hallasm

14 hours ago, NightOne said:

What am I missing?

These are UNESCO World Heritage sites and their surrounding fjords, including Aurlandsfjord.
It is still unknown what exactly will happen from January 1, 2026.
The technical prerequisites will not be in place by 2026, and it will take time to develop them. For the affected ports, it would also mean a noticeable decrease in their tourism income.

The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) is currently drafting a revised proposal for the zero-emission regulation, which will allow for some use of biofuels during a transition period and be more flexible in line with the cruise industry's wishes. Several cruise lines today have new ships running on bio LNG. However, the transition takes time.
The proposal is not yet final and still awaits government approval.

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Thanks, can you buy the package onboard or do you have to buy it beforehand?

You can buy the packet onboard.

1 hour ago, skopgat said:

We sail by Nordfjord and Sognejford.

none of these fjords will be affected by the coming restrictions.

Might be - No start date for ETIAS yet. Current plan is ‘during 2025’. 
It’s a travel authorization system - not a VISA. ETIAS stands for European Travel Information and Authorisation System. It is based on a similar visa waiver system used by the United States called the ESTA.

After the initial launch, there may be a short-period of 3-6 months where ETIAS may not be mandatory for travel. 
just check a month before your travel to Europe.

7 hours ago, skopgat said:

Does anyone know whether cruises are "grandfathered" in, meaning because it's scheduled, they'll get to cruise through? Or am I looking at a giant risk of having the entire itinerary altered? (Or something in between . . .)

Now you don't write which fjords. The restrictions on emissions do not apply to all the Norwegian fjords - it only concerns the fjords to Flåm and Geiranger. It will still be possible to sail to Olden. In addition, there are a number of smaller fjords that can also be sailed. There is no grandfathering and Queen Mary 2 will not be able to visit Flåm or Geiranger from 2026, but as written the deep fjord into Olden and likely Hellesylt as well as other smaller fjords will be available so probably no risk of itinerary to be altered.

23 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Thanks, I presume that’s a per person price.

It’s bottles of wine - one per day and you can share. But it’s only the bottled wine - no additional drinks in the bar.

Yes, if you do not show up for the first flight, the return flight will be cancelled.
You indicate the health reason. Check whether your travel insurance covers the cancellation.

They have Wine packages - House NOK 450 per day, Superior NOK 535 per day or Premium NOK 925 per day. Prices are not completely up to date. I found it significantly better to buy wine by the glass.

29 minutes ago, Mikamarii said:

We always like to buy tickets in advance but from what im seeing the skylift doesnt really sell out. Not like the train in Flam!

Correct - Skylift has a large capacity. You can still buy tickets online so you don't have to queue at the ticket office - the queue at the cable car is the same.

9 minutes ago, Mikamarii said:

We're on Jewel of the seas. We will be be in Olden on August 19th 

I will be very surprised if Jewel does not tender to Loen - this has been common practice in recent years - but there may be weather challenges.

Wait to buy your tickets until you know where you will land. There is ample capacity for both the shuttle and the cable car.
If it turns out that the weather is bad, it may be a good idea to wait to buy tickets.

Not much fun going to the top of the mountain if there is no view.

15 minutes ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

Maybe it depends on cruise line?

Thanks for the update - yes, I can actually see that there is a tender position in Olden. @Mikamarii which ship and date?

5 minutes ago, Mikamarii said:

I’ve confirmed through the port website that we will be tendering. Just to confirm is Loen the only arrival dock for Tenders or could they still drop us off in Olden?

Tendering is in Loen just next to the Skylift.

My favorite hotel in Bergen is The Hanseatic hotel at Bryggen. Quiet hotel and nice atmosphere.

I have done 30+ cruises - never bought a drink package. 
I think you must drink 6+ drinks per day to justify the price (might depend on cruise line) - I’m having 2 to 4 drinks per day.

There are direct trains between Trieste and Venice. Depending on time of the day the train type, it takes 2 to 3 hours. Immediately the option I would choose.

There is also Flixbus.

5 hours ago, mackfam said:

Trying to decide which canal tour to take. Is one company better than the others?

There are actually three canal boat tours. Stromma, Netto Boats  and Hey Captain. Stromma and Netto Boats have completely identical trips and very similar trips. Netto boats are somewhat cheaper than Stromma. Hey Captain is a smaller boat and somewhat more expensive. Standard tours for all three are one hour.
Hey Captain also has a 'Hidden Gems' tour of two hours and Stromma a ‘Grand Tour’ ogåf 1h45min. My recomendation is the 1 hour standard tour.

It takes 10 minutes to walk from Nyhavn to Amalienborg - if you take an one hour canal cruise at 10:30 you can reach the guard change at 12. If you can make a tour at 10:30 it will be fine before.

5 km from the Cruise terminal - 12 minutes by taxi.

5 hours ago, molemaui said:

I was mistaken - we arrive at quay 331 so I believe that is at a different location

Yes, very different location - Oceankaj terminal 1. It’s 20 to 30 minutes by taxi.  

10 hours ago, molemaui said:

We arrive at CPH around noon and have a day and a half before flying to Stockholm to begin our cruise. Can we do what you describe above in 1 1/2 days? 

It is a good list to use as a starting point for a few days in Copenhagen. I will add Christiansborg Castle (the parliament) and pedestrian shopping street (Strøget). But what is actually possible to achieve depends on the times of arrival/departure and check-in/out at the hotel.
Also how tired you are after a long flight and possible jet lag.

I would recommend taxi from to/from CPH/hotel. Possible to take the train from CPH to Copenhagen Central Station - it is 700 m (1/2 mile) from the station to the Marriott hotel.

Also taxi from the cruise ship. Quay C197 is Langelinie,

Both are very good itineraries.
7 nt is a traditional Norwegian Fjords cruise with three of the best ports in Norway.

12 nt is an Arctic Circle cruise with North Cape and midnight sun in June and July. Also includes the two deep fjords to Flåm and Geiranger.

From 2026 there are restrictions on cruises in these two fjords.

25 minutes ago, mlh0500 said:

I was thinking earlier today that I need to venture outside of the lines I am familiar with.

Havila and Norway's coastal route is a really nice experience with beautiful scenery and good food, but bear in mind that it is not a traditional cruise line but a ship on a regular schedule with 34 port stops from Bergen to Kirkenes - a number of stops at night where goods and cars loaded and unloaded - avoid the cabin on the port side of the ship.

42 minutes ago, SESerSerena said:

For Havila, could you suggest some excursions to take into consideration? Would you do them all with Havila or try and arrange them on your own? 

Trondheim, Bodø and Tromsø are very walkable - in Tromsø take the cable car to the view point. 
For excursions I’ll suggest Lofoten scenic tour and North Cape in Honningsvåg. For ‘bus excursions, I’ll suggest to use Havila excursions - time in port is short or some excursions start in one port and end in another- you won’t want to miss the ship. 
For Flåm area plan for a night in Myrdal or Voss area - at least one night in Bergen - stay at a hotel at Bryggen - The Hanseatic Hotel is an option. 

8 hours ago, SESerSerena said:

Do you reckon we would still get to see all the most interesting stuff by doing the voyage northbound only?

Some will argue differently, but I prefer northbound from Bergen to Kirkenes. It's mostly about nature - A longer stop every day - some excursions start in one port and end in another. A good option is the train from Oslo to Bergen with an overnight stay in the Flåm area with the Flåm train and sailing trip in Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord. The few days I Kirkenes before flying back to Oslo.

8 hours ago, SESerSerena said:

I didn't know! What puzzled me about the P&O cruise was that there was so much "cruising by" in the itinerary, but isn't Iona actually a big ship? How would it cruise by so many things? How far into the fjords? 

The size of the ship has no significance, apart from a few smaller ships that can sail through Nærøyfjord to Gudevangen or through Trollfjord. Even the largest cruise ships can sail the deep Norwegian fjords.
In most cases, scenic cruising is an expression of the ship sailing through the fjord to the port - some mention the fjords - others do not - but the same fjords. In and out the ports at the bottom of the fjords.
The case with P&O to Hellesylt is 'smart marketing’ as the ship does not sail into the Geirangerfjord but just past the estuary.

22 hours ago, SESerSerena said:

The original idea was to do a Norway cruise with Hurtigruten or Havila to get the full sense of what the country is like,

Welcome to Cruise Critic - I have made som comments below.

You can do Hurtigruten of Havila Voyages Northbound from Bergen to Kirkenes (or southbound) and include Flåm from Oslo/Bergen - personally I find the Coastal round trip too much if the same.

I’ll also suggest to do some research on cruise lines if you are not familiar with Fred Olsen, P&O and in particular AIDA.

Fred. Olsen options: AUG 14 DOVER

Two deep fjords to Olden and Flåm. Aldo Bergen is a god choice. Eidfjord less interesting.

Fred. Olsen options: AUG 15 LIVERPOOL

Two deep fjords to Olden and Geiranger. Ålesund less interesting than Bergen.

Ånsdalnes less interesting

Royal Caribbean:

One del fjord to Olden. Including Bergen. Therese capitals Copenhagen, Oslo and Ansterdam

P&O Iona:
one deep fjord to Olden - partly to Hellesylt - do not know about Geirangerfjord, Norway (Cruising) - might sail from Hellesylt through Geirangerfjord.

AIDA Cruises:
No deep fjords - only Bergen

50 minutes ago, mlh0500 said:

I come to understand not all Norway cruises sail into the fjords - correct ?

Yes, correct

The ports in the three iconic deep fjords are Geiranger, Flåm and Olden. 

No deep fjords in the Norwegian Star May 2025 sailing from Reykjavik - only coastal cities:

Longyearbyen (Spitzbergen),Norway

Honningsvåg,Norway

Alesund,Norway

Bergen,Norway

Kristiansand,Norway