For completion, this post concludes the port visit to Kristiansand, Norway during our week-long cruise on Sky Princess to Denmark and Norway, containing some views from our balcony as we departed the Norwegian city and a quick summing up of what we got up to in the evening aboard the ship.
Our balcony was on the starboard side of the ship and was facing seaward so our view wasn’t of Kristiansand itself, but rather the channel that would head out to open water and to the island of Odderøya that lies just to the city’s south.
We spent a little time enjoying the relative peace and quiet out on our balcony, reading, and watching the ferries coming and going that run regularly between Norway and Denmark. We would be doing the same thing when Sky Princess left the port.
The rugged landscapes of the Scandinavian countries’ coasts have a fabulous beauty and a similarity that almost tells you where in the world you are even if you didn’t know for sure. We were reminded a little of the Stockholm Archipelago as we finally cruised away from Norway this evening.
We had plans for the evening that included a late dinner so we decided to take advantage of our Elite level loyalty and hit the lounge set aside early evening for nibbles and quiet drinks away from those who hadn’t yet reached Platinum or Elite levels themselves. To be fair, this is something that is less of a perk than it used to be. Back before the excellent drinks packages that Princess Cruises brought in, this did at least give you the ability to get a few exclusive drinks at reduced price. I suppose it still does for the small number of (weird) people who don’t pick a drinks package, but I suspect that really is a small number indeed as they never seem to have the exclusive drinks menu out by default now and you have to ask for it. Not only that, but we’ve seen the drinks available in other bars now too, so yeah. The nibbles as well are a nice idea in theory, and we do see people take advantage of them, particularly on formal nights, but we’ve never felt the need to eat just before we eat. Still, it can be nice to get away from the crowd aboard after a day ashore, and there’s usually some pleasant live music accompaniment.
We followed up our Elite lounge time with some in Take Five. As it was still early there was only recorded music playing quietly and we had the space mostly to ourselves. A few pre-dinner cocktails almost had to be ordered, and the cocktails in Take Five are absolutely fabulous!
Finishing off the evening nicely was speciality dining in Crown Grill. No surprises here with us ordering mostly what we always order and enjoying every last bite. It was good to see that they had the very excellent Belle Glos Pinot Noir that we’ve discovered over the space of a few years is our preferred bottle of wine on a Princess ship.
In the next post in this cruise travelogue series we’ll be visiting Copenhagen, Denmark for our second time, and for the first of two occasions on cruises in 2022.