At 7.40 Monday morning, just as we were expecting to see the port of Alesund on this P&O Cruises' voyage around the Norwegian fjords, news came through from the captain that it was too windy to dock Ventura.
As the ship was shivering and shuddering and the sea was grey and stormy, I was not too sorry to hear his next announcement - we were going into Olden, our next port, a day early and staying overnight. As the town is down a long fjord, we would be in calm waters and protected from the worst of the wind by the high mountains on either side.
Needless to say, my teenage daughter managed to sleep though the announcements, even though they were made into the cabin. When she finally came to soon after 9.30, she was a little baffled that there was no sign of land out the window.
I brought her up to date on the day's news, adding that while there didn't seem much to see in Alesund, I was quite sorry not be going there because "sometimes it's nice to see new things even f they are not interesting".
"A bit like Fujairah really," she said, smiling, remembering they were the words of the receptionist on Costa Victoria when we were cruising the Arabian Gulf in January.
I'm now just waiting for the first compensation claims from passengers on the grounds they "only came on this cruise because they wanted to go to Alesund".
It's a shame the weather has turned on us as yesterday in Bergen was quite pleasant. We planned to take the funicular up to the top of Mount Floyen, to get a good view down over the town, but unfortunately half of Norway had the same plan (it was a Sunday) and after calculating we would queue for an hour for the seven-minute ride to the top, which was a little too disney-esque for my liking, we - daughter and partner - decided to walk.
So there we were, puffing our way up the hill while locals who looked twice our age came sprinting past. It's back to the Wii Fit for me if I ever get home long enough!
The views from Mount Floyen were stunning, as was the price of a drink at the top - £7 for a 40cl beer. "You'll have to stick to drinking on the ship," Mark said. A pint on Ventura costs £2.90.
Of course, Norway is renowned for its expensive booze, but I did a piece in the Telegraph recently proving that across Europe it's cheaper to drink on board than ashore now the value of sterling has fallen through the floor.
The cruise lines must be rubbing their hands with glee!
Jane Archer
