Honningsvag, Norway

We wanted to begin with some photos about the Stardust Lounge. Crystal Symphony has the Starlite Lounge while Crystal Serenity has the Stardust Lounge. The each have a  different design and often are used for different purposes.

Over the years we have seen Stardust used in a variety of ways. This includes for bridge when bridge groups came on board, for private cocktail parties, for other group sessions, for comedians or certain shows in the evening. On this cruise on a rainy and windy afternoon it was used by the Golf Pro for a golf clinic. If the ship was sailing in rough seas sometimes dancing would be moved from the Palm Court over to the Stardust as Stardust is located on Deck 6 whereas the Palm Court is located on Deck 12.

The Stardust Lounge was redesigned in late 2018. Afterwards it served another person. On formal nights up two times are cruise if two or more formals are on the program, it is used for the Supper Club. The Super Club brings you back to the era of having dinner with a show. The tables are set up with four chairs and if you are single or two people they will seat you with others. Although tables could accommodate a great number, they keep the maximum number of people to eighty so it is not so crowded and so they can serve each course to all tables pretty much at once.  The menu has fewer choices than what is found on the Waterside menu but certainly has popular choices. The entertainment includes live music and dancing. For those booked on a particular cruise you can sign up for the Supper Club. You don't know the date in advance but it would be on a formal evening. You will find out if you are confirmed a couple of days before the event. If you have not experienced the Supper Club we highly recommend it.

Dinner menu from last evening at Waterside follows.

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Last evening we dined at Waterside for the second of three consecutive nights. Food was great. We tried a couple of appetizers that we have not had for years and the Chicken Kiev which we are not sure if we have had on Crystal before. We were told that they used to prepare it so when it arrived to the table either the Head Waiter or Senior Waiter cut  into it and removed the chicken the tube. We like this approach, but we will tell you more about that tomorrow.

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Today's Daily Reflections Program.

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Honningsvag, Norway is known as the jumping point and gateway for the North Cape. It is located five degrees north of the Arctic Circle and the most northernmost city in mainland Norway. Situated on Magerøya island. The city population is 2,000+ residents.

Nordkapp is a famous cliff on the northern side of   Magerøya island, approximately 21 miles away. 


The North Cape already became a tourist destination by the 1800s. When visitors reached the top they celebrated by writing postcards. When their post card was mailed by the post office it was stamped with Nordkapp.

We try to avoid buses these days and Keith  so we didn’t make it up to the Nordkapp. The main factor though was Keith's concern with heights.  Keith thought about doing the hike of the Nordkapptrappa, but was concerned about heights. He doesn't mind heights where you have a wide area on both sides but having something narrow doesn't work for him. We were happy for those who did.

When Keith debarked the ship he saw Shore Excursion Manager Alex and Assistant Shore Excursion Manager Erin. Erin swings up to Shore Excursion manager when Alex is on Holiday. As it turned out Keith could have done Nordkapp.  He had googled this ahead of time and got mixed answers.  Lesson learned check with Crystal ahead of time.
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Instead, Keith walked over to the local town and still had a very nice time.

It was a rainy day but we came prepared between waterproof jackets and waterproof pants. We learned to be prepared from our first visit to Reykjavik, Iceland many years ago on Crystal Symphony. It was on that day it was cold and raining and with the wind the rain was coming at you and we got drenched. A good lesson that we have applied to all of our adventures ever since which is to bring the correct clothing with you.

It drizzed for the first 45 minutes of Keith's walk. He first made a left out of the port area walking a couple of miles. The scenery was quite nice and he arrived at another area with many nice homes and nice views of the landscape. Reversing course the rain had stopped and once he got the port area he realized more of the local town was to the right so he proceeded to walk that area. There is a beautiful harbour and while tourism is important here so is fishing so you see a number of fishing vessels. He covered 5+ miles and it was great.

All in all it was a lovely walk and as Captain Birger said to Keith today's weather was another beautiful summer day in Norway. We are reminded that a summer day in our own country can vary based on where you are visiting and summer around the world varies quite a bit as well.

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Another great day and the night isn't over yet.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie and Keith