SH Diana exploring Mandal en route to the Norwegian fjords

The anchor port, and southernmost town in Norway, enabled guests to explore ashore using SH Pollux, one of SH Diana’s two 48-person, purpose-built tenders boats, as well as discover the surrounding waters using the ship’s Zodiacs.

Mandal is renowned for the country’s largest wooden church, sandy beaches and the Furulunden forest park, rich in wildlife, from deer to swans and ducks.

SH Diana is now on the third day of an 11-day cruise which ends at Tromsø on May 14.

JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs

Guests are samply varied menus that range from freshly-cooked healthy options to gourmet delicacies which include original Italian and Asian fusion dishes created for Swan Hellenic by award-winning consultant chefs Andrea Ribaldone and Sang Keun Oh.

In addition, the cruise is one of the first in the Maris series of culinary discovery at sea, which brings a renowned JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs chef on board. On this sailing it is Michael Ammon, owner and chef of the Michelin-starred Gasthaus Jakob in the Bavarian forest. He is serving a different signature dish every night and will also be putting on a cooking show and leading gastronomic excursions ashore to explore the local culinary traditions and specialities.

Scandinavian history

Terje Leiren is also accompanying the maiden cultural expedition cruise throughout, sharing his expert knowledge, insights and company. He is professor emeritus of Scandinavian studies and history at the University of Washington, Seattle, and was the university’s first holder of the Sverre Arestad Endowed Chair in Norwegian Studies (2007-2017). The author of four books and over 40 academic articles on Scandinavian history, he has also contributed to several television documentary programmes on PBS and the History Channel on topics ranging from the Vikings to World War II.