2021 Norway Itinerary- Thoughts?

[stickey_mouse]

I'm sure it's lovely, but Kristiansand sounds like it might be weak spot and best option to stay onboard out of the others. Or in my case, it will likely mean no planned excursion, but just a simple walk about the town for some sights and culture.

[RuthC]

8 minutes ago, stickey_mouse said:

I'm sure it's lovely, but Kristiansand sounds like it might be weak spot and best option to stay onboard out of the others. Or in my case, it will likely mean no planned excursion, but just a simple walk about the town for some sights and culture.

I've done a couple of leisurely boat rides out of that port. 
The first took us way out of town, we had time in the destination village, then boarded a boat back to the port. We were out on broad ocean in a smallish vessel, and it was a wild ride. I loved it, and would happily do that one again! 
Second time there was a different boat ride. We bussed to a small town (smaller than Kristiansand) and had a boat ride in calmer waters. Then it was a bus ride back to the ship. 

The busses took us through Kristiansand itself both times. It didn't look like too much to see there. Perhaps some shopping??? I don't know. Do remember, things are very expensive in Norway. 

[Hlitner]

An  absolute winner of an itinerary.  Plan on spending a couple of days (more days if you want to explore some of the region outside of town) in Copenhagen.  

 

Hank

[stickey_mouse]

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

An  absolute winner of an itinerary.  Plan on spending a couple of days (more days if you want to explore some of the region outside of town) in Copenhagen.  

 

Hank

Thank you! The current estimated plan is to spend 2.5 days in Amsterdam before the cruise and 2 full days in Copenhagen after the sailing, making for a solid 14-15 day trip. 

[Hlitner]

40 minutes ago, stickey_mouse said:

Thank you! The current estimated plan is to spend 2.5 days in Amsterdam before the cruise and 2 full days in Copenhagen after the sailing, making for a solid 14-15 day trip. 

We have done quite a few cruises to Norway (HAL and Princess) and it is among our favorite cruise regions in the world.  Nothing not to like except the cost of land things in Norway.   And we do agree with the other post about Geirangerfjord being one of the best cruise areas of Norway.    For anyone who was a fan of the Prinsendam, keep in mind that Captain Gundersen still lives in Bergen.  Keep an eye out because you never know :).  We once ran into him at a Bergen supermarket.  Whenever a HAL vessel is in port there is a good chance he might come aboard for a visit.

 

Hank

[CJcruzer]

Kristansund - I believe you can get an excursion which takes you on the Atlantic Ocean road, possibly a small fishing village - we did this from either Olde or Molden, about 10 years ago - but I believe can also be done from Kristiansund port.  Very scenic.

 

Carol

Edited June 2, 2020 by CJcruzer

[StLouisCruisers]

25 minutes ago, CJcruzer said:

Kristansund - I believe you can get an excursion which takes you on the Atlantic Ocean road, possibly a small fishing village - we did this from either Olde or Molden, about 10 years ago - but I believe can also be done from Kristiansund port.  Very scenic.

 

Carol

 

I think Kristiansund and Kristiansand are two different places, right?  I've been to the second but not the first.

Edited June 2, 2020 by StLouisCruisers

[CJcruzer]

14 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

I think Kristiansund and Kristiansand are two different places, right?  I've been to the second but not the first.

 

and you are correct!  Goes to show you can learn something new every day😏

 

I stand corrected...  guess that puts a kibosh on the Atlantic Ocean road excursion in 

Kristiansand.

 

Carol

[bennybear]

I don’t think it is too port intensive, particularly with your plan to spend time pre and post.   If you can stay in the Nyhaven area of Copenhagen, it is lovely and lively.  

 

We have done the Baltic cruise twice,  and my best advice is stay somewhere for a few days before starting this cruise as you continue to travel east losing an hour every day or so.   We nearly missed Stockholm due to jet lag.   St Petersburg is exhausting but SO worth it.  I strongly recommend private tours such as SPB tours as you won’t waste time in a large group and will see far more.  

[stickey_mouse]

I keep reading about how expensive Norway is. Does this include private excursions? Or just primarily food and shopping?

[bennybear]

We did an excursion in Geiranger and it was priced ok.  Everything else is ridiculous.   I had just bought a north face goretex jacket for our trip for around 200$,  the exact jacket, same colour and brand was the equivalent of a thousand Dollars!  Food was  Very expensive as were common things like note cards.   Currently a can of sofa is around 7$ Canadian. 

Stick to the markets.  

Edited June 2, 2020 by bennybear

[shank63]

4 hours ago, stickey_mouse said:

I'm sure it's lovely, but Kristiansand sounds like it might be weak spot and best option to stay onboard out of the others. Or in my case, it will likely mean no planned excursion, but just a simple walk about the town for some sights and culture.

We did a 12 day Baltic cruise in 2019 with 3 days in St Petersburg, very port intensive with only one sea day.  We definitely paced ourselves to concentrate on SPB with a private tour.  Kristiansand was one of the ports where we spent a few hours walking around the town and the fish market.  
 

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, bennybear said:

We did an excursion in Geiranger and it was priced ok.  Everything else is ridiculous.   I had just bought a north face goretex jacket for our trip for around 200$,  the exact jacket, same colour and brand was the equivalent of a thousand Dollars!  Food was  Very expensive as were common things like note cards.   Currently a can of sofa is around 7$ Canadian. 

Stick to the markets.  

I do not want to alienate those who might disagree, but the solution to expensive excursions is to simply do things on your own!  In Norway we have never taken a ship's excursion despite having cruised to that country about a half dozen times.  In some ports we have rented cars (actually quite reasonable in Norway), used public transit, walked, and joined some local tours (such as a boat/fiord tour in Bergen.    You are right that food in Norway is expensive (we call it the land of the $50 pizza) so we generally do not eat in decent restaurants.    Other then buying junk for the grandkids we seldom shop for anything in Norway.

 

Hank

[bennybear]

Agreed,  the excursion in Geiranger we purchased from the tourist board was reasonable.  We too for the most part prefer private smaller tours.   

[stickey_mouse]

I successfully booked a group of 36 on this cruise. We were so excited about it. Everyone paid in full. About to book flights next week.

And then, today, we received word that HAL changed this itinerary to a 7-night Roundtrip from Amsterdam with only stops in Geiranger, Molde, and Bergen. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

The change was prompted by a delay in the new Rotterdam ship. OK, but what does that have to do with the Nieuw Statendam? Ok, ok, I know that itinerary changes have a domino effect. I’m just venting. But after hours of work poured into the trip (as group lead and travel agent), we will likely cancel. Sad day.

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, stickey_mouse said:

I successfully booked a group of 36 on this cruise. We were so excited about it. Everyone paid in full. About to book flights next week.

And then, today, we received word that HAL changed this itinerary to a 7-night Roundtrip from Amsterdam with only stops in Geiranger, Molde, and Bergen. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

The change was prompted by a delay in the new Rotterdam ship. OK, but what does that have to do with the Nieuw Statendam? Ok, ok, I know that itinerary changes have a domino effect. I’m just venting. But after hours of work poured into the trip (as group lead and travel agent), we will likely cancel. Sad day.

Good question, and I agree a sad day. What a shame.

 

We are supposed to be in Norway right now with our cruise almost over. And yet we have no memories of it. Sad days indeed.

[cruisemom42]

7 hours ago, stickey_mouse said:

I successfully booked a group of 36 on this cruise. We were so excited about it. Everyone paid in full. About to book flights next week.

And then, today, we received word that HAL changed this itinerary to a 7-night Roundtrip from Amsterdam with only stops in Geiranger, Molde, and Bergen. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

The change was prompted by a delay in the new Rotterdam ship. OK, but what does that have to do with the Nieuw Statendam? Ok, ok, I know that itinerary changes have a domino effect. I’m just venting. But after hours of work poured into the trip (as group lead and travel agent), we will likely cancel. Sad day.

 

I wonder if the change isn't rather driven by the perceived need for shorter itineraries and fewer stops due to the COVID-19 environment?  

[stickey_mouse]

 
I wonder if the change isn't rather driven by the perceived need for shorter itineraries and fewer stops due to the COVID-19 environment?  

I don’t think so, as several of the longer Baltic itineraries remained and just changed dates.

[keysey222]

9 hours ago, stickey_mouse said:

I successfully booked a group of 36 on this cruise. We were so excited about it. Everyone paid in full. About to book flights next week.

And then, today, we received word that HAL changed this itinerary to a 7-night Roundtrip from Amsterdam with only stops in Geiranger, Molde, and Bergen. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

The change was prompted by a delay in the new Rotterdam ship. OK, but what does that have to do with the Nieuw Statendam? Ok, ok, I know that itinerary changes have a domino effect. I’m just venting. But after hours of work poured into the trip (as group lead and travel agent), we will likely cancel. Sad day.

We were supposed to be on this cruise as well. We were stoked about the itinerary and the fact that it enabled us to easily see both Amsterdam and Copenhagen. It's now a shell of its former self. We are thinking about canceling as well. Our vacation time is limited so we don't want to do a 14-day to see the ports that fit well into a 9-day. I'm glad you didn't book your flights yet! 

[stickey_mouse]

We were supposed to be on this cruise as well. We were stoked about the itinerary and the fact that it enabled us to easily see both Amsterdam and Copenhagen. It's now a shell of its former self. We are thinking about canceling as well. Our vacation time is limited so we don't want to do a 14-day to see the ports that fit well into a 9-day. I'm glad you didn't book your flights yet! 

I’m so sorry for your loss, as well. Do me a favor and make sure to call the Seattle office number listed in the email and voice your displeasure. I know it won’t do a bit of good, but I think it’s still worth it to let them know.

[Let It Go]

So disappointed to have yet another cruise cancelled ... of all of our bookings this was the itinerary I was most excited about.  And the kicker .... I had just booked flights & hotel on Monday.  Ho hum. 

[stickey_mouse]

So disappointed to have yet another cruise cancelled ... of all of our bookings this was the itinerary I was most excited about.  And the kicker .... I had just booked flights & hotel on Monday.  Ho hum. 

I’m sorry. I feel your pain. I’ve spent so many hours on this cruise, calling HAL dozens of times and perfectly aligning two sets of 9-adjacent cabins (not an easy thing to do for a cruise departing in less than a year!).

[keysey222]

15 minutes ago, Let It Go said:

So disappointed to have yet another cruise cancelled ... of all of our bookings this was the itinerary I was most excited about.  And the kicker .... I had just booked flights & hotel on Monday.  Ho hum. 

 

I was ridiculously excited about this itinerary. Now it's just like every other 7-day Norway fjords. I wouldn't care if I could get the same itinerary at a different time. The issue is there's nothing comparable offered within a 9-10 day cruise. Most airlines are waving change fees, so hopefully you won't be out anything on your flights. 

[stickey_mouse]

 
I was ridiculously excited about this itinerary. Now it's just like every other 7-day Norway fjords. I wouldn't care if I could get the same itinerary at a different time. The issue is there's nothing comparable offered within a 9-10 day cruise. Most airlines are waving change fees, so hopefully you won't be out anything on your flights. 

I totally agree. They took something exciting and unique and made it incredibly routine. Bleh. I also would have preferred a date change over an itinerary change.

[bennybear]

I’m sorry to hear this!  SO disappointing.  We once had a 14 day cruise where they changed every day except embarkation and disembarkation ports. We ended up cancelling.