Cruising to Norway

To celebrate my in-law’s 50^th wedding anniversary, the McDougal side of the family joined together for a cruise to Norway…..as a rookie to both (cruising and Norway) I didn’t know what to expect.  Headlines by part

Cruise = Tons to do....

Trivia: The ‘Dream Team’ was assembled with a mission to win

(took home 3 first place prizes!)

Games: like Scrabble in the library...

 Full size chess near the pool…. 

(The kids who weren’t playing literally stood in as pieces.  Brilliant - I want one!)

Ping pong tourney...

Pool & hot tub time...

The famed evening shows....

(No way we'd miss a show marketed as the 'French comedic juggler'!)

Cruise = Festive

A Dessert Extravaganza....

Fancy dinners were fun for getting primped & polished..

....but, as we know, looks can deceive 

Cruise = Gluttonous 

What started out as regular vacation indulgence built up to gluttony as the week went on  

First, we discovered the joy of coffee & fruit in-room delivery

adding essentially a pre-breakfast breakfast to each day...

(Zoe enjoyed being 'waitress')

Then we were coached (by more experienced cruisers) that there's no need to pick just one (entrée, dessert…), when 2 sound good...

  

The final straw was learning of the 11pm-midnight buffet 

& 24 hour in-room delivery menu….

 

(Somehow, the fact that you don't have to pay for it, made adding a midnight club sandwich to an already over the top day seem the responsible thing to do)

Cruising  = Easy

The huge advantage to cruising was getting around without packing and searching for Purple Baby or Bear Bear at every new location.  

And as one of the few families with young kids on board, we enjoyed the added benefit of staff doting on our kids....Lauren was on a first name basis with the ice cream guy - Tony.  Zoe frequently attracted smiling attendants to carry her buffet selections to the table...

However, I was struck with a guilty - albeit pleasant - surprise when I looked over at the kids table at dinner and saw the waiter leaning over cutting all 3 kids schnitzel

Net, net a cruise is so the way to go for a family of 15 spanning 3 generations and 7 decades.   

Norway  =  Peaceful, green & quaint  

That said, what we saw of Norway was pretty consistently small, quant clean towns with loads of lush green.  When we arrived at the last of the 4 ports, Quincy looked out the window & declared "This looks just like the last 3!"  (he went to the kids club that day)

Norway = CRAZY EXPENSIVE: 

I had heard to pack a load of cash - but dang - even a fast food meal deal burns a serious hole in one’s pocket….burger, fry + drink = over $20 for the small!

(the Norwegian Kroner / USD ~ 6 / 1)

Gas is ~$10/ gallon..

But worst yet – the beverage prices would force one off any sort of buzz…

A 2L coke ~$4, our (albeit large) beers ~$15 each

....and ironically  – then the bathroom charges are also silly at ~$2 a pee!

Net, net - Norway is beautiful place to hike & get a little nature - but pack your bags full of cash OR fill your pockets with crackers before you disembark the floating buffet.

Happy 50^th Bart & Nancy - here’s hoping the next decade is as good as the first and thanks for the fun introduction to cruising!