Norwegian fjords versus Patagonia

[zitsky]

I did a 2018 cruise with NCL from San Antonio, Chile to Buenos Aires, including Patagonia etc.  I've seen pictures of cruises to Norway and I wonder if that is at all similar in landscape? I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done both cruises.

 

I am just waiting for South America to go on the 2023 Celebrity calendar so that I can book another SA cruise.

[TrulyBlonde]

I have cruised SA from Lima to BA on Oceania and Norway with Viking. The only real similarity would be fjords in Chile. Both were wonderful trips. We also did Antarctica and S. Georgia with Ponant.

If you go to SA again, I would suggest extending your time there and head to Antarctica. That would be most cost effective and I wish I had done that on my 1st SA cruise.

[zitsky]

6 minutes ago, TrulyBlonde said:

I have cruised SA from Lima to BA on Oceania and Norway with Viking. The only real similarity would be fjords in Chile. Both were wonderful trips. We also did Antarctica and S. Georgia with Ponant.

If you go to SA again, I would suggest extending your time there and head to Antarctica. That would be most cost effective and I wish I had done that on my 1st SA cruise.

 

Thanks.  I will look for Antarctica cruises.  Hope it's not too cold, LOL.

[Jim_Iain]

I'm also interested to hear.   We have done the SA Fjords and they were spectacular.   We ae booked for Norwegian in April 2022.   

[teacherman]

We have done both cruises.   I would choose Antarctica by far if I could only do one.  But we did enjoy both.

[zitsky]

4 minutes ago, teacherman said:

We have done both cruises.   I would choose Antarctica by far if I could only do one.  But we did enjoy both.

 

Would like to hear from anyone why they liked Norway.  Was it just the fjords?  Did you enjoy the ports (if any)?

[teacherman]

We enjoyed Norway because of the fact that we cruised north of the Arctic Circle and once we were in our most northern port, Honningsvag, upon departure our ship cruised very close to the North Cape.  It was extremely ruggedly beautiful and even many of the servers left the dining room momentarily to take some photos.  It was a unique experience, as not many cruise ships get to do that.   Personally, I found the Norwegian fjords more beautiful than the S. America ones, but I am glad I did both trips as we had some wonderful experiences on both of them.  Not many cruisers have rounded both the North Cape and Cape Horn.   We were supposed to do the Cape of Good Hope in S. Africa, but Covid has stopped that.  TWICE!

[Sanatee]

We've done both....SA on the Infinity and Norway on the smaller Azamara Journey with a Norwegian captain.  Chile was nice, but Norway was much better especially on the smaller ship that gets further into the fjords.  Incredible scenery, waterfalls, people, ports, etc.  

[TrulyBlonde]

15 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Thanks.  I will look for Antarctica cruises.  Hope it's not too cold, LOL.

You won't be sunbathing 😉. Honestly, it will be Spring there when you go and things are warming up.

[TrulyBlonde]

1 minute ago, Sanatee said:

We've done both....SA on the Infinity and Norway on the smaller Azamara Journey with a Norwegian captain.  Chile was nice, but Norway was much better especially on the smaller ship that gets further into the fjords.  Incredible scenery, waterfalls, people, ports, etc.  

Ditto. We prefer Norway.

[chemmo]

5 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Would like to hear from anyone why they liked Norway.  Was it just the fjords?  Did you enjoy the ports (if any)?

Sorry can’t compare to Patagonia, we have never done a South American cruise.

 

We did love the Norwegian Fjords….Wonderful scenery and so much viewable from your balcony. All ports had something to offer. We would get up early morning to watch the ship enter the fjord. Flam was probably our favourite port with the railway excursion. 

 

We cruised in late April going into May. We were aware that we would have long days and the views were simply stunning. We would book breakfast in our suite and enjoy on the balcony as we headed into port. In the evening we booked Tuscan Grill if the time coincided with leaving a port and we would peruse our menu as the scenery slowly passed by, simply stunning! 
 

We were lucky we had fabulous weather which is never guaranteed in this part of the world. Someone on our cruise had permission to do some drone photography…If I remember correctly it was called something like ‘Celebrity Eclipse Norway and Ireland’ worth a search.

 

Assuming you will be flying into the UK there are so many pre and post cruise options available it is impossible to list them all…

 

A pre cruise capital stay, just so much to do in London….

A New Forest stay commutable to Southampton. Stay in a local pub/restaurant…

Visit some historical cities like Salisbury or Winchester

Explore Stonehenge 

Be brave and risk the roads into Cornwall….

 

Honestly, I am concerned I am talking down the cruise which is wonderful in its own right…I am just trying to say there is sooooo much you can add on to a cruise from Southampton that really is a vacation in its own right….

 

[PurpleTraveller]

I have done both South America and Norway cruises both with Princess. While I really enjoyed South America I much preferred Norway where we sailed as far as the North Cape above the Arctic Circle. All the scenery especially in the fjords was stunningly beautiful. The towns we visited were also interesting. The cruise was a great mix of large towns, small towns, great scenery and wonderful cruising. We cruised to see the Midnight Sun where the sun didn't set for a number of days - quite amazing! I would very happily do another Norway cruise. 

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by PurpleTraveller

[KruznKimmie]

Cannot compare the 2 but we loved Norway & the Fjords due to the spectacular remote beauty.  If you enjoy the outdoors, hiking, etc you will love the options in Norway.  We were there in August & you could sit on the sundeck & have a cocktail in your swimsuit & enjoy the snow covered mountains...so beautiful.  

[Lastdance]

I can say that I really, really, really loved New Zealand(South Island), but I also did a lot of hiking around and into Milford Sound.  I actually booked Norway for April of 2023, but canceled for a different venue.  I am just not sure about all the places I would like to visit in Norway, along with best time of year etc.  Never have I heard anyone complain about a Norway cruise, except that it was too short.  The exact same response about Patagonia.  Good luck with your decision!

Edited October 21, 2021 by Lastdance

[cruzzzinma]

Norway is magical and is is my number 1 choice for fjords. We have been there many times. The scenery is amazing and the ports and the people are beautiful. We were on the Celebrity Eclipse, Viking Sky (yes, that one with the faux shipwreck with 27 hours in our muster station) and Viking Sun for Norway.

 

We loved South America and Antarctica on Azamara Pursuit. If you have a chance go to Antarctica, DO IT. We did a drive-by which was enough for us, but people who’ve done the expedition ship and landed in Antarctica say it is the way to go. The Chilean fjords are beautiful and comparable to Alaska.

 

A highlight of our Antarctica cruise was having a drink before dinner on the Pursuit on deck 5 (I think.) We looked out the windows and saw officers with cameras hanging over the railing. We had no coats or cameras but we are smart, so we rushed outside. Whales were breaching and feeding RIGHT THERE, penguins were frolicking, and it was a good time all around.

 

Not mentioned, but worth talking about is Greenland with its amazingly beautiful scenery and fjords (Viking Sky.) I would rate it ahead of the Chilean fjords.

Edited October 22, 2021 by cruzzzinma

[TeaBag]

 

9 hours ago, Sanatee said:

We've done both....SA on the Infinity and Norway on the smaller Azamara Journey with a Norwegian captain.  Chile was nice, but Norway was much better especially on the smaller ship that gets further into the fjords.  Incredible scenery, waterfalls, people, ports, etc.  

I'm so happy to read that you enjoyed Norway so much.   We were on Eclipse, Buenos Aires to Vancouver when COVID intervened at San Antonio so we sailed on to San Diego without getting off the ship (17 days).  I liked parts of what we saw of South America especially Iguazu Falls but would not consider going back.  We are booked on the Quest for a Norway intensive in July and we are really looking forward to it.  We have only been to Oslo.  Our cruise starts in Dublin and ends in Amsterdam.

[Miaminice]

Here´s our photo filled review of a Norwegian Fjord cruise...

A while back and on Royal, but I am sure the Fjords haven´t changed 🙂

 

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Norway/norway.html

[4774Papa]

16 hours ago, zitsky said:

I did a 2018 cruise with NCL from San Antonio, Chile to Buenos Aires, including Patagonia etc.  I've seen pictures of cruises to Norway and I wonder if that is at all similar in landscape? I would be interested to hear from anyone who has done both cruises.

 

I am just waiting for South America to go on the 2023 Celebrity calendar so that I can book another SA cruise.

We did Around the Horn on Celebrity in January 2014 and the Norway to North Cape on Royal C. in June 2019.   Both were great cruises, but the Norway cruise had better scenic views.   The fjords are amazing.  Do a cruise that goes to the North Cape, Celebrity didn't have one, so we took one from Royal C.  Also, NCL has one, but Royal was cheaper.

 

The only other cruise that matches the scenery was our Alaska cruise that went to Glacier Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.

 

Here are my reviews of both cruises.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=248878

 

Stockholm and Norway Aritic Circle

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=659526&et_cid=3214772&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

 

 

[zitsky]

I am looking at a cruise on Apex in late July 2023.  It makes 4 stops on the coast plus stops in Oslo and Amsterdam.  It doesn't go up to the Arctic Circle.

 

I am curious if anyone has a comment about the Apex?  Is it a good ship?  I'll do a search.

 

If I book this cruise, I'm considering a Sky Suite.  We are usually in Aqua for last cruise (2019) and next cruise (2022).

Edited October 25, 2021 by zitsky

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

I am looking at a cruise on Apex in late July 2023.  It makes 4 stops on the coast plus stops in Oslo and Amsterdam.  It doesn't go up to the Arctic Circle.

 

I am curious if anyone has a comment about the Apex?  Is it a good ship?  I'll do a search.

 

If I book this cruise, I'm considering a Sky Suite.  We are usually in Aqua for last cruise (2019) and next cruise (2022).

Most (not all) seem to like the APEX quite a bit.  Lot's of comments though on the infinite vernada cabins, but if you are in a Sky Suite, those are really nice, on EDGE at least.