Fjords Shore Excursions

[FoggyEthan]

Hello all!

 

Quick summary if this gets too long: if you have a list of shore excursions (with prices?) from a recent(ish) Fjords trip on Viking or any other premium/luxury line, could you email me a photo or scan? foggyethan at gmail. Also, how many people were there per guide?

 

@garycd Thank you for your AMAZING post a few years back comparing food on Viking vs. Oceania. Thank you for explaining the pros and cons of each, rather than just saying "this one is better"! It let me figure out which had the best food for my tastes, rather than pointlessly arguing about whose food is better in general.

 

I'm posting here because Viking Ocean's on-board environment seems like the best fit for me, but I would love to hear comparisons between lines!

 

It's easy to find people comparing ships and cabins and food. For me, what I do on land is very important to me. For a Mediterranean cruise I would just do things independently unless the cruise offered some really special options. But for a Norway Fjords cruise, it seems like I may be more dependent upon the cruise line.

 

I like to walk and I really want options that will stretch my legs, versus all the lazy time on the ship. I'm not looking for high adrenaline or the most strenuous, but extended walks around a town and moderate hikes are great. Specialty options like food tours or visits to a private home are also great. Bus tours where you're mostly driving except for a few photo ops are not my thing, unless the photo op is truly unmissable. Tours where one guide is trying to be heard by a huge herd of people is also not my thing.

 

So I'm hoping to determine which lines will offer the best options for me. I know I can look at the cruise lines' websites, and I have. But they're often filled with caveats, implying that not all tours listed are always offered on all sailings. And not every line lists prices. Silversea's prices are quite stunning. Regent categorizes tours by activity level, and they listed a 2 hour in-town walking tour at the highest level, which seemed to say a lot.

 

I'm also wondering about weather. Norway's weather is notoriously fickle, even in Summer. Because booking shore excursions can be competitive, it's recommended to book them as soon as you're permitted, months in advance. I'm sure if the weather is truly awful that they'll cancel the excursion, but if the weather is merely very unpleasant, will the cruise line give you any wiggle room to change plans?

 

Thank you! Hopefully some of you have a similar set of preferences and can relate.

-- Ethan