus Nightclub, Duty Free shop, all the various restaurants.. she seems a very nice vessel. So far so good, smooth sailing when we packed in for the night....

    Sometime in the early hours I was woken by a jolt... ah stormy seas... it got worse and worse.. water was covering our window from time to time and we are deck 9! Dave didn't feel too good.. I have no sympathy I am afraid for such things.. in fact as I write this at 17:00 the following day he is still in bed! He claims he is OK lying down but feels queasy as soon as he stands. Well one cannot stand at present or been able to most of the day. I had a coffee and ham roll in the Bake'n Coffee [Coffee Bar] for breakfast £3.40 - apart from 3 children playing in the kids ball area, there were only about 5 other people about. Some more had appeared by 10.30 or so, but still very quiet as I sat reading. The ship is up and down, winds and sea spray everywhere. I ventured out on deck at one point and around to the stern, but the decks are awash, I got soaked through too. A few others seem to have braved it from time to time mostly with camera in hand in the name of getting a few photos of the rough seas. Photos are going to be mostly quite blurry.

    I did see one DFDS guy showing workmates photos he had taken... I peered over their shoulders.. great pics from the bridge it looked like. Video clips will be better but even in the cabin I am pushed over against the wall.. people are hugging walls through no choice as walking along. At 11.30 there was a meeting in the Columbus Nightclub for everyone [not just English Speakers] and procedures were explained in several languages.

    Deck 9 Starboard Princess of Norway

    As the ETA for Stavanger was then between 20:00 and 21:00, there was no need to mention the requirement for having to present ones self to the Norwegian authorities in Bergen at 1am. Reception had but an hour earlier been telling people that arrival in Bergen was scheduled for maybe 05:00... and at that time they didn't think the Bergen Immigration guys would bother getting up and just leave clearance of the vessel until around 07:00.. so a full night's sleep would be in order.

    The weather proceeded to get worse during the afternoon and the earlier 10.9kts was reduced to 9.7 when I last looked. The cabin window is awash more often and we have a pronounced wind list. It is very awkward to walk around, even for the crew and no-one can walk a straight line. F9 occasional 10 apparently.

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    bbq burger Latitude Café

    Dave wasn't up, so I went to lunch alone at 14:00. I decided to try the Latitude Café, next to the Bake'n Coffee. Only one guy was serving in this 'Trendy Café'. Eventually he came to take the order and I asked for the spicy curry soup with chicken. Sorry ma'am it is too dangerous to cook. OK I appreciate that, what is on the menu? everything bar soup.. OK.. so I just read off the next item on the menu which happened to be ''Barbeque Burger'' and ordered a Cappuccino. The cappuccino arrived and was drunk long before the meal.. then when it turned up, it was big enough for 3! try like I might I could not eat more than half of it... far too big and the bill?? A princely [or Princessly?] £13.95 ! Food does not come cheap on here.

    If anything the weather seemed to get even worse and the shop was closed at 14:00 because it was too dangerous. Supposed to re-open at 16:00 but didn't until much later. 14:00 an announcement says now delayed until 00:00 for Stavanger. That's 9 hours late.. when will we arrive in Bergen? 10:00 ? no problem we do not leave until 17:00 - OK.. so I spent the afternoon reading a book I had...

    Deck 8 Outside to port

    ... purchased in North Shields and also typing this, but it is hard going as one keeps being pushed about. Sitting on the floor in the cabin is the best place! It was announced at 17.45 that between 18:00 and 22:00 Buffet Dinner in the 7 Seas will be served and is free! I guess they are not expecting many takers. Dave says he will get up at 19:00...nothing like a free something or other to get one moving.

    .. and he did... we went to eat. The buffet was not the usual full buffet but a limited selection and no cheese.. no sushi, but adequate, no more. Maybe some of the staff were ill too and they were not going to be able to manage a full buffet which was why the limited selection was free? who knows.. Roast Beef was on the carvery and very nice, but the vegetables were a mix of stuff - odd selection of brussels with silverskin onions.. but eatable. Salads were all a mix of either rice with veg or noodles.. Dave did not like any of them so had roast beef sandwiches; guess he could not take anymore either. Only a small selection of desserts, but still choc mouse, a choux pastry thing with strawberries and cream, 3 or 4 types of cake. No soft serve ice cream. The meal was quick and as we left the seas calmed.. aha, lights to starboard so we are finally within the protection of some islands. Amazingly we can now walk straight & people are crawling out of the woodwork. We had a look around the shop and purchased some cokes and liquorice.. everything is liquorice... even Mentos.. one wonders if the Norwegians never suffer from constipation or the liquorice is required because they all do - only kidding.

    Entertainment Board

    Also a signal from Telnor on the mobile. So I tried a few texts but some were not going anywhere.. ah well... not the end of the world. There is some sort of a wireless network aboard as when sitting in the Navigators Bar I could see a network for 'Princess', but of course could not connect. The information booklet states net time can be purchased at the Guest Services Centre and that Wireless Internet is also available on board - one to contact the Guest Services Centre again.. but as I am not interested in using it I didn't bother. I expect the prices may be quite high.. Princess of Norway does have mobile phone coverage by Maritime Communications Partner whilst at sea. Many were using it during the trip but my mobile would only provide 'Emergency Calls'; Dave's would log on, so I expect it just depends on whether one's own network is prepared to accept the obviously higher charges. It has not yet been announced when we will be turning up in Stavanger.. now 21:30 so perhaps something will be said shortly.

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    Blue Riband Restaurant

    The other restaurants are the Blue Riband Restaurant - à la carte with table reservations required, semi formal but family friendly & lovely. Explorers Restaurant [reservations required], which is themed, being 'Western' on our trip with red and white checkered table cloths and the wait staff wore cowboy hats [We dined here later in the trip]. Marco Polo Gourmet Restaurant which I have not yet even seen, but again reservations are required, semi-formal dress code and features a choice of "two exclusive six-course meals accompanied by an impressive choice of wine".

    Blue Riband Restaurant

    Bars include the previously mentioned Navigators Bar with live pianist. There are also flat screen TVs in here which were showing various football matched today.. not much of an audience though at present. It also has a dance floor with a 'ship painted' background. The Columbus Club - Nightclub with dance floor, where the Bingo and Quizzes are also held. Nice views all around in here, but a bit too dark. The casino occupies on corner of the nightclub with a couple of tables [I have only seen one being used, with no players there though] and a pile of slot machines which people were playing avidly. The Red and White Wine Bar is a nice lounge with various tastings advertised, wine as well as Cognac & Whisky.. but perhaps not the best trip for this sort of thing:) See leaflet for the options available.

    Kidz Club

    A Pirates Club for children under 10, and also Kidz Club. There is the ball pit too at the after end on Bake'n Coffee. Various announcements have been made for activities in the Columbus Lounge and creatures with faces painted as skull and crossbones have been spied walking the planks [aka hallways].. seems they have been having a good time. Not sure how many children there are aboard, quite a few I think, but it is half-term in some parts of the UK this week.

    The currency onboard is NOK, but all bills are in GBP as well.. it makes no difference which you pay with. Also credit cards are accepted. There are no cash machines on board, but is a Bureau de Change at Reception.

    Well we were tied up by 23.15 at Stavanger, so made up a bit of time once we were in sheltered waters. The coast was very pretty as we passed by unknown towns en route & a couple of refineries. What is visible of Stavanger looks pretty, the waterfront anyway and a church with spire. A few small excursion type vessels [hard to see] are tied up along the front and a larger one to the left astern of us. Also another vessel, maybe reefer astern. No sooner were we alongside than the gangway was in position and those departing poured off all in a matter of minutes. See the video clips.

    Stavanger at night

    Out on deck all the seawater is frozen making it very slippery and an ice skating rink for the kids! Even the bulkheads are covered with ice. A 'cosy' corner was found near the stern on deck 9 where the exhaust pours out warm air, but after 15 mins out there my hands were frozen, bright red and sore. It's now 23.50 and I doubt we will be here much longer. On to Haugesund. Should take 2½ hours there [I will not be up!] and then 4½ hours sailing to Bergen. We have not had an official announcement as to when we should be arriving there yet.. but looks like 07:00, 9 hours overdue.

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