Strawberry field

Another good reason to wait is the weather. It knows how to rain in Norway!

I have my wet weather gear ready as I did last year but we were lucky with sunshine the whole week :)

No I'm not expecting that again ;)

I think we are going to wait and see what tours are available when we get there. Perhaps if there's nothing we particularly want to do then we will have a stroll around and then take advantage of a half empty ship. Doing nothing is always a welcome option for us as we are happy to watch the world go by:D

Thanks all :)

Thanks to all as it's given us something to work on what to do in Olden. I like the idea of the bus trip up to the glacier and also the village walk :)

This is only our second cruise and comes a year after our first.......in other words we are still learning :D

Apart from organised excursions in Olden Norway is there anywhere else to walk around like Bergen or Stavangar has. Would we be better off by booking excursions for this port?

Thanks for any help :)

Thanks is the visability any different earlier,misty?

I like the idea of looking around after, when it says 8.30am is that meeting at train or on ship?

Can you tell this is our first cruise!;p

We had to meet just off the ship at that time, we were then issued with numbered stickers and walked in a line to the train. I have no idea if it will be misty but it wasn't for us. You can keep an eye on the live webcam to check out the weather at that time in the lead up to your visit and you can watch everyone getting on the train here......

.......... https://www.visitflam.com/en/informasjon/webkamera/ click on picture to make bigger

We did the 9.45 but it didn't leave until 10.25 as the train developed a fault. I would do the earlier one as that would give you time to look around Flam before getting back on the ship which is what we didn't have.

Whatever you do enjoy it but be prepared for a wonderful coach journey back to the ship. It makes the tour :D

On the right facing the front of the train and if you can try to sit near to the end of the carriage as that's where the tour guide stands and gives his commentary. There is also a sort of commentary on the tv if I remember correctly. I hope you enjoy it :D

Edit when I said end of carriage I meant the front end

Thank you if you were to choose just the train ride or the Norway in a Nutshell tour would it be the later?

I knew that question would follow:D

I've been sat here wondering that myself.......This year we are not doing any tours in Flam as we want to look around the place and to walk down to the village itself. Last year we were on the train about 10am and delivered back to the ship around 4.30am so actually saw little of the place. If I HAD to choose yes I would do the Nutshell tour again in the hope that it wasn't so crowded and as the return coach trip was so fantastic with breathtaking scenery.

So in answer to your question yes the Nutshell tour. :D

Hi looking at the Norway in a nutshell tour in Flaam on our P and O cruise its 61/2 hours

Anyone done this if so what's it like?

Looking at either this or just the flam railway

Thanks

I did the Norway in a Nutshell tour last year and this is what I wrote in a review on my return. Many will not agree with me but I can only say how I saw it personally

"Norway in a nutshell excursion from Flam. I had been looking forward to this excursion and felt let down badly considering the cost. And I wasn't the only one to comment........ The train was packed like sardines, it was also late but had good reason, yes the views were spectacular but getting to see them was difficult even though we were on the right of the train. I saw most of the views on the screen of the iPad of the lady sitting next to me as she took photos! The second train was even more packed if that was possible but the lunchtime hotel was very nice and a good meal far better than I was expecting. The saving grace was the two hour return coach trip through the mountains which was one of the best coach trips I have ever done and I've been through both Switzerland and Austria on holiday. The young lady who did a running commentary certainly knew her subject and was a credit to her obviously loved country."

As for the cruise itself it was my first but I'm going again this year that's how good it is.

I hope that helps;)

Take a look on Aurora roll call thread R702 for a post about Britannia. I did the same cruise last year on Britannia and by coincidence posted it on that thread only a few days ago.

My biggest problem on the personaliser is scrolling back to year of birth......it takes ages.....and ages......

I blame my Mum and Dad :D

Sounds like you had a wonderful time last year. Norway is our favourite destination for a cruise. In Flam I am booked on the train up and cycle down excursion. My partner did not fancy the cycle so she is on train both ways. I thought she might do the Nutshell but she wanted to do the train both ways.

 

Best wishes, Stephen..

 

 

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If I remember correctly the train both ways means you stay on the same scenic train rather than changing trains. This in my opinion is the better option as the second train I went on was definitely not the scenic variety. That of course means they will miss out on the coach back down which is a shame.

If I was doing it again which I'm not I would choose one of your choices rather than the 'nutshell' tour. I must hasten to add none of the problems which occurred on my train trip were down to P&O. Thinking back most of the problems on my nutshell excursion was down to the train from Flam having a fault meaning we left Flam 40 minutes late and from then on everything seemed to be in a rush.

This time we are not doing an excursion from Flam as we want to have a look around and walk down to the village which I couldn't do last time.

You say you are new to cruising. Have you been to the fjords before. It should be a fantastic cruise. The scenery is magnificent. We have only booked one excursion. The Flam railway has been on my list for years.

 

 

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Yes I went last year and had a fantastic time. My wife wasn't interested in a cruise and I couldn't talk her into it so we agreed that I should go as it was something I always wanted to do. I came back and couldn't stop talking about it so a month after my return we booked this years. She's looking forward to it but at the same time a little nervous to be honest. Hopefully she will enjoy it and will experience what I did last year. If she does like it we will then book for our 50th in two years time 😊

I did the Flam railway 'Norway in a nutshell' excursion and to be quite honest was disappointed in the train. However the coach trip back to Flam was just fantastic and stands out as my trip highlight.

I won't say why I was disappointed in the train as we are all different and it's purely a personal view and I know most people love it so. Enough to say lunch was well organised with excellent food and as I said the coach trip alone made it so worth the cost.

Thanks Stephen :)

I was thinking the whole crew changed over at the same time but of course that wouldn't make sense due to the smooth running of the ship.

I hope you have a good cruise and thanks again :)

Hi

Still being new to cruising I have a question which has just popped into my head. The Aurora gets back from her world cruise on the morning of April 22nd and we are sailing to the Fjords the same afternoon.

As she has been on a world cruise does that mean a new crew goes on board for our cruise also is she up to her best considering she's been away for a few months?

Silly questions I know but once they pop into your head you need an answer 😊

Thanks

Stavanger is lovely and it took us four hours to slowly walk around the place. Make sure when you go to the little white houses (you can't miss them) to smooth and pat the cat and dog that sits on the benches outside awaiting the cruise ship passengers

Bergen is beautiful but when you go to the coloured shops make sure you don't just dismiss the alleyways between them as just alleyways because they are not. A whole new world awaits and it's fascinating to see what lies between and behind the shops.

You will love the cruise :)

We did the Fjords last April on Britannia and liked it so much that we are doing it again this year. On Britannia there were children but to be honest we hardly saw any as they were too busy with the children's club.

If your daughter don't do 'clubs' she will be happy just looking at the wonderful views of the Fjords and ports visited. If you do go both you and your daughter will love it I'm sure.

Thanks for the replies, so we have a bit left to wait then. We are cruising this April on the Aurora so we have that to look forward to before thinking about the anniversary cruise or party. The cost would be around the same either way so in my book a party only lasts for a few hours while a cruise lasts a couple of weeks :)

Thanks again

Hi

I know it's early but when does the 2019 brochure come out? It's our 50th wedding anniversary and deciding whether to have a big family party or a cruise. I think the cruise will win :)

Thanks for any help

I wanted to do a cruise all my life but it wasn't until I retired that I could afford it. We had our first this year on Britannia and loved every single second. Within two months I had booked our second which is next April. We will be looking at 2019 for our 50th anniversary as soon as they come out. The biggest tip I can give you is read all the reviews good and bad then forget them. If I had taken notice of the reviews then I wouldn't have set foot on Britannia and it was the best holiday ever. Yes I was concerned about the bad reviews of her but as soon as we stepped aboard those thoughts disappeared. Don't forget it's your holiday so do what you want to do, it's fine to do everything you can but it's also fine to just grab a coffee and people watch. You will love it but be prepared to be hooked like we are. Enjoy your cruise!

I believe they put the banners out when the crew are doing lifeboat training and the boats are being swung out from their permanent positions

We did Norway in April on Britannia and enjoyed it so much we have booked again for next year in April. Sorry never been in the Autumn so can't comment but the scenery in Spring is magnificent.

We did our first cruise this year and before we sailed we really didn't want to do the dressing up bit as it really wasn't us. A couple of days prior to sailing we thought oh well let's go for it and took formal wear with us mainly because we were concerned of others reactions on formal nights. In the end we went along with the formal dress and we were really glad we did as we had a fantastic time. However if we hadn't taken formal wear there wouldn't have been a problem as there were no comments to the 5% who didn't wear formal wear.

I say go with what you are comfortable with and there wouldn't be a problem but and I never thought I would say this, you will enjoy the formal evenings if you do dress up.

Edit....should have said on one formal evening we ate in the buffet in our formal wear because we were doing other things and our dining time in the MDR got in our way. There were many others in the buffet doing what we were doing in their black ties.

We did the Fjords last April on Britannia and took wet weather clothes, jumpers and brollys........the weather was gorgeous and on the Flam railway trip coming back down on the coach we were in shirtsleeves when we stopped in the mountains. We were prepared for the worse and ended up with the best.

We are now booked in for a return cruise next April on Aurora and will be taking the correct clothes again but will be prepared for anything the weather throws at us. Hopefully Aurora will be as good as the Britannia which was superb.

If you are sailing from a British port (assuming you are from the UK), it's just as easy to bring a wheelie carry on bag with a couple of multi-packs of bottled water. It's what my wife and I always do and much cheaper than buying water onboard.

Yes I live in Southampton but with suit, dress shirt, carry on and juggling with tickets passport etc I think I will give that a miss. Of course my wife could carry it on though after all it's her water :D

Thanks to everyone for your replies :)