Blocks

Okay, I’m going to try and post Norway.

The first photo is from trollfjord where we had white nights. I stood on a trash can off the front of the ship to get it. The second pic shows the Journey way below from way above Gerainger.

Nice pics, you have much better weather than when we were there in June 2017.

Try Aldo's Limos, I have 2 tours booked with them in Sorrento and Amalfi when I am there in October on Azamara Journey. We used them 3 years ago from Naples and they were great. They will create a group tour for you.

It wasn't a tender port when we were there on Jade in June 2017. Some people got off and wandered around and then came back onboard, but there wasn't much in the immediate vicinity of the dock.

I am one week away from final payment. I am in the UK and if I had not already paid so much as a deposit for my first Azamara Cruise I would be walking away. In my opinion I am not getting what I booked, I will contact my credit card company to see if I would be entitled to a refund of the deposit.

I have my first cruise with Azamara booked for October 2018 and final payment is due at the start of June, I am now having some second thoughts on whether this is the line for me.

Thank you! I have contacted Aldos. What kind of vehicle did you tour in?

We did a shared tour from Naples of Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi, it was in a Mercedes 8-seater van, we have 5 people on the tour.

I have also used Aldo's Limos and will be using them again in October.

Yes they have them in the spa, not very many 5-6.

I’m hoping for a better selection in the Brew House...

Go to the BrewDog bar in London or Southampton for a decent beer selection and excellent LoneWolf gin :)

I have sailed Jade twice, last time was June 2017 and yes I would definitely sail on Jade again.

I noticed you told another poster who is in port the same amount of time to take the ship excursion....hence my question. I guess because we are closer in opening time at Avis it is doable?

What day of the week did you go?

Was there more traffic on the beginning half or ending half? Just trying to decide which direction to go.

Did you follow any buses or just pass them?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

I can't recall which day of the week it was but it was a weekday. Traffic was relatively busy leaving Alesund but we didn't encounter any traffic once out of town. When going down the Trollstigen road we occasionally had to wait a short time for cars and buses coming up the hill but that is to be expected. It is quite tight in certain places getting past the buses on that part of the road.

I didn't see many buses on the way to the visitor centre. We stayed there about an hour and it was very busy with buses and tourists by the time we left.

If tight for time you can skip Aksla when you return to Alesund. We also visited the Trollveggen (Troll Wall) for a brief stop.

If Blocks is still around.......we are in port from 8-5. Was wondering if you think we would have enough time to rent a car and do the route you drove?

We were in port 8-6. We were quickly off the ship which docked slightly early and were leaving Avis by 8:15am and we were back at Avis before 4pm. We also went up to the Aksla viewpoint for 20 minutes or so on the way back to Alesund. We had time to wander around Alesund before returning to the ship.

I think you will be fine assuming the ship docks in time and there are no traffic issues. It is only 10 mins walk from the cruise dock to Avis and there is a petrol station right next to Avis to refuel when you return.

I would say definitely do the excursion. Due to your departure time, I wouldn't risk hiring a car at 8:00 to try to get back for 15:00 as you would still need to get back to the ship. Your age would probably make it expensive. Trollstigen is amazing, we were there in June 2017 and the waterfalls were in full flow with snow still lying by the side of the road at the highest point.

Blocks, I hope you will read this. I want to thank you again for all your replies re the rentalcar to Trollstigen from Alesund. We came back this weekend and we enjoyed our day from Alesund so much. Although we didnot book a large car, we got a nice luxury Lexus (!) for that day. If I hadnot read about you doing this we would not had such a great day. Thanks again!

Hi Ine, my pleasure thanks for the feedback, I am really glad you enjoyed your day, really spectacular scenery and nice bonus with the car.

I was in a Jade mini-suite in June and don't recall a DVD player but I didn't specifically look for one.

In Bergen, the Jade docks at the pier that starts with a "J" and has a zillion letters. There is a "mandatory" free shuttle to take you to the port exit. From there you can pick up the HOHO bus or walk to town. We elected to walk. Very easy 15 minute. Follow the white arrows and dots and you'll be at the fish market in no time.

This is not always the case, when we were in Bergen in June we docked at Bontelabo 2 which was a very short walk to Bryggen, no bus required.

You can check where Jade will dock here

Thanks, I had no idea what to see there.

Here are a couple of photos I took at Trollveggen

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Blocks, another question. I see you also drive to Trollvegen, which seems to be is a bit out of the way of the highway. Was there something special to see from there? In other words did you drive there for a special reason, maybe nice viewpoint?

Or do we just drive the Trollstigen?

Thanks again for your help

Trollvegen is a vertical cliff face with a visitor centre and large car park. It is the tallest vertical cliff face in Europe and is quite famous amongst climbers.

However there is a railway line between the car park and the cliff face so I just took some picture but we didn't stay for too long. It is not much of a detour and you return back down the same road.

The first one is a 3 1/2 hour bus tour from Norway Excursions that includes the Flydalsjuvet viewpoint, Mount Dalsnibba, a lake at Djupatnet and the Eagle Road. This may be the same tour that Blocks went on. https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/activity/48504/geiranger-dalsnibba

 

We'd like to see as much as possible and are currently leaning towards the Norway Excursions tour since it includes the Eagle Road, but I can't find too many company reviews. Any additional insights on the tour operators and excursions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your help!

Yes the Norway Excursions tour was the one we did. It stops at all the places we wanted to visit and we did not feel rushed. We didn't have the best of views at Mount Dalsnibba due to cloud but I would recommend it.

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Hi Blocks,

Is Troll road and Eagle Bend the same?

I booked a car in Alesund to follow your route.

In Geiranger, I'll take the bus tour to Dalsnibba and not to the Eagle Bend as I think they are the same.

Am I right?

As Ine replied, no they are different. Troll road is actually called Trollstigen, an amazing road with the highlight being 2 waterfalls which flow under a road consisting of lots of hairpin bends. There are also lots of places to stop and admire the views on the way there and back from Alesund.

Eagle Road which has the Eagle Bend Viewpoint is near Geiranger and again is a road of hairpin bends with a viewpoint over Geirangerfjord that has views of the Seven Sisters waterfall.

In Alesund, we hired a car and drove to the Troll road and Troll Wall, on the way back we drove up to Aksla viewpoint. We were back in time to return the car a walk around the town.

In Geiranger, we did the Norway Excursions bus tour to Dalsnibba and Eagle Road. Amazing drive and views or Gerianger and the fjord.

In Bergen, we walked to the funicular and had a walk at the top of the hill. We then wandered around the town centre and walked back to the ship when it started raining.

Would love to hear what other travelers did in ports but since there's so very few sailings with this itinerary they are slim pickings. The star had a similar itinerary but not many port reviews there either.

 

Also curious about northern lights potential views up on deck at night. That would be worth staying up late for.

I am not sure which ports you are doing, in Norway we went to Alesund, Geiranger, Flam and Bergen. We did our own thing in all ports. Alesund - hired a car from Avis and did a 300km round trip to Trollstigen and Trollvegen, then drove up to the Aksla vioewpoint, returned the car and walked around the town centre and harbour area. Geiranger - booked a tour with Norway Excursions and went to Mount Dalsnibba stopping at a couple of photo stops on the way back to Geiranger and then did the Eagle Road to view the Seven Sisters waterfall and the fjord. In Flam we took the Flam railway to Myrdal and back, then took a bus to the Stegastein viewpoint. In Bergen we walked from the ship to Bryggen and the Fish Market and took the funicular to Floyen where we did one of the walks.

Not sure when you are going but Northern Lights are normally visible only in the darker nights, so in the summer it may not get properly dark and hence will not be dark enough to see the Northern Lights.

I enjoyed a 9 day cruise on Jade from Southampton in June to Hamburg and 4 ports in Norway. Second time sailing on Jade. Had a nice time, ship was lovely, weather wasn't great but you can't control that. Any specific questions?

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My wife took her hair straighteners on Jade in June

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