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Into the Midnight Sun


Elizabetho55
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We are doing this cruise in July and would like some advice on excursions. We want to see as much of the fjords as possible. We are considering the The Trollfjord by Traditional Wooden Boat in the port of Lofoten. Has anyone done this tour and if so would you recommend it? Did anyone do an excursion that you loved and recommend? Thank you for your input!

 

 

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I'm heading Into the Midnight Sun in June and would like to know the same--the good, the bad & the so-so excursions. I've looked at prior roll calls and some blogs, but it's still tough deciding when you want to do everything!!

 

 

 

How do you look at prior roll calls. I can’t seem to find any. Thanks!

 

 

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We are doing this cruise in July and would like some advice on excursions. We want to see as much of the fjords as possible. We are considering the The Trollfjord by Traditional Wooden Boat in the port of Lofoten. Has anyone done this tour and if so would you recommend it? Did anyone do an excursion that you loved and recommend? Thank you for your input!

 

 

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I heard several expressions of disappointment about the Trolifjord boat excursion. The Lofoten islands is more about the beautiful beaches, fishing industry and lovely scenic fishing villages and bays rather than fjords.

 

The included excursion (at least on our cruise) was only 2 hours long and with so many hours in port, there was so much more to see.

 

We ended up scheduling a private group tour of six of us who met on CC for the full day.

 

In the Orkney Islands, the most popular excursion was the Orkney's Stone age. It sold out before we could book so we again did a private tour for the day with one other couple we also did the Lofoten private tour. Skara Brae was very interesting.

 

This is a great itinerary and it really is hard to narrow down your choices of what to do. We did a couple of excursions on several days and that tended to be cutting it a bit close getting back to the ship, getting something to eat and then ready to leave on next excursion.

 

In Geirangerfjord, Viking usually tenders so we did not even try to go back to the ship after the morning tour and got something to eat before meeting up with our kayaking excursion in port. We would definifely not have made if back to the ship.

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On our trip, the Trollfjord by Traditional Wooden Boat was not offered. I don't know why. A wonderful and memorable excursion was the Seabirds of Stappen Island in Honningsvag. Our cruise started in London and ended in Bergen. It certainly was worth spending a few extra nights in Bergen. Wonderful museums, public spaces, and restaurants. In Bergen, we did a fjord excursion from the inner harbor. It was so-so, perhaps because we were spoiled by Geirangerfjord.

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Elizabetho55--If you go to the roll calls section, you can select Viking Ocean. Then you'll need to select the specific ship to see the roll calls for the various sailings. In 2017, the Star and Sea sailed the Midnight Sun itinerary (not sure if any others did). There were also sailings in 2016, but the itinerary has changed a bit. Don't forget to sign up for your trip's roll call!

 

LaRenardrouge--thanks for mentioning Skara Brae. I'm interested in the optional tour that Viking is offering.

 

Richard2--thanks for the info on the bird safari in North Cape. As much as I want my picture at the globe, I'm leaning toward seeing the birds.

 

Anyone do the Halholmen: A Viking Experience in Molde?

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We were on the Viking Sky, starting in London July 1, 2017. We had quite good weather especially temperaturewise. Rain all day in Edinburgh. Light rain to start the morning in Orkney. Geirangerfjord morning was very gray and overcast in the morning which really impacted our optional Cruise called "Breathtaking Fjords." But by afternoon, bright sun and about 70 degrees for the kayaking excursion.

 

Even at the North Cape, if was almost 70 degrees and sunny. I took a lightweight packable down jacket, a fleece jacket, and a waterproof Columbia Arcadia jacket and was able to layer as needed.

 

Iceland was much colder. Last day there it was 46 with driving rain and 45 mph winds. We rode along for the Blue Lagoon excursion to see the countryside but skipped a dip in the thermal waters. Our extension was a four night extension (I don't think they offer it now) with an extra night in Bergen which gave us a full day in Bergen after disembarking. We were in a hotel very close to where the ship was docked so easy walking distance to see lots of Bergen. We chose our excursions for the regular day in Bergen for the cruise to places farther away and then did the wharf areas on our own. We flew out very early from Bergen with flight to Oslow then to Reykjavic. We were in Reykjavic by noon, dropped our luggage at the hotel (Hilton Canopy) and took off to see the city on foot.

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How do you look at prior roll calls. I can’t seem to find any. Thanks!

 

 

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This will work for any itinerary that you want to find a past roll call for; old roll calls are not deleted. Here is a link to the Viking Oceans Roll Calls forum.

 

Unless you know the dates (and past sailing dates seem to disappear from the internet very quickly), you have to do a forum search--one search in each of the forums (which at this moment means searching roll calls for the Viking Star, the Viking Sea and the Viking Sky; Viking Sun launched in the fall of 2017 and thus as of this writing has not had a chance to do that itinerary). Midnight Sun is a June/July cruise, so I would search each forum once on the term June and once on the term July. Unfortunately, the search function doesn't just search the titles of the threads so you are going to get any thread in which the search term is mentioned but at least you get a much shorter list of choices.

 

For instance, I searched the Viking Sea sub-forum and came back with 41 hits and from those 41 hits was able to pick out these roll calls. Each ship does the itinerary twice in a season (Bergen to London and then London to Bergen) PLUS there is a "grand voyage" that combines the Homelands and the Midnight Sun itineraries abbreviated as Baltic Jewels. When you try to track down the roll calls for the Star and the Sky, note that they only did the itinerary in 2017. I didn't see any Baltic Jewels threads for 2017; it may be because those dates were given in all numerals. In any case, it goes to show that it might take a couple of different searches on different terms to round up all of the roll calls.

 

Viking Into the Midnight Sun - June 5, 2016 & June 19, 2016

2017-July 9: Viking Sea, Into the MIdnight Sun

Viking Sea Baltic Jewels & the Midnight Sun June 19 thru July17, 2016

June 25, 2017 Into the Midnight Sun - Viking Sea

 

We did Midnight Sun in 2016; it was a slightly different itinerary in 2016 and did not stop in Lofoten BUT because the weather was perfect that day and the seas were like glass, the Viking Sea was permitted to sail up Trollfjord, turn around and sail out again. All activity on the ship came to halt as everyone on board, passengers and crew alike, found an inch or two along the nearest bit of railing to witness the event.

 

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Yes, that is all the space we had to turn around in.

 

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Even at the North Cape, if was almost 70 degrees and sunny. I took a lightweight packable down jacket, a fleece jacket, and a waterproof Columbia Arcadia jacket and was able to layer as needed.

 

 

The year before you, we experienced the same at North Cape but the cruise before us had quite the opposite experience--cold, wet and miserable. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst!

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LeRenardrouge, we are leaving from the ship very early in Bergan at the end of July to do our own visit to Iceland. Do you remember how early you had to get there for the flight to Oslo? Is it easy to get from the domestic flight to the flight to Reykjavic? Did you do a review? It is very easy to find the 2016 reviews of this cruise but not many from 2017 which has a different itinerary.

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This will work for any itinerary that you want to find a past roll call for; old roll calls are not deleted. Here is a link to the Viking Oceans Roll Calls forum.

 

Unless you know the dates (and past sailing dates seem to disappear from the internet very quickly), you have to do a forum search--one search in each of the forums (which at this moment means searching roll calls for the Viking Star, the Viking Sea and the Viking Sky; Viking Sun launched in the fall of 2017 and thus as of this writing has not had a chance to do that itinerary). Midnight Sun is a June/July cruise, so I would search each forum once on the term June and once on the term July. Unfortunately, the search function doesn't just search the titles of the threads so you are going to get any thread in which the search term is mentioned but at least you get a much shorter list of choices.

 

For instance, I searched the Viking Sea sub-forum and came back with 41 hits and from those 41 hits was able to pick out these roll calls. Each ship does the itinerary twice in a season (Bergen to London and then London to Bergen) PLUS there is a "grand voyage" that combines the Homelands and the Midnight Sun itineraries abbreviated as Baltic Jewels. When you try to track down the roll calls for the Star and the Sky, note that they only did the itinerary in 2017. I didn't see any Baltic Jewels threads for 2017; it may be because those dates were given in all numerals. In any case, it goes to show that it might take a couple of different searches on different terms to round up all of the roll calls.

 

Viking Into the Midnight Sun - June 5, 2016 & June 19, 2016

2017-July 9: Viking Sea, Into the MIdnight Sun

Viking Sea Baltic Jewels & the Midnight Sun June 19 thru July17, 2016

June 25, 2017 Into the Midnight Sun - Viking Sea

 

We did Midnight Sun in 2016; it was a slightly different itinerary in 2016 and did not stop in Lofoten BUT because the weather was perfect that day and the seas were like glass, the Viking Sea was permitted to sail up Trollfjord, turn around and sail out again. All activity on the ship came to halt as everyone on board, passengers and crew alike, found an inch or two along the nearest bit of railing to witness the event.

 

enhance

Yes, that is all the space we had to turn around in.

 

enhance

Thank you so much for posting these pictures. How BEAUTIFUL! Fingers crossed we will have the same luck. With your very helpful dates I was able to easily find the roll calls. Great info!

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All of the current excursions for the June 30, 2018 Into the Midnight Sun were posted today on MVJ. We've been on several Viking River cruises and I must admit there was some shell shock with the prices. Much higher than on the rivers. Perhaps it's the higher cost of all things in Norway. Alas, we will still book the ones we have our hearts set on. Thank you all for your very informative posts. Please feel free to continue posting any and all advice for this cruise.

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All of the current excursions for the June 30, 2018 Into the Midnight Sun were posted today on MVJ. We've been on several Viking River cruises and I must admit there was some shell shock with the prices. Much higher than on the rivers. Perhaps it's the higher cost of all things in Norway. Alas, we will still book the ones we have our hearts set on. Thank you all for your very informative posts. Please feel free to continue posting any and all advice for this cruise.

 

They are posted for our July 14th trip, too, but we can't reserve anything until much later. Hope there are still spots available when our reservations open.

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They are posted for our July 14th trip, too, but we can't reserve anything until much later. Hope there are still spots available when our reservations open.

 

If any of the optionals are sold out, my suggestion is to e-mail our friends at tellus@vikingcruises.com and tell them that you are so disappointed that thus and such shorex is sold out and that you hope they will be adding more buses soon. Then start checking in everyday day to see if any spaces open up. Yes, I know it arduous and time consuming but Viking does not inform us if if spaces have opened up.

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Thank you so much for posting these pictures. How BEAUTIFUL! Fingers crossed we will have the same luck. With your very helpful dates I was able to easily find the roll calls. Great info!

 

Viking Sea's cruise down the Trollfjord was a one-off and permitted in part because, as this was the inaugural season of this itinerary, there were high corporate officials on board. The Viking film crew was on board and filmed it. I do not think that it will be repeated.

 

Trollfjord is beautiful and there are excursions available on varying types of boats. However, when the weather is rough or raining, it will be a damp, rough ride--and you might not know until after the cancellation cut-off what kind of day it will be. If the thought of a cruise up the Trollfjord is appealing, I'm just reminding you to consider the downsides in your decision-making process. Can you put up with them?

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It's not a review, but I DO have pictures of our June 2017 Midnight Sun experience. I made a gallery for each city (port call) plus one for our two day on our own visit to Iceland. The first gallery (Iceland) is here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/iceland__into_the_midnight_sun&page=all

Lofoten and Honningsvaag are here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/lofoten_islands_and_honningsvag&page=all

The others are in the same area of www.pbase.com/roothy123 - if you're interested, perhaps you can snoop around and find them.

 

We only had a half day in Lofoten, so were quite limited in what we did. I wanted to rent a car or take a third party excursion, but it wasn't possible, given the time and the day (Sunday, I think) we were there. Therefore, I just chose the excursion that appealed the most (and the one you mention wasn't included, probably due to time) and settled for that.

 

When we were there, it was freezing in Honnigsvaag with the wind blowing. Going out to the actual monument on the cliff is fun, despite the chill. Then you can head inside to the museum, which is fun and informative.

 

We are independent travelers, so didn't take too many of the ship's excursions. We did, however, enjoy the ones we did take.

 

Our weather in June was great. It was a bit of an unusual cruise in that there was plenty of fjord cruising, with great scenery practically right outside our window.

 

I wish I could find my notes from the cruise, since I had a link for a wonderful website for Lofoten. However, I think I've managed to delete the document. Oh well.

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It's not a review, but I DO have pictures of our June 2017 Midnight Sun experience. I made a gallery for each city (port call) plus one for our two day on our own visit to Iceland. The first gallery (Iceland) is here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/iceland__into_the_midnight_sun&page=all

Lofoten and Honningsvaag are here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/lofoten_islands_and_honningsvag&page=all

The others are in the same area of www.pbase.com/roothy123 - if you're interested, perhaps you can snoop around and find them.

.

 

Thanks Roothy - I've enjoyed looking at your Greenwich photos, and will check the others out later!

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I was under the impression that these ports were new and unused to cruise ships. My ignorance. In doing more research on the shore excursions it was easy to find a similar (if not the exact) tour being offered by VO at a LOT less money. So if you can't book what you want through Viking, then do some research. Most times it is as simple as googling "Gerainger RIB tour" and the same tour will come up at a much lower price. Our biggest "find" - the "limited" tour of the Highland Scotch distillery that VO is offering for $499 p.p. You can find a similar tour for $99. You may not taste all the highest end scotches, but at 2:00 in the afternoon does that really matter?

 

btw - don't be scared off by "If you book with someone else you may miss the ship". No tour operator I've ever taken independently (in the Med, Carribean, etc.) has EVER made us miss the boat. You tell them what time you need to be back and they will make sure you are there with PLENTY of time to spare.

 

Just some helpful advice.

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Check out Lofoten Lights website:

 

http://lofotenlights.com/?lang=en

 

 

 

 

We used them last year. Claudia was good to work with. She customized our tour to maximize what we saw in time in port.

 

 

Be sure she knows where the ship will be docking. We docked at Leknes but some of Viking ships have tendered there. They live in Solvaer and some of their tours have been geared to start there but it was no problem for them to customize the trip beginning in Leknes.

 

 

We paid with CC at end of the tour. I can't recall if we paid a deposit at time of booking or not (don't think so).

 

 

There were 6 of us in our group.

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I agree that there's no need to fear not getting back to the ship on time. And yes, generally you can find a tour that costs less than what Viking (and just about any other cruise line) is offering. If a third party (i.e. off ship) tour sounds expensive just for you and traveling companions, maybe you can get a couple other people to share. It's great to be able to more or less plan your day or afternoon, and to have more flexibility.

 

Yes, Norway is definitely expensive, and the excursions often reflect that.

 

In Geiranger, the included tour offered by Viking was actually a little more comprehensive than a popular coach tour offered by the well-known vendor there. So if you only want to go to a few places for views by coach, don't pay the vendor for the excursion, just take Viking's included excursion.

 

In the Orkney Islands, we used Experience Orkney Tours (Ann Marwick, +447798886078, annmarwick@btinternet.com) to (mostly) tour Skara Brae. All 4 of us thought it was a great afternoon. That left a little time for me to explore the town of Kirkwall on my own in the morning.

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I agree that there's no need to fear not getting back to the ship on time. And yes, generally you can find a tour that costs less than what Viking (and just about any other cruise line) is offering. If a third party (i.e. off ship) tour sounds expensive just for you and traveling companions, maybe you can get a couple other people to share. It's great to be able to more or less plan your day or afternoon, and to have more flexibility.

 

Yes, Norway is definitely expensive, and the excursions often reflect that.

 

In Geiranger, the included tour offered by Viking was actually a little more comprehensive than a popular coach tour offered by the well-known vendor there. So if you only want to go to a few places for views by coach, don't pay the vendor for the excursion, just take Viking's included excursion.

 

In the Orkney Islands, we used Experience Orkney Tours (Ann Marwick, +447798886078, annmarwick@btinternet.com) to (mostly) tour Skara Brae. All 4 of us thought it was a great afternoon. That left a little time for me to explore the town of Kirkwall on my own in the morning.

 

We also used Ann Marwick for an all day tour with one other couple. She is very professional and passionate and knowledgeable about Orkney--especially its archeology. The only fault I found at all was that is was a little hard to hear her sitting behind her. We covered all the territory in our one day tour that was included in three different tours done by Viking and also saw a few things none of theirs went to. With just four of us on the tour, we could move much more rapidly than a large tour bus group.

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I agree that there's no need to fear not getting back to the ship on time. And yes, generally you can find a tour that costs less than what Viking (and just about any other cruise line) is offering. If a third party (i.e. off ship) tour sounds expensive just for you and traveling companions, maybe you can get a couple other people to share. It's great to be able to more or less plan your day or afternoon, and to have more flexibility.

 

Yes, Norway is definitely expensive, and the excursions often reflect that.

 

In Geiranger, the included tour offered by Viking was actually a little more comprehensive than a popular coach tour offered by the well-known vendor there. So if you only want to go to a few places for views by coach, don't pay the vendor for the excursion, just take Viking's included excursion.

 

In the Orkney Islands, we used Experience Orkney Tours (Ann Marwick, +447798886078, annmarwick@btinternet.com) to (mostly) tour Skara Brae. All 4 of us thought it was a great afternoon. That left a little time for me to explore the town of Kirkwall on my own in the morning.

 

Hello Roothy,

I have been following your posts, Thank you for all the Information! We will be on the Midnight Sun Viking Sea starting June 12.

My husband and I are trying to decide if doing two excursions in Geiranger, more specifically the Ebike tour up a mountain, 9:45-12:45 and the kayaking 1:45- 3:45 is too much to plan for timing wise.

There is kayaking in Geiranger and also in Molde. In your opinion, Would one be better than the other for scenery, and the experience?

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Hello Roothy' date='

I have been following your posts, Thank you for all the Information! We will be on the Midnight Sun Viking Sea starting June 12.

My husband and I are trying to decide if doing two excursions in Geiranger, more specifically the Ebike tour up a mountain, 9:45-12:45 and the kayaking 1:45- 3:45 is too much to plan for timing wise.

There is kayaking in Geiranger and also in Molde. In your opinion, Would one be better than the other for scenery, and the experience?[/quote']

 

Geiranger is on a fjord and is away from the open seas while Molde is a coastal town. In Geiranger, the fjord is not very wide and you are never far from land (and something to see).

 

Kayakers on Geirangerfjord:

 

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Viking Sea's cruise down the Trollfjord was a one-off and permitted in part because, as this was the inaugural season of this itinerary, there were high corporate officials on board. The Viking film crew was on board and filmed it. I do not think that it will be repeated.

 

 

 

Trollfjord is beautiful and there are excursions available on varying types of boats. However, when the weather is rough or raining, it will be a damp, rough ride--and you might not know until after the cancellation cut-off what kind of day it will be. If the thought of a cruise up the Trollfjord is appealing, I'm just reminding you to consider the downsides in your decision-making process. Can you put up with them?

 

 

 

They also filmed it for the show Mighty Cruise Ships. We just watched a rerun of this show tonight.

 

 

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Geiranger is on a fjord and is away from the open seas while Molde is a coastal town. In Geiranger, the fjord is not very wide and you are never far from land (and something to see).

 

Kayakers on Geirangerfjord:

 

enhance

Thank you so much, sounds like Geiranger is the vest.

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