suggestions for Fjords/North Cape cruise

[Doh15]

Hi,

 

My wife and I did an Alaska cruise last summer with HAL and really enjoyed it, and their "midnight sun" itinerary caught our eye for next summer (probably June). It's 14 days (outer limit of what we could take, 7 might be better even if we do it 2013 vs waiting a year or two) and stops at --

 

Stavanger

Bergen

Flam

Geiranger (after cruising Sognefjord)

Tromso

Honningsvag

Hammerfest

Trondheim

Alesund (after cruising Tronheimsfjord)

Bergen

 

(that's from Dover on the Ryndam-- there's a fairly similar itinerary from Rotterdam on the Rotterdam, but seems to have less fjord cruising?).

 

We are fairly active, but we are happy to visit a lot of European ports by land so we were thinking this would be a very scenic cruise (and places that might be hard to access by land).

 

We liked HAL. For example, we were comfortable with fixed seating for dinner (and 2 formal nights). The age range on our Alaska cruise was a little older than we are but didn't bother us. We'd be traveling with a 10 yo, but he's not really interested in hanging out in the kids club as much as sightseeing, reading, playing cards, etc., and we don't really need much in the way of entertainment. We might also travel with a fairly active grandparent.

 

All that said, I don't know if there are other lines that have better itineraries for Norway (maybe smaller ships-- not sure we'd want to go much larger), or if we should consider a different sets of ports (like Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger), or even consider a Baltic route instead.

 

Any advice for a newbie would be appreciated!

[kaisatsu]

I can't comment on the ship or cruiseline, as I tend to choose most of my trips by the itinerary instead, but I will offer some background to help you evaluate itineraries:

 

If you want to see the Midnight Sun, you will need to sail above the Arctic Circle. There are almost no 7-night cruises that sail that far north, because the departure ports tend to be much farther south. The farther above the Arctic Circle you travel, the longer there will be true midnight sun. If you sail all the way to Tromsø or North Cape, there will be midnight sun through all of June and most of July.

 

The two UNESCO-listed fjords are the Geirangerfjord (en route to Geiranger) and the Nærøyfjord (a side branch of Sognefjord near Flåm). Geiranger is really the cream of the crop when it comes to fjord sailing and is often considered within Norway to be the most beautiful of the fjords. I would definitely try to choose a fjord sailing that includes it.

 

You are correct that visiting the Norwegian coast is much easier by sea than as a land trip. The roads are long and winding, and it can take hours to cover short distances. Similarly, there isn't great train service farther north, and most people use short domestic flights to get around.

 

The only thing I can think of that would make that HAL itinerary better would be a port call in the Lofoten Islands. Many Norwegians consider Lofoten the most beautiful part of Norway, so if you're sailing that far north it's worth looking for an itinerary that includes it (the typical cruise ports are Gravdal or Leknes). Terry can provide visuals of Lofoten to get an idea!

 

Surprisingly, Oslo doesn't fit easily into a fjord/Nordkapp cruise, because it's quite far inland and you have to sail around the southern part of the country to reach the west coast. For that reason, most fjord sailings leave from Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Southampton, etc. They're bigger ports, and the sailing time to reach the fjord area is almost the same as from Oslo.

 

As for the Baltics, comparing a Baltics cruise to a fjord cruise is kind of like comparing Alaska to the Mediterranean. You go for two very different things. The Baltics are port-intensive with lots of culture and history, while the fjords are more about scenic cruising, small towns, and nature. They're both excellent in their own ways.

[SoBaycruiser]

You might want to join us on the Princess Ocean June 1 cruise. It also is two weeks out of Dover but goes, I think, further north (Spitsbergen Island) as well as Gravdal in the Lofoten Islands. It's a small ship and only has traditional fixed dining. However it is not oriented towards kids at all. Take a look at it.

[Doh15]

Thanks very much-- that's very helpful!

[Doh15]

You might want to join us on the Princess Ocean June 1 cruise. It also is two weeks out of Dover but goes, I think, further north (Spitsbergen Island) as well as Gravdal in the Lofoten Islands. It's a small ship and only has traditional fixed dining. However it is not oriented towards kids at all. Take a look at it.

 

That looks very interesting, but June 1 is a little early for us. Looks like they do a similar itinerary later with a larger ship though.

 

ETA: just compared ship size and it looks as though the Ocean Princess is about 700 pax, HAL's Ryndam is about 1300 pax, and the Crown Princess is about 3000 pax!

Edited November 6, 2012 by Doh15

[dsrdsrdsr]

P&O's Adonia is about 800 passengers and will no doubt be heading that way, though I think it's adult only which would be no use to you.

 

Fred Olsen specialises in Norway. It tends to cater for oldies but not exclusively.

 

Hurtigruten is scenic viewing only, no entertainment on board, but calls at 31 or so different ports. You don't get a lot of time on shore.

 

Cruises & Maritime are at the cheap end of the market with their ships Marco Polo and Discovery (formerly Pacific Princess).

 

To see who goes in that direction, take a look at one of these sites that shows which ships are in which ports on a given day, and check Bergen. There'll be a long list.

[Doh15]

P&O's Adonia is about 800 passengers and will no doubt be heading that way, though I think it's adult only which would be no use to you.

 

Fred Olsen specialises in Norway. It tends to cater for oldies but not exclusively.

 

Hurtigruten is scenic viewing only, no entertainment on board, but calls at 31 or so different ports. You don't get a lot of time on shore.

 

Cruises & Maritime are at the cheap end of the market with their ships Marco Polo and Discovery (formerly Pacific Princess).

 

To see who goes in that direction, take a look at one of these sites that shows which ships are in which ports on a given day, and check Bergen. There'll be a long list.

 

Thanks, I looked at Hurtigruten a little bit, but it seemed that they don't really do the fjords? Plus I wasn't sure how the rest of the family would do with the food. I think that's a case where we need more pampering than I like to think.

[Globaliser]

I looked at Hurtigruten a little bit, but it seemed that they don't really do the fjords?

The Hurtigruten is different from other cruises, because it's actually a working ferry service that also sells journeys as cruises.

 

If you want to see the midnight sun, then basically you have to do a 14-night cruise, as kaisatsu says, and do it at the right time of the year. If you want to do the Lofotens, you have to pick a smaller ship.

[Doh15]

If you want to do the Lofotens, you have to pick a smaller ship.

 

This doesn't seem right, as the Crown Princess has a Lofoten itinerary, but I think we'd have to weigh the larger ship size against what might well be a nicer itinerary.

[Globaliser]

Sorry, I'm obviously out of date. I'd never seen an itinerary before with a big ship going to the Lofotens.

[kaisatsu]

Gravdal/Leknes is a tender port, so just about any ship can call there. It's just not common, because Lofoten isn't so well-known internationally. (We visited the port on the QE2 - not huge, but definitely not small.)

[Aussie Gal]

We are booked on the Ocean Princess cruise to the Land of the Midnight Sun in June next year. We love the smaller ships and their itineraries and always try to book their cruises.

 

Saying that, we did a New England cruise this October on the Emerald Princess. It was one of only a few doing that itinerary and it was what we wanted - Quebec City to New York via quite a few ports wihich were unusual especially the Canadian ports.

 

After being on that huge ship for 10 days, there is no way we would ever book a ship as big as that over a smaller ship doing a similar itinerary. I am not sure what you are looking forward in your cruise to the Midnight Sun but I don't think you can beat the itinerary that the Ocean Princess is dong. My second choice would be on HAL's Ryndam. We have cruised on her sister ship the Maasdam and the Veendam a number of times and have always had a good experience on those mid size ships.

 

Jennie

[Doh15]

Yes-- I think the Ocean Princess would be great-- great itinerary and smaller ship-- but the dates don't work for us. I think we might end up not cruising next summer and hoping it works out another year, but thanks to all for the advice-- at least we're prepared if something pops up! :)

[Doh15]

So we're back and looking at this again for next year, although I'm not sure much has changed. Ocean Princess still leaves a little early in June for us, while the Ruby Princess seems like a pretty big boat for us. Looks like we could take the Ryndam in June or July or the Prisendam in August (but that cuts things a little close for the start of school).

 

I appreciate the prior suggestions (still looking into Fred Olsen although I am not sure about their itinerary) and I thought I'd just check in to see in case anyone had any other thoughts or suggestions.

[LHT28]

Not sure if it would suit your needs but Oceania has a 20 day out of Dover Aug 2..same size ship as the Ocean Princess

 

We did this cruise a few years ago the scenery was great

 

Other small ships would be the luxury lines

[Pluto_fan]

I'm also puzzling through the options on Norway itineraries. From my spreadsheet, it looks like other "non-huge" ships going way up north include Celebrity Constellation, MSC Opera, and Costa Mediterranea. Costa has the widest choice of departure dates and seems to visit the most ports, but is also the largest of the three (~2600 passengers). Good luck, and let us know what you come up with!

[TLCOhio]

Hi, My wife and I did an Alaska cruise last summer with HAL and really enjoyed it, and their "midnight sun" itinerary caught our eye for next summer (probably June). It's 14 days (outer limit of what we could take, 7 might be better even if we do it 2013 vs waiting a year or two) and stops at --

Stavanger

Bergen

Flam

Geiranger (after cruising Sognefjord)

Tromso

Honningsvag

Hammerfest

Trondheim

Alesund (after cruising Tronheimsfjord)

Bergen

Any advice for a newbie would be appreciated!

 

kaisatsu: Gravdal/Leknes is a tender port' date=' so just about any ship can call there. It's just not common, because Lofoten isn't so well-known internationally. (We visited the port on the QE2 - not huge, but definitely not small.) [/quote']

 

You have received lots of good ideas and suggestions. There are a number of cruise lines offering options along this area up to the North Cape, etc. BUT, the "window" for such sailing is fairly narrow during the summer and costs are not cheap in and around Norway. We did nine of the ports you first mentioned. See more on the full live/blog noted below. We really enjoyed this area with a wide variety of sites, cities, interesting options in these areas.

 

I wanted to put in a strong plug for considering the Lofoten Islands. Below are some of my visuals sample to back up and prove the WHY for this spectacular and wonderful region that is along your routing up and down this coast. On a recent CBS Amazing Race, they featured many shots and examples from this dramatic area.

 

This 70-miles long island archipelago has natural surroundings regarded to be among the most stunning in Norway, with mountains, peaks, cliffs and white sandy beaches. The remote southern islands of Vaeroy and Rost are rated as world-class bird sanctuaries having nesting places for millions of seabirds along its cliffs. There are 35,000 people living on all of the islands and they are 886 miles northeast of Bergen. In November 2007, National Geographic Traveler rated the Lofoten Islands of northern Norway the third most appealing islands in the world. The Gulf Stream contributes to its seasonal fishing success. In Leknes, the sun (midnight sun) is above the horizon from May 26 to July 17 and in winter the sun does not rise from December 9 to January 4.

 

Happy to answer any added questions on Bergen, Flam, Geiranger, Tromso, Honningsvag, Hammerfest, Trondheim and Alesund. Or share more info, visuals, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 122,707 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here is one of our first Lofoten Islands views from a stop early in the trip south as we drove towards "Å".

 

 

 

An historic seaport and cod fishing center is Nusfjord a few miles east of the main south-bound road in the Lofoten Islands. It is one of Norway’s oldest and best preserved fishing villages (fiskevaer). Here is one of its buildings and its harbor. There is also a cod processing building with various visuals to see for that historic era. The old Fish Oil Mill is used for exhibiting items from the Fish Buying Station or fiskemottak. They show a film called “The people and the fish”. The mill was built around 1910. Here fish oil was produced from fish liver. The fish was retrieved from the Buying Station then, transported by rowboat to the mill. Cod liver oil was a very attractive export product, used in industrial production and for medicinal purpose. We also got some great pictures of its birds perched on a large rock, etc. You can see more details from this website:

http://www.nusfjord.no/EN/nusfjord/index_new_eng.html:

 

 

 

We went to the end of the road in the Lofoten Islands along the scenic Norway Coast. This is a charming village called “Å”. In their alphabet, this “A” has a small “o” above the letter. Simple name for a charming fishing town! We had box lunches from the ship and dined on a picnic table on the wooden dock. This was our view with the busy and noisy birds. From Gravdal to the SW end of the E10 highway, it is about 38 miles. Not a long, long distance. Very good and interesting road conditions, bridges, tunnels, options for stopping, scenic drama, etc. Parts of this highway is known as King Olav's Road. Until the 1990's, Å was mainly a small fishing village, but recently tourism has become the main economic focus.:

 

 

 

Here is an example of the soaring rocks/mountains and dramatic scenery in the Lofoten Islands when we did our DIY drive south and then back on the Lofoten Islands. Nice? This includes one of the curved beaches about a mile and a half east of Ramberg.:

 

 

 

Here are some of the many wooden racks for fish drying on these islands that we checked out during our drive south in the Lofoten Islands.:

 

 

 

Near the main E10 roadway in the southern part of the Lofoten Island is this historic Flakstad Kirke church that was built in 1780. It has a Russian design/look as certain of its materials were donated by those from that country.:

 

[Doh15]

Thanks Terry-- this forum (including of course your pics) had already made me want to visit the Lofotens (and I enjoyed seeing them on the Amazing Race), which is part of the difficulty in trying to decide what to do.

 

The Oceania itinerary looks great, but I'm afraid it's beyond our budget (what's that saying about champagne tastes...?).

 

Pluto fan-- another ship we came across, FYI, is Swan Hellenic's Minerva.

[melody hounddog]

Wonderful photos! This trip is on my bucket list!

[dsrdsrdsr]

Thanks, I looked at Hurtigruten a little bit, but it seemed that they don't really do the fjords? Plus I wasn't sure how the rest of the family would do with the food. I think that's a case where we need more pampering than I like to think.

Few of these cruises have days which are nothing but fjord cruising, because they usually find a port at the end of the fjord. Geiranger, for example, is at the end of a 4-hour fjord passage. There's no short way in, so all cruise lines that visit Geiranger travel that same 4-hour passage. I think some of your itineraries are emphasising the fjord elements more than others, but the fjord elements are likely to be there for them all - google a map of Norway and chjeck these ports, you'll see how much land they have to get through to some of these ports.

[Eboracum_d]

We did the Midnight Sun cruise on Ryndam this year and can thoroughly recommend it. We certainly had Midnight Sun -- may be we were lucky with the weather.

 

The cruise is a good mix of Fjord cruising and some interesting Norwegian Towns and Cities.

 

We have done the Hurtigruten round trip but that was in the early 1970s -- the current bats look a great deal more comfortable. But they are now more tourist - orientated than the working ship we were on. Road communications have improved considerably over the last 40 years so there svless reliance on Hurtigruten.

 

Whichever option you choose you will certainly get some fantastic photographs and will get a good insight into life on the Norwegian seaboard.

 

David

[Aussie Gal]

We did a fantastic cruise on the Ocean Princess in June this year called "Land of the Midnight Sun". We visited some wonderful ports including Flam, Tromso, Ny Alesand which is a research station nearly 80N within the Arctic Circle, Honningsvag and the North Cape, Kirkenes, Gradval in the Lofoten Islands, Geirgranger and Bergen before returning to Dover.

 

We saw some beautiful fjords and we had incredible weather, sunshine 24 hours a day for 12 days and for the other four days we had some darkness. It was a fantastic cruise and I would highly recommend it.

 

We have also done a Baltic cruise which is completely different to visiting this part of Norway. Another time we did a cruise from Boston to Rotterdam where we called into 4 ports from Bergen to Oslo so we have now seen quite a lot of Norway.

 

Jennie

[cruise_bunnies]

I'm also looking into this, as I know my partner would love to do the Fjords/Northern Europe. We can travel in July/August and there is so much there. We'd prefer leaving from IJmuiden, Rotterdam or Harwich.

 

So far in my research:

 

HAL has several 7 day options starting at around €1000 pp for insides, and 14 day options (I'd prefer to do those) between €2000-2800 for insides.

 

Costa has an option for 13 days for €1800 for an inside.

 

MSC has an option for 12 days for €1600 for an inside.

 

Cruise & Martime Voyages had some good promotions (Sail one person free) and has several options, but also from the UK, so wouldn't be preferred. If I had been on time for the July option promotion, I'd be sailing for around €400 for an inside. I've heard some troubling things about this line though, so would have to be really cheap for us to consider, we need to take either ferry or plane.

 

Celebrity has 11 days for €1200 promotion for an outside cabin + including drink package, but leaves from Harwich.

 

P&O has several options, but I don't like their pricing schedule. They have early bookings (cheaper, but can't choose dining option) and normal prices. 7 Day options are slightly cheaper then HAL in the saving options €800 for insides, but I need to take a ferry to Harwich, so all in all, would prefer HAL then.

 

Royal & Cunard both have options leaving from Southampton in the €1100-€1300 range.

 

All in All, I can have options from 3 lines leaving from my preferred ports (HAL, Costa, MSC) and 5 lines leaving from ports near enough for me to probably pay around €100-200 for extra travel costs.

 

I think I'm going to wait until the 90day mark and see who has the best promotions, unless I can score HAL for a good price. I know my partner would prefer those to MSC and Costa. Princess, Royal or Cunard are good options, but the extra travel costs might make them more expensive then just booking HAL.

 

Most of the cruises are a little above budget (I'd love to spend only 800-1000) and I know that I will have a high chance to sail because of the amount of offerings.

 

Where are you from & what is your preferred cruise line/ports? That should also narrow down your options.

Edited December 4, 2013 by cruise_bunnies

[Eboracum_d]

There may be another option for you, cruise bunnies.

 

Thomson are running a series of 7 -14 day cruises to Norway during the coming Summer on their ship the Spirit.

 

That ship started out life with Holland America as the Nieuw Amsterdam and has a very traditional feel to it. The cruises are from Newcastle which is not on your list of preferred ports but is easily reached by train from London, by flying to its own airport or by ferry from Holland.

 

Pricewise Thomson is considerably cheaper than Holland America and much the same as Cruise and Maritime. We have been on the Spirit before and thought it was better than the more expensive P and O cruise. The clientele are predominantly British, as they would be on Cruise and Maritime. Costa and MSC will be much more of a European mix. We have been with Costa but find the constant stream of announcements in 5 or 6 languages to be more than a little obtrusive.

[Aussie Gal]

We have done three cruises this year and they have been on Celebrity, Princess and HAL. We enjoyed Celebrity, loved Princess and found that HAL has lost its edge on quality which we have enjoyed so much on previous cruises over the years..

 

The food on Princess was great and being on a smaller ship, the Ocean Princess, with only 600 odd passengers, was so much easier when we had to tender. The other two ships, we have cruised on were the Solstice and the Noordam which are so much larger . One of the reasons that we were able to go so far north and visit more interesting ports was because we were on a smaller ship. We met the Hurtigruten ships in quite a few of the ports we visited but their stay in those ports was for a far less time than we had.

 

We also found in quite a few ports, there were also other ships so unless you go up into the Arctic Circle, you will be in a port with quite a few thousand other people. This happened in Geiranger, Bergen, Flam and Gradval in the Lofoten Islands.

 

The old Nieuw Amsterdam was a lovely ship. We did a great cruise on its sister ship the Noordam back in 2003 and it was very comfortable though there aren't any verandas. That was when HAL was a quality cruise line.

 

Jennie