BuckeyeMark

This looks amazing ... I would have thought "No need to do RIB boat since we just came up the fjord on our cruise ship." But no - still worth doing?  Anyone go on this and afterward think "Meh, not so great. We just saw the fjord?"

4 minutes ago, hallasm said:

The fjord into Nordfjordeid is relativere short - i would be On uppercut deck an hour before arrival

 

Don’t miss the fjord sailing - as impressive as Geiranger.

Railway is great - tickets must be booked in advance. Also Stegastein viewpoint. 
 

Yes, be sure not to miss the waterfall. In Geiranger has some impressive view points not to be missed.

 

Do som searching for your ports of call in this forum.

So we could do a morning activity on Day 3 at 10 AM and not miss anything going into Nordfjordeid?  That'd be great.  And yes, I'm searching everything, including and especially this forum.  Thanks!

Looking like we'll be on the cruise from Celebrity that I posted as the replacement cruise so I need some additional info about these ports please.  Notably the ports where we can sked a group activity before we dock.  Some of these ports are at the end of a long fjord cruise and the whole reason we're going is to be out on deck and see these great fjords so I don't want to sked anything then. But, for example, Kristiansand looks like sea cruising so we could do something that morning?  
We're scrambling here to get up to speed in a hurry so any and all info on these ports is appreciated. "Don't miss" or "You have to" or the "The signature thing in that port is _____" are all very welcome.  Yes, I'm googling like mad but there is no substitute for the folks who have been there!  Everyone has been so helpful.  THANK YOU!
 

Day 3 - NORDFJORDEID, NORWAY - Docked: 1:00PM to 7:00PM - great fjord cruise in so nothing that morning, yes?

Day 4 - FLAM, NORWAY - Docked: 8:00AM to 4:00PM - am thinking the railway is the thing here,yes?

Day 5 - GEIRANGER, NORWAY - Docked: 8:00AM to 6:00PM - obviously want to be out on deck for sail in and sail out.  BTW, the Seven Sisters are about five miles from port. Is that about an hour's cruise away so we should for sure be there 7AMish?

Day 6 - ALESUND, NORWAY - Docked: 8:00AM to 4:00PM

Day 7 - KRISTIANSAND, NORWAY - Docked: 1:00PM to 8:00PM - could do a morning activity before port on this day?

Again, big thanks to all.

6 hours ago, CCJack said:

Also, note the 4 am Fjord viewing may actually be 5:00 or 5:30 am depending on your ship's schedule.  You may need to figure it out yourself.  On our cruise (Cunard) there was no mention or suggestion by the ship about any Fjord viewing / sail in time.   

 

How long does it typically take to sail the Geiranger fjord?  If we're sked to dock at 8 AM we'd prolly enter the fjord at ___________?

31 minutes ago, CCJack said:

I agree with all the responses...   A couple thoughts...

 

I would think a Norway cruise would be pretty appealing to most people, however, just make sure your group understands that it is vastly different then a Med cruise, mostly because Med cruises go to large cities and a Norway cruise does not.

 

As far as viewing the sail in at 4 am.... on our cruise there was exactly one person on the top deck (me) for over 1.5 hours.   The other 3000 people, including my wife, was sleeping.   The one time in my life that I was the smartest person on the boat, and probably the one time in my life that I was the smartest person in my marriage.    Don't miss it, at least for the long Fjords.    For our cruise,  the morning sailing was much more serene than the evening sail out due to wind, clouds, etc. in the evening.    You will have time to view from your balcony, plus the top deck, plus get a refill of coffee, etc...  

 

I would be curious if Celebrity is generous with their freebies for you.   If not, consider other cruiselines.   I personally really like Celebrity, but I think they owe you something besides a token discount.   It sounds like this was a business decision and not a weather related decision, and they should be considerate of their customers in this case. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is helpful.  And I may try to be the smartest person on the boat too!

It was not a weather decision in any shape, form, or fashion.  It was a financial decision - for which Celeb will pay dearly in many very unhappy customers.  But someone decided they could live with that ... over in the Celebrity forum it sure doesn't sound like they are doing much for canceled customers. We'll see if they are willing to help us a little more since we're a big group and working with Group sales, not an individual customer service agent. I would say this: this thread has made me eager to take my group to Norway!

Great info.  Thanks for sharing!

8 hours ago, hallasm said:

My assessment is subjective - also the word terrible.
From the balcony you only see one side of the mountain - to enjoy the panorama, the snow on the mountains and the waterfalls, you have to go up to the upper deck and get the full view. The morning sailing through the deep fjords to Geiranger and Flåm is, in my opinion, one of the highlights of the cruise which I enjoy from the upper deck.
However, based on the number of guests on the upper deck early in the morning, the vast majority of guests find it terrible to get up early and enjoy the view from the open decks.

This is, again, extremely helpful.  Would be good to tell my group exactly that, and then let people choose what they want to do. If folks want to get up and get the max experience they can, and I'm letting them know how to do that. If they don't, that's okay too - their choice.

QUESTION: Do you need to be on deck or is being in a balcony okay?  Obviously you see only one side of the fjord in your balcony but is that terrible? 

This is all so helpful.  Thank you thank you thank you!  We'll see if Celeb has room on the ship for us to go to Norway but I'm greatly encouraged.  Keep posting your ideas, ideal itineraries, if some other line has a great May sailing we should investigate (it wouldn't take much to say "see ya!" to Celebrity!), etc.  Really appreciate everyone here!

Had a huge church group booked on Beyond for eastern Med in early May.  Now we're left scrambling and Celebrity is offering us $100 OBC and $200 in the Retreat but no price protection of the price we had!  GRRRRR!

Celebrity decided to move their ship the Beyond to the Caribbean and so they canceled its Med cruises for the summer of 2024. Just sent us all emails saying "Sorry, you don't have a ship any more."  Didn't even replace the Beyond with a different ship so we could still go on that cruise - just canceled it. Now we need to select another cruise - and we have two weeks to do so to get some perks and goodies that Celeb is offering to "make up" for the inconvenience.  On top of that I had a big church group I was bringing on that Med Sea cruise!  So now I'm choosing for a big group ...

We are looking at going to Norway. Celebrity has a cruise in May that goes to Nordejordeid, Geiranger, Flam, Alesund and Kristiansand out of Southampton. That looks good but I need to know more about cruising fjords. Is it true you have to be up at 4 AM every morning to see the fjord as you sail into port and appreciate it?  Is everyone pretty worn out all day because of the early starts? These cruises look amazing but the cruises I have been on have been about the port mostly - the sailing was inconsequential (the ocean looks the same every day).  Norway looks like it's not so much about ports as it is about the sailing. Yes? What else should I know about these cruises before I put my group on a ship to Norway?  Below is the cruise we're looking at.  Any and all info appreciated.  We're really trying to get up to speed on this quickly as Celeb pulled the rug out from underneath a well-planned, we've got everything in place cruise and now we're starting over from scratch.  Thanks!

Really good writing, and as others have said, FUN!  Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

These reports are simply excellent!  Well done!  TAKE MORE CRUISES! WRITE MORE REPORTS!

Top notch review.  Really good stuff!  Keep it up!

Great report.  I am worried about Celeb not being able to go to Geiranger in '26 because someone said they won't let any ship in that is not zero emissions after 26.  We had planned to take the cruise you took in 26...  Appreciate your good reporting here!

On 5/14/2023 at 7:36 AM, ShawninFL said:

We did the "Land of the Midnight Sun" cruise in June 2022 and absolutely loved this cruise.  We ended up choosing Royal Caribbean as our first choice, Celebrity, was only offer 7-night options and we wanted to travel all the way north to Honinngsvag.  And Holland America and Princess were cost prohibitive to our budget.  We were blown away by Norway's natural beauty, even more beautiful than Alaska.  We had 5 clear days/nights of 24 hour sunlight.  Quite the amazing experience still partying at 2 AM in full daylight.  Our itinerary included Molde, Tromso, Honningsvag, Flam, Alesund, Haugesund, and Kristiansand.  Yes, our itinerary missed Bergen and Greinger, but we'll catch them next time.  Yes, cruising out of Flam was amazing, but in all honesty, after an hour or two for looking, you do move onto other things. Make sure to schedule tours to seek out the natural landscape in ports.  We rented vehicles in two ports and toured ourselves.  We took the train in Flam, ziplined down the mountain and rode bikes back to town.  The others we hired a private guide or did a private tour.  We weren't disappointed in anything we did.  Definitely do your research for this cruise so you don't miss seeing something you find out you were near after you get home.  Happy cruising,

This was a super helpful post.  Thank you.

What will be using on the Beyond to unlock the stateroom door?  Some cruise lines still use a "credit card"?  Princess has a bluetooth fob, about the size of a quarter, you wear on a watch band or around your neck and the door unlocks for you when you approach.  What's the Beyond use?  Picture?  And thank you!

Thanks to all who have made suggestions.  Very helpful.

We are a large group and the cruise line has accommodated us with a place to worship on the ship, and they would tender us off as a group, and provide buses to get where ever we need to get on Santorini (it would be a custom shore excursion - $$$$ but we'd be happy to pay).

The question is, "Where are we going?"  There are some wedding venues we could rent but I haven't found one large enough for our group (100+ and growing).  Still searching.  Just need a quiet and scenic place.  Was kinda hoping that if we got somewhere first thing in the morning we could rent out that place for the morning before things really got going as more passengers come ashore.

Again, we could worship on the ship and then everyone head to Santorini on their own for a day of sightseeing. But if we could be together in God's creation for worship ... that would be very special.  Thanks!

My group (100+) will be in Santorini on a Sunday. We'd like to reserve a place where we could have our church service.  Preferable super scenic. Is there a beach club we could rent for the morning? Would be great to have services on the beach, then have lunch and then everyone heads out for a day of sightseeing.  So we only need a place for an hour or two.  Ideas?  Thoughts?  Suggestions? 

Different take: get on the ship that goes to GLACIER BAY.  It's incredible.  Super amazing.  Go to Glacier Bay!

Plan to bring a big church group next year on Celebrity to Santorini.  We'll be there on a Sunday. Just wondering now - is there a quiet beach we could have a Sunday service on first thing in the morning? Is there a beach club that we could rent for the morning so we'd have a place?  I think that could be very special but don't even know if it is remotely possible. Any ideas appreciated!

This is a really fine review.  Well done and well written.  Speaks to what parents want to know.  Thank you!

2 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

No I think you;re looking at it backwards. The indent is where the bed goes since it allows for enough room for the bed and space to walk by at the foot of the bed. Generally the cabins alternate and fit together like a puzzle. So #'s 8300,8304,and 8277 have the bed by the Veranda while #'s 8302 & 8275 have the bed by the bathroom since the indent is closer to the middle of the cabin the the deck plan. 

Ah - that makes sense.  By "indent" I was thinking of the protrusion INTO the room but of course you can't put a bed there.  No room.  So the bed goes in the widest part of the room to make space to get by at the foot of the bed.  Correct?

8 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Here on Deck 8 on the Beyond there are many cabins with their beds by the bathroom that don't have a little square. But those cabins DO have that indent in the cabin walls in the middle. That's the most accurate way to determine bed placement o E-class ships.

This is very helpful. So in the deck plan above cabin 8300 and 8302 and 8304 would have the bed by the veranda.  Cabins 8277 and 8275 would have the bed by the bathroom. Am I correct?

We're headed out on the Beyond in 2024 (first time on an Edge class ship - really excited!) and we think the bed by the closet/bathroom is a much better arrangement than the bed over by the Infinite Veranda.  That's just personal preference but it looks better to us so that is the kind of cabin we want. So how do we get that furniture arrangement?  If you go to book, the cabin pictures and gallery views show rooms set up either way - no matter what class of cabin you choose! 

Ideas?  I don't think we could ask the steward to move the bed so we need to get this right when we book. Thank you.