kaisatsu

This. It is a new restriction that only just started in the most recent seasons. The regulations change all the time, and I have often run into outdated information online. For example, they stopped digging thermal bathing pools on a Deception Island around 15 years ago, but you’ll still see photos and mentions in content created by people who’ve never been (or haven’t been recently). I haven’t been down since 2020, but I don’t think this is the case even now. The potential side effects of aerosol treatments seem like they could be very problematic, especially with such frequent use. What has happened in the past is that all material that will go ashore at any point is inspected and carefully vacuumed to remove any seeds or other organic material that may be trapped in seams and fastenings. Before each landing, visitors step into a tub of disinfectant to treat their boots. Upon returning to the ship, all mud and guano is rinsed and scrubbed off and the boots are disinfected once more. The restriction on sitting and setting things down precludes the need to find a way to safely disinfect everything, since only your boots will be in direct contact with the ecosystem. I have definitely experience some moments of quiet contemplation on the White Continent, and have even lay down in the snow at one point in the first trip to experience the environment through sound alone, so I had a bit of a negative reaction to this rule originally (also because I have low blood pressure and can get dizzy from standing too long). However, I’ve been down enough times over the years to see huge changes in the environment and understand firsthand the need to protect it. So my future quiet moments will be experienced standing.

I considered it when we were in port on the QE2, but the timing didn’t work. My partner lives in Stavanger for a while, and he went once for a work event. His comment is “If you’re the kind of person who thinks it sounds interesting, you’ll probably enjoy it. And the boat trip is nice.” I have zero idea about their cancellation policy though.

Layers. Your cold weather clothes are just a combination of your warm weather clothes and your cooler weather clothes. e.g. a short-sleeved wicking tee shirt under a fleece jacket or sweatshirt with a GoreTex rain jacket on top. Mix and match based on temperature, wind, and precipitation. (As for formal wear, women definitely have this one easier. I have a floor-length moisture wicking black dress that I could wear to a hot day on the beach, wear warm tights underneath and throw on a coat and pashmina scarf, or flatten out the pashmina and use it as a wrap to wear the free for a formal dinner. I have no idea what the men do.)

A cruise ship isn’t really the best option for chasing the aurora. You need clear skies, and land-based chasers around places like Tromsø know the microclimates and have much better chances of finding clear skies even on somewhat overcast nights. Cruise ships are fairly fixed in their sailing routes due to maritime traffic coordination. If you do see them, they are most likely to be with overhead or towards the horizon if you’re outside the Aurora band. A balcony sighting would require luck that they are at the right location and angle. As mentioned, an upper deck with clear sight lines will be the best option. Also, the slight vibrations of the ship even on calm seas can make it difficult to take the long exposure tripod photos that best showcase them, so don’t count on getting amazing photos. Edited to add: If your goal is just to see the northern lights, I’d recommend a land trip to spend some days in Tromsø and book a few chasing tours with the local experts.

I agree with hallasm. If you want to experience the midnight sun, choose the 12-day. If you’re more interested in the ports, choose the 14-day. But they are both excellent itineraries and I’d be very happy with either one. If it was me, I’d probably choose the 12-day. Olden and Trondheim are great, but Brugge is lovely, Ålesund is cute, and if you’re lucky with clear skies, watching the midnight sun at sea, dipping to the horizon and then rising again without disappearing, is a pretty special experience.

The sightseeing boat is rarely late. It travels a largely untrafficked route that it follows multiples times every day. I wouldn’t worry about missing the bus unless you plan to wander around Gudvangen and end up getting distracted. I’ve done the roundtrip route from Bergen, where the bus ride is from Voss to Gudvangen, and it’s much more common for the train to be late. The bus typically waits for the train, and if it’s too late or there are more people than fit on the bus, they run extra buses. It’s all a very well-oiled operation after many years of shuttling independent visitors around the area.

What is your reason for considering Sep/Oct? With shorter days and colder weather that’s less conducive to being out on deck, I am missing the appeal. If you pack plenty of warm waterproof layers and don’t mind the cooler temperatures, then it could be an option, but be aware that a lot of tour operators and other services in the western fjords are seasonal. Especially in smaller ports, they typically end their season in August. Traveling out of season, you may be more limited to ship excursions and self exploring.

This is spot on. The Vy tickets are only available 90 days in advance, so set a reminder and check again at/around the 90-day mark. Note that some people have reported issues buying tickets on vy.no with a foreign bank card, and paying via PayPal is the typical alternative.

You'll definitely want an excursion, independent tour, or rental car in Leknes. The port is quite a ways from the town itself, so there's very little option to just disembark and wander around. The beauty of Lofoten is in the scenery, so being able to get farther afield is well worth it. Reine and Nusfjord are two beautiful locations that often appear on a Leknes excursion itinerary. In Honningsvåg, if you're keen to visit the north cape monument and visitors center, you'll need to book transportation to get there. Ålesund is a pleasant little city to wander around and is known for its art deco architecture, which is a bit uncommon for the Norwegian coast. If you're up for a bit of walking, Trondheim can also be done independently on foot if you want to visit the Nidaros cathedral and Gamle Bybro. I love Tromsø and always explore on my own. I love wandering around town and have enjoyed the Polar Museum and Polaria aquarium. It's a bit of a trek if you want to take the cable car on the other side of the water, but you can also check the local buses. We took the cable car and then hiked a bit farther uphill for some higher views. I've also done the Mack brewery tour, though I'm not sure what it's like now that the main facility has moved out of town. Their brewpub is still great to visit with lots of small batch creations on tap. The Arctic Cathedral is architecturally interesting, but having been inside, I'm not sure it added much. I'd be happy to skip the admission fee and just view the exterior.

One of my cruises on the coast had a day that was almost 30°C and a day with a high of 5°C. This is why the advice is to always pack layers. The temperatures vary significantly according to weather, and while we do have some very warm days, there is no warm season. (Yet. Climate change has started seeing some new trends with longer continuous stretches of warm weather in recent years.) There is definitely an advantage to having a balcony, and if you are the type to always book one elsewhere, then you will definitely want one in Norway. If you’re on the fence because of the price and don’t mind planning to be up on deck for the scenery, then it’s not a must have. And if you’re doing cost analysis and debating between a balcony and a more desirable itinerary, choose the better itinerary.

Sorry about that! I didn't realize that I'd copied an old link! 🤦‍♀️ I took a look at the website, and it looks like it still has the problem that the dates and times get converted to your local time zone instead of showing the actual port times. They told me they'd fixed that, but I think they just made the problem worse (i.e. now it changes the times, not just the dates). However, poking around a bit, it seems you can actually access the full port schedule from https://api.flamport.no/Open/ Unfortunately they show all the ships as tendering, so I guess that data is still missing.

It’s on the port schedule (but is subject to change): https://www.flamport.no/ship-arrivals2021 “Kai” = docked ”Anker” = tender

@Karen Lynn If I read correctly, this excursion is only the Nærøyfjord cruise and then a bus up to Stalheim and back to Flåm? If you’re doing a small boat cruise in Lysefjord as well, I would lean towards the Flåmsbana for the variety. The train isn’t bad at all. It just doesn’t offer the kind of beautiful views and fjord scenery that some people expect.

Do you have any other ports where you will be visiting a scenic fjord overlook? If so, I think I would also choose the cruise, because Nærøyfjord is noticeably narrower than the other fjords you will sail, and it’s quite dramatic how steep the sides are. However, if you aren’t visiting an overlook anywhere else, I think it’s worth getting the view from above at least once. These are the perspective you usually see in photos, and it’s a very different view from what you see closer to water level.

I’m aware that the US is behind Europe, which is why I mentioned the old magnetic strip cards. I was in the US last week and was pleased to see that they have mostly moved over to contactless and chip, but I have still seen US people with mag-strip cards, so I thought it would be worth mentioning that they might not work everywhere here in Norway. I don’t know if the OP is beginning their cruise in Copenhagen, since they only mention the fjords, but my information still holds true for Norway. A one-time vendor here in Norway is very unlikely to purchase a card machine. The street vendors you describe in Copenhagen sound more like the people who do so on a more periodic basis. Of course Norway has plenty of farm stalls, knitters, and other micro-scale independent street vendors, and those will all accept card. However, a teenager selling cookies to fund their school’s music corps may not have ordered a card terminal in advance, and often choose instead to rely on the Vipps payment app. Similarly, a food vendor at a local event may just choose to use Vipps for the convenience, since they don’t have to handle the card terminal and then rewash their hands. (PS - If it wasn’t clear from my original post, I live in Norway.)