A mini weeknote since I have not actually been in work for a week!
At home:
- Actually not been at home either as I went on our Old Lady Cruise to the Norwegian fjords. We were aboard P&O’s flagship Iona, departing and returning from Southampton:
- 344 meters long, 42 meters wide, nearly 185 thousand tons (but barely 10m draft, which blows my mind!)
- 1,700 crew, over 2,600 cabins which means potentially around 5,000 passengers
- 18 decks, 13 bars, 15 restaurants, a theatre, a cinema, 4 main pools and countless little whirlpools, a spa, a gym, and probably other stuff I’ve forgotten about!
- liquid natural gas powered, cost £730 million to build
What I struggled with:
- The unbridled manifestations of capitalism on board – like sales talks disguised as ‘educational’ activities. Come to a talk about tanzanite or about Tudor watches or about Pandora bracelets, and then Buy All The Things! You don’t have to attend, obvs. What I would have liked to go to (which was not on offer however) were talks about how a ship this size works – how do they manage all the staff, when do they take on fuel and water, the engineering and maintenance of all the moving parts even while all the customers are on board, feeding all these people (us!) all day long, managing the waste and the environmental impact, and that sort of stuff.
- Apart from the officers and admin staff who were White (like the head of HR – the info was on our cabin TV), as far as I could tell all the staff we encountered, and especially in service roles (in the kitchens, restaurants, spa, gym, all the cabin stewards), were from minority ethnic backgrounds from east and south east Asia, and I found that especially jarring. An indication of either low pay or poor working conditions, or both – inequity of employment in any case.
- Uncomfortable with the 5,000 passengers (of which we were a part, of course) descending on a small town for a few hours, seeing a little, expecting a lot, offering not much in return except for their holiday spending, and disappearing again into the massive luxury cruise liner which had blocked out the horizon. Essential to the local economy (in Olden the lady in one shop told me that during the cruise season they get between 2 and 4 cruise ships per week), and yet I can’t shake the feeling.
What I liked about the cruise:
- The ship design, from the compact and functional cabin with plenty of storage, to the whole ship itself with all its different areas and facilities.
- The accessibility and inclusion of the ship and therefore of a cruise holiday. Lifts and ramps everywhere for all levels of mobility needs. A safe and accessible environment for all. I saw people of all ages, and with a wide range of access needs, and all were happily accommodated in the thoughtfully-designed environment.
- For the days we were at sea, it felt like living on a spaceship. No input, no output, just a self-contained unit that has to carry everything it needs.
- We booked access to The Retreat, an area on the topmost deck at the front of the ship that was quiet and had delicious and healthy food. The views from there were stunning.
- I saw in a few short days a range of places and landscapes which would no doubt have been impressive otherwise, but not as much as from our perspective from the water. That was really quite special.
- On the whole however I’m not sure I’ve got another cruise in me, the technical things were great, but I’ve got reservations about the ethical aspects.
What I loved about Norway:
- The landscapes were absolutely stunning, I was up with the sunrise every day to go see the mountains and fjords we were passing through in the early morning light. Breathtaking. Every day new majestic sights – the river water in Olden was an intense turquoise blue, the hills were a special shade of spring green, and the wooden houses and cabins were painted dark reds, mustard yellows and greens with white highlights. Perfect pictures even from my basic phone camera. 🙂
- I got to swim in a fjord! That was definitely the highlight of the trip for me. The water was clear and soft, at about 13-14 degC, it was sunny, and it felt amazing. I’m still on a high from that experience.
The photo below:
- We had 4 stops planned: Stavanger, Olden, Hellysylt and Haugesund. Unfortunately the last one was cancelled because strong contrary winds meant the ship couldn’t navigate the fjord safely to dock in Haugesund, so we started heading back and had an extra day at sea instead. We were booked in to a shore excursion to see the Rising Tide by Jason deCaires Taylor, which I was sad to miss, but being at sea means being dependent on favourable weather conditions. I’d go back to see that if I can.
- There are also places that weren’t on our route that I would like to see in Norway, in particular the brutalist cathedral in Bergen. I would visit again if the opportunity arises, for sure.
Photo credit: Jason deCaires Taylor