I had an interesting talk with one of the shipboard guides about standard of living in Norway. I have been noticing in some of the actual stores for locals, prices have been much higher than I expected. For example I have seen plain onesies for babies that have been $20 and $30. I was also told that wages in Norway are not that much different from those in the United States. So I was wondering how Norwegians afford these prices. The guide said that most people are two income families. The difference here in Norway is that childcare is paid for by the government and medical costs are paid for by the government. Also when Norwegians want to recreate, they go out into nature instead of spending money on other things.After the birth of a child, the mother gets one year paid leave. The unemployment rate in Norway is between 3% and 5%. There are practically no homeless people. Most jobs have a living wage so you don’t tip waiters.

I walked all over the ship taking pictures so that I can show you people what it’s like on board. If there are no pictures from a deck, that means that deck is exclusively rooms.

Reception area on deck 3