Opie

What time did you begin leaving the ship to make it to your transfer at 8am?

Thanks everyone. We are using a private vendor to pick us up. I'm just trying to determine if we eat breakfast until 8:30-8:45 if we will be allowed to disembark around that time and how long it will likely take.

Darcy: What time did you leave to get in line to disembark?

We are Americans doing the 7-day nordic cruise on Sapphire Princess returning to Southampton (UK) on 6/23. We don't fly home until the next day. From what I understand, we are to be out of our rooms at 8am, at which time I expect we will take our carry ons up to the restaurant for breakfast. What time should I tell the driver to be ready for us to pick us up after customs, if we are done with breakfast by around 8:40? I was thinking 9:30?

By the way, if anyone has a Patter from disembarkation day in Southampton please send me the link -- thank you!

We are cruising into Geiranger in mid-June, and will be there from 12:00-18:00. Our party includes two seniors (70s), two adults (40s) and two kids (8-14). Do you recommend (a) bus tour; (b) boat tour; © both? If bus, do we do Dalsnibba or pay more for Dalsnibba and Eaglebend?

Thanks for the responses kitkat! Question - how far from where Olden Adventures drops you off at Brikstal to the place to pick up the troll car? Our troll car time is at the same time that we expect to be dropped off so want to make sure we aren't going to be too late.

Greetings -- we have a 10:15 troll car reservation on the day our cruise arrives into port at 9:00. However, we don't know how to get there by that time. The bus won't arrive until later and there are no shuttles available. We have a party of six. How do we get a taxi for roundtrip travel to Briksdal?

BTW -- how easy is it to get to Brikstal from the cruise port?

Hi Opie. I did a Norway/Iceland cruise with HAL in 2016. Have a look at Cruisingexcursions.com. I booked a few tours with them, and all were very good. Both places are so beautiful and you can easily fill in the days with do-it-yourself exploring. However the Eagle Rd/Dalsnibba tour in Geiranger is spectacular and not to be missed! It was half the price of the ship's excursion, and there were only around 8 of us in a mini-van rather than 50 odd in a large coach!

Thanks for the pointer. I see that Eagle Rd/Dalsnibba tour is either $100pp or $330pp -- not sure why the difference, but would you say that the Eagle Rd tour is ok for seniors in their 70s?

You would probably have to have pre-booked an independent tour as I doubt there would be anyone at the dock offering tours. But I would check on the Ports of Call board that covers Norway. EM

Right. But that is moot since Princess doesn't allow disembarkation at this port unless it's their tour.

Thanks for the responses. I was hoping to save some money and book a tour with a local company but it appears that Princess won't let us off the ship to do so in this case.

I see the following in my Princess reservation: "Note: Hellesylt is a cruise-by port. Only those passengers participating in Hellesylt tours will transfer to shore by ship's tender."

Does this mean only Princess-arranged excursion ticket holders? Or can those with privately-arranged tours transfer off the ship as well during this two-hour stop?

Hello -- we are cruising the Sapphire Princess cruise in June to Norway and would love any suggestions on excursions in Olden, Hellesylt/Geiranger, and Bergen! Thanks in advance!

Greetings! Sailing on Sapphire Princess in June and looking for suggestions for excursions in Olden, Geiranger (also stop in Hellesylt) and Bergen! All thoughts welcomed!

Tipping on P&O cruises begins at age 12.

Thanks for all the feedback. Makes sense. I suppose the only concern would be with losing money if you decide not to go and get your refundable deposit back (losing the $100-200 in insurance on the deposited amount).

We have $600 down in refundable deposits for a cruise next summer. I've read that many wait until the remaining balance is due (March for us). I've also read that it is easier (perhaps cheaper) to get pre-existing coverage if I book within a couple weeks of initial deposit. I'm just curious what most people would do: book insurance at time of refundable deposit, or wait until the balance is due?

Thanks for the feedback. Given what you've said, I think I'd rather go to Geiranger, so I guess we'll choose the older Sapphire. I've heard the Britannia's service may not be as good as Sapphire, so at least we would have that going for us.

Thanks for your reply! We would be going in mid-June. I'm hoping there will be other kids on the cruise as well, since we will have school-aged children with us. I was hoping seeing the Troll Wall would be enough to overcome missing Geiranger on the other cruise, but maybe not?

Depends if you want to see Gerainger, amazing fjord, or Andalsnes, little more than a single street place with a petrol station, but with trips to Trollstigen and Troll Road, both stunning.

Thanks Thejuggler and HomelessBear! This is exactly what I'm debating -- Geiranger vs. a visit to the troll wall from Trollstigen. My main concern would to avoid being bumped at Stavanger, because we have family we are visiting there.

I earn American dollars so I don't know if that would make P&O drinks and gratuities any cheaper in the long run. I would like the covered pool on the Princess but would also like the newer Britannia ship. Marco Pierre White will be on the Britannia as well, for some reason.

Thank you - welcome more opinions as well -- how rocky are these cruises (out of Southampton) -- are aft cabins more bouncy/sooty?

Right -- I'm basically trying to compare Geiranger to Andalsnes. Hard to do I guess.

Thank you, groovechick. That is a good call out. The Princess Sapphire is about 40m shorter. Both ships visit Stavanger, Bergen, and Olden, but the fjords are as follows:

Princess Sapphire: Hellesylt (2 hour stop), Geiranger (stop)

Britannia: Innvikfjorden (sail by) - Nordfjord (sail by) - Romsdalsfjord (sail by) - Andalsnes (stop)

Now I have to figure out if the Princess itinerary is worth about $500 per cabin. Thoughts welcomed.

Thanks for everyone's responses -- our top two choices are (A) P&O Britannia, which goes to:

Stavanger - Olden - Innvikfjorden* - Nordfjord* - Romsdalsfjord* - Andalsnes - Bergen

*= sail through.

And (B) Princess Sapphire, which is more $$, but goes to:

Stavanger - Olden - Hellesylt - Geiranger - Bergen

Which one would you rather do?

I'm comparing two 7-day cruises (Princess, P&O) that both do: Stavanger, Olden, Bergen

But then they differ -- which would you prefer:

(A) Innvikfjorden (sail by) - Nordfjord (sail by) - Romsdalsfjord (sail by) - Andalsnes

(B) Hellesylt - Geiranger

Thank you for the quick response. I'm debating Britannia vs. Princess Sapphire for a week Norway fjord cruise in June 2018 -- any thoughts on comparing the two cruise lines for this purpose? Probably balcony cabins, and both seniors and kids coming.