Norwegian Fjords Silver Dawn Review

[Port Power]

4 hours ago, Lois R said:

To the OP, thanks for the excellent review. I will be staying at the same hotel on my upcoming cruise (post cruise 1 night in Copenhagen). So glad to read you were happy with the property😀I think I will look at a Canal Cruise. I know the net shows many different companies. I will see if the hotel has a Concierge and speak with them about it.

Oh, I should have said I think you have a wonderful family and glad your MIL had a good trip.

Don’t go with the big/wide boats on the canal.  Crowded and horrible!  We went on black RIBs, something like “Happy Boats”.  Only 8-10 passengers.  They are in the water where the HOHO bus stops.  Very informative skipper/guide and they can go down the smaller canals.

 

if you have time, a tour of the opera house is superb.

[Lois R]

20 minutes ago, Port Power said:

Don’t go with the big/wide boats on the canal.  Crowded and horrible!  We went on black RIBs, something like “Happy Boats”.  Only 8-10 passengers.  They are in the water where the HOHO bus stops.  Very informative skipper/guide and they can go down the smaller canals.

 

if you have time, a tour of the opera house is superb.

Hi, thank you for the tip about the boats. I appreciate it. It will be my first time visiting Copenhagen.

[crusinbanjo]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hi, thank you for the tip about the boats. I appreciate it. It will be my first time visiting Copenhagen.

Lois, when will you be in Copenhagen?  Theresa and I will be on the Dawn on October 6 .

[Lois R]

11 hours ago, crusinbanjo said:

Lois, when will you be in Copenhagen?  Theresa and I will be on the Dawn on October 6 .

Hey😀......I will there on Sept 8th (a month before you). I am sailing on Sunday from Southampton and the cruise ends on Sept 8th. Hope you have a great time too.😀

[highplanesdrifters]

Lois, if you are a lover of history and museums, check out the National Museum of Denmark.  There is an excellent section that covers the stone age through modern times. Enjoy your trip.

[Lois R]

27 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Lois, if you are a lover of history and museums, check out the National Museum of Denmark.  There is an excellent section that covers the stone age through modern times. Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for the tip. I appreciate it🙂

[crusinbanjo]

On 8/23/2023 at 8:44 AM, Lois R said:

Hey😀......I will there on Sept 8th (a month before you). I am sailing on Sunday from Southampton and the cruise ends on Sept 8th. Hope you have a great time too.😀

Enjoy the trip, hope we run into you again some time.

[Lois R]

19 minutes ago, crusinbanjo said:

Enjoy the trip, hope we run into you again some time.

Thanks🙂

[Lonedaddy]

If anyone is going to Rosenborg castle you should prebook your time slot in advance as they are limited.  We spent 3 nights in Copenhagen and wish we had more time.  The train to Roskilde was easy and the domkirke   and Viking ship museum were fabulous.

 https://roskildedomkirke.dk/english/

 

https://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/

[mitz18]

Was on the Dawn in January from San Juan and actually got to go to Montserrat.  Everyone on board was great and she is now our favorite ship.  Glad you had a good time 

[gnome12]

I was on My Silversea tonight, and found that they have replaced our port stop in Trømso with a stop in Alta. Currently they are showing NO shore excursions. Should I assume that excursions will be added? Did any of this year's cruises stop (or will stop) in Alta? What were (are) the excursions? I know that it is a frequent stop on Northern Lights sailings, but I haven't seen much about it during midnight sun. Any help would be appreciated.

[Port Power]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I was on My Silversea tonight, and found that they have replaced our port stop in  with a stop in Alta. Currently they are showing NO shore excursions. Should I assume that excursions will be added? Did any of this year's cruises stop (or will stop) in Alta? What were (are) the excursions? I know that it is a frequent stop on Northern Lights sailings, but I haven't seen much about it during midnight sun. Any help would be appreciated.

Perhaps this question would be best asked in a more appropriate thread for the destination.  This thread was a review of a Norwegian Fjords cruise. Trømso is not even a port stop for this itinerary.

[gnome12]

6 minutes ago, Port Power said:

Perhaps this question would be best asked in a more appropriate thread for the destination.  This thread was a review of a Norwegian Fjords cruise. Trømso is not even a port stop for this itinerary.

Sorry, I don't know what ports were on this cruise. My cruise is a Norwegian Fjords cruise that also goes up to North Cape, so there are more northern ports included. I had hoped that this cruise did something similar, but I guess not.

[cadburysmom]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:29 PM, ladrona said:

We just got off our first SS cruise,

 

Booking

We booked through a travel agent on an AMEX Platinum - I mention this because our TA was able to get $600 OBC and the AMEX booking provided an additional $300 OBC + a bottle of 2012 Dom Perignon. I didn’t know about this offer prior to this forum so hope it may be useful to some.

 

 

 

Thank you for your wonderful review.  So glad you enjoyed SS!  

 

My question is about the AMEX Platinum card OBC benefits... to receive them, did you have to book directly with AMEX travel or did you use another TA and get the additional $300 OBC by simply paying with your AMEX Platinum card? 

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

47 minutes ago, cadburysmom said:

Thank you for your wonderful review.  So glad you enjoyed SS!  

 

My question is about the AMEX Platinum card OBC benefits... to receive them, did you have to book directly with AMEX travel or did you use another TA and get the additional $300 OBC by simply paying with your AMEX Platinum card? 

 

Thanks in advance!

Many, but not all, travel agents can get you the Amex benefits.  All of the ones I have used can do it.

[cadburysmom]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Many, but not all, travel agents can get you the Amex benefits.  All of the ones I have used can do it.

 

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Many, but not all, travel agents can get you the Amex benefits.  All of the ones I have used can do it.

Thank you...will definitely give it a try.

[Host Jazzbeau]

44 minutes ago, cadburysmom said:

Thank you...will definitely give it a try.

But do the math before concluding that the Amex benefits are worth it.  You have to pay the entire cruise booking on the Amex card.  If the cruise costs enough, a different cash-back card may pay more.  I use the Citi Costco Visa card and get 3% cash back on cruises no matter how booked.  My Amex Platinum card only pays back 1.1% [plus the $300 bonus], so my break-even point is a cruise cost of $15,789.*  Even if you value the other Amex benefits at something, it's pretty easy for a Silversea cruise to exceed the break-even point.

 

* Have you forgotten algebra since school?  Me too!  I solved this on https://www.mathway.com/Algebra using the formula 0.03x = 0.011x + 300

 

[cadburysmom]

13 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

But do the math before concluding that the Amex benefits are worth it.  You have to pay the entire cruise booking on the Amex card.  If the cruise costs enough, a different cash-back card may pay more.  I use the Citi Costco Visa card and get 3% cash back on cruises no matter how booked.  My Amex Platinum card only pays back 1.1% [plus the $300 bonus], so my break-even point is a cruise cost of $15,789.*  Even if you value the other Amex benefits at something, it's pretty easy for a Silversea cruise to exceed the break-even point.

 

* Have you forgotten algebra since school?  Me too!  I solved this on https://www.mathway.com/Algebra

 

Thanks for this. Wise words, indeed.

[Dolcevita Diva]

5 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Many, but not all, travel agents can get you the Amex benefits.  All of the ones I have used can do it.

 

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

But do the math before concluding that the Amex benefits are worth it.  

 

 

Wise advice - review the benefits and determine what will be of the greatest value to you. 

 

On my upcoming cruise to Norway, I was taken aback when my TA told me that he could not apply the AmEx benefits, although he has on prior cruises. Apparently some other OBC provided by his consortium was not stackable with AmEx (this is a first, has never happened before).   I typically only receive $150 OBC from AmEx when traveling solo, but do enjoy the bottle of DP 🙂   

 

This voyage was pretty pricey since I had to pay a 75% solo supplement and as a result the cost of travel insurance is pretty steep.  So I skipped the AmEx benefits and made final payment with my Chase Sapphire Reserve. The CSR provides 3 times points on bookings (10 times if you book through them) and a $300 annual travel credit so the monetary value was higher - and there will be plenty of champagne onboard anyway....🥂 Equally important for this voyage, their included travel insurance coverage saved me a significant sum of money.  

Edited May 27 by Dolcevita Diva

[QueSeraSera]

2 hours ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

my upcoming cruise to Norway,

Hoping you enjoy this cruise!  I loved our Norway cruise last year, knockout scenery IMO, the expedition guides were so pleasant and informative (with one so-so exception in Bergen), have regretted not spending an extra day or 2 in Copenhagen.  

[DavyWavey70]

Amex do seem to have gone a little more feral with the percentage that they are charging recently. Enjoy the benefits whilst you can before nobody accepts them anymore. 

[vistaman]

Good to hear  - and pleasant for the guests -  Bruno is back as CD !

[Dolcevita Diva]

15 hours ago, QueSeraSera said:

Hoping you enjoy this cruise!  I loved our Norway cruise last year, knockout scenery IMO, the expedition guides were so pleasant and informative (with one so-so exception in Bergen), have regretted not spending an extra day or 2 in Copenhagen.  

Thanks @QueSeraSera. So looking forward to this itinerary!  Glad that I was able to book this before the upcoming Norway emissions standards will curtail access to several fjords by cruise ships. 

What were your favorite excursions?

[QueSeraSera]

7 hours ago, Dolcevita Diva said:

What were your favorite excursions?

For scenery the Flam railway was great.  Geirangerfjord also incredibly beautiful (There are many fantastic views from the ship itself too)

 

For meeting Norwegians: Can't remember the town, it was just a walk around a smaller town 1/2 day tour with historical information.  I recommend picking one excursion like this.  I learned so much about the country and its people by just walking it with a Norwegian guide.  Love spectacularly scenic excursions, but I also loved this experience. 

 

For tasting Norwegian food including bakery treats:  Bergen

 

[Unibok]

Thank you for this delightful and helpful review! I will be doing a similar itinerary with my aging mother in late September, and you've helped build by anticipation 🙂