Not the Caribbean

I'm sitting in the 360 degree Panorama Room, the 8th (top) deck of the Norwegian vessel "Finnmarken" looking out to sea. The water is calm and in the near distance the sun is reflecting off gently sloping green hills covered in a light mist. The ship is smooth on the water and if it wasn't for the sound of the purring engine way below me, and the moving view from this window, I wouldn't have any sense of being on board a ship. This is surreal for me, the one who said I would never go on a "cruise" but to be fair, this is not the Oasis of the Seas (18 decks and 5,500 passengers) and I am not in the Caribbean. It's nice though, very nice indeed, and much more than I expected it to be in every regard.

When we boarded yesterday in Kirkenes, we were pleasantly surprised by the quite spacious cabin (larger than some hotel rooms we've stayed in) and the surprise gift of a fruit and chocolate basket, as well as bottle of champagne on ice waiting for us. Thought that was a very nice touch.

As I've mentioned before, when you book travel on the internet, you don't always know what you're going to find when you arrive, but we've been lucky so far and we're keeping our fingers crossed that it continues this way. The common areas of the ship, furnishings, the bars and restaurant, are all beyond expectation - and don't get me started on the food ... OMG! The food! It's EXCELLENT!

Pool Area - if you dare! Remember, we're pretty close to the Arctic Ocean

Panorama Room

The ship docks two or three times each day, sometimes just briefly while they deliver supplies and mail, sometimes for longer, allowing passengers to disembark to explore the little towns dotted along the coast. This part of Norway is quite remote and most people who live here have never been to The Big Smoke, which would be Oslo, 2,500 kilometres away. They are born here, live and work here, then die here.

Today we made an excursion inland, visiting the North Cape, the most northerly community in Norway. The area is barren and today it was quite cold and raining, but there is a beauty in this icy wilderness where the Sami (the indigenous people of this area) live semi-nomadically in tents not unlike wigwams, or small huts, herding reindeer and smiling indulgently for tourist photos.

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