Best cruise to Norway Fjords

[Sharon99]

Looking at a cruise to Norway fjords next June 2023 ..deciding between Hurtigruten , Seabourn or Silversea . Interested in healthy fresh food, good gym/sauna and active interesting  onshore excursions and lectures ..

 

Have never been on any of these ships before ..Would really appreciate your recommendation ?

 

[carlmm]

Without knowing any details about the specific voyages you are looking at, these options should be quite different.

Hurtigruten operates as a service connecting the various ports. Thus, a typical itinerary includes many more ports with a short time in each one compared to regular cruise lines.

While Hutigruten will provide a more authentic Norwegian experience, Seabourn and Silverseas are international luxury cruise lines.

[hallasm]

As carlmm is saying - you really cannot compare Hurtigruten with Seabourn or Silversea.

Hurtigruten however has many excursions along the route and also daily lectures. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Sharon99 said:

Looking at a cruise to Norway fjords next June 2023 ..deciding between Hurtigruten , Seabourn or Silversea . Interested in healthy fresh food, good gym/sauna and active interesting  onshore excursions and lectures ..

 

Have never been on any of these ships before ..Would really appreciate your recommendation ?

 

Food really important? Oceania.

[donaldsc]

Before they were spun off, we did a cruise to Norway and Spitsbergen on Azamara.  It was excellent.  You might at that to your list.

 

DON

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, Sharon99 said:

Looking at a cruise to Norway fjords next June 2023 ..deciding between Hurtigruten , Seabourn or Silversea . Interested in healthy fresh food, good gym/sauna and active interesting  onshore excursions and lectures ..

 

Have never been on any of these ships before ..Would really appreciate your recommendation ?
 

 

Of the 3 options you are considering, Hurtigruten would provide the best cultural experience, as they are a Norwegian company that operate small cruise vessels and a fleet of passenger Ro/Ro ferries.

 

While most of their fleet are primarily ferries, they do provide some excellent pax services aboard the ships, including cabins. However, you should also research the in-port times, as many Ro/Pax have shorter in port times than cruise ships. The ships will have a local Norwegian design, be crewed by Norwegians and have a Norwegian bias in the meals. The onboard pax experience will be comparable to a premium/luxury cruise ship.

 

Seabourn & Silversea are 2 of the smaller ship luxury lines, but they are your typical international cruise lines, with ships operated by international crews and flagged in a "Flag of Convenience" state.

 

If you are considering an international cruise line, I would also research Viking Ocean, who are a privately owned Norwegian company that flag their ships in Norway. While the Masters and Deck & Engineering Officers are Norwegian, the hotel crew and ratings are international crews. They are rated by many organisations as the # 1 premium cruise line and the ships have a clean modern Norwegian design. They have great food, exceptional service, included spa/sauna/therapy pool/gym, a resident historian, exceptional lectures and an extensive catalogue of shore excursions. Similar to Hurtigruten, Viking will provide a more authentic Norwegian cultural experience.

 

You can check out our travel blog AndyandJudi.com for daily reports from the 2020 World Cruise. I do not moneterise my blog, so gain no benefit from visits.

[robthens]

The Hurtigruten norther lights cruise along the coast of Norway was a big disappointment.

First, the ship is basically a ferry.  The locals use it as a "Hop on, hop off" means of transportation.

The cabins are tiny and the bath has a nautical type shower (sprayer comes out of the sink)

We had very rough sailing and the norther lights were on "strike"'.  Tours were not interesting.

The food and dining were lack luster.

After traveling to over 40 countries, this was our least favorite.

A friend of mine went on another northern lights cruise and had the same opinion.  

 

 

[hallasm]

If you consider the ‘Coastal Voyage’ then note that there are two operators (exact same itinerary and times) - Hurtigruten and Havila Kystruten (Havila Voyages).

Havila is a new operator at the route and has four brand new ships.

Hurtigruten is divided into two different entities- Norwegian Coastal Route and Expedition cruises.

[Sharon99]

Thank you very much for all your valuable advice ..as we would prefer more of a uniworld luxury experience with Norwegian authenticity ..I will definitely now explore Viking and Azamara ..

really appreciate any suggestions 

[hallasm]

I would also suggest that you take a closer look at Hurtigruten/Havila.
It will give a very authentic picture of Norway.  The food served is Norwegian and local products are delivered to the ships every day.  
My suggestion is to take 7 days northbound from Bergen to Kirkenes.
If you want to experience the midnight sun, the itinerary must go north of the Lofoten islands.  

Fly to Oslo and take the train from Oslo to Bergen - a beautiful train journey.  It can possibly be combined with a detour and an overnight stay in the Flåm area.  Beautiful fjords.  Possibly a few days in Bergen before and in Kirkenes after the voyage.
Flight Kirkenes to Oslo.

[Heidi13]

14 hours ago, Sharon99 said:

Thank you very much for all your valuable advice ..as we would prefer more of a uniworld luxury experience with Norwegian authenticity ..I will definitely now explore Viking and Azamara ..

really appreciate any suggestions 

 

While exploring the Viking option, I agree with Hallasm in that you should also explore the Hurtigruten options.

 

Please don't be put off by the experience of the poster above, as if you do your research and find one of the newer ships, they are just as comfortable as a cruise ship. Their ships might be ferries, but some are very comfortable.

[robthens]

Norway in a Nutshell Tours | Part of Multi-Day Cruise+Rail

https://norway.nordicvisitor.com/nutshell®

Was amazing!

[YourWorldWithBill]

21 hours ago, Sharon99 said:

Thank you very much for all your valuable advice ..as we would prefer more of a uniworld luxury experience with Norwegian authenticity ..I will definitely now explore Viking and Azamara ..

really appreciate any suggestions 

In booking our cruise of the fjords for next spring, after checking on Viking (which we've been on) and Oceania, we chose Holland America because of the itinerary. Great fjord cruising. Neptune class staterooms on Holland America try to compete with the luxury lines.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

In booking our cruise of the fjords for next spring, after checking on Viking (which we've been on) and Oceania, we chose Holland America because of the itinerary. Great fjord cruising. Neptune class staterooms on Holland America try to compete with the luxury lines.

But then you have to eat their food.

[Hlitner]

I do think you might want to do some research into Hurtigruten who does operate all kinds of different ships from ferry-like coastal vessels to some newer cruise ship-like vessels.   If you really want to get adventurous and go to places not normally visited by most ships, and have the budget, you might want to consider some of the newer exploration vessels such as the Seabourn Venture or Silver Cloud (Silverseas cruise lines) and Scenic Eclipse (Scenic Cruise lines).   These expedition ships combine luxury, good food, excellent port-oriented lectures, etc.   These luxury expedition vessels get you into places not visited by larger ships, use Zodiacs, (some even have their own submarines and helicopters) and get you up close and very personal to nature.  

 

I think that expedition cruising has recently come into a new age with quite a few newer luxury expedition ships.  In the case of the Norwegian Fjords, the Norwegian government has recently imposed some tough restrictions on the more Northern parts of their country (above the arctic circle) which effectively banned most larger vessels from these waters.  The new trend in both the arctic and artic is only allow ships that meet very stringent safety standards (such as Polar 6).  Folks that insist on sticking with one or two preferred cruise lines are often out of luck since none of the ships or their favorite lines (which might have good food) do not come close to the standards required to enter the Svalbard area.  After the near catastrophic cruise of the Viking Sky (Viking cruise lines) the Norwegian government has become very concerned about protecting these waters.   While there are certainly some Fjords that are further south and accessible to larger ships, we suspect an increase in restrictions that will keep larger ships out of these waters.

 

Hank