Havila Excursions and a GPS question

[MeHeartCruising]

I'm excited.  I just booked a 12-day round trip voyage (Bergen-Kirkenes-Bergen) on Havila Pollux that will set sail on April 21, 2024.  I'm now pulling together my overall travel plan.

 

I plan on booking 4 ship excursions and then doing my own thing in other ports.  What kind of advice can you folks offer me as to WHEN to book these excursions.  Some of them are ones that I probably would rather not take if the weather is just horrible -- i.e pouring down rain.  I can deal with any cold and snow I might encounter, but if it's pouring rain, I may not find it worth it to take the excursion.

 

I know I can buy the excursions now using the Voyage Portal.  I believe I can also purchase them once onboard.  Is that true?  Do you have any sense of how often they are sold out if you wait until on the ship?  I would prefer to see how the weather looks in the next day or 2 before deciding on whether I want to spend a couple hundred dollars on an excursion.

 

A separate, unrelated question -- I am a geographer and would love to follow the ship's path on a map as we move up and down the coast through various passages.  Do they have such a map on the TVs in the cabins?  in the common areas of the ship?  Like they do on many mainstream cruise lines.  If not, I might look into bringing a GPS device.  Obviously, I can use my phone too, but I'm not sure how effective that will be if I don't have a cell signal and I don't know how much data I will want to use up.  Any thoughts?  

[grayjay]

April is rather a quiet time for a coastal voyage and I think the "Pollux"won't be sold out. Secondly, the weather in April might be anything from mild and with hints of spring but rain and snow are possible, of course, too. So I'd book on board. The only exceptions might be snow excursions if they are still possible (Husky trails and such) , but it might be too late for such, anyway.

May we ask which excursions you have considered?

About your second question: You'll find such a map on the TV in your cabin. Using a phone in Norway is easy, you'll have strong signals everywhere, even in remote areas. So you might use that, as well.

Happy sailing!

[MeHeartCruising]

4 hours ago, grayjay said:

April is rather a quiet time for a coastal voyage and I think the "Pollux"won't be sold out. Secondly, the weather in April might be anything from mild and with hints of spring but rain and snow are possible, of course, too. So I'd book on board. The only exceptions might be snow excursions if they are still possible (Husky trails and such) , but it might be too late for such, anyway.

May we ask which excursions you have considered?

About your second question: You'll find such a map on the TV in your cabin. Using a phone in Norway is easy, you'll have strong signals everywhere, even in remote areas. So you might use that, as well.

Happy sailing!

 

Thank you for the reply.  I know the weather will be very unpredictable, so it's good to hear that buying onboard is a decent strategy.

 

The excursions I plan on taking are:

Alesund - Winter Cruise to Geiranger

Tromso - The Arctic Capital (goes up the gondola to Fjellheisen)

Honningsvag - The North Cape Plateau 

Kirkenes - The Russian Border

 

That's good to hear about the TV map display and cell coverage.  I have a data plan from T-Mobile the will cover a fair bit of data while in Norway.  I'll leave my GPS at home.  I'd have to buy  Norway map coverage for it before I could use it anyway.

[Flyinby]

4 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

Thank you for the reply.  I know the weather will be very unpredictable, so it's good to hear that buying onboard is a decent strategy.

 

The excursions I plan on taking are:

Alesund - Winter Cruise to Geiranger

Tromso - The Arctic Capital (goes up the gondola to Fjellheisen)

Honningsvag - The North Cape Plateau 

Kirkenes - The Russian Border

 

That's good to hear about the TV map display and cell coverage.  I have a data plan from T-Mobile the will cover a fair bit of data while in Norway.  I'll leave my GPS at home.  I'd have to buy  Norway map coverage for it before I could use it anyway.

We did 3 of your 4 excursions in February 2023...in Tromso we did the dogsled ride instead of the gondola.  I wouldn't have cancelled any of them due to weather.

 

The Geirangerfjord trip is on a ferryboat that's warm inside, and protected from rain, with plenty of seating, guided by some knowledgeable park rangers.  It can be cold and exposed on the top deck but I spent a lot of time up there enjoying the great views. Great tour, I wouldn't miss it.

 

North Cape...I wouldn't want to miss regardless of weather.   The ride is on a comfortable bus through scenic and interesting territory, and at the cape the center is warm and comfortable, with food, drinks, souvenirs, and a short walk out to the cape itself.  Easy to walk back if you get cold or the rain or snow starts.

 

The Russian border was also one I wouldn't miss.  It's a comfortable bus ride to the caves where you enter and  residents hid during the war, and ours was guided by Ernst Sneve, who experienced it as a child.  Then a ride through scenic country to the border, and a brief stop at a small shop right there at the border, and a return to the ship.

 

I can't imagine the Tromso gondola being that much of a problem if weather isn't good.  I tend to like to book in advance, and when we went in February some were full, some had space available, and at least one was cancelled due to not enough bookings.  So that's another risk of waiting until the last minute...the tours are run by third parties and if there aren't enough bookings, they may cancel.

 

If the weather is REALLY Miserable, they may get cancelled anyway, but Norwegians mostly just flow with the weather.  I noticed when we walked around Oslo that when the icy winds, rain, snow, or whatever come up they don't miss a step.  Also, be aware that the coastal journey is near the gulf stream, so even in February, temps ranged from -10 to +10C, with the -10 only once that I remember.  Perhaps in April you'll get more rain than snow, but I don't think on the excursions you'll be exposed to it for long enough to ruin it.

 

We have T-Mobile, and had no problems with cell or data...maps were always working, and I know voice worked in Oslo and Bergen, but didn't really have any use for it when were were at sea.

[MeHeartCruising]

@Flyinby Thank you so much for your thoughts on the topic and the specifics of the excursions I've chosen.  I too am one that likes to book in advance.  I like to know that the major elements of my plan are in place before I leave home.  I think I'm going to go ahead and book the excursions.  I'll have plenty of clothing/gear to deal with the weather, so it will be fine.  On my last previous mainstream cruise in Norway, it rained quite a lot.  But I went ahead with the excursions and still had a great time.  Even if I couldn't always see the beauty around me due to clouds, fog, and rain.  It's all part of the adventure!

[oakridger]

@Flyinby I'm so glad this topic came up by @MeHeartCruising!  I'm now getting in the final 6 weeks before I leave home for my trip....making my way towards Norway via the Netherlands.  

 

I had thought about the Russian boarder trip and pretty much dismissed it thinking it was just a bus ride out to look at a fence but if the WWII caves and history are part of it then I am definitely interested in that!  I'll have a look online about that tour.  

 

I'll be on Castor on the June 7, 2024 BKB!

 

Thanks Cruise Critic Community for all the information everyone provides!

 

Have a wonderful time @MeHeartCruising!!!

 

~Nancy

[Shimrod]

On 3/19/2024 at 1:34 PM, MeHeartCruising said:

 

Thank you for the reply.  I know the weather will be very unpredictable, so it's good to hear that buying onboard is a decent strategy.

 

The excursions I plan on taking are:

Alesund - Winter Cruise to Geiranger

Tromso - The Arctic Capital (goes up the gondola to Fjellheisen)

Honningsvag - The North Cape Plateau 

Kirkenes - The Russian Border

 

That's good to hear about the TV map display and cell coverage.  I have a data plan from T-Mobile the will cover a fair bit of data while in Norway.  I'll leave my GPS at home.  I'd have to buy  Norway map coverage for it before I could use it anyway.

You could save yourself some money on the Tromso tour and do it yourself. The Havila ferry docks in the middle of Tromso and the Full Steam museum is about a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal. The polar museum is almost next door to the Full Steam museum.

 

The gondola runs every day (unless it is too windy) on half hour intervals, although if there is a queue they run continuously. You can check if it is running for the day you visit by looking on their website Tromso cable car It either gives the status (either opening times or closed status) on the home page. You can book tickets in advance on the website or on the day at the cable car station. The price is the same. If the weather is bad with low cloud/heavy rain I would probably not bother with the cable car as the main reason for going up is the view.

 

To get to the cable car is around a 20-25minute walk over the bridge if you are fit (and don't mind heights). On the other side of the bridge you may want to stop at Tromso cathedral as well to break the journey. Alternatively you can get a taxi to the cable car station, or the number 26 bus. The bus goes from near the ferry terminal.