BRIAN OGLE checks out a short cruise break with a difference - to Stavanger in Norway...

FIRST of all, an apology. When Ken Lendrum, for many years Ireland representative for DFDS Seaways (formerly Scandinavian Seaways) described the company's North Sea ferries as Cruise Liners I was a bit sceptical - to say the least!

Ken no longer represents the company in the Province, but in case he's reading this month's Travel News - as he usually is - a humble, grovelling apology.

Ferries are ferries, I maintained, and cruise ships are cruise ships.

But that was more than 15 years ago. And no longer would I dispute the company's, and Ken's, description of DFDS ships as Cruise Liners.

Having just crossed and re-crossed the North Sea on the company's latest acquisition, the Princess of Norway, Cruise Liner is a perfectly reasonable epithet for ships of the company's fleet which serve Esbjerg (Denmark) and Amsterdam, as well as Bergen, Haugesund and Stavanger in Norway.

I had taken up the invitation of John Crummie, DFDS UK Passenger Director - a native of Rathfriland - to sample one of the company's low season short breaks - two nights on board a DFDS Cruise Liner and a night and 24 hours or so on shore in Norway.

I stayed in Norway's oil capital Stavanger, a surprisingly pretty and self-effacing little city at the entrance to the dramatic Lysefjord. But the 18 hours or so sea crossing was totally inadequate to sample all the facilities on board.

But back to the beginning of my trip...There are two ways of connecting with the DFDS Princess of Norway at the Tyne Commission Quay or Royal Quay, North Shields. You can fly either from Belfast City Airport or from Belfast International to Newcastle; but I prefer taking the overland route, using the superb Stena HSS from Belfast to Stranraer.

The beauty of this option is that you can extend your short break into something more substantial, say with a couple of days in the Lake District, Dumfries and Galloway, or maybe the Ayrshire coast or Glasgow on the way home.Catching the early morning sailing from Belfast (7.40am daily), you can complete the four-hour drive to Newcastle via Gretna and Carlisle soon after lunch, which allows plenty of time to make the late afternoon (6.00pm departure) to Stavanger/Bergen.

We took our time, stopping off to check out Hadrian's Wall a couple of times and veering away from the main A69 road across the English Borders to take a route roughly parallel with the wall, built by the famous Roman emperor to keep out the warring Scots. And then made a slight detour past Newcastle Airport on the A696 to check out an intriguing - to me anyway - little village bearing my own surname 'Ogle.'

A former journalistic colleague once alerted me to the "ancestral home of the Ogle family in Northumberland" - and suggested it could have been Icelandic or Norse in origin. It further aroused my curiosity when he told me about a little Northumberland village just a few miles from the coast near Newcastle.

As it turned out, Ogle is little more than a few bungalows around a T junction, but we did find an Ogle Castle (although it is little more than a grand old country house) and a few gravestones in a local cemetry with the Ogle name.

Still it was nice to dream that there could be a rich landowner, a long-lost uncle perhaps who would remember me in his will some day....

In trying to find the Tyne Commission Quay, one thing should be made clear for those who choose the driving option. It is not in Newcastle, but North Shields, so do not - as we did - drive into the Newcastle city centre, especially when the 'Toon are meeting local rivals Middlesborough in the Premier League at St James's Park.

Instead look for signs to the east, Tynemouth, Wallsend, or North Shields. Then keep an eye out for the Royal Quays shopping centre at a roundabout, and you are just a few hundred yards from the Princess of Norway, and her sister ships. You can park your car right on the quay beside the terminal building, and check-in is quick, short on formality, and like most airline and ferry tickets nowadays, all you need is a printout confirmation of your booking.

Embarkation for foot passengers begins an hour before departure, and in no time you will have found your cabin - ours was a spacious, well-appointed Commodore class room, complete with twin beds, separate washroom and shower, dresssing table and fridge and sea view, on the eighth deck level. (the Princess had 11 decks in all). I had certainly been in less impressive accommodation in some four-star hotels!

There was a welcoming basket of fruit and modest stocks of soft drinks and alcohol in the fridge - in our case it appeared to be complimentary and of course a TV with remote which was handy for keeping up to date with the day's Premier League football.

Scandinavian smorgasbords and cold tables are famous the world over, and it was no surprise to find the standard of the food both in the a la carte restaurants and serve-yourself evening buffets and breakfasts truly five star. Roll mop herring, mackerel, shrimps, prawns, salmon, cheese boards, bacon, eggs, beans and the like - the breakfast was so enticing that I reckoned that I needed that shot of Gammel Danske (old Danish aquavit) to aid digestion.

Unlike a cruise ship where you are on board for a week or more, you are forced to make a choice of restaurants on DFDS. With just 18 hours sailing time you have to make your mind up from the Blue Riband restaurant with its excellent a la carte menu and impressive wine list; the Explorers' theme restaurant with foods from around the world; the Seven Seas buffet restaurant, and top of the range, the Marco Polo gourmet restaurant which offers the gastronomic highlight of your trip, featuring two exclusive six-course meals.

Then there's the Bake'N Coffee, the Latitude trendy cafe and the Red and White Wine Bar where the ship's professional sommelier will guide you through the extensive selection of wines, and will even arrange a wine tasting on the spot - or by arrangement.

For night owls, there's the Navigator's Bar on Deck 8, complete with a number of TV screens showing non-stop sport. Or you might want to relax with a pint and a background of mellow piano music. On the same deck there's the Columbus nightclub, with live music and dancing every night from 9.15pm, and the Casino if you fancy a flutter or two.

There's a wide range of Sea Shops on Deck 6, and the fact that Norway is outside the EU allows the sales to be truly Duty Free, and good bargains abound despite Norway's reputation as one of the most expensive contries in the world. For families, there's a Pirates Club and a Kidz Club and a cinema, which was bang up to date showing Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum.

With so much to see and do there was hardly time to go out on deck. By the time we did, we were already off the mouth of the Stavangerfjord, and taking on the pilot for the last 45 minutes of our journey to our berth, next to Stavanager's historic old town. The taxi had been pre-booked by DFDS and in a few minutes we were in the Clarion Hotel with a 13th floor view over Stavanger and the snow and ice topped mountains beyond...

CITY CRUISE BREAKS FROM NEWCASTLE

DFDS City Cruise Breaks to Stavanger (and Bergen) leave from Newcastle overnight on the m.s Princess of Norway. You'll find there's plenty of time to enjoy this delightful ship with its impressive onboard facilities, including five restaurants, coffee bars and a nightclub.

Stavanger is almost 900 years old, the capital of South Western Norway and the country's fourth largest city with a mild year-round climate. It's a small city with small town charm, and a cosmopolitan atmosphere that would rival some of the largest cities in the world, matched by everything you would expect to find in a large city.

The vastly varied landscape ranges from sandy beaches on the North Sea coast to the deep fjords and mountainous areas to the east of the city, making Stavanger a fascinating destination for a short break. During the summer months you can choose a two-night City Cruise Break enjoying the unique maritime experience onboard and a taste of Stavanger.

Prices for a two-night city cruise break are from £49 per person May 17 to June 28 and September 3-26, and from £59 per person in high season June 29 to September 2. Upgrade from an inside cabin to an outside cabin for £10 extra.

For the ultimate in comfort travel Commodore class. Supplements are available on request, subject to availability, but these need to be booked early to avoid disappointment. DFDS offers a range of hotels in Stavanger, again prices on request.

PULPIT ROCK AND A PETROLEUM MUSEUM

APART from wandering around the pretty old town and gaily painted wooden shops near the harbour, Stavanger has a couple of must-see sights you should try and fit in to your trip, if at all possible.

The Clipper takes sightseers down the Lysefjord to the famous Pulpit Rock, (Preikestolen), possibly the most jaw-dropping sight in the whole of Norway. And that is saying something for a country where almost everything in nature is nothing less than spectacular!

Preikestolen is a famous flat topped rock, which actually overhangs the fjord, and is probably the most photographed scene in all Norway. In the summer you can even sun-bathe on top if you have the energy for the climb, and the best pictures are from the top.

The Clipper round trip takes three and a half hours, but note, only operates on Saturdays and Sundays from October to April - the exception being Easter. The trips are daily and double daily the rest of the year.

Another must-see sight is the Norwegian Petroleum Museum - yes, that's right the Petroleum Museum! It's just a few hundred yards from the Clipper's departure berth and a few minutes walk from the DFDS terminal, and can hardly fail to be recognised. It's designed like a miniature North Sea drilling platform!

As well as a potted history of oil exploration in the North Sea, there's an insight into the history of the earth, itself, how oil is formed and extracted from pockets in the rock, and an entertaining 3D film about oil and gas. There's a Kids Corner on the museum's own oil drilling rig and a a feature on the Black Days for the industry, tragedies like the Alexander Kielland which claimed 123 lives when one of its support arms gave way and the rig collapsed into the sea.The stricken rig was later raised, towed into harbour for investigations into the cause. and then scuttled in one of the fjords.

The harbour front is the setting for some excellent restaurants (albeit pricey, in our terms) and pubs. But I was glad to see that Dickens pub was still there and doing a good trade - just like it was on my one and only previous visit to Stavanger some 25 years ago.