Norway Fjord Cruise Q&A - Keys to Successful Planning

[hallasm]

6 hours ago, purduemom1 said:

we were the only ship in port and I don’t know where a second ship would dock.

No - second ship will tender - Link to ship arrivals.

‘Kai’ is docked while ‘anker’ is anchor and tendering.

[laurieb]

Thank you for this very informative thread!

we are on the Azamara Journey, sailing from Oslo on July 1st, 17 nights.  We are going to Flam, Geiranger, Alesund, Svolvaer, Tromso, Honningsvåg, Bodo, Trondheim, Molde, Olden and Bergen.  

We have booked the Flam railway, but Azamara also offers a tour that includes the Flam Railway, Voss, Tinder and Stalheim but it’s quite expensive; is it worth doing?

We have a tour booked from Svolvaer to the Viking Museum; is it worth seeing?

My father was born in  Sulitjelma; we are thinking of renting a car in Bodo and driving there.  We’re in port 8am to 4 pm; is this doable?

Edited June 7, 2019 by laurieb

[hallasm]

Excellent itinerary and perfect timing for midnight sun from Svolvær and back to Bodø - below a short video sailing from Svolvær to Tromsø during night.  Just be aware of temperatures in the range of 40 to 55 F in Honningsvåg .

Off cause you must rent a car in Bodø for a visit to Sulitjelma - its a 57 miles scenic drive  (1.5 hours)  along saltfjorden and Skjerstad Fjord - on you way back you can make a south bound route via Rognan to Misvær and Saltstraumen - 100 miles and will take 2.5 hours - easily done within 5 hours.

For Flåm book the railway on your own - you can also make a boat tour through Nærøyfjord. - and in Geiranger bus tour to view points like Flydalsjuvet, the Eagle Bend or Geiranger Skywalk. is a must.

I have not visited the Viking Museum is Svolvær - however, nature at Lofoten Islands is beautiful.

 

[ski ww]

Love the video, thanks for sharing.

[laurieb]

Thank you for the tips!  

[gogiantsfan29]

Just back from our fjords cruise.  Has a fantastic time despite the cooler then normal and rainy weather except in Alesund where we hit a perfect day.  We were in Alesund, Bergen, Geiranger and Olden.  If anyone has any questions about those ports let me know.

[Wapak]

Hello,

Would love to see any pictures you would want to share

Thanks

[mtown27]

HI ... on the 6/23 7-night HAL Nieuw Statendam trip, starting from Amsterdam and visiting Eidfjord, Skjolden, Alesund, and Bergen.  How do you recommend packing for this trip?  Thinking specifically of advice for men.  Would love to get a point of view on how many pants and shirts.  And what kind of each?  Should we try to pack to get through all 10 days of the trip (we have two days in Amsterdam to start out).  Or should we pack a little lighter and plan to use the laundry service?  Would this be a single suitcase?  Or planning on multiple suitcases?  

 

Any advice would be appreciated!

Stuart

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, mtown27 said:

on the 6/23 7-night HAL Nieuw Statendam trip

I think you might get better answers in your roll call 

.. or get some inspiration in this topic.

 

 

[CruisingFox27]

On 5/24/2019 at 9:28 AM, hallasm said:

No need for purchasing tickets in advance - however you will avoid a potential queue at the ticket counter. 

The Cable Car has a capacity of 400 passengers per hour.

You can book tickets at this link

We did purchase in advance but there were no queues when we arrived, chatting to the young man operating our car, he said it was a quiet day and we were a smaller ship. He showed us pictures of queues on busy days and wow, it was busy. It was a great experience despite the ice and rain. 

[CruisingFox27]

On 5/8/2019 at 4:55 PM, newcruise said:

Wondering about Olden and a trip to the Briksdal glacier. Will we need NOK to pay for the Troll Car and public bus or can we use a CC? Thanks for any advice!

We pre purchased our tickets for the bus but you could buy at the departure point. We did pay for the troll car in NOK but I'm sure i saw that they took cards too. It was definitely worth getting the troll car. We wouldn't have had time to reach the glacier without doing so.... the description of 'slight incline' to walk is economical....

[ski ww]

15 hours ago, mtown27 said:

HI ... on the 6/23 7-night HAL Nieuw Statendam trip, starting from Amsterdam and visiting Eidfjord, Skjolden, Alesund, and Bergen.  How do you recommend packing for this trip?  Thinking specifically of advice for men.  Would love to get a point of view on how many pants and shirts.  And what kind of each?  Should we try to pack to get through all 10 days of the trip (we have two days in Amsterdam to start out).  Or should we pack a little lighter and plan to use the laundry service?  Would this be a single suitcase?  Or planning on multiple suitcases?  

 

Any advice would be appreciated!

Stuart

You should be able to get by with one with one suitcase easily. Use the laundry service, dress in layers, warm, a wind breaker, something dressy if you're using the dinning room or not if you're eating in the Lido. As suggested go to your roll call for more answers. Enjoy your cruise.  

[newcruise]

13 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

We pre purchased our tickets for the bus but you could buy at the departure point. We did pay for the troll car in NOK but I'm sure i saw that they took cards too. It was definitely worth getting the troll car. We wouldn't have had time to reach the glacier without doing so.... the description of 'slight incline' to walk is economical....

Thanks very much!

[mickeysgal]

On 6/5/2019 at 8:49 PM, purduemom1 said:

 

This should work out as long as you are sure you can leave your ship in time to make the train.  Flam is a tiny port and everything is within close walking distance. Just an FYI,  if you want to use an atm, there is one in the train station/tourist center. It’s the only atm in Flam and there are no banks. That’s how small  Flam is! Our ship docked right in the town-very easy. Now we were the only ship in port and I don’t know where a second ship would dock. You might want to check and see if yours will be the only ship in port.

We are showing as docked with two other smaller ships anchored that day. We are in port 8am - 5pm.  The first train is 8:35.  All the other train rides are sold out for the day (I assume the cruise lines have bought it out). Assuming we are clear to go ashore by 8, and I'm off as quickly as possible after that, can I make the train by 8.35?  How far is the train from the dock and how long does it take to get there?

[hallasm]

6 minutes ago, mickeysgal said:

How far is the train from the dock and how long does it take to get there?

Very close - less than 5 minutes walk.

[mickeysgal]

1 minute ago, hallasm said:

Very close - less than 5 minutes walk.

Many thanks!!

[Sallyandtex]

Hallasm,

Thanksyou for the wonderful thread you have created!

i have gone through a few pages, but most people look like they have already booked.

I am at the planning stage and am so overwhelmed by all the options. Travelling all the way from Australia I want to make the most of the time there and perhaps add some UK side trips.

I had been looking at the Hurtigruten ships, but there is some agrument about this being a ferry service that you don't get to spend the entire day in port.

I have done 5 cruises on bigger ships and enjoyed Alaska on the HAL New Amsterdam, but was thinking a smaller one would have access to the fjords better, as we did small vessel "excursions" from our big ship in Alaska.

I definitely want to go nearer Summer/ Autumn as I want to see the scenery long days, so perhaps late August/Sept 2020.

 

Some of the deals are with the Isalnd Princess (2,200 passengers) and take in:

Haugesund

Hellesylt

Geiranger

Tromso

Honningsvag

Longyearbyen

Trondheim

Alesund

Skojolden/Sognefjord

 

Or I found a smaller vessel Marco Polo (800 pp), does this get closer to the beautiful scenery??

London to:

Trondheim

Narvik

Barentsburg

Longyearbyen

Honningsvag

Alesund

Boknafjord

Stavanger

 

Comments on these ships plus any others that are better itineraries most welcome!

 

 

[just_dont]

Comments on these ships plus any others that are better itineraries most welcome!

Viking ships are around 930 pax, and they have some cruises which include the fjords.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Sallyandtex]

Thankyou, I just looked at Viking and they are out of my price range. $10K AUD 15 nights and only go in June/July.

The Marco Polo 14 night one was $2370 17 nights ex London

[Sallyandtex]

Has anyone done the Crown Princess "Land of the Midnight Sun" 14 night from Southampton?

Prices for balcony look good and the itinerary looks amazing.

[Sallyandtex]

27 minutes ago, Sallyandtex said:

Has anyone done the Crown Princess "Land of the Midnight Sun" 14 night from Southampton?

Prices for balcony look good and the itinerary looks amazing.

oh can't find the edit button!

i think i answered my own question now:

HAL North Cape and Norway Gems 14 nts Veendam 1350 passengers

Vs Crown Princess 14 nts 3080 passengers

[naturelovergirl]

7 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

Hallasm,

Thanksyou for the wonderful thread you have created!

i have gone through a few pages, but most people look like they have already booked.

I am at the planning stage and am so overwhelmed by all the options. Travelling all the way from Australia I want to make the most of the time there and perhaps add some UK side trips.

I had been looking at the Hurtigruten ships, but there is some agrument about this being a ferry service that you don't get to spend the entire day in port.

I have done 5 cruises on bigger ships and enjoyed Alaska on the HAL New Amsterdam, but was thinking a smaller one would have access to the fjords better, as we did small vessel "excursions" from our big ship in Alaska.

I definitely want to go nearer Summer/ Autumn as I want to see the scenery long days, so perhaps late August/Sept 2020.

 

Some of the deals are with the Isalnd Princess (2,200 passengers) and take in:

Haugesund

Hellesylt

Geiranger

Tromso

Honningsvag

Longyearbyen

Trondheim

Alesund

Skojolden/Sognefjord

 

Or I found a smaller vessel Marco Polo (800 pp), does this get closer to the beautiful scenery??

London to:

Trondheim

Narvik

Barentsburg

Longyearbyen

Honningsvag

Alesund

Boknafjord

Stavanger

 

Comments on these ships plus any others that are better itineraries most welcome!

 

 

Between these two I would choose the Island Princess itinerary, absolutely... it would appeal to me with the ports

 

Cunard’s Queen Victoria has a 12 Night August sailing in 2020 as well

 

[hallasm]

8 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

Comments on these ships plus any others that are better itineraries most welcome!

 

 Azamara Journey, sailing from Oslo on July 1st, 17 as mentioned in post #156 is also an option.

 

Agree with nature lover girl - more scenic Fjords and better ports for the Island Princess.

26 minutes ago, naturelovergirl said:

Between these two I would choose the Island Princess itinerary, absolutely... it would appeal to me with the ports

[laurieb]

Look into Azamara Club Cruises; port intensive, and smaller ship so you go where the big ones can’t. They have two Norway cruises next year.  I’ll report back after our azamara cruise in July 

Edited June 10, 2019 by laurieb

[LoveAces]

We are two active couples and will be on the Viking Homelands Jupiter August 25 out of Stockholm. My question is about Eidfjord...I cannot seem to find an excursion that will allow us enough time to hike around Vøringsfossen, perhaps see some other sites in the area. Viking offers nothing like this and short of renting a car, we are left, perhaps, with a taxi. Has anyone done this before?

Thanks!