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Escape the Heat (August ‘26)
  • Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun
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  • Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun

Escape the Heat (August ‘26)

Our August getaway in search of cooler, more comfortable temperatures in Europe … from Norwegian Coastal towns to Baltic Sea ports. Czytaj więcej
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  • Escape the Heat (August ‘26)
    Our itinerary for the NCL Sun cruise.
    Our itinerary for the NCL Sun cruise.

    NCL Sun: Cha-Ching!

    23 lipca, Włochy ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

    I haven’t written much thus far about the short cruise we’ve booked on NCL Sun. The lack of words was primarily because until final payment, there was a chance we might cancel for something better. Especially since the ship was experiencing propulsion issues that were heavily impacting the itinerary.

    As it turns out, the issues were resolved by 3 July. Which was a good thing since I found myself with no spare time to research alternatives, so we’re sticking with it.

    The final payment was made today.

    Now that we are locked in, here’s a bit more information.

     We’ll be embarking the Sun on 22 August in Copenhagen; disembarking on 29 August in Helsinki. The cruise is seven days long. No days at sea. Unlike on our Havila voyage, we’ll be calling on just one port each day 😄. Five of the ports are new-to-us … two of them in countries we’ve not traveled to before. Not a bad ratio for such a short cruise. The ports we’ve been to before have plenty of experiences for us to enjoy, so we don’t mind returning.

    When we disembark m/s Havila Castor in Bergen on 19 August, we will fly to Copenhagen for a few days pre-cruise. We have not added post-cruise time when we disembark in Helsinki as we spent about a week in the city before and after our 2014 icebreaker voyage to the North Pole. So straight back to Bologna once we are back on land.

    I still need to do some research on the ports we’ll be visiting. But finding time to do so is at a premium. I have a feeling we just might have to wing it! Any suggestions on things to do would be welcome … leave a comment.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Escape the Heat (August ‘26)
    Our ship ... our itinerary.
    Our ship ... our itinerary.

    BKB: 12 Days … How Many Ports!?

    1 lipca, Włochy ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

    BKB, in the vernacular of Havila passengers, refers to the Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen roundtrip coastal voyage. It’s the itinerary we booked.

    Over the 12-days it will take M/S Havila Castor to complete the route, we will be stopping at 34 different ports.

    No, that’s not a typo.

    There will be 34 ports of call on the way up north. And 34 again on the way down south.

    How is this possible?

    Well, remember, m/s Havila Castor is not a cruise ship. Rather, it is better described as a ferry that conveys everything from mail to people from one place to another.

    While there are stops of 3-4 hours in some ports … and occasional 1- to 2-hour stops as well, most are just long enough to drop off or pick up mail and goods, and embark or disembark passengers … 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes. Also, stops are made at all hours of the day and night. The ports you miss while you’re sleeping in one direction you stop at during daylight in the other direction.

    You get the idea. Essentially, we will be passengers on a working ship.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Escape the Heat (August ‘26)
    Sketch of an SSD cabin ... base photo from the Havila website.
    Sketch of an SSD cabin ... base photo from the Havila website.

    SSD on m/s Havila Castor

    30 czerwca, Włochy ⋅ ☀️ 93 °F

    SSD, in this instance, does not mean Solid State Drive.

    Rather, it is the booking code for the cabin category we opted for on our BKB voyage.

    Our cabin — 4308 — is a Seaview Superior Double … deck four, midship. It’s portside, so we’ll be able to peek out for a glimpse of port operations because the Havila ships always dock on port … or so we’ve been told.

    No balcony, alas … the veranda cabins were a bit too pricey for our budget. No worries … I understand there are some lovely lounges around m/s Castor … and, of course, quite a bit of outdoor space that we can take advantage of when we want to be out and about.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Escape the Heat (August ‘26)
    We'll be making the Norwegian coastal journey on m/s Havila Castor.
    We'll be making the Norwegian coastal journey on m/s Havila Castor.

    Our Vessel: m/s Havila Castor

    29 czerwca, Włochy ⋅ ⛅ 99 °F

    When you search the web for a ship named m/s Castor, AI asks you which one? The new ship? Or the historic ship? Of course, adding Havila to the search, would eliminate the question.

    Anyway, the historic vessel was built in 1936 as a fishing galease … a ketch. It was later converted to passenger charter. In 2024, it was permanently moved onto land in Bogense, Denmark as a local landmark … a museum ship. It would be fun to see this vessel, but our limited time in Copenhagen after our Havila journey won’t allow us to do so.

    As for the ship we will be sailing — m/s Havila Castor. It is a modern, eco-friendly vessel built by the Tersan Shipyard in Türkiye and delivered to the company in April 2022. Mui’s already planning a scavenger hunt to find the builder’s plate after we embark the vessel in August.

    One of four sister ships operated by Havila between Bergen and Kirkenes, the vessel has a passenger capacity of 640 … traveling either in cabins or deck chairs … doing one way, roundtrip, or custom itineraries … the latter referred to as port-to-port.

    One of the reasons we chose Havila over Hurtigruten is the more eco-friendly fleet the company operates. Castor and its sisters feature large battery packs that ensure zero-emission sailing through fragile fjord areas. In fact, this ship made history on 2 June 2022 as the first cruise ship to operate in the world heritage area of Geirangerfjord emission-free.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Escape the Heat (August ‘26)
    Base photo from the Havila Voyages website.
    Base photo from the Havila Voyages website.

    Havila Kystruten or Havila Voyages

    28 czerwca, Włochy ⋅ ☀️ 99 °F

    “We are sailing in the world heritage. So should the generations to come.” ~~ Per Sævik, owner and founder of Havila Kystruten ~~

    So which name is accurate?

    Actually, both are.

    Havila Kystruten — the latter a Norwegian word that translates as “the coastal route” — is the registered name of the company with which we are doing our August ‘escape the heat trip’. The more commonly used Havila Voyages name is the international brand.

    Havila is a shipping company … one that is continuing the tradition of plying the Norwegian Coastal Express route that was first established in 1893. What began as a mail, passenger, and goods service between Trondheim and Hammerfest has over the years been extended to serve the coastal communities between Bergen and Kirkenes.

    While we will be spending a great deal of time at sea on this 12-day voyage, this is not really a cruise. At least not in the sense of traveling on a ‘cruise’ ship. And certainly not in the sense of visiting a port a day. More on that later.

    Looking forward to a new-type-of sea voyage.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Escape the Heat (August ‘26)

    August Escape Prep Work

    27 czerwca, Włochy ⋅ ☀️ 97 °F

    With the Dolomiti the more imminent of the two ‘escape the heat’ trips we’ve got on the calendar, it took us awhile to get back to logistics planning for our August voyages.

    📌 AIRFARE … First and foremost … check for posted August transportation strikes in Italy. That’s not to say that a last minute “sciopero” won’t rear its ugly head, but worth checking anyway. Sadly, the calendar only goes out to the end of July, so we’re going to have to pay Russian roulette with at least our outbound flight.

    * Bologna - Bergen … Lufthansa with a connection in Frankfurt.

    * Bergen - Copenhagen … SAS nonstop

    * Helsinki - Bologna … FinnAir nonstop

    📌 LODGING … Apartments with laundry facilities booked for both Bergen and Copenhagen. OMG the prices!!!!

    📌 TRAVEL INSURANCE … Havila Kystruten requires trip cancelation/interruption and medical/evacuation coverage. This was a bit of a challenge since we are already outside the USA, but Mui managed to find a suitable policy through IMG.

    📌 NCL CABIN ASSIGNED … We wanted a balcony cabin. The only way to get it was to accept a guarantee … i.e. let NCL assign one. It took just two days for them to assign us to a BB cabin on deck 8; sandwiched between other passenger decks; midship. We done good it seems.

    📌 NCLH STATUS HONORING PROGRAM … The NCLH family — NCL, Oceania, and Regent — now recognize a passenger’s status on any of the sister cruise lines.

    We are Gold in NCL’s Latitudes Rewards; Diamond in Oceania’s Club. I sent an email to the powers-that-be to request the status match. Received a response within two days granting it. What this means is that we will have a few additional perks to enjoy.

    📌 EXCURSIONS … Port planning has yet to commence.     Czytaj więcej

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  • Escape the Heat (August ‘26)

    Barebones

    22 czerwca, Włochy ⋅ ⛅ 95 °F

    Well, not quite ‘barebones’ since we have booked the two main elements of our ‘August escape’. But we still need to flesh things out.

    After several days of back and forth discussions, we have a plan to go to cooler climes over the summer months.

    July will be in Italy … and will rightfully be covered in the “Italy: Ciao Bella” trip (https://findpenguins.com/8pccjefaitoru/trip/68e…).

    Details for August to follow, but here’s a quick outline.

    First up … a Norwegian Coastal Voyage with Hurtigruten’s competition … Havila Kystruten. This one is locked in quick-set concrete … paid in full; non-refundable.

    Next … a Baltic cruise on NCL. Seven days only 😢 … limited necessarily by timing and the need to stay within the Schengen Zone while we await our Permesso di Soggiorno for Italy. We could possibly jiggle this, but as difficult as it was to find an itinerary that suited our requirements, I doubt that we will touch it.

    Somewhere in there will be a couple of short city stays. Locations determined as our embarkation ports; airfare and lodging pending.

    The checklist of pending logistics is ready, but our brains need a break. So, we will tackle the details another day.     Czytaj więcej

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    4 sierpnia 2026