Azura Fjords booked!

We are excited to have booked our first Fjords cruise for 2nd June this year!

Our ports of call are: Stavanger, Flaam, Olden and Bergen.

Any advice regarding excursions/things to do much appreciated

Stavanger and Bergen are easy to DIY/just wander around and pretty.

In Stavanger there is a Petroleum Museum just a short walk from the quay, which sounds deadly but is in fact very interesting and well worth a visit. There is also a Canning Museum, which I haven't visited but believe is also good. There's a pretty lake area to walk round and the cathedral is worth a visit. A family who were on our table at dinner took a boat from the quay to visit the tropical gardens on an island, which they said were brilliant and the excursion much cheaper than the same offering from P&O. I think there are companies offering other boat tours from the quay too.

In Bergen, depending on where the ship is berthed you can either walk from the ship to town, or you will have to catch a shuttle if berthed in the container port. The shuttle drops off by a lake in the centre, from where it's a short walk to the fish market and old harbour area, the funicular railway up the mountain and several museums dotted around the central area. If you take the funicular there are great views (weather permitting), a café and nice walks at the top of the hill. En route between the lake and funicular there is a small indoor shopping centre. The café on the top floor does reasonably priced (for Norway) filter coffee and a free refill is included in the price.

In Olden the main excursion is to the Briksdal Glacier. If you search the forums here there is quite a lot of info on DIYing it, likewise the recently opened Floen Sky Lift. We did the glacier on a ship's tour. It was great. We opted to walk from the coach drop off point to the glacier - we are fit and healthy but it was quite a long and steep (in places) walk. Alternatively you can catch the troll cars (buggies) from the car park which drive you to the glacier. I believe the glacier has shrunk a lot since our visit in 2012. In Olden there is a little road train which runs round the village and lake, but the village itself is very small.

The fjords are magnificent. Hope you have a lovely cruise.

thanks so much. some interesting ideas there.

I know DH will want to do the Olden sky lift thingy

We are on the same cruise on 14 July. I suggest you do a fair bit of research on excursions. Nearly all are much cheaper if you do independently rather than through P & O. We have booked a fjord safari in Flam and a trip to the glacier in Olden. Intend doing the funicular in Bergen but no need to prebook at all (you gain nothing) and it looks to be a short walk from where the ship docks. All of these are cheaper if done direct.

We are on the same cruise on 14 July. I suggest you do a fair bit of research on excursions. Nearly all are much cheaper if you do independently rather than through P & O. We have booked a fjord safari in Flam and a trip to the glacier in Olden. Intend doing the funicular in Bergen but no need to prebook at all (you gain nothing) and it looks to be a short walk from where the ship docks. All of these are cheaper if done direct.

No saving moneywise if you prebook the funicular, but can save a considerable amount of time because the ticket office queues can be huge. Either get there very early, or prebook if there are going to be a couple of ships in port to avoid the queues. It wasn't particularly busy the day we went and we still queued for about 20 mins. Same applies to the Flam train journey. Our cruise didn't call there, but according to advice on here it is cheaper to book tickets direct than a P&O package and again, get there early if you want to get a good seat.

For anyone interested, there are no Flam railway tickets available to pre-book on 17 July which is the date we are in port. The P & O excursion is also wait listed. If you want to pre-book the railway tickets, you have to do so a long time in advance.

We are excited to have booked our first Fjords cruise for 2nd June this year!

Our ports of call are: Stavanger, Flaam, Olden and Bergen.

Any advice regarding excursions/things to do much appreciated

Hi Gillyg

Finally! After reading through the roll calls and a fair few threads on the boards, I've found someone else going on the same cruise as us :D.

This is a fairly last minute thing for us (we usually like to book way in advance) but we've literally booked in the last couple of days.

Never been to the fjords before and I'm really looking forward to it. Hubby is more of a sun-lounger type holidayer, but I'm sure he'll enjoy the scenery. Have you cruised to the region before, or is this your first time? Has been useful to read through the responses to your post, as I thought that most of the ports were fairly close to all central areas.

Amanda

Hi Gillyg

 

Finally! After reading through the roll calls and a fair few threads on the boards, I've found someone else going on the same cruise as us :D.

 

This is a fairly last minute thing for us (we usually like to book way in advance) but we've literally booked in the last couple of days.

 

Never been to the fjords before and I'm really looking forward to it. Hubby is more of a sun-lounger type holidayer, but I'm sure he'll enjoy the scenery. Have you cruised to the region before, or is this your first time? Has been useful to read through the responses to your post, as I thought that most of the ports were fairly close to all central areas.

 

Amanda

Hi Amanda

no we have never been to this region before. to be honest it never really appealed as we are the opposite to your hubby and thought it might be a little slow for us, but our best friend has had a bad health scare this year and we all agreed that a 'gentler' pace might suit him better so we are giving it a go! to be honest really looking forward to it now! See you there!!

When in Bergen if docking at container port the shuttle bus no longer drops you off at the lake but in another part of town. Where and how far it is into town centre is easy to find via Google.

Hi Amanda

 

no we have never been to this region before. to be honest it never really appealed as we are the opposite to your hubby and thought it might be a little slow for us, but our best friend has had a bad health scare this year and we all agreed that a 'gentler' pace might suit him better so we are giving it a go! to be honest really looking forward to it now! See you there!!

Hi Gillyg

Ooh a cruise is perfect for the gentler pace of holiday...love to just sit on deck with a cuppa watching the world go by. There's nothing better IMO :).

I noticed you live in West Yorkshire - us too!! :D. Must've only put Yorkshire on my profile when I set it up...don't know why...:confused:

Not sure if you're already sorted with your packing list, but I found this earlier today, which you may find useful as a first-time Norway visitor like us...looks like we won't need too much sun cream :cool:...

https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/practical-information/what-to-pack-coastal/

Amanda

Hi Gillyg

 

 

 

Ooh a cruise is perfect for the gentler pace of holiday...love to just sit on deck with a cuppa watching the world go by. There's nothing better IMO :).

 

 

 

I noticed you live in West Yorkshire - us too!! [emoji3]. Must've only put Yorkshire on my profile when I set it up...don't know why...[emoji782]

 

 

 

Not sure if you're already sorted with your packing list, but I found this earlier today, which you may find useful as a first-time Norway visitor like us...looks like we won't need too much sun cream [emoji41]...

 

 

 

https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/practical-information/what-to-pack-coastal/

 

 

 

Amanda

You might be surprised sun cream-wise ! We went late April to Norway and it was sunny but cold. Out on deck watching us come into port I got quite a red face!

I keep saying I’d like to go back when it’s a bit warmer as we loved it and the people there. Haven’t got round to it yet, but I’m sure we will one day!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hi Gillyg

 

Ooh a cruise is perfect for the gentler pace of holiday...love to just sit on deck with a cuppa watching the world go by. There's nothing better IMO :).

 

I noticed you live in West Yorkshire - us too!! :D. Must've only put Yorkshire on my profile when I set it up...don't know why...:confused:

 

Not sure if you're already sorted with your packing list, but I found this earlier today, which you may find useful as a first-time Norway visitor like us...looks like we won't need too much sun cream :cool:...

 

https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/practical-information/what-to-pack-coastal/

 

Amanda

Thanks for the link, very useful. We have done fly cruises many times and we also love to sit and watch the world go by (or the sea)!! We were drawn to this cruise particularly because easy to get to southampton (comfy car ride for our friend) and no waiting around in airports or being cramped in the plane! See you there!!

Thanks for the link, very useful. We have done fly cruises many times and we also love to sit and watch the world go by (or the sea)!! We were drawn to this cruise particularly because easy to get to southampton (comfy car ride for our friend) and no waiting around in airports or being cramped in the plane! See you there!!

Yes, absolutely - no bother about waiting times in airports. We've booked a coach to Southampton this time around, so looking forward to the journey this time as we're not driving :cool:.