Shore excursions on Scandinavian cruise

[gb88]

My sister and I will be on the Emerald Princess and are finding a limited number of shore excursions available via Princess and also cruisingexcursions.com. Any recommendations for half-day excursions? Ports of call are Bruge, Copenhagen, Heisingborg, and Oslo. Are some of the ports walking distance of the city where one can head off on your own?

[beg3yrs]

Expert answers are more likely to be found in this Ports Of Call section: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

[Rubynic]

Last year we took the local tram to Blankenberg then train into Bruges - took around an hour & cost 10 euros each. About a mile walk into the centre of Bruges from the train station - this is mainly a pedestrian area anyway so whichever form of transport you would have to walk. Oslo we docked right in the centre - could arrange your own fjord boat ride or walk to the palace through the gardens. In Copenhagen we took the Princess shuttle into the city centre - $8 each way - then made our own way round town. There was also a Hop on Hop Off bus. Never made it to Helsingborg - too rough to tender.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[The Wilkies]

We found tHe HOHO in Copenhagen excellent. Depending on where the ship berths, they do a shuttle to a point on the main route. Catch the shuttle back at the Little Mermaid.

[skynight]

My sister and I will be on the Emerald Princess and are finding a limited number of shore excursions available via Princess and also cruisingexcursions.com. Any recommendations for half-day excursions? Ports of call are Bruge, Copenhagen, Heisingborg, and Oslo. Are some of the ports walking distance of the city where one can head off on your own?

You should join your roll call. They probably have some private trips planned. Bruge: A walkable town, but you have to take transportation to get there.

Copenhagen: There is a HO-HO bus that stops at the pier. It is a little distance but you can walk from the pier, through the Kastellet and over to Nyhavn. It is also an easy walk over to the Tivoli area.

Olso:We took a ferry which is near the cruise port over to the Viking Museum. When we returned I remember walking around the old part of the city.

[TracieABD]

Oslo is very doable if you are in good shape. Here is what I did when I was there in 2008:

 

 

I was able to get my Oslo Pass right where we left the ship. I was also given a substantial discount as I am student and had ID, but they had discounts for children, seniors too.

I paid a bit over $30 for the one day pass. It covered all transportation and I was able to see 11 museums, sites, and parks in a little over 5 hours. (I have to add that I am a runner and was in pretty good shape, so I really hustled).

This may have been the best $30 that I spent on the whole cruise. Loved Oslo, loved the pass.

I was able to see:

Vigland Park (which is free, but the tram from the harbour to the park was free only with the OsloPass)

I took the 91 Ferry to the Bygdoy and was able to see the Fram Museusm,

the Norsk Folkmuseum,

the KonTiki Museum,

the Viking Museum

I took the ferry back to Oslo and went to the Nobel Peace Prize Museum

the Radhuset (city hall).

Next I walked to the National Gallery to see the Munch paintings and some other impressionist art.

Finally, I walked back to the Aken Fortress and the castle.

I also was able to see the resitstance museum while I was up there.

All that for $30 dollars! What a bargain. (I was pretty worn out at the end of it though!)

Have a great cruise.

[Essiesmom]

Get a copy of Rick Steves' Northern European Cruise Ports to see what is doable on your own, and how to do it. EM

[IECalCruiser]

I will second TracieABD's recommendation regarding the Oslo Pass. In 2013 there was a shop right by the ship that sold the Oslo Pass. although that might not be the case now. We got off as soon as we could and bought the passes before there were lines. Took the ferry to Bygdoy and saw the Folk Museum, Viking Ship Museum and Kon Tiki Museum. One recommendation, get off at the stop by the Kon Tiki Museum and take a bus to the Folk Museum and Viking Ship Museum. It is a decent walk uphill to the museums from the first stop. After taking the ferry back we walked to a subway stop and went to the Munch Museum and then the subway again to the National Gallery. There was a large Munch exhibition being held at both museums that was fascinating. We walked back to the ship about 3:00pm after about six hours.

[TracieABD]

I will second TracieABD's recommendation regarding the Oslo Pass. In 2013 there was a shop right by the ship that sold the Oslo Pass. although that might not be the case now. We got off as soon as we could and bought the passes before there were lines. Took the ferry to Bygdoy and saw the Folk Museum, Viking Ship Museum and Kon Tiki Museum. One recommendation, get off at the stop by the Kon Tiki Museum and take a bus to the Folk Museum and Viking Ship Museum. It is a decent walk uphill to the museums from the first stop. After taking the ferry back we walked to a subway stop and went to the Munch Museum and then the subway again to the National Gallery. There was a large Munch exhibition being held at both museums that was fascinating. We walked back to the ship about 3:00pm after about six hours.

 

When I was in port. I was off the ship at 6:45am and at the trolley across the street with my OsloPass by 7:05. I walked/ran through Vigland Park in the early morning, took the trolley back and caught the very first ferry to the Bygdoy. I went to the second stop which housed the Fram and the KonTiki museums, because they opened first. I then ran about 2 km to the Viking Museum and the Folk Museum. I was back on the ferry by 10:30. I was back in Oslo by 10:45 and I hit the ground running. I did have an interesting time at the Nobel Peace Museum as it was Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, and there was cake and a band and a lot of dignitaries. I was only able to see the museum because I promised to be gone by 2:00 when the festivities really got going (I was out of there by 11:45). From there I went to the City Hall to take pics of the murals. I stayed long enough to take some photos. I walked two blocks north to the the National Gallery and looked at the 20 or so paintings that I knew that I wanted to see. After, I went back to the harbour area to see the Akon fort, castle and the Resistance museum. I was back on ship by 1:45 and eating in the dining room (boy, was I hungry!).

 

I attribute the day to my physical conditioning ( I had run 3 miles on board that morning) and my ability to plan events sequentially.

Would I recommend this for everyone? Nope. It was very busy and very fast. And there are places that I would have liked to have spent more time at... No rose smelling on that day.

 

Having said all of that, I think that I am a frustrated Amazing Race wannabee!:)

 

'Nuf sed- That was how I spent my half day in Oslo.

(PS- I keep a journal, and wrote in it as I sat on various transportation so that I would remember what I saw.)