It’s Tuesday, June 20, 2023 and our 11-hour port call today was from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Olden, Norway.
6:00 – 8:00 am: Sailing the Norwegian Coast. Enjoy scenic views from Observation Lounge (Deck 17), Surfside Café and Grill (Buffet, Deck 17), Sun Deck (Deck 18 forward), or from your own balcony cabin.
We didn’t get any pictures pulling into this port.
8:00 am – 7:00 pm: In port.
9:45 am – 2:00 pm: Amazing Briksdal Glacier excursion Meet on the dock and look for the BearCruise group. Excursion leaves promptly at 10 am and returns at 2:00 pm.
Amazing Briksdal Glacier excursion:
The excursion will depart from the village of Olden. Head out through the valley along Lake Olden to Rustøen, all the way at the end of the fjord. Here you will find many colourful farms and waterfalls.
From Rustøen we go to Briksdal Inn. This is where we’ll walk to the Briksdal Glacier. A beautiful trail surrounded by waterfalls and mountains will lead you to the viewpoint at the glacier lake. The walk to the viewpoint normally takes approximately 45-60 minutes.
Following your time on the glacier we’ll head back to the ship.
Photos of the excursion
Some sites right at the dock:
Scenery during our 1.5-hour bus ride to the Briksdal Glacier. That 5th picture is of beautiful Lake Olden, which we made at stop at on the way back for a photo op. (More of those pics below.)
At Briksdal, we had a fairly easy 45-minute hike—although it was all uphill and a little steep in a couple of spots—of about 45 minutes—with several waterfalls along the way. Some were quite high and a bit of a way from us; others were right upon us:
Us at various points along the hike:
of the glacier
at the area at the top
of the glacier
Some very short (5-10 seconds) videos of waterfalls we saw during the hike. Bob is waving to me from that bridge in the last video. I love how his head bobs from side to side after a bit. 😃
Here are some shots of the “reward” for making it to an open area up close to (what’s left of) the glacier. This is my second time seeing a glacier—I saw several on an Alaskan cruise in 2024—and they always look so unreal.
of the glacier
at the area at the top
of the glacier
Some roadside scenery on the drive back from the glacier to the ship. Norway is very open and you can pretty much camp anywhere there.
We made a stop at beautiful Lake Olden, which we’d passed by on the way up to the glacier, for a photo op. I’d have to say this was the most beautiful place I saw on this trip. That’s our friends Al (also our group’s cruise director) and Ken in the last picture.
6:00 pm: Cocktail Hour, Whiskey Bar, Deck 8
I actually took a few pictures at our cocktail hour gathering today. Just some bears relaxing and catching up about their days.
7:00 pm: Dinner—Specialty Restaurant of the Day‐Hasuki Japanese Grill, Deck 7
This was one of Bob’s and my second “free” restaurant in one of the ones you usually have to pay for, and it was a “Kanki-like” restaurant if you’re familiar with it. You sit in groups of 8 around a hibachi and your own private chef cooks for you. They sat our group of 6 with this straight couple who was already seated, and it was a fun, fun time, with a great chef and most-delicious food.
ice cream dessert
8:00 pm – midnight: Disco Party – BearCruise group meet-up at the ship’s disco party, Prima Theater, deck 6.
I went up to the cabin and bed right after dinner, as it was late by then, and I was tired. Bob “took a twirl,” seeing if any of our group were at the disco.
