Bergen & Alesund

[petergoesrock]

Hi, we're sailing to these two ports (and others) in July and were hoping somebody could give me an idea of how far from dock to town it might be?

 

thanks

[Ine]

We sailed Century of Celebrity May 07.

In Bergen we docked next to city-center, walking distance to a.o. Funiculair (up the mountain with great view), and the old part of town.

http://www.floibanen.no/default.asp

 

In Alesund we also docked near city-centre. However we booked a shipstour to Geiranger -by bus and 3 ferries - a great drive and worth the money.

Alesund is very small, but an attractive city. It has a "touristtrain" circling the city in 1 hour, with view over the city.

http://www.bytoget.no/index.php?id=29&sprak=2

[ladyw]

was your ship excursion spent sitting on the bus the whole time? Was it on/off; on/off; on/off? What things were "worth it" other than the fjord itself

[Ine]

was your ship excursion spent sitting on the bus the whole time? Was it on/off; on/off; on/off? What things were "worth it" other than the fjord itself

No it was on/off with some photo-stops. Also the 3 times the bus went on the ferry, passengers got out wand walked around the ship/had a coffee etc.

The drive went through rather isolated villages, many mountains, nature etc. Geiranger is a nice village at the bottom of the fjord. Interesting "Fjord-Museum".

On the way back the ferry (and the bus) sailed through Geiranger fjord (many waterfalls from the steep mountains) for about 1 hour.

On the way back to Alesund over a different road again some foto-stops and before going back to the ship we drove around in Alesund.

We got a great impression about the country and not just the fjords this way.

It was worth the money we think.

[Ine]

Re Bergen. Our ship docked within walking distance from city-center, no need to have a shuttle.

Within minutes we were at the funiculair, that goes on and off. Great view on top over Bergen.

http://www.floibanen.com/default.asp

Also the Bryggen area and fishmarket were close.

Near fishmarkjet there is another touristictrain that circles around the city in 55 minutes, leaving each hour. Also great way to see much.

http://www.bergen-guide.com/314.htm

[drkq]

We stopped in Bergen in '06 during our cruise on the Golden Princess. We loved Bergen!!! The Golden Princess docked in a container port outside of town. We used the ships shuttle into town. We usually do ship's excursions but we had read in a guide book that in Bergen an excursion wasn't needed. We did the Floibanen Funicular early. We hiked around at the top of the mountain by ourselves and took pictures by the large troll on top. When we came down, there was a long line of tour groups from the ship. We were glad we got there early.

 

Brygen and the fish market are right next to the Funicular. After we finished this area. We flagged down a taxi by the Radisson hotel and went to the aquarium. My daughter (age 11) loves aquariums. It was wasn't a Seaworld or Coney Island Aquarium but we enjoyed it. We walked back into town and did some shopping. The main shopping area was located next to the drop off and pick up for the ship's shuttle.

[c-legs]

We sailed Century of Celebrity May 07.

In Bergen we docked next to city-center, walking distance to a.o. Funiculair (up the mountain with great view), and the old part of town.

http://www.floibanen.no/default.asp

 

In Alesund we also docked near city-centre. However we booked a shipstour to Geiranger -by bus and 3 ferries - a great drive and worth the money.

Alesund is very small, but an attractive city. It has a "touristtrain" circling the city in 1 hour, with view over the city.

http://www.bytoget.no/index.php?id=29&sprak=2

Good evening, INE

I've always marvelled at your excellent posts and how well you share your knowledge with all of us ''foreigners'' : THANK YOU.

 

We're on the 4th July CENTURY Norwegian sailing. Questions about Alesund and Bergen ''sail-ins & sails-outs''. **Bergen: do you remembered or did you notice if the ship stays in open seas till lighthouse entrence to HjeltfeFjorden then sails in sheltered waters thru the Fjord to Bergen, OR did it stay in open seas until Kalve lighthouse , and KorsFjorden, take a sharp turn starboard and sail into Bergen ??

**Alesund: open seas till Alnes lighthouse and entering Breidsundet straight into Alesund, or till Moldostranda ligthouse and entering sheltred waters there ??

 

Strange questions perhaps....but they impact the scenery one can see, either on the way in, or the way out...and we aim at missing NOTHING !! Your opinions will actually constitue our alarm clock timings for the two sail-ins..!!!

 

Your observations on the various ports postings elsewhere have hugely contributed to our planning on what to do and how, during that sailing .

Thanks a lot

Cheers

:)

[Ine]

Good evening, INE

I've always marvelled at your excellent posts and how well you share your knowledge with all of us ''foreigners'' : THANK YOU.

 

We're on the 4th July CENTURY Norwegian sailing. Questions about Alesund and Bergen ''sail-ins & sails-outs''. **Bergen: do you remembered or did you notice if the ship stays in open seas till lighthouse entrence to HjeltfeFjorden then sails in sheltered waters thru the Fjord to Bergen, OR did it stay in open seas until Kalve lighthouse , and KorsFjorden, take a sharp turn starboard and sail into Bergen ??

**Alesund: open seas till Alnes lighthouse and entering Breidsundet straight into Alesund, or till Moldostranda ligthouse and entering sheltred waters there ??

 

Strange questions perhaps....but they impact the scenery one can see, either on the way in, or the way out...and we aim at missing NOTHING !! Your opinions will actually constitue our alarm clock timings for the two sail-ins..!!!

 

Your observations on the various ports postings elsewhere have hugely contributed to our planning on what to do and how, during that sailing .

Thanks a lot

Cheers

:)

 

I really donot know. in Bergen the ship docked rather early in the morning and I havenot seen which way it came in. On the way back I remember sailing underneath a large bridge, then we went in.

In Alesund that day it was rather chilly, we stayed on deck for a while, but went back to the cabin after a long busy day. So I cannot help you with this....

[luvnorway]

I may be able to offer some information that could help you figure out the route taken by cruise ships sailing into Bergen - with a few caveats.

 

I'm answering in a hurry, not spending time to search for your itinerary and haven't got a map showing the names of the fjords around Bergen handy, so I'm operating from a road map of Norway. If you can point me to an online that labels the fjords, and tell me what ports you have before and after Bergen, I'd be able to be more specific. As it is, I'll mention towns and hopefully you can take that info and apply the description.

 

The route of the sail into/out of Bergen depends on several factors:

 

1) 1st and foremost is the size of the ship - large ships can't get under the bridge across Korsfjorden coming into Bergen from the south, so have to approach from north of Bergen coming down the fjord that starts between near the town of Tjeldsto (on an outer island). Again, I haven't taken the time to check the size of your ship, so don't know if it falls into this category. I can tell you that Sea Princess does, whereas the old Royal Princess was small enough to go under the bridge.

Lest anyone get confused by this, let me explain that all ships pass under a bridge to enter Bergen, but when you enter or exit via Korsfjorden, there are 2 bridges that you have to pass under.

 

2) the direction you're coming from - if your itinerary is northbound, and your ship is small enough, you'll approach Bergen from the south via Korsfjorden - it's about a 3hr sail from the pilot station at the entrance to the fjord to Bergen harbour. If your itinerary is southbound, you'll enter from the north as described above.