Norwegian Fjords- Guidebook or port suggestions

[MillbrookMom]

Hello all,

We are doing a Norwegian Fjords cruise next summer and I have started research to figure out what we want to do on this once in a lifetime trip.  I haven't been able to find a good guidebook, so looking for suggestions on one, or suggestions for any of the ports we are going to, which are; Geiranger, Molde, Honninsvag, Tromso, Flam Alesund, Olden, Bergen. 

Thanks in advance

[hallasm]

Very good itinerary - deep scenic fjords - Arctic Circle crossing and nice coastal cities.

Three deep fjords - Geiranger, Flåm and Olden

Arctic circle crossing to north Cape (Honningsvåg) and Tromsø. Assuming cruise in June/July with Midnight Sun.

Nice coastal cities: Bergen and Ålesund - Molde less interesting.

Search this forum for your ports - you’ll find many good suggestions.

[CruiserBruce]

Have you looked around this board for the gazillion threads and info?

[MillbrookMom]

14 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Have you looked around this board for the gazillion threads and info?

I did do a search for guidebooks and it came up with nothing.  

[CruiserBruce]

32 minutes ago, MillbrookMom said:

I did do a search for guidebooks and it came up with nothing.  

But there is tons of info here from experience and not guidebooks. 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, MillbrookMom said:

I did do a search for guidebooks and it came up with nothing.  

Search each of the ports on your list individually. They are all covered. No guidebook will have as recent experience as what you will find here. (I am travelling to Norway in 2024, and have seen the latest of the guidebooks; they are all out of date, even if they ostensibly have been published only recently.)

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, MillbrookMom said:

I did do a search for guidebooks and it came up with nothing.  

Yesterday, I ordered a Fodors Norway from our library's interlibrary loan. So there are guidebooks out there.

[MillbrookMom]

9 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Search each of the ports on your list individually. They are all covered. No guidebook will have as recent experience as what you will find here. (I am travelling to Norway in 2024, and have seen the latest of the guidebooks; they are all out of date, even if they ostensibly have been published only recently.)

Thanks, I will do that.  

[NightOne]

I see Cruise Critic continues to live up to its reputation 😞

 

I have the Rick Steves Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports and it covers:

 

Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Flam, and Geirangerfjord. It teaches you all about Norway in a Nutshell in Flam. I recommend it.

 

It looks like there a couple of Amazon that could be interesting. They include:

 

THE MAGIC OF CRUISING NORWAY 2022-23: Including a Russian Arctic Supplement

and

Cruising the Norwegian Fjords, from Amsterdam to Southampton : Abbreviated Guide for Cruise Ship Passengers

 

I just bought these two guides a minute ago as they were $7 and $4. (Kindle versions) Samples looked ok but can tell you more about these two later.

 

 

[NightOne]

11 minutes ago, NightOne said:

It looks like there a couple of Amazon that could be interesting. They include:

 

THE MAGIC OF CRUISING NORWAY 2022-23: Including a Russian Arctic Supplement

and

Cruising the Norwegian Fjords, from Amsterdam to Southampton : Abbreviated Guide for Cruise Ship Passengers

 

I just bought these two guides a minute ago as they were $7 and $4. (Kindle versions) Samples looked ok but can tell you more about these two later.

 

 

 

I've done a bunch of research on Flam so I went to the Flam section of each of these and read what they had to offer. The 2nd guide ($4) is just stuff you can Google up pretty quick. I don't recommend. The 1st guide ($7) has some more information and personal experience but it is very limited. It also states things like there are only ship provided excursions which is clearly wrong. Therefore, I can not really recommend it either but it is better than the other one.

 

Get the Rick Steves guidebook. It will give you a good start.

[gnome12]

16 minutes ago, NightOne said:

I see Cruise Critic continues to live up to its reputation 😞

 

I have the Rick Steves Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports and it covers:

 

Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Flam, and Geirangerfjord. It teaches you all about Norway in a Nutshell in Flam. I recommend it.

 

It looks like there a couple of Amazon that could be interesting. They include:

 

THE MAGIC OF CRUISING NORWAY 2022-23: Including a Russian Arctic Supplement

and

Cruising the Norwegian Fjords, from Amsterdam to Southampton : Abbreviated Guide for Cruise Ship Passengers

 

I just bought these two guides a minute ago as they were $7 and $4. (Kindle versions) Samples looked ok but can tell you more about these two later.

 

 

The last version of Rick Steves was published in 2018. The next one comes out in June 2024.  The Magic of Cruising Norway, despite the 2022-2023 in the title was published in November 2021. (The fact that they mention the Russian Arctic tells you that it pre-dates the war in Ukraine.) Only the last one you listed was published recently, in April 2023, and I see that you didn’t find it helpful. 

Edited July 21, 2023 by gnome12

[NightOne]

2 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

The last version of Rick Steves was published in 2018. The next one comes out in June 2024.  The Magic of Cruising Norway, despite the 2022-2023 in the title was published in November 2021. (The fact that they mention the Russian Arctic tells you that it pre-dates the war in Ukraine.) Only the last one you listed was published recently, in April 2023. 

 

Rick Steves book is still relevant. Other two: doesn't matter when they were published.

 

Have you read the Rick Steves book?

[MillbrookMom]

42 minutes ago, NightOne said:

I see Cruise Critic continues to live up to its reputation 😞

 

I have the Rick Steves Scandinavian & Northern European Cruise Ports and it covers:

 

Oslo, Stavanger, Bergen, Flam, and Geirangerfjord. It teaches you all about Norway in a Nutshell in Flam. I recommend it.

 

It looks like there a couple of Amazon that could be interesting. They include:

 

THE MAGIC OF CRUISING NORWAY 2022-23: Including a Russian Arctic Supplement

and

Cruising the Norwegian Fjords, from Amsterdam to Southampton : Abbreviated Guide for Cruise Ship Passengers

 

I just bought these two guides a minute ago as they were $7 and $4. (Kindle versions) Samples looked ok but can tell you more about these two later.

 

 

Thank you, I do have the Amsterdam to Southampton one and while it wasn't bad, I was hoping for one that is a little more in depth and has more info on Norway itself.  I will take a look at the others you suggested, plus Fodors Norway next time I am at the book store.  Thank you.

[kitkat343]

You are visiting 3 of my favorite ports in Norway.

 

In Geiranger, you can get a panaramic bus that will take you to all the viewpoints.  By July, all the roads should be open.  Other travelers should note that some roads are seasonal and might not be open in the shoulder season (late May/early June).  

 

In Olden, if your port stop is long, you can visit both the Loen Skylift and Briskdal Glacier.  The Loen Skylift is spectacular but expensive.   On a really cloudy day it might be a bit harder to appreciate.  Olden Adventures runs busses to both sites.  The Briskdal glacier has been hit hard by global warming, but the 40 minute drive there is quite scenic and lovely, and you have a beautiful hike (you can rent a troll car - a little golf cart- most of the way on the hike if needed) to what remains of the glacier.  

 

In Flam, there is the amazing flam railway (you need to book this early because it will book up).  There's also a nearby viewpoint you can do or you can visit a local goat farm or take a RIB boat.  

 

There's more information on those three ports in my signature line.  WE also visited Bergen but the weather was unusually terrible that day, plus the cabs in Norway aren't allowed to transport children without car seats so we were kind of stranded so I can't help you much there, but other people who visited Bergen all seemed to love it. Alesund (which I also haven't visited) also seems very beloved on these forums.  It looks like you chose a really good cruise, and I hope you have a really good time!

Edited July 21, 2023 by kitkat343

[kaisatsu]

I’ve never seen a great guidebook for Norway. Most guidebook formats are built around cities, and touring Norway is about visiting the countryside and small villages, and services in many of these places are seasonal. They have also changed a lot in the last ten years.

 

The forums here will definitely provide more relevant information, so searching for each port will provide a wealth of information.

The most popular options for your ports would probably be:

Geiranger: Mt.Dalsnibba or another overlook if it’s not open or clouded over. Honninsvag: North Cape. Tromso: the Arctic Cathedral and the cable car are both pretty popular for cruise visitors. Flåm: the Flåmsbana mountain rail. Ålesund: art deco architecture. Olden: Loen skylift. Bergen: Bryggen historic waterfront

[MillbrookMom]

42 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

You are visiting 3 of my favorite ports in Norway.

 

In Geiranger, you can get a panaramic bus that will take you to all the viewpoints.  By July, all the roads should be open.  Other travelers should note that some roads are seasonal and might not be open in the shoulder season (late May/early June).  

 

In Olden, if your port stop is long, you can visit both the Loen Skylift and Briskdal Glacier.  The Loen Skylift is spectacular but expensive.   On a really cloudy day it might be a bit harder to appreciate.  Olden Adventures runs busses to both sites.  The Briskdal glacier has been hit hard by global warming, but the 40 minute drive there is quite scenic and lovely, and you have a beautiful hike (you can rent a troll car - a little golf cart- most of the way on the hike if needed) to what remains of the glacier.  

 

In Flam, there is the amazing flam railway (you need to book this early because it will book up).  There's also a nearby viewpoint you can do or you can visit a local goat farm or take a RIB boat.  

 

There's more information on those three ports in my signature line.  WE also visited Bergen but the weather was unusually terrible that day, plus the cabs in Norway aren't allowed to transport children without car seats so we were kind of stranded so I can't help you much there, but other people who visited Bergen all seemed to love it. Alesund (which I also haven't visited) also seems very beloved on these forums.  It looks like you chose a really good cruise, and I hope you have a really good time!

Thanks so much for all that info.  We are in Olden from 7am - 5pm, so nice to know we should have time to do both, if the weather is nice enough for the Loen Skylift.  We are hoping in Flam to do both the railway and the Stegastein viewing platform  (I had done a little research already on a few ports) we are there from 8am - 6pm.

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, MillbrookMom said:

(I had done a little research already on a few ports) we are there from 8am - 6pm

Remember that the big attractions are the scenic entry to the ports Geiranger, Flåm and Olden.
I prefer to enjoy the view from the upper decks from sunrise - the fjord sailings takes about 5 hours. Same route in the evening, but then there are many other activities.

[gnome12]

4 hours ago, NightOne said:

 

Rick Steves book is still relevant. Other two: doesn't matter when they were published.

 

Have you read the Rick Steves book?

Yes, I have. Covid has had an effect on some of the providers, which makes a difference. While the OPs cruise isn’t going to Oslo, there are big changes to museums in that city that obviously aren’t covered (and are affecting my own plans).

[kitkat343]

4 hours ago, MillbrookMom said:

Thanks so much for all that info.  We are in Olden from 7am - 5pm, so nice to know we should have time to do both, if the weather is nice enough for the Loen Skylift.  We are hoping in Flam to do both the railway and the Stegastein viewing platform  (I had done a little research already on a few ports) we are there from 8am - 6pm.

In Flam, you will absolutely have enough time.  But do plan out when you purchase your railway tickets to ensure you have enough time to get there early so you can get good seats near a window on the train (some people reported on this forum they got to the Flam railway line late and got bad seats and couldn't see much and were disappointed.

[Celialeah98]

Hi, I just got off the Jewel yesterday. We did Artic circle cruise.

 

My favorites were Geiranger fjord sail in and out as well as Tromso tour with Blue puffin tour company. 

 

Look for private tour companies over ships tours. We used Norway Excursions for Molde and Geiranger, but did not get to spend enough time on the Atlantic road from Molde. 

 

For Honninsvag and Tromso we used Blue puffin tour company.

 

Do check out Rccl  excursions on US Thanksgiving Black Friday sale. Cheapest prices for tours, cabin room gifts on arrival (chocolate covered strawberries and champagne), water bottles to room, beverage packages, dining packages or individual restaurant lunch/dinner in specialty dining reservations. You can book then cancel later if you find a better option/price. 

 

You can also read the roll calls from June 17 and July 11 Artic Circle cruises. Join the roll call for your cruise too if you haven't already.

 

Happy planning 

[fsufancc]

Don't forget YouTube as a resource.  Tons of videos about each specific port stop.  

[BuckeyeMark]

1 hour ago, fsufancc said:

Don't forget YouTube as a resource.  Tons of videos about each specific port stop.  

This is an excellent suggestion.  There are some really high quality YouTubers out there!  Can I ask that if you find a video or two that is helpful you post here for the rest of us? Thanks!

[fsufancc]

12 minutes ago, BuckeyeMark said:

This is an excellent suggestion.  There are some really high quality YouTubers out there!  Can I ask that if you find a video or two that is helpful you post here for the rest of us? Thanks!

Most videos are city/port specific.  Just search for the stops you are going to visit.  I've looked a Bergen, Alesund, Geiranger, Rib boat tours, food to eat in Amsterdam (our origination port), etc.  

 

HAL Rotterdam ship tours, food overview, veranda cabin overviews, and more.

[Donna S Maryland]

We did two of your ports, Bergen and Honnigsvag, on our HAL cruise in July 2023. Here are my write-ups, if they are helpful to you.

 

Bergen: We did not book any excursions for this port, electing instead to walk around the city ourselves.  Lots of great stores – and not just the souvenir/tourist stores along the Bryggen waterfront, but a wide variety of department stores, high end brand stores, as well as wonderful bookstores and a great gaming store.  This is a flourishing city, not just a tourist area. Walked through the fish market and along the waterfront. We arrived at the funicular station around 11:00 am and there was a very long line at the ticket window (there were two cruise ships in town that day).  But, the line moved steadily and the funiculars were running constantly, so it took us about 30 minutes to get to the top. It was partly cloudy on the day we were there, with short periods of rain. We luckily were able to have some sun and clear views when we first arrived at the top, but then more rain settled in.  We walked around the top, enjoyed the views while we had them, saw the goats, strolled through the troll garden and the teenagers enjoyed the adventure park. There is a gift store, restrooms, and refreshments at the top.  We stayed about an hour, would have likely stayed longer without the rain. Lines were definitely much shorter when we returned in the early afternoon. We enjoyed a nice lunch by the fish market at the Harbour Cafe sitting outside and watching the crowd go by (burgers were good, as were the Ceasar salads, and the fried cheese and garlic shrimp tapas).  We had some good soft serve ice cream at one of the food trucks by the fish market and then strolled over to the lovely lake, opera house, and art museum area. Took a train to the SK Brann football arena, but unfortunately, the team store was closed. We were able to fool around a bit on one of the outside practice fields with a beat up ball we found. 

 

Honnigsvag: We booked the RIB King Crab Safari as a 3.5 hour shore excursion with our Holland America cruise ship well in advance of our sailing. Luckily, we had partly sunny weather for a smooth and beautiful excursion. We were met by two representatives from Destination 71 Degrees North at the pier, where we walked to their nearby office. At the office, we were given waterproof, thermal jumpsuits for the ride. Note that these can be very warm on a warm day, and you can leave layers at the office on a nice day. Also note that bags/purses are discouraged on the boats, but can also be left at the office. There are pockets in the jumpsuits to accommodate a few small items. We all wore shoes that could get wet, but on this calm day, there was no splashing. Once our suits were on, we had to walk to the center dock in town for the boats, which was a decent walk made a bit more complicated by the bulky suits. Once there, we boarded the RIB which requires stepping over the rubber sides and then mounting a seat which is a high saddle style seat that is a little awkward to sling your leg over, but once seated is really comfortable and sturdy. The day of our tour, one of their boats was out of commission, so our group was split up into two groups of 12 and taken around the bay separately. This added some waiting time to the tour, as the one boat was continually going back and forth. The ride itself was quite fun, but not too long. We reached a picturesque fishing village where there was a restaurant. Our guide took a king crab from a tank and let us each hold it for pictures, as desired. Then, she shared information about the crabs, the crabbing industry, the local community, and the Honningsvag area. She answered all our questions, then demonstrated how the crabs are killed and cut up. After this, we were escorted into the restaurant and provided a table with water, bread, and a huge delicious tray of King Crab (it is served cold with lemon wedges, as is the traditional Norwegian way). Our group of six were not quite able to finish, as the portion was very generous. There are restrooms at the restaurant and beautiful views. We did have to wait quite a while for the boat to return for us, but we enjoyed the beautiful day and our guide spoke to us about her family's history. On the way back to town, we stopped at a crab pot, which she pulled up to show us, but there were no crabs in it yet. Once back to the harbor, we repeated the walk back to the office to return our suits and gather our belongings. Overall, we enjoyed the fun of the RIB ride, the delicious lunch, and all of the interesting information on this tour. 

[H2OH!]

On 7/20/2023 at 4:54 PM, MillbrookMom said:

Hello all,

We are doing a Norwegian Fjords cruise next summer and I have started research to figure out what we want to do on this once in a lifetime trip.  I haven't been able to find a good guidebook, so looking for suggestions on one, or suggestions for any of the ports we are going to, which are; Geiranger, Molde, Honninsvag, Tromso, Flam Alesund, Olden, Bergen. 

Thanks in advance

 

 

This is a great itinerary- which cruise line are you sailing with?