Norwegian Fjords Cruising Question

[NewSalty]

We just booked a Norway cruise on Sirena that includes a stop in Alesund, followed by a day of cruising the "Norwegian Sea", and a following day arrival at 11 am in Hammerfest.

 

My question is this -  is it likely that that "sea day" will include cruising the Trollfjord/Geiranger?

 

[LHT28]

Unless Geiranger is on the itinerary I would not think you will be sailing up that Fjord

JMO

[cruzer71]

That fjord is often a highlight of a voyage so if we were going there, I am sure it would be in the itinerary.

 

[lj77346]

Both Alesund and Hammerfest are on the west coast of Norway, so the sea day will be in the ocean and not in a fjord.

[LNielsen]

Geiranger is breathtaking,  it would absolutely be called out separately on your itinerary.   

[avalong]

When researching Norway cruises I discovered that Oceania seldom goes to Geiranger,  which I find very odd. I could only find one itinerary (Marina, July 23, 2023) that included it. But that itinerary  terminates in Tromso. Inconvenient to say the least.

[Tranquility Base]

When we cruised to Geiranger (not on Oceania) we tendered in to Hellesylt and did a full day tour to rejoin the ship which had continued on to Geiranger.

It was a great day and we would happily do this again.

Does Oceania do this ?

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, avalong said:

When researching Norway cruises I discovered that Oceania seldom goes to Geiranger,  which I find very odd. I could only find one itinerary (Marina, July 23, 2023) that included it.

We have done Geiranger  a couple of times with Oceania in the past 

 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

When we cruised to Geiranger (not on Oceania) we tendered in to Hellesylt and did a full day tour to rejoin the ship which had continued on to Geiranger.

It was a great day and we would happily do this again.

Does Oceania do this ?

Yes    we have been onboard  when they dropped off pax for the tours

[CurlerRob]

8 hours ago, NewSalty said:

We just booked a Norway cruise on Sirena that includes a stop in Alesund, followed by a day of cruising the "Norwegian Sea", and a following day arrival at 11 am in Hammerfest.

 

My question is this -  is it likely that that "sea day" will include cruising the Trollfjord/Geiranger?

 

Geiranger is well inland to the southeast of Aalesund, certainly not on the route to Hammerfest. The Trollfjord is situated in Lofoten. While that's on the way north, unless your trip mentions a stop in Leknes, you are not likely to see it either.

 

The distance from Aalesund to Hammerfest is about 680 nautical miles, so about 40 hours at 17 knots cruising speed. No time for side trips ... 🍺🥌

[Cruise Wonderland]

Trollfjord is quite narrow. Other than Hurtigruten and some small expedition cruise ships, I don't think any Oceania ships (O Class or even the smaller R Class) can sail into it.

[NewSalty]

Well, we do stop in Leknes, and I remember seeing a post somewhere on these boards about an R-Class ship being the largest possible to turn around in "some" Norwegian fjord, so I'll keep my fingers crossed on that.

 

Re: Gerainger - we leave Alesund at 6 pm, and do not arrive at Hammerfest until 11 am, 1.5 days later.  Lots of time for diversions from the straight path... fingers crossed again.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, NewSalty said:

Re: Gerainger - we leave Alesund at 6 pm, and do not arrive at Hammerfest until 11 am, 1.5 days later.  Lots of time for diversions from the straight path... fingers crossed again.

I would not count on seeing Geiranger 😉

 

[avalong]

16 hours ago, LHT28 said:

We have done Geiranger  a couple of times with Oceania in the past 

 

Huh. I wonder why they seem to have quit. I know that Norway has been making noises about limiting ships in the fjords, but other lines seem to still be going there. A mystery.

[avalong]

And for what it's worth, I no longer see the July 23, 2023 Marina itinerary on Oceania's website.

Edited: LOL, I take it back. It's still there.

Edited June 24, 2022 by avalong

[CurlerRob]

10 hours ago, NewSalty said:

Re: Gerainger - we leave Alesund at 6 pm, and do not arrive at Hammerfest until 11 am, 1.5 days later.  Lots of time for diversions from the straight path... fingers crossed again.

I'm assuming this is the August 2024 Oslo to Stockholm trip.

 

You have 41 hours to travel between Aalesund and Hammerfest. As I wrote, the distance from Aalesund to Hammerfest is about 680 nautical miles, so about 40 hours at a normal 17 knots cruising speed. I'm not sure how you conclude there's lots of time for diversions.

 

You have already passed the way into Geiranger shortly before you arrive at Aalesund. The distance from Aalesund to Geiranger and return is over 120 nautical miles and is in the opposite direction to Hammerfest. Very best speed in the fjords would be 15 knots, and likely less. That would mean a minimum of 8 additional hours, without any time to stop. Not happening.

 

If I have the right cruise, you do stop in Leknes on your way back from Nordkapp - you should be able to take a shore excursion that will do a bus / small boat tour of the Trollfjord then.

 

You may find a few minutes consulting Google Maps helpful. Above all else, you are in for a spectacular Norwegian experience ... this is Aalesund.  🍺🥌

 

[ORV]

18 minutes ago, CurlerRob said:

I'm assuming this is the August 2024 Oslo to Stockholm trip.

 

You have 41 hours to travel between Aalesund and Hammerfest. As I wrote, the distance from Aalesund to Hammerfest is about 680 nautical miles, so about 40 hours at a normal 17 knots cruising speed. I'm not sure how you conclude there's lots of time for diversions.

 

You have already passed the way into Geiranger shortly before you arrive at Aalesund. The distance from Aalesund to Geiranger and return is over 120 nautical miles and is in the opposite direction to Hammerfest. Very best speed in the fjords would be 15 knots, and likely less. That would mean a minimum of 8 additional hours, without any time to stop. Not happening.

 

If I have the right cruise, you do stop in Leknes on your way back from Nordkapp - you should be able to take a shore excursion that will do a bus / small boat tour of the Trollfjord then.

 

You may find a few minutes consulting Google Maps helpful. Above all else, you are in for a spectacular Norwegian experience ... this is Aalesund.  🍺🥌

 

We have a tighter shot of the yellow building on the left on a canvas on our wall. It's a favorite. 

[CintiPam]

On 6/24/2022 at 3:25 AM, Cruise Wonderland said:

Trollfjord is quite narrow. Other than Hurtigruten and some small expedition cruise ships, I don't think any Oceania ships (O Class or even the smaller R Class) can sail into it.

We sailed Trollfjord on Azamara Quest, same size as Oceania “R” ships, in 2016.
 

We chose Azamara for our Norwegian adventures specifically because, unlike Oceania at that time, it had no stops in Putinland. (BTW, my travel options keep narrowing because political traveler spouse keeps adding more countries to his no-go list. I have been proposing an all-Turkey land trip since his 2018 retirement but with Erdogan, my chances continue to wane.)

Edited June 26, 2022 by CintiPam

[NewSalty]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:14 PM, CurlerRob said:

I'm assuming this is the August 2024 Oslo to Stockholm trip.

 

You have 41 hours to travel between Aalesund and Hammerfest. As I wrote, the distance from Aalesund to Hammerfest is about 680 nautical miles, so about 40 hours at a normal 17 knots cruising speed. I'm not sure how you conclude there's lots of time for diversions.

 

You have already passed the way into Geiranger shortly before you arrive at Aalesund. The distance from Aalesund to Geiranger and return is over 120 nautical miles and is in the opposite direction to Hammerfest. Very best speed in the fjords would be 15 knots, and likely less. That would mean a minimum of 8 additional hours, without any time to stop. Not happening.

 

If I have the right cruise, you do stop in Leknes on your way back from Nordkapp - you should be able to take a shore excursion that will do a bus / small boat tour of the Trollfjord then.

 

You may find a few minutes consulting Google Maps helpful. Above all else, you are in for a spectacular Norwegian experience ... this is Aalesund.  🍺🥌

 

Yeah, it was on my list of things to do to figure the distance and required speed... Thanks for doing so for me.  I'll see Geiranger one way or the other - we have a fair amount of pre-trip time. I just don't want to do it on my own, and then have Oceania do it again. Doesn't sound likely, so I'll probably plan accordingly 

[oskidunker]

My oct 1 cruise goes to Oslo and Kristiansand.  Does it go through a fjord?

[Cruise Wonderland]

4 hours ago, CintiPam said:

We sailed Trollfjord on Azamara Quest, same size as Oceania “R” ships, in 2016.
 

We chose Azamara for our Norwegian adventures specifically because, unlike Oceania at that time, it had no stops in Putinland. (BTW, my travel options keep narrowing because political traveler spouse keeps adding more countries to his no-go list. I have been proposing an all-Turkey land trip since his 2018 retirement but with Erdogan, my chances continue to wane.)

 

Thanks for letting me know. I just checked the 2023 schedule of Azamara and they will continue to have Norway cruises that visit Trollfjord next year. The itineraries look amazing.

Edited June 27, 2022 by Cruise Wonderland

[CurlerRob]

4 hours ago, CintiPam said:

We sailed Trollfjord on Azamara Quest, same size as Oceania “R” ships, in 2016.

Yes, identical length. I presume you sailed down the length of the fjord, then spun the ship to return. Much of the early part of the fjord is narrower than the ship was long - the 'basin' at the west end is about twice as wide as the ship is long, but would need the use of thrusters to do an in-place spin to change direction. 🍺🥌

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

My oct 1 cruise goes to Oslo and Kristiansand.  Does it go through a fjord?

The entry into Oslo goes through what is called the Oslofjord, but it is not the classical narrow waterway surrounded by high mountains. The topography around Oslo is reasonably flat by comparison.

 

It's still a very scenic sail, but if you're after the likes of Hardangerfjord and Geirangerfjord, you have to get up to the northwest coast of Norway, or at least 'around the corner' to Stavanger or Bergen.

 

I have not been to Kristiansand, but pictures I've seen suggest it's similar to Oslo. Kristiansand is situated on the Topdalsfjord.

 

This is from the Oslofjord. 🍺🥌

 

[oskidunker]

Thanks. I have done the fjords before and it was wonderful

[the more ports the better]

On 6/23/2022 at 7:10 PM, avalong said:

When researching Norway cruises I discovered that Oceania seldom goes to Geiranger,  which I find very odd. I could only find one itinerary (Marina, July 23, 2023) that included it. But that itinerary  terminates in Tromso. Inconvenient to say the least.

We are on the July 23 ending in Reykjavik, you can also continue to London.  The itinerary looks amazing!  I’ve always wanted to see polar bears!

 

If you take the short sailing to Tromoso, they have a good sized airport with direct flights to London, Oslo, Zurich, Munich, Frankfurt ….  I looked at doing the shorter sailing and was surprised at how convenient the flights were.