On a day when more than 100,000 people converged in the Norwegian capital to remember those killed in Friday’s twin attacks, an Oslo port official expressed her hope that ships will keep coming and a top cruise executive of Norwegian heritage pledged they will.


‘This evening there were gatherings with roses all over the country in memory of the victims and to show that we will continue to fight for our democracy and the right to express our political views in an open society,’ said Margrethe Austad, cruise marketing manager for the Oslo Port Authority.

In an email, Austad expressed regret that some cruise lines have dropped calls.

‘The most important thing now is to come back to normal and bring the Norwegian society back as open and friendly as it used to be,’ she said.

‘We want to welcome tourists.’

The port has returned to security level 1, or normal conditions. And the site of the explosion is not frequented by tourists.

‘We will talk about this for a very long period but we will also smile and be good hosts for our guests,’ Austad told Seatrade Insider. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has asked Norwegians ‘as the proud people we are, to be strong and come back to normal everyday life,’ she added.
In a gentle appeal to cruise operators, Austad noted there are no port security reasons to cancel. And ‘for the city and the people of Oslo/Norway, we need our “friends” to visit us,’ she said.

Stein Kruse, president and ceo of Holland America Line, felt Friday’s tragedy very personally.

‘As someone who was born and raised in Oslo and walked the very streets where the bombing took place back when I was in high school, it is nearly impossible to imagine the horror my fellow Oslo citizens must have experienced,’ he told Seatrade Insider.

‘This is a tragedy it will take Norway a long time to recover from. But, having said that, Norway is a country of peace, tolerance, culture, civilization and optimism,’ Kruse added. ‘While someone can kill an individual or individuals, nobody can destroy the Norwegian ethos.’

The Holland America chief said cruisers and all visitors to Oslo in the future will long remember ‘the dark day of July 22, 2011, but they will continue to experience a city and a country that remains open to the world and to the ideas that have made it the wonderful place it is.’
Holland America has calls at Oslo this coming weekend and next week.

‘We intend to make the calls and show the people of Oslo our support,’ Kruse said.

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/News/News-Headlines/From-Oslo-a-gentle-appeal-to-cruise-lines.html