Norway Excursions

Need/request advice on Norway Excursions for seniors. Also, need advice on RCI new specialty restaurant, Giovanni's. Cruise month is August, 2015, out of Copenhagen. Thanks

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Here is the Northern Europe ports of call forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

It would be easier to answer your questions if you post the ship name and itinerary.

Need/request advice on Norway Excursions for seniors. Also, need advice on RCI new specialty restaurant, Giovanni's. Cruise month is August, 2015, out of Copenhagen. Thanks

Name of your ship would be a great help please

Serenade of the Seas either August 8 or 22.

Stavanger, Bergen, Alesund, Geiranger, August 22 also include Kristiansand,

Bergen and Alesund both have hop-on-hop-off bus's that would be an easy tour option (and inexpensive also) that is what we plan to use in July. there are some execellent threads on the Port of Call board for Northern Europe for these ports also. We ate 2x in Giovanni's on the Oasis and had very good meals and service, we plan to visit again on the Brilliance and look forward to another good meal.

Serenade of the Seas either August 8 or 22.

Stavanger, Bergen, Alesund, Geiranger, August 22 also include Kristiansand,

Two weeks ago we were on the Celebrity Eclipse in Norway. The HoHo busses are an excellent suggestion. As I'm not sure of your fitness level, interests etc. I've listed what we did which was a mix of DIY and ship tours as well as a few other options I am aware of. For reference, we are in our late 50's and of average fitness.

Bergen (DIY)

Funicular to Mt. Floyen

Fish Market

Walk through Bryggen

We had torrential rain, but we still enjoyed our visit; many folks took the HoHo bus and stayed much drier than we did :)

Alesund (Ship tour + DIY)

Giske Island (Giske Church)

Godoy Island (Alnes Lighthouse)

Atlantic Sea Park

Then walked along the canal in Alesund and had lunch

Didn't care for the Sea Park - just okay

Loved the Giske church and Alnes Lighthouse

The ships dock in the center of Alesund, which is an easily walkable and beautiful town with pretty views, restaurants and shops.

Geiranger (Ship tour + DIY)

This is a very small village and easily walkable.

Sky to Fjord bike tour (on Eagle Bend Road; all downhill and lots of fun, but beware that you are riding on a road with tourist busses and car traffic)

Waterfall walk to Fjord Center (very pretty, waterfall was gushing, 200+ steps to the top); we then walked down the road; you could reverse this and walk up the road and down the steps.

Stopped at Brasserie Poston in the center of the village for waffles - yummy

There is a bus (public and ship tours) up to Mt. Dalsnibba which is said to have beautiful views; The road to Mt. Dalsnibba was closed due to snow during our visit, however, the bus was able to take us part way up the road a lovely viewpoint.

The highlight of Geiranger is the sail in / sail away through the fjord.

Stavanger: (DIY)

Lysefjord cruise (recommend booking at http://www.rodne.no/en/). Your cruiseline may also offer this if you feel more comfortable with a cruise ship tour).

Walked along the harbor front and had lunch outside;

beautiful weather of 60's and sunny. We were there on a National Holiday (May 14) so most of the town was closed.

Whatever you do - have fun.

Feel free to ask questions.

Anne

Thank you Anne for so much information on these ports sounds like you had a great visit.

Ship's excursions are usually the same price for OAPs as for working-age people, but Norway usually has discounts in museums etc. for over-67s. Nationality isn't relevant.

Need/request advice on Norway Excursions for seniors. Also, need advice on RCI new specialty restaurant, Giovanni's. Cruise month is August, 2015, out of Copenhagen. Thanks

hallasm: Serenade of the Seas either August 8 or 22. Stavanger' date=' [b']Bergen, Alesund, Geiranger[/b], August 22 also include Kristiansand,

Appreciate the excellent suggestions from Harley 57. For our original poster from Tenn., we can share more specifics if we know added details about your personal interests, past travel experiences and loves from visiting in Europe, how much you are seeking for nature and wildlife, etc. Tell us more!!

Based on our experiences from 2010 as detailed on my live/blog below in Bergen, Alesund and Geiranger, in most cases there are not excursions just for seniors. You need to pick what fits your interests and needs. Plus, considering costs, activity levels, etc.

Glad to know you are cruising out of Copenhagen. That is a super great city!! Have you been there before and/or will you have added time there prior to your cruise to enjoy the charm and character of Copenhagen?

Below are three examples of the "eye candy" from Bergen. Great and wonderful city with so much history and great architecture there. How much for your shopping interests? Bergen is one of the better towns for this interest.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 178,207 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

This picture shows the Bergen Floibanen funicular railway coming up the steep hill with the harbor, fish market, etc. in the background. On the top, somewhat right, the Silver Cloud and Costa ships can be seen in the harbor, plus nearby scenic areas, etc.

Here’s a close look at these historic Bergen Hanseatic merchant warehouse building fronts, people taking pictures, etc. :

Right near the Hanseatic merchant warehouse area is the Bergen Fish Market with lots of options to buy food to eat on site or just watch, enjoying the “show” as people ask questions and buy the various fresh fish items.:

Two weeks ago we were on the Celebrity Eclipse in Norway. The HoHo busses are an excellent suggestion. As I'm not sure of your fitness level, interests etc. I've listed what we did which was a mix of DIY and ship tours as well as a few other options I am aware of. For reference, we are in our late 50's and of average fitness.

 

Bergen (DIY)

Funicular to Mt. Floyen

Fish Market

Walk through Bryggen

We had torrential rain, but we still enjoyed our visit; many folks took the HoHo bus and stayed much drier than we did :)

 

Alesund (Ship tour + DIY)

Giske Island (Giske Church)

Godoy Island (Alnes Lighthouse)

Atlantic Sea Park

Then walked along the canal in Alesund and had lunch

Didn't care for the Sea Park - just okay

Loved the Giske church and Alnes Lighthouse

The ships dock in the center of Alesund, which is an easily walkable and beautiful town with pretty views, restaurants and shops.

 

Geiranger (Ship tour + DIY)

This is a very small village and easily walkable.

Sky to Fjord bike tour (on Eagle Bend Road; all downhill and lots of fun, but beware that you are riding on a road with tourist busses and car traffic)

Waterfall walk to Fjord Center (very pretty, waterfall was gushing, 200+ steps to the top); we then walked down the road; you could reverse this and walk up the road and down the steps.

Stopped at Brasserie Poston in the center of the village for waffles - yummy

There is a bus (public and ship tours) up to Mt. Dalsnibba which is said to have beautiful views; The road to Mt. Dalsnibba was closed due to snow during our visit, however, the bus was able to take us part way up the road a lovely viewpoint.

The highlight of Geiranger is the sail in / sail away through the fjord.

 

Stavanger: (DIY)

Lysefjord cruise (recommend booking at http://www.rodne.no/en/). Your cruiseline may also offer this if you feel more comfortable with a cruise ship tour).

Walked along the harbor front and had lunch outside;

beautiful weather of 60's and sunny. We were there on a National Holiday (May 14) so most of the town was closed.

 

Whatever you do - have fun.

Feel free to ask questions.

Anne

Hi Anne,

I found your information quite helpful and thank you.

We are on Eclipse taking the very same itinerary in August. When you docked in Geiranger, did Celebrity Eclipse tender using boats or sea walk?

Thank you!

Denise

Hi Denise

The Eclipse used the sea walk which is great. There were two other ships in port that day - HAL's Rotterdam and one other if I recall correctly and they were tendering. I'm not sure how it is decided who gets to use the sea walk - if the cruise line has to pay to use it or if the Eclipse used it because they were the largest ship in port that day.

Thanks for you reply, Anne.

How did you like Eclipse and this itinerary?

Thanks for you reply, Anne.

 

How did you like Eclipse and this itinerary?

I thought the itinerary was great - a nice mix of sea days, ports and scenic cruising. Of course, a longer cruise would have been nice, but we are limited in how much time we can take off from work.

The Eclipse is in good shape after the dry dock - clean and well maintained. We cruise primarily for the itinerary. Our stewards kept us supplied with fresh towels and ice and I don't need more than that. The food was okay and somewhat repetitious, but keep in mind I only ate at the Oceanview Café and never made it to the MDR (I prefer the Oceanview for dinner as it is quieter and easier to get a seat with an ocean view). We did try Bistro on Five and thought it was quite good. We certainly did not go hungry and I probably overindulged in the desserts :).

I think most passengers had the beverage package and the bar staff seemed stressed and not particularly friendly the first day or two when the bars were really busy. We mostly used the Oceanview Bar and were happy with the service. Mother nature sent rain our way while we were in Bergen and Geiranger and we had cool weather for the entire cruise, so the Mast Bar and Sunset Bar were not usable much of the time which led to the indoor bars being more crowded. We just figured we had to be patient and we'd be served our drinks in due time and we were.

We did go to the Hot Glass show on the first sea day and really enjoyed it as it is unique and the weather was good, so we enjoyed sitting outside.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Have fun on your cruise!

Anne

Hi Denise

The Eclipse used the sea walk which is great. There were two other ships in port that day - HAL's Rotterdam and one other if I recall correctly and they were tendering. I'm not sure how it is decided who gets to use the sea walk - if the cruise line has to pay to use it or if the Eclipse used it because they were the largest ship in port that day.

The cruise lines purchase the use of the Sea Walk for the entire season.

All the Royal Caribbean family of cruise lines are using the facility.

In the link you will find all ships calling in Geiranger 2015.

The ships using the Sea Walk are marked with "SW".

Enclosed is also the cruise call list for 2016.

http://www.stranda-hamnevesen.no/cruise-calls

Thank you both so very much! I appreciate all this very good information.

Interesting that the Cruise Call information shows Eclipse to be using the sea walk for our day in Geiranger. When I called Celebrity to inquire of how we would tender - boat or sea walk - they told me by boat. One wonders if this seemingly erroneous information is given to discourage booking tours on-own in Geiranger.

Anne, how long did it take to disembark using the sea walk?

HI Denise

Using the sea walk, we were off the ship in a few minutes. It really is just like docking. FYI - the Celebrity website called for us to tender in Geiranger, but we used the sea walk.

Hi Anne,

You are awesome! Thanks so much for answering my numerous questions!

We have a ship's tour booked for Geiranger and found the very same tour offered for a fraction of what Celebrity is charging. We hoped we could get off the ship fast enough to take that excursion, saving us a very substantial amount of money. I appreciate your answering my question.