Blocks

If you think this one was popular then just keep an eye on the other thread which has just started where someone wants to remove the daily charge. :)

:')

I'm just a week off the Pearl and tipped the bartender we went to most frequently $5 mid-cruise and another $5 at the end. I'm a good tipper, but I wouldn't tip extra on every drink when I've already paid 18%. I'd like to tend bar for some of you though! LOL.

I agree with this comment :)

I was also thinking if I got tipped $1 for every drink I served, I might apply for a job as a bartender on a cruise ship but maybe I am too old for that game and I haven't met any British bartenders on 4 cruises ;)

If you look at post 1657 in that thread you get the answer to your question about whether to see a fjord from Alesund or Bergen.

But the best place to catch a fjord is from Ålesund.

in 8-9 hrs and by renting a car you can manage to visit the Storfjord and possibly also Geiranger (however briefly)

Expect to use 2,5 hrs without stop each way to Geiranger. Stay in the village for 2 hrs or less and then back track to Ålesund.

If you stay shorter time in Geiranger you can still explore Ålesund for a short while after delivering the rental back.

You could also do a circle by taking the ferry from Geiranger to Hellesylt and then back out to Ålesund. This route will take you at least 6 hrs without any stops. It will be a fantastic day but maybe to rushed?

Backtracking will for sure allow for a more relaxed tour.

I haven't seen the one from an Alesund resident, but have seen one from a resident of Bergen. It's so helpful when a local is willing to help us out

The thread I was referring to is here

Blocks -- thanks for the great info here. We're renting from the Avis too in a few weeks and I'm trying to play our day. How was the rental process at the Avis? Were there lines and how efficient was the rental? Trying to figure out if we can make a 9:10 ferry at Magerholm with an 8:00 port call -- looks like about a 30 minute drive so it likely will be very tight.

Our ship was due to dock in Alesund at 08:00 but we were slightly early. We were 2nd off the ship and were waiting for them to open the gate, no need to show your passport. Assuming most ships dock at the same place, it was an easy and short walk to Avis, we stopped at a supermarket across the road just before Avis and bought some water and snacks.

There was one person in front of us when we arrived at Avis and in the time we were there only one other couple arrived. The office is small, just a single counter, but the woman who dealt with our car was efficient, she brought the car to the office and we were on our way very quickly.

Returning the car was also very easy, petrol station next door to fill up and then return the car.

Thanks for the insight. That's really helpful. Do you have an opinion from which town--Bergen or Alesund--it would be better to take a fjords excursion?

Sorry not sure I can advise on boat trips as I have not done one. If you look on the Northern Europe board there is a long thread where someone from Alesund gives lots of great advice.

I hired a car at Alesund and drove to the Troll Road, on the way you do get to see some fjords - Storfjorden which is the fjord that leads to Geirangerfjord and Romsdalsfjorden near Andalsnes.

The drive I did can be seen at this link

When you sail into Alesund and Bergen it is mainly small islands you see as they are close to the North Sea. You are not that far from the fjords in either of these locations but would need to book a local boat trip.

I cruised on Jade last month and as well as Alesund and Bergen we went to Geiranger and Flam and these were deep into fjords.

I know this is a cultural thing with significant difference between UK and US but I have been on 4 NCL cruises and I could probably count on the fingers of two hands how many times I have tipped a bartender above the 18%. Some of you will call me cheap, etc (I don't care) but when I have paid the cruise fare, daily service charge and 18% gratuity (when I don't have UBP), why should I tip more? I have never had a problem with bar service on any cruise and don't have a need to be treated as special. If I have a problem with service I will ensure that I raise it with the appropriate person.

Is this a cultural thing?

I'm from the UK and it would never cross my mind to tip a bartender. I never see this done when I'm out in bars here.

I agree, I am also from UK and I have given cash tips very occasionally for excellent service or very friendly bartenders but why tip someone every time for opening a bottle of beer or serving a pre-mixed cocktail?

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We decided to also rent a car, just booked a Ford Focus. Looking forward to this trip.

Great, I hope you enjoy your day as much as we did.

Some Jade spa photos post dry dock taken in June 2017:

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On the Jade 2 weeks ago they didn't have a Porterhouse on the menu at Cagneys.

I was on a recent Norway cruise on Jade and bought spa passes for myself and my wife. We enjoyed the spa but were only in it about 1 hour per sea day and occasionally on port days so don't really think I got my money's worth.

Even after dry-dock not much has changed based on the pictures above, I have some pics but not available to me at present.

View of Ålesund from Aksla viewpoint in the rain

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Your pictures are marvelous.

Is gear box no. 1 good enough to go up?

What kind of rental car did you get?

Was it powerful to go uphill like that?

Thanks.

Thank you. I ordered a Ford Focus but I ended up with brand new (17km on the clock) Toyota RAV4 Hybrid with an automatic gearbox although I didn't request an automatic gearbox. The car was powerful enough, the inclines were not too steep, you tended to zig-zag up the hills rather than go straight up. Some really large buses and camper vans go up the hills.

Wonderful photos!.We will watch the weather report a few days before and make the decision to rent a car or not. Almost for sure we will after seeing those photos.

 

Do I understand righ you drove clockwise then? Thanks again.

Thank you. I wouldn't rely on the weather in Norway, you just have to go with the flow. It is close to 300km round trip, you will get a variety of weather over that distance. Also be aware that the Avis office is small and they could possibly run out of cars, I booked 6 months before we went.

No I drove anti-clockwise. My route was Alesund to Sjoholt, then onto 650 to Valldalen, then 63 to Trollstigen, down the Troll road and visited Trollvegen, turn around and drove back on E136 to Andalsnes and took the E136 along the coast back to Sjoholt (where there are tolls for a tunnel and a new bridge) and onto Alesund. I drove up to Aksla viewpoint on the way back into Alesund and then returned the car to Avis. It was raining when we were at the Aksla viewpoint.

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Yes. I like the freedom as you mentioned too.

Did you use GPS for this trip?

For paying tolls, do I need cash or it can be paid by credit card?

How much were the tolls?

Any ferry ride in this route?

If you could plan again, any modifications would you like?

Thanks again.:)

Answers below:

No I didn't use GPS, I think the car had it but it was in Norwegian. I printed instructions from Google Maps and researched using Google Street View.

I don't know what they were in NOK but I was charged just under £14.

No ferry necessary.

Find out the speed limit in Norway for the open road although I wasn't in a hurry. I am not sure that there is a better way to do the route, I am sure that there are pros and cons both ways.

The scenery is amazing, photos don't do it justice. I will maybe upload some pics to this thread.

One more..... what is easier to drive, clockwise or the other way around? Did you drive uphill or down?

I drove down the Troll Road from the Visitor Centre towards Andalsnes. I only had one issue which was trying to get past a large bus coming up the hill and it was very tight, the car in front of me hit the bus with their wing mirror.

It may be easier to pull over if you are coming up the hill as you would be going slower and the view of the waterfalls would be better as they were generally behind us coming down the hill. There are not that many places to stop on the actual part of the road with the hairpin bends and the obvious one beside the bridge was full when we came past. There is a large car park at the bottom of the hill.

One more question re the toll. Did you pay by tollpass (through Avis?) or did you pay with bank or creditcard?

I didn't realise that there were tolls before I went, I let Avis pay the toll and they charged it to my credit card a few days later. I wasn't aware that you could pay the tolls yourself, they were automated, no toll stations that I noticed.

Is the visitor centre where you more or less turned around on the map?

Sorry you were referring to the Trollstigen visitor centre. It is on the 63 road at the top of the hairpin bends.

Is the visitor centre where you more or less turned around on the map?

Yes the Trollveggen visitor centre is the furthest point from Alesund. When you come down the 63 from Trollstigen you hit the junction with the E136. You take a right there for a few kms and you reach the Trollveggen visitor centre which is on the right and you get views of the Troll Wall from there. We didn't stay there for long.

You then head back the way you came until you reach Andalsnes and then you follow the E136 all the way back to Alesund along the coast.

How was the drive? Are the road signs clear?

The drive was fine as the roads were reasonably quiet, you need to be careful at one part as you leave Alesund where you hit some roundabouts but signs are good in Alesund. Mostly the road signs were smaller than the ones I am used to in the UK. As long as you know which towns you need to turn off you should be fine locating the junctions. The Trollstigen road is well sign-posted from Valldalen. There were quite a lot of tunnels including one that was 6km long near Andalsnes but the views were spectacular, I liked the freedom that I could stop where I wanted and for as long as I wanted. There are a couple of tolls on the road between Andalsnes and Sjoholt but they are automated and quite expensive.

We have cruised 4 times on NCL and are considering a Med cruise from Barcelona on MSC Seaview at the end of June 2018.

We are a British couple, early 50s should we be concerned about cruising MSC or should we just go for it? What are the main differences between NCL and MSC? On a MSC Med cruise will the passengers be a similar mix of nationalities to those on NCL?

This sounds very interesting since our ship has a long day in Alesund. Unfortunately to read Avis closes at 4 pm however. As my husband loves to make many photos I wonder if with many short stops, plus probably a lunch stop, do we have enough time without feeling in a hurry? Your rouite sounds great and very interesting.

Avis closes at 4pm but you could drop the car and keys off later, there is also a petrol station right next to the Avis office. I stopped several times to take photos and we had a long stop at Trollstigen visitor centre where we had lunch. The roads were quiet, in total I drove around 275km.