Mission accomplished! Boy, was it ever…

As planned, we retraced our steps from yesterday up to the point of the National Theatre. Once there, we turned left and headed down to the 1930s era City Hall (Radhuset) by the waterfront (usually a good place to find a ship).

Oslo's City Hall

Unfortunately, despite being on the harbor, I couldn’t see Vision of the Seas. However, as I could see a different ship—called Insignia–docked at the foot of the Akershus Fortress and because I’d seen two ships in port (with Vision to the right of the second ship), I reasonably concluded that Vision must be on the opposite side of the castle. Moreover, as I wasn’t sure that the esplanade at the base of the fortress continued to the other side, I opted for us to take the inland route around the fort.

Sadly, this was a critical error.

After spending 45 minutes and nearly circumnavigating the fort (while tugging much far too much heavy luggage), I finally spotted Vision of the Seas (and a third ship, which must have been the actual “other” ship) at a pier on the far side of the harbor. Once located, we soldiered on for another 30 minutes or so to finally reach or destination.

We’ll call this my “George W. Bush ‘Mission Accomplished’ Moment” of the trip. I achieved the objective, though things were seriously screwed up along the way. Of course, this is something of a poor analogy as we eventually left Oslo.

Check-In was relatively painless, though less breezy than some.

We had lunch in the Windjammer (still thinking it’s the best buffet at sea). We headed down to our cabin, met our attendant, unpacked, put Emerson down for a nap, and eventually went to the muster drill. Somewhere in there, I managed to book our only organized shore excursion (for Russia) and also got our dining room table changed (private table for us – yeah, baby!). After the muster, we returned to the cabin, finished unpacking, and prepared for dinner.

We broke routine (on this our 15th cruise!) and didn’t fully explore the ship from top to bottom. In part, this was just a function of timing. Yet, I also think that we just simply felt immediately at home aboard Vision. Having sailed the prior (Sovereign) and following (Radiance) class of ships, Vision feels very much part of the family. Despite being older than many of the ship’s we’ve sailed on, she’s well maintained, good looking, and (something RCI’s good at) suitably nautical feeling. Our cabin (#3072, an oceanview on Deck #3) is neither especially commodious nor luxurious, but it’s perfectly functional and has aged well. A balcony—which are in shorter supply on this class of ship—would have been nice but hardly worth the price premium demanded on this ship.

Tonight, we ate dinner in the main dining room. We did this with more than a little trepidation and anxiety. As a nine month old, Emerson was a little bit challenging when dining with the entire family aboard Norwegian Dawn. On the Antarctica cruise in February, Libby and I ventured to the main dining room only a few times, grew frustrated, and then ate dinner in Celebrity’s lackluster lido buffet for the majority of the 14-night cruise. So on this trip, we’d planned to skip the MDR altogether. At some point today, I had a change of heart and thought we should try it.

And, we’re so glad that we did!

Despite some initial slow service (we waited 45 minutes to get our starters), Emerson was a perfect little angel for over two hours. We occupied her with toddler-friendly apps and pictures/videos on the iPhone (thank you, Lord, for giving us Apple). She also colored on the RCI kid’s menu after we ordered her dinner. She loved her guacamole and homemade chips appetizer (though she mostly focused on the guac), as well as her entrée of chicken fingers and French fries. Her table manners were good (for a 17 month old), using utensils and not trying to pick up the ceramic plates. And, she mostly fed herself with minimal assistance from us. In fact, she was so into her meal that we ended up having to wait for her to finish! Our meals (onion tart, prime rib for Libby; tortilla soup, pan roasted pork medallions for Paul) were very good as well. And the service of the head waitress from Poland was simply outstanding (she cut up Emerson’s food; said she’d have guacamole on standby for her subsequent evenings, provided extra napkins / utensils, and checked on us at least a half a dozen times). Honestly, it’s the first time (in 15 cruises) that I’ve actually seen someone in the role of headwaiter who seems to be worthy of the title. Kudos to her!

Emerson loves Guacamole!

Off to a great start!

Tomorrow’s Copenhagen, Denmark — or, as I like to call it, county #47!

Here’s a view from our hotel of Vision at the dock:

We departed the Allen House by 4:30 using the arranged car service. For 50 pounds, we had hassle-free, door-to-door service. Gatwick tends to be more cost prohibitive, but I’ll only do car service to/from Heathrow going forward. It’s about the same cost of as the Heathrow Express / taxi from Paddington option, but it’s far less of a hassle.

Our flight to Oslo was blissfully uneventful. Despite the early wake up call, Emerson remained in a good mood and only slept a little while on the flight. As an airline, SAS is alright (though partnered with Star Alliance, which includes United/Continental/US Air… not SkyTeam)… they charge for all drinks on intra-Europe flights, but your first bag of luggage (per person) is free and they give away toys to the kids (Emerson got a small stuffed polar bear and some stickers).

Things got a bit more ‘eventful’ upon trying to exit the airport. My plan was to take the express train (Flytoget) into central Oslo (as our hotel is literally across the street from the station). At 170 kroner (about $30 per person), it’s not especially cheap… but it is (err… was supposed to be) convenient. Sadly, we learned the central Oslo station (the entire thing) was closed today. Thus, we’d need to take the “express train” to a more distant station than move ourselves over to a bus for the onward journey. That was less than appealing.

Enter “Plan B.” Instead of the train, I opted for the even pricier taxi option (at 500 kroner)… which ended up costing more (670 kroner — $120) because we needed a taxi with a car seat for Emerson. Undeterred, we loaded everyone and everything up in our shinny, new Mercedes taxi. Unfortunately, the Mercedes—to use the technical term—crapped out. So, we waited for baby-ready taxi #2… a reliable, safe, and more geographically appropriate Volvo.

Upon arriving in Oslo, we checked into our hotel (the “Radisson Blu Plaza”) immediately. It’s one of those slightly “trendy” hotels. Our upgraded room is on the 27th floor overlooking the Opera House (and the train-less station). The comedy of errors continued here. A few examples: 1) I can’t seem to work the door lock, 2) Libby happily allowed a member of staff—intent on setting up Emerson’s crib—to see me in nothing but my boxer shorts (an unhappy surprise to both of us), and 3) I learned to (re-)use a Nespresso coffee maker (a brand of machine that I own at home and with which I shot hot water all over the room… twice… before my remediation). On the plus side, the Radisson later provided a very nice welcome platter of desserts, fruits, and snacks.

After sorting ourselves out in the hotel, I headed out to get the girls lunch. This is when I learned that my $120 taxi ride was comparatively cheap when compared to, for example, the girls’ $30 lunch at Burger King (for two burgers, fries, and drinks). Indeed, I’ve always heard that “Scandinavia is expensive”… however, the full impact of that statement only made sense today. Holy kroners, Batman! You can literally pay $5 for a small Diet Coke at a 7-11. Room service hamburger? $30. And, it’s not just food and drinks, I noticed that electronics seem to be about 2 times the US retail price. I think cruising in Scandinavia will be an utter bargain compared to a land-based vacation.

In the afternoon, we took a brief nap. Then we went out to explore Oslo!

We did Rick Steves’ “Hello Oslo” self-guided walk, which allowed us to take in all of the major downtown sights. We also made a small diversion to the Royal Palace. Oslo’s city center is fairly compact and easily walkable.

Norway's Parliament (Stortinget)

Overall, I find Oslo charming. Unfortunately, our schedule (late start today and an early departure tomorrow) won’t allow us to take in all the city has to offer. But, we’ve got a pretty good sense now. That said, I suspect that Norway is a good bit like Alaska. While its cities/towns can be interesting, the surrounding environment is what one really ought to experience. Indeed, even the 30-minute ride in from the airport was highly enjoyable as we traversed a landscape of lush, green, rolling hills. I have to imagine the fjords are simply spectacular!

We brought take-away sandwiches and fresh fruit back to the hotel for our dinner, having found nothing that promised to deliver a better price-quality ratio.

Tomorrow we start our “vacation within a vacation” by boarding Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas for 7 days in and around the Baltic Sea.

Today’s box score: +1 country (Norway)