Selected midship cabin

This is in response to a warning by a reader on page 115 of the November ’03 issue re cabin selection on a Norwegian Coastal Voyage cruise.

In July ’02 my husband, Ed, and I took a land-and-cruise tour with Odysseys Unlimited (85 Main St., Ste. 101, Watertown, MA 02472; phone 888/370-6765 or visit www.odysseys-unlimited.com). Pre-cruise land tours were in Helsinki and Ivalo, after which we boarded the coastal steamer m.s. Nordnorge for a 5-night cruise from Kirkenes to Bergen, followed by land tours in Bergen, Geilo and Oslo.

I would heartily recommend Odysseys Unlimited. Their tour director was excellent, we stayed in first-class hotels conveniently located and the food was very good. Most importantly, they limit their tours to 12 to 24 guests — a big plus, in my opinion. (Our tour had 22.) This was our second tour with Odysseys and we have since taken a third tour of Great Britain with them.

We selected our own cabin on the Nordnorge, No. 210 on Deck 2, midship, Deck 2 being the lowest cabin level.

We had about 14 port calls in the “wee hours of the morning” and, unlike the above-mentioned reader, who was aboard the m.s. Richard With, not once did we experience any noise that disturbed our sleep. In fact, we marveled at the efficiency of the docking procedures. With one touch of a button, the gangplank and railings were put into place and disembarkation started immediately. How unlike the large cruise ships!

So we might conclude that it is important to select a cabin midship rather than to eliminate all cabins in the lower levels aft. (The other reader’s cabin No. 359 on the Richard With is one of about 30 on Deck 3 aft.)

BETTY ZANDER
Cibolo, TX