Fun, friends and food… my sunny outlook on the sea
SAILING in to Tromso, just before Christmas, is one of my most magical cruise memories. It was wonderful, like a scene you would imagine as a child, with snow falling, trees lit up and Santa about to arrive at any minute. We moored overnight, so there was plenty of time to explore this part of Norway with my partner, Steve Randall, and our first day got even better when we found there was no need to tip in the city’s restaurants – a waiter told us: ‘We get paid well.’
Mind you, Norway is expensive. Even so, you can’t put a price on seeing the Northern Lights. We were so lucky to spy them many times but there is no guarantee they will make an appearance, even though it gets dark from about 2pm in December.
We also visited the iconic Tromso Cathedral before we took the cable car up to Fjellheisen to walk on this great mountain. The air was so clear and, can you believe it, we bumped into an old friend. Of all the places in the world.
We saw lots of reindeer and some huskies – the dogs were so excited and began howling when they saw our coach, as they knew they would soon be going out for a run.
Back on Hurtigruten’s cruise ship MS Maud, we headed to Vikingen Island where there is a globe monument that marks where the Arctic Circle passes through. The crew involved all of us in a ceremony which meant having ice put down your back. We also did a dance – enacting how, according to folklore, the hills we were passing were formed.
It was great fun and there was such a friendly atmosphere across the ship.
I love chatting to people on board and we become friends, sharing our experiences or sometimes meeting on tours or at dinner. I usually try not to eat desserts, but on a cruise, because the menus are so good, I decide I’ll worry about the diet when I get back. If there’s chocolate for dessert, it has my name on it.