2021 Norway Itinerary- Thoughts?

[stickey_mouse]

I posed this question in the Northern Europe Ports forum, but thought I would see if the trusted HAL patrons had any input.

 

I am currently considering the following 9-night Norway itinerary and was wondering how this fare compares to other Norwegian fjord itineraries. I understand that a journey to the Arctic Circle is ideal, but I don't think we have the time to devote to that cruise at this point (perhaps in the future, though!). Are there any duds or winners among the ports?

 

Amsterdam

Flam

Sognefjord

Bergen

Molde

Geiranger

Geirangerfjord

Stavanger

Kristiansand

Oslo

Copenhagen 

 

I was immediately attracted to the itinerary because of the different start and end cities. I know Amsterdam is wonderful but don’t know much about Copenhagen or the ports in between. 
 

Is this itinerary a 'winner'? Thanks in advance for your input!

Edited May 20, 2020 by stickey_mouse

[sppunk]

Whichever ones goes to Geirangerfjord, go there. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been on this planet.

[RuthC]

Fabulous itinerary! I'm especially fond of Molde, but am happy in every one of those ports, and the times of scenic cruising. 
There is a good balance of large cities, small villages, and settlements in between. Gorgeous scenery in Sognefjord and Geirangerfjord, as well as the sail out of Oslo. 
If there is an outside chance that you can go further north, to North Cape, Svalbard, or even north of that, grab it. 

[shank63]

We are booked on a 14 day cruise on the Rotterdam sailing May 29, 2021 out of Rotterdam.  The ports of call are:

 

Eidfjord

Skjolden

Alrsund

Trondheim

Hammerfest

Honningsvag

Bergen

Stavanger

Rotterdam

 

We selected this itinerary because of reaching the Arctic Circle and the North Cape.  We had visited Kristansand, Oslo and Copenhagen on a previous Baltic cruise.  Copenhagen is worth staying over for a day or two, as is Amsterdam.

[stickey_mouse]

2 hours ago, shank63 said:

We are booked on a 14 day cruise on the Rotterdam sailing May 29, 2021 out of Rotterdam.  The ports of call are:

 

Eidfjord

Skjolden

Alrsund

Trondheim

Hammerfest

Honningsvag

Bergen

Stavanger

Rotterdam

 

We selected this itinerary because of reaching the Arctic Circle and the North Cape.  We had visited Kristansand, Oslo and Copenhagen on a previous Baltic cruise.  Copenhagen is worth staying over for a day or two, as is Amsterdam.

 

I looked at that itinerary, but I didn't want to miss Geiranger, most couldn't swing a 14-day cruise, and it would be even more difficult to accommodate our large group on the smaller Rotterdam. 

[JMAUST]

40 minutes ago, stickey_mouse said:

 

I looked at that itinerary, but I didn't want to miss Geiranger, most couldn't swing a 14-day cruise, and it would be even more difficult to accommodate our large group on the smaller Rotterdam. 

How many in your group?

[stickey_mouse]

23 minutes ago, JMAUST said:

How many in your group?

Not certain yet. Last time, we had 32. 

[janmcn]

Yes, that’s a great itinerary for Norway...have done it before and looking forward to repeat visits to some ports next year. Do it👍🛳😁

[stickey_mouse]

Thank you! 

[2inSETexas]

On 5/20/2020 at 4:39 PM, shank63 said:

We are booked on a 14 day cruise on the Rotterdam sailing May 29, 2021 out of Rotterdam.  The ports of call are:

 

Eidfjord

Skjolden

Alrsund

Trondheim

Hammerfest

Honningsvag

Bergen

Stavanger

Rotterdam

 

We selected this itinerary because of reaching the Arctic Circle and the North Cape.  We had visited Kristansand, Oslo and Copenhagen on a previous Baltic cruise.  Copenhagen is worth staying over for a day or two, as is Amsterdam.

We are booked on the May 8th departure of this itinerary. We are looking forward to it.

[Infi]

We were booked for July 25th on the Rotterdam North Cape cruise. The itinerary was RT Rotterdam with ports in: Stavanger, Skjolden, Flam, Molde, Trondheim, Hammerfest, Honningsvag, and Alesund.  Scenic cruising in Sognefjord, Trondheimfjord, and Nordfjord. 

 

We'd like to re-book this for 2021, but the same itinerary isn't available and some of the comments in this thread are making me re-consider our itinerary. We've visited Oslo and Bergen previously, but the rest of Norway will be new to us. It sounds like Geiranger and Geirangerfjord are must-sees, are there any other cities or scenic cruising opportunities that are a must? 

[grsnovi]

We loved Norway which we did as a 7 day cruise out of Amsterdam. We had previously done a 10 day Baltic out of Copenhagen which didn't stop in Norway. Your 9 night stops in 5 more ports than our 7 day and I have to say that our 10 day Baltic was post intensive and hence tiring. Flåm was lovely. The fjords are great. You'll enjoy it. 

[Marigold252]

July 2019 we did the 7 day Viking Saga then the 17 day Viking Passage. We loved Norway! Our itinerary was Copenhagen, Kristansand, Oslo, Bergen, Eidfjord, Stavanger, Rotterdam. All the ports were unique and we got a good overview of the country. Would love to go back. With your itinerary you will get to see even more. And then plan for the North Cape cruise later!

We've been to Copenhagen twice,  spending several days each visit. Wonderful, walkable, charming little city. 

[Boatdrill]

On 5/20/2020 at 11:06 AM, stickey_mouse said:

Is this itinerary a 'winner'? 

Yes !   

[bennybear]

We have done most of the ports on two Baltic’s and a Norway cruise.  I think it will be awesome! 

[Sue from Canada]

On 5/20/2020 at 5:39 PM, shank63 said:

We are booked on a 14 day cruise on the Rotterdam sailing May 29, 2021 out of Rotterdam.  The ports of call are:

 

Eidfjord

Skjolden

Alrsund

Trondheim

Hammerfest

Honningsvag

Bergen

Stavanger

Rotterdam

 

We selected this itinerary because of reaching the Arctic Circle and the North Cape.  We had visited Kristansand, Oslo and Copenhagen on a previous Baltic cruise.  Copenhagen is worth staying over for a day or two, as is Amsterdam.

I've been to all of them except two (Alrsund and Eidfjord).  I've loved Honningsvag and the North Cape.  All the ports are winners.

[stickey_mouse]

We are booked! Thanks for sharing your opinions. 

[HokiePoq]

19 hours ago, stickey_mouse said:

We are booked! Thanks for sharing your opinions. D

Did you book the 2021 North Cape or another itinerary?   Come on over to roll call for North Cape if that's the one.  We are on a combo North Cape and UK cruise and some others are on combo North Cape/Baltic cruise.  It was the unique North Cape cruise that drew our attention at future cruise presentations.

[stickey_mouse]

11 minutes ago, HokiePoq said:

Did you book the 2021 North Cape or another itinerary?   Come on over to roll call for North Cape if that's the one.  We are on a combo North Cape and UK cruise and some others are on combo North Cape/Baltic cruise.  It was the unique North Cape cruise that drew our attention at future cruise presentations.

 

No, the 9-night Norse Legends itinerary listed in my first post.

[puppycanducruise]

Very nice itinerary.   I hope you have a great time.  Please tell us all about it when you return.

[stickey_mouse]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2020 at 2:02 PM, puppycanducruise said:

Very nice itinerary.   I hope you have a great time.  Please tell us all about it when you return.

 

Will do!

[Tampa Girl]

As lovely as the ports must be, ten ports in nine days would be a killer for me.  If you are comfortable with such a port-intensive cruise, great!  We are considering one of the Baltic cruises next summer, but someone here mentioned that they found the 10-day Baltic one to also be tiring.  Nonetheless, I am giving it serious consideration.

[stickey_mouse]

41 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

As lovely as the ports must be, ten ports in nine days would be a killer for me.  If you are comfortable with such a port-intensive cruise, great!  We are considering one of the Baltic cruises next summer, but someone here mentioned that they found the 10-day Baltic one to also be tiring.  Nonetheless, I am giving it serious consideration.

 

What's great about that is that you can always choose which port to skip and make it your own sea day. I'd err on the side of too many ports vs. too few.

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

As lovely as the ports must be, ten ports in nine days would be a killer for me.  If you are comfortable with such a port-intensive cruise, great!  We are considering one of the Baltic cruises next summer, but someone here mentioned that they found the 10-day Baltic one to also be tiring.  Nonetheless, I am giving it serious consideration.

 

Do give the Baltic cruise serious consideration.  You’ll need your energy for St. Petersburg but it’s very easy to take it easy in another port or just DIY.

 

For example, in Warnemunde, a lot of people go to Berlin.  3 of us did a lovely tour of Warnemunde and Rostock which showed us a lot of the culture and history of this beautiful area and honestly, I did not find tiring.  DH went to Berlin.  He was beat when he got back as it’s a long ride, but he was glad he did it.

 

With a bit of research you can easily lighten up in a couple of ports (if you want) and still see lots.

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

As lovely as the ports must be, ten ports in nine days would be a killer for me.  If you are comfortable with such a port-intensive cruise, great!  We are considering one of the Baltic cruises next summer, but someone here mentioned that they found the 10-day Baltic one to also be tiring.  Nonetheless, I am giving it serious consideration.

Two of what is listed are scenic cruising, so a 'killer' in the sense that you might have to get up early for the narration, but you can catch the scenery on the way out, too. I'm counting 7 ports, plus embarkation and disembarkation ports. 
Some of the ports are small, and don't require full day tours. They can be appreciated on a shorter tour, or even on your own. Days like that aren't as draining as the intensive ports in the Baltic.