Black Watch Solar Eclipse Part VII

It finally stopped snowing very late in the afternoon, but still with overcast skies. We had had a note in the cabin that the assembly time to meet for the tour had been brought foward by an hour ( for the talk by Glod ). Now I know that the Black Watch came this way at Christmas, so I would have assumed that the tours department would have known that there would be a talk before the tour ?

So we all gathered in the Neptune Lounge at our new alloted time. I think the talk is the same one we had on Oriana last year, but our prediction of seeing the lights was 3. Last year it was 2 and we had a good display. 

But of course the main thing was the weather, of the three sites they use, the one in the north showed the clouds clearing by 2300, with a temperature of -8C, so that was the one.

It was about an hours drive in the coach before we arrived. It was a residential road which led down to a lake.

So the question is, did we get to see them ?

Yes we did, a bit fleeting, but at one time we did get a bit of a "dance" from them.

My photos are not the best, and when I converted them to use in the blog, they were rendered useless, so you will have to wait until I get home and can process them.

We returned to the Black Watch just before mid night and the staff were waiting as we boarded with hot sausage rolls and hot chocolate, which I thought was a nice touch.

Finally, I will leave you with this thought. Glod come on board with their predictions and take you to the site where you will have the best chance of seeing the lights. Oriana also stayed overnight, and I assume that their passengers also had Glod tours. But there were no Oriana passengers at our site, so where did they go ???

Just a thought !!

Bye bye 

Black Watch Solar Eclipse Part VI

Well today we arrived in a very snowy Alta, we did not dock where I expected us to near the airport, but further over in the bay.

The airport berth was later filled by Oriana ( I think she is stalking me ) 

We left Tromso a little later than planned, a taxi arrived at 2300 with three passengers with arms in slings. I wonder if they had been on a dog sledge ?

We took the shuttle bus into town today, and after some retail therapy in a large shopping mall, visited the Alta Cathedral 

It's been very over cast today, with frequent snow showers, so the big question is, will it clear so we can see some lights on our tour tonight ?

I think that's enough of a cliff hanger until the next episode 😜😜

So 

Bye bye

Fred Olsen Black Watch Solar Eclipse Part V

So after our two sea days, we have reached the port of Tromso, it's a pity the weather was not better as it is a magical sail in.

We arrived before our allotted time, and were not allowed to berth due to "security issues" so we circled for about an hour before making the berth.

We had booked an afternoon tour to the Planetarium, we arrived, and look who we saw 

As we left it had turned into a bit of a blizzard 

And of course there was a queue to get back on board 😜❄️❄️❄️❄️

We do not leave until 2300 tonight as there is a tour to the Arctic Cathedral for a concert this evening, before we make our way to Alta.

As we have not fancied the entertainment the last couple of nights, we went to the cinema suitated in deck 3 .

The first film we saw was " The Riot Club", not going to make much comment, other than it was not my type of film.

Last night we saw "Before I go to Sleep" with Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth. Both myself and Sue have read the book, which we both thought was excellent, and the film lived up to the billing.

So now we  go in search of those elusive Northern Lights

So until then 

Bye bye

 

Black Watch Solar Eclipse Part IV

So here we are, the big day for the Solar Eclipse. We awoke to very angry sea, a large swell and very dark skies, it did not bode too well.

But at 0830 we donned our cold weather gear and ventured out to the starboard prom deck which was already filling with passengers clutching their eclipse specs in readiness.

It was a bit of a cruise ship fest, as there was a Carnival ship close by, and another further out. We were also joined by Braemar 

It still did not look very promising, although there was just the slightest glimmer in the dark clouds.

Then slowly, very slowly the cracks in the cloud get more and more as we moved towards totality 

And slowly it got darker and darker, which was quite magical and eerie at he same time.

It was then that the cruise gods smiled upon us, the clouds parted, and there was the totality in all its glory 

With many "Oh's" and "Ahs" from the passengers.

Was it worth coming all this way to see it ?

You bet !!!!

I have to apologise for the quality of the above photos, but it's the conversion from RAW files to JPEG on my IPad.

I will of course post links to all my photos once I get home, which will be of much better quality.

So now we are on our way to our next port of Tromso, but not before we have a quick RV with Braemar and Boudicca 

So until then

Bye bye 

Black Watch Solar Eclipse Part III

Well our two sea days have passed and we now find ourselves in Runavik in the Faroe Islands.

The gods of cruising have smiled upon us so far, as we have had calm seas. The weather however has been a bit hit and miss. Day 1 was foggy all day, but it improved yesterday and we did see a bit of warm sun. 

The entertainment last night was a magician, now you will know that I do like a bit of magic. But this guy left me cold, now I don't know if it was just his style, but IMHO he was just a bad children's entertainer, but Sue  enjoyed his show, so not all tastes are the same.

I've not mentioned quizzes so far, but that because we have been rubbish,  I think we have missed Pat and Michael from our last cruise.

Just a note about our cabin.

If you remember from our last cruise on Black Watch, we were deck 4 mid ships, right next to the opening for the gangway, and that became a tad noisy.

We are now on deck 3 aft, now if you think P&O's Oriana has a few vibration issues, it's nothing to what our cabin can do 😝😝 you could churn butter in there some times.

This morning I was up on deck at 0640, and yes I was still wearing my shorts, but it was a bit chilly

The Pilot boat

We left the ship for a stroll around town at about 1000. The weather by this time, was dark grey clouds and that drizzle that soaks through your clothes. If you have not been here before, the town centre is very small, and in this weather, it was not a pleasant walk.

So all in all, not the best port we have ever visited, and if we did  pass this way again, we would do a tour.

So we were back on board by 1100.

You can see how low the cloud was

And finally the old girl herself

And so tomorrow, we have one of the main events of the cruise, " The Solar Eclipse ". The weather does need to improve though, else the spectacle will be a bit of a damp squid.

After that, we are on to Tromso, and Nothern Lights territory.

So let's all hope for some clear skies for the next few days, and you may even get a picture of the total eclipse, then some green skies

So until then

Bye bye 

Black Watch Solar Eclipse Part II

So here we are on our first sea day, calm seas and sunshine as we sail up the east coast of England onwards to our first port of call of the Faroe Islands. The sail away was slightly delayed as there was a "code alpha" call just as we were leaving the muster drill.

The crew had been unloading large sheets of MDF and other assorted items from the aft deck, and it seems one sustained an injury, so the Captain waited to see if he required to be off loaded. I assume it turned out to be not serious as no one left the ship.

Our meal ( first sitting ) along with our table companions was a pleasant affair.

As we were onboard last November for the mystery cruise, there are lots of familiar faces amongst the crew, plus some who had just started, and did seem to struggle with my order for a large Bells with ice. But I'm sure they will get the hang of things soon.

We have a couple of speakers on board to talk about the eclipse and the northern lights, so I'm sure we shall pop along to some of their talks.

Today has been a first for me in that I have purchased an on board Internet package. Now I normally wait until we dock and purchase a " bolt on" package for my iPhone.

But at £30 for 24 hours of access ( 2p per minute) I thought that was very good value.

As I said at the beginning, it's a lazy sea day today, and you can tell that a fair amount of the passengers are new to the Black Watch, as they walk up and down trying to find their bearings. Not sure how they would manage on Britannia.

We had been on a wait list for a tour on a train in Alesund, but have now given up with that, so we are going to book a cruise on the Hjoundfjord on a catamaran instead.

So until next time

Bye bye

Black Watch Solar Eclipse Part I

So it's 0630 on Monday 16th March and I'm laying in bed in the Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton. Yes it's time for one of those "big white floaty thing" journeys.

Today we sail with Fred on Black Watch to go back up to the Arctic for the solar eclipse and hopefully some Northern Lights. For you regular readers, you may remember we did this last year on P&O's Oriana, so we know what to expect weather wise.

So I hope you will join Sue and myself on our cruise, and just to get you in the mood I thought I would start by including a total eclipse picture.

Bye bye