Which itinerary whould you recommend?

[tuker1980]

Hello everyone,

 

My wife and I (39 and 35) are planning a 10-day ish cruise in the Norwegian Fjords in May. We found 2 itineraries that are of interest on 9 days, the other 10 days, both a in the same price range and dates.... late may/early june. The ports of call are quite different and we would like which of the 2 offer the best place to visit. Please feel free to provide advice on why we should pick one over the other!!!

 

We are in pretty good shape and like to walk, hike, or bike. We enjoy physical activities. I am leaning toward itinerary 1 as it goes up to the polar circle (Honningsvag) and I guess going there is a "one time thing" that I would never do again. However, looking at the port of calls, itinerary 2 seems to have more popular/known stops... but I'm no where near knowledgable about Norway!. Here they are...

 

Itinerary 1 MSC

 

Depart Kiel

 

alesund

 

Honningsvag

 

Tromso

 

Modle

 

Nordfjordeid

 

Itinerary 2 Costa

 

Depart Amsterdam

 

Nordfjordeid

 

Flam

 

Andalsnes

 

Olden

 

Bergen

 

Bremerhaven

 

Thank you for the advice

 

Tuker

[CanEcosse]

Scroll down this page till you find "Norway Fjord Cruise Planning Q&A Vol 2" and post your query there. You will get lots of help.

Edited December 4, 2019 by CanEcosse

[angie7911922]

Different people have different interests. So whatever we will say is our favorite, it might not be yours. research all the places, write down what you like to do/see and then decide.

And will you stay a few days in the cities before or after your cruise?

 

[tuker1980]

1 hour ago, angie7911922 said:

Different people have different interests. So whatever we will say is our favorite, it might not be yours. research all the places, write down what you like to do/see and then decide.

And will you stay a few days in the cities before or after your cruise?

 

 

We started to do research... but all ports seems magnificient!! I guess I'm looking for personal experience or professional tips from people that have been to these places. We enjoy visiting places, so regardless which itinerary we will choose, we will enjoy... i'm trying to get as much enjoyment as possible!!!

 

We would not likely stay before or after... get in the day before, and leave the day after.Maybe we would extend the trip if we choose the Kiel departure, visit Hamburg... we have been to Amsterdam in the past.

 

Thanks

[Sauer-kraut]

Ease of arrival airport.... For Kiel you'll have to fly into Hamburg or Frankfurt.  Amsterdam will have direct flights and you arrive in your departure city.

Again departure cities, Bremerhaven will require Hamburg and I don't know which airport city would be a good departure for itinerary 1.

So check flights from your home city for an idea of how often and arrival times for the port cities.

[JohnAllen75]

On 12/4/2019 at 2:27 PM, tuker1980 said:

 

 

Itinerary 1 MSC

 

Depart Kiel

 

alesund

 

Honningsvag

 

Tromso

 

Modle

 

Nordfjordeid

 

Itinerary 2 Costa

 

Depart Amsterdam

 

Nordfjordeid

 

Flam

 

Andalsnes

 

Olden

 

Bergen

 

Bremerhaven

 

Thank you for the advice

 

Tuker

 

Hello!

 

I live just outside of Nordfjordeid which i see are on both your options, you are most welcome here:) 

Its not easy to choose from those two. As I can see they have both great values, but the first has longer distance at see of course, but you get to see the north and the great city of Tromsø and North cape. Ålesund is also a very popular port, but quite crowded/compact if several ships at same time in port. The first one has three cities, and the second one has only one.... 

 

Ålesund                 A very popular port, maybe a chance for a day trip to Geiranger, but im not sure

Honningsvåg        North Cape

Tromsø                 Paris of the North, a really nice city

Molde                    Im not sure what to see here, its just an ordinary city

Nordfjordeid         A very nice town with friendly people, great opportunities for hiking ang excursions. 

---

Nordfjordeid

Flåm                      Together with Bergen and Geiranger maybe the most famous port, definition of fjord scenery. Crowded

Åndalsnes           A nice little town, not sure what to see there

Olden                   excursion to briksdal glacier and www.loenskylift.no 

Bergen                 One of the most popular ports in Norway, can get crowded, but maybe worth it?

 

 

Im really not sure which i would choose.... i guess i would go for nr 1 because bigger ship and going north.... but its not possible to choose wrong here...

 

 

For information of Nordfjordeid,  check out https://portofnordfjordeid.no 

Personally i would recommed a hike in the local mountains, different routes are available.

For excample 2-3 hours from the ship up here: 

https://ut.no/turforslag/116356/trollenykjen-898-moh-i-eid-kommune

I also recommend to visit the viking museum   https://sagastad.no 

 

If the weather is good you can take a swim in the fjord from the town beach, or in the river coming from north europes deepest lake. If the weather is bad you can also take a swim....If you can get hold of a bike there are lots of places to go....

 

A movie from the Nordfjord area: 

 

[tuker1980]

On 12/6/2019 at 3:24 PM, JohnAllen75 said:

 

 

 

A movie from the Nordfjord area: 

 

 

Thank you very much for sharing... watching this video want to make me go even more!!!

MSC also has another cruise that has the same itinerery as option 1 but includes Flam (an extra day).... I would stretch our budget... but ... it may well be worth it!!! 

 

Thanks again!