WeRockChalkKU

I’m on the Konigsdam now for a 7 day cruise. The largest package, 1,000 minutes, is $250.

Thank you.....so I guess this means they haven’t gone to the unlimited/tier level?

Question re internet: Does anyone know if Kdam has switched over to the new tiered pricing level that is unlimited amount of minutes? If so, what was the price on your cruise? We are also going on a 21 day Kdam cruise soon.

If you are sailing Hurtigruten you will In general be Sailing close to the shore. I did have reasonable cell phone coverage most of the time. Do not count on WiFi in ports. For Hurtigruten most stops are short and you will not be allowed to go ashore.

 

 

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Yes, sailing Hurtigruten is why I was asking. I wasn’t counting on Wi-Fi in ports but hoping. Previously I think it was you that told me Hurtigruten Wi-Fi costs aren’t that high. I can’t remember how much you said it was. Plus i’ll have my data plan to fall back on if needed. Thanks

Curious as to how cell phone coverage is while sailing. How far off shore do you usually sail? At times when I’ve gone on ocean cruises, i’ve been surprised with my ability to still have cell phone coverage despite not actually being in port. I realize I’ve never sailed Norway before and that coverage can vary based on lots of variables.

Additionally, will there be WiFi in ports? We are sailing Kirkenes to Bergen.

Thanks for any information.

Awesome information, thank you.

We cruised the Caribbean. We did like the aft cabin. Positives besides the view, it was easy to go to dining rooms, less foot traffic outside your door, although I think the best part for us was that it wasn't as windy as a side balcony. So we could sit and read even when not in a port. Negatives were the view in port might not be great, looking at another ship, also you have a walk to get to the entertainment and on one ship (not Koningsdam) some one was smoking on a balcony, maybe they thought no one would notice on the aft? Of course several people (including us) did notice and complained, it took a day or two to get them to stop.

Thanks! We are sailing Norway and hope the aft view will really be appreciated in the fjords. I’ve read that the room set up isn’t to some folks liking....the bed by the balcony. Was it that way for you? We’re the same deck as you were but on the other side.

We were in cabin 5198 and the balcony was approx. 6' deep and 10' wide. I do not know the size of a standard balcony on the Koningsdam.

Where did you cruise when you had that cabin? What did you think about having an aft cabin? Positives? Negatives?

In Sitka - go to the Alaska Raptor Center to see the rescued/rehabilitation of various eagles and birds. There is an admission fee or you could always become a member. We were there years ago. We walked from port (I think it might have changed locations since then), through the totem pole park and then you cross a road to get to the raptor center. They did a presentation while we were there and you can walk through the center to see the birds. Very informative. We walked back through the totem park and a gentleman was working on a new totem pole in a small open area with a roof over it. Once we got back to city center, there was a small city recreation building (or some type of building) that had a sign advertising a dance presentation of Russian folk dance and song. Small admission fee there and we enjoyed watching it. We had an amazing day in Sitka...hope you do too.

Hubby just corrected the time. He picked the car up at 9 and we met him about 9:15. And back a little before 5.

 

 

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Thanks!

One more thing, we stopped for lunch at a very pretty place, with very good food. Almost like a rest area/camp site. Very picturesque along a waterfall and river. It was called Gudbrandsjuvet. Highly recommend, but it was just along the side of the road in the countryside. We drove right past it, then saw the waterfall and turned around. Totally worth it! Got one of our best family pictures of the trip with the river in the background.

 

 

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Thank you for all the info. Just not sure if hubby would be willing to drive since it limits his chances to view. We aren’t in port as long as you were. How many hours did you spend on the road? We port 10-7.

We just did Norway 7 night on the Koningsdam and we loved our itinerary. We visited Eidfjord, Alesund, Geiranger, and Bergen. Our favorite day was during the Alesund port. We rented a car and drove to Trollstigen. Completely awesome! We really enjoyed getting out of town and into the countryside. We were in port there from 7 or 8 to 11 PM. Highly recommend this trip! Waterfalls galore and scenery like no where else I’ve been. Have fun!

 

 

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rittsail,

I would love to hear how challenging/easy it was to drive yourself to Trollstigen. Anything thing that you did or didn’t do that you would do differently if you could? Thanks for any info.

I did see the transfer on their website. For $130 dollars to get a transfer to (I believe) the dublin airport. It's an option, and I'll certainly think about it.

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Kingscourt/Dublin-Airport-DUB

Looks like bus might be $22 to $29

That is a long port day. We are a large group and so having a mini bus works for us. The prices are reasonable but was hoping to get recent feedback about the company.

Hope you have an amazing day.

http://www.geirangertaxi.no/en-GB/Default.aspx

Wondering if anyone has any experience with this company for their all day tours? We port in Alesund and they offer trips from Alesund over to Geiranger and back.

I might have missed it when I searched but didn’t much info here or on Tripadvisor when I tried.

I fed a moose a banana and then have a photo kissing it.

Do you like wildlife? I say stay in Haines and go to Kroschel Films Wildlife Center. I have no idea if HAL offers it as an excursion. It was awesome and I still have photos on my phone from our visit. It was a true highlight of our time in Alaska. If you do it yourself, I think it would involve renting a car in order to get to them. That was also an “only in Haines experience”. Maybe these days they have a regular car rental place?

http://www.kroschelfilms.com/

Years ago we docked in Skagway and had to make extra effort to get guaranteed ferry tickets over to Haines because the cruise lines had already “booked” all the ferry tickets despite the fact that I was trying to buy them the same day that the Ferry company was opening up their ticket sales for that season.

Great info. - thanks

Good morning from sunny Bergen :D

 

Having visited the ships in the Hurtigruten fleet many times, it seems that disembarkation is fast and efficient, so you should have no problems for time.

 

I'd allow 15/20 mins for an easy stroll to the bus station (unless the rain is falling, where it might be better to bite the bullet and pay for a taxi). It is on the other side of the city centre from Hurtigruteterminalen, but this is a pleasant walk around the lake in town. You'll pass by several cafes/bakeries as you go, but also there's a kiosk at the bus station selling sandwiches/hotdogs/drinks, etc.

 

I have a feeling that you can't eat on the bus (it's a few years since I took that bus myself), but the route includes stopping for a couple of ferry crossings, where you get off the bus and can eat your snacks on deck. They often have kiosks on the ferries too, but I think you're wise to pick something up ahead of time to save a couple of kroner :)

 

Have a great trip!

Thank you for your response. Surely we can figure out the route to the bus station. For sure if it’s raining we’d take a taxi but thought that walking would be helpful before our five hour bus ride. It’s great to know that we’ll be able to get out and stretch on the ferry crossings too. We had initially wanted to fly to Stavanger but the timeframe just was a bit too tight for our liking. A direct flight at 16:45 just seemed to be pushing it a bit and a later flight meant having to fly with a connection in Oslo and we’d be getting to Stavanger later than we would taking the bus.

This should be an awesome trip and we appreciate your help.

Thanks for the guesstimates....yes, there’s always crowds and other variables to take into account.

Would appreciate a guesstimate of how long we should allot to visit each of these: Vigeland Sculptures, Holmenkollen Tower, and Kontiki. We don’t need in depth visits but don’t want miss the “must see” things at each place. Thank you for any thoughts and input. We would probably have the Oslo pass so no time needs taken in to consideration to purchase tickets.

Awesome information. Thank you

Great info. Thanks

We arrive on Konigsdam August 21st for 7 hours and our Quay is listed as SAK. Where is this in reference to the REV quay that was discussed above so that I could see the same sites as a DIY?

Thought I would post this in case anyone else ever wanted to know:

There’s a shopping mall connected to the bus station and there are places to get sandwiches etc. Additionally, on the 5 hour bus ride we take 2 ferries. The ferries have a cafeteria. The bus ride apparently has some nice views.....that doesn’t surprise me. I already knew the busses have WiFi and charging capabilities. So.....looks like the bus won’t be as much of a grind as I had initially thought.

There is a SAS flight at 16:45 - price USD 125.

Should be possible to make the flight, burn the bus might be less stressful.

 

 

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That’s what we were thinking....I keep telling myself that the bus will be a away to see a lot more of Norway and at least i’ll be getting off bus closer to my hotel in Stavanger versus if I flew into Stavanger and then had to get from airport to the hotel.

Thanks again for taking the time to help with my questions.

First time in Norway and first Hurtigruten cruise.

I did check Kystbussen FAQ, - eating on the bus not mentioned.

Link to the buss https://kystbussen.no/default.aspx?lang=en

Both SAS and Norwegian does have direct flight BGO to SVG after 4 pm - price 100 USD

 

 

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Thank you for looking at those air schedules. I knew there was a SAS flight but thought trying to catch the 16:45 flight might be cutting things a bit close. The only direct Norwegian flight I find for August 1st is at 7:00. Also, the SAS flight is more than 100 USD when I look. SAS Go is 124.29 and SAS Plus Saver is 148.93. Wish I could find your 100 USD rate....gotta love those airlines pricing games.