Reporting in about the overland hike.

The ship briefly anchored in Hellesylt to tender the hikers to shore around 7 AM. We were then driven by bus to the start of our 6 mile hike across the countryside, through farms, along roaring streams, with sheep grazing and waterfalls rushing down the mountainsides surrounding us. We had a little misty rain at first but that stopped fairly soon. It was a very pretty intro to the charms of the Norweigan countryside.

At the end of the hike we emerged into another adorable little town, Flo, set on a pretty lake where our buses retrieved us for a scenic drive up the mountains, through many tunnels, past snow and rock fields, glacial lakes to Groti where a mountain hotel and restuarant welcomed us for a lunch of cream of white asparagus soup and salmon. After lunch our bus driver drove up the incredibly steep hairpin turns to the summit of Mount Dalsnibba for a panoramic view (mostly obscured by the mist and fog) of the Geirangerfjord and valley. The clouds did part on a few occasions for those quick on the draw with the camera shutter.

We returned to the ship at 3:30 PM, just as the anchor was about to be hoisted for our cruise out of the fjord.

Last night was the B&K cocktail party, followed by dinners with the officers. Marc, Arlene, Michele, Don, Brad & i were seated with the charming assistant cruise director, Paul. We hit the sack early so I can't report in about the scene in the Voyager lounge, however, tonight is karaoke - stay tuned...

Enjoying this thread very much. It was great meeting so many LCTers over the last couple of cruises.

Hi Everyone...

We are having such a wonderful time and meeting more LCTers everyday (or so it seems)

Last night Marc and I spent our 100th night on board Regent ships..... yippeee!!!!!! (OK not a big deal for anyone else, but a big deal to us)

Yesterday we did the 6 mile hike and the scenery was glorious. We watched the sail away from the bow of the ship and Capt. Dag got us up close to the waterfalls. Any closer we would have needed hiking boots and swim suits!

Alas no pictures as our camera is on the fritz big time. Any one out there have any info on an "error 99" for a Cannon Digital Rebel? Marc and I are becoming desperate to figure out the problem. It would be really tough to go through the entire trip with no camera.

Well, I am off with my spread sheet to go talk to everyone and make sure we get to have dinner with everyone at least once. More later....

Hi guys!
Just checking in here! Others have covered everything so well……we’re having a ball! Last night was the B&K cocktail party which everyone enjoyed followed by dinners with various officers. From what I heard later in the VL, everyone seemed to enjoy their dinners with lots of fun company. It helps so much when you’re at a table with other LCTers for these dinners. Once again we had a fun evening in VL with lots of dancing and mingling.

As others reported, yesterday was fantastic in the “G” town (I’m not even going to try and spell it). It is so charming, quaint, just a wonderful little “willage” as they say…… with only 250 residents (tourist season this probably quadruples). Jamie rode his bicycle all the way to the very top of the mountain. Not sure how far this is but it’s a very winding road 1500 meters high so probably around 8 miles to get to the top. He sure must have strong legs!! Glad Anne posted the picture of Dag and Jamie rollerblading with the flags the day we boarded. They never cease to amaze us. I haven’t taken one single picture because everyone else has been so busy taking them. Hopefully, Ken and others will post some more..

It is wonderful being with such a great group as here on FJORDS. Glad today is a sea day….my kind of day. Tonight will be a hoot with karaoke.
Oh, forgot to mention that Tom and I were one of the 14 names drawn to be in the year end drawing for the B&K free cruise! Yippee!!

More later!

Arlene - from a post I found online regarding the error 99 on a Canon Digital Rebel. This apparently is originally from Canon technical support so reliability of the fixes/diagnostic routine is pretty high:

"To isolate the cause of the issue, we suggest that you do the following:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Remove the lens, battery, and CF card.
3. Allow the camera to sit without power for approximately 20 minutes.
4. Insert a fully charged battery, and turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.

Does the “ERR 99″ message appear? If it does, then the camera should be serviced. If it does not, then please proceed to the next set of steps:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Insert the CF card.
3. Turn on the camera.
4. Format the CF card in the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.

Does the “ERR 99″ message appear? If so, then the CF card is the most likely source of the issue. Try using a different card.

If the message does not appear, please complete the following steps:

1. Turn off the camera.
2. Clean the lens contacts by gently rubbing them with a pencil eraser or soft cloth. Be careful that you do not let any debris fall into the camera body.
3. Reattach your lens.
4. Turn on the camera.
5. Depress the shutter button as you would to take a picture.

If the “ERR 99″ message only appears when one particular lens is attached, then that lens should be examined by a service technician.

If you see the “ERR 99″ with a different Canon lens attached, then the camera should be serviced."

Hope that helps, guys.

Masaki

Not much to add....Tom and I are enjoying our trip. We were also on the hike yesterday and enjoyed it immensely. Norway is simply gorgeous but alas, we have not downloaded photos so nothing to share yet. Today as others have mentioned is a sea day. We were up early, met up with Anne at breakfast and she mentioned a step class. I decided to go and half the exercisers were LCT! Anne, Donna and myself enjoyed the class and now we won't feel guilty about lunch. Fresh fish and chips will be served poolside! As for the rest of the day, nothing too much planned except trivia and then dinner plans with Anne, Gary, Lee and Michael in Latitudes.
Cheers, Pam

PS I HIGHLY recommend Norway! :)

Masaki, thanks. I found those directions a little while ago, printed them out, and will try this afternoon. I think I have an even larger problem in that autofocus is not working at all. It will be a long cruise if we have to take every picture with manual focus (not to mention all the fuzzy pictures).

Now, it is time to look at reviews of the overpriced cameras that they sell on board that we can get as replacement. Is anyone familiar with Pentax A20, Pentax W20, or Olympus Stylus 1000?

I've started an AOL travelogue with photos (which is available to anyone) for my family. Rather than copy it all on to the LCT sea mail I'm listing the link for anyone interested.

http://journals.aol.com/jymbittle/norway-2007/

The LCT group certainly is a great group to travel with.
Jim

NOT much to add - this trip is exceeding every expectation - we had dinner with Gudrun last night - that was a treat - slept until 10:30 this morning! Tony was aghast "OMG what happened I never sleep this late!" All LCTers are sooo very nice - had dinner with Ngaire and Ken and Matassas on formal night - many laughs - I guess I was only one who attended block party "come as you are" - time crept up on me so it was miss the party or wear my "grubs" - never miss a party - 2 sea days heaven - off to lunch - we had the salmon last night it was best I have ever had - caught from ship night before - just bumped into 3 people from my hometown in CT - small world! Oh our name was drawn for free cruise pot I was so busy yacking with Marilyn at other end of room I missed it!!! More later - wish you all could be here - Joanna

Marc, Sorry about your camera. I just sent you (at your Mitre address) the latest NYT article on Digital Cameras by Pogue, which appeared last week. Of course, none of the models you mentioned is covered, but I now see you are looking for a relatively inexpensive subtitute. Digital Photography Review liked the A20 or the 1000 better than the W20. From a quick glance at the reviews, I think the Olympus gets the best marks. On the Web, each can be ordered for under $250. (Though you probably looked all this up yourself.) If you are serious about a particular model, and for some reason have problems accessing reviews, I'll be glad to it up on one of the sites and it to you. I love my Panasonic FZ-20 with a Leica lens. Since you seem to be looking for something to use just until you can get yours fixed, perhaps (though I doubt) that you can find a Panasonic FZ-5, FZ-7, or FZ-8, which I'd get over the ones you mentioned.

-----------

Eugene

Thanks for the super reports and pix! Looking forward to hearing more.

Sorry to hear of your camera woes, Marc. I hope the problem is resolved soon.

Enjoy your sea day! Congrats to the free cruise drawing winners! Missing my gal pals!

Greetings from Latitude 67 Degrees 37' 23'' North
Longitude 9 Degrees 15' 22" East
Temp: 48.3 Degrees F
Arctic Circle crossing :)
The seas are getting slightly rougher today - I'm hanging on to my laptop but it's not too bad....just exciting! Burrrrrr!!

This is such a great experience! Captain Dag and Ngaire & Ken sure do know how to celebrate life!! Spectacular :)

Oh Michelle that 48 degrees sounds wonderful to me...we are sick of this high 90's weather and the sticky humidity in GA!

Enjoy this cruise to the max...it has to be a once in a lifetime trip! :)

Thanks all, for the great SeaMail, and thanks Anne, for the photos. Love them!

Good luck, Marc, with your camera problems.

Keep having fun, and please keep posting. More pic's PLEASE!

Whoa boy. It's a little rocky today. Must rush off before I throw up on the keyboard.

Uh oh...

deleted

I'm back Tony is downloading his pixs and I will see if Marcie will help me post them (tomorrow)I think he has nice mix of people and scenery - we are rocking and rolling!!! Had great fish and chips lunch in CR with the best split pea soup ever - group playing pooch in Observation Lounge - fun lazy day cool, windy with some rain but who cares? Seems you bump into an LCTer around every corner....

Thanks everyone for the great updates and pictures. Sure sounds like a fabulous time! Marc, sure hope you work out your camera problems.

Nancy

Thanks for the pictures! He got you pretty close to the waterfalls. I don't recall being so close during NINJA!

Loving your seamail...and the pics are great! Thanks so much for letting us all cruise along with you!

Thanks for Seamail everyone and what great pictures. Love the shot of Captain Dag at the waterfall, beautiful. Looks like everyone is having a great time.

Okay, I was pranked by Susie! I forgot to logout of LCT and she posted the above message re: being sick at my computer desk. The seas are quite rough, but I am well and happy! However, I did have the opportunity to turn this into another prank....I had Suzanne convinced that I am pregnant! One good prank deserves another.

Cheers, Pam

Oh my it sure sounds like everyone is having a really fun time!

I was having feelings of "poor Pam" having to rush away from the keyboard and be sick and here Suzie was being a little prankster! This is for you Suzie :app:

Those FJORDers are not having all the fun, look at us last night at our Boredzzz B&K dinner. Notice just how close Captain Dag is sitting next to me! We are having a blast and miss you guys!

Karen...what a hoot!!!

Nancy

So happy to hear that everyone is having a great time. I'm having a hard time getting over the fact that we're not on that cruise. How could I be so mean to myself??? I'm not sure what I miss the most, the gorgeous scenery, the fantastic food...well, of course, it's the great people! You'll probably be running out of internet satellite coverage soon and the sea mail will stop for a while, but we'll be waiting patiently to hear all about your adventures on Spitzbergen when you get back further south.

Karen, you're a riot!!! Capt. Dag must sure get around....I could have sworn I was eating dinner with him last night!

Tony gave me his memory stick with his photos (I haven't taken a one). I put them on Picasa so you guys could see some of them too. Most are "people" pictures because those are the ones I always like the best but there's some of the gorgeous scenery too. I was going to teach Joanna how to do this but she, Tony, Cindy & David are having too much fun at the Horizon bar so her lessons will have to come another day.
This is the link to some of Tony's pictures (best viewed as slideshow):
http://picasaweb.google.com/petlovermarcie/Norway1?authkey=vJw1LnmWVF4

On the question of temperature .. it was around 50 degrees when we awoke. Winds are gusting at around 40 mph and it's raining on and off.

So if you think you'll get a sympathy token for just showing up for shuffleboard in the middle of this weather .. you'd be right! I have completely forgotten how to slide the disks. Pathetic comes to mind. My opponent shot a few of my disks into the scoring boxes, so my token free cruise was ended. He's a gentleman and a friend.

We doubled down on trivia today, with the Nearly All Blonde Brainiacs taking a tie with another LCT team. The second round of tee time trivia was led by Brad and Suzanne; a winning dunk from Ms. Merlot got us enough points to win (despite the fact we talked ourselves out of a correct answer)

Leslie & I pressed on for Yoga Basics, which morphed to Stretch and Relax since the waves are giving us a great ride this afternoon. Ah .. at least it was some stress relief. Dinner tonight at Latitudes and then .. showtime .. followed by scareoke.

Trivia for all the home team players:

what object used in a 20th century game is originally designed for the protection of animals? Hint: name of the object and the name of the game are identical.

First correct answer wins our admiration. Damned if any of us could get the correct answer today.

Cheers, Anne

Oh Karen.
Your picture is to funny.

Great pictures. Loving these posts. You are having too much fun!

Our lovely dinner last night in the "Comfort Pose" seems like a dream. Surprisingly, the photo actually caught us all with our eyes open!

Karen, you are tooooo clever!!!!

Just took a look at Tony's pics. Just great! Thanks Tony, and thanks Marcie for the link! Please keep 'em coming!!

Anne, don't know the answer to your trivia question, but if nobody else does, let us know the answer for future trivia. Oh, forgot to ask--who's playing Pooch??

Well Frank and I obviously were so boredzzzzzz that we slept right thru the Captains dinner!!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I'm so sad! Great photo Karen, you are definitely talented!

Karen, I almost missed the picture! That is hilarious and what beautiful women I am surrounded by. And the guys aren't too bad either! LOL

It made my day! You are so talented!

Ah Karen...just where is Captain Dag's hand...it seems to be out of sight and the smile on your face implies knee rubbing under the table! <img border="0" alt="[c]" title="" src="graemlins/c.gif" />

Wonderful pics Tony; thanks for posting them Marcie! :)

Marcie -- Hard to beleive you are back on the Voyager so soon after the World Cruise...need I say I am jealous!

Please give our regards to Jamie and Dana...we hope to see them in Michigan or here in Chicago sometime this summer.

Also, please say hello to Capt. Dag...wish we were there to celebrate his homoecoming. If you can shoot me Capt. Dag's e-mail at mccrackens@hotmail.com I would like to forward him some photos that he helped me get while on the World Cruise.

Have fun,

Larry McCracken

Just wrote a huge post, and vroom is was gone!! AGHHH....OK brifly, Wow. What a great group of people, I just can't believe so many nice people in one place! Obviously too nice to mention my little dilema. First night out, tripped and sprained and tore ligiments in my foot. hobbling around the ship with one foot bandaged. Hasn't slowed me up MUCH.....enjoying every second. Some great nights in the Voyager Lounge, our favorite dual personality social hostess has lived up to every expectation. I think David may have been a bit overwhelmed at first, but is completely in the LCT groove now.
We are having 60mph winds now, so he "delivered me" back to the room and has "mentioned" heading back out for awhile. It's going to be a bumpy night!! I will check in soon.....

Oh Cindy you poor thing...your accident sounds painful!!! However, I am sure you have such wonderful (not to mention good looking) men fussing over you on the cruise and it makes your pain seem much more bearable!

Sorry to hear of your accident, Cindy. Hope you're better soon.

Picture? Karen, did we take a picture at the Captain's dinner last night? I don't see it.

Anne..Would the answer to your question be either Twister or Yahtzee? :D Kidding...Is it poker?

The first two pooch games were held today - new inductees include Anne, Gary, Donna, Marcie, Marc and Andrea. Marilyn observed and consulted since the limit of 7 players was reached. First game went to Anne, 2nd to Brad. We appear to have some new converts - score sheets are being retained for tournament totals.

Trivia followed the pooch game with an LCT team victorious (Anne, Suzanne, Suzie, Marilyn, Brad & me.) Then "stretch and relax" for Anne & me - surely we could have accomplished some challenging balancing yoga poses given the pitch of the ship but the instructor chose to take it easy stretching on the floor. Cocktails in the Observation Lounge was followed by dinner at Signatures for many. Perhaps wisely they separated the LCT tables so as to preserve the up-market atmosphere? up next karaoke...