Review: Oslo to Copenhagen: July 10-26, 2014

[NJBelle]

Hi all, I have posted from time to time on the "Live" thread of this cruise, but wanted to include more of my thoughts. I will try to hit the major topics of the cruise - and just remember, these are just our impressions.

 

My husband and I chose this particular cruise since we like Regent (8 cruises) and particularly love the Voyager - but mostly because of the itinerary. I celebrated my 60th birthday while on the cruise and I wanted to be someplace cool and it was icing on the cake that Norway is somewhere that we both love; also we liked that there were lots of sea days. This was our third time on this kind of Norway cruise (2x on Regent and once on Crystal) but this one was nice in that there were several new ports for us (more on that in a moment).

 

Pre-cruise:

We did our own air and hotel arrangements. We spent 4 nights in Oslo before embarking on the cruise. We like to see the water so chose The Thief Hotel in Oslo. We absolutely loved it. It was modern as well as very comfortable - would stay there again in a heartbeat. Also was fun to see the Voyager slip into the berth as she arrived the day before we embarked. Loved being in Oslo and had a great time. Only issue was the HEAT WAVE that gave temps in the 80s, rather than the 65-70 that I had envisioned :-)

 

Itinerary:

Obviously started in Oslo... then Kristiansand, Bergen, Honningsvag, Murmansk (Russia), Hammerfest, Spitsbergen/Longyearbyen, Harstad, Hellesylt/Geiranger - and then finally Copenhagen. Several of these were new to us: Kristiansand, Murmansk, Hammerfest and Harstad. We were very happy with the cruise ports - but maybe there could have been at least one other fjord (at least that was some of the feedback that I heard from others along the way). All in all, we were happy.

 

Weather:

Have to say that although it was hotter that I would have preferred, the weather was absolutely fabulous. The last Norway cruise we went on (7 years ago) had lots of rain (although with Captain Dag and Jamie as CD it was still so much fun) so this weather was very unusual (as everyone in Norway told us) in that we had such warm and sunny weather. And believe it or not, it didn't rain in Bergen!

 

Voyager:

We had just been on her in February (Australia cruise) and were thrilled to be back on again. We loved the refurbishment from the fall and she still looks beautiful. We had a basic suite - well located - and loved the bed. Decor is a little bland (muted beiges and greens) but still very nice and plenty of space. Bathroom is great and was kept well supplied with towels and toiletries.

 

Embarkation:

This was easy. Got there about noon, dumped off our luggage, got our pictures taken, got key cards and then we headed to sign up for additional meals in Prime 7 and Signatures. Then to the library (more on that later) and then to the Veranda. After a nice lunch we went to the Pool Bar where we met several of our shipmates and had some cocktails. To me, those first few hours of embarkation are the sweetest of the cruise - utter relaxation and all the potential of what is to come.

 

Staff:

Very personable and friendly. We found attentive service in most venues. Sometimes the Veranda staff was a little hit and miss and occasionally the Compass Rose staff would make faux pas (like taking away my plate before my husband was finished, or once they brought out his hot soup and then 5 minutes later finally served my dish). The Pool Deck staff was very attentive. And the staff in Prime 7 and Signatures was very professional. We were very impressed with our steward/stewardess - thought they were the best ones we had had in a long time.

 

Management was friendly and we had no complaints. We didn't really interact in a prolonged way with any of them but found them all fine.

 

Food/Dining:

This is a biggie for us. And I have to say that on this cruise, the food was pretty good, but not great (although thought that Prime 7 was a great version of a steak house). We eat a lot in NYC restaurants, so in thinking about it, we took care not to compare to those, but to other cruises (on Regent and Silversea and Crystal). While we liked the chef personally, we found the food "high-end workmanlike"....that is, it was good and there were lots of luxurious items on the menu, but there were not really the wow moments - where we say "OMG - this is so delicious". I do have to give a shout out to the chef for preparing a very nice soft shell crab dish for my birthday - my husband had communicated with him in advance to arrange this; it helped to make my birthday very special. As far as the fruits and vegetables, they were fresh and plentiful. Also, we took fresh fish onboard many times during the cruise. One thing we like about the small ships is that they are able to take advantage of location and bring on local foods. We loved having different fresh fish options on this cruise.

 

Kids:

Seems like people wonder about kids on some of these cruises, so thought I would mention this. I spotted two lovely young ladies in uniform early in the cruise and spoke to them, wondering if they were Youth Directors. Indeed they were and they told me that there were 8 kids on board - all boys! All were teenager - and they also said there were a couple of 19 year olds that they had heard about. I know there was one girl with her parents who was 19 (she reminded me of my daughter so asked her about herself). Anyway, they were all well-behaved, seemed to have a good time with their families and the Youth Directors - and also with each other. Our daughter (19 now) always loved cruises with us, but she has a summer job so stayed home. We missed her, so maybe that is why I noticed the kids and decided to comment on them!

 

Excursions:

We chose mostly active ones - we figured we were in beautiful Norway so wanted to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. We did a number of hikes (Bergen, Hammerfest, Harstad, Geiranger) and found the scenery to be incredible. In Murmansk, we toured the ice breaker and found that very interesting, and while otherwise, the city is not particularly inspiring, we found it to be very worthwhile to have visited it. In Longyearbyen, we did the Dog Sledding on Wheels and loved it.

 

I have to say that the Destinations group did a very nice job with getting us on the buses and off on the tours. I found the new system of having your tour called and THEN getting your bus number to work very well. We rarely waited more than a few minutes in the Theater before heading to the buses. And in almost all of them, there were reserved seats for handicapped - most of them later got filled when there were no takers for them initially. The buses might have been a little fuller than our previous trip, but again, I know that Norway (and esp Russia) may have limited buses for the tours.

 

Now for areas of improvement - there should have been more "free" tours offered. I know Norway is expensive, but then again, we were all paying a bit more for a cruise in Norway (vs the cost of some other cruises), so a few more free tours should be included in the future. But more than that, they should should be better descriptions of the "effort required" for some of the excursions. For example, our Dog Sled tour was "3 walkers" - well most of the effort of that excursion was from the dogs, not us. Then on the Geiranger hike to top of Mt. Westeras, I about had a heat stroke (okay it was quite hot and sunny that day, but it was also a pretty arduous hike up great big stones at a pretty steep incline) - that was also rated "3 walkers". I know that several people on these hikes also thought that they should try to describe some of these activities in a little more detail so one can determine if the tour is right for them.

 

Entertainment:

We don't go on cruises for entertainment, but do enjoy a good show from time to time. The singers/dancers were fine and we mostly went to the shows. The pianist in the Observation Lounge was actually a fine player - classically trained, so we enjoyed cocktails there before dinner and sometimes after the show.

 

Library:

Want to give Regent a tip of the hat for improving the selections and numbers of copies of best sellers. I found there to be lots of variety and enjoyed several books that I had had on my "to read" list.

 

Internet:

As Gold, we had free unlimited internet and very much enjoyed this perk. With our daughter at home, it was great to be able to text back and forth and even to FaceTime. We liked to download the NYT and catch up on email. I must say that I got a kick out of surfing the web while lounging on the Pool Deck or sitting in the Observation Lounge. Connection on our suite was usually pretty good, although there were times when it was down. Overall, very pleased with the internet.

 

Okay, I think I covered most areas. Let me know if you have questions.

 

We really enjoyed this cruise and enjoyed meeting our fellow passengers, including some of those we met first on Cruise Critic!

 

Best, Janice

[Mudhen]

Lovely review and imo, right on the money. We were on the first segment and I think you gave a pretty accurate description! Glad you had a good time.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Hambagahle]

Great report on what was obviously a lovely cruise! Thank you!

 

And not that it will make you feel better but all northern Europe is basking in the heat this summer while we have cold and rain here in the Alps. Real Norwegian summer without the midnight sun!! Something to do with the position of the jet stream I gather.

 

A question re Spitzbergen - was there any chance of seeing polar bears there? Any tour for that??

[PaulaJK]

Janice, Thank you for this lovely review. Paula

[NJBelle]

Thanks for all the kind words. Even though reviews like this take a bit of time, I know that I have learned so much over the years from others on CC, so I like to give back when I can.

[RachelG]

Very nice review.

 

Gerry, I can answer part of the question regarding Spitzbergen. We did 2 weeks there on silversea explorer. Yes, you can see polar bears, but will you see polar bears is a whole different thing. It is not totally predictable. In 2 weeks, we saw a total of 6 bears, most from very far off. And we were specifically looking for them.

[NJBelle]

Hi, sorry I forgot to address your question about polar bears! We were really around the settlement of Longyearbyen, so none were around or expected (we did see a "Polar Bear Crossing" sign, however!). And no excursions offered to specifically to see them. We would have had to go up toward the polar ice to get a chance, I would think (as per Rachel's answer) and we really didn't get that far.

 

I do know that the guides that go on the hike that is offered as an excursion in Longyearbyen (basically a hike straight up a gravel mountain/hill and back down again - burned once 7 years ago on that one - not again this time!) carry shotguns as a precaution since the group is getting away from the town. But I don't think they have really ever run across them....

[jhp]

Hi NJBelle, we were on a cruise together a long time ago when you were aboard, same TA, I think a crossing? Wonderful review. I just loved my first cruise to Norway that I repeated a few years later.

 

Absolutely, my first cruise was the best ever! Perfect weather and company. Next time, weather not the best. But never ever would I have attempted that climb in Gerainger! Have taken taxi to the top both times, with stops along the way, there's a throne part way up for the queen? Have pictures from that, as well as all the way up.

Edited July 30, 2014 by jhp

[NJBelle]

Hey jhp, thanks! - also, do you think our shared cruise might have been "FJORD" - that one was 7 years ago (same TA)? We haven't done a crossing yet - that is coming up in October (but on Crystal). If you were on that Captain Dag Homecoming cruise, that really was wonderful - rainy weather and all!

[RachelG]

I was on that cruise too! Absolutely wonderful.