Norway recommendations for a newbie

[BuckeyeMark]

Beginning to do the research for a trip that prolly won't happen till 2024 but am taking a long look at Norway and the fjords.  Never been there.  Have read in this forum some and looked at some itineraries... but am looking to know what are the CAN'T MISS stops for Norway.  What are the fjords that you have to see?  The stops or ports or fjords that you build an entire itinerary around - "Okay, that's a great cruise line, that's a good price ... oh, it doesn't go ___________ so it's out. I'm finding me a different cruise because I have to go to __________."

[consmarci]

I love this question, as we are also trying to plan this and want all the suggestions and not the hassle of figuring it out! Who loved their trip and would suggest it? 

[TheOldBear]

I might be answer this after my next sailing - a QM2 'Norway and Northern Lights' round trip from NY.

 

There should be no shortage of available info here on CC. 

Have you decided on :

• time of year [midnight sun or northern lights]?
• departure port [Southampton, Dover, Bergen...]?
• One way or round trip [return home from cruise departure port]?
• duration?

 

An unconventional option may be the Norway 'Costal Express' offered by Hurtigruten - it is not a typical cruise ship, making many short stops along its run. [apparently some stops are less than an hour as part of a costal ferry service]

[edinburgher]

Sticky from the top of this forum with lots of info and reading makes it a good starting point.;

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2777857-norwegian-fjords/

 

[BuckeyeMark]

Dumb question but what is the "midnight sun"? Is that just sailing when the sun doesn't hardly ever go down?

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Dumb question but what is the "midnight sun"? Is that just sailing when the sun doesn't hardly ever go down?

Inside the polar circle the sun will be visible all night during June and July.

North Norway - ports are Lofoten Islands, Honningsvåg (North Cape) and Tromsø.

 

[hallasm]

Some general guidelines.
A Norwegian fjord cruise should include at least two deep fjords - ports in order of priority are: Geiranger, Flåm, Olden or Skjolden.  
Interesting Coastal towns are Bergen and Ålesund.  From Stavanger it is possible to visit Pulpit Rock.  
Other ports do not have much to offer - some are very small towns.  

Midnight sun in June / July includes Tromsø and Honningsvåg.  

The Northern Lights are in the period September to March - snow and very cold.  
The fjords can be navigated by all sizes of cruise ships.  Only the smaller ships visit the Lofoten Islands

Most cruise lines have cruises to the Norwegian fjords - many from Southampton, Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Dover.  
An alternative is the coastal route from Bergen to Kirkenes with Hurtigruten or Havila Voyages.

[BuckeyeMark]

This is extremely helpful.  Hallasm I have read and made notes from your posts in the sticky - just great information.  

Here's another question - there's a lot of talk of getting up early to see the fjords and I'm kinda worried this cruise is just going to be exhausting.  Up at midnight to see the sun, up at 4:30 AM to see a waterfall in the fjords ... does anybody get to sleep on these cruises?!

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Up at midnight to see the sun, up at 4:30 AM to see a waterfall in the fjords

The good news are that no deep fjords when midnight sun - the deep fjords are in southern Norway - Well sunset can be 11 pm in the fjords but no midnight sun. I’ll still recommend to be up early in the morning to enjoy the fjord views at sunrise -  you will however navigate the same fjords in the evening but often dinner and shows.

[BuckeyeMark]

1 minute ago, hallasm said:

The good news are that no deep fjords when midnight sun - the deep fjords are in southern Norway - Well sunset can be 11 pm in the fjords but no midnight sun. I’ll still recommend to be up early in the morning to enjoy the fjord views at sunrise -  you will however navigate the same fjords in the evening but often dinner and shows.

I can already tell that I'm going to have to make some tough choices ... there are some really nice cruises that get these deep fjords and also get over to Iceland (wow - that'd be a great trip).  But you can't do Iceland AND the midnight sun in a 12-14 day cruise. So I need to prioritize... just how great is the midnight sun? Is that worth building an entire itinerary around? It is that spectacular or is it just the novelty of being where the sun never sets, going that far north, the ceremony when you cross the Artic circle, etc?  

I know what to do in Alaska.  Glacier Bay is so incredible you build everything around getting there. 

 

Is the midnight sun that kind of thing for Norway?
 

[Capt_BJ]

Viking 15 days Jun Jul Aug 23

 

bergen > geiranger > narvik > lofoton > tromso > honningsvag > longyearbyen > isafjordur > reykavik

................ fjord ................................................mid night sun ............WAY NORTH    .... iceland

 

think we're gonna book it next week . . .

[gnome12]

48 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

Viking 15 days Jun Jul Aug 23

 

bergen > geiranger > narvik > lofoton > tromso > honningsvag > longyearbyen > isafjordur > reykavik

................ fjord ................................................mid night sun ............WAY NORTH    .... iceland

 

think we're gonna book it next week . . .

They manage by not starting in the usual locations (Southampton, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, etc).

[Capt_BJ]

is Midnight Sun a big thing?

 

well first is is good to understand the Arctic Circle .... WIKI: The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at which, on the December solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the sun will not rise all day, and on the June solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the sun will not set. These phenomena are referred to as polar night and midnight sun respectively, and the further north one progresses, the more pronounced these effects become. For example, in the Russian port city of Murmansk, just 3° above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise for 40 successive days in midwinter.

 

So the circle is about 66.5 Nort and the further north you go the more 'pronunced' Midnight Sun is ....

 

Lofoton is about 68N

Tromso about 69.5

here we're near the marker at Honningsvag

 

 

this marker sits on the Artic Circle on a small island of Norway

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Capt_BJ

[BuckeyeMark]

1 hour ago, Capt_BJ said:

Viking 15 days Jun Jul Aug 23

 

bergen > geiranger > narvik > lofoton > tromso > honningsvag > longyearbyen > isafjordur > reykavik

................ fjord ................................................mid night sun ............WAY NORTH    .... iceland

 

think we're gonna book it next week . . .

That looks amazing but Viking is a bit beyond my price range ... I'm over here with Princess and Royal Caribbean.  Might have to dig down in the couch cushions and see if I can come up w/enough spare change to make that Viking trip. 😉  That is one special itinerary!

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, Capt_BJ said:

Viking 15 days Jun Jul Aug 23

 

bergen > geiranger > narvik > lofoton > tromso > honningsvag > longyearbyen > isafjordur > reykavik

................ fjord ................................................mid night sun ............WAY NORTH    .... iceland

 

think we're gonna book it next week . . .

Excellent itinerary- if going to Bergen via Oslo it’s recommended to take the train from Oslo to Bergen - and if time permits make a detour from Myrdal to Flåm and stay overnight in the Flåm area - sailing the fjords.

[BuckeyeMark]

44 minutes ago, Capt_BJ said:

is Midnight Sun a big thing?

 

well first is is good to understand the Arctic Circle .... WIKI: The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at which, on the December solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the sun will not rise all day, and on the June solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the sun will not set. These phenomena are referred to as polar night and midnight sun respectively, and the further north one progresses, the more pronounced these effects become. For example, in the Russian port city of Murmansk, just 3° above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise for 40 successive days in midwinter.

 

So the circle is about 66.5 Nort and the further north you go the more 'pronunced' Midnight Sun is ....

 

Lofoton is about 68N

Tromso about 69.5

here we're near the marker at Honningsvag

 

 

 

this marker sits on the Artic Circle on a small island of Norway

 

 

That is very helpful ... and I love that marker.  So ... how cool is it to be there and see it?  Is it just a "I was there" thing or is the scenery, the light, the fjords all absolutely can't miss this, best thing in the world stuff?  Am I going just to take a pic of the marker, do the Arctic Circle ceremony, etc. or is the reward for going that far north some unbelievable scenery and sights?  I can't go everywhere. Must I go to the Midnight Sun or would doing some deep fjords further south in Norway be about the same?

[Capt_BJ]

to me the midnight sun is kinda ho hum but I also spend a couple of years doing fisheries patrols in the Bering Sea summer and winter so I've seen it plenty. And I've spent plenty of time in Kodiak and Dutch Harbor and a bit in Adak and ST Paul and and ..... Alaska is scenic no doubt but I find Norway stunning.  A deep fjord is a biggie to see but if your cruise doesn't hit one of the good ones, stay a day or two and make Flam a day trip from Bergen!

 

near Tromso, July at midnight

 

[Capt_BJ]

Excellent itinerary- if going to Bergen via Oslo it’s recommended to take the train from Oslo to Bergen - and if time permits make a detour from Myrdal to Flåm and stay overnight in the Flåm area - sailing the fjords.

 

been there and done that!  After a Viking Midnight Sun Cruise from Greenwich north to Honn' then south and ending in Bergen we went train/bus/ferry to Flam and train to Oslo ..... under Norway in a Nutshell framework. We overnighted in Flam.

 

Will be third Norway trip each getting a bit further north and adding Iceland this time where as last cruise hit Shetland. 

[kaisatsu]

I don’t think the midnight sun is worth going above the Arctic Circle. If you happen to be up there and it’s a clear night, I think it’s worth staying up to see the sun start to rise without actually setting, but it’s not something that I’d consider a must-see by any means. The light is similar to a normal sunrise and sunset and you don’t even get those special moments as the sun disappears or first appears. Overlaid time lapse photos of the path of the sun are kind of cool, but they require a lot of post-processing. Otherwise you just have a photo of the sun near the horizon with a time stamp that looks wrong.

 

Our first cruise that far north was on the QE2, and it was interesting to come out of the late after-dinner shows and find it completely light out. But if you’re not from a northerly location, you’ll already be astonished by the long days. Southern Norway is already far enough north that it’s a similar latitude to Anchorage.

 

The better reasons to travel that far north are for the change in scenery. Places like Lofoten and Tromsø have dramatic mountain-meets-the-sea scenery, and the  norther Arctic areas around Nordkapp have more of a tundra landscape. Lofoten and Tromsø are beautiful, but since most people visit Norway for the fjords, most cruises focus farther south.

 

Geirangerfjord would definitely be my top choice of the iconic fjords, and among the “city” ports (Norwegian coastal cities are not so big) Bergen would be first.

 

It’s also worth noting that the Hurtigruten coastal ships only sail into Geiranger during a few months of the year, and otherwise they stick to coastal waters. Lovely and very scenic, but only during that one high-season-only detour do they actually sail through the iconic fjord scenery.

[Simon-t]

On 7/16/2022 at 8:46 AM, hallasm said:

A Norwegian fjord cruise should include at least two deep fjords - ports in order of priority are: Geiranger, Flåm, Olden or Skjolden.  
Interesting Coastal towns are Bergen and Ålesund.  From Stavanger it is possible to visit Pulpit Rock.  
Other ports do not have much to offer - some are very small towns.  

 

 

This is really good advice. A surprising number of "fjord cruises" will only have one real fjord stops. The four that hallasm mentions are the classic fjords and are all amazing stops. For me, Geiranger is the classic fjord with some amazing scenery. Flåm itself is small, but is the starting point for the Flåm railway, which is a must do excursion (it leaves from within walking distance of the port). We also like Andalsnes which has some great scenery.

 

I would also mention the Lofoten Islands. We have just done our fifth Norwegian cruise, but our first stop in Lofoten. Quite different to the fjords, but some stunning mountain scenery and  pretty fishing villages.

 

The midnight sun is quite an experience if you go above the arctic circle in summer. 24 hour daylight is surprisingly disorientating and I'm not sure how the locals cope for weeks on end!

 

In terms of towns most Norwegian cruises seem to have one (or both) of Bergen or Stavanger, both of which are quite interesting. If you are going further north, Trondheim and Tromso are also really nice ports.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Simon-t

[CCJack]

Agree with many of the above thoughts.   Up early to see Fjord is definitely worth it (assuming your ship's schedule enters a Fjord early which most do.)    As I have mentioned on other posts, one advantage to this is most people will be sleeping on your ship and you will have the views to yourself.

 

I think it is cool to see sunlight nearly 24 hours, but actually crossing the arctic circle is a bit of a technicality.  During our June Fjord cruise (which did not cross the arctic circle) it was still light or dusk all night, even though the sun may have been just below the horizon, and I thought that was a cool think to experience.  You don't need to get up or do anything special, you will likely notice from your balcony room or ocean view room unless you are deep sleeper.  The date of your cruise is important here closest to June 21 is best. 

 

We recently went on an Iceland cruise, which did barely cross into the arctic circle, also in June near the Solstice date, and it was similar experience to the fjord cruise in Norway in terms of lightness during the night.

 

Bottom line, I would prioritize viewing fjords over crossing the arctic circle.

 

 

 

[kaisatsu]

Another thing worth mentioning, while it’s definitely worth it to be up enjoying the fjord cruising in the morning, also remember that fjords are dead-ends. Your ship will repeat the same route on the way out at the end of the day.

 

This is not to say that you shouldn’t make the effort to enjoy the scenery, and some ships will travel at lower speeds and even provide some limited guiding notes over the PA system. However, the mornings tend to be a lot more crowded. So if you can’t get a good vantage point, or if the sun is on the wrong side for a photo you really want, remember that you’ll be back in the afternoon!

 

Personally, my preferred method of fjord cruising is to be up enjoying the sail-in, and then after a busy day in port, relax in a hot tub on a top or aft deck with a good vantage point. In a narrow fjord like Geirangerfjord, looking up at the hills towering overhead is a different perspective and still a dramatic view!

[caripoo]

Lots of good information....After making a spread sheet, and going over and over our choices from Seabourn, Silversea, Viking, and Azamara...We are doing Silversea 10 day Copenhagen to Copenhagen...with 10 days prior spending time in Denmark and Sweden......This seems to have almost ALL of the ports we wanted to see.....

[Wynterwynd]

Just booked Oceania Marina July 23 to Aug 7 (2023, of course), Copenhagen to Tromso.  This will get my husband his bucket list Arctic Circle checked off (Leknes, Harstad, Alta, North Cape and Hammerfest) and my favorite cruise occupation, reading a good book on the balcony and enjoying the scenery (with a glass of wine).  Oceania is rather port intensive (only one sea day) and I’m sure each of the little towns it stops in will be fun to walk around.
 

A friend of mine once told me that the top two cruises, in her opinion, are the coast of Norway and the coast of New Zealand.  So, New Zealand booked for 2024.
Figuring out how to get home from Tromso will occupy most of my time next spring, lol.  

[hallasm]

47 minutes ago, Wynterwynd said:

and my favorite cruise occupation, reading a good book on the balcony and enjoying the scenery (with a glass of wine).

With the midnight sun from Leknes and back to Tromsø that option will be available all night.

 

47 minutes ago, Wynterwynd said:

A friend of mine once told me that the top two cruises, in her opinion, are the coast of Norway and the coast of New Zealand.

Just a word of warning - when comparing Norway Fjords with New Zealand it’s normally the deep fjords in  the southern Norway - your itinerary does include the beautiful  Lofoten Islands (Leknes, Harstad) and your ship might be able to navigate ‘Trollfjorden’ - however the scenery in northern Norway is not as impressive as the deep fjords in Southern Norway.

 

47 minutes ago, Wynterwynd said:

Figuring out how to get home from Tromso will occupy most of my time next spring,

Not many options except if you want to explore the deep fjords in south Norway.

Flight from Tromsø to Oslo - might be part of an SAS ‘multi city’ ticket (open jaw).

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by hallasm