Oriana in search of the Northern Lights Part I

Had received mixed messages from P&O, one telling us to arrive 2 hours later due to deep cleaning to eradicate the Noro virus,  and another to say it would be very busy in Southampton around the dock area as road works which will cause problems.

So what to do ? Well, we ignore both and left our normal time :-)

The M25 had its normal road works which this time seemed to go on for miles, which slowed us down a bit, but the road works around dock gate 4 did not cause too much of a problem.

So we were in the QEII terminal by noon, which meant we had a two hour wait before we could board.

Muster was planned for 1645 and sail away 1745.

But as always things got delayed, so it was well after 1800 before we sailed.

As we stayed on deck for the sail away, and had missed the MDR (1st sitting) we decided to eat in the buffet, which had a pleasant carvery.

It was then off to see The Headliners in Stage Door, a show we had not seen before, and they came across as a very strong troupe.

2 sea days followed, by the normal routine, of reading, gym, quizzes, eating etc.

Ah yes, we also booked a cruise on Britannia.

The Crows Nest meeting was also well attended, and was good to put faces to the names

Friday nights announcement by the Captain of a swell of 3 metres, turned out to be wishful thinking, as it turned into 6 metres. In the middle of the night, Oriana decided to part company with the sea she was sailing in, only to to be reacquainted a few seconds later. This caused a noise like I have never heard on a cruise ship before. I think it must have woken most passengers as that what everyone was talking about the next day.

We also ventured into Sorento for our meal on Friday night, only a £5 per head supplement and if you like Italian food, well worth a visit.

And so to today, we arrived in a rainy Bergen at 0800, no tour booked, so it was a walk into town, it was only a drizzle when we left, but it soon turned into something more substantial, reaching the " drowned rat" stage at the end.

But it was a pleasant couple of of hours walk, and back in time for lunch. We sail at 1530 this afternoon with another sea day before we reach the frozen north of Tromso, where we have a Husky sledge trip to look forward to.

But I will leave you with a few views of Bergen today.