Norse Legends or Viking Sagas on HAL?

[Gumtree]

Hi y'all! Trying to figure out which Norway itinerary to choose on HAL: (both depart from Amsterdam, 7 days)

 

Norse Legends - (1) Eidfjord, Norway (2) Scenic Cruising Hardangerfjord (3) Alesund (4) Geiranger (5) Cruising Geirangerfjord (6)  Bergen

Norse Sagas - (1) Scenic Cruising Sognefjord (2)  Flam (3) Stavenger (4) Kristiansand (5) Scenic Cruising Oslofjord (6) Oslo

 

Also, which month would you choose: August or September 

 

Anything else you would care to mention, please - I'm all ears 😉 

Thank you, Laura 

[CruiserBruce]

August would be the better month overall. 

[Ine]

Norse Legend for sure since it includes Geiranger. A great sail into and from the fjord. One of the most beautiful. Indeed August is better then September

[puppycanducruise]

We did Norse Legends a few years ago from Rotterdam.

Loved it!  Our only complaint was that it was too short.

As mentioned, cruising Geirangerfjord is spectacular.  Bergen is an interesting place, take the funicular up the mountain. 

And I also think August would be better than September, the daylight hours will be longer.

And Amsterdam is a fabulous city to explore before or after your cruise.  Plan on spending several days.

[hallasm]

I also want to cast my vote on Norse Legends - highlights are Geiranger and Bergen - August rather than September

[gnome12]

Hi y'all! Trying to figure out which Norway itinerary to choose on HAL: (both depart from Amsterdam, 7 days)
 
Norse Legends - (1) Eidfjord, Norway (2) Scenic Cruising Hardangerfjord (3) Alesund (4) Geiranger (5) Cruising Geirangerfjord (6)  Bergen
Norse Sagas - (1) Scenic Cruising Sognefjord (2)  Flam (3) Stavenger (4) Kristiansand (5) Scenic Cruising Oslofjord (6) Oslo
 
Also, which month would you choose: August or September 
 
Anything else you would care to mention, please - I'm all ears [emoji6] 
Thank you, Laura 

If you aren’t wedded to August-September there is a 9 day Norse Legends on the Nieuw Statendam departing June 6.
Amsterdam
At sea
Flam, scenic cruising Sognefjord
Bergen
Molde
Geiranger, cruising Geirangerfjord
Stavanger
Kristiansand
Oslo, scenic cruising Oslofjord
Copenhagen




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[Gumtree]

Thank you all so much! The Legends in August it is .. but I will definitely look into the 9 day per gnome12. We booked a special through Prestige Cruises that included an $800 pp air credit. Their site doesn't show an option for that June 6th cruise but I'll definitely give them a call later as that itinerary looks awesome! 

[Gumtree]

BTW, we've never done air through the cruise line and are being told we can book our own flights through their portal and apply an $800 credit. Does anyone have experience with this? 

[kaisatsu]

I know you've already made a decision, but for the record, I agree with those above if you're looking for a traditional Norwegian fjords cruise. Both Geiranger and Eidfjord are situated at the innermost reaches of western fjords, so you'll have plenty of scenic cruising during the sail-in and sail-out. As mentioned above, Bergen is a favorite highlight. And Ålesund gives you another taste of the small Norwegian coastal cities.

 

The Norse Sagas itinerary is far less focused on fjord country. While Flåm gives you a taste of the iconic fjords, it's the only one of the ports that actually has a fjord focus. Sailing in and out of Oslo is pretty and enjoyable, but the Oslofjord is not actually a fjord (geologically speaking), and since it's much wider and surrounded by low hills, it's very different from the dramatic steep-walled fjords of the west coast. Stavanger is near the start of Lysefjord, but it requires a separate excursion to actually reach the iconic fjord scenery. Lastly, Kristiansand is surrounded by south coastal scenery with low rocky shorelines (pretty enough, but not particularly unique).

[Gumtree]

22 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

I know you've already made a decision, but for the record, I agree with those above if you're looking for a traditional Norwegian fjords cruise. Both Geiranger and Eidfjord are situated at the innermost reaches of western fjords, so you'll have plenty of scenic cruising during the sail-in and sail-out. As mentioned above, Bergen is a favorite highlight. And Ålesund gives you another taste of the small Norwegian coastal cities.

 

The Norse Sagas itinerary is far less focused on fjord country. While Flåm gives you a taste of the iconic fjords, it's the only one of the ports that actually has a fjord focus. Sailing in and out of Oslo is pretty and enjoyable, but the Oslofjord is not actually a fjord (geologically speaking), and since it's much wider and surrounded by low hills, it's very different from the dramatic steep-walled fjords of the west coast. Stavanger is near the start of Lysefjord, but it requires a separate excursion to actually reach the iconic fjord scenery. Lastly, Kristiansand is surrounded by south coastal scenery with low rocky shorelines (pretty enough, but not particularly unique).

Thank you for your feedback! Correction to my original post regarding the Legends itinerary; it does not include Ålesund. 
 

That said, I greatly appreciate the information and think I will stay with the Legends itinerary on 8/1. Our daughters May/June Med cruise honeymoon was cancelled and I should really leave that time open for her next year so I can watch her dog. 
 

Let’s hope we can all get back to traveling soon!