Norway fjords cruises

[indy406]

It seems certain that large cruise ship access to Norway's fjords is going to be banned beginning in 2026. I'm wondering if Celebrity's M, S and E class ships will be allowed into the fjords in 2025? I see the itineraries but can't be sure if they're going into the fjords or are going to drop anchor or dock somewhere and it will be a bus trip to an overlook. It would be nice to know before putting down a deposit.

[Lena11033]

My understanding was it was a ban on ships that were not zero-emissions. 

[canadianjovigirl]

2025 is last season they can sail unless they meet zero emissions. We booked Aug 2025 for that reason 

[cruizingOmi]

46 minutes ago, canadianjovigirl said:

2025 is last season they can sail unless they meet zero emissions. We booked Aug 2025 for that reason 

We are doing Sept. 2025

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, indy406 said:

It seems certain that large cruise ship access to Norway's fjords is going to be banned beginning in 2026. I'm wondering if Celebrity's M, S and E class ships will be allowed into the fjords in 2025? I see the itineraries but can't be sure if they're going into the fjords or are going to drop anchor or dock somewhere and it will be a bus trip to an overlook. It would be nice to know before putting down a deposit.

How important are the Fjords in your planning?

If you look closely none of the big cruise lines really do the Fjords. For example compare X's itineraries with the 12 night Classic Round-trip from Bergen on Hurtigruten (22 ports and days of scenic cruising) and you will see what I mean. No need for H's more expensive Expedition Cruise the Classic works fine.

To be clear we have done the Fjords on Royal, Celebrity and Hurtigruten - all good in their own ways but for Fjords, Scenic Cruising and a true local experience Hurtigruten is unbeatable.

 

[NMTraveller]

We are booked on a Princess cruise that does 7 Norway ports…

Edited May 27 by NMTraveller

[Shiba_Lover]

Look really closely at the X itineraries / ports when you book.  Some have better fjord stops than others.  Or, agree with The Penguins - go with Hurtigruten if you really want fjord viewing and stops.

[daybrake]

On 5/27/2024 at 3:25 PM, Shiba_Lover said:

Look really closely at the X itineraries / ports when you book.  Some have better fjord stops than others.  

 

We are doing early research for Summer 2026.  Princess already has their schedule for June 2026 available, but are almost sold out already -- at least in the suites. We are wondering if Celebrity will have any cruises to Norwegian fjords in June 2026 and if so, which ships?  On the Celebrity itineraries, which fjord stops are considered the best ones?  

[cruisestitch]

Celebrity does not begin to announce their new itineraries until November in December here. No one can tell you what they will offer in Norway until those are released.

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, daybrake said:

 

We are doing early research for Summer 2026.  Princess already has their schedule for June 2026 available, but are almost sold out already -- at least in the suites. We are wondering if Celebrity will have any cruises to Norwegian fjords in June 2026 and if so, which ships?  On the Celebrity itineraries, which fjord stops are considered the best ones?  

We booked a Princess cruise when it was first available.  I would GUESS that Celebrity's cruises would be similar to 2025.  E class and not able to sail in a two or three of the fjords.  For myself I am not a fan of E class due to the IVs and lack of forward looking views.  But if you are in a suite you get both.

 

Maybe Celebrity will get close to the fjords and have an excursion that gets you in.

Edited August 10 by NMTraveller

[cruisestitch]

Maybe it will be like 2024 with an S class ship.  Watch this space starting in November.

[daybrake]

Thanks for your response @cruisestitch and @NMTraveller.    I have been looking at Celebrity's 2025 June/July cruise schedule to get an idea of what they "might" look like in summer 2026.  The suggestion of an excursion to a fjord is a good one.  My question was more along the lines of looking for what fjords are the best ones to see on a cruise.  For example, I read somewhere that Geiranger is a good one -- any others?

[Joanne G.]

2 hours ago, daybrake said:

. . . .  I read somewhere that Geiranger is a good one -- any others?

Flam is a great port, due to the very scenic Flam train ride that you can take from there, plus it is deep into a fjord, making for a beautiful scenery as you sail in (get up early!) and sail out.  But I believe it is one to which access may be restricted in the future.   I have also been to Olden and found the sail into and out of the fjord to be breathtaking.  The friend I was traveling with has some mobility issues, so we took an easy bus tour in Olden, but other more active excursions and activities are available.  

 

There is a lot of information on Norway the Ports of Call/Northern Europe board, including a sticky post at the top specifically about Norway fjords.   Some ports are coastal cities (Bergen and Stavanger, for example) and not actually in fjords - not that they don't also have something to offer.  I also suggest just looking at a map to see if a port is in a fjord or on the coast.  

 

A friend and I were on a Royal Caribbean cruise in June to Flam, Olden, Stavanger, and Zeebrugge in Belgium, which turns up a lot of fjord itineraries.  I thought Zeebrugge would offer some variety, which it did, but I loved Norway so much that I would have traded it for another Norwegian port in a heartbeat!

[Shiba_Lover]

On 8/10/2024 at 10:44 AM, daybrake said:

 

We are doing early research for Summer 2026.  Princess already has their schedule for June 2026 available, but are almost sold out already -- at least in the suites. We are wondering if Celebrity will have any cruises to Norwegian fjords in June 2026 and if so, which ships?  On the Celebrity itineraries, which fjord stops are considered the best ones?  

I think the most "scenic" that we had on our cruise were Flam and Geiranger.  We did not have Alesund, but I have heard that is beautiful too.  Pretty much all the stops were fantastic.  Tromso was nice.  It was very scenic everywhere we went.  But the "wow - fjord" sail ins were Flam and Geiranger.

[NMTraveller]

On 8/10/2024 at 12:11 PM, cruisestitch said:

Maybe it will be like 2024 with an S class ship.  Watch this space starting in November.

Maybe.  But Celebrity and Princess seem to be putting their newer ships on the more exciting itineraries.

 

I will be on a newer Princess ship,  probably not my favorite,  but at least I get a real balcony 😉

Edited August 11 by NMTraveller

[the penguins]

10 hours ago, daybrake said:

Thanks for your response @cruisestitch and @NMTraveller.    I have been looking at Celebrity's 2025 June/July cruise schedule to get an idea of what they "might" look like in summer 2026.  The suggestion of an excursion to a fjord is a good one.  My question was more along the lines of looking for what fjords are the best ones to see on a cruise.  For example, I read somewhere that Geiranger is a good one -- any others?

Most of X's cruises include very little actual scenic cruising. If you look at the schedules you will see that as you are docked most of the day meaning that any "scenic cruising" will be early morning before docking and when you sail which for many will be when they are getting ready for/eating dinner.

If you go onto the Hurtigruten site and download the route map and description of it's classic 12 night roundtrip cruise you will get a very good idea of all the fjords that are available.

 

[daybrake]

Thanks everyone for your good suggestions and insights.  Perhaps Xcel will be replacing Apex in Norway (biofuels?)  -- but I think Xcel is a bigger ship?  If so, not sure where it can go in the fjords or only maybe it will only stop in coastal ports.

[Ken the cruiser]

On 5/26/2024 at 4:40 PM, indy406 said:

It seems certain that large cruise ship access to Norway's fjords is going to be banned beginning in 2026. I'm wondering if Celebrity's M, S and E class ships will be allowed into the fjords in 2025? I see the itineraries but can't be sure if they're going into the fjords or are going to drop anchor or dock somewhere and it will be a bus trip to an overlook. It would be nice to know before putting down a deposit.

If you're able to book a Norway cruise with one of the ports being Olden, make sure you book an excursion back to the Briksdal Glacier, preferably one that includes going part of the way on a Troll Car. 😀

 

 

[REEtired]

Absolutely totally agree. We went last year and nothing like the troll cars!!!