Becky and I were up early to put our cases out for transfer to the ship. After breakfast we took a short walk to the harbour for some last minute gift shopping in an effort to get rid of the remainder of our Norwegian currency.
At 11.15 we took the bus to the ship. Despite having spoken to the Viking reps at our hotels in Oslo and Bergen there was still some confusion about whether I was going to be able to board with my Canadian passport and no ETA. I'd had to explain at length that the ETA form won't let you apply if you admit to having uk citizenship. So, as a uk citizen, even without a uk passport, I can't get an ETA. I had to go through this explanation yet again with the boarding staff, but I was at least allowed to board.
Later on, I received a phone call in my cabin from the purser to say that they'd spoken to the UK border people and it was OK and I didn't need an ETA because I was a UK citizen. Don't you just love it when you spend 5 days telling people something and then they repeat it back to you as though they are giving you new information.
Ah well, I'm just grateful that it's all worked out in the end and losing my British passport didn't turn the trip into a complete disaster.
Here is the view from the ship.
Sometimes it seems like having a British passport is the real disaster...
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