Review Bergen to Oslo
We have just completed the Norwegian Fiords and Coastal Treasures tour . Starting in Bergen
This was our fifth Tauck/Ponant cruise
I’ll divide this into several parts.
First the ship… this was by far our favorite ship experience because the captain and crew and all the Tauck directors were truly exceptional. Aside from being tall, dark, handsome, young and charming and FRENCH, the captain fully engaged with all the people and even gave us three very informative talks about navigation of the ship and so on. We could tell all the Tour directors got on very well. We had taken two previous tours with one and a tour each with two others. There was also a TD learning about the tour ready to lead it next year.
Each of the five Tour directors gave very good informative lectures during the Tour. The French tour director we had also had before. She was fun, and organized several quizzes There was a class with the pastry chef and a number of us made banoffi pies.
The three dancers were very good and interacted with us. The change here was that instead of shows beginning at 9-30 pm, apart from one, the others were performed before dinner so they would be better attended. There was a solo singer along with the dancers. The many slick costumes changes for the dances were impressive. There were man and wife singers which appears to be the norm on these trips.
There was a dance lesson and a karaoke evening which a number of people took part in, it was fun. My husband sang three songs and I joined a group of us to sing a couple of songs.
The welcome captain’s dinner had the majority of people dress up, varying from jackets for some men. The women, short dresses or slacks. No long formal gowns or anything like that. Other dinners, people either dressed up a bit or didn’t bother.
We had one very rough night at sea and I felt seasick all night which is not like me.
The food was French style and generally very good. The standout for me was duck which was the tastiest I’ve ever had. A fish with an outstanding risotto accompaniment was also a standout. Some people were disappointed with slow service at times, we were fine with it. The delightful waiters were a pleasure to interact with.
The excursions….we had an exceptional local guide for our Bergen walking tour. Emma, she owned the local tour guide company. All the places listed in the itinerary in this area were interesting. We had rainy weather but it was ok.
Lake Loen & Kjenndalen Glacier allowed spectacular views. Our excursion that afternoon was the one with the Troll car ride. When we got off the carts, there was quite an uphill walk to the base of the glacier. The ship has a few hiking poles for walking….this day, some may appreciate them.
Geiranger Fjord & the Mountains….we chose the all day coach trip which had many stops for viewing, we really enjoyed that day.
Ålesund…we chose the architectural walking tour. The old pharmacy had an amazing museum with some of the most beautiful Art nouvelle style furniture I have ever seen
Stavanger…it poured with rain and probably our least favored day too.
The seaport town of Arendal was probably our favorite and sailing out of the fiord was so picturesque.
Göteborg, Sweden….this was a busy port with an incredible amount of construction going on. Lots of attractive brick decorated apartments. So different from Norway.
We chose to visit Botaniska, Goteborg's Botanical Garden, one of the largest in Europe and a stop at the trendy 'Haga' neighborhood
I have to point out that apart from the local tour guides in Bergen and Oslo, the others were mediocre at best..something we have never experienced on a Tauck tour before.
More to follow