Norway with Princess Cruises

[cruising kirby]

I have posted on the Europe forum, but I am specifically interested in cruising Norway with Princess, so thought I would post here as well. Has anyone done a Princess itinerary to Norway/North Cape on the Ocean Princess? How did you find the ports? Was the Ocean Princess a good experience (my previous cruises have been on the larger Princess ships)? The ports on the itinerary I am considering are Bergen, Hellesylt, Geiranger, Tromso, Longyearbyen, North Cape, Alta, Lofoten Islands, Stavanger. Any comments sincerely appreciated!

[Pam in CA]

I haven't done this cruise on the Ocean Princess but have taken it on HAL's Prinsendam, a slightly larger ship than the Ocean. IMHO, the small ship is a much better cruise experience to these ports because several are quite small villages. We checked the large Princess ship and were much happier on the small ship. I would never do it on a larger ship.

 

Definitely plan on taking the overland tour from Hellesylt to Geiranger. Expensive but worth it. Also plan on going on tour to the Cliff on the North Cape.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Pam in CA

[Posaune]

I have done this cruise on Ocean Princess and it was wonderful. I agree with everything Pam said in her comments.

 

I am used to Anytime Dining, so Traditional was a bit strange to me. Also be prepared that the shows are much smaller scale, done with little to no scenery.

 

Several of the excursions are fantastic. You will have little to no internet or television while you are back in the fjords. You have mountains on both sides of you so there is no visible satellite.

 

If you are going out of Dover there is a Best Western right on the water (Dover Marina Hotel)

[cruising kirby]

Thank you so much for your comments! The more I am learning about this area the more excited I am becoming.

[santos949]

I have posted on the Europe forum, but I am specifically interested in cruising Norway with Princess, so thought I would post here as well. Has anyone done a Princess itinerary to Norway/North Cape on the Ocean Princess? How did you find the ports? Was the Ocean Princess a good experience (my previous cruises have been on the larger Princess ships)? The ports on the itinerary I am considering are Bergen, Hellesylt, Geiranger, Tromso, Longyearbyen, North Cape, Alta, Lofoten Islands, Stavanger. Any comments sincerely appreciated!

A fabulous trip. We were on the Caribbean Princess (B2B - British Isles). Book the North Cape excursion with Princess. It fills up quickly and doing it by yourself is not as easy as in other ports.

[goody1]

My Wife and I cruised on the Ocean Princess in 2012 on a very similar itinerary which also included Murmansk in Russia. It was a 16 night cruise and our 3rd time to the Norwegian Fjords. All the Ports are great and if you are going to Magdalene (spelling?) Fjord prior to Longyearbyen, the last time we were there we had to avoid ice floes and spotted 2 walrus lying on them near to the ship. It truly is a great cruise and we had brilliant Speakers who did a number of talks as we had 9 days at sea.

[Eagleeye]

We did this cruise two years ago. I would highly recommend the Puffin excursion in North Cape.

 

Roger

[DougH]

I did a Norway cruise years ago on the old NCL Norway. Fantastic cruise, interesting ship. I also recommend the overland excursion to Geiranger. I did several all day excursions that involved multiple rail trips and while expensive all were well worth the cost. The countryside is gorgeous

[cruising kirby]

I haven't done this cruise on the Ocean Princess but have taken it on HAL's Prinsendam, a slightly larger ship than the Ocean. IMHO, the small ship is a much better cruise experience to these ports because several are quite small villages. We checked the large Princess ship and were much happier on the small ship. I would never do it on a larger ship.

 

Definitely plan on taking the overland tour from Hellesylt to Geiranger. Expensive but worth it. Also plan on going on tour to the Cliff on the North Cape.

 

Pam, is the overland tour overnight? How is the tour done, by train?

[Pam in CA]

The ship drops off passengers via tender in Hellesylt, only those on a Princess tour although you can request disembarkation. The tours are day tours by bus. You drive up the side of the fjord with spectacular views and through the mountains and valleys. The bus then goes up Mt. Dalsniba for spectacular views of the valleys and into Geiranger. A stop for lunch and then the incredible drive down to the dock and tender to the ship.

 

Here are a few of my photos:

 

 

 

 

 

[cruising kirby]

Pam, your photos are fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing them. And thank you to everyone else too for their recommendations. This is why I love Cruise Critic so much, there are many lovely, generous people on these boards! (I tend to ignore the nasty ones!)

[melody hounddog]

Fabulous photos, Pam. Thanks so much!

[Pam in CA]

You're welcome. Just FYI, if you're afraid of heights, you may want to re-consider. :) The road up to and down from Dalsniba is so narrow and the hairpin turns so tight that the front of the bus is sometimes over the edge. No guard rails. It's not for the faint of heart but if you can do it, it's a spectacular trip.

[Posaune]

Pam, you are so right about fear of heights. We were on the front seat of the bus and all I can say is OH MY! Especially since we were getting a touch of snow on the top of the mountain.

[melody hounddog]

I am afraid of heights. Thanks for the tip. I don't think I will be taking the bus ride.