16 June 2010; at Sea.

As was the case with the distance between Oslo and Molde, being too long for a one night transit, we now had a similar situation with the distance between Molden and Tromso. Thus we spent a day at sea again. It is getting monotonous but the weather was again more inclement than predicted but luckily the wind was with us and thus we did not feel the elements as much as the day before. Everybody was interested when we would pass the Arctic Circle and that important occasion took place at 12.20 in the afternoon. On the globe the Arctic Circle is shown as a dotted line and some of my more ignorant (or more gullible) crew had been convinced by wiser colleagues that the captain had to navigate very carefully to make sure that he did not hit one of the dots. I did not do so, this to great relief but some disappointment was vented about the fact that they could not even see the dotted line. Well next time better; or maybe they will have by then found out that somebody pulled their leg.

This cruise our northern most point is the North Cape but in August we make our yearly cruise to the Top of the World and I sincerely hope that it will be a bit warmer then as the temperatures are getting lower everyday. Yesterday a peak of 12oC, or 54oC was reached and for tomorrow it will be a few degrees less. I wonder when the summer is going to start. Also we normally have some wild life sightings, such as whales, but they are either hiding or have moved to other areas as they have not been spotted at all. Only sea-birds galore but very much in the distance and no seagulls are landing on the deck. Much to the relief of the chief Officer who has to clean up behind them but it is typical. My theory is that the ship is not warm enough; e.g. the sun has not warmed up the steel sufficiently for the birds to enjoy sitting on the railings.

Although the Prinsendam is currently mainly active in Europe and in South America we do not do the same ports every year. Every year we try to add a few new ports into the mix to give our guests on board something new to savor (or complain about……….) Most of our guests are long time repeat cruisers and they have already bought all the T shirts that they will ever need. Thus the thrill of something new is more important then staying on the known track with established ports. Compared to last year, Molden, Tromso, Trondheim and Alesund are new on this cruise and for next cruise we are throwing a Southbound Kieler Kanal crossing in the mix. During the top of the world cruise Runavik and Ny Alesund (Spitsbergen) are the more recent editions and late in August we go around the British Isles where Peel (Isle of Man) and Holyhead (Wales) are new for recent years. The Prinsendam and certainly when she was the Royal Viking Sun and the Seabourn Sun has been to all these places before, but not lately.

Sometimes the ports are completely new. In the archives of August last year you can find the first visit ever of a cruise ship to Newport (Wales) and as the feedback was positive we will go back there in 2011.

So the Prinsendam keeps exploring and if the new ports that we visit are a success, then the larger ships normally follow and the Prinsendam will be given the fresh challenge of trying some more new ports.

Tomorrow morning around 5 am. we will be at the Haja Island pilot station to embark the pilot. From there we proceed to Tromso, which is located in the interior of Coastal Norway and we have to zig zag through some fjords to get there. That should account from some interesting scenery.