Speeding in Stavanger on a Speedboat

We have been on the boat for 3 days now. We are taking the cruise ship Princess Caribbean up to the Norwegian Artic. Our itinerary goes to the way top of Norway. So far, as a travel agent, I can actually recommend the interior room for this particular cruise. We were nervous about it but due to the sun ALWAYS shining, this room provides a nice dark, cool and quiet retreat from a long day of hiking and running around the ship.

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Pros and Cons of the ship and this cruise so far:

Pros:

• Cheap (this cruise for 16 days for an interior cabin was around $3,500)
• Ports seem excellent
• Staff is very friendly
• Kids play area is fantastic for them, and they are having a blast making friends and playing games
• Calm environment, have not seen one single drunk person yet
• Pool is heated
• Great treats
• Fun enrichment series
• TV and shows are of good selection
• Food overall has been 7.5/10

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Cons:

• Walking Dead (the ships passenger average age is about 97)
  • This could be a positive because everyone is nice but it’s not really lively
• Ship is old as hell feeling in general; things are just deteriorated randomly around the ship
• The ship does this rando vibrating thing
• The lighting is the freaking worst. In the common areas, there are these little stupid lights that flicker like crazy. They should seriously have some sort of epilepsy warning signs.
• You pretty much have to do the Princess Plus package at a minimum if you need internet. This is expensive, but we have to have it for work.
• Kids are eating too much shit, but that’s not the boats issue
• Entertainment is a bit rough.

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Today we went to Stavanger pronounced (stuh vang uh). We woke up due to an emergency test drill around 10 am. The ship docked at 8 am and we had grand plans to be on land then but alas we slept in. Jeff and I were thankful for the drill. Then we talked to the local tourist office who directed us to a speed boat to see the fjords!

Stavanger is a bit like Oklahoma. How you ask? Well, the primary revenue and job market is dependent on the oil market. And that is exactly where the similarities end.

We were a little nervous before we got on the boat that we had made the right choice, but it turned out amazing. Thanks to the team at FjordEvents, we had a fantastic time. The boys were able to sit up front, and the bumps were sooo fun. Our tour operator was absolutely adorable and very friendly.

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We then headed to the town center to grab some coffee and tour the city. We found an awesome play area made from used old oil equipment. It sends so many mixed signals compared to the “Never play on oil equipment” safety slogans in OK.

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Then we headed back to the ship and are getting ready for an early morning in Olden! We think it will be a good hike day.

Bonus Fact NOT VERIFIED from our tour operator: Did you know goats can’t swim? Do you know why?
Answer: Because they can’t close their sphincter, and they would fill up with water and sink.
Now, I don’t want to sound like a goat expert, but I really don’t believe this. Thoughts anyone??