Norway Fjord Cruise Planning Q&A - Vol. 2

[travelingla]

Eidfjord question

 

I am so torn on whether to book the gofjords tour at 11:45 to the falls or just take the walks in the village and enjoy a leisurely day there. Renting a car is not an option for us -- I just hate to have a rushed time at the falls and wasted time at the nature center -- which sounds like the complaint of all who take this tour.

 

I figure we will be enjoying plenty of beautiful scenery and might just look at photos from any friends on this tour!  LOL. Any thoughts??? This is our first port stop on a 2 week cruise.

 

 

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, travelingla said:

This is so odd to me as the Nieuw Statendam departing on 14 night 6/3/20 & 7/5/20 cancelled Flam and substituted Skjolden...I wonder why?

It’s frustrating when itineraries are changed. I’m not an expert. Nieuw Statendam should definitely be able to meet 2020 emission requirements for the the Norwegian Heritage fjords, so there might be other reasons - I do not know how much bunker oil quality can increase emission. - maybe economic or political reasons - or that HAL people doesn’t understand the regulations. After 2025 it’s a zero emissions zone and only electrical propulsion possible. 

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, travelingla said:

I am so torn on whether to book the gofjords tour at 11:45

Do not know exact what Go Fjord does offer in Eidfjord - assuming a trip to Vøringsfossen waterfall which is quite spectacular. Different sceneries than the fjord sailing.

[travelingla]

5 hours ago, hallasm said:

It’s frustrating when itineraries are changed. I’m not an expert. Nieuw Statendam should definitely be able to meet 2020 emission requirements for the the Norwegian Heritage fjords, so there might be other reasons - I do not know how much bunker oil quality can increase emission. - maybe economic or political reasons - or that HAL people doesn’t understand the regulations. After 2025 it’s a zero emissions zone and only electrical propulsion possible. 

 

It's just odd the June and early July were cancelled but not the later HAL trip to Flam on the same ship.  The more I read about Skjolden though the happier I am that we get to visit that port!

[travelingla]

5 hours ago, hallasm said:

Do not know exact what Go Fjord does offer in Eidfjord - assuming a trip to Vøringsfossen waterfall which is quite spectacular. Different sceneries than the fjord sailing.

 

Gogjords does visit the falls -- but only about 20-25 minutes and first it stays at the museum for over an hour after watching the film. We've decided not to book the tour -- we do not care for bus tours unless it is something that is a huge priority.  The ship tour is an hour longer with going to the dam and costs a about double.

 

There are apparently nice scenic walks at this port so we will just do our own thing here and enjoy a slow pace.

[Aus Traveller]

The cruise I am on calls into Olden. I am looking at taking the shuttle bus to see the Briksdal glacier. I realise this entails either a 3km walk or a ride in a troll car. I would prefer to go in the troll car, but are they likely to be sold out? I would appreciate any comments on a visit to Olden.

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I would prefer to go in the troll car, but are they likely to be sold out?

Yes. A round-trip is 1.5 hour - capacity is 84 pax - you can book in advance at https://www.oldedalenskysslag.com

[Aus Traveller]

1 hour ago, hallasm said:

Yes. A round-trip is 1.5 hour - capacity is 84 pax - you can book in advance at https://www.oldedalenskysslag.com

 Thanks for that. I had the impression that these troll cars carried out a continuous service, but are you indicating that a group of troll cars carrying a total of 84 pax all leave in convoy with the next convoy leaving 1.5 hours later? If this if the case I will have to investigate the shuttle bus and times and book both so they co-ordinate.  

[hallasm]

Yes - a group of cars (each with 7 passengers with fixed departure time - you need to coordinate time with shuttle bus - there is a Glacier Shuttle from the port to Briksdalen.

 https://www.oldedalenskysslag.com/booking

[Arachnotron]

Hi, I'm booking 21-day Viking Sagas & Northern Isles on July 26th on Nieuw Statendam, later today (very few verandas remain!!!). This itinerary (https://www.hollandamerica.com/es_ES/find-a-cruise/E0N21E/J051A.html) does not go to Bergen (but goes to Flam - hopefully - and Stavanger). Do you recommend / is it possible to take a tour from one of those ports to Bergen? Is it worth it?

[just_dont]

 

 

 

Do you recommend / is it possible to take a tour from one of those ports to Bergen? Is it worth it?

 

Not from Flåm.

It would be a minimum of 3 hours each way by car or train, more than 5 hours by ferry. You wouldn't have any time in Bergen, even if you could manage a round trip.

 

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[travelingla]

How do we find out where our ship (Nieuw Statendam) docks in Bergen? The cruise mapper & other sites do not say specifically.

[just_dont]

How do we find out where our ship (Nieuw Statendam) docks in Bergen? The cruise mapper & other sites do not say specifically.

http://bergenhavn.no/en/cruise-en/mooring-plans

 

 

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[travelingla]

On 1/9/2020 at 6:03 PM, just_dont said:

http://bergenhavn.no/en/cruise-en/mooring-plans

 

 

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I had checked that site earlier and did not see June listed -- so perhaps it is too early yet....

 

Or -- I do not know how to use this site???

[just_dont]

I had checked that site earlier and did not see June listed -- so perhaps it is too early yet....
 
Or -- I do not know how to use this site???

Yes, it appears they only have the Winter cruises listed so far. You hadn't indicated your cruise was in June. I'd give it another month or two before they post the Summer call schedules.

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[dfish]

13 hours ago, travelingla said:

I had checked that site earlier and did not see June listed -- so perhaps it is too early yet....

 

Or -- I do not know how to use this site???

Click on call schedule to the right and fill in Nieuw Statendam and June 2020.  The result shows Bontelabo 2.

[travelingla]

On 1/12/2020 at 9:50 AM, dfish said:

Click on call schedule to the right and fill in Nieuw Statendam and June 2020.  The result shows Bontelabo 2.

I'll take your word for it... it still does not let me go past March🤷🏼‍♀️

Edited January 20, 2020 by travelingla

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, travelingla said:

I'll take your word for it... it still does not let me go past March🤷🏼‍♀️

Did you fill in the ship name and the  month of arrival as June 2020 before hitting search? I got 2 rows only showing up, June 10 and June 24 arrivals.

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, travelingla said:

'll take your word for it... it still does not let me go past March🤷🏼‍♀️

Does work fine for me try this link and just select the month