Celebrity Apex - August 16, 2024

Southampton is the gateway to the immensely civilized city of London. There are museums to visit, pubs to try, and shops to browse, ranging from Harrods to open-air markets. There are more parks and green belts here than in any other city in the world. There are also caches of stately squares and noble monuments, holdovers from a time when the island ruled a significant portion of the globe.

Stavanger, the southern gateway to the Fjordlands, is also the home port of much of the fleet that serves the North Sea oil fields. Visit for historical investigation or to soak up the majesty of the natural terrain. View its medieval Cathedral and other highlights of the town or travel out to Pulpit Rock, a breathtaking vista high above the fjords.

You will never forget sailing into the grandest fjord in all Scandinavia. The waters are glassy and lacy waterfalls dance down from dizzying heights on either side. Tiny farms cling impossibly to sheer mountainsides. And at the end is a friendly town and a roadway to the crest of the mountain called Eagle's Nest, for a bird's eye view of the waterway seen from the sky.

Tucked at the end of a fjord, tiny Flam huddles between steep peaks and deep, still water. From its gingerbread rail station, an electric train zigzags through mountaintops and tunnel after tunnel, emerging on the "Roof of Norway." It's an amazing experience. Return by the same route, or take one of the world's most scenic drives through the Romsdal Alps.

Haugesund and its vicinity present attractions both ancient and modern. History buffs can take a trip back to the 9th century and explore numerous Viking monuments, including the grave of Harold I. It is also home of a 928-foot drydock, which, at its completion in 1979, was the largest in Scandinavia. For those more interested in contemporary Nordic achievment, the port boasts both fish and aluminum processing industries.

Southampton is the gateway to the immensely civilized city of London. There are museums to visit, pubs to try, and shops to browse, ranging from Harrods to open-air markets. There are more parks and green belts here than in any other city in the world. There are also caches of stately squares and noble monuments, holdovers from a time when the island ruled a significant portion of the globe.