Day 5 – Wednesday (Alesund)

Ålesund sits, at the entrance to Geirangerfjord and is best known for its art nouveau architectural style in which most of the town was rebuilt after a fire in 1904. The collection of pretty multi coloured houses sitting one side of the harbour offers perhaps the most striking example of the style but many other buildings have the year they were built prominently displayed on them. Alesund is built over a series of islands and the full panoramic effect of this and the architecture can perhaps be best seen from Fjellstua, the viewing point, a 418 step walk from the city park up Mount Aksla and overlooking the city. Alternatively, you can get up there on a HOHO bus.  

One of the nicest things for me when cruising, is to pick a spot on the ship to sit and just admire the view – it doesn’t matter if I am sailing along or static in port. We went to The Crow’s Nest, the 270-degree observation lounge at the front of the ship on deck 17 for a coffee (Costa coffees and TeaPig teas are available in all bars at an additional cost). During the day it is a nice, quiet area to take in the views and read a good book. In the evening it turns into a cocktail lounge with a pianist. Frustratingly, one of the issues with the drink’s menus on ‘Iona’ (and also with other cruise lines) is the lack of availability of all drinks in every bar. The Emerald Bar is heralded as the main cocktail bar on board, but you can only order whatever is on the fixed menu and you cannot order a martini from The Crow’s Nest at all. There was no alcohol-free gin on board, even though there were several options on the bar menus and there is no bar at all in Headliners Theatre.

Walk aft on deck 17 and you come to the SkyDome which during the day offers another area to sit, take in the views (both inward and outward looking) and enjoy the warmth of any sun coming in through the dome glass panels. You don’t have to move too far for food either as ‘Taste 360’, a pizzeria and grill is tucked away in one corner (deck 16). It serves pizza (by the slice or whole), (deck) burgers (not quite as large and complex as Keel & Cow), chips, deck dogs (hot dogs) rotisserie chicken and street food inspired by the ship’s destination. This included Raspeball – a Norwegian delicacy of brown cheese, potato dumplings and bacon. Close by is ‘Sundaes’ a gelateria selling 12 Snowflake Luxury Gelato flavours of ice cream and sorbet. There are also 2 bars – Laguna Bar and Crystal Bar, diagonally opposite each other in the SkyDome.

At 7pm we went to The Limelight Club. For an additional £20 pp, this adult only area offers a 3-course meal with entertainment by guest celebrity performers and is reminiscent of the Supper Clubs of the 1970s and 80s. We saw Jaymi Hensley (a member of Union J and former lead in ‘Joseph’) who performed after our meal. I had mushroom scallops, line caught sea bass and a dark and white chocolate mascarpone bombe, which I really enjoyed.

Hurrying out at the end of the show we managed to get to The Grand Atrium in time to get a couple of sets of headphones for the Silent Disco, held once per cruise from 10pm until midnight. Definitely a highlight, the whole space was filled with people singing and dancing to one of two separate tracks simultaneously. I am sure it must have been highly entertaining to watch, but was equally fun to take part in!