Norwegian Fjords; is a small boat cruise excursion necessary?

[Joliecat]

Hi all,

 

Trying to plan our shore excursions. Visiting Bergen, Olden, Geiranger and Stavanger in May (on Celebrity Silhouette).

 

Do you think that doing a boat excursion to one of the fjords will add a lot more to our experience? It seems that we would already be going through two fjords (Olden/Nordfjord and Geiranger/Geirangerfjord) on our cruise already. Would going on a smaller boat into the other fjords (Lysefjord ex stavanger, or Hardangerfjord ex Bergen) be worth our time? There are other things we would like to do already, so choosing to do a boat excursion would mean we are giving up on something else we want to do.

 

If you think it would add a lot, would you choose Hardangerfjord or Lysefjord? My impression is that Hardangerfjord has less of the steep cliffs and narrow waterways, so would be less impressive?

 

Thanks for your input!

 

Jinny

[hallasm]

For Olden and Geiranger you’ll sail through the scenic fjords - look for some excursions or panoramic bus tours to the view points.

for Stavanger a boat trip to Lysefjord and the Pulpit Rock might be an option.
For Bergen you should spend your day in the city - DIY for Bergen is easy.

[Travelling2Some]

When we did the fjords cruise a couple of years ago my thinking was that one of the advantages of cruising was that I would see some of the major fjords twice, both on the way in and again on the way out.  I felt that boat excursions would be redundant for cruisers.  Stavanger was not on our itinerary.  We did enjoy Bergen mostly on our own, although we did sign up (in advance) for an excellent walking tour through the interior of the historic buildings given by the museum.  In Geiranger we took the bus ride to the scenic outlooks and that was very worthwhile.  We had the added fun of being able to watch the first-time reaction of some children who were from the tropics and had never seen snow before.  We showed them how to pack snowballs!

[PurpleTraveller]

On my visit to Stavanger in June 2019 I did the Rodne cruise at 9.00am to Lysefjord to see Pulpit Rock. It was a very enjoyable cruise and we saw the fjord which we did not sail in to on our cruise ship. We were back in Stavanger at 11.45am leaving plenty of time to see the town. You will sail in and out of the fjord when you visit Geiranger so you can perhaps do a tour further afield to Mt Dalsnibba which has spectacular views. In Bergen we spent our time in the town which is lovely.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise. 😊

 

 

Lysefjord

 

 

View from Mt Dalsnibba, Geiranger

[Coral]

I really enjoyed the boat ride in Stavanger. I recommend it.

[Joliecat]

Thank you all for your response

 

for those that did the Stavanger boat excursion to Lysefjord, was it significantly different to geirangerfjord  and nordfjord? I mean, there’s obviously pulpit rock, but apart from that is the scenery very similar between these fjords? 

 

The alternative would be for us to do the pulpit rock hike, which I would prefer as long as the weather was decent.

 

many thanks!

[Coral]

28 minutes ago, Joliecat said:

Thank you all for your response

 

for those that did the Stavanger boat excursion to Lysefjord, was it significantly different to geirangerfjord  and nordfjord? I mean, there’s obviously pulpit rock, but apart from that is the scenery very similar between these fjords? 

 

The alternative would be for us to do the pulpit rock hike, which I would prefer as long as the weather was decent.

 

many thanks!

Yes it was different. Though I am one who can go to Alaska and go to the same glacier over and over and find the glacier looks different a week later. I love fjords.

 

Examine your time for the Pulpit Rock hike. Those on our cruise wanted to do it and there wasn't enough time. Eventually the cruise line added an excursion which provided transportation for part of it which made it work with the time we had in port.

[PurpleTraveller]

It was different from Geirangerfjord (didn't do Nordfjord) and it was great to see Pulpit Rock from below however if you had the time and energy to hike to Pulpit Rock that would be great. The views from the top would be fantastic! 

[Joliecat]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Yes it was different. Though I am one who can go to Alaska and go to the same glacier over and over and find the glacier looks different a week later. I love fjords.

 

Examine your time for the Pulpit Rock hike. Those on our cruise wanted to do it and there wasn't enough time. Eventually the cruise line added an excursion which provided transportation for part of it which made it work with the time we had in port.

Thanks

 

ive been in touch with the ceo of a reputable (I think?) company (Lysefjorden Adventure) and they have said they can make it work with our schedule. Just need to make sure it won’t feel too rushed for us to enjoy it...

[Joliecat]

Hmm ok tough decision. We will be doing other hikes hopefully during the cruise. But the pulpit rock hike seems quite iconic. Difficult to decide!

[MeHeartCruising]

I have not hiked to the top of Pulpit Rock.  I did do the Lysefjorden excursion on a small boat that viewed Pulpit Rock from below.  The small boat trip was memorable and well worth the money even though it was raining for quite a bit of our trip.  And I just didn't see much in Stavanger itself that interested me.  But...  If I had the opportunity to reliably do the hike to the top of Pulpit Rock, I would totally do that over the smaller Lysefjorden excursion.  I make that decision based solely on the pictures I've seen and things I've read about Pulpit Rock.  I think if you have a chance to hike the Rock and can do it, I think that would easily win for me.  The Rock viewed from below was not very memorable to me.  The guide had to point it out to the passengers and it really didn't look like much from far below.  I would not have even known it was up there if they hadn't pointed it out to us.

Edited February 16, 2020 by MeHeartCruising

[Joliecat]

17 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

I have not hiked to the top of Pulpit Rock.  I did do the Lysefjorden excursion on a small boat that viewed Pulpit Rock from below.  The small boat trip was memorable and well worth the money even though it was raining for quite a bit of our trip.  And I just didn't see much in Stavanger itself that interested me.  But...  If I had the opportunity to reliably do the hike to the top of Pulpit Rock, I would totally do that over the smaller Lysefjorden excursion.  I make that decision based solely on the pictures I've seen and things I've read about Pulpit Rock.  I think if you have a chance to hike the Rock and can do it, I think that would easily win for me.  The Rock viewed from below was not very memorable to me.  The guide had to point it out to the passengers and it really didn't look like much from far below.  I would not have even known it was up there if they hadn't pointed it out to us.

great, thanks for your opinion! I think I just need someone else to make the decision for me, haha

 

Lysefjorden Adventures have told me they will allow me to cancel if the weather is looking no good (special consideration due to having young children and not wanting to do a long hike in the rain with them), so I'll probably do that and then see what the weather is doing. If its raining I'll try to book onto a cruise instead

[Coral]

2 hours ago, Joliecat said:

great, thanks for your opinion! I think I just need someone else to make the decision for me, haha

 

Lysefjorden Adventures have told me they will allow me to cancel if the weather is looking no good (special consideration due to having young children and not wanting to do a long hike in the rain with them), so I'll probably do that and then see what the weather is doing. If its raining I'll try to book onto a cruise instead

You can walk up and book the cruise the day of.