We were supposed to have two more port stops in Norway before a final stop in Scotland on our 2025 Ambassador Ambience cruise but this wasn’t to be. Medical emergencies, mechanical problems, entire countries going on strike, and the weather can all have an impact on cruise itineraries – indeed, all four have affected us over the years – and it was time once more for the latter of those to wag a stormy little finger in our general direction and say “Ahem!” to our plans.
The expected long day in the Lofoten Islands and subsequent day in Bodø was pushed to one side during an early morning announcement. The captain of Ambience informed us that the stop in Lofoten was still going ahead, albeit rather truncated, and that Bodø was being cancelled in order to get the ship ahead of a storm projected to otherwise cause the ship some serious problems. Furthermore, with this being a tender port, priority would be given to those on booked trips that still had enough time to go ahead, so for those of us who’d been intending to have a more leisurely, play-it-by-ear day on land that short time would be shorter again. We were still absolutely going to get off the ship, though. A new port? You’ve got to step ashore at the very least.
We had a relaxed breakfast and kept an eye on the tender boats shuttling between the ship’s anchorage and the small cruise port a couple of kilometres south of the town of Leknes.
Our original idea for how to spend the day in Lofoten had been to get out somewhere to take photos of the landscapes which we’d been told were stunning, then to circle around to Leknes, see if there were any museums or similar places of interest open, see if we could grab a drink, then walk back to the port. But, of course, that idea was based on the premise that we’d have a long day here and we were down to just a few hours ashore now. So, by the time the tender boats were available for general use we’d already adjusted what we were going to do to a far simpler one of taking the shuttle bus into town to save time, having a quick look around to see if anything was open, then seeing if we could find a reasonably scenic walking route back.
On the short ride across the water to the port we could see a large building with the sort of architecture that said “Oh yeah, I’m a modern museum dedicated to the stunning nature you see around you” and that’s the sort of thing we like. We had a quick nose at the map to see if it was open, only to realise it was a school. Our schools did not look like that, and they didn’t have those views.
At the small cruise port where the tender boat docked we could see what looked like a small tourist operation in place for water-based trips. On another day it might be something we’d consider.
The shuttle bus ride to Leknes was short and also along a rather dull and surprisingly busy stretch of main road. I could see that my wife was looking at it and thinking it would not be pleasant to walk along it back to the port so I reassured her that I’d identified something a bit more rural when we returned and this made her feel worse. She is prone to anxiety when she doesn’t know where she is, and when it comes to travelling that turns out to be almost everywhere, almost all the time. Her sense of direction would be worthy of study if she had one. Fortunately, never fear, Mark and his magnetic-sensing mind is here! I can typically pinpoint myself and where we need to go with expectations of turns and waypoints to look out for after a short glance at a map, and even on a cloudy day I can usually just tell north, south, east, and west by intuition.
Oh, I am so going to get absolutely lost the next time we’re somewhere off the beaten path now.
Anyway, we were dropped off in a car park between some shops, none of which interested us. Sure, Norwegian supermarkets can be a source of saying things like “Jesus! How much for a packet of crisps!?” and “What the!? Liquorice-flavoured bread! But why!?” but we had water on us, we weren’t hungry, and we didn’t know how long the weather would remain dry so it wasn’t very long before we’d ascertained that we might as well just start a slow bimble back along the road I’d spotted.
Leknes isn’t quite a one-road town, but it’s not far off it. While the bus had brought us to it on a newer road that curves around the eastern side of the town, we were heading out on what was clearly the original main road, now very lightly-used. Further from the town centre the houses became more spread out which gave us occasional glimpses at the mountainous landscape that wrapped around the place but the low and complete cloud cover didn’t help matters so I mostly enjoyed some of the functional architecture of businesses we were passing to start with.
It wasn’t long before we could tell we were outside the town and onto the quiet single road that headed south, and at last the views we’d been hoping to see came into sight. Mostly. It’s a place that would be lovely to see on a clear day, that’s for certain.
The weather didn’t entirely hold off for us, and our walk was accompanied by a fine and very cold drizzle. We could see plenty of signs around that the temperature was holding at or below zero and a brisk walk might have made this more tolerable but one of us does like to take photos so that wasn’t going to happen.
The sudden appearance of signs of industrialisation let us know that we were nearing the port but there were still some pleasing sights to see in the vicinity. When you’re in Norway, you’re usually only a short distance from a gorgeous view.
There were enough people in the queue to get back on the ship that we had to wait for a second tender boat. The wind was picking up, the chilly, misty drizzle was persisting, and only the thought of hot drinks and alcohol aboard were keeping us warm. The first thing we did when we got back on Ambience was head straight to the café in the main atrium.
Another reason for not heading straight to our cabin where the promise of a hot shower awaited was that we realised we were close to the time for some afternoon trivia in the Botanical Lounge on Ambience so, after finishing our drinks in the atrium, we made our way there to challenge our brains. A science-fiction theme helped a lot and the low attendance didn’t hurt – there were still some boats due to return as we’d not left it to the very last moment to get back – because we won the trivia and picked up our second prize of the cruise to go with the stress ball we’d already won: a flimsy, Ambassador-branded fridge magnet! The prizes on Ambassador were wonderfully woeful.
Time for showers and changing into evening attire next, even though it was late afternoon. That’s the crazy sort of rule-breaking we do when we’re cold.
At this time, everyone was aboard and Ambience started to head away from Lofoten. The wind was getting noticeably stronger, the clouds were getting fuller, the seas were getting choppier. It was easy to see why the captain had made the decision he did.
Lounges for entertainment either side of food then occupied the remainder of this day, and that started with the evening trivia in the Purple Turtle where we actually won again, picking up some fizz this time around. We had the top-tier drinks package anyway so winning the bottle wasn’t a big deal for us, but we would make use of it later in the cruise in a way that caused a member of staff to look at us like we’d grown another head each. No, it’s not what your filthy mind is thinking.
And here’s dinner.
With an unexpected sea day coming up we were free to stay up as late as we wanted in the Observatory, and we did. It was quieter up there on this evening and that was due to some definite lurching of the ship in the front edges of the storm we were trying to outrun. If there are rough seas then you can usually find us at the highest point of the ship near the front or back as that’s where most of the fun can be had. It’s quite surprising just how few people share this opinion.
The next post in this series covers two sea days on Ambience, and, in a break from the tradition I’ve established in these cruise write-ups, there are some actual things to show off other than the sea and food: more Northern Lights, ice carving, and some actual photos taken around the cruise ship like I’m one of those cruise bloggers who seems to think that what the world needs most is another ship or cabin tour.