Thoughts on these 2 fjord cruise itineraries?

[bighedz]

These are nearly identical itineraries.  Thoughts on the differences?

 

Geiranger

Molde

Honningsvag

Tromso

Flam

Alesund

Olden

Bergen

 

vs

 

Haugesund

Flam

Hellesylt (1 hour stop called a service call.  Assuming this port is just for scenery from the ship)

Geiranger

Honningsvag

Trondheim

Alesund

Olden

Bruge (have already visited here)

 

[hallasm]

Yes, very identical itineraries - two very good itineraries - since Arctic Circle cruising included time will also be important (midnight sun).

 

Deep fjords are (prioritized order): Geiranger, Flåm and Olden

Hellesylt is only a technical stop for start of excursions ending in Geiranger. No additional scenic cruising.

 

Interesting coastal cities (prioritized order): Ålesund, Trondheim and Tromsø

Honningsvåg is the port for North Cape - assuming cruise in June/July for midnight sun

Les interesting ports: Haugesund and Molde.

 

in general I do not understand why Bruges is included in a Norwegian fjord cruise - hence I would chose option 1 - but will depend on time.

 

Note: Cruising to Flåm and Geiranger will be very limited from 2026 due to regulations on emission in the UNESCO heritage fjords.

 

Edited November 22, 2023 by hallasm

[bighedz]

Thank you for the expert input.  Both of these are June and July timeframe.  I'm leaning towards the first one.  

[hallasm]

I would definitely prefer June - more water in the rivers and snow in the mountains. This video is June 10.

 

 

[maureenk]

Hello, which cruise lines offer these itineraries?  I'm especially interested in the first.

[kitkat343]

On 11/21/2023 at 6:01 PM, bighedz said:

These are nearly identical itineraries.  Thoughts on the differences?

 

Geiranger

Molde

Honningsvag

Tromso

Flam

Alesund

Olden

Bergen

 

vs

 

Haugesund

Flam

Hellesylt (1 hour stop called a service call.  Assuming this port is just for scenery from the ship)

Geiranger

Honningsvag

Trondheim

Alesund

Olden

Bruge (have already visited here)

 

 

8 minutes ago, maureenk said:

Hello, which cruise lines offer these itineraries?  I'm especially interested in the first.

Hi bighedz- Maureenk has a question for you.

 

Maureenk, the first itinerary looks great!

[clo]

We LOVE Hurtigruten. First we did an Antarctica cruise with them and loved it so much we did a Norwegian coastal cruise (round trip). Check them out.

[kaisatsu]

It's worth noting that on the traditional Hurtigruten coastal route only sails into the iconic western fjords in the high seasons: Geiranger during summer (Jun-Aug) and Hjørundfjorden in spring and fall. The rest of the time is spent in the coastal waterways, which are lovely sailing, but not as fjord-intensive as some traditional cruise itineraries.