Mgb2hyd

Hi all!

 

I'm just doing some scouting about for our excursions and have come across the National Aquarium in Copenhagen. As our young son is all things "Blue Planet" I think this would be a fabulous place to visit for him. Has anyone else looked into going to the National Aquarium or heard if its good or not?

 

https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/cope...net-gdk1077922

We went to the aquarium and I can confirm it was brilliant. We ended up spending much longer than expected, there is lots to see including beautiful tropical tanks and a really huge tank with rays and sharks. There was lots of interaction and explanation from the staff too. I'd recommend it.

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For me it would be option 1, I would love to re-visit Leknes on the Lofoten Islands. What an amazingly beautiful place!

The landscape is very different in the fjords to the more northerly ports, so you'd get a good sense of this on either itinerary. I don't know much about Longyearbyen, but I imagine there would be good wildlife viewing opportunities here?

What a nice choice to have to make, lucky you!

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We hired a car, picked up in the town. Drove first to the Troll Wall, then doubled back and went up the Troll Road and over a mountain pass all the way to Valldal. Here we had lunch and pottered around the fjord a bit then headed back the same way. It was a very easy route and easily manageable in a day. We'd planned it on a map before leaving home, but the hire company gave us a basic map and pointed out how to get out of town onto the right road. Needless to say it was spectacular scenery all the way.

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Thank you very much. I did see this post but didn't scroll down to read all that detail you put on! Really helpful, thank you.

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We are going on this cruise in August, with ports in Bruges, Copenhagen, Helsingborg and Oslo.

Does anyone have any information or ideas about things to do in Helsingborg? We'd like to do our own thing and not ships tours.

Since the other ports are city-based, I was wondering if there are some more active things to do here - walking or cycling maybe? Or is it easy to see a bit of the countryside?

Any information of any kind appreciated, thanks in advance.

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Will I even need a balcony with a Norwegian fjords cruise? I think the weather will be chilly.

In answer to your question about the balcony, my personal opinion is that it's definitely worth it for a fjords cruise!

We had a balcony on Aloha deck, Caribbean Princess. The scenery is out of this world, and you can be sailing down a fjord for several hours in and out of port. The weather was pretty cold, so the balcony was ideal to pop out, take photos, get back in the warm. I'd have no hesitation in booking one again, despite the price difference.

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Well, I am reassured by all your responses. We've booked in a deck 9 AQ cabin!! Thank you all for your helpful comments.

Thank you all for your replies, and cabin numbers, very helpful.

I'm wondering - does the Constellation have an outdoor movie screen? Is that what some of you were referring to? I don't recall seeing mention of it.

Thanks archerniak, that's good to know. It sounds as if those cabins on deck 11 are nicely tucked away from people traffic as well.

Thanks mrsgoggins, that's really helpful information.

I really like the sound of Blu and having an additional dining option is appealing - otherwise I'd just go for a normal balcony lower down. I know it's down to personal preference.

Decisions, decisions!

Hello,

We are interested in a cruise on Constellation next May to France, Italy and Adriatic. We'd like to try an Aquaclass cabin and are looking at the ones on deck 9. However, looking at photos and the deck plan, there is quite a large overhang from the pool deck above, making the balcony look quite enclosed. We would probably want to sit out there quite a bit in the afternoons and evenings, although not bothered about having full sun, as long as it's warm.

Does anyone have any experience of these cabins? I'm wondering whether you noticed the overhang - did it affect the view or feel enclosed? And also things like noise and smells from the deck above (smoking? cooking?). Are the regular balconies lower down the same?

This will be our 3rd cruise, and 2nd with a balcony. The first was to Norway, so a warm weather cruise with the ability to actually sit out without a woolly hat on will be a novelty indeed.

Any insights to help me make a decision would be appreciated. Especially by my husband who wants me to JUST MAKE A DECISION!! [emoji3]

Hello Linda,

We did the same thing as Petra so can't help with the question about the drive. BUT by the time we got to the cable car station at around midday, the queue was massive. We waited for a while but it didn't move much and so in the end we gave up. So get there early is my advice! I thought Tromso was lovely, surrounded by snow capped mountains.

Hi there,

 

Which guide book did you find most helpful?

 

Thanks!

Hello

We used the Lonely Planet Norway guide. I think all the ports we went to were in there, and it gives pointers towards the main sights. And for the larger towns there are small maps which were much better than those provided by the ship.

Was in Norway 3 years ago so we have visited Flam, Alesund and Bergen

 

This time we also go to Trodheim, Stavanger, Honningsvag, Geiranger and Eidfjord..

We visited some of these ports last June, so I can tell you what we did.

Trondheim - we walked into town from the dock (15-20 min walk) and walked all around the town. There is lots to see - a big cathedral, the old town with old warehouses. We found a lovely coffee shop here. We walked from here up to an old hill fortress (Kristiansten Fortress I think) which was interesting, with views over the town.

Stavanger - we docked right in town, and again there is lots to see just by walking around - the old town was pretty, and there is a small lake. We went to the petroleum museum on the waterfront, and enjoyed it.

Honningsvag - we booked a bus trip to the North Cape with a local company. There is lots of info on the tourist site for the area, and we booked here too: http://www.nordkapp.no/en/. We did the 'North Cape Sightseeing' trip, which included a guided bus tour to the North Cape, entry and then on our return to the town, they took us into the old church. The guide was really informative, and the landscape very different to what we'd seen in the Fjords. Plus it was much cheaper than the ship's tour !

I bought a guide book which I used along with this forum and Google to work out the best things to see!

Hi linderbelle,

We went to Norway last June, all the way up to Honningsvag. It did get colder the further north we went, and was pretty cold in some of the more southerly ports too. Many people came totally unprepared, and all ended up wearing the same jacket bought from local shops [emoji3] We bought lots of layers - warm tops, fleece jumpers and water / wind proof jacket. Plus hats and gloves came out when on deck and in Honningsvag too! Some days we did have sunny weather, but it was never hot enough just for t-shirts. We were told in one place that it was colder than expected for the time of year...

Hope that helps!

It was our first cruise too Paula66 and wasn't quite sure what to expect. We only did the one ship's tour and organised the rest ourselves. We didn't have any problems or miss the ship!! It was a fab holiday. I did spend hours upon hours researching things though [emoji3] You will be fine and have a great time, I'm sure.

Lovelyjubbly,

We hired bikes in Flaam from Cafe Ralleren at the station in Myrdal - http://caferallaren.no/en/sykkelutleie/

We were there mid-June and just bought a one-way train ticket, picked up the bikes in Myrdal and cycled back down. It was one of our favourite days, amazing! What I will say is that there was still snow on the ground in Myrdal and we had to go down to the next station to start the ride. That might be why bikes aren't available in May.

I would e-mail Cafe Ralleren, they were really helpful and will be able to tell you whether or not it's possible.

Hi Paula66

We stopped in Olden last June, and did a ship's tour to Lovatnet Lake and Kjenndalen Glacier (it was the one and only ship's tour we did on that cruise). It was a good trip and very beautiful.

If you go into the Ports of Call boards and search for Olden there are quite a few threads with useful info. This one might be handy for you: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2164738

My other tip is to get up early and out on the balcony / deck for the sail in. The fjord and port itself is so beautiful and peaceful early in the morning, we stood there for ages and took tons of photos!