Magnificent Mountains

The answer is YES! Somehow the scenery can get more beautiful than of what I saw Bergen. 

Day 4 : Andalsnes

Once again I was told there would be fantastic views of the fjords in the early morning.

I took all my gear in anticipation of greatness. What I saw that morning was the greatest view I've ever seen, and will probably see for quite sometime.

Not bad

I was totally blown away by the view and could not stop snapping pictures. As the ship turned around to drift to port I went port side (left side of ship) and saw the town of Andalsnes. Not just the town, but a gigantic mountain behind it, and a view to top the one I saw a minute before.

Best View Ever of Andalsnes

Naturally a view like this puts a smile on your face and gets you thinking – 'These lucky people who wake surrounded by majesty, damn you!' After taking it all in it was time to get ready for the day.

View and the Cruise

I was on gangway duty, meaning I was on of three who stand on land and wait for the passengers to disembark and explore the town and tours. We grab them for a photo with the new town as the backdrop. Fortunately this time, there was a great big green and black, snow capped mountain as the backdrop. Many people obliged to a once in a lifetime photograph of the amazing view.

The scenery for the gangway shots

After gangway duty it was time to head out and enjoy the town. Trolls are a big thing here so there was a giant troll right outside the dock, and of course, an overpriced cafe beside it!

Troll

Once in the town of Andalsnes there wasn't much to see. There was a red train that went right through it but I'm not sure where that went. I wondered around with my room mate Simon trying to find a cash machine. We finally found the cash machine and I put my card in. The minimum amount I could take out was 1000 Krone, about £112.43! Everything is expensive here, The GDP is high as well as the quality of life. I decided against taking out more Krone than I'll ever spend in a month and headed towards a shop. The shop was also a cafe so we ordered some baguette thing, filled with chicken and cheese and other things. I bought Simon's as well and this included a drink. In total I twas about 200 Krone. I payed by card and according to my bank account that was £24! We sat and ate the food with two Cadet friends and discussed lenses and camera's that they would like to purchase.

Andalsnes Train Station

After a wonderful, but expensive meal we headed over to the crowd of people. A crowd of people outside a building means that they have free Internet. Laptops, iPhones and heads down. I don't blame them since the Internet on the ship is very slow and it costs.

By this Internet gathering we met the pianist form the ship. I had had a chat with him the previous night about music. I had been accepted as an unofficial member of the eastern European cruise ship musicians as I had had an amazing 'jam' with one of them in the crew bar. It was all 'oompa oompa' stuff from one of them on the trombone and me playing a melody on my tin whistles and melodica.

When I was chatting to the pianist I noticed he was very drunk and had about 15 empty cans surrounding him. So whilst I was talking to him today outside the Internet gathering, it was a great surprise to see a yellow badge on his jacket that said - 'Tour Escort'

The pianist and tour escort

I believe tonight was the formal night. I can't quite remember the order of dress code.

Anyway to put it briefly, they dress in tuxes, I dress in a tux and take their photograph. They drink champagne, I drink my cranberry juice or bottled water. They go to the restaurants to eat, I finally get to go to the 24 hour passenger buffet!

After a buffet upstairs it was time for bed again.

Tomorrow was another port day, this time the village of Olden.

Once again I was very exited to check out the scenery and see if it can get any better than Andalsnes?

New Beginnings to Bergen

Day 2 : Sea Day

I woke up and nearly fell over. My sea legs weren't so good, but they'll get better . It was especially difficult to maintain balance as the crew cabins are right at the bow of the ship. After putting a single item of clothing on, it was time to sit down and regain some balance. The ship was in some rough north seas now, heading towards Bergen.

Rough seas

 At lunchtime I was pretty darn hungry so I headed to the crew mess for the first time. The crew mess has a limited selection of mainly southeast asian slop food. It is southeast asian food because that's where he majority of the crew are from, India and the Philippines. The food is filling but a tad bland. After the first 2 days though, we're allowed to eat in the passenger buffet where all the westerner crew eat. The restriction on crew not being allowed in the passenger buffet for the first 2 days, is because of the norovirus, a vomiting bug that has been an issue on previous P&O cruises.

Later on in the afternoon I was introduced to the Photo Gallery shop and how to use the till. It's pretty straight forward as there is no cash or debit card used. After another session taking pictures in the restaurant it was time for the joiners party. I had only been to the crew recreation area once before so all I remembered was a few seats and a pool table. At night though, it was busy disco with lights and music blaring. I thought to myself, i'm only on this cruise for one week so i'll get my camera and take some snaps for the memories.

Indians in the Disco

Day 3 : Bergen

A few of us had got up early (barely) as there were supposed to be fantastic views as we sailed into Bergen. It was a little dull and cold in the morning to be honest, but It was my first ever view of the fjords. 

View in the morning

Around midday I was allowed to leave the ship to go explore the City of Bergen. By now the skies were perfectly clear and it was looking like a fantastic day. The bus from the docks to the city dropped us off near a lake with a fountain in the middle. The lake itself was fantastic, but the green mountains and grass around it made it picturesque. There was so much beauty around Bergen I didn't know where to point my camera first! 

Lake in Bergen

A few of us crew headed towards the Edvard Grieg statue which seemed to be a tourist hotspot. The statue has a fountain at the bottom and has as many tourists as it did tulips surrounding it. 

Grieg and Tulips

A chinese couple approached me by the statue. I remembered

them from the ship. I had fixed a problem with the gentlemen’s fancy Nikon 1 camera where he had put the ISO settings on 3200. This means that the sensor is too sensitive for such a sunny day as it was today and all his pictures, would be overexposed. He told me that the camera had the same problem again so I tweaked the settings again and sent him on his way with a happy ISO auto of 100-400.

After taking more stock photos I lost the gang I was with, so for the rest of the day I wondered around the city on my own to see the sights. I headed to the city centre up a wide street with colourful side buildings. There was an interesting bird bath in the centre of the square and it being a hot day, a bird came down for a bath.

Bird in the Bath

Further up the square I could see some speakers and preparation for a show being made.

I made a note to come back this way so I could see what was going on. I headed down to another docks but before I could go any further, the road was blocked. About a hundred teen drummers were marching right towards me making one hell of a noise. They were dressed in full uniform and I now know they are called the Bergen Buekorps. The drummers synchronization was fantastic, and being a musician I was impressed by the rhythms.

Bergen Buekorps

The show was over and the music faded away down another street. I now wondered around the dock area, heading in the general direction of colourful buildings. There were tourist stalls layed with plenty of souvenirs on sale. Unfortunately I did not have an Krone (the currency of norway) on me, so I wondered around in wonder at the scenery, buildings and fashion sense of the Norwegian people.

Norwegian flag and hills

 

I came back just in time for the show. At the fountain in the square was a woman dressed in triangular mirrors. She moved around to ambient music in a contemporary dance fashion. She then stepped into the pool by a military statue and continued to do her thing. It was quite a spectacle and there were many photographers and videographers attending her performance.

The mirrored dancer

I headed back towards the shuttle bus but still had bags of time to spare. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it so i took photographs of birds in a feeding frenzy by the lake. 

Hungry hungry gulls

I finally thought i've seen enough it's time to go back to the bus. But I wondered, what's behind the bus? What's over there, the opposite way to where I set off? I turned out to be a wonderful old building and a modern one opposite. Completely opposite in design but still managed to look great together. I fiddled around trying to get a reflection shot and the results was pretty interesting.

Old and New

Back on the cruise I felt exhausted but happy. After a long day in a beautiful city I was looking forward to the next port and I thought to myself 'Can it get any more beautiful than this?'...

The Only Way Is Norway

Ahoy there and welcome aboard!

In this blog I will document my adventures as a photographer on board P&O cruises, as they travel from port to port across Europe. My first cruise is to the Norwegian Fjords on board MS Azura. I will revisit Norway in early June on board MS Ventura, Azura's sister ship.
  

Me and the Azura in Andalsnes

I arrived at Southampton train station late at night on Thursday the 23^rd. I could have easily got a taxi to a friends (Dan) house where I was staying that night, but having visited before and knowing my way around (and trying to save cash) I lugged my bags up to the bus stop.

Having had a pretty rough sleep on the couch using my towel and hoodie as a pillow, I was ready for the off. We headed to the university campus through a gravel path shortcut and up a hill, not easy with a heavy suitcase full of photo gear. We said our goodbye's and Dan headed for his exam and I headed for the bus stop. The bus seemed to take longer than usual, me forgetting it was 9am rush hour. When I got off the bus I had no idea where the Cruise terminal was so I decided to get a taxi. As I walked towards the train station I could see all the people get in all the taxi's. I thought there would be none left for me. A woman was standing next to a taxi but she didn't get in. I asked the taxi driver if he could take me to the P&O cruises terminal and he said no! He didn't have a licence to go there or something but assured the next taxi arriving would take me. The licensed taxi turned up soon after but it would be taking two passengers, as the woman standing with me also happened to be going on the Azura cruise.

She was a tall, middle aged blonde with a red suitcase and thick South African accent. We discussed different cruise ships as the taxi took us to the wrong docks. In this time I go to know her more and I realised she was pretty darn cool. She said she was the accounts manager but her charisma was that of an entertainer. When I told her that i'm looking forward to going to Norway she filled with joy, as she in fact had no idea that the cruise ship she was about to work on was going there! We arrived at the cruise terminal and made our way to the crew pass office. She guided me through all the procedures I had to go through and was very helpful in the whole process. Everyone joining a cruise ship for the first time should have someone like her to help them out.

My roomate Simon

When I got on the cruise I met some fellow photographers. After a brief tour of the ship, where I remembered absolutely nothing about how to get anywhere I sat down for a cuppa with fellow photographer Izzy. Izzy was very warm, friendly and full of life. I definitely felt at ease when she showed me around the decks. After getting briefed on the basics it was time to attend the safety inductions.

Photographer and first day guide Izzy

All the newcomers to the ship were gathered in a room and briefed on the various safety drills and alarms the ship has. All very boring, but very important. Luckily the gentleman giving this presentation had put some life into them. Another man present in the safety presentation was the head of 'Muster Control'. He was a Jolly northern Irishman and I wouldn't be surprised if his nickname was the fat controller. Muster control is like the head safety department. In the event of any emergency they should be contacted and they will arrange for the appropriate party to attend to the emergency. Being a photographer, I also had to attend and participate in the lifejacket demonstrations for the passengers. This was due to commence at 4pm, but since there were delays due to an emergency landing at heathrow, and subsequently delays on passengers flights, it was held a little later on, after I had found the location of the drill!

Being my first day on a cruise ship, a massive 114,000 tonne, 291 m long, and 17 deck cruise ship, I got lost.

The main crew deck corridor, known as the 'M1'

I had a good half an hour before the lifejacket demonstration so I tried to find my way back to my cabin. For a sit down. Being a crew cabin it's hidden out of the way where a newcomer like me would never find it.

I went up some stairs, through 3 piano bars, out on the deck, past the south african lady, back through the same door I came through, through some more doors where steaming filipino faces glared at me and back out again. I somehow managed to find my way back.

At the lifejacket demonstration I was required to wear a yellow cap and my lifejacket. Wearing the lifejacket wasn't a problem, but the cap didn't quite fit my afro hair, so I simply rested it on top of my head.

Just like cabin crew on an aeroplane I was required to demonstrate how to put the life jacket on , the strap, whistle and light. This experience was terribly daunting for me, looking up and seeing a sea of tired faces watching my every move and me somehow putting my lifejacket on correctly for only the second time in history.

After yet more safety inductions, loud noises and large water tight doors, it was time to start taking photographs. I was thrown right in the deep end, not literally as this would be the English Channel, please shout 'MAN OVERBOARD'.

I was given instructions how to use a Nikon DSLR. Having got a Canon DSLR myself, everything was in the wrong place and I had to learn how to use my new camera ship sharpish. I was taken outside to take photographs of passengers looking near the pool area. Unfortunately it was raining heavily and the place was very empty. I had a basic knowledge of what I was supposed to do, how to compose the shot and greet passengers etc, but it was my first day and I was still very nervous.

 I now learnt that I was about to be thrown into the real deep end; passengers around the dining table. For this I had to dress smart and go from table to table taking 'Individual soft focus portraits' . After a few tries I sort of got the hang of it, in terms of framing. I feel that after a few more sittings, I'll have bags more confidence and accuracy. Printing of the restaurant pictures is very quick and before I knew it we had prints to hang up. The prints are put up in Gallery, and are ready for viewing the following day. It was a busy first day on the Azura and i'm very much looking forward to the rest of the week in Norway.

More blog posts to come shortly!

 Bye for now.

P.S  I promise they won't be as long as this one!