KatelynJune 29, 2024 – July 17, 2024
Where We Stayed:
- Hyatt Regency Amsterdam
- Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas
We started our trip with 5 days exploring Amsterdam. Our first taste of Amsterdam was on a canal tour, where we took a narrated tour through the city on its famous canals. It was fun to learn about the history of the city and see the waterways up close in that way.
Most of our time in Amsterdam was spent just exploring the city either on public transit or via the canals. We visited a great food hall, as well as a dutch pancake house.
Amsterdam Train Station 
Ready for the canal tour 
On the canal tour and a little bit jetlagged 
Canal tour 
Canal tour 
Canal tour 
Canal tour 
Canal tour 
Dutch pancakes with strawberries, whipped cream, and meringue pieces 
Gluten free almond cannoli at a market 
The Riksmuseum
During our time in Amsterdam, we took a day trip to Paris to visit Disneyland Paris. While this sounds crazy, it was actually just a quick 1 hour flight between the two cities, so it was actually relatively easy to fly there and back in one day.
We had visited Paris once on a previous trip to France, but we were so tired we didn’t really get to enjoy it. It was fun to have a chance to revisit and really enjoy the parks!
From the steps of the Haunted Mansion 
My favorite Haunted Mansion 
My favorite silly ride 
Our cruise left from Amsterdam and started with a day at sea to cross the North Sea on the way to Norway. We passed through a couple locks on our way from Amsterdam out to the North Sea which was interesting to watch. We also saw the first of a few amazing sunsets from our balcony off the back of the ship.
Traversing the locks 
They made a towel mouse to go with my cat 
First nice dinner on the ship 
Escargot 
Sunset from our balcony 
Our first stop of the cruise is Geiranger. Our first few hours of the morning were spent traversing the fjord on the way to the town. We learned during this cruise that a fjord is basically a reverse peninsula. Instead of a piece of land sticking out into the ocean, a fjord is when the ocean winds into the land. In many of our cruise stops, the fjords would end in a small town where we would dock and exit the ship.
Geiranger was our first and one of our most stunning ports of the trip. The fjord was beautiful, with small winding waterfalls breaking through the trees on either side as we traversed the fjord.
Once we arrived, Sam, Shannon and I went on an excursion offered through the cruise line. We boarded a bus and wound up the mountains overlooking Geiranger. We first stopped at an overlook point, then continued on to the top of a nearby mountain. Unfortunately, the cloud cover was heavy, and we couldn’t see anything from the top, but it was still interesting to learn about the local customs as we drove. We spent the afternoon exploring the town.
We discovered that our room’s balcony was below the buffet public balcony this morning, when I was sitting on our balcony and could hear Todd and Monica talking above me when sitting outside. 
Entering Geirangerfjord 
Entering Geirangerfjord 
Heading up the mountain 
Viewpoint above the town 
At the top of the mountain in the mist 
Having fun coffees/mocktails on our balcony as we leave Geirangerfjord 
Entering Geirangerfjord 
Our second stop was Molde, Norway. Molde wasn’t at the end of a fjord, but was surrounded by mountains. You can see more than 200 mountain peaks from within the town, all sprawled out across the water. Molde is also known as the town of roses, as there are roses blooming everywhere throughout the town.
We spent our day wandering the city, stopping in shops, and enjoying the scenery.
After a few days at sea (and a bit of sea sickness) we stopped again at our most northern stop, Honningsvag, Norway. Here, Sam, Shannon, Todd, and myself took a bird watching boat tour to see local wildlife. At this point we were firmly in the Arctic circle, and the boat tour took us even further north than Honningsvag, truly visiting the top of the world.
On our tour we viewed an island that is a designated bird sanctuary from our boat. We saw thousands of birds, many of them puffins. The year before we had fought to see just a couple puffins on our trip to Iceland. On this trip we saw hundreds of puffins, along with eagles and other arctic birds. We also saw a group of seals swimming in the water.
I’ve never seen anything like that in person. Truly a unique experience. Seeing that many puffins in one place was fascinating, and definitely a highlight of our trip.
Following the puffin experience, we wandered around the small port town, before heading back to the ship.
Our bird watching boat 
On the boat 
Seals! 
We spent several days before and after Honningsvag at sea or entirely on the ship. One day we did stop in Tromso, but decided against getting off the ship, due to bad weather.
Shannon and I accidentally packed matching shirts 
Our first day in the Arctic Circle and the first time we saw “No Sunset” as our sunset time in the Cruise Compass 
Lots of mini golf 
One of the coolest things that happened on this trip. We watched the sun go down to the horizon, then immediately start to rise again. No sunset. 
We had a party for reaching the Arctic Circle 
Settles of Catan in Alesund
Our next stop was Alesund, Norway. Alesund was unique, as it was largely destroyed by a fire in the 1920s, and rebuilt using an art deco style. Due to this, it looked totally different than almost everywhere else in Norway we visited. We took a bus to an overlook point above the city, then explored the rest of the town on foot, doing some shopping at a local antique shop and enjoying some gluten free Norwegian pastries.
On the bus around Alesund 
We ran into Monica and Todd on their tour while at the overlook 
View from the top of the hill overlooking Alesund 
The overlook we were at previously. Glad we didn’t walk up all those stairs! 
The Norwegian gnome I bought in Alesund
Flam, Norway was next on our trip. Flam is known for its famous railway that winds through the mountains past waterfalls and other beautiful scenery. We spent the morning enjoying the town, then we all boarded the Flam Railway via an excursion offered by the cruise line. We stopped at a small inn in the mountains for coffee and waffles before heading back down again and back to the ship.
Olden, Norway was a bit of a surprise. The weather was originally supposed to be very bad this day, so we originally planned to stay on the ship for the day. But, when we woke up, the sun was shining and the skies were clear, so we decided to venture out.
Monica and Todd had already left the ship and headed to a nearby sky lift to the top of a mountain to see both the town of Olden and a nearby glacier. Shannon and I met them up there, with Sam (who wasn’t feeling the best) staying back on the ship.
The views were incredible, and we spent time watching the parasailers as they launched themselves from a nearby ramp and slowly descended the mountain.
Boarding the skylift 
Our final stop of the cruise was Bergen, Norway. This was by far the largest city on our trip, and it felt weird to be back in a busy city after so many days in tiny fjord towns. We took a bus to the main portion of town and explored the rest of Bergen on foot, picking up seafood bowls from a local food hall.
Before getting back on the ship, we stopped by a french patisserie with some of the best gluten free pastries we had ever had. A definite surprise on our way back to the ship.
On our last day at sea on our way back to Amsterdam, Sam and I decided to spend a little time playing roulette. We managed to hit 00 twice in a row, and within 5 minutes had won over $200. We quickly left the casino and ended our trip on a bit of a high.
After nearly three weeks abroad, we headed back to our new house in Pennsylvania and settled back into life at home. Norway was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Most of the ports, we were perfectly content just wandering around looking at the beautiful scenery and exploring the shops and restaurants. The sailing was some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, and I was so grateful that we splurged from a balcony so we could sit and enjoy as much of it as possible.
