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Air Arrangements from Bergen


sabrefan
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Going on the Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Cities cruise on 5/23/2020 from Copenhagen to Bergen. Just starting to look at flights connections and plan on flying in and out of Toronto, Canada. I see some flight departures from Bergen at 10:00am on disembarkation day. Fortunately the ship will already be in Bergen the day before. I am wondering if there will be any problem getting off the ship at 6:00 am on disembarkation day? We would plan on keeping our packed luggage with us in our cabin. Just wondering if this would be a problem?

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43 minutes ago, sabrefan said:

Going on the Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Cities cruise on 5/23/2020 from Copenhagen to Bergen. Just starting to look at flights connections and plan on flying in and out of Toronto, Canada. I see some flight departures from Bergen at 10:00am on disembarkation day. Fortunately the ship will already be in Bergen the day before. I am wondering if there will be any problem getting off the ship at 6:00 am on disembarkation day? We would plan on keeping our packed luggage with us in our cabin. Just wondering if this would be a problem?

We would have loved to have had a 6:00 a.m. disembarkation when we left Bergen -- we actually had a 6:00 a.m. flight out, which meant a 3:00 a.m. disembarkation!  You will not have any problem at all getting off the ship at 6:00 a.m. 

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We just completed a HL cruise that ended in Bergen. I didn’t want a 3 AM bus ride to the airport and was able to find a KLM flight at 10:30 AM since we did our own air + transfers. We got off the ship at 6:30 AM and our bags were waiting for us. Got the 7:30 AM Flybussen ($18 for 2) to the airport that only took 45 minutes. All good, so far. However, there must have been at least 2 bus loads of “Priority” Viking transfers that arrived at the airport just before we did and were in front of us at the KLM  check-in. With all the Viking folks plus regular travelers it took about 1 hour to just to check-in since they only had 2 people working for all travelers and they were incredibly slow. On a positive note, security went fairly quick.  Maybe it was just an anomaly that day but I’d plan plenty of time for the Bergen airport. 

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You will have no issue getting off the ship at 6 AM.

Once you book your flights, check with your airline to see what time they recommend arriving at Bergen airport. I would always arrive at least 2 hours prior to departure and usually 3 hours for international flights. 

You can check in the day before your flight (and print your boarding pass if you prefer paper) and utilize the self-service baggage drop kiosks---that will avoid the check-in line. Security is supposed to be pretty expedient at Bergen.

The port is only about 11 miles from the airport and a taxi is in the $30-35 range for a 15-20 minute ride.

For an early morning departure I would personally pop for the taxi for convenience, unless the bus or light rail is just as close to the ship as the taxi stand.

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6 hours ago, VJMAZZ said:

We just completed a HL cruise that ended in Bergen. I didn’t want a 3 AM bus ride to the airport and was able to find a KLM flight at 10:30 AM since we did our own air + transfers. We got off the ship at 6:30 AM and our bags were waiting for us. Got the 7:30 AM Flybussen ($18 for 2) to the airport that only took 45 minutes. All good, so far. However, there must have been at least 2 bus loads of “Priority” Viking transfers that arrived at the airport just before we did and were in front of us at the KLM  check-in. With all the Viking folks plus regular travelers it took about 1 hour to just to check-in since they only had 2 people working for all travelers and they were incredibly slow. On a positive note, security went fairly quick.  Maybe it was just an anomaly that day but I’d plan plenty of time for the Bergen airport. 

 

Had a similar experience in 2016. Because of the fare Viking had purchased for its guests, we could not check in online. Everyone had to check in a the airport. The line was long. The desk was understaffed and the computer decided not to function.  

 

Can't remember which airlines we flew. 

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We walked off at 6am last summer and walked to the bus stop which is half a mile (maybe less) away and not difficult if you only have carry-on. We were taking a short hop to Oslo to Iceland so did not encounter long lines.  The World Cafe was open for breakfast at 5:30 as there were many early departures.  The taxi stand is close to the ship is luggage is too much for a walk.

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So glad to have found this string of messages as we are booked on the Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Cities cruise in 2020.  Currently set to sail from Copenhagen to Bergen and have been a bit concerned about return air from Bergen (to South Florida).  Have considered changing our sail date to reverse the itinerary as we'd prefer to have the more difficult air travel on the front end than when heading home (already tired) - perhaps a strange idea to some...?

We are still 12+ months out so actual flights are not yet viewable - but for earlier dates I have seen more 2-stop flights than 1-stop.  Also considering taking the train from Bergen to Oslo either on our own or as part of a Viking post cruise excursion.

 

Would appreciate reading any thoughts/ideas any of you might have.  This will be our second Viking Ocean cruise (Italian Sojourn in 2018).  We just returned from Alaska, had originally booked Viking for 2021, wanted to go this year & Viking Orion was virtually sold-out (no surprise).  We decided to try Regent Seven Seas Mariner - had a wonderful trip but happy to be going back on Viking Ocean next year!!

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32 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Booking through Viking Air, what airlines are they using from the US into Bergen.  We're booking our flights shortly through Viking and would like to look at the possibilities before I have to make the decision. 

 

There are no non-stop flights to Bergen from the US.  No matter how you get there, you will have to stop in some other non-US airport on the way--Reykavik (if you are willing to travel on Icelandic), London, Amsterdam, Oslo are just some of the names I remember seeing in my preliminary search.

 

The answer to your question depends on where you live and which airport you are flying from. If you use one of the online air booking sites, you can investigate the various flight plans that are available (these sites are technically travel agents so we can't name names). Viking now shows its preferred airlines on its website on the Viking Air page.

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49 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Booking through Viking Air, what airlines are they using from the US into Bergen.  We're booking our flights shortly through Viking and would like to look at the possibilities before I have to make the decision. 

 

We were on KLM last March into Bergen and are on Finnair in September into Oslo. We did pay for custom air.

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51 minutes ago, Michael219 said:

and have been a bit concerned about return air from Bergen (to South Florida).  Have considered changing our sail date to reverse the itinerary

 

I don't think you need to change your cruise dates.

 

I would look at the US to Europe portion of your trip and see who flies non-stop from your home airport to which cities in Europe; this is the key flight to getting a trip with only one stop. From that point, look to see which of those cities has direct connections to both Copenhagen and Bergen. 

 

If you can't get non-stop from your airport to Europe, then you should look at which US airports that you can get to non-stop have a non-stop to Copenhagen. Hopefully, there will be a flight leaving Bergen that will get you back to Copenhagen to make the return flight to the US.

 

Stay an extra night in Bergen and leave after the cruise crowd departs.

Take a late day flight out of Bergen forcing an overnight before the transatlantic hop (you will have to pay for the hotel room) but it deals with the crow--and breaks up the trip home.

Consider a flight from Oslo, especially if Viking is taking care of the transfer to Oslo (and the mode of transfer is reasonable).

 

 

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Peregrina...thanks so much. I did not know Viking had that on their website. That is exactly what I need.  We are actually flying into Oslo.  I want to look at the business class configurations before we call to book because I want to be able to avoid having to climb over my husband to go to the bathroom during the night, or have him climb over me! 

 

Cruzzzinma we also always pay for custom air.  I want to have some choice in the matter! Did you go business class? If so what did you think of their seating arrangement.  

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13 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

I did not know Viking had that on their website.

 

It is a new addition, I believe. I just stumbled across it the other day when I was looking for something else. Scroll down to see it.

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55 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Cruzzzinma we also always pay for custom air.  I want to have some choice in the matter! Did you go business class? If so what did you think of their seating arrangement.  

 

Yes, we got business class. Viking Air is hard to deal with!!!! I insisted on business class air with lie-flat seats on the transatlantic portion. The rep didn’t know what lie flat seats were...this went on and on. We finally got it figured out because when she identified possible flights, I looked them up on my iPad.

 

My personal favorite is KLM for business class air.

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Having just completed a HL Cruise Stockholm To Bergen I wish we would have done Bergen to Stockholm. Flying into to Stockholm day 1 of the cruise just did not leave much time in Stockholm since the ship departed at 2:30 PM on day 2. Extending post cruise in Stockholm would have given us many more options for sight seeing. From what I’ve read on CC the Stockholm airport would have more flights at better departure times than Bergen. Oh well, 20-20 hindsight. Next time😊

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4 hours ago, Michael219 said:

So glad to have found this string of messages as we are booked on the Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Cities cruise in 2020.  Currently set to sail from Copenhagen to Bergen and have been a bit concerned about return air from Bergen (to South Florida).  Have considered changing our sail date to reverse the itinerary as we'd prefer to have the more difficult air travel on the front end than when heading home (already tired) - perhaps a strange idea to some...?

We are still 12+ months out so actual flights are not yet viewable - but for earlier dates I have seen more 2-stop flights than 1-stop.  Also considering taking the train from Bergen to Oslo either on our own or as part of a Viking post cruise excursion.

 

Would appreciate reading any thoughts/ideas any of you might have.  This will be our second Viking Ocean cruise (Italian Sojourn in 2018).  We just returned from Alaska, had originally booked Viking for 2021, wanted to go this year & Viking Orion was virtually sold-out (no surprise).  We decided to try Regent Seven Seas Mariner - had a wonderful trip but happy to be going back on Viking Ocean next year!!

 

We are doing this itinerary Copenhagen to Bergen in 2020 and we are booking our own air. We are staying overnight in Bergen and doing Norway in a Nutshell the following day to Oslo (including Flam Railway). Staying several days in Oslo before flying home. 

Not sure which airport in Florida you are using but are there any airlines with Oslo to your home airport non-stop? Like us, you are probably looking at a total of 3 legs from Bergen. So your choice is really whether you want 3 legs flying, or 2 legs flying and rail Bergen to Oslo. Also depends on your time constraints. We figured we would enjoy the scenery and add some time in Norway but we have no urgency to get home.

We prefer to book our own air and pre/post extension, but we are comfortable doing transfers on our own and can handle our luggage by ourselves. We found the Viking extensions at least 2-3 times the cost of doing it on our own, plus we can book nicer hotels in better locations. But for many people, they like knowing Viking handles everything.

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22 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

I don't think you need to change your cruise dates.

 

I would look at the US to Europe portion of your trip and see who flies non-stop from your home airport to which cities in Europe; this is the key flight to getting a trip with only one stop. From that point, look to see which of those cities has direct connections to both Copenhagen and Bergen. 

 

If you can't get non-stop from your airport to Europe, then you should look at which US airports that you can get to non-stop have a non-stop to Copenhagen. Hopefully, there will be a flight leaving Bergen that will get you back to Copenhagen to make the return flight to the US.

 

Stay an extra night in Bergen and leave after the cruise crowd departs.

Take a late day flight out of Bergen forcing an overnight before the transatlantic hop (you will have to pay for the hotel room) but it deals with the crow--and breaks up the trip home.

Consider a flight from Oslo, especially if Viking is taking care of the transfer to Oslo (and the mode of transfer is reasonable).

 

 

 

Peregrina651 (forgive me as I forgot your name from last year when you offered great advice for Rome)...  Thanks for your always relevant and quick responses and information!  If we keep the itinerary as-is, we are considering the Bergen to Oslo train & a hotel as you suggest.  Viking offers a post-excursion but as I found last year, it is less costly to do it on our own and we will have already been  in Oslo overnight during the cruise as well as o/n in Bergen.   Also will check to see if Viking offers any (included) transfers to Oslo if we've used Viking Air.

Either way, we know we will have a great trip with Viking!!

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19 hours ago, broker1217 said:

 

We are doing this itinerary Copenhagen to Bergen in 2020 and we are booking our own air. We are staying overnight in Bergen and doing Norway in a Nutshell the following day to Oslo (including Flam Railway). Staying several days in Oslo before flying home. 

Not sure which airport in Florida you are using but are there any airlines with Oslo to your home airport non-stop? Like us, you are probably looking at a total of 3 legs from Bergen. So your choice is really whether you want 3 legs flying, or 2 legs flying and rail Bergen to Oslo. Also depends on your time constraints. We figured we would enjoy the scenery and add some time in Norway but we have no urgency to get home.

We prefer to book our own air and pre/post extension, but we are comfortable doing transfers on our own and can handle our luggage by ourselves. We found the Viking extensions at least 2-3 times the cost of doing it on our own, plus we can book nicer hotels in better locations. But for many people, they like knowing Viking handles everything.

broker1217, what is your departure date?  We are currently on the 7/28/20 cruise but still 'thinking' about the earlier June date which embarks in Bergen.  I'm thinking we'll keep what we've got and extend a day or two and take the train to Oslo - all I've read says this is a great day trip & ride.  Uncertain if we will book air on our own or via Viking, that is yet to be determined.  We can utilize Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach or Orlando.  We will not have the time to spend more than an extra day or two post cruise.

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We returned only a few weeks ago  from Viking Homelands - left the ship,  from took the train from Bergen to Oslo ( 7 hours but beautiful scenery  and relaxing ride)  Purchased a couple sandwiches from the shop Bergen train station.  Stayed at the Thon Opera across the street from the Oslo train station. Spent two days, and took the express train to Oslo Airport for return home. We ended up recognizing almost a dozen folks from our cruise on the train who had the same idea!

 

Book train tickets online  early and they are very reasonable using the Minispris fare. We paid less than 100 $pp for the first class reserved seats. 

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4 hours ago, Michael219 said:

 

Peregrina651 (forgive me as I forgot your name from last year when you offered great advice for Rome)...  Thanks for your always relevant and quick responses and information!  If we keep the itinerary as-is, we are considering the Bergen to Oslo train & a hotel as you suggest.  Viking offers a post-excursion but as I found last year, it is less costly to do it on our own and we will have already been  in Oslo overnight during the cruise as well as o/n in Bergen.   Also will check to see if Viking offers any (included) transfers to Oslo if we've used Viking Air.

Either way, we know we will have a great trip with Viking!!

 

Seems to me the big question here is the train. It is a 7 hour train ride through what I understand is magnificent country side. All puns intended, we are in the same boat. We are planning on arriving early for our cruise and deciding on landing in Oslo or Bergen. Do we want another 7 hours planted in a seat or will the scenery be enough to counter-balance the downside?

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13 hours ago, Michael219 said:

broker1217, what is your departure date?  We are currently on the 7/28/20 cruise but still 'thinking' about the earlier June date which embarks in Bergen.  I'm thinking we'll keep what we've got and extend a day or two and take the train to Oslo - all I've read says this is a great day trip & ride.  Uncertain if we will book air on our own or via Viking, that is yet to be determined.  We can utilize Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach or Orlando.  We will not have the time to spend more than an extra day or two post cruise.

 

We are doing the April departure---we can't travel over summer due to our last child home in the summer from college.

It will be cooler, and when researching I was surprised to find that April is a relatively dry month in this region. 

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On 7/4/2019 at 4:58 PM, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

Stay an extra night in Bergen and leave after the cruise crowd departs.

Take a late day flight out of Bergen forcing an overnight before the transatlantic hop (you will have to pay for the hotel room) but it deals with the crow--and breaks up the trip home.

Consider a flight from Oslo, especially if Viking is taking care of the transfer to Oslo (and the mode of transfer is reasonable).

 

 

 

Do stay longer in Bergen.  Friends just took this cruise and did the extension to Iceland so really did not see Bergen except from ship to airport.  A real  problem with cruising is not seeing the first or last port of the cruise with arrival and departure booked during cruise time.

 

There are at least 46 departures out of Bergen each day so leaving from there is not the problem.  You may have conditions that must be met and there in is the rub.  I live in San Antonio, Texas and we flew, at a reasonable hour out of Bergen to Copenhagen on SAS.  About and hour layover and flew from there to Dulles with about 3.5 hour layover and then home on United.  We flew coach and if there are restrictions there on your part, then that is where the problem is.

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On 7/5/2019 at 4:34 PM, knoxclone said:

We returned only a few weeks ago  from Viking Homelands - left the ship,  from took the train from Bergen to Oslo ( 7 hours but beautiful scenery  and relaxing ride)  Purchased a couple sandwiches from the shop Bergen train station.  Stayed at the Thon Opera across the street from the Oslo train station. Spent two days, and took the express train to Oslo Airport for return home. We ended up recognizing almost a dozen folks from our cruise on the train who had the same idea!

 

Book train tickets online  early and they are very reasonable using the Minispris fare. We paid less than 100 $pp for the first class reserved seats. 

Knoxclone - We are doing the opposite, flying into Oslo first then taking the train to Bergen to embark our cruise. Also are spending 2 nights at the Thon Opera. 

What site did you use to book your train ticket online? I can't seem to get the different sites to let me book first class.

Also when we arrive in Oslo is it easy to take the express train to town or should I book that ahead of time?

Thanks in advance.

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31 minutes ago, QRB4539 said:

What site did you use to book your train ticket online? I can't seem to get the different sites to let me book first class.

Also when we arrive in Oslo is it easy to take the express train to town or should I book that ahead of time?

Thanks in advance.

 

Thank you! Good questions. Inquiring minds do want to know. Especially since we are contemplating doing the same--and are just deciding if we want pre-cruise in Bergen or Oslo.

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