Spielensalon, their dining room for cabin passengers, is on Deck Four and is attractively fitted out with Art Nouveau fixtures. Even the chairs have an indebtedness to the style. The designers here were nothing, if not thorough. Babette's Cafe on Deck 7 is available for transient passengers, though I also noticed that they allowed them into the main dining room as well.

The first thing to remember is that the food on board is very good, without being exceptional. If you are looking for a Michelin star experience, you will have to swim back to Oslo. The food is more than plentiful, and it is reasonably good.

One problem we encountered is that the only table which will be assigned to you is the dinner seating, of which you have the choice of 6:30 PM or 8:15 Pm. We chose the latter, and I was able to secure a table right in the middle of the fantail after waiting in line for half an hour (if you care about a table, do get in line early after boarding).

At breakfast, and even lunch, we attempted to mark a table as our own by placing coffee cups or juice glasses on the table while we grazed at the buffet. Upon our return, often as not, we found someone else making themselves at home at "our" table. The wait staff have definite (and very democratic) ideas about what constitutes public property, so the best idea might be to leave one person there to guard the table. I ought to have learned to bring something large and simply leave it on the table. Ladies do have a definite advantage here with their purses.

As noted above, the food is good without being spectacular. The night before arriving in Kirkenes, we were treated to a seafood buffet which was a little above the standard fare for the ship. That night, lobster tails, sea wolf and whale meat joined the parade. I can't say I was too taken with the whale meat, but it was less fatty than I had expected. It's very dark and dense. Fish mostly appeared at lunch, though there was sometimes a bit of salmon or smoked fish at breakfast.

Wine or any kind of liquor is not included in your passage. Be well aware that wine is horrendously expensive in Norway. Bottles of truly crummy and undrinkable wine like Sutter Home appeared on their list for the equivalent of US $62.00. There were a few ordinary French, German and Italian bottles, but it's best to forget the wine list and drink beer, as most Norewgians seem to do.

Bars

The Stiftsstaden, on Deck 7 was quieter than the main observation lounge (Brotoppen) on Deck 8. Furthermore, one could also usually find a seat, not always the case in the more popular observation lounge. The bar on Deck Four, Floybaren appeared to function solely as a smoking area.

I found the drink prices very high again, but this is true of Norway in general, so it's not fair to dun the ship for this. The bartenders were pleasant and agreeable, and I found pleasant company. Several extended families were traveling together, so it was not hard to find someone you knew around most corners. Try that on one of the larger ships!