Norway Fiords

[Jade13]

I couldn't agree with you more about Geiranger. I have sailed the fjords four times and want to do it again. The Hurtigruten round trip on the Trollfjord was fabulous but it does not go into the Geirangerfjord and for a first cruise I would really suggest that should be part of the itinerary.

The best sailing was on the old Vistafjord from Hamburg - a smaller ship but very seaworthy. We sailed all the way to the northern end of Norway and then to Spitzbergen with a stop at the ice floor which stretches all the way to the north pole. A very unique and special itinerary which is only done once in a year by about two cruise ships around the end of July.

 

Interesting as I really want to do a cruise here with Hurtigruten and thought they went where the larger ships did not? Which ships actually go into Geirangerfjord? Maybe it's offered as an excursion?

 

Btw, which cabin category were you in on the Trollfjord? The sleepinjg arrangements do not look that comfortable (are they?), but I know it's a working ship.

 

Also, What happens in August because the fares drop after July and I wondered what we would see vs not the last week of July vs the first week of August?

[scapel]

we thought that it offered a different experience then what we have already tried , have travelled a lot around europe , the med and the far east so plucked for the scenery of the norwejian fjords , but have got one eye

We did one with Celebrity that stopped at Halifax. It was the New England/Canada cruise and went to Quebec City.

[emairs]

Which ships actually go into Geirangerfjord? Maybe it's offered as an excursion?

 

Geirangerfjord is able to accommodate large cruise ships, such as the Constellation, which we sailed in 2005 - British Isles & Northern Europe cruise.

 

The ship was tendered as you can see below. This has been my desktop picture since then. The scenery was absolutely awesome.

[cruising grandma]

We cruised on Jewel of the Seas in June of 2007...British Isles/Norwegian fjords 12 nts. cruise. Some of the more scenic tours were Geiranger/Hellyselt fjords and the Flam railway. We booked these excursions from the ship. The stops also included France, Scotland, Ireland and Amsterdam, along with several in Norway. We also had one private excursion booked by someone on CC for about 25-30 people. I think the Jewel only did this itinerary once or twice yearly. It was one of the most scenic cruises we have been on. Some excursions sold out before the cruise began. Fortunately, we were placed on a waitlist, and got two seats for the Flam railway excursion. Book online early if you really want these.

[Snoopsmom]

We did this cruise summer before last - British Isles and Norwegian Fjords - 12 nights on Jewel. It was absolutely amazing, and Jewel really does live up to her name :)

Are you actually up close and personal to seeing the fjords? Or is the ship too big? Thanks

[amusea]

Interesting as I really want to do a cruise here with Hurtigruten and thought they went where the larger ships did not? Which ships actually go into Geirangerfjord? Maybe it's offered as an excursion?

 

Btw, which cabin category were you in on the Trollfjord? The sleepinjg arrangements do not look that comfortable (are they?), but I know it's a working ship.

 

Also, What happens in August because the fares drop after July and I wondered what we would see vs not the last week of July vs the first week of August?

 

 

We were on the same deck as the reception area. After looking at the deck plans I decided that I wanted to be forward of the area that houses autos and trucks which is the rear half of the bottom level. I think the room number was 450. This was an excellent choice since it was quiet and everything was easy to reach. The food was excellent, especially if you like fish, but the evening meal was decided by the ship and served to everyone. Breakfast and lunch were served buffet style.

I would suggest one of the three newer ships - Trollfjord, Midnatsol or Finnmarken. The room itself was quite small but cleverly laid out. The beds are on adjoining walls and are narrow but I had no trouble sleeping.

Since I had been to Geirangerfjord several times I was not disappointed about not stopping there. It really is an all day venture and the Hurtigruten ships are really scheduled as mail and provision carriers since roads are not common in many northern areas. The ship stops several times both day and night. These ships go to towns where large ships cannot and do not want to go. Few towns are tourist meccas and in the smaller towns there is little to do but walk around and get a feeling for the lifestyle. There was no necessity for checking in and out when leaving the ship. Just walk out and the ship has signs letting you know when the ship will leave. If you are not there it is your responsibility. Quite a change from today's massive security on larger ships. The highlight of the cruise was the entry into the Trollfjord. It is so narrow and steep that the ship barely can squeeze in and then back out again. You can actually just about touch the walls of the fjord on both sides of the ship and small streams of water are trickling down. On our cruise the captain realized that fog was just about to make the entry into the fjord impossible but the fog delayed just long enough to make this remarkable excursion.

The Trollfjord (not the ship) is part of the returning cruise going south.

We did the full eleven days round trip and it was great. Beautiful scenery but not much else to do so bring reading material, etc. I found the representatives for Norwegian Coastal Voyages in New York very helpful and would recommend that you contact them if you have questions. I don't think regular travel agents can book these cruises but I am not sure about that.

July is considered the highest season because at that time the midnight sun never fully sets and the colors of the sky are breathtaking. But we went at the beginning of August and that is almost as good. In fact some people prefer to do the cruise in winter which gives you a totally different view of the snow-covered landscape. Having said all this, Geirangerfjord would still be my first choice and thus on the cruise itinerary of a larger ship. The summer sailings of Hurtigruten seem to sell out quite far in advance so making a last minute reservation may be difficult.

[KCcruisin07]

Are there any must-do excursions or side trips that should be taken on a Norweigian Fjords cruise?

You will love the Century. She's a beautiful ship, food was great, and the crew were awesome. For shore excursions I recommend the ones at Geiranger Fjord (we docked some distance away and had an all day tour with an incredible buffet lunch at a hotel) and Nordkapp (some of our group tried to wing it and had lots of problems with transportation). In Bergen we went to the funicular first thing and came down to find people had a one hour wait, visited the fish market, and shops nearby, and I saw the Hanseatic Museum (http://www.bergen-guide.com/). In Molde we took a local bus all over town and then visited the Ramsdahl Museum, which has docents who take you through old buildings and tell you about Norwegian life back when. (There was a jazz festival going on too in July). (http://www.planetware.com/norway/molde-n-mog-molde.htm) In Tromso local buses weren't running Sunday morning, so we walked from the tram dropoff across a bridge to the Arctic Cathedral and took the lift nearby for an awesome panoramic view. (Walked pretty far) In Alta we shared cabs with other travelers and went to a museum by a lake where we took some awesome pictures and found some nice souvenirs. In Olden we didn't want to go to the glacier walk (because of packing cold weather gear) and found there wasn't much to do. You may want to go to Trip Advisor for more specific suggestions there. Have fun there!

[TourDeCruise]

Coco Creek: Which ports will you visit on your fjords cruise? We've done both the Norwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle cruises on the Celebrity Century and can share what we did on those cruises, for those ports that are the same as yours. Kathy