CARNIVAL PRIDE 10th June 2022

I left my home in the south of England just a few days after celebrating Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee with family and friends.  It had been a wonderful four days of Bank Holiday celebrations on the 2nd to 5th June 2022 and many of us felt so thrilled to watch the national events on television and enjoy celebrations locally. 

 

At my home I had prepared a display of souvenir items I owned, collected over the years since the Queen's accession to the throne in 1952.  I was a child at the village school then but on half term holiday, and on that 6th February day I remember my mother coming home from the village shop.  As she opened the door I greeted her with the words I'd just heard on the wireless (!) that "the King had died".  She was shocked of course and after that life changed for everyone for ever.

 

Thursday 9th June 2022

Now on 9th June,  here I was with a pull-along suitcase for a ten day cruise on the good ship CARNIVAL PRIDE, sailing from Dover  in Kent to several ports in Norway and back again.  A train through the south of England to Ashford International Station meant I had just under 10 minutes there to get off the train, take a platform lift down to a subway, run along that (fast) with my suitcase, and take another lift up to a platform to get the train to Dover.  I did it! 

 

At Dover Priory station I went to the Ladies facilities and was surprised to be in the way of a young man leaving those facilities at speed, who did apologise as he rushed past.  OK, welcome to Dover I thought. 

 

A local taxi took me to my overnight seafront hotel, where I checked in and left my case, before taking a bracing walk along the seafront of a curved bay.  The town was accessible by walking through a tunnel under a busy dual-carriageway road and arriving in the midst of noisy road works.  I was soon on my way back, looking at the many naval memorial stones as I walked, and thinking of those brave war-time men and women who had given their lives for us. 

 

I could see several P&O or DFDS ferries arriving and departing from the port of Dover, heading over to France.  Tomorrow I  will be meeting up with my travelling companions and we too will be sailing out of the port, but on a cruise ship and heading  for Norway - lucky us.   We all met as members of the Ocean Liner Society and became friends;  the monthly meetings are currently held via Zoom, thanks to the OLS Committee, and are really well-attended. 

 

 

Friday 10th June 2022

One of my travelling companions arrived to join me for hotel breakfast so that was a good start to the holiday here in Dover.  Carnival had requested that we all be Covid-tested ready to sail with them, and proof of a non-NHS negative test e-mailed to them within the last couple of days, so I was happy to get a taxi to the cruise terminal to board CARNIVAL PRIDE.

 

At the quayside my suitcase was taken away to be delivered to my cabin, and we were free to check in and join the queues to board the ship.  Union Jack flags were flying outside, and the sun was shining so all went well and we were soon on board.  I was first asked to go to an officer who was handling the Boat Drill and gave my name which was ticked off on a list.  Several of us were then shown how to put a Life Jacket on properly and that seemed to be the official part done.  I could then head for the Buffet Restaurant on Deck 9 aft for lunch .  Carnival had issued and printed an actual paper Welcome Aboard sheet detailing food, drink and music locations for today, plus entertainment details and locations for the day, which was very welcome and avoided me clutching a phone in one hand like so many other passengers. 

 

Another travelling companion was in the Buffet Restaurant so we had a happy reunion and an enjoyable lunch together.  One more friend will be arriving soon so our little group will then be complete.  We all live in different locations in the UK so always enjoy meeting up for a ship trip. 

 

After lunch we all went down to the Normandie Restaurant on Deck 3 aft to check that my name had been added to our group table of 4 - it had - so that was very reassuring.  Over the many weeks since I booked this cruise on line, Carnival had found it difficult to accept that I was English and lived in England, and that my e-mail address was what I told them it was but all seemed to be well and this week they had started to e-mail  me correctly.  These aren't real problems but did make me wonder.  We had all had to be Covid tested Negative within the last couple of days by an outside source and the proof forwarded to Carnival, before boarding today so I knew I had been accepted as a passenger, even if the ship's dining arrangements had refused to accept my original dining request.  Ah well, all seems to be going well now. 

 

After that we each went to locate our own cabins and key.  I first went to sea as a Purserette with the wonderful Union-Castle Line so my voyages were based in a 'cabin', and I tend to use the word still.  Anyway, my suitcase was outside my cabin and as I heaved it inside, the door closed behind me and so I had a slight problem.  My new stateroom attendant introduced herself and let me in, so that amused us both. 

 

I was pleased to find out that the gross tonnage on this Carnival Spirit Class ship is 85,920, holding 2,124 passengers.   She was built in 2001,  launched in 2002 and last refurbished with upgrades in 2019.  With 1062 cabins, 3 pools, and 13 decks, CARNIVAL PRIDE  is advertised as a Fun Ship, so as four positive people we intend to have FUN!

 

We all met up again as the ship was preparing to leave the port of Dover, up on deck 10 above the Lido in the sunshine.  Far below us in the sparkling sea we could see two local tugs, DAUNTLESS and DOUGHTY, sending plumes of water spray high into the air on our port side although we are still tied up. 

Eventually we felt the ship begin to move away from the cruise terminal and CARNIVAL PRIDE set off on her voyage to Norway. 

 

My Ocean View cabin 1107 was down on deck 1 starboard side forward and very spacious for my single use.  The bathroom had a shower and other facilities but I noticed that the signs over  the shower controls were not correct.  The on/off sign was over the water/temperature control and vice versa, which was disconcerting at first.  I told my stateroom attendant and she arranged for engineers to visit the cabin and put them in the correct position.  If this ship has been fairly recently refurbished I wonder how nobody noticed. 

 

I met my friends up in the mid-ships Deck 2 Bar at the bottom of the Atrium and this is when we began to notice and enjoy so many of the Joe Farcus design features around us in this ship.  In front of the Bar was a spacious compass-rose styled dance floor, with settees and comfy seating set around it, and behind the bar on a small stage were two real musicians entertaining us with enjoyable music before dinner.  Carnival Corporation is celebrating its 50th Birthday Anniversary this year and we were very happy to be on board and able to join in. 

 

We were notified that our dining table was then available and we made our way to the Normandie Restaurant, deck 2 aft.  An actual menu was requested and available from our dining room steward which I thought that made life so much easier, to choose one's food from a complete selection.  I was very grateful to my friends for telling me the various courses during our pre-dinner drinks, as it did avoid me having to put my reading glasses on and look at those details on a small phone in my hand.  I noticed I was not the only person looking at the menu on our table.  I'm aware that Carnival want us all to be digitally-minded all the time, and that's fine, but I think there has to be a happy balance.  I shall leave it at that. 

 

After a really enjoyable meal we made our way to the Taj Mahal Show Lounge for the Welcome Aboard Show.  This was forward in the ship, with a choice of seating on decks 2, 3 and 4, so there were good sight lines everywhere .  The entertainers were really talented and it sounds as if we will be  coming here most nights.  There is no live music here in the Show Lounge but that seems to be the way of it on some cruise ships.  There were lots of other entertainments going on throughout the ship, offering a good choice. 

 

My friends decided to go to The Punchliner Comedy Club after the main show, so I joined them for a short while.  The clocks go forward 1 hour tonight, although we have a day at sea tomorrow.  I saw from the TV details that we are doing 19 knots this evening  in what feels like calm seas. 

 

Ships seen:  P&O Ferries, DFDS Ferries, new Irish Ferries vessel Isle of Inisheer, Carnival Pride, tugs Dauntless and Doughty

 

To be continued...

HYBRID HOP 6th September 2019

HYBRID HOP
Friday 6th September 2019

I think many of us now recognise the word 'hybrid' as signifying something that is a mixture of two things that have been combined. We are used to hybrid cars and now we can get used to the idea of a large hybrid ship.

Recently one of my good friends asked if I might like to meet him and travel on just such a hybrid ship that had just entered service. That sounded good to me and so I was at London's Gatwick Airport one dark and cool September morning to take an 06.30 flight up north to Gothenburg in Sweden. The pilot on my Norwegian Air Shuttle told us that we were flying at 41,000 feet, trying to avoid the weather below us, but when we arrived at Gothenburg airport at 09.20 local time the rain was coming down in torrents. My friend's flight arrived and we could then collect the hire car to drive further north for a couple of hours to Stromstad (still in Sweden).

Gothenburg bottom right of picture, Oslo at the top

So many ferry routes and islands

Stromstad, Sandefjord, Tonsborg



We are booked to travel tomorrow on the brand-new plug-in hybrid ferry called COLOR HYBRID, designed by Ulstein Verft in Norway. Building started in 2017 to develop her as part of Color Line's fleet-renewal programme, and she has just been launched into service. She is the world's largest plug-in hybrid vessel and we are really looking forward to seeing her today and then sailing on her tomorrow.

Having arrived in the rain in Stromstad we were able to park the hire car near the port and get ready to watch her sail at 13.40.

Color Hybrid

Logo

Stern Restaurant



She looks very big and eye-catching, in her smart new livery (navy hull with green markings) and we enjoyed watching her leave and turn to head for the gap between the distant islands and then cross the Skagerrak and Oslofjord. Photographs taken we could then drive round to the harbour to get something to eat before heading back to the port.

Further round the bay

Vesleo II

Kosterbris and another



There were various small local craft to be seen under a lowering sky, and one I even photographed in the sunshine (VESLEO II). Then it was time to head back to the port to check in for our first sailing of the trip.

Color Viking




We are booked on COLOR VIKING to sail from here in Stromstad at 17.00 over to the Norwegian side of the Oslofjord at Sandefjord. The ship arrived and we drove on board and made our way up to the Oslofjord-Buffet Restaurant on Deck 6 for the Evening Buffet. We were booked for the Smorgasbord meal which was absolutely delicious, with so much choice for every course. The bonus of course was the views from the bow Restaurant.

Deck 9

Deck 7

Deck 6

Reception

Interesting

Color Viking lifebelt



Color Line's website (colorline.com) gives these technical facts about COLOR VIKING:

Year of construction: 1985
Shipbuilding yard: Nakskov, Danmark
Register: NOR
Home port: Sandefjord
Tonnage: 19 763 brt
Length: 137 m
Width: 24 m
Deep-draught: 5,64 m
Classification: Det Norske Veritas
Service speed: 18 knots
Machinery: 16 965 hp
Max capacity: 1 773
Guest capacity: 1 720
Cars: 370
Trailer lanemeter: 490
No. of decks: 9
Max height car deck: 4,35 m

Oslofjord through the rain during our crossing



The crossing was rough in places, still with heavy rain falling, but the ship arrived on time at 19.30 and we drove onto the quayside in the dark. We have to get a little further north now to get to our overnight accommodation at Tonsberg but the roads were good and fairly empty. It carried on raining. The little city is said to be the oldest in Norway, founded by Harald Fairhair in the 9th century.

We checked into a welcoming hotel in Tonsberg, with lots of interesting woodwork inside. Knowing it had been raining all day I was still amused by the distinctive smell of wet dog (we saw one earlier in Reception) when we got in the lift. My wood-panelled en suite room was warm and cosy.

Ships seen: Color Hybrid, Color Viking, Vesleo II, Kosterbris and another, Oslofjord of Fjord Line


To be continued...

BERGENSFJORD 2014 Part 5 (the final one)

Tuesday 25th March 2014
It had seemed a short night when a public broadcast announced it was 6.30 a.m. and we would arrive in Hirtshals at 7.30 a.m., so there was time for coffee before going on deck to watch our arrival at this northern-most port of Denmark.

Soon I disembarked and joined a Fjord Line coach trip available for passengers – we had breakfast served on the coach and spent the day seeing some of the countryside and the small town of Flensburg before returning to the ship. It felt as if I was coming home, and I was very glad to be back on board BERGENSFJORD.

Coach on car deck 3

Cabin 8245

21st Century design on this ship

After dinner I met my friends again and we spent an entertaining evening in the Fjord Lounge watching the dancers during the Disco Medley and then enjoying the singers at Showtime at 11 p.m.

The entrance to the Fjord Lounge

Fjord Lounge bar

Beach under my feet

Pretty lavender-coloured things on the beach

When that finished we went to the Bungalow to listen to and sing with the English pianist, who was rather astonished to find an English passenger on board. It had been a long day but an excellent evening back on board as we sailed north again towards Norway and our scheduled arrival at lunchtime back in Bergen.


Wednesday 26th March 2014
I enjoyed breakfast watching the sunshine on the Norwegian coastline as we sailed along.

Snow-covered mountains

The regal chairs were empty!

I asked at Reception whether it might be possible please to visit the Bridge, and a little later I was invited to accompany a member of staff up there. The views of the surrounding fjords and snow-covered mountains from our ship were absolutely superb in the clear light and air and I felt so lucky to be welcomed by the Captain and one of his Officers on his Bridge, just for a few minutes.

On the Bridge on Bergensfjord, doing 24.7 knots

On the radar

Model of Bergensfjord of 1956

Ship model statistics

Another highlight of the morning was taking more photographs of the huge picture which hangs over the forward staircase of BERGENSFORD. One of my friends had previously advised me to make sure I went to see it, and it was mentioned in the Fjord Line brochure I had from last year. There was a small sign beside it describing the artist Per Krohg and the painting, which was done in 1956 to hang on a particular ship of Norwegian America Line.

Per Krohg details

Painting by Per Krohg for Norwegian America Line entitled "The Dream Journey;
it is four metres by seven metres in size!

This was a rather exciting moment for me as my mind went back to last August 2013, when I was on a very small ferry sailing from the Great Harbour of Piraeus in Greece towards the island of Salamina. My travelling companions wanted to do a different short trip that morning so we were to meet again later that afternoon. During my 40 minute little trip I could see a half-submerged ship’s hull, which I had seen a few times in previous years but not so clearly, so I photographed it from several angles as we headed towards Salamina. The name was RASA SAYANG. I did some research and was later able to find out from Simplon Postcards more about the vessel, which in fact was “BERGENSFJORD - DE GRASSE - RASA SAYANG – GOLDEN MOON”.

“BERGENSFJORD was completed in 1956 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend-on-Tyne, Newcastle, for Norwegian America Line. She was 18,739grt and carried 878 passengers. BERGENSFJORD was acquired by the French Line (CGT) as the DE GRASSE (2) in haste in 1971 to replace the ANTILLES which had been lost in a fire in January that year. Bought in March 1971, she was delivered to CGT in November. She was not profitable on the Le Havre-Southampton-Caribbean service, and spent 1972 cruising. DE GRASSE (2) was sold in 1973, becoming the RASA SAYANG. In 1980 she was sold to Aphrodite Maritime Co, Greece. On 17th August 1980, a fire started in the engine room whilst she was under refurbishment at Perama, Greece. She was towed out of the docks and capsized and sank near the island of Kynosoura, some kilometres from Perama.”

Approaching Salamina

Half-submerged hull

Rasa Sayang hull

Rasa Sayang hull

Rasa Sayang name clearly visible

That was the wreck I could see partly submerged in the water on 29th August 2013, and the picture in front of my eyes was the painting that was commissioned by Norwegian America Line in 1956 to sail on that very ship - BERGENSFJORD. I find it astonishing that life throws up such incredible coincidences, and something at which to marvel.

Life seemed just a little more calm as we arrived back in Bergen and I had to disembark from the BERGENSFJORD of 2014, which deliberately displayed the painting from the BERGENSFJORD of 1956, as a token of Fjord Line’s mark of respect to their Norwegian maritime heritage.

Bergensfjord at her berth after I disembarked

Ready to sail

But then Nordlys arrived

She had to turn to go astern into her berth

That made an interesting picture

Then I could wave goodbye to Bergensfjord

Goodbye Bergensfjord...

It had been such an enjoyable trip on this brand-new lifestyle cruise ferry, with new sights and new friends as well as good memories.