G&T's Excellent Adventure

SAT., JUN 6th thru SAT., JUN 20th, 2026

We checked out of The White Star Tavern in Southampton on Saturday morning and took a taxi over to our ship, Celebrity Apex. Boarding went smoothly. We then headed to our stateroom, which has a lovely balcony. We dropped a few things off in the room then went in search of lunch. We met a couple coming out of their stateroom two doors down from us, and that’s how we met Marcia & Bobby, who have been full-time RVing for 33 years! Wow! We shared lunch the first day and have shared most dinners since then. They’ve been everywhere in the U.S. and visited most countries around the world including visiting South Africa ten times leading RV tour groups. We’ve become fast friends, and love hearing their stories. 

Sunday was a sea day and Monday, June 8th, we landed in our first port, Haugesund, considered “the gateway to the fjords,” even though it’s not actually in a fjord. A few interesting facts about Norway:

• 5.5 million people live in Norway, and the nation is ranked among the world’s wealthiest per capita.
• There are 1,190 fjords and 50,000 islands!
• The coastline, including the fjords and islands, is longer than the U.S. and second longest in the world after Canada. 

Haugesund is a charming quaint small town, but it was a very rainy day! Gary and I ended up doing a Hop On/Hop Off bus. Our first stop was to see the pink Haugesund City Hall. It is famously painted a distinct pink color because the original 1920s architects “chose it as a deliberate stylistic statement.” Completed and opened in 1931, the neoclassical design “reflects the architectural trends of the era, which favored monumental yet elegant buildings accented by bold, untraditional colors.” The bubblegum-pink facade was specifically intended to stand out… and it does! The City Hall was entirely funded and gifted to the city of Haugesund by a wealthy local shipowner to celebrate the city’s maritime prosperity. The iconic color has been preserved by law!

We also saw the Marilyn Monroe statue,which was unveiled in 1994. It was inspired by a long-held belief that the Hollywood icon’s father or grandfather originally emigrated from the Haugesund region. However, apparently that’s been proven to be false, but the statue remains. Anything for tourism. lol 

The Haraldshaugen National Monument is a 55 ft tall granite obelisk. It was erected in 1872 during the millennial celebration of Norway’s unification under King Harald Fairhair. There were coastal walking trails near the monument but way too wet today!

There was also a pretty waterfront and some very nice murals. We eventually made our way back to the ship to dry off and have a late lunch! 

As usual the entertainment onboard ship has been outstanding. The first night I was suffering from seasickness so passed on the entertainment as well as dinner. I made it down to the dining room with Gary, Marcia & Bobby, but left before any dinner was served. The ship was rocking and rolling. Later that night things calmed down, and I was fine after that. 

Entertainment the second night was Will Martin from New Zealand. He played tunes from Billy Joel, Elton John and Simon & Garfunkel among others, and he was terrific. Gen Muldanado performed a Diva show Monday night and sang hits from Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Barbara Streisand, Gloria Gaynor, Tina Turner and Gladys Knight. Fabulous! We also saw a show entitled “The Caravan” (think Cirque de Soleil) featuring the cast of acrobats from the ship. They were amazing! 

 Sunrise on Tues., June 9th (2026), was 4:48 am and sunset was 10:08 pm. Each day we’re seeing more and more daylight! We’re sleeping with eye masks on because the daylight seeps in around the edges of the room-darkening drapes. I stepped out on our balcony at 6:12 in the morning to mist and fog. We had entered our first fjord an hour earlier. Many locals believe in trolls. I would, too, if I lived here. It is a mystical environment… beautiful and moving!

Today’s earth science lesson… A fjord is defined as a long, narrow, and often deep sea inlet with steep, high cliffs or mountains on three sides. They are created by massive glaciers over millions of years, and the glaciers are still moving. 

We continued sailing up our first fjord, Aurlandsfjord, which the Captain had said has an especially attractive approach. At the foot of the fjord is the picturesque town of Flåm with it’s storybook scenery. Aurlandsfjord is part of the larger Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest fjord. The deepest point plunges 4,266 ft and mountains along the fjord rise to more than 5,578 feet! The whole area is breathtakingly beautiful! Flåm is known for colorful timber houses and has fewer than 400 residents. We had stunning views off our balcony.

We had two excursions planned for the day. The first was a bus ride to the Stegastein Viewpoint. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our bus was small with only 14 passengers. It was a 45-minute ride thru gorgeous countryside on narrow twisty roads on the National Tourist Route, which goes by the name of The Snow Road, and is considered “one of the most stunning high mountain roads in Norway.” We arrived at the Stegastein Viewpoint. It’s a platform made of wood and steel and gives the illusion of hovering 650 meters above the Aurlandsfjord, which equates to a 120-130 story building in height, and juts out 90 ft from the mountainside. A cool sensation, although thankfully not particularly scary since you’re standing on a solid surface. 

Our second excursion was taking the Flåm Railway, opened for passengers in 1941, to the town of Myrdal and back again. This route is considered one of the most beautiful train journeys on earth. It was indeed awesome. Also the Flåm Railway is one of the steepest in the world, although strangely we did not get the sensation that it was particularly steep. A train was coming down as we were going up and passed to our right. It was the only section of the rail that has double tracks. A weird feeling. Waterfalls were everywhere and we saw a Huldra, an underground spirit, by one of the largest waterfalls. She “captivates travelers with her enchanting song and tries to lure men into the mountains.”  It was staged, of course, but still fun. We passed Rallar Road, built in 1893, which is considered Norway’s most beautiful cycle route. It has 21 hairpin turns as part of it.

Salvatore Hasard was the headliner for the evening of Tuesday, June 9. His final musical number was absolutely amazing. He sang all the parts of “We Are the World” using the actual artists voices. If you closed your eyes you heard Dionne Warwick, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson and all the others. It was incredible. Playing on the screen behind him was the actual video recorded in 1985, minus the sound track.

In the early morning of Wed., June 10th, we sailed into Nordfjord. Nestled at the end of the fjord was the picturesque town of Olden. We opened the drapes in the morning to a fairytale town… charming homes, lush greenery and mountains. 

Our excursion today was to the Briksdal Glacier via a 45-minute bus ride on narrow roads with gushing waterfalls, glacier fed blue/green lakes and charming homes. The color of the water was like nothing we’ve ever seen before…a striking blue/green. Then we boarded our “troll car,” which was a John Deere Gator, for a 10-minute ride to get closer to the glacier before we walked the remaining 1/2 mile. So worth it! 

Briksdal Glacier is “one of the most accessible and best known arms of the Jostedalsbreen glacier, which is the largest glacier in continental Europe.” Reminded us a bit of Glacier National Park but on steroids. And like Glacier NP, Briksdal Glacier is shrinking due to climate change. 

A fun adventure today set amongst an amazingly beautiful landscape. The scenery is better than a postcard. The icing on the cake is an abundance of waterfalls. They are EVERYWHERE! 

Sunrise this morning was 3:02 am and sunset was 11:38 pm! The headliner for the night was Ollie Mulkeen. His version of Danny Boy on the trumpet was a tear jerker for sure. 

Thurs., June 11th, (2026), was a “sea day,” and it was also when we crossed into the Arctic Circle. There is a traditional maritime initiation ceremony for sailors and travelers crossing into the Arctic Circle called the Order of the Blue Nose. “Participants often undergo a ‘baptism’ that involves taking an icy polar plunge. Following the cold shock, the ship’s captain or crew marks the participant’s nose with blue foam or paint to symbolize the frigid temperatures of the region.” In the case of our ship, the icy polar plunge was actually a chilly pool and the blue paint was blue frosting placed on our noses. While Gary & I did not jump into the pool, we did have our noses painted with blue frosting. We also experienced the land of the Midnight Sun, meaning 24 hours of daylight! Soooo bizarre! 

On Fri., June 12th, we arrived in Tromsø the largest European city in the Arctic Circle with a population of about 80,000 and considered the ”Paris of the North.” Interestingly enough it was also the sunniest and warmest day we’ve had at 65 degrees. Go figure! Tromsø is not located in a fjord but rather on an island. It’s the largest town we’ve visited in Norway thus far, and has a distinctly more commercial port. 

Once off the ship, we stopped at the visitor’s center and got information on how to navigate thru the city. We opted to take city buses to explore Tromsø, rather than rely on Celebrity’s shuttle bus getting people into town, which seemed to be taking forever. 

We first took a bus to get to the Fjellheisen cable car. After a short queue, we were able to take the cable car up to the top of the mountain for nice views of Tromsø. There were some nice walking trails at the top and some leftover winter snow which kids were playing in. 

Once down from the cable car, we walked over to the Arctic Cathedral, the city’s most iconic landmark and one of Norway’s most distinctive churches. The building’s eye-catching architectural design has made it the most photographed church in Norway. Built in 1965, “this stunning modernist masterpiece features a striking triangular design with 11 aluminum-coated concrete frames rising dramatically against the Arctic sky.” The cathedral is renowned for its magnificent glass mosaic window depicting Christ’s return. Despite its name, it’s technically a parish church rather than a cathedral, but locals and visitors alike refer to it as the Arctic Cathedral due to its grandeur and location in the Arctic Circle.

After touring the Arctic Cathedral, it was time to return to the ship. Throughout our day’s adventure we utilized four city buses and met couples from Scotland, Australia and Southern California. We ended up spending some time sightseeing with the couple from Southern California, and had an interesting conversation about life in California.  We all agreed the local Tromsø bus system was great! 

In the evening we enjoyed two different theatrical productions on board ship and a fun dinner with new friends Marcia and Bobby.

Another great day in the land of the Midnight Sun!

Sat., June 13th, we sailed into Honningsvåg, Europe’s northernmost city. It’s 1,300 miles from the North Pole and we’re 220 miles from the Russian border. Unfortunately, it was a miserable chilly, rainy, windy day. We had signed up for a Bird Safari Tour months before thru Viator. It was to see “one of Europe’s largest bird colonies.” Not ideal weather conditions for sure! As it turned out, they postponed the boat trip from 11AM to 1PM. But when we arrived at the meeting point at the appropriate time, nobody was there. After numerous texts back & forth, it was a bust! We did, in fact, eventually receive a full refund but it was aggravating nonetheless. We headed back to the ship after that fiasco. The weather was too miserable to be outside! However, having said that… there is a famous Norwegian proverb that says “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Norwegians are a hardy people!  

The following day was a sea day and Marcia’s birthday. Gary, Marcia, Bobby & I had a fun day spending time together and celebrating Marcia’s birthday. 

On Mon., June 15th (2026), we sailed into another beautiful fjord, this one is called Romsdalsfjord. The town of Molde (pronounced Mol-da) is located along the northern shore of Romsdalsfjord with a population of 33,000. Molde is known as the “Town of Roses,” although we were 3 weeks too early to see the roses!  But we were blessed with blooming rhododendrons everywhere! 

We did a bus tour. First stopping at Kvernes Stave Church, a medieval wooden church “characterized by a structural framework of load-bearing posts and timber sills.” There were more then 1,000 stave churches in Norway in the Middle Ages, only 28 have survived. Built with high-resin heartwood from dense pine, these churches were masterpieces of early timber engineering and utilized carving techniques from boat builders. The churches combine Christian motifs and Viking themes featuring dragon heads and intricate wood carvings.

All Norwegian churches have a model ship hanging from the ceiling. They are known as votive ships. They are deeply tied to the country’s maritime heritage and serve two main purposes: “expressing gratitude for safe voyages through treacherous waters and symbolizing the church as a vessel guiding the faithful through the stormy seas of life.” Parishioners had to pay for their own pews back in the day. The pews were for their family’s use while attending church services. The Kvernes Stave Church is no longer in use, but next to it is a more modern church that parishioners now attend. 

Next we drove along Atlantic Road, considered one of the world’s most beautiful drives. It has 8 bridges. We drove over the longest and most famous, Storseisundet Bridge, to reach Eldhusøya, an island with an elevated walking path right along the ocean. Beautiful. We also passed several aquaculture farms, which I hadn’t seen before. Norway is the world’s largest producer and exporter of farmed Atlantic salmon, supplying roughly half of the global market. Additionally, we passed by picturesque “regular” farms with numerous hay bales, or as we were told “toilet paper for the trolls.” lol

Then a stop and walk to the world’s northernmost sandy beach, Farstadstranda. It was a lovely small beach. Our last stop was to the Varden Panorama Viewpoint with a view of the city of Molde and the surrounding 222 mountain peaks. Although by then it was fairly cloudy so we’ll take their word for the 222 peaks! 

For dinner Gary & I ate at the Magic Capet, an outdoor venue on the ship… it was 50 degrees and breezy. This was a specialty restaurant that we booked months ago. I was tempted to cancel but Gary wanted to go, so I sucked it up! We dressed appropriately with warm jackets, and they gave us blankets. Turned out to be a lot of fun… and the view! Oh Em Gee! 

Another awesome day on this cruise.

On Tues., June 16th, (2026), we arrived in Ålesund (pronounced OH-le-soond). There was another large cruise ship in port. It was the first time we’d encountered another ship on this trip! 

The picturesque city stretches across seven islands connected by bridges on the Atlantic Coast. In 1904 the town suffered a major fire. 850 wooden homes burned to the ground leaving over 10,000 people homeless. Fifty Norwegian and German architects rebuilt the city in the Art Nouveau style that was popular at the time, making it look a bit like Paris. Art Nouveau frequently incorporates stylized depictions of flowers, plant stems, vine tendrils, insect wings, and “undulating female forms.” It is a nature-inspired design style, popular from 1890 to 1910, that rejected rigid classical lines in favor of organic curves, asymmetrical shapes, and dynamic forms. Because of this, Ålesund has a fairytale-like charm, with ornate facades, turrets and colorful buildings. 

We hadn’t booked any specific excursion for the day since we’d read it was a highly walkable city. Once off the ship, we meandered around on our own to check out this charming town! 

Some tourists were getting around this town and other Norwegian towns by renting tiny two-passenger cars. Locals called them mosquitoes! Hopefully not because you could be squashed like a bug inside of one. lol They were TINY! One person in front and one behind. Photo below. 

During our walk by the waterfront we noticed several school-aged children milling around. I was approached by two young girls. They asked if they could video me for a school project. They explained that one of the girls would tell me the meaning of a statue that we were standing near, while the other girl would be videoing it on her phone. By this point, Gary had wandered over to see what was going on, and I had him join me. Both girls spoke (unaccented) excellent English. One young girl gave us a short description of the statue, and then whispered to me “that’s all I know.” Soooo cute!! The girls were excited because they were all staying in a hotel for the night but didn’t know where. They were hoping it might be near the water park. Kids are kids everywhere… thankfully!!

Also during our walk around town, we visited Ålesund Church, built in 1909. The previous church, built in 1852, was destroyed in the great Town Fire of 1904. The new church is built in concrete and Norwegian marble, and is decorated with seafaring-inspired stained glass windows and amazing frescoes at the altar. Once again, there was a votive boat suspended from the ceiling paying homage to those lost at sea.

Around the corner from the church was the school, built in 1921. It’s still being used. Children were on recess playing outside. We learned kids in Norway go out every day for recess… regardless of the weather!! Their culture believes in an abundance of fresh air!

In the afternoon we were able to book a 70-minute ride on the “Original Blue Train” that took us to the Fjellstua Viewpoint, part of Mount Aksla. It was fun, but cramped! Poor Gary had no leg room, although the views were very pretty. 

In the evening we enjoyed dinner with Marcia & Bobby and a Cirque-de-Soleil type show on board ship with acrobatics and balancing acts. Insane talent! Gareth Oliver (ventriloquist/comedian) also performed as a headliner in the theater the same night. In 2009 he performed on Britain’s Got Talent; the same season as Susan Boyle and he was a semi-finalist! 

Another fun day.

On Wed., June 17th, we visited the town of Geiranger (pronounced GYE-ring-er) nestled at the head of the Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the final fjord that we’ll be seeing on this cruise. It is considered by many as the world’s most famous fjord, known as the “crown jewel.” Geiranger is an incredibly picturesque small town (only 300 people) surrounded by snow-capped mountains, cascading waterfalls, green hillsides, and “deep sapphire waters”, as they’re described. We were happily surprised on the morning of our arrival to walk out on our balcony and see a large campground nestled by the water’s edge. So cool!

We had two excursions planned. First was a Fjord RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) Tour. Amazing to be up close to the fjord. Geirangerfjord is approx. 10.5 miles long and about 5,000 ft tall and 800 ft deep. It has multiple waterfalls with names like Seven Sisters (named for its seven distinct streams cascading down the steep cliff face), Suitor and Bridal Veil (named because as it “cascades elegantly down the dark cliffs over the fjord, it creates a fine, white mist that resembles a flowing bride’s veil”)… all were flowing strongly. For centuries Geiranger was only accessible by boat, making it a remote outpost for families and farmers who cultivated narrow patches of land on steep cliffs. Parents were known to tie their children to themselves so the kids didn’t fall off the mountain when walking outside. These homes are now summer rentals.

After our boat ride we enjoyed a pastry at one of the cafes and wandered around seeing the picturesque Storelva River flowing through town. I walked part-way to a waterfall in town. But it would have been a 2.5 mile walk up to the top of the Storsæterfossen Waterfall with 400 steps involved. We figured that wouldn’t be so great for Gary’s leg. lol. Instead I rejoined Gary, and we explored a local art gallery which was erected in 1907 and was an operational school until 1988. 

Our second excursion of the day was a bus ride up the narrow and winding Eagle Bend mountainside road stopping at several viewpoints along the way. There were 11 hairpin turns. We’ve never been a passenger on a bus on a road that was this narrow and winding. There were actually gasps from passengers as we made our way up Eagle Bend! You’d look out a bus window and see the drop off. The views were breathtaking! Our first viewpoint was about 1/3 of a mile above sea level. Another was Dalsniba Viewpoint, which was approx. 1,000 ft above sea level. It is Europe’s highest fjord view from a road. There was a skywalk at Dalsniba, where you could look down and see the fjord dropping down beneath you. A little unsettling!! On the way back down the road, we stopped at Eidsvatnet Lake with gorgeous reflections.

After returning to the ship and a late lunch, we sat on our balcony for over 90 minutes as the ship sailed back out of the fjord. We traveled thru 3 different fjords to get back out to the Atlantic. Stunning scenery. Once again in the evening we enjoyed dinner with friends Marcia & Bobby and another fun show in the theater. 

The next day was a sea day and the final day of the cruise was a stop in Brugge, Belgium. Gary and I had both come down with colds the day before so we decided to have a quiet day onboard ship rather than going ashore. We were fortunate to have visited Brugge on a previous cruise. 

This has been one of our favorite cruises ever. Truly memorable with an absolutely stunning landscape. We’ve met wonderful new friends, had amazing experiences, and will remember it always!

Gary & I arrived home from our 5-week Paris/UK/Norway adventure on Sat., June 20th, (2026), or I should say the wee hours of Sunday morning. It was a looong travel day with a 2-hour delay at Heathrow plus a 9.5 hour flight to Houston and over 90-minute wait for luggage and then a 90-minute drive back to Galveston. A fire alarm at the Houston airport was a contributing factor to the luggage delay. Our Uber driver was a sweetheart and waited for us. We rewarded him handsomely! Nice to be back in our tiny home.

We had a plan when we started this trip which did NOT include a ride in a Paris ambulance nor an afternoon spent in a Paris hospital, but life happens! We adjusted our plans to give Gary’s meniscus injury a chance to heal… staying in Paris longer and visiting a few coastal towns along the English Channel, which was a more restful itinerary than our original schedule of visiting Normandy and London. There is so much to see in this world that there are lots of opportunities to adjust itineraries and still have an amazing experience! Thankfully we did not have to change our Norwegian Fjord Cruise, which was truly magical and allowed us to meet new friends. 

Our nomadic lifestyle has taught us to be flexible and to adapt when necessary. A good life lesson! We’ve adopted a motto our full-time RV friends, Dawn & Steve, observe “Adapt and overcome!” Or as a travel expert on our cruise put it “there are always 1000s of reasons NOT to go, GO ANYWAY!” 

Our next international trip is soon approaching… a few days in NYC then a month in Italy beginning in late September 2026 followed by a 14-night Transatlantic Cruise back to the states. Stay tuned!