Norwegian Fjords Disney Cruise Line Report – Day 2

Shopping is something that a lot of people like to do on cruises, and it seems like there are a few things that tend to interest people on Disney Cruise Line’s Norwegian Fjords sailing: sweaters, outerwear, and troll figures. Of these, sweaters and outerwear interest me.

Let’s start with outerwear. I was surprised to see a lot of people on our cruise (and in the port cities, generally) purchasing Norwegian outerwear. In the port cities, I noticed a lot of random touristy shops selling random brands that, to the best of my knowledge, were generic goods with “Norway” labels affixed to them. I looked at some of these items, and across the board, they seemed expensive and of moderate quality.

As someone who used to ski and still hikes (etc.) in winter environments, this is actually a subject about which I have some knowledge. My strong recommendation would be against buying any of this outerwear. If you want an article of clothing that says “Norway,” buy a t-shirt. I know some people likely made these purchases because they misjudged weather, though. (We’ll cover packing tips in a later post.)

If you want a good Norwegian performance outerwear brand, stick to Helly Hansen, Bergans of Norway, or Norrøna. My top pick for Norwegian outerwear brands is Norrøna; you can read the company’s history here–it’s pretty fascinating. Norrøna is higher end than North Face (think somewhere between Patagonia and Arc’teryx), but without the name cachet.

This is important. It means that you’re actually paying for quality, rather than a label that appeals to college students and yuppies. The quality of a lot of performance outerwear brands in the U.S. has deteriorated over the last decade, likely as companies realize the most “intense” thing most of their customers are doing is braving some sleet and crowds to visit Whole Foods on Christmas Eve.

We visited the Norrøna concept store in Stavanger, but didn’t purchase anything. We just browsed different items to get an idea of sizing and quality so I can eventually purchase something when it goes on sale via Backcountry.com‘s end of season sale. There’s also a Norrøna outlet near Ã…lesund, and there’s a free ferry that’ll take you there while in port at Ã…lesund. We didn’t have the time or desire to do this, but it sounds like there are some interesting stores there, if you’re into that sort of thing.

As for Norwegian sweaters, I’m not so knowledgeable, but I did do a fair amount of research because I was considering purchasing one while we were in Norway. Ultimately, I did not because everything I like left me with sticker shock.

With regard to these sweaters, there are a couple of things I learned. First, Dale of Norway is widely regarded as the highest quality Norwegian sweater. Those will cost you, though, with prices of $300+ per sweater.

Second, many of the cheaper options in tourist shops are look-alike sweaters that are actually made in China or elsewhere. If you’re looking for good prices on quality sweaters, check out the Fish Market in Bergen. Be mindful of where the sweater is made on the tag. As with all things, you get what you pay for.

As for the troll figures…I have no idea. I tend to just go with the old adage: “there’s no safer place to invest your money than in troll figures.”

If you’re not interested in the emerging market of troll investment, I guess get whatever’s cute and cheap? I don’t think those are exactly meant to be heirloom quality or anything.

Later in the day, we watched comedian/magician Danny Buckler’s “family” show in Fathoms. We had missed the adult one the previous night due to post-dinner food comas.

This show was excellent. We are not normally much into magic, as it usually comes with unintentionally humorous pretension that feels like it should be accompanied by the song “The Final Countdown.”

Buckler definitely got this, and offered a self-deprecating show that skewered magic with its humor while simultaneously offering some impressive tricks (sorry, illusions). I know everyone’s tastes on this sort of thing differ, but this was the best magic show I’ve ever seen, and that was mostly a result of the sardonic humor and fun rapport he had with the audience.

Alright, so now is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Or not. Me “calling out” Sarah. In Part 1 of this cruise report, I mentioned that Disney Cruise Line offered to have a tailor come to our room to get my measurements and to provide me with attire for formal night. I believe the exact offer was a “tux or something.”

While this was incredibly generous on the part of Disney Cruise Line, Sarah indicated she did not have anything that fancy to wear for formal night. This was a phew moment, because as soon as she said this, it opened the door for me to decline the tailor.

If there is any downside to watching “too many” 90s sitcoms (there isn’t), it’s that you sometimes think in terms of their hilarious scenarios. To wit, whenever I think of tailors, Joey’s tailor from Friends comes to mind. Sorry, tailors, but that’s the mental association. So, I passed on the ‘free tailor’ offer.

It turned out that Sarah’s version of “did not have anything fancy” was still pretty elegant. Now, I’ve become accustomed to looking like an ogre from the mountains when compared to Sarah–she could be wearing yoga pants and I could be wearing a tux, and that’d be the case.

In this scenario, I actually was dressed the part of an ogre from the mountains while she wore something elegant. It was like if they remade Beauty and the Beast as a live action film, but without heavy-handed CGI.

To compound matters, everyone around us at dinner was dressed really nicely. Even on the Caribbean cruises we’ve done, I haven’t seen this many suits and ball gowns–it was as if the most nicely dressed guests were all deliberately placed around us.

Like any reasonable ogre, I have an irrational amount of self confidence, so this was not a huge deal. I mean, it certainly was less than ideal and it felt a bit awkward, but I laughed it off. After all, those guests at other tables very well might’ve been eyeing me because they were envious of my mad food blogging skillz or blue plaid shirt!

Anyway, dinner this particular evening was at Lumiere’s, which is my favorite rotational restaurant aboard the Disney Magic (in terms of the menu). As always, we ordered a good chunk of the menu:

Yes, we ordered 4 desserts, and yes, for like the thousandth time, we’re pigs. I don’t know if I’d call this meal a home run, as a couple of the regional appetizers were pretty meh, but that was more than made up for by the entrees and desserts.

In case the flannel shirt on formal night was not enough, here I am with 4 desserts in front of me. Really classy.

The desserts were especially good here, and there’s no question that the Summer Berry Pudding was the standout. I have never had a dessert quite like this, and we both agreed that the unique flavor coupled with the quality made it exceptional. We learned a valuable lesson at this meal and I’m going to share some advice with you: order two of the best-sounding desserts at each meal. I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but this tip might very well save some marriages. 😉

After dinner, we called it a night. Day 3 was our first day at port, and it’d be a really early morning, as we literally had to rope drop Stavanger to make our plans for the port “work.”

We pick up there in Part 3 of our Disney Cruise Line Norwegian Fjords Report.

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Your Thoughts

If you’ve done a longer cruise with multiple days at sea, what did you think of the entertainment programming/seminars on your cruise? Would more educational seminars that give background about the destinations interest you? Have you ever felt similarly awkward on formal night? Thoughts on my shopping recommendations for Norway? Anything else to add? Hearing from you is part of the fun of these posts, so please share your feedback and questions in the comments below!