Norway Fjord Cruise Q&A - Keys to Successful Planning

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, ls51096 said:

I would like to know the best and nicest cruise ship for this area and the best time when seas are calmer for this area

Very broad question - all major cruise lines are sailing Norwegian Fjords - I do not know which line does have the nicest ship, but try to check Seabourne, Silver or Seven Seas - might be others.

Nicest cruise ship is a very personal option- IMO the ports and the itinerary are more important than the cruise ship.

Best time is June - still snow in the mountains and water in the rivers - July and August are also quite good - but weather can change from day to day and it can be stormy weather during summer.

Edited July 17, 2019 by hallasm

[ls51096]

22 minutes ago, hallasm said:

Very broad question - all major cruise lines are sailing Norwegian Fjords - I do not know which line does have the nicest ship, but try to check Seabourne, Silver or Seven Seas - might be others.

Nicest cruise ship is a very personal option- IMO the ports and the itinerary are more important than the cruise ship.

Best time is June - still snow in the mountains and water in the rivers - July and August are also quite good - but weather can change from day to day and it can be stormy weather during summer.

Hi Hallasam thank you for the prompt responce. Which are the post important ports to see the nicest views and ports in your opinion please?

[hallasm]

18 minutes ago, ls51096 said:

Hi Hallasam thank you for the prompt responce. Which are the post important ports to see the nicest views and ports in your opinion please?

My top ports in Norway are Geiranger, Flåm and Olden - nice views from the mountains and great scenic sailings through the long Fjords.

Lofoten and sailing Trollfjord is also great, however only smaller ships.

Bergen is a nice city to visit

Another highlight is midnight sun inside Polar Circle - from Lofoten and towards north during summer to Honningsvåg with Nort Cape or even Svalbard.

But all Norwegian ports have stunning nature and sceneries.

 

[naturelovergirl]

2 hours ago, ls51096 said:

Which are the post important ports to see the nicest views and ports in your opinion please?

As Hallasam has said, picking which ship you want to sail on is truly a matter of your choice and personality... they are all different. So you can decide what kind of voyage you want.

For me itinerary is my main priority and then I compared the ships after I chose the best itineraries.

The nature in Norway is outrageously beautiful... I have described the country to people (who have not been to Norway) like feeling as if you are going from one natural wonder to another.

You will be seeing amazing things from the cruise ship... but your excursions are just as important... plan for them to see the incredible wonders. I budget for both a great trip AND great experiences from each port.

My memories of my excursions are my souvenirs...

Research is so important 😊

 

[ls51096]

Thanks guys really appreciate the feedback. Naturelovergirl which places do you suggest cause as u said i want to narrow down the cruises by choosing places

Thanks again :)

[naturelovergirl]

7 minutes ago, ls51096 said:

Thanks guys really appreciate the feedback. Naturelovergirl which places do you suggest cause as u said i want to narrow down the cruises by choosing places

Thanks again 🙂

Here are some of my favorite port areas

 

Bergen- for the Bryggen and for the funicular- we enjoyed riding up and walking down 

 

Flåm- for the Stegastein Viewpoint, Nærøyfjord, and the Flåmsbana railway

 

Skjolden- for the Nigardsbreen Glacier

 

Åndalsnes- for the Rauma rail, Trollstigen, and Trollveggen

 

Trondheim- for the Cathedral and the fact that it is a very walkable city

 

My next trip includes Olden, the Lofoten Islands, and Tromso... for the last two, I’m really quite excited because we wanted to get above the Arctic Circle 

 

 

[just_dont]

We really enjoyed Bergen, amplified by having great weather during our stay there.

Sailing into and out of Geiranger was really special, and we really enjoyed the small port town as well as the viewpoints above town. Plenty of things to do there as well.

Our cruise didn't stop in Flåm, but we stayed there overnight as part of Norway in a Nutshell. When we first arrived there, the Norwegian Pearl was docked there, and the little town was a sea of tourists. But after the ship departed (around 17:30) it became absolutely beautiful and peaceful. We really enjoyed peacefulness without all the tourists, and I don't think I'd enjoy the town nearly as much as a cruise ship passenger, especially on one of the larger ships or if more than one are in port. If you can manage it, I'd strongly recommend doing Flåm this way (NiaN), either before or after a cruise, and spend two nights there so you can do some activities in/around town during the day. We only spent one night, arriving from Bergen late in the afternoon and departing the next morning, so we didn't have an opportunity to do any daytime exploring or activities. And ideally try to plan your day there on a day with no ships in port. There will still be tourists arriving by bus, train and ferry, but not as bad as when you add a couple thousand cruise ship pax.

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[naturelovergirl]

29 minutes ago, just_dont said:

Our cruise didn't stop in Flåm, but we stayed there overnight as part of Norway in a Nutshell. When we first arrived there, the Norwegian Pearl was docked there, and the little town was a sea of tourists. But after the ship departed (around 17:30) it became absolutely beautiful and peaceful. We really enjoyed peacefulness without all the tourists, and I don't think I'd enjoy the town nearly as much as a cruise ship passenger, especially on one of the larger ships or if more than one are in port. If you can manage it, I'd strongly recommend doing Flåm this way (NiaN), either before or after a cruise, and spend two nights there so you can do some activities in/around town during the day. We only spent one night, arriving from Bergen late in the afternoon and departing the next morning, so we didn't have an opportunity to do any daytime exploring or activities. And ideally try to plan your day there on a day with no ships in port. There will still be tourists arriving by bus, train and ferry, but not as bad as when you add a couple thousand cruise ship pax.

This is some awesome advice right here about Flåm... We also stayed in Flåm overnight (without the massive influx of tourists) before heading over to stay in a cabin in Balestrand. We stayed at the Flåmsbrygga hotel and loved it. It is a very sweet little town. 

When we woke up Cunard's Queen Elizabeth ship was there. It was a big difference in the bustle for sure...that said, it was not overwhelming because many people were on excursions.

[just_dont]

This is some awesome advice right here about Flåm... We also stayed in Flåm overnight (without the massive influx of tourists) before heading over to stay in a cabin in Balestrand. We stayed at the Flåmsbrygga hotel and loved it. It is a very sweet little town. 

When we woke up Cunard's Queen Elizabeth ship was there. It was a big difference in the bustle for sure...that said, it was not overwhelming because many people were on excursions.

The day we departed Flåm had no cruise ship scheduled, so it was much less busy than the previous afternoon. It would have been an ideal day to stay in Flåm.
We too stayed at the Flåmsbrygga, and really liked it. Went with the double balcony room at the end and had amazing views.

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[Sallyandtex]

15 hours ago, hallasm said:

My top ports in Norway are Geiranger, Flåm and Olden - nice views from the mountains and great scenic sailings through the long Fjords.

Lofoten and sailing Trollfjord is also great, however only smaller ships.

Bergen is a nice city to visit

Another highlight is midnight sun inside Polar Circle - from Lofoten and towards north during summer to Honningsvåg with Nort Cape or even Svalbard.

But all Norwegian ports have stunning nature and sceneries.

 

Hi,

I have seen somewhereon the forum that there's restrictions for the fjords in the future. Do you know when and which ships are exempt?

Would I know purely by itinerary which ships are permitted into the smaller fjords, or is there some sort of list or permit they need?

[hallasm]

18 minutes ago, Sallyandtex said:

Hi,

I have seen somewhereon the forum that there's restrictions for the fjords in the future. Do you know when and which ships are exempt?

Would I know purely by itinerary which ships are permitted into the smaller fjords, or is there some sort of list or permit they need?

 Correct - very strict restrictions on emission starting from this year - from 2026 zero emissions will be allowed in the Heritage Fjords which today is Geiranger and Nærøyfjord - future might also include Trollfjord at Lofoten - however Trollfjord can only be navigated by small ships  - from 2026 only ships with electric propulsion will be allowed in the Heritage Fjords.

For the other ports/Fjords it will depend on the emission from the actual ship - many cruise lines are building LNG ships - they can sail on most of the ports and Fjords - but not the Heritage Fjords where only electric ships can sail. Old cruise ships with emission above limits will not be allowed in the Fjords already today.

You can find more information here

Norway challenges the cruise industry to operate emission free

New environmental requirements in the world heritage fjords

 

Hurtigruten is currently upgrading their ships for LNG as well as batteries for electric propulsion. Havila Kystruten starting serving the Norwegian Coastal Route with four out of the 11 departures together with Hurtigruten by January 2021 has currently four LNG / hybrid battery ships under construction.

They will probably be the only cruise ships sailing to Geiranger and into Trollfjord.

 

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting you're video's. Gives me something to look forward to when we do our cruise there next year.

[hallasm]

49 minutes ago, ski ww said:

Thanks for posting you're video's. Gives me something to look forward to when we do our cruise there next year.

You’re welcome - here are some links to some reviews with more videos and pictures:

Norwegisn Fjords to Ålesund, Geiranger, Flåm and Bergen, 

Midnight Sun to Lofoten, Tromsø and Honningsvåg

... and just a ‘Feeling of Winter’

Northern Lights Cruise from Bergen to Kirkenes

 

 

 

 

[Sallyandtex]

Thanks very comprehensive answer 

[Grandma Cruising]

Just wanted to say we liked Alesund too - very pretty Art Deco houses. Also enjoyed our Atlantic Ocean Road tour from Molde. We also enjoyed the urban art walk in Bodo

 

Alesund

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urban Art in Bodo

[travelingla]

This is a fabulous thread!  Thank you so much, hallasm, for starting this -- it helps so much with narrowing down the research and I love reading from those who've been before!

 

Seems I read 'somewhere' a few weeks ago about some issues with Flam and cruising?  I am just now having time to revisit this and am wondering if there is a possibility that our ship will not be docking there? I am scheduled in June, 2020. We have excursions posted in our cruise line account for all the ports except Flam so it is a bit worrisome.

 

Anyone know if there is an issue?

 

Thanks so much.

Edited July 19, 2019 by travelingla

[kaisatsu]

43 minutes ago, travelingla said:

Seems I read 'somewhere' a few weeks ago about some issues with Flam and cruising?  I am just now having time to revisit this and am wondering if there is a possibility that our ship will not be docking there? I am scheduled in June, 2020

There are new emissions rules for ships sailing to Flåm and Geiranger, and any ships that do not meet the current standards will not be allowed to sail through these fjords. The rules will become more and more strict over the next few years.

[Kidminder]

https://lofoten.info/sites/l/lofoten.info/files/lofoten_product_manual_2019__2020_.pdf

handy cruise manual for Lofoten Islands

[travelingla]

16 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

There are new emissions rules for ships sailing to Flåm and Geiranger, and any ships that do not meet the current standards will not be allowed to sail through these fjords. The rules will become more and more strict over the next few years.

 

yikes -- I am all for that ruling but I hope our ship will be able to sail there next summer -- I will do a search for any ships that may meet the standard. Ours is a new ship as of 12/18. but..... it is suspicious since Flam is the only port without excursions.  😞

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, travelingla said:

I will do a search for any ships that may meet the standard. Ours is a new ship as of 12/18. 

It’s not only about the age of the ship - if the ship is not LNG powered it will also depend on quality of bunker fuel. 

Regarding excursions in Flåm the primary attraction is the train - might be that time tables for 2020 are not yet available. 

Edited July 20, 2019 by hallasm

[just_dont]

This is a fabulous thread!  Thank you so much, hallasm, for starting this -- it helps so much with narrowing down the research and I love reading from those who've been before!

Yes, thank you Mogens!
I benefited greatly from this thread and your many contributions on these boards (and your videos) when planning and during our Midnight Sun cruise this June. What I've learned from you (and many others) definitely helped prepare me for our trip and has enabled me to provide feedback for others who are planning similar trips.

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[travelingla]

On 7/20/2019 at 12:05 PM, hallasm said:

It’s not only about the age of the ship - if the ship is not LNG powered it will also depend on quality of bunker fuel. 

Regarding excursions in Flåm the primary attraction is the train - might be that time tables for 2020 are not yet available. 

 

fingers crossed!

 

[Doh15]

Very helpful thread, thanks to all the contributors 

[naturelovergirl]

Ok Hallasm... two specific questions 😊

- Have you been to Sommarøy Island from Tromsø? If so what did you think? (We have a tour planned to go to Sommarøy)

- Have you been to the Lofoten Islands? We have a rental car reserved. If you have been... what spots do you suggest seeing there?

Thanks so much... as always, your insight is always excellent and appreciated on Norway travel... I love the country (obviously with my previous posts- hahaha)

[hallasm]

 

47 minutes ago, naturelovergirl said:

Ok Hallasm... two specific questions 

I have been on Kvaløya but not on Sommarøya.

I have been at Lofoten - I'm travelling right now but will be back later with some insights - renting a car is a good option - at which port and time of the year?

Hope that others might be able to assist with Sommarøya and also hope that others will join with their Lofoten experiences.

I'll be back in few days with my Lofoten experiences.

 

Anyway, I'm not from Norway but love Norway as much as you do and I have been travelling a lot in Norway - both winter and summer - by car and cruising.