Greece or Norway

[hollon]

Im trying to decide to go to Greece or Norway, Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks!

1	Southampton, England Departs at 5:00 PM
2	Cruising Day at sea
3	Bergen, Norway From 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
4	Olden, Norway From 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
5	Geiranger, Norway From 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM
6	Haugesund, Norway From 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
7	Cruising Day at sea
8	Southampton, England Arrives at 5:30 AM
	*Port sequence may vary by sailing date.

1	Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Departs at 5:00 PM
2	Cruising Day at sea
3	Santorini, Greece Tendered from 1:00 PM - 11:00 PM
4	Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey From 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
5	Mykonos, Greece Tendered from 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM
6	Cruising Day at sea
7	Naples / Capri, Italy From 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
8	Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Arrives at 5:00 AM
	*Port sequence may vary by sailing date.

 

[sgmn]

I actually did both this year, though on Celebrity. The Norwegian Fjords was 7 days from Southampton and the Greek Islands and Malta, 10 days from Rome.

A lot depends on time of year. The NF cruise was May and quite chilly but scenery was spectacular and we really enjoyed it. The ports were new to us.

Our Greek Islands was on a brand new ship and though really good, we had been to several of the ports before. Our favourite port  was Malta. Though it was June it was very hot and I dont think I could do a southern Med cruise in July or August .  

On balance, because I quite like a cool weather cruise and because of the scenery I think I liked the Fjords one best, but would go on either again

[hollon]

4 minutes ago, sgmn said:

I actually did both this year, though on Celebrity. The Norwegian Fjords was 7 days from Southampton and the Greek Islands and Malta, 10 days from Rome.

A lot depends on time of year. The NF cruise was May and quite chilly but scenery was spectacular and we really enjoyed it. The ports were new to us.

Our Greek Islands was on a brand new ship and though really good, we had been to several of the ports before. Our favourite port  was Malta. Though it was June it was very hot and I dont think I could do a southern Med cruise in July or August .  

On balance, because I quite like a cool weather cruise and because of the scenery I think I liked the Fjords one best, but would go on either again

Thank you, that's what I'm leaning towards for May as well.  Can you tell me what you did in the ports that you liked?  Thanks so much 

[gumshoe958]

Norway is gradually moving towards banning large cruise ships from fjords like Geiranger so if that’s on your bucket list, do it while you can.

 

Otherwise it really depends what you’re into as both are fascinating and beautiful in their own very different way. For history (and heat!), it’s Greece. For nature it’s Norway.

[rockmom]

I did that itinerary for Greece this summer--on Odyssey in June.  It was great, but yeah, hot when walking around, especially if you are doing things like ruins.   But we loved it and we love the ship.  Now we are booked on a Norway itinerary on Anthem for this upcoming May.  We know we'll be in need of much warmer clothes, but as someone else mentioned, being able to see the Fjords from a larger ship may soon come to an end, so we made sure we booked that one sooner than later. Same for the Alaska glaciers, we did that in 2018 and are thinking of doing it one more time, maybe in 2024.  

Edited September 13, 2022 by rockmom

[RobInMN]

I have not done Greece (yet), but I just did Norway, and it would get my vote. Absolutely stunning!

But I would suggest Jewel out of Amsterdam and doing Arctic Circle vs. just the lower fjords.

See discussion here:

 

[Norwich Cruiser]

If you’ve never cruised the fjords I’d go with them.

 

Southampton is a very good port to cruise from and easy to get to with many excellent hotels a few minutes from the port.

 

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, gumshoe958 said:

Norway is gradually moving towards banning large cruise ships from fjords like Geiranger so if that’s on your bucket list, do it while you can.

 

Agree. Geiranger is a must. And just to give you an idea, first we've done the NF (2011), then Alaska (2013) and only in 2014 -- some Greek ports 😉

[sgmn]

15 hours ago, hollon said:

Thank you, that's what I'm leaning towards for May as well.  Can you tell me what you did in the ports that you liked?  Thanks so much 

Unfortunately we didn't have Geiranger on our itinerary.

We stopped at:

Bergan, lovely port, walked around and took the Funicular to the top of Mount Floyen. Had a nice walk at the top

Alesund, lovely little port, explored the harbour area and town and walked up over 400 steps to the top of the Fjellstua Viewpoint overlooking the town

Olden, very small village at end of stunning Fjord. Took a ships tour to a glacier 

Stavanger, interesting town, walked around the harbour and town and had the best fish soup (and most expensive) ever in a packed restaurant and fish market on the harbour

The sail ins and outs were great , fantastic scenery 

[RobInMN]

15 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Agree. Geiranger is a must. And just to give you an idea, first we've done the NF (2011), then Alaska (2013) and only in 2014 -- some Greek ports 😉

 

46 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Unfortunately we didn't have Geiranger on our itinerary.

We did not have Geiranger either. But in my limited research before going, it appeared to me that Geiranger and Flam had a friendly rivalry as to who had the best fjord, and just to make just you hit at least one of them. Our itinerary had Flam, and I thought it was stunning (I use that word a lot with Norway). I am not disappointed in any way that we did not have Geiranger instead/also, as we got to go to Honningsvag, which I think is well worth going on the smaller Radiance class ship to get to.

Our itinerary: Amsterdam, Cruising, Molde, Arctic Circle (Cruising), Tromso, Honningsvag, Cruising, Alesund, Flam, Haugesund, Kristiansand, Cruising, Amsterdam.

 

[kitkat343]

They are extremely different, so it will depend on what your goals are in terms of choosing a cruise.  I would like to note if you are just doing the fjords, Geiranger, Olden and Flam were my 3 favorite destinations.  Please note that in Geiranger the road to dalsnibba is seasonal, and doesn't open until after the annual avalanche, mid may-June 1st.  We arrived in late May, 3 days before it opened.  Visiting the other amazing viewpoints in Geiranger was wonderful.

 

Olden has the spectacular Loen Skylift, and the Briksdal Glacier.  The glacier has been hit hard by global warming, so as long as you have low expectations for the glacier itself, you will be happy, as the ride to the glacier and hike to it are both quite lovely.  

 

But as noted by a poster above, if you are only in port one day, the weather can have a huge impact, since the beautiful views can't really be appreciated when it is all foggy.  In Bergen we couldn't really see anything from the tram, and would have really been in a lot of trouble if all the days had been that miserable in terms of the weather.  

[lovelife]

Both are spectacular, but I'd do NF first and then try very hard to do the Greek Isles later.

[reney313]

We went to the Norwegian Fjords in 2015 and are going to Greece this year. I expect them to be 2 completely different experiences. For me, Norway was top of list in Europe. As others have mentioned, I would expect more regulations for cruise ships in the fjords in the future so going now would be recommended. I am a little bummed I missed out on sailing out of Venice proper for our Greece cruise and instead have to sail out of a port a few hours south (although I am spending 4 days in Venice prior). But those things happen so if you really want to see Norway via a ship, I'd go sooner than later.  It is truly stunning.  Greece will always be there for future.

[blueslily]

When is the change expected for Norway - the banning of large cruise ships? I would live to go before that happens. 

[Deeliteful]

 Very different cruises so really depends on what you are looking for.

If you want total relaxation and awesome scenery then it’s the Fjords (doing my 3rd NF next June).

The Med cruise will be awesome too. May is a great month to go as not too hot, all of this ports are fantastic. Obviously more port intensive so will be tiring.

Tough choice - first world problems eh? 😀

[Tin can]

The Fjords are stunning, one of our favourite cruises with Royal and you are visiting some of the best on that itinerary.

[FionaMG]

7 hours ago, blueslily said:

When is the change expected for Norway - the banning of large cruise ships? I would live to go before that happens. 

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it was likely to be 2025 but can't remember where so I don't know how reliable that is. If you want to go, you'd probably be best to do it as soon as you can.

[gumshoe958]

31 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it was likely to be 2025 but can't remember where so I don't know how reliable that is. If you want to go, you'd probably be best to do it as soon as you can.

2026 is the final deadline I think. But it’s already started and is being phased in gradually based on levels of emissions. Cunard’s QM2 has already been banned from Flam and Geiranger this summer and the regulations will get progressively tougher over the next four years so don’t leave it until the last minute.
 

The captain on Jewel of the Seas was asked about it at captain’s corner a couple of weeks ago, and was of the firm opinion that the end is nigh for large ships in the fjords. So yes, do it while you still can and don’t leave it too long.

 

There’s some background here: 

https://ferryshippingnews.com/norways-bold-environmental-decisions-catalyst-for-change/

 

And the Cunard thread here: 

Oh, and if you want to see what you’re missing, this was Jewel in Geiranger two weeks ago:

 

Edited September 17, 2022 by gumshoe958

[FionaMG]

3 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

2026 is the final deadline I think. But it’s already started and is being phased in gradually based on levels of emissions. Cunard’s QM2 has already been banned from Flam and Geiranger this summer and the regulations will get progressively tougher over the next four years so don’t leave it until the last minute.
 

The captain on Jewel of the Seas was asked about it at captain’s corner a couple of weeks ago, and was of the firm opinion that the end is nigh for large ships in the fjords. So yes, do it while you still can and don’t leave it too long.

 

There’s some background here: 

https://ferryshippingnews.com/norways-bold-environmental-decisions-catalyst-for-change/

 

And the Cunard thread here: 

Oh, and if you want to see what you’re missing, this was Jewel in Geiranger two weeks ago:

 

Thanks for the links and the beautiful pic.

I have Anthem booked for next July, going to Bergen, Geiranger, Olden and Haugesund. This will be my third try for a fjords cruise so I really hope it is third time lucky.

[gumshoe958]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

Thanks for the links and the beautiful pic.

I have Anthem booked for next July, going to Bergen, Geiranger, Olden and Haugesund. This will be my third try for a fjords cruise so I really hope it is third time lucky.

Fantastic. I’ve not been to Bergen but heard good things. Geiranger was just breathtaking with some stunning walks if that’s your thing, in which case no need for an excursion. From Olden, if you want to see the Briksdal glacier, you can avoid the overpriced excursions and catch the local bus for about £3.50 each way. Haugesund - meh. Not much to see there!

 

Here’s the Briksdal glacier (what’s left of it):

 

 

As you can see we were insanely lucky with the weather and even got to see the Northern Lights (very unusual in September and so far south). I’d do the fjords again in a heartbeat.

[mek]

Between those two itineraries, I would do Greece simply because as someone else mentioned, the North Cape is beautiful and I wouldn't want to do Norway without going there.

[Nunagoras]

On 9/13/2022 at 9:33 PM, gumshoe958 said:

Norway is gradually moving towards banning large cruise ships from fjords like Geiranger so if that’s on your bucket list, do it while you can.

 

Otherwise it really depends what you’re into as both are fascinating and beautiful in their own very different way. For history (and heat!), it’s Greece. For nature it’s Norway.

This, exactly. If Norway is in your bucket list, do it before 2025 or so when they're set to restrict the larger ships there. I've done both, both fantastic at its way.

[RobInMN]

Sine we're posting pictures.

Jewel in Flam:

 

"Midnight" (actually 1:00 AM because DST) Sun:

 

Jewel in Honningsvag. Northern most port.

Here you can see that the dock is about 1/4-1/3 the length of Jewel 🤣:

Nordkapp (Northernmost point in Norway/Europe):

Random picture:

[cruisequeen4ever]

Greece! It’s magical!