Tromsø

We started the day with a lecture at the conference room about the history of the long sea routes across the Norwegian coast. Our host Howard was funny and entertaining. He gave us the history of how the cruise line industry came to be in Norway and how the two cruise lines, Hurtigurten and Havila came to be. Here is a quote from one of his stories, “When I was a kid, we were told that if we studied hard and did well in school, someday we could get a job on a Hurtigruten ship but today kids are told that if they don’t do well in school they may end up working on a Hurtigruten ship, how times change.”

Another interesting point and a core issue we’ll discuss in our final review of the ship, is the ongoing labor shortage for skilled sailors on these cruises. We’ll tell you how this impacted our experience on the cruise in our final review.

Lunch

After the lecture we headed over to the fine dining restaurant for lunch.

I asked our attendant if she and the crew ate the same food we were being served but said they had a different menu consisting of items such as burgers, pizza and salad bars.

Our first excursion was a bus ride to the gondola station and a climb up to the mountain overlooking the entire city of Tromsø. It has an impressive view of the city and there be trolls here.

Trolls?

Arctic Church

Our second excursion stop was the Arctic Cathedral which features a unique triangular shape.

Full Steam Museum

Our third and final stop on our excursion was the Full Steam museum which features the history of the fishing industry in Tromsø.

As usual fish are hung out to dry here after the harvest which runs from January through March.

We also learned about the Sami people of Northern Norway. An indigenous group of people that have been left marginalized by the broader Norway community. This group of people have tens of thousands but have no representation in Norway’s parliament. Sad.

Dinner

For dinner, we skipped the fine dining and ate at the regular restaurant and I was a bit disappointed with the steak below. Havila Pro Tip: Stick to seafood dishes for optimum culinary satisfaction.

Veggie plate served with our entrees.

Jacuzzi

After dinner, we spent most of the evening in our Jacuzzi as we sailed from Tromsø to our next stop. We should be reaching our final destination tomorrow and it’s been a great trip in Norway.