Is a Balcony Cabin Advised for Norwegian Fjords Cruise in Late Aug - Early Sep?

[mnocket]

My initial thought was to go for an ocean view cabin due to the weather.  A web search indicates that the temps will be about 60F and there will be rain about half the days.  That said, I've heard some who have cruised the fjords say that a balcony is essential as much time is spent sitting there watching the views (despite the cold & wind).  

 

There's a substantial price jump between ocean view and balcony for the 30-day cruise I'm considering on Oceania ($3,000pp). 

 

So I've got to ask those of you who have done a Norwegian Fjords cruise..... how important is a balcony?  Thanks for all advice.

Edited February 1, 2023 by mnocket

[CruiserBruce]

Had a balcony in a Norway/Iceland/Greenland cruise last July/August. Never cruise without one. But that is just us. A balcony is NEVER a requirement, strictly personal choice.

 

 

[mnocket]

19 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Had a balcony in a Norway/Iceland/Greenland cruise last July/August. Never cruise without one. But that is just us. A balcony is NEVER a requirement, strictly personal choice.

 

 

Thanks for the reply.  How much time did you spend on the balcony during your cruise?

[CruiserBruce]

16 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Thanks for the reply.  How much time did you spend on the balcony during your cruise?

A lot of time on port days. Much less on sea days, as the wind made it much less desirable. It was never warm, except the day we sailed from Copenhagen and the last day or two into Boston. It was an 18 day cruise, so for 14 days cold air was a factor. But the scenery was also very nice, so definitely spent some time on the balcony.

[hallasm]

The answer depends largely on your itinerary. How man deep fjord sailings are there.
The view from a balcony can be very limited - to get the full benefit it is much better to be on the upper decks.

How much time on your balcony depend on your itinerary. sea days and visit to coastal cities you’ll not use the balcony.

And yes, it’s quite cold when cruising the deep fjords early in the morning and late evening.

Edited February 1, 2023 by hallasm

[mnocket]

1 minute ago, hallasm said:

The answer depends largely on your itinerary. How man deep fjord sailings are there.
 The view from a balcony can be very limited - to get the full benefit it is much better to be on the upper decks.

And yes, it’s quite cold when cruising the deep fjords early in the morning and late evening.

Thanks that's helpful🙂

[LHT28]

We have done it in a C cabin  deck 4   R class & on the O class shipin a B   but we are up on deck more than in the cabin when sailing out of the Fjord

Our  1st cruise to Norway we were in an inside  but again out on deck or in one of the areas to view the outside 

 

What O ship are you on?

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

So I've got to ask those of you who have done a Norwegian Fjords cruise..... how important is a balcony?  Thanks for all advice.

I did have a quick search on Oceania Norwegian fjord cruising - In fact not that many deep fjords included in the itinerary - mostly coastal cities.

[BklynBoy8]

We always get a balcony for special sailings but we are alway anyway in balconies from the past on.

 

 

[LHT28]

9 minutes ago, hallasm said:

I did have a quick search on Oceania Norwegian fjord cruising - In fact not that many deep fjords included in the itinerary - mostly coastal cities.

What are  deep fjord  ports?

 We have done Geiranger & Flam  but have no idea if they were deep fjords  but the scenery was  spectacular 

[mnocket]

42 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

We have done it in a C cabin  deck 4   R class & on the O class shipin a B   but we are up on deck more than in the cabin when sailing out of the Fjord

Our  1st cruise to Norway we were in an inside  but again out on deck or in one of the areas to view the outside 

 

What O ship are you on?

Sirena

[hallasm]

22 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

What are  deep fjord  ports?

Deep fjord ports with scenic sailing in/out are: Hellesylt/Geiranger, Flåm, Olden, Skjolden and Eidfjord.

 

[mnocket]

20 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

What are  deep fjord  ports?

 We have done Geiranger & Flam  but have no idea if they were deep fjords  but the scenery was  spectacular 

I've been considering Oceania, Seabourn, Silversea and MSC.  The only itinerary that includes Geiranger and Flam is Silversea in June.  Otherwise there's another Silversea in late Sept that includes just Flam - but at that time there's a slight chance to see the Northern lights.  Are these two deep fjords ports a must see?  The other options skip these ports, but have lower daily rates.

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I've been considering Oceania, Seabourn, Silversea and MSC.  The only itinerary that includes Geiranger and Flam is Silversea in June.  Otherwise there's another Silversea in late Sept that includes just Flam - but at that time there's a slight chance to see the Northern lights.  Are these two deep fjords ports a must see?  The other options skip these ports, but have lower daily rates.

I would opt for the June cruise  to see the waterfalls  on the way to Flam/Geiranger

they are not so great in  Aug 

We have been to Norway in June/July/Aug  

all good  😉

Go for the itinerary that suits you best

[Dancing Shoes]

If you want deep fjords, Geiranger is a number one pick.  It would be like cruising Alaska and not seeing either Hubbard or Glacier Bay.  

[Sea42]

I wouldn't cruise anywhere without a balcony. I need my private outdoor space to escape the masses. Every ship I've been on has more people than the town I live in and sometimes I just need that escape. Baltic's, Alaska, Norway it doesn't matter. I dress appropriately and spend time everyday in my little piece of heaven. That's not to say I won't be out and about up top but I need my private retreat.

 

We'll be in Norway in May. After dinner and dancing, going back to our cabin and hanging out on the balcony while it's still light out will be great!

[hallasm]

9 hours ago, mnocket said:

Otherwise there's another Silversea in late Sept that includes just Flam - but at that time there's a slight chance to see the Northern lights.  Are these two deep fjords ports a must see?

IMO a Norwegian Fjord cruise is not 'really a fjord cruise' if it does not include the deep fjords.  Geiranger and Flåm are the two best deep fjord ports.  
September is a good time for the Northern Lights as the itinerary goes inside the Arctic Circle.

[cruisemom42]

On 2/1/2023 at 5:23 PM, hallasm said:

I did have a quick search on Oceania Norwegian fjord cruising - In fact not that many deep fjords included in the itinerary - mostly coastal cities.

 

Which are the deep fjords?  Just starting to research a Norwegian cruise....

[Simon-t]

19 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Which are the deep fjords?  Just starting to research a Norwegian cruise....

The classics are stops such as Geiranger, Olden, Flam, Skjolden. As others have said, some Norwegian cruises will have mainly coastal stops such as Bergen, Stavanger, or Tromso which are nice cities, but are not situated in classic fjords. If you want to see the classic fjord scenery, and enjoy the cruise along the fjord, you need be including some deep fjord stops to avoid disappointment.

 

Geiranger is probably our favourite cruise port, and is an amazing cruise along the fjord to the port.

 

As an aside, I would highly recommending looking at the Lofoten Islands which are included on some itineraries. Having done lots of Norwegian cruises in the past, we stopped at Lofoten for the first time last year and fell in love with the mountain scenery.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Simon-t

[hallasm]

21 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Which are the deep fjords?  Just starting to research a Norwegian cruise....

See post #12 and #19 - my highlights are Geiranger and Flåm - also Olden is fine.

Some Coastal cities are very tiny and limited activities - in addition to post #19 I’ll also mention Ålesund.

[LHT28]

I remember  seeing some new regulations on ships &  their emissions  in the Fjords  so maybe  some lines will be limited in those ports

Check Windstar I saw a couple of itineraries that  went  to Flam & Geiranger

 

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

I remember  seeing some new regulations on ships &  their emissions  in the Fjords  so maybe  some lines will be limited in those ports

Current regulations. Newer ships can sail the fjords until 2025 - Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is expected until 2030 (if using BioGas).

After 2030, only electric propulsion for Geiranger and Flåm

[jocap]

I do not know your ship, but should imagine it has suitable indoor places with sea views?

We made the mistake on our first cruise to the fjords of booking a last minute inside cabin, on an enormous ship where most of the public rooms looked inwards to a central mall. We had to sit out on deck for the fjord sailings, and kept returning to the cabin to warm up again and again. Mind you, it was May, so pretty bleak at times.

The next time we went, we were on a much smaller, older ship with plenty of indoor seating with fantastic views of the sea/fjords. An inside cabin would have been fine.