Postcard from Discovery in the North Sea – July 2006

I left my flat at midday, departed Victoria Coach Station at 1pm, and arrived at Harwich on Sunday 9th July at around 3pm. As I walked on board the ship 'Discovery' my good friend the Captain was there to greet me. After a couple of hours of unpacking and settling in I went up to the Bridge Deck to watch us depart Harwich. We then had a safety drill after which I relaxed in my cabin, where a bottle of champagne awaited me from Voyages of Discovery!

I had dinner that evening with ‘my table’ – and ‘my table’ is the same for the whole cruise unless invited elsewhere! We had just one poor man and five ladies. After dinner I went to listen to the Cruise Director tell us about the cruise and then retired to my cot!

On Monday, my first day at sea, it was gloriously sunny, if chilly, so spent it out on deck; went to a very poorly attended ‘singles’ party at midday but then met up with the Captain, plus his cousin and her husband [Ann & Laurie] for a drink after which we all had a nice lunch together. Spent the afternoon lazing around in the sunshine, and in the evening it was the Captain’s Welcome Party. A very strange party – where you all sit down at the reception, and then I was at the Captain’s table for dinner afterwards. A lovely evening!

Tuesday was rather grey and drizzly as I opened my curtains, but I went up to the Bridge Deck to watch us arrive in Flam. Even in the rain it was a great to see us sail through the Fjords and to watch us berth there. I took the local train from Flam up to Vatna-Halsen – there were some wonderful sights of waterfalls and fantastic views as we travelled upwards. We stayed up there for an hour or so before taking the train back to Flam, and I then walked back to the ship for a short stop-over before taking an afternoon excursion to Gudvangen. After a walk around the spectacular Gudvangen, we were then driven up Norway’s steepest road – with stunning views – to Stalheim, where we spent an hour in the Stalheim Hotel admiring the fantastic views – including a wonderful rainbow! – and enjoying chocolate cake and coffee/tea! Then back to the ship and up to the Bridge Deck to watch us sail. I had a quick dinner and then back up on deck to watch us sail through the Fjords for an hour or so.

We arrived in Bergen just before 8am on Wednesday; it was dryish to start with but the rain soon got going, and I went on one of the wettest walks in a long time. It just tipped out of the sky and we got absolutely soaked. It was however a good walk with an excellent guide, and we went by funicular up to Mount Floyen to get a good if rainy view of the Town. Then back to the ship to do a change of clo’ before going to ‘the Lido’ restaurant where I joined the Captain, Ann and Laurie for lunch before setting off on a trip to Troldhaugen to hear a piano recital of some of Grieg’s music. Back to the ship and I watched us sail in the pouring rain!

Up early on Thursday 13th to see us sail into Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. Very cold and windy and trying to rain, but fun seeing lots of seals in the harbour. My excursion to Mousa Island was cancelled because of the weather so went on a trip to Sumburgh Head, which was actually very nice in spite of the cold windy weather! Saw lots of different birds, including the famous puffin, and some wonderful views. Back for lunch and then on deck to watch us depart for Iceland. In the evening I joined the Captain, Ann, Laurie, the Hotel Director and the Chief Engineer for drinks and then dinner in the Yacht Club – a wonderful evening was had by all!

Friday we were at sea all day – it was sunny but very chilly so I spent it on deck reading but well wrapped up! On Saturday morning we sailed up a beautiful Icelandic fjord with snow-topped mountains and arrived at a very windy Akureyri at 8.30am. I had a lovely day there – travelling to the stunning Godafoss Falls and then on through lava fields to Namafajll sulphur pools, Dimmuborgir lava ‘twilight castles’, and then to Skutustaoir for lunch. From there we drove back to Akureyri for a tour of the delightful little town and the beautiful botanical gardens before returning to the ship. We had a very windy take off and then travelled up the beautiful fjord back to the North Atlantic.


On Sunday morning I went on deck early to watch us cruise up the fjord to Isafjordhur and watched puffins flying around on the sea – absolutely wonderful sight. We arrived in a rather damp and chilly Isafjordhur but I went on an excellent cultural tour of Isafjordhur and the surrounding areas. We had a flute recital in a church at Bolungarvik, drank ice cold water from a waterfall and visited the local maritime museum where some local children were dancing and singing for us. In the afternoon I went on the most wonderful visit to the tiny Icelandic island of Vigur. We took a very smart speedboat out to the island, saw a whale on the way, and once there went on an hour long walk around the island seeing thousands of puffins, guillemots, terns, eider ducks etc – a truly magical afternoon. When we were ready to depart the Captain had a problem when weighing anchor as it had got caught up in trawlermen’s wires, so it took us some time to cut us free, but we then cruised back down the fjord and on to Reykjavik.

In the morning I watched us arrive in Reykjavik around 7.30am and I went on a tour to visit some lava cliffs, sulphur springs and the Blue Lagoon – all fascinating. I managed to disembark the coach near to the British Embassy, and went to lunch with my old FCO friend Alp Mehmet who is now the British Ambassador to Iceland. We had a lot of fun and it was great to catch up with him and his wife. In the afternoon I wandered around Reykjavik before returning to the ship to watch us sail. We were in a very tight berth and it was a master of seamanship to get us out to the open sea! In the evening I had dinner with one of the speakers and we saw whales as we were dining!

Tuesday was a rather long day at sea – I went on deck for a little while but it was rather wet and cold so took to my cabin for most of the morning, walked around the ship a bit, had some lunch and did some work on my pc. In the evening joined another of the Captain’s dinner tables which was good fun.

Was up early to see us arrive in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands at 6.30am on Wednesday morning. After an early breakfast I then set off by bus for Vestmanna – an hour’s bus ride. We then got on a small boats for a wonderful two hour boat ride around the dramatic cliffs of Vestmanna, seeing all sorts of birds. The Faroes were very foggy so we had a slow bus ride back to the ship and then I watched us sail out of Torshavn in the fog and head back to Harwich. That evening was the Captain’s Farewell Party – went to a very good reception and then to dinner at ‘my table’ for the last time.


Spent Thursday morning packing and sorting myself out and generally wandering around the ship. In the evening I met up with the Captain, Ann and Laurie for a drink and then the four of us had a lovely farewell dinner together in the Yacht Club restaurant. Sadly though, it got very foggy and the Captain had to leave us rather promptly to get back to the Bridge.

On Friday morning I was up on the Bridge Deck early to watch us arrive in Harwich on a glorious morning. I disembarked around 8.45 and caught the coach back to Victoria Station by lunchtime.

A really wonderful cruise!