#6/6 - AIDAnova - Conclusion

Now it's almost done on Friday morning! All excursions and destinations are thus wrapped up. We collected almost 20,000 steps every day. So, we definitely can't be accused of a lack of movement 😅.

For my part, I'm a bit saddened because the vacation is now coming to a close. A sea day is scheduled for Friday. We'll enjoy that one more time. First, we had a leisurely breakfast and walked around the ship to discover new things. The Nova is quite large. Consequently, there's a lot to explore. We didn't see everything at all. After breakfast, the so-called 'Nautical Hour' was on the agenda with our captain. We definitely didn't want to miss this. He talked about the tour from his perspective and even showed pictures of the Northern Lights that he took himself. Unfortunately, we didn't see any. Other guests told us about them. Towards the end of his presentation, we moved on to the guests' questions. The last question was posed. The captain wished for a nice question. The moderator asked a child who asked: 'How high do the waves need to be for the ship to sink?' 😂. Laughter erupted in the Theatrium. The captain asked the child again if that was really a nice question and if they really wanted an answer to it. The child nodded. He answered the question professionally and from a technical standpoint. Then he asked the audience again for a nice question. Another child asked: 'How much paint was used for the kiss mark on the bow of the ship?' 😃. Everyone laughed. But the captain couldn't answer that question. He promised to follow up on this by the announcement on Saturday morning at 08:00. In the end, the captain described how well we had followed his advice. We really treated ourselves well! That means: We ate our way through the entire ship! Apparently, each guest is entitled to about 7.5 kg of food per day ... . The captain concluded by saying that hopefully, we wouldn't go home as obese, oversized queen hornets 😁. Then the 'Nautical Hour' concluded, we had greatly overrun, but that wasn't the end of it yet. In the evening, the captain wanted to formally say goodbye again.

During the day, we continued exploring the ship, enjoyed good food, and sat in the Theatrium in the afternoon. The program continued. The approximately 40-minute travel film of our entire tour was coming up. The Nova team had been filming throughout the entire trip and had accompanied the guests. We don't appear in it, but the same tours were conducted twice - just at different times. We, of course, watched the film. Personally, I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, I immediately bought it and was the second in line 😁.

In the evening, the Theatrium was packed once again. Initially, the moderator Nadja and one of the managers spoke to prepare us for the departure. They brought along two stories: The suitcases can be placed outside the cabin door (in the hallway) until 2 AM, so the crew can collect them and place them at the baggage terminal for guests to pick up. Some guests from the previous week were very upset on the morning of departure because the suitcases were still in front of the door IN THE ROOM 😁🙈...

On the other hand, there are guests - mostly male - who haven't laid out the clothes needed for the next day from the suitcase. At night, the suitcases were collected from the doors of the rooms IN THE HALLWAY... 13 people were affected in the previous week. They then had to go to the terminal in bathrobes. We laughed heartily 😁.

Additionally, a crew member was recognized for bringing a smile to a little child’s face. Short story: One day, a child wanted to eat spaghetti at the Fuego restaurant. There were no spaghetti that evening, and crocodile tears came out. So, the cook made spaghetti for the boy, and all was well. For that, he received an award from AIDA.

Then about 70 crew members - representing about 1500 people - took the stage and received a big round of applause for their performance. One must not forget that the waiters in the evening are also the waiters at the breakfast buffet... They are incredibly hardworking, fast, and still friendly. As far as I understand, they work 7 days a week for an entire season of ... 8 months (I believe). Just incredible. We already realized that the crew works extremely hard, but this extent is truly enormous. Possibly, the Italian flag on the ship helps to highlight some background information...🙈 In any case, we, of course, left a tip for the entire crew at the end of the trip.

To round off this event, the captain appeared on stage in his uniform and formally said goodbye to us. He received great applause, and people seemed to really like him. We can only agree. Our captain was very likeable, and we always enjoyed listening to him. According to his statements, he also sounds like a professional. By the way, he was presumably in the Navy before. He always has a dose of humor. You always felt like you were well taken care of in 'his hands.' He is there with passion and always concerned about our well-being. I can only recall the ship 'Costa Concordia'... We always had complete trust in our captain that he would guide us well through the storms while we celebrate. Oh, and by the way: In the evening, he was able to answer the child's question: About 60 liters of paint were needed to paint the red kiss mark on the bow (painted over three times).

After the farewell ceremony and farewell, there was one last performance in the Theatrium, and then the trip was essentially over. Now it was time to go to the cabin to prepare for departure the next day.

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With a few days of reflection, the impressions can be better categorized. First and foremost, we really enjoyed the trip. The food was incredibly tasty - and in all the restaurants we visited. At this point, we must commend the entire crew. They perform an absolute grueling job. Moreover, cleanliness and hygiene are given a high value, as everything is clean. The housekeeping uses, among other things, gloves. The shipping companies have surely not forgotten about Corona. You can wash and disinfect your hands everywhere. A big plus point.

We booked the basic fare for about €1,470.00 per person with a balcony cabin from Saturday to Saturday. For us, that's sufficient. At this point, it must be mentioned that one should closely examine what foods and drinks are included. This also applies to the drink packages. For us, these are not worthwhile as we never drink that much. One should carefully consider or calculate beforehand.

As all meals in the buffet restaurants are included in the price (and selected drinks in the form of beer, table wine, water, soft drinks, juices), this may tempt to an excessive appetite 😅🙈. From my perspective, it should not be wrong to approach meals with a sense of healthy common sense. The buffet restaurants have different opening hours. One of them is basically always open. Therefore, one is very flexible. There is practically no dress code. We frequently visited 'Markt,' 'Bella Donna,' and 'East.' The burger at the specialty restaurant is also very good and is included in the price. Drinks in the specialty restaurants must be paid for separately. In the context of dining in à la carte restaurants, everything must be paid for separately. The tables are usually very quickly taken or booked/reserved. One should do this right on the first day if desired. We have not gathered any experiences there.

The drink prices on board in the bars are not exorbitantly high. They are normal. At the bar, a beer costs €5.50 (0.4 or 0.5 liters), a Lillet Wild Berry costs €8.90, and a standard gin and tonic costs €9.90 (AIDA gin). I believe Hendricks gin costs a euro more. There is also a Starbucks café. There, a tall coffee costs €3.50. That corresponds to.. let me check.. eeeehm I suddenly remember: 370 ml. 😂. I think that's a good price.

If someone is interested in activities outside the ship, they should thoroughly inform themselves beforehand and possibly book excursions in advance (there are various providers), have developed a plan beforehand, or also be active on their own. This way, there is no chaos on site, and you engage in exactly the activities that are personally interesting.

Payment on board is exclusively through the onboard card. You either leave a credit card or opt for cash payment. In the case of cash payment, the outstanding amount must be settled before departure. With all the temptations, one could quickly lose track and the expenses can escalate rapidly. So always keep an eye on the onboard account. Generally, it can never be unreasonable to carefully consider which services one actually wants to utilize. After all, products and drinks are offered everywhere. This is especially important to keep in mind on sea days 😅.

Additionally, we can't imagine a cruise without a cabin with a balcony. The view and the feeling combined with the panorama of the sun (when available 😅) is simply wonderful. You simply enjoy sitting outside much more and have far more privacy than is the case on the deck above.

Norway as a country also pleased us very much - at least what we could perceive. Much looks idyllic and somewhat remote. Some access roads to villages were only built a few decades ago. Supply was exclusively via shipping until then. However, it must be clear that the weather may not be optimal from a tourist perspective. Politically, regarding the implementation of specific measures, we can perhaps learn quite a lot from this country.

Conclusion: After the cruise is before the cruise! Most definitely. Preferably again with the Nova.