Brilliance OTS, 2 June 2012 Trip Report - the Norway, no, Denmark, no, Norway Cruise

[Cotswold Eagle]

David, thank you so much for sharing your cruise experience on Brilliance with us. Your pictures are absolutely wonderful. We are doing this cruise and the Arctic Circle itinerary but on Vision next June. I was excited when we booked but after seeing your photos, I don't know if I'll make it to next June.:D

 

Do you have any recommendations for a pre-cruise hotel in Copenhagen? Looks like layering was the dress for most days. How warm/cold did it get during your cruise?

 

Hi, I'm glad you are enjoying my review - I like to pay back (and forward) for the help I have received on this board :)

 

I can't help with Copenhagen, I'm afraid - that was on the alternative itinerary that was binned when the Norwegian strike was cancelled.

 

The weather was very kind to us as you can see (wait for Bergen, billed as the rainiest place on Earth), but even so you had to be prepared for 4 seasons in one day! I was slightly concerned because I had adjusted my packing for the more southern alternative in the Baltic, in particular I only had a light rain jacket. I was fine with that and a couple of layers, even on the coldest days - but remember I am a Yorkshire man born and bred, and used to English weather. We had anything from low 50s to high 60s, I would say. Sturdy shoes are a good idea, too.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

David

[Cotswold Eagle]

After descending from the mountain, I headed back to the ship for a quick bite of lunch (an advantage of cruising here is that the ship is pretty generally available for lunch, if you are watching your budget!) In the afternoon I set out exploring again - I had reserve plans to visit some of Ålesund's museums, but the weather remained incredibly kind, so I just wandered and took more photos.

 

In the afternoon I mostly explored the area of town on the island to the left looking from the ship (and therefore at the top of the panoramic photos from Fjellstua). Walking along the mole to the small red lighthouse at the harbour entrance you get some good views back to the main part of town. I also enjoyed seeing how they have tried (on the whole) to keep the more recent building in keeping with the unique style of the rebuilt town.

 

 

 

Note the Fjellstua viewpoint in the background of this view

 

A modern addition to the waterfont

 

All aboard was at 5.30 pm and I stayed on deck for the sail away. As we picked our way through various islands, heading towards the open sea, I suddenly realised this reminded me of something - sail aways in the Virgin Islands! But with more snow, obviously....

 

 

Edited June 20, 2012 by Cotswold Eagle

[cruisenfever]

Hi, I'm glad you are enjoying my review - I like to pay back (and forward) for the help I have received on this board :)

 

I can't help with Copenhagen, I'm afraid - that was on the alternative itinerary that was binned when the Norwegian strike was cancelled.

 

The weather was very kind to us as you can see (wait for Bergen, billed as the rainiest place on Earth), but even so you had to be prepared for 4 seasons in one day! I was slightly concerned because I had adjusted my packing for the more southern alternative in the Baltic, in particular I only had a light rain jacket. I was fine with that and a couple of layers, even on the coldest days - but remember I am a Yorkshire man born and bred, and used to English weather. We had anything from low 50s to high 60s, I would say. Sturdy shoes are a good idea, too.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

David

Thanks so much David. I forgot about the itinerary change.

[Cotswold Eagle]

After the dramatic sail away, I headed for the first time to the Diamond (and above) event, which was held in the Hollywood Bar (aft, Port side area of the Viking Crown lounge area) every night. I arrived at about 6-15 pm and there were barely 10 people there, most of whom left shortly afterwards. The underemployed barman was an Indonesian, Putu, who was very pleasant...and brought me "free" drinks, of course.

 

I just had the one tonight, as I went to the 7 pm pre-dinner show, a headliner showtime performance by Beatles Celebration, a pretty good tribute band. I had heard "Paul" sing earlier in the week, when he performed a couple of numbers at the Jubilee pub sing song night.

 

The Fab Four

 

The (small) crowd go wild....

 

Patriotic Jubilee fever on the Brilliance :)

　

After a dinner of mushroom soup (excellent, just like I make at home!) and a mixed grill in the MDR, I found that we had moved on a decade, as the 70s Party kicked off at 10.30 pm in the Centrum. This was standard stuff, but got the crowd up and dancing, as usual. The party carried on, but I retired to bed, looking forward to a day in Molde.

[Cotswold Eagle]

I'm sorry, but that's it for tonight, and tomorrow I'm on the road all day, I'm afraid. I'll be able to answer questions and respond to comments, but the story of Molde and the Atlantic Road will have to wait for Friday.

 

David

[Cotswold Eagle]

Thanks so much David. I forgot about the itinerary change.

 

You probably know this, but there is a really helpful guy from Denmark on the Northern Europe and Baltic ports of call board, who posts all the time on the long "I live in Copenhagen..." thread.

[Dragonqueen]

Wow David, thanks so much for taking the time to do this review, we are on Brilliance on the 3rd July for the Norwegian Fjords, I haven't had time to read it all yet, but your photos are great, you look like you had reasonable weather & it is giving me a good idea of what to pack, can't wait for the rest, I have work tomorrow & have stayed up later than normal because I found your review, I know what I will be dreaming of tonight !!!

Again thank you for doing this.

Donna

[truffles2]

Great review! Well, now, here is another cruise I want to do:rolleyes:

[Coolcruise02]

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to share with us. :)

[cruisenfever]

You probably know this, but there is a really helpful guy from Denmark on the Northern Europe and Baltic ports of call board, who posts all the time on the long "I live in Copenhagen..." thread.

I guess that's my next stop. Thanks again.

[sdear]

Your pictures are spectacular..thank you for taking the time to post them !

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the review of your cruise. Glad you had a good time.

[critterchick]

I guess that's my next stop. Thanks again.

 

Patti, we're staying at the Hilton and the Scandic Palace in September, so I'll be sure to let you know how we like them.:) And Danish Viking is a wealth of information on the "I live in Copenhagen" thread (somebody else started it, but has dropped off CC and he picked up the ball).

[Cotswold Eagle]

Patti, we're staying at the Hilton and the Scandic Palace in September, so I'll be sure to let you know how we like them.:) And Danish Viking is a wealth of information on the "I live in Copenhagen" thread (somebody else started it, but has dropped off CC and he picked up the ball).

 

That's the one :) Read a lot of their stuff in the 18 hours when I thought we were going to Copenhagen!

[nellydean]

Great review, we did the fjords last July on Grand princess but, I must say, your itinerary seems to have included prettier places than ours. We did Bergen and Gerainger, but also Stavanger, which was just OK, and another place whose name I can't remember, which was a substitute for Molde or Alesund, which looks lovely. We did a great train journey through the mountains from the port we stopped at, but the town itself was very boring, so I think you got the best deal with your itinerary so far! :)

[cruisenfever]

Patti, we're staying at the Hilton and the Scandic Palace in September, so I'll be sure to let you know how we like them.:) And Danish Viking is a wealth of information on the "I live in Copenhagen" thread (somebody else started it, but has dropped off CC and he picked up the ball).

Thanks so much Jean. We'd appreciate any info you can get for us.

[harz99]

Cotswold Eagle; wonderful review which has really set us up for our Norway cruise on "X" Constellation from Monday 25th - sort of enhanced version of the ones Brilliance has been doing. Hopefully the weather will be as kind to us as it was for you.

[Cotswold Eagle]

Great review, we did the fjords last July on Grand princess but, I must say, your itinerary seems to have included prettier places than ours. We did Bergen and Gerainger, but also Stavanger, which was just OK, and another place whose name I can't remember, which was a substitute for Molde or Alesund, which looks lovely. We did a great train journey through the mountains from the port we stopped at, but the town itself was very boring, so I think you got the best deal with your itinerary so far! :)

 

I suspect the port you mention was Flåm?

 

Molde will be up tomorrow, which I found to be very much a "get out of town and do something" port :)

 

David

Edited June 21, 2012 by Cotswold Eagle

[Dreamgirl1957]

Fab review, really enjoyed reading it. We are on Brilliance next month for a 11 day Fjords so now looking forward to it even more, thanks for all your time and effort . :):):)

[Bonnielass]

Awesome review and photos, thanks so much for taking the time to post.

 

Maybe you should start considering a career as a travel writer.

 

Thanks again.

[Lorna Doone]

Thanks for such a wonderful review. We are sailing on the Brilliance July 13 and your specific information about Amsterdam and the ports is so helpful.:p

[nellydean]

I suspect the port you mention was Flåm?

 

Molde will be up tomorrow, which I found to be very much a "get out of town and do something" port :)

 

David

 

No, I remember now, it was Aldesnes, which had an interesting train carriage by the railway, that had been converted into a little church/chapel, but the town itself offered very little. I can remember being disappointed at missing the stop we were originally going to make, but a schedule change was obviously necessary and, as I said, the train trip through the mountains was spectacular.

 

Look forward to reading the rest of your review, I have already google earthed Alesund and been all the way to the lighthouse :)

Edited June 22, 2012 by nellydean

[Cotswold Eagle]

We arrived in Molde early the next morning. Molde was partly destroyed by fire in 1916 and suffered severe damage during the Second World War - it was briefly the capital as the Norwegian Royal Family and Government (and the country's gold reserves) were evacuated through here. There is no real cruise ship terminal - we tied up alongside a working commercial dock, outside the town centre.

 

The port at Molde - the small white tent at the base of the tall silo is the security facility for entry and exit! The bus was a shuttle bus to and from the town centre (I don't know if there was a charge, I'm afraid)

 

I had not identified much that I wanted to do in the town itself, so I had booked another excursion, this time in the morning. We met in the theatre again, at 8.15 am I believe, and were escorted off the ship, through the shipping containers, past the security tent and to our waiting tour buses. I was on the Atlantic Ocean Road and Fishing Village tour and we first drove through a tunnel in the mountain overlooking Molde and out to the fishing village of Bud.

 

If anyone had booked this tour hoping to gain an insight into the fishing industry in Bud, they would have been sorely disappointed. There is a pretty little harbour, with some racks for drying fish, but precious little activity (well, none) when we were there. Our guide on the bus, who was entertaining and informative, did tell us about the industry and particularly the Klippfisk tradition (cod dried on the cliffs).

 

The harbour at Bud

 

The bus dropped us at the highpoint of the village, where we were free to explore the Ergan Fortification, another relic of the war. From here one gets good views over the harbour and the approaches, which is obviously why it was used for military defence. There are a couple of old guns and a searchlight (such relics are common on this coast - later in the tour we passed a WWII radar, which I would have really liked to see close up). Unlike the ruin at the top of Aksla in Ålesund, there is a charge to enter the Ergan bunkers - we didn't have the time, and I saw no real sign of them being open at the early time were were there, in any case.

 

 

 

From the fortifications, we walked down a steep path to the car park at the bottom, where our bus met us. There is a "rock park" here, which was actually more interesting than it looks and sounds. Yes, it's a bunch of rocks on the ground, but they are displayed in accordance with their character and origin, with some pretty interesting (and occasionally unintentionally hilarious) information signs in English.

 

The rock park

Edited June 22, 2012 by Cotswold Eagle
Historical accuracy!

[Cotswold Eagle]

The bus tour then took us through more small villages, interesting countryside and coastal views.

 

 

　

The point of this part of the tour (and indeed its farthest point) was the Atlantic Road, a 5 mile construction of which the locals are rightly proud. It connects various island communities with each other and the mainland, providing a vital link in the region's economy. However, it is somewhat hyped in tour descriptions - it is, of course, a very scenic route, but it may not take your breath away in quite the way you might believe after reading the brochures. And because of the way the geography works, once we got to the end, we turned round and came back again, in order to return to Molde. We stoped at one of several viewing areas, to take the obligatory picture of the bridge that is pretty much the symbol of the Road.

 

The Atlantic Road

 

That bridge!

　

Also at the viewpoint where we stopped was a memorial to lives lost at sea, a poignant reminder of the harsh environment in which many locals made their living.

 

 

We returned to Molde and on the outskirts passed what no self respecting community in Norway can afford to be without - their local ski jumping hill.

 

 

We returned to the ship through the centre of Molde, with our guide pointing out the sites of interest, such as the town hall (with rose garden on top) and church. He also taught us to count in Norwegian, gave us a few more Norwegian words and explained that vehicles with green license plates are for commercial use only and cannot carry more than two people, a piece of Norwegian trivia that I appear to be stuck with forever!

 

[Cotswold Eagle]

After having lunch on board, I noticed the weather had cleared up - as you will see from the photos above, the morning was cloudy with occasional rain (a small confession - the first picture, of the port, was taken in the afternoon!) When we had driven through the town I hadn't really seen much that excited me, but I decided I could do with the exercise, so set off to explore.

 

I walked into the centre, which took about 20 minutes - through the commercial port and past various large stores (DIY etc) and car showrooms, and then down a hill next to a main road. Before reaching the town centre I passed a ferry terminal for the many and frequent services that connect this part of the country.

 

 

Molde has historically been known as the Town of Roses - it has a mild climate and roses thrive here, but apparently bloom a little later than our early June visit. On the bus tour in the morning we passed higher in the town a very famous garden. To celebrate this horticultural speciality, the town folk have painted the side of a building as you enter the centre and there is also a statue of a Rose Maiden (Rosepiken).

 

 

 

Molde is also a jazz town, hosting an annual jazz festival, which is also marked by a statue (apologies for the poorly exposed photo).

 

 

I wandered along the main street, which is lined with mostly non-tourist shops (in fact, I was looking to buy a baseball cap in Norwegian colours, but didn't stumble across a souvenir shop). I did make use of a pharmacy, which for my British readers was slightly incongruously a Boots! The tourist information office (much smaller and less conspicuous than the ones I had seen in Geiranger and Ålesund) can be found just off the high street, in a square leading towards the waterfront. I learned from Eamonn and Deidre later at dinner that this office had helped them do an Atlantic Road tour on a local bus.

 

Still feeling somewhat uninspired by Molde, I headed back to the ship well in time for the 4.30 pm all aboard. The entrance to the dock is easy to find, but not especially welcoming, especially as you have to look out for fork lift trucks operating in the timber warehouse next to the road!

 

 

I may have been a bit harsh on Molde, and I know there are other things to do here, including an outdoor museum, fisheries museum and a viewpoint called Varden. But equally in hearing reports of some of these later from fellow passengers, I don't feel I missed out too much. If I came this way again, I think I would be inclined to rent a car and explore the countryside myself.