Day 6 - At Sea - My Night At The Chef's Table

        I won't go into length about my day because it was highly uneventful. The boat was rocking really bad all day and there wasn't much to do. I spent much of the day in bed hoping that the sea would calm down before my dinner at the chefs table.

        6:30 pm came and I made my way to Prime C. It is the ships specialty steakhouse where the dinner is hosted. On arrival I was greeted by the Matter Dee who introduced me to Dr. Jannie Mackay. Dr. Mackay is the Enrichment speaker on the ship and the guest host for this evenings dinner. I was the first guest to arrive so Dr. Mackay and I were guided into the lounge area to get better acquainted and wait for the remaining 9 in our party.

        The guests included a Mother and daughter from California, A Couple also from California, A man from Chicago, and a couple from Sweden with there daughter who has in a wheelchair. Once everyone had arrived we moved into the dinning room. The table was a long rectangle. I didn't like this as it cause a split the conversation between the two sides. The Californians had their conversation going on one side while my side of the table was dominated by the man from Chicago named Dominik.

        Dominik was the kinda guy who is a wealth of knowledge but absolutely no social skills. The moment anyone opened their mouth he had an instant correction to make and then a 10 minute lecture that wandered to a different topic completely. As obnoxious as this was a lot of things he was saying were confirmed to be accurate by the rest of the guest. After being cut off numerous times I took a passive roll in the conversation and just listened. This was highly entertaining to the gentleman from Sweden. His wife had informed us that his English was not the best and he does not talk much. At one point after Dominik had cut me off in mid sentence for what seemed like the tenth time.  His face said what his mouth couldn't "This guy.". My eyes widened as if to reply "I know! He won't shut up!" and we both had a quick chuckle.

        Dinner was absolutely a cut above anything I have experienced. A man named Pierre introduced himself as the Sommelier (wine expert). Each course that came Pierre would describe the wine he had selected for the course and what to look for in the pairing. He also told us about the specific glasses he had picked out for each wine and how it would effect the taste. It was highly educational. While I don't see a large difference between the specialty restaurants and the main dining hall, The chefs table is well worth the $95 price tag. I really think it should be experienced at least once. If I could go back I think I would pass on the 4 dinners I had booked at Aqualina and Prime C and just go with trying the 3 different dinners at the chef's table.

        After dinner I went for a drink at The Looking Glass. I ran into the Swedish Trio from dinner. We had a great time talking about the dinner - mostly about Dominik. I also met the ships Dj, Marico. He is a delightful character roughly about my age from Brazil who has been working on the ship for 5 years. He showed me an app he is working on for the Ipad that is an interactive travel book. His photos where incredible and I was very impressed. He also informed me that he was taking the same tour in Akureyri that I am on. Every tour the ship sends one of thier people to make sure everyone gets back. It was getting late and I was extremely excited to arrive in Iceland in the morning so I went home to bed around midnight.

        As much as I love writing everyday I am going to take a few days off to really take advantage of my time in Iceland. I am really enjoying the writing process but as I am a complete newbie, It takes me some time to get all it out on the page. We have an at sea day coming up on our Journey between Iceland and the Faroe Islands on August 4th. I plan to compress all my Iceland stories into one large update for that day. That is all for now. Akureyri, Here I come!

Day 5 - Lerwick - No Mousa for you!

        I started my day with quick breakfast at Windows cafe. Bacon and eggs at Windows is a staple for me now. When I was through with my meal I walked around the ship. After some wandering I found myself in the Cabaret lounge where the wildlife expert was giving a talk. I am not sure what the talk was about because I only caught the last 5 minutes. He showed a clip of an appearance he made on the Conan O'Brien show in which a king cobra was involved. I found out after presentation that he was the tour guide on the whale watching excursion in Iceland. I went straight to the Land Discoveries desk and booked the last seat available.

        Not to long after I went to Discovery for an early lunch. I wanted to be sure I had enough to eat before leaving the ship. Again the food in Discovery is great. I had an appetizer that was mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in avocado, cream of tomato soup and finally a steak and cheese quesodia. This makes me look forward to tomorrow night at the chefs table even more. Not only is the food here great but I have been feeling great as well. I think I am going to make an effort to eat better when I return home.

        I went to the upper deck to watch as we cruised towards the Shetland Islands. It was noticeably colder and the wind had picked up so I wore a jacket. I think they said it was like 15 degrees. We arrived in Lerwick to a beautiful view of the city. I went to my room to gather my things and made my way to meet up with my tour. After about 20 minutes they called for my group to disembark. As we headed toward the exit we were informed that the tour to Mousa Island had been canceled due to the weather. We were given the option of a refund or to take bus tour of the city. Feeling adventurous I decided to explore the city on my own and asked for a refund. I was disappointed as Mousa Island was one of the highlights for me.

        I exited the boat and was met with a woman handing out maps of the city. This was helpful as I have the worst sense I direction and would have got lost in under an hour. I began to wander the streets with no set course. I noticed on the map there was a road that circled the whole town and decided this was a good enough path. Lerwick is a very industrial town. just of the coast you can see what appears to be an oil rig. There is also shipping yard that is almost equal to the size of the rest of the town. After about an hour I found myself on the other side of town where found some tall hills that overlooked the whole town. One of these hills had a small dirt road leading to the top. It was obvious what I had to do.

        I began hiking up the steep grade of the hill. I couldn't get over how great the weather was despite what the cancellation of the tour would suggest. The sun was peaking out from the clouds and not only did I not need my jacket, I was breaking a sweat in just a tee shirt. About half way up the hill I turned around to find the most spectacular view and decided to continue. I saw a group of sheep near the top of the hill and made my way towards them. They stared right at me as I approached. I tried to get closer by leaving the path but they spooked and walked the other way. I took some time to take in the view I had found. The sheep began to investigate me again and I turned my attention to them. Slowly I got closer as to not scare them off. I managed to get within few meters and got some great pictures.

        I met a German man at the top of the hill who was taking pictures. He said he lived in the town and informed me that the tour to Mousa had been cancelled because the boat's engine is to weak to take on the headwind. After our brief exchange he made his decent and I stayed a little longer to take in the view and hang out with the sheep. After some time had past I decided to head back to the ship to ensure I was not left behind. I managed to make it to the pier two hours early and chose to get back on the ship and beat the crowd.

        My time spent in Lerwick was short but meaningful. I felt like a kid again wandering an unknown place and discovering what was around each corner. As much as I enjoyed my bike tour yesterday I think I prefer this kind of tourism. I won't be canceling any of my other tours on this trip but I think the next trip I take will be less structured. With great risk comes great reward.

        We made our departure and began heading towards Iceland. I can't put into words how excited I am get to Akureyri. I have a 6 hour bus tour booked that will take me all over northern Iceland. In the mean time I am experiencing for the "swells" first time. For those who are not familiar with the term it means the boat is rocking. Fortunately I don't get motion sickness but it is still quite disorientating. I really hope this calms down. Tomorrow is another at sea day. Not something I am looking forward to but I will try to make the best of it. Worst comes to worst I can just sleep all day.

Day 4 - Geiranger - Just like riding a bike

        In my last entry I mentioned that I planned to do nothing yesterday. There is always something to do on the ship but I have yet to find my thing. I am not big on trivia or bingo and I haven't seen a seminar worth going to as most of them are to entice you into buying jewelery and spa packages. I have been keeping to myself for the most part. The bar staff all know me by name and have a Heineken open in front of me before I even have the chance to ask. I can tell our days at sea will be boring but I remain hopeful that I will find something to do other then sitting at the bar. One thing I am finding really enjoyable is writing this blog. I think I might keep writing after this trip is over. Who knows, Maybe this is the start of a career as a Travel writer? I should probably take some classes and find myself an editor when I get home as I am sure spellchecker hasn't caught all my mistakes.

        I went to the Singles and Solo travelers cocktail party hosted by the cruise director Eric De Gray (The guy who I said looked like he was straight out of a Vegas act). The group was retirement age and included Eric's parents from Toronto, Two men I didn't get the chance to speak to, And three women from Melbourne, Texas, and Florida. Ellen (the woman from Florida) mentioned reading a post I had left on the Cruise Critic message board last week. Topics ranged from what brought me to Azamara, My desire to leave my job and start a new path, Ellen's beaded jewelery business and of course, Rob Ford. I had a nice time considering how out of place I felt. They all went to dinner after the meet up but as I already had plans I wished them well and we parted ways.

        Last nights dinner at Aqualina was fantastic. I experienced the same level of service as I did in Discovery restaurant the night before. I began with Escargot and caviare followed by a Seafood bouillabaisse. The escargot was not as heavily seasoned as I am accustom to but still highly enjoyable. I am not a soup guy but the bouillabaisse was the best thing I have ate on my trip so far. It had shrimp, calamari, scallops and mussels in it. For my entree I had the Aqualina Seafood platter. This was rather redundant as everything in the soup was served in the entree with the addition of half a lobster tail. In retrospect I should have ordered lobster - Something to keep in mind for my next dinner there. Between each course of the meal I was served a small pallet cleanser. First was raw sushi grade salmon and cream cheese on a cracker, Second was a shot glass full of raspberry sherbet. The wine pairing was a chardonay from France that complemented the dinner perfectly. I ended the meal with the best creme burlie I have ever had and coffee.

        After dinner I headed directly back to my room. I wanted to get an early start today so I was in bed by ten. Unfortunately I am still finding it hard to sleep and only nodded off for a couple of hours. At 4am the sun was starting to rise and we were finally heading into the fjords. I had only planned on taking a few pictures and heading back to bed. I made a few friends and had a great morning spending time with an 80 year old nalm vet named Marvin. Five hours later we were making the S curve into Geiranger. I had over 1000 pictures on my card, a dead camera battery and we were about to dock. I had just enough time to shower and get to the lounge that was the meet up for all of tours.

        I had tried to cancel my bicycle tour the other day do the bus trip all the way up the mountain. This wasn't possible due to the mountain tour being sold out - and I am glad it was. The bicycle trip was spectacular. Our tour guides took us up the winding road by bus to a lake 4000m higher then were we started. They informed us that the road we will be taking has 60 hairpin turns and we have to share the road with cars and buses coming in both directions. This road was one lane and a half wide at most with a shear drop off only inches from the shoulder in some places. We were warned that it would be cold at the top and the weather can change from sunny to rain to snow within minutes.

        We arrived at the top it was 20 degrees with a slight breeze. We were given a chance to take pictures of the lake. They gave a short safety tutorial and we were on our way. It was about a 2 and a half hour decent into Geiranger. For someone use to sharing the road with cars I was fine but it was harder for others in the group. I saw many people taking extremely wide turns that could have landed them on the hood of an oncoming car. One younger man kept trying to ride beside his female companion and ignoring the fact he was blocking traffic. I saw 2 crashes on my way down and there was talk about a third when we reached the bottom. Minor bumps and scrapes and everyone made it to the bottom. I found out that the oldest member of our tour group was 85.

        After the tour I looked through some of the shops in town. Geiranger is a tiny town with a population of only 300 people. Aside from the breath taking view there isn't all that much to do. I got back on board the ship, grabbed a late lunch and took a nap. When I awoke I made my way down to the show where Eric De Gray would be performing show tunes and songs from musicals. The show was extremely entertaining and Eric is not only a great singer but also really funny. The show concluded at about 11 and I headed up The Looking Glass. This has now become my night time spot. It is just below the observation deck in the front of the ship. All of the staff there know me by name whenever I arrive and there is a bottomless glass of beer waiting for me before I sit down.

        I called it a night midnight and went back to my room. I was hungry so I ordered a tuna wrap from room service and then went to sleep. This would be my first decent night sleep my whole trip. As we head towards Lerwich our clocks go back an hour. We won't arrive until noon so I have a nice slow start to my day before the tour I booked to Mousa island.

Day 3 - At Sea - Pork, Its What's For Dinner

        Last night I ate at The Discovery restaurant. It is the main dinning hall on the ship. As I entered I was greeted by the host. I took a peek in and said that it looked pretty busy and that I would come back later. He insisted that he had a table for me and ask me to follow him. He sat me at a table for two right next to a window overlooking the water. He unfolded my napkin for me, laid it on my lap and told me to have a nice dinner. My server brought me water, wine and a menu. I don't recall all that was on the menu but there were at least 5 choices in each section of the menu. I had a shrimp cocktail, soup (squash I believe), and - much to the surprise of anyone who knows me - Pork on a bed of mash potatoes and asparagus. Cherry brandy gellato was my choice for desert. The meal was spectacular and if this is what they consider "standard dinning" I can't wait for my first specialty dinner at Aqualina tonight.

        After a post-dinner conversation with my server about his opportunity to move to Toronto years ago and a chance meeting he had with Miss Canada 1992. I met a couple from Norway who were seated next to me. I had a short conversation about our destination tomorrow. I was advised to cancel my bicycle tour and take the bus trip to the top of the mountain. They told me the view is not to be missed and that I can ride a bicycle anytime. I may have to take their advice.

        I went to see the cellist after dinner. This was not my thing at all. Don't get me wrong the guy was incredibly talented but the show was toned for the older crowd. The head of entertainment started the show with rousing rendition of "You raise me up" answering any question I may have had as to why they don't allow weapons on board. I should add that this guy looked straight out of a Vegas lounge. Tanned as dark as possible, Bleach blond hair standing 5 inches above his head and wearing a shiny slim cut suit. He introduced the staff, then informed the audience that his parents are joining us on board and that his mother would be filling in on piano for the show. They are from Toronto. I stayed for a few songs and some lame cello jokes. The beatlies part of the show consisted of a 5 minute medley of at most 3 or 4 songs. As disappointing as it was he did play "All The Lonely People" which is one of my favourites. I promptly left once he announced we had arrived at the opera portion of the show.

        It was about 10pm and the sun had just set. I knew I had a half hour before the dance party would begin so I wandered around outside. I think it was pretty cloudy because I couldn't see any stars. There were a few people in the smoking area but other then that it was pretty quiet. I made my way to The Looking Glass Lounge for the party. There was about ten people in the room and only two dancing. The DJ was trying to be as enthusiastic as possible. Spending a portion of my life as a DJ I have to give this guy credit for making the best of it. There was one couple that would only dance to songs by The B52's. They went mad for "Rock Lobster" and the classic "Love Shack". Another couple that would only dance to ABBA. I recall "Dancing Queen" and "Love After Midnight" being played. The remainder of the play list was made up of a little bit of disco and some 50's music. There was a really amusing moment when the dance floor peeked at a whole seven people. The DJ played "Its Raining Men" and one by one I watched as each man on the dance floor awkwardly back away to their seats. Except for one, He danced like there is no tomorrow and gain my respect. I had a few beers and pretty much kept to myself. I called it a night at midnight.

        This morning I got up at 7, no sense in wasting my vacation sleeping in. I took a shower, got dressed and made my way to The Windows Cafe located at the back of the ship. They had an impressive buffet set up. I was a bit thrown off by the fact that you don't serve yourself. I asked for Eggs, Bacon and Sausage and the sever gave me my plate and I made way to the seating area when I noticed there was a patio. I went outside and scored a table dead centre next to the railing and sat facing out towards the sea. It was in this moment as i siped my coffee watching the trail of waves the ship left in its wake  that my question of "should have got a room with a balcony?" was answered. I am happy to save the thousands of dollars when the best breakfast spot is free. I hope I can get a seat again tomorrow as we cruse through the fjords toward Geiranger.

        I returned to my room after spending an hour on the cafe patio to find my bed made, a new basket of fruit, and my ice and bottled water replenished. I wonder if my complementary mini bar would magically fill itself had I taken something last night? An experiment will be made soon. Today is an at sea day and my plans include an extensive amount of nothing. I kind of wish I had downloaded some ebooks while we were still in port because the Internet connection at sea is non-existent. Unfortunately I forgot the book I wanted to read. I am hoping I may find something in Norway along with a hat and some sunscreen. When I went looking for sunscreen yesterday I was directed to the spa. The woman showed me a tiny bottle of SPF30  for $40 American and told me its only for use on my face. I think I will take my chances in the shade.

Day 2 - Copenhagen - Yeah, I'm "That Guy"

        Copenhagen is a great city. I wish I had more time to explore it. Last night I decided to stay in after spending $50 CND on a burger, Fries, Onion rings and 2 beers. Not very adventurous but when something has the word "Spice" as a prefix I tend to gravitate towards it. Money aside it was one of the best burgers I have ever had. I wanted to be up early - and I succeeded. Unfortunately I couldn't fall asleep till about 5am as the sun was coming up. I woke up at 9am, took a shower and went to the hotel bar for my free breakfast. The room was packed. I browsed the buffet. There were a lot of what I will assume to be Scandinavia breakfast items on display. After the flight I had and only 4 hours of sleep I didn't feel like experimenting. And it appeared, at the end of the line, My Canadian haven. Bacon, scrambled eggs, and coffee. Say what you will but this was the second best thing to come from this hotel (I will spare you the story of the three drunk girls I saw out my window at 4 in the morning).

        If I could sum Copenhagen up in one word it would be - Quiet. While there is a fair amount of car traffic but most people travel by bicycle. Walking around is extremely relaxing. The weather is identical to home. Hot and Humid. As I look at myself in the mirror in front of me I indeed have a sunburn. I checked out of the hotel at about 11:30 as to give myself plenty of time to get to the dock and meet my ship. I asked the desk attendant for directions. He printed me a map and asked if I wanted a cab. After the cab fair from the air port I was not about to do that again. I asked him how far it was. "4km" he replied. That's nothing I thought and told him it was fine. He said in his entire time at the hotel I am the first person to walk to the ship docks. You probably see where this is going.

        I began my journey to The Azamara Journey (see what I did there). With in 10 minutes I was asking a bus driver if I was going the right way. With in 20 minutes I was completely lost. I should say here that 4km is not a big walk, but when you are dragging luggage over cobblestone it becomes significantly more difficult. Also when I said that Copenhagen is quiet, its not when you are "That guy" dragging luggage over cobblestone.  I broke and turned my cellphone on to use the GPS. I manage to find my way to The Little Mermaid. Its one of Copenhagen's main land marks.  When I arrived I found a few people from Florida with luggage that had tags for Azamara. They informed me that a shuttle was on its way. I skipped The Little Mermaid to making it to the ship on time. I boarded the bus and it took me straight to the ship. 5 euro for the bus beats the cabs by a long shot.

        Boarding went quickly and my luggage arrived at my door just after the emergency protocol demonstration. I arranged 4 nights at the Premium restaurants and 1 at the chefs table. I also got my Premium drink package and Internet all sorted out. Azamara has a pretty decent selection of free drinks. As for beer there is Bud, Bud light and Coors light free I believe. For $11 a day you get a selection of about 25 import brands and for $12 a day you unlock a whole tier of Liquor as well as the beer. Seemed like a no brainier. Ive already had 2 Red strip and 2 Heineken (they ran out of Red Strip). At over $5 a bottle it has already paid for itself. 

Its just after 7 right now. They have an Italian and Spanish inspired dinner tonight that I am planing on attending. Then I might check out the cellist that is playing songs by The Beatles (I know my Dad would like that) and Andrew loid Weber. If I am still lively I might check out the Dance party at 10:30 tonight to see if I can meet some people.

Day 1 - Copenhagen - A bag just went into our engine

        The Ian has landed. What a trip it was. My dad drove me to the airport. He and I had dinner together and everything was going so smoothly. He dropped me at the gate where we said our good byes. My boarding pass said the flight was boarding an hour before take off. I imagine this is standard but due my timing I only had time for one beer and then I had to get in line. Boarding was delayed and I stood in one spot for what seemed like forever as a large group of French Canadian seniors grew restless. Clawing at my back as they let children on first. Fortunately I was one of the first to my seat. I was excited to take off and fall blissfully asleep. I would not be so lucky.

        Take off was delayed due to maintenance issues. This left us sitting for an hour. Once the problem was resolved we made our way to the run way. We were then informed that a bag had gone into the right engine and we would have to go back for inspection. This was another hour long delay. Finally at almost 11pm we were in the air. They served dinner as soon as we hit 39,000 feet and informed us that there would be a small breakfast before we landed. I avoided the movie selection to try and maximize my chances of sleep. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep but I think the cabin pressure was making me feel sick. I had a really bad headache and my stomach was turning for the first half of the flight.

        We landed in Copenhagen at about 11am Danish time. 5am Ontario time I believe. Once I got my bags I went in search of a bus to take me to my hotel. No such luck as everyone I asked told me I needed to take a cab. The fair was 268 DKK or 52 CND for a 14.8 km trip. The driver didn't even talk to me the whole way. Needless to say I will not be doing that again.

        He dropped me at the Scandic Front Hotel where I had a room booked. Fortunately I had set up an early check in so I was in my room in under 10 minutes. The hotel is right down town and the room is just big enough for me, Free internet, Free breakfast. Considering I am only here for one night I would be happy with a bed in a broom closet. I am really tired so instead of going out to see the city I am going to take a nap. Tonight I am going to find a place for dinner and see what Copenhagen has going on at night.

Day 0 - Brampton - Preparations

        So today is the day. I am leaving for my cruise to Iceland and the Norwegian fjords on the Azamara Journey. I am going to try and update this blog every day with all my stories and pictures. Unfortunately I don't know how the internet will be on the ship so there may be a few late posts. I am sure no one will mind.

        At this moment I am doing my final bits of laundry, Organizing all of my electronics, and confirming I have done everything that needs doing. All that is left now is to call my credit card company to inform them of where I will be going and to check-in online with Air Canada. I am really looking forward to getting on the plane and relaxing. Its been such a busy week getting ready for this trip I haven't had a moment to sit back and get excited for it.

        That's all for now. I hope to have some time later at the airport bar to write something with more substance.