2020 HAL Norway itineraries now posted! What do you think?

[travelingla]

Several couples are trying to decide on an itinerary.  You really have been helpful with my other post of trying to decide some of our top choices and to decide on the 14 night cruise. Now that Princess and HAL have released theirs for 2020 we will try to decide on one. These were the only ones that I found that go up to North Cape. Pricing of course varies among the ships as mentioned below.  One Princess itinerary  on the Crown and 3 HAL on Veendam, Rotterdam & Nieuw Statendam.

 

This may be a crazy basic question but it confused me a bit -- Princess does not state 12a-12a on any of the ports so I am unsure of 'scenic cruising'.  HAL will give a port time and then also state 12a-12a so can anyone explain that for me?  I'll give  examples:

Trodheim is 8-5 & 12a-12a Honningsvag is 8-6 & 12a-12a. One Flam day it is 8-5 & then Sognefjord is 12a-12a only for Nieuw Statendam.  The Veendam and Rotterdam have only Flam on their itinerary.

 

I assume if it states only 12a-12a then that is a 'scenic cruise day.... never docking anywhere.... example: Hardangerfjord for Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam

 

All 4 ships go to Bergen, Flam (all 4 stay within 1 hr length in port...so time frame is not a factor) & Honningsvag. As mentioned, Princess does not state 12a-12a in Honningsvag but the 3 HAL ships do. Princess stays there 12 hrs and the HAL are 8-10 hrs -- what are your thoughts on this?

 

Princess has these ports that HAL does not:  Lofoten Islands, Andalsnes, Olden. I've never cruised Princess but have on HAL about 3 times and enjoyed the Volendam and Maasdam.

 

A quick summary of ports and ships.... but not in this order on itinerary:

Veendam: Bergen, Eldfjord, Flam, Molde, Alesund, Narnik, Tromso, honningsvag, & Bronnoysund + 4 sea days (balcony is most exp but same as Princess)

Nieuw Std: Stavanger, Bergen, Eldfjord,Hardangerfjord (same day aas Eldfjord), Flam, Molde, Alesund, Trodheim, Honningsvag, Sognefjord (same day as Flam) + 5 sea days (Balc is cheapest)

Rotterd: Stavanger, Bergen, Hardangerfjord, Flam, Alesund,Trodheim, Hammerfest, Honningsvag + 5 sea days (least exp balcony - about $900pp less than Veend and Princess and about $600 pp less than Veendam and Princess)

Crown Pr: Stavanger, Bergen, Flam, Trodheim, Tromso, Honningsvag, Olden, Lofoten Is, Andalsnes + 4 sea days

 

 

Thank you very much for any advice you may offer and answers to my questions!

 

 

[travelingla]

8 hours ago, travelingla said:

 

 

A quick summary of ports and ships.... but not in this order on itinerary:

Veendam: Bergen, Eldfjord, Flam, Molde, Alesund, Narnik, Tromso, honningsvag, & Bronnoysund + 4 sea days (balcony is most exp but same as Princess)

Nieuw Std: Stavanger, Bergen, Eldfjord,Hardangerfjord (same day aas Eldfjord), Flam, Molde, Alesund, Trodheim, Honningsvag, Sognefjord (same day as Flam) + 5 sea days (Balc is cheapest)

Rotterd: Stavanger, Bergen, Hardangerfjord, Flam, Alesund,Trodheim, Hammerfest, Honningsvag + 5 sea days (least exp balcony - about $900pp less than Veend and Princess and about $600 pp less than Veendam and Princess)

Crown Pr: Stavanger, Bergen, Flam, Trodheim, Tromso, Honningsvag, Olden, Lofoten Is, Andalsnes + 4 sea days

 

 

Thank you very much for any advice you may offer and answers to my questions!

 

 

 

I just realized upon re-reading that my pricing was typed in error - the Veendam and Crown Princess are listed the same price for a regular balcony.  The Nieuw Statendam is listed about $600 pp less  than those 2 and the Rotterdam is listed at about $900 pp less... so not sure the ship or itineraries make that much difference.... or not????  The more expensive 2 have only 4 sea days and the other 2 have 5 sea days.

[hallasm]

I have tried to make a list and marked the if scenic sailing or port (City / larger city)

All the fjords aer Scenic sailings and you have to sail through the fjord to enter the city -  examples are: you are sailing through

Sognefjord (Scenic) to Flåm and through Hardangerfjord (scenic) to Eldfjord.

In general the scenic fjord sailings are magnificent. But you have to be at the upper deck early when entering the fjords.

My preferences are Bergen, Flåm, Olden. Ålesund, Lofoten Islands and Honningsvåg

 

Ports from South to North:

Stavanger  (Port - larger city)
Hardangerfjord (scenic) to Eldfjord (Port -City)
Bergen (Port - larger city)
Sognefjord (Scenic) to Flåm (Port - City) with scenic train
Innervikfjord to Olden (Port - City)
Ålesund (Port -City)
Molde (Port -City)
Romsdalsfjord  (Scenic) to Åndalsnes  (Port - City)
Trodheim (Port - larger city)
Lofoten Islands  (small port)
Hammerfest (Port -City)
Tromsø (Port - larger city)
Honningsvåg (Port - City)  visit to North cape

 

[Coral]

I did the Sapphire Princess 14 night last year.

 

My favorites are going to be Stavanger, Tromso, Honningsverg, Bergen and Geringerfjord.

 

I am surprised Princess is not going to Geringerfjord. I wonder if you are seeing that area through a different port? Maybe Hallasm would know.

Edited December 14, 2018 by Coral

[travelingla]

Thank you both for your replies -- and Hallasm I really appreciate the detail and time you spent to 'spell it out' -- I am sure many others wanting this info will find this extremely helpful as well.  Your video is wonderful!  Thanks for posting.

 

We are also looking at the Independence of the Seas 9 night with 2 sea days -- it hits a lot of the 'high spots' -- if we can give up on going to the Arctic Circle...... The ports for IOS are Southampton RT - Stavanger, Bergen, Geringerfjord, Oslo , Kristiansand & Alesund.

[Coral]

While Hallasm is correct - in many of the larger cities - I took tours that took me out of them and into the country, fjords or smaller towns. For example - in Tromso - I took a fjord tour in Sommaroy. Didn't spend anytime in Tromso (not sure if that is good or bad). In Stavanger, I booked a gorgeous boat ride. If I go back, I will go back to Flor & Fjære . In Alesund - I spent half the day on a Fjord boat ride tour and then the last part of the day walking around town. In Bergen - I went into the Hardangerfjord Region and saw Steinsdalsfossen Waterfall. So I only saw a small part of Bergen but definitely want to return.

 

 

[travelingla]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

 

 

I am surprised Princess is not going to Geringerfjord. I wonder if you are seeing that area through a different port? Maybe Hallasm would know.

 

Hallasm -- I noticed you left Geringerfjord off of your list......

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, travelingla said:

 

Hallasm -- I noticed you left Geringerfjord off of your list......

It is a small town of about 250 population. Though the scenery around it is amazing! Some of the best on my trip! Beautiful fjords and waterfalls! Plus tons of hairpin turns if you go up to viewing points.

 

It was my favorite day.

[kaisatsu]

7 hours ago, travelingla said:

We are also looking at the Independence of the Seas 9 night with 2 sea days -- it hits a lot of the 'high spots' -- if we can give up on going to the Arctic Circle...... The ports for IOS are Southampton RT - Stavanger, Bergen, Geringerfjord, Oslo , Kristiansand & Alesund.

If you're primarily interested in the fjord scenery, I really wouldn't recommend this one. It really only makes sense if you're especially keen to visit Oslo, because it spends a lot of time sailing around the southern tip of Norway. Oslo generally fits better (both geographically and culturally) in a Baltic Sea itinerary, where the focus is around northern European city sightseeing. For this particular sailing, Geiranger is going to be the only proper fjord port, as the others are all coastal cities. It's possible to see more of the fjords from some of these cities (e.g. in Stavanger, you can book a local day cruise through nearby Lysefjord), but it seems like an extra burden since one of the nice things about the Norwegian coast is that so many of the fjords are accessible to full-size cruise ships.

 

And just to reiterate and expand on a few points from above:

 

Ignore whatever the cruiselines say about "scenic cruising" if it's on the same day as a port call. This is really just a matter of how the different lines handle marketing. Instead, look up the port town on Google Maps. It's easy to see how much distance will need to be covered by inland waterways, and all of that is going to be scenic cruising. Along the coasts, closer to the open ocean (e.g. around Bergen), you'll see more built-up areas and waterfront buildings, but it's typically still quite pretty. Deeper into the fjords, you'll have mostly natural scenery and scattered hillside farms. If you really want to know what to expect, you can do image searches for traveler photos or turn on the terrain option in Google Maps. The steeper the hills leading down to the fjord, the more you can expect the iconic Norwegian fjord scenery.

 

Depending on the port timings, the sail-in through the fjords may be quite early. However, at the end of a fjord, the ship has to sail back out the same way, so you get all of the same scenery during the sail-out as well. In the summer months, daylight is quite long, so you can enjoy the scenery even if it's quite late in the evening.

 

The Lofoten Islands are stunning and are considered by many Norwegians to be the most beautiful place in Norway. I wouldn't really consider it a small port town, because the most common arrival piers are quite far from town. This is definitely a place where you'd want to book an excursion or rent a car to get out and see the scenery and maybe some of the small historic fishing villages in the area.

 

Geirangerfjord is stunning, but most of the fjords are stunning. While I would always try to include Geiranger if possible (partly because I enjoy the being able to hike the mountain trails up to scenic viewpoints) and do consider it one of the most beautiful, I wouldn't say that it's significantly more amazing than the other long fjords.

 

Wherever you end up going, be sure to find at least one chance to get up to a higher overlook to see the fjord view from above. I find that it's dramatically different to be looking down through the steep valleys compared to looking up at the hills from sea level. And both perspectives are lovely!

[hallasm]

11 hours ago, Coral said:

I am surprised Princess is not going to Geringerfjord. I wonder if you are seeing that area through a different port? Maybe Hallasm would know.

Geiranger is not easy accessible from any other ports - Hellesylt is the only port close to Geiranger and sometimes used as an alternative to Geiranger.

[hallasm]

I have updated my list of West Coast ports - list is not complete - I have marked the fjords with 'senoc sailings only' with bold.

Ports from South to North:

Stavanger  (Port - larger city) - The Pulpit Rock and Old Stavanger
Hardangerfjord (scenic) to Eidfjord (Port - Small town)
Bergen (Port - larger city) - Old Bergen , Bryggen, Mount Fløyen (Fløybanen funicular)
Sognefjord and Aurlandsfjord (Scenic) to Flåm (Port - small town) with scenic train
Innervikfjord to Olden (Port - little village) - scenic area
Storfjorden (Scenic) to Geiranger or Hellesylt (Port - small towns) - Seven Sisters waterfall - Scenic and panoramic views.

Ålesund (Port - City) Picturesque city
Molde (Port - Town) - scenic and panoramic views
Romsdalsfjord  (Scenic) to Åndalsnes  (Port - City) scenic region / Trollstigvegen
Trodheim (Port - larger city)
Brønnøysund (Port - City)
Bodø (Port - City)
Lofoten Islands /Trollfjord  (small ports: Gravdal/Leknes, Stamsund, Svolvær Harstad,) scenic area
Narvik (Town) Scenic
Tromsø (Port - larger city)
Alta (Port - City) - The Rock art of Alta
Hammerfest (Port - City) scenic
Honningsvåg (Port - City)  visit to North cape
Kirkenes (Port - City) 10 km from Russian Border

 

1 hour ago, kaisatsu said:

Wherever you end up going, be sure to find at least one chance to get up to a higher overlook to see the fjord view from above. I find that it's dramatically different to be looking down through the steep valleys compared to looking up at the hills from sea level. And both perspectives are lovely!

 

Edited December 14, 2018 by hallasm

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, hallasm said:

Geiranger is not easy accessible from any other ports - Hellesylt is the only port close to Geiranger and sometimes used as an alternative to Geiranger.

Correct - we did both. I got off in Hellesylt and then boarded the ship in Gerianger. Thanks for confirming there isn't anything else that is used as a port for these ports.

[mnocket]

I'm looking at this cruise on MSC.  It doesn't go to Bergen, Geiranger or Flam - all of which I understand are worth seeing.  What do others think of the itinerary shown below?  Will this still give us a good fjord experience?  Thanks.

 

DAY	DATE	PORT	ARRIVAL	DEPARTURE	ACTIVITY*
1	Fri, Jul 10, 2020	Hamburg, Germany	-	10:00 PM	Docked
2	Sat, Jul 11, 2020	At Sea	-	-	-
3	Sun, Jul 12, 2020	Molde, Norway	3:00 PM	10:00 PM	Docked
4	Mon, Jul 13, 2020	At Sea	-	-	-
5	Tue, Jul 14, 2020	Tromso, Norway	2:00 PM	10:00 PM	Docked
6	Wed, Jul 15, 2020	Honningsvag, Norway	9:00 AM	-	Docked/Tender
7	Thu, Jul 16, 2020	Honningsvag, Norway	-	2:00 AM	Docked/Tender
8	Fri, Jul 17, 2020	At Sea	-	-	-
9	Sat, Jul 18, 2020	Longyearbyen, Norway	8:00 AM	10:00 PM	Docked/Tender
10	Sun, Jul 19, 2020	At Sea	-	-	-
11	Mon, Jul 20, 2020	At Sea	-	-	-
12	Tue, Jul 21, 2020	Olden, Norway	8:00 AM	6:00 PM	Docked/Tender
13	Wed, Jul 22, 2020	Stavanger, Norway	12:00 PM	9:00 PM	Docked
14	Thu, Jul 23, 2020	At Sea	-	-	-
15	Fri, Jul 24, 2020	Hamburg, Germany	6:00 AM	-	Docked

 

[hallasm]

Unlike the other cruises, this cruise goes to Svalbard (Longyearbyen). If Svalbard is of your interest, it does compensate for Flåm and Geiranger.

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

Hasslam: thanks for posting your video. We’re just starting to get familiar with Norway and plan our June, 2019 trip. 

[travelingla]

On 12/14/2018 at 4:32 AM, kaisatsu said:

If you're primarily interested in the fjord scenery, I really wouldn't recommend this one. It really only makes sense if you're especially keen to visit Oslo, because it spends a lot of time sailing around the southern tip of Norway. Oslo generally fits better (both geographically and culturally) in a Baltic Sea itinerary, where the focus is around northern European city sightseeing. For this particular sailing, Geiranger is going to be the only proper fjord port, as the others are all coastal cities. It's possible to see more of the fjords from some of these cities (e.g. in Stavanger, you can book a local day cruise through nearby Lysefjord), but it seems like an extra burden since one of the nice things about the Norwegian coast is that so many of the fjords are accessible to full-size cruise ships.

 

And just to reiterate and expand on a few points from above:

 

Ignore whatever the cruiselines say about "scenic cruising" if it's on the same day as a port call. This is really just a matter of how the different lines handle marketing. Instead, look up the port town on Google Maps. It's easy to see how much distance will need to be covered by inland waterways, and all of that is going to be scenic cruising. Along the coasts, closer to the open ocean (e.g. around Bergen), you'll see more built-up areas and waterfront buildings, but it's typically still quite pretty. Deeper into the fjords, you'll have mostly natural scenery and scattered hillside farms. If you really want to know what to expect, you can do image searches for traveler photos or turn on the terrain option in Google Maps. The steeper the hills leading down to the fjord, the more you can expect the iconic Norwegian fjord scenery.

 

Depending on the port timings, the sail-in through the fjords may be quite early. However, at the end of a fjord, the ship has to sail back out the same way, so you get all of the same scenery during the sail-out as well. In the summer months, daylight is quite long, so you can enjoy the scenery even if it's quite late in the evening.

 

The Lofoten Islands are stunning and are considered by many Norwegians to be the most beautiful place in Norway. I wouldn't really consider it a small port town, because the most common arrival piers are quite far from town. This is definitely a place where you'd want to book an excursion or rent a car to get out and see the scenery and maybe some of the small historic fishing villages in the area.

 

Geirangerfjord is stunning, but most of the fjords are stunning. While I would always try to include Geiranger if possible (partly because I enjoy the being able to hike the mountain trails up to scenic viewpoints) and do consider it one of the most beautiful, I wouldn't say that it's significantly more amazing than the other long fjords.

 

Wherever you end up going, be sure to find at least one chance to get up to a higher overlook to see the fjord view from above. I find that it's dramatically different to be looking down through the steep valleys compared to looking up at the hills from sea level. And both perspectives are lovely!

 

 

"or this particular sailing, Geiranger is going to be the only proper fjord port, as the others are all coastal cities"......

 

This certainly hits home for us!  THANK YOU!! I know the coastal cities are interesting but we are more in to getting a good overview of both fjords and knockout scenery plus a bit of local flavor..... and I'd venture to say by the time we spent extra money on excursions to get us out of town into the scenery then we could have paid for the 14night cruises that include more fjords as well as going up to the Arctic Circle which is one reason some want to go -- we just did not realize we had to start so far south.... poor clueless folks that we are!

 

I SO appreciate your helpful insight - I have a lot of homework to do -- there are 3 HAL 14-night itineraries and 1 Princess so I'll be studying those in depth a bit more with the Google Maps that you suggested. The only one going to Lofoten Islands is Princess.  All 4 include Bergen, Flam & Honningsvag.  I won't 'worry' about not seeing Geirangerfjord if we have several other fjords to enjoy.

 

Thanks also for explaining the 'scenic cruising' ;)

[travelingla]

On 12/14/2018 at 6:16 AM, hallasm said:

I have updated my list of West Coast ports - list is not complete - I have marked the fjords with 'senoc sailings only' with bold.

 

 

 

Thank you for going to the trouble to make this list...... very helpful! I hope others find this info when trying to plan ♥️

[travelingla]

Ok -- I think we are seriously considering Nieuw Statendam's 14 night cruise RT Amsterdam -- it does have 5 sea days.

Itinerary:

Amsterdam

day 2 sea

day 3 Eldfjord & Hardangerfjord

day 4 Bergen

day 5 Molde

day 6 Trodheim

day 7 sea

day 8 Honningsvag (10-6p is shorter than most)

day 9 sea

day 10 sea

day 11 Alesund

day 12 Sognefjord 

day 13 Stavanger

day 14 sea

Amsterdam

 

I hope this provides a good mix of wonderful scenery..... thoughts???

Thank you so much!

[travelingla]

49 minutes ago, travelingla said:

Ok -- I think we are seriously considering Nieuw Statendam's 14 night cruise RT Amsterdam -- it does have 5 sea days.

Itinerary:

Amsterdam

day 2 sea

day 3 Eldfjord & Hardangerfjord

day 4 Bergen

day 5 Molde

day 6 Trodheim

day 7 sea

day 8 Honningsvag (10-6p is shorter than most)

day 9 sea

day 10 sea

day 11 Alesund

day 12 Flam & Sognefjord

day 13 Stavanger

day 14 sea

Amsterdam

 

I hope this provides a good mix of wonderful scenery..... thoughts???

Thank you so much!

 

 

I realized I failed to type in Flam on day 12 in my original post

[dfish]

1 hour ago, travelingla said:

Ok -- I think we are seriously considering Nieuw Statendam's 14 night cruise RT Amsterdam -- it does have 5 sea days.

Itinerary:

Amsterdam

day 2 sea

day 3 Eldfjord & Hardangerfjord

day 4 Bergen

day 5 Molde

day 6 Trodheim

day 7 sea

day 8 Honningsvag (10-6p is shorter than most)

day 9 sea

day 10 sea

day 11 Alesund

day 12 Sognefjord 

day 13 Stavanger

day 14 sea

Amsterdam

 

I hope this provides a good mix of wonderful scenery..... thoughts???

Thank you so much!

I think this is the one we're doing in June 2020.  This is similar to one I did in June 2017 and I loved that so much I'm going back.

[travelingla]

5 hours ago, dfish said:

I think this is the one we're doing in June 2020.  This is similar to one I did in June 2017 and I loved that so much I'm going back.

 

Well, dfish, we might be on the same ship!  That is encouraging. So you felt you saw enough of the fjords and a mix of port towns?  What did you do at North Cape? 

[dfish]

2 hours ago, travelingla said:

 

Well, dfish, we might be on the same ship!  That is encouraging. So you felt you saw enough of the fjords and a mix of port towns?  What did you do at North Cape? 

Yes, I did, but the difference was we went to Geiranger instead of Molde.  However, you'll get good fjord viewing in Eidfjord and Flam.  We did a fjord cruise excursion in Stavanger and we would have loved it except it was raining pretty steadily the whole time.  But, that was the only place where we had steady rain.  What was nice was that the Captain opened the bow every night for scenic viewing as we were sailing the fjords.   

 

In Honningsvag I went to the North Cape.   It was a little disappointing as it was all fogged in, but the facility is great.   That evening when we cruised past it, it was all sunshine so we got a good view of it.  Next time I think we're doing the Crab excursion.  

 

The picture is leaving Eidfjord.

[travelingla]

It's a shame to go all that way and have a lot of rain and fog -- but it will be what it will be...... I read that July and August were more likely to have rain so that is why we are looking at June.

 

Thank you, dfish,  for the info and the beautiful photo!!! It will be amazing, I'm sure!  

 

We really enjoyed our cruises to Alaska and wanted something similar but not another AK cruise -- they have wonderful crab as well. :) I am excited about finally seeing Norway.

 

I see you are heading to Iceland and Greenland -- will be interesting to hear a comparison once you return.  :)

[dfish]

Norway will not disappoint.  It is stunningly beautiful.   

 

Iceland and Greenland - well I do seem to be attracted to cold weather itineraries.   My favorite so far has been Antarctica.  Now, that is Alaska on steroids.   

 

Alesund from Mt. Aksla

[travelingla]

58 minutes ago, dfish said:

Norway will not disappoint.  It is stunningly beautiful.   

 

Iceland and Greenland - well I do seem to be attracted to cold weather itineraries.   My favorite so far has been Antarctica.  Now, that is Alaska on steroids.   

 

Alesund from Mt. Aksla

 

GORGEOUS!  It's gonna be everything I'd hoped for --even in the rain. ;)  I had to laugh at your 'Alaska on steroids' comment!