Trip Index
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Planning and Day 1 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Southampton pre-cruise, embarkation
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Days 2-3 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Bruges battlefields, Zaanse Schans windmills
- Days 4-5 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: at sea, Copenhagen
- Days 6-7 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Gothenburg (Sweden), Oslo
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Days 8-9 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Stavanger, Bergen (Norway)
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Days 10-11 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: Shetland Islands
(UK), Faroe Islands (Denmark)
- Days 12-14 of Northern Allure cruise on Oceania Riviera: at sea, Akureyri, Reykjavik (Iceland)
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Exploring Reykjavik, Icelandic cuisine, Northern Lights hunt
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South Coast, Golden Circle, Silfra snorkel
- West Coast, returning home
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Today,
Oceania Riviera anchored outside of
Lerwick, a town on Mainland in the Shetland Islands, part of the United Kingdom. Guests were to tender to Victoria Pier on one of the lifeboats. Tickets were distributed inside the Riviera Lounge, sorted by color. Once the color was called, guests would exit the ship and board the tender.
The night before, we ordered breakfast on a room service card and hung it outside the door before bed. In the morning, we got a call close to delivery time, informing us that the order was arriving shortly - a nice gesture in case you needed to tidy up or were still asleep. We only got coffee, fruit and pastries, as the two of us knew we'd still be full from last night's steakhouse dinner at Polo Grill.
The plan for today was to rent a car and drive south to visit
Jarlshof, a prehistoric settlement, and
Sumburgh Head lighthouse. The price was very reasonable for the smallest automatic from
Bolts Car Hire, ending up around $70 USD for a day's rental plus gas (petrol). An additional driver was included at no charge. When our tender arrived at Victoria Pier, there was a man holding up a sign with Kaleb's name on it; we followed him a few yards to the rental office in a mobile building.
The agent was very friendly, gave us maps and brochures, then told us that upon return, we were to park the car next to the office and leave the keys in the vehicle. As you may guess, we asked, "What if someone steals the car?" He laughed and said, "Where would they go? This is an island!" I suppose there is little to no crime here with the small population. After showing our ID's and signing a few forms, we were on our way. Kaleb had driven on the left years ago in
New Zealand, taking a few moments to get comfortable. It was nice that there was hardly any traffic on the island.
 | tender ticket
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 | inside the tender (lifeboat)
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 | Skoda Citigo rental
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 | | focused |
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Jarlshof was an easy half hour drive south of Lerwick. There was only one road to get there, so no getting lost. It was raining, so we stayed in the car until a light drizzle remained. Thankfully, the weather cleared as the morning progressed. We were greeted at the entrance by grazing Shetland ponies. The ruins were well preserved and restored. I was surprised that we could freely roam the grounds, unlike our tour to
Stonehenge years ago. It was interesting to imagine what it was like living in these ancient buildings.
360 spherical picture of Jarlshof wheelhouse, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
Jarlshof wheelhouse - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
 | stairwell is modern-day :)
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360 spherical picture at the top of the stairs at Old House of Sumburgh, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
 | tomato basil soup
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 | mussels, deep fried haddock
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After lunch, we drove on to
Sumburgh Head, located at the southernmost tip of the Mainland. Puffins and other sea birds nest here in the summer, but by now, most of them had already migrated for the winter.
 | Sumburgh Head lighthouse
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 | view from the cliffs at Sumburgh Head
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27-second view of birds flying in the wind at Sumburgh Head: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
Afterwards, we drove back north, stopping at the nearby
Old Scatness Broch. We weren't allowed to roam freely on this site as it was still being excavated; one of the staff accompanied us around the ruins. A couple buildings were set up as it would have been in the Iron Age.
 | door is modern-day
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The Sumburgh Airport was next to Old Scatness; in fact, construction crews had uncovered the ruins while working on expanding the airport. The road we were driving on intersected the runway, with gates that lowered down when an airplane passed through, like a railroad crossing.
There wasn't time left to visit other areas of the Mainland (such as
Scalloway Castle or
Mousa Broch), so we drove back to Lerwick, filled up the gas tank and dropped off the car at the port. The rental car office was already closed. It felt strange to walk away from the car with its doors unlocked and keys inside.
 |
panoramic view of Lerwick from the ship
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For tonight's dinner, we enjoyed an Arctic Circle-themed buffet in Terrace Cafe, as the main dining room menu was so-so. I enjoyed all the different types of gravlax (raw smoked salmon) offered.
We did laundry after dinner, as the complimentary self-service machines were always full during the day.
On Saturday, Oceania Riviera arrived in
Torshavn, capital of the Faroe Islands, a Danish territory. We were to participate in a small group (max 20-25 people) day tour offered by
MM Tours. I had found out about it on a
Cruise Critic roll call. I prefer smaller groups to get more time at sites (less people getting on and off the vehicle, stopping to take pictures, going on potty breaks), be able to hear the tour guide, and share a camaraderie between fellow travelers.
The tour met at the dock. Unfortunately the group ended up being large enough to almost fill a tour bus. At least everyone who wanted to go was able to do so.
We were very lucky to have sunny, clear weather. Idyllic views of the coasts, green mountains, and waterfalls met us at every turn. Our first stop was to a museum in Saksun. Complimentary coffee was served here, with a lovely waterfall backdrop. Since our group was large, it was split into two for a tour of the historic farmhouse. It was interesting to learn about
sod roofs and how farm animals lived in a portion of the house to provide heat.
Next, we went to the village of TjørnuvÃk, with a spectacular view of the "
Giant and the Witch" sea stacks in the distance. A bag lunch was passed out to everyone, including delicious smoked salmon sandwiches and
Faroese libations. Only a few of us braved eating on the cold and windy beach, but it was well worth it for the views.
 | | TjørnuvÃk |
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 | | lunch line |
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360 spherical picture of
TjørnuvÃk beach, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
The beach at TjørnuvÃk - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
We moved on to the village of Gjògv, with plenty of sights to see along the way.
360 spherical picture in
Gjògv, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S: (click
here if you cannot see the preview below)
Near Crown Princess Mary's Bench in Gjògv, Faroe Islands - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
 | learning about Faroese building techniques
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 | first Faroese church
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 | | fishermen memorial |
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 | giant and witch from the other side
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The bus returned to the ship about an hour before all-aboard.
 | | Eiði Stadium |
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 | salmon farming
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As our bag lunch was the only food available during the tour with no stores or cafes at the places where we stopped, it was probably the longest anyone had gone without eating while on the cruise. Tour mates were overheard grumbling about this on the ride back to the ship. I carry emergency food such as trail mix for times like this.
Tonight's dinner was at
Toscana, the Italian specialty restaurant. Our stomachs were quickly satisfied.
 | | Toscana dinner menu page 1 |
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 | | Toscana dinner menu page 2 |
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 | | bread and roasted garlic |
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 | octopus carpaccio
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 | | beef carpaccio |
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 | caprese salad
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 | | balsamic vinegar choices |
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 | gnocchi
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 | fried calamari
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 | potato and pancetta soup
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 | osso buco
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 | tagliatelle
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 | Toscana dessert menu
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 | panna cotta, biscotti, tiramisu
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Kaleb and I explored the parts of the ship we hadn't previously seen and found the library and Baristas, where the best coffee was served. There was also a snack buffet. Too bad we didn't find this place at the beginning of the cruise, as the coffee in the Terrace Cafe and main dining room came out of an automatic machine.
In the next few days, Oceania Riviera will make her way to Iceland...stay tuned!
(Missed the last entry about our stop in Stavanger and Bergen, Norway? Click here to catch up! Don't miss a single update - click here to have the latest delivered straight into your inbox...opt out anytime.)
***
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