An early start to the holiday. We had stayed near Heathrow but still needed to be up by 7am to get to check in at the airport at a reasonable time. We had pre-booked breakfast but didn't have time. We always find the Premier Inns that we stay in good value. This one was comfortable but we had a couple of small complaints about the shower gel and soap running out. We mentioned this at checkout time and were amazed to be told our room rate would be refunded under their "good night" guarantee! This Heathrow room rate included 15days parking as well .. So a totally unexpected start to the holiday.
So was losing my way on the short journey to the airport. I managed to miss the turning for Terminal 3 and sailed past. Luckily I remembered the perimeter road so we drove around the whole airport in an anti-clockwise direction. Second time round I managed to find my way to Terminal 3 without problems and reached the car park. Dropped off the car and made our way through check-in, security etc. Breakfast finally happened courtesy of Pret A Manger but then we had to rush for the flight to Oslo and got there just in time. Very smooth flight then a short wait for our onward flight to Bergen. Another smooth flight (thank you SAS) then a wait of an hour or so for the bus to the Hurtigruten terminal and check-in before boarding the MS Finnmarken, our home for the next 12 days. We finally boarded at 6pm and found we have a really nice cabin with a large window for views of the coast.
Once on board, after unpacking, and a buffet dinner and coffee afterwards, we had an informational talk. Introductions of the crew (captain, chief engineer, navigation officer) .. and other important people like the head chef and the man who makes the desserts. Interesting to note that the head chef has a hat approximately 12"tall but the dessert chef has a glorified flat cap :-)
You soon realise that the cruise, while it is relaxing, has various routines you need to stick to. Like checking the weather report each day. And picking up the daily itinerary which keeps you updated with what excursions are available and the last booking times for each of them. Last but not least you need to keep your eyes and ears open for announcements and forecasts of whether or not there is any chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Time will tell ..
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