Bergen Disembarkation and Norway in a Nutshell

Greetings,

We're going to be on the 2019 Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Cities cruise. The cruise will terminate in Bergen Norway. Does anyone know the earliest we will be able to disembark?

We'd like to see if we can catch the train that leaves for the Norway in a Nutshell itinerary at 8:40AM.

Ideally I'd like to get off the ship very early, drop our bags at a local hotel in Bergen, and get to the train station without a lot of stress. I don't like to rush, and I'd like to be relaxed so we can enjoy the trip.

Does anyone have experience in trying to make an 8:40 train once the ship is docked in Bergen? Is this feasible, or am I overly optimistic and should I plan on spending an extra day in Bergen to not be rushed?

Thanks for any and all input.

Keith

We are in Bergen right now, disembarking tomorrow. We are on Homelands, but for our cruise, according to the Viking Daily we received tonight, the earliest departure, undoubtedly to the ariport, Is 3:30 am. So I think any time is pretty much do-able. One must vacate the room by 8 and the ship by 9:45. Hope this helps, but maybe double check with Viking nearer your travel dates.

@CoolCruiser- Thank you for responding so promptly! Sounds like we may be able to disembark and go catch the 8:40 train....Good idea on checking with Viking at a later time as well. I hope you had a great trip and I wish you a safe voyage home. Thanks again.

Greetings,

 

We're going to be on the 2019 Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Cities cruise. The cruise will terminate in Bergen Norway. Does anyone know the earliest we will be able to disembark?

 

We'd like to see if we can catch the train that leaves for the Norway in a Nutshell itinerary at 8:40AM.

 

Ideally I'd like to get off the ship very early, drop our bags at a local hotel in Bergen, and get to the train station without a lot of stress. I don't like to rush, and I'd like to be relaxed so we can enjoy the trip.

 

Does anyone have experience in trying to make an 8:40 train once the ship is docked in Bergen? Is this feasible, or am I overly optimistic and should I plan on spending an extra day in Bergen to not be rushed?

 

Thanks for any and all input.

 

Keith

I am also looking for answers to this so thank you for posting. I have booked a hotel (Radisson Blu) and hoping to leave my luggage very early prior to room being available and take the Norway in a Nutshell tour. We are then taking the Bergen to Oslo train the next morning.

we're doing similar … some comments, btw we've been to Bergen and Oslo b4 ….

1. First question …. does your itinerary have you arrive in Bergen, stay overnight, and depart the ship the next morning? If so you can do what you plan without a problem alto I'd use the Bergen day for a little recon ….

2. Don't discount Bergen as a nice place to visit … we will stay another night after leaving the ship and begin 'Norway in a Nutshell' the morning after that …. but with the ship arriving the day b4 (ours does) you DO have one day to explore. And on 'depart' morning folks will be leaving EARLY, so you CAN make your plan. Note: my 'Nutshell" tour Ressie says I need to pickup tickets along the way. Recommend you do this the day b4 and learn the way around the train station. We're using the extra day to explore more AND to pickup our Nutshell tickets the day b4 ….

3. Sounds like you plan to do Nutshell as a Bergen to Flam back to Bergen … spend a nite …. then train Bergen to Oslo. We're doing Nutshell as Bergen to Flam … overnight in Flam …. then train Flam to Oslo. Why back track? Yes you'll get more train but will cover some part twice ….. On our schedule we depart Flam by train (up) at 12:20 and arrive Oslo 19:05 …. over 6 hours is enuf train fun for one day for us!

Just mentioning in case you did not know this was an option ….. the train ride tween Bergen and Oslo is very pretty but IMO long enuf that breaking it up ain't a loss! Looking forward to a very quiet night in Flam! We did train straight from Oslo to Bergen last trip (then flew to Copen' after a few days) ….. I look forward to seeing more of the waterside scenery this time.

We leave in just a few weeks.

thank you Capt BJ.

Yes, I thought the day we have in Bergen on ship, we would explore and get our Nutshell tickets that day, also. Leave ship early next a.m. and drop off luggage and do the Nutshell tour Bergen to Bergen.

I don't want to haul my luggage on train to Flam, therefore, will just relax on long trip to Oslo. We have been to Oslo twice so will spend night in airport hotel and fly home next morning. We are excited! Thanks again!

are you aware there is a company that will take your bags Bergen to your Oslo hotel …. so you only need carry your overnight necessity

are you aware there is a company that will take your bags Bergen to your Oslo hotel …. so you only need carry your overnight necessity

I do remember reading about this and forgot :) Thanks for the info. I already have booked my train tickets from Bergen in order to get the better Comfort seats.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2642434

The Capt. is the best. This is a great thread with lots of info for all of us. Greatly appreciated.

I do remember reading about this and forgot :) Thanks for the info. I already have booked my train tickets from Bergen in order to get the better Comfort seats.

@portofinoitaly - Do you happen to have a link to where it defines "better comfort seats?"

Thanks!

we're doing similar … some comments, btw we've been to Bergen and Oslo b4 ….

 

Thanks Capt_BJ...appreciate the insight!

 

1. First question …. does your itinerary have you arrive in Bergen, stay overnight, and depart the ship the next morning? If so you can do what you plan without a problem alto I'd use the Bergen day for a little recon ….

 

Right now all we have is the last day of our cruise for next year and the location of Bergen. We're going to be making our flights within the next couple of days and we're trying our flight home and how much extra time to allot for the Norway in a Nutshell trip. Optimally I'd like to get off the ship, stow the bags in Bergen hotel, do the tour in a day, and then catch a flight the following day. Sounds like that may be feasible?

2. Don't discount Bergen as a nice place to visit … we will stay another night after leaving the ship and begin 'Norway in a Nutshell' the morning after that …. but with the ship arriving the day b4 (ours does) you DO have one day to explore. And on 'depart' morning folks will be leaving EARLY, so you CAN make your plan. Note: my 'Nutshell" tour Ressie says I need to pickup tickets along the way. Recommend you do this the day b4 and learn the way around the train station. We're using the extra day to explore more AND to pickup our Nutshell tickets the day b4 ….

 

Definitely not discounting Bergen and we may opt for another day to stay locally, but I'm trying to limit the number of days I'm away from the office at this time.

3. Sounds like you plan to do Nutshell as a Bergen to Flam back to Bergen … spend a nite …. then train Bergen to Oslo. We're doing Nutshell as Bergen to Flam … overnight in Flam …. then train Flam to Oslo. Why back track? Yes you'll get more train but will cover some part twice ….. On our schedule we depart Flam by train (up) at 12:20 and arrive Oslo 19:05 …. over 6 hours is enuf train fun for one day for us!

 

See above...was thinking of cramming everything into one day...it's gonna be a long day I know, but it shouldn't be any more difficult than the day trip to Berlin (he said hopefully!) :-)

Thanks for any and all suggestions. This forum is a great place to share knowledge and I thank you all.

@portofinoitaly - Do you happen to have a link to where it defines "better comfort seats?"

 

Thanks!

I booked them early and used Rail.Ninja and it was easy to follow instructions for Comfort Seats. Probably a bit pricier (2 for $301 total) but worth it to make sure we had better seats.

I booked them early and used Rail.Ninja and it was easy to follow instructions for Comfort Seats. Probably a bit pricier (2 for $301 total) but worth it to make sure we had better seats.

Thanks!!!!!

with regard to the 'comfort seats'

on our first trip on this train we were a group of three so booked comfort/reserved mostly to avoid any potential problem of not finding 3 seats together. On boarding the train discovered they had a car substitution and our ticketed/assigned seat no longer existed BUT the conductor quickly resolved the issue by finding us 3 seats together ….. on this trip we'd booked our own train Oslo to Bergen

Part two - when I (recently) booked 'Norway in a Nutshell' I inquired about 'reserved/upgraded' seats. Their reply was all the seats are the same … comfort assigns seats … but you see our experience with that!

Just my experience ….. shared for your entertainment.

Come back in Aug and I'll tell you how it went 'this time'

There are other train times aside from the ones listed on line. We emailed the NIN company and have the trip booked for a 10:00 AM departure. Staying at the Radisson and they will take our luggage at 7.. would that work?

Greetings,

 

We're going to be on the 2019 Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Cities cruise. The cruise will terminate in Bergen Norway. Does anyone know the earliest we will be able to disembark?

 

We'd like to see if we can catch the train that leaves for the Norway in a Nutshell itinerary at 8:40AM.

 

Ideally I'd like to get off the ship very early, drop our bags at a local hotel in Bergen, and get to the train station without a lot of stress. I don't like to rush, and I'd like to be relaxed so we can enjoy the trip.

 

Does anyone have experience in trying to make an 8:40 train once the ship is docked in Bergen? Is this feasible, or am I overly optimistic and should I plan on spending an extra day in Bergen to not be rushed?

 

Thanks for any and all input.

 

Keith

We did this last summer. There was no problem getting off the ship, early. But we chose to take our luggage to our hotel the night before to be stored, keeping just what we needed and could take with us...now I can't remember if we just kept that with us that day or used a locker at the train station. We also went to the train station ahead of time to pick up our tickets which we had bought on line and to get "the lay of the land." The Nutshell scenery is spectacular! We might have needed less time in Flam (sp?) but we did find a lovely little luncheon place on a hill there with homade soups. We did the RT to Bergen, not Oslo.

On our May Homelands Cruise, there were passengers who left the ship the day of arrival. Others at 3 in the morning for flights. We left at 8:30 a.m. and walked our luggage to our hotel (next to the Blu) where they stored it. When we returned at the end of the day, the luggage was in our room waiting for us. We were in Bergen, a lovely city to explore, for 3 days before heading to Oslo. We ended up going by bus to Oslo as there had been a freight accident on the tracks -- quite a lot of confusion at the train station that morning. BTW, the bus trip over the mountains was great!

I would suggest walking your luggage to your hotel the night before. You could then drop your overnight bags on your way to the train station for your Flam tour. If you don't want to deal with your luggage on the train trip to Oslo, check out the Norway Porter service. Very efficient.

we're doing similar … some comments, btw we've been to Bergen and Oslo b4 ….

 

1. First question …. does your itinerary have you arrive in Bergen, stay overnight, and depart the ship the next morning? If so you can do what you plan without a problem alto I'd use the Bergen day for a little recon ….

 

2. Don't discount Bergen as a nice place to visit … we will stay another night after leaving the ship and begin 'Norway in a Nutshell' the morning after that …. but with the ship arriving the day b4 (ours does) you DO have one day to explore. And on 'depart' morning folks will be leaving EARLY, so you CAN make your plan. Note: my 'Nutshell" tour Ressie says I need to pickup tickets along the way. Recommend you do this the day b4 and learn the way around the train station. We're using the extra day to explore more AND to pickup our Nutshell tickets the day b4 ….

 

3. Sounds like you plan to do Nutshell as a Bergen to Flam back to Bergen … spend a nite …. then train Bergen to Oslo. We're doing Nutshell as Bergen to Flam … overnight in Flam …. then train Flam to Oslo. Why back track? Yes you'll get more train but will cover some part twice ….. On our schedule we depart Flam by train (up) at 12:20 and arrive Oslo 19:05 …. over 6 hours is enuf train fun for one day for us!

 

Just mentioning in case you did not know this was an option ….. the train ride tween Bergen and Oslo is very pretty but IMO long enuf that breaking it up ain't a loss! Looking forward to a very quiet night in Flam! We did train straight from Oslo to Bergen last trip (then flew to Copen' after a few days) ….. I look forward to seeing more of the waterside scenery this time.

 

We leave in just a few weeks.

Thanks for this information, we are planning Norway in a Nutshell, Bergen to Oslo after our Viking Homelands cruise next June. We are planning a night in Flam as well, so will be interested to hear your experiences.

We have an overnight in Bergen before disembarkation and plan to spend disembarkation day in Bergen and then NIN the next day.

Thanks for this information, we are planning Norway in a Nutshell, Bergen to Oslo after our Viking Homelands cruise next June. We are planning a night in Flam as well, so will be interested to hear your experiences.

We have an overnight in Bergen before disembarkation and plan to spend disembarkation day in Bergen and then NIN the next day.

Let me just jump in here a second . Your plan to transfer to hotel on disembarkation day is a good option and that's what we did. We did the NIAN tour with Norway Active as a round trip in one day as we were flying out of Bergen. Since you are overnighting in Flam, do go to the Aurland Overlook. There's is RT from the train station by bus. A completely different viewpoint than you will experience from fjord. The tour we took included the train to Myrdal, then Flam. You could bike part of it (w/ guide)if you wanted. Fjord safari through Neurofjord to catch a bus back to Voss and then train to Bergen but it could also include white water rafting in Voss if you wanted. This was sort of put together by the company and they arranged for you to get from adventure to adventure but there is no guide for the train part but I'm sure that could be arranged also if you talk to them. Price is based on what you decide to do. Our cruise went to Flam but we did the included and then went to the lookout. We did the train ride and Fjord safari with this excursion for a lot less that it would have cost from the ship(which also had a tour with the bikes as well). Just throwing out options. You should realyy enjoy this cruise. I know we did.

Let me just jump in here a second . Your plan to transfer to hotel on disembarkation day is a good option and that's what we did. We did the NIAN tour with Norway Active as a round trip in one day as we were flying out of Bergen. Since you are overnighting in Flam, do go to the Aurland Overlook. There's is RT from the train station by bus. A completely different viewpoint than you will experience from fjord. The tour we took included the train to Myrdal, then Flam. You could bike part of it (w/ guide)if you wanted. Fjord safari through Neurofjord to catch a bus back to Voss and then train to Bergen but it could also include white water rafting in Voss if you wanted. This was sort of put together by the company and they arranged for you to get from adventure to adventure but there is no guide for the train part but I'm sure that could be arranged also if you talk to them. Price is based on what you decide to do. Our cruise went to Flam but we did the included and then went to the lookout. We did the train ride and Fjord safari with this excursion for a lot less that it would have cost from the ship(which also had a tour with the bikes as well). Just throwing out options. You should realyy enjoy this cruise. I know we did.

Thanks for the info, the lookout sounds great. Will also check out Norway Active, thanks.