NORWEGIAN COASTAL VOYAGES - We're going in Aug. I have a few questions.

[Rita1234]

I grew up in Trondheim, lived in Honningsvaag for 3 years, and have been in the US since 1988.

 

In Trondheim, make sure you see the Nidarosdomen. It is the grandest and most beautiful Cathedral in Norway, and we crown our kings and queens there. Also, you can take a boat out to Munkholmen which is a lot of fun. It is the small island you see outside the city.

 

Bring raingear, there is a reason a lot of Norwegians settled in Seattle. We like the rain, and have a lot of it. Especially in Bergen and Trondheim.

 

In Bergen make sure you take the Floeyelbanen up the mountain. If you do nothing else there, that one is a must.

 

Stop by a grocery store in any one of the places you visit, and try Champagnebrus also called Fruktchampagne. It is a soda that tastes like champage, alcohol free, all my US friends comes to visit me when I bring some back from Norway.

 

Try some Norwegian Chocolate. The American chocolate that tastes the most like Norwegian is the Symphony bar. The Norwegian chocolate is great, my favorite is Cuba and Melkesjokolade. If you are a little daring and want to try something different try either Monolit or Geletroeffel. They have jello and marsipan in them, and it is something fun to try.

 

Stop by a bakery and get some Boller, and some Bloetkake. Norwegian cream cakes are fantastic. Our Napoleons are the best you will ever have.

 

If you are at a fishmarket, or some place they sell fish, ask if they have warm fish cakes, or where you can get some warm fish cakes. You will be surprised at how good they are.

 

Don't worry about the language barrier. We start to learn English in 3rd grade, so most people younger than 50 speak English. Some older people may not speak English, though some of them know a little German.

 

Enjoy it. I will be going home this Christmas and travelling up north where my father lives. It is always fun flying up north to Honningsvaag in the winter. On some days we have to line our cars up in Mehavn, follow the snow plow over to Gamvik to get to my dad's house. That is why I don't live there anymore:)

 

Rita

[neildean]

Hi,

 

How far in advance did you receive your vouchers / documents?

 

Thanks

 

Neil

[glgolfer]

Got the docs at least a month ahead. Everything was there and very well organized with maps and an explanation of what things were. Take a little time to read everything and it will be easily understood. No worries there at all.

 

Sorry I'm so slow answering, just got back from a week away with no internet connection.

[nowornever]

from the 8/4 sailing on the Midnatsol & it was great. We had outstanding weather 90% of the time. Food was very good but I must warn you to sharpen up those elbows & stand tall because the buffets can be a real challenge. You will be "elbowed", there & exited the ship at ports - it's like a blood sport. Never had reindeer but the last dinner was a buffet & had whale. Sort of disgusting looking so we passed - hate to create a demand. We had a Junior Suite & it was so spacious, loved it. Only side trip we did was the North Cape & it was really the only way to get there that we could figure out. We walked around each town as much as we could & most were very small & easy to do on your own. Some spots have the BBC & CNN,but mostly they don't.

 

Have a great trip & enjoy every gorgeous minute of it.

[gillianrose]

Well, you have certainly been busy! :)

 

I just read your report on the Amadeus Princess, and now your brief report on the Midnatsol. We are booked on next summer's North Cape on the Century, so hopefully we won't get elbowed! :D

 

Will you be posting any pictures of your trips? We'd love to see them.

 

What were your favorite ports of call?

 

Aside from being elbowed, how was the quality of the food? Did they refresh it frequently, or did it just sit out?

 

We are so looking forward to Norway!

[NHBob]

New Question: Anybody out there done any NCV winter trips? I may be crazy, but I’ve done several summer fjord and coastal cruises on conventional cruise ships, and several Scandinavian acquaintances have told me that Norway is an exciting place to visit in winter.

 

NCV is offering several attractive winter packages, "Northern Lights" cruises from late October to mid February. Unfortunately the NCV website hasn’t been updated for 2007 yet, but when I phoned them they told me they can pretty much customize a package as they have daily northbound departures from Bergen.

 

The two that look particularly interesting to me are the New Year’s cruise, although this involves flying from NY on Christmas Day. According to the website, "if you travel on the December 25 departure you will arrive at Tromso in time for the New Year celebrations and welcome 2007 in true style. A special New Year’s concert will be held in the Arctic Cathedral followed by a three-course dinner and drinks reception." As might be expected, this one is a couple of hundred dollars more than other dates.

 

The other interesting one is the January 20 departure, which arrives in Tromso in time for the Northern Lights Festival and honors the return of the sun. Looks interesting, but it would mean getting back just soon enough to do the laundry and then depart on a previously-booked Panama Canal cruise.

 

All of these packages appear to involve overnight flights from US to Bergen, taking the better part of days 1 and 2; overnight day 2 in Bergen; days 3-6 on the ship, days 7 & 8 in Tromso, and day 9 flight back to US.

 

Some interesting excursions are offered, including dog sledding (expensive) in Tromso and walking tour of Tromso. I imagine it looks completely different from when was there in July a few years ago.

 

Prices appear reasonable - $2,100 to $2,600 ppdo, including air from NY, hotels, port charges, and tour manager. There are also discounts for seniors, AARP, and for booking by 8/31, as well as special single rates on some departures.

 

I’ll have to make a decision fairly soon to get the early booking discount, so any advice, thoughts, experiences, etc. will be greatly appreciated, either on this board or via e-mail.

[glgolfer]

Bob - Reading your descriptions of the possibilities, it looks like you have their brochure on the voyages. If not, let me know and I'll send you our copy as we don't need it. There are quite a few different options in the brochure than those you have listed.

thirdparty@tampabay.rr.com

 

We have not been there in winter, but I have a couple recommendations.

1. Book one of the new millenium ships. Midnatsol, Finnmarken or Trollsfjord. We were on the Midnatsol and it was very nice.

 

2. We went to the midnight concert in Tromso at the Cathedral. If you have not been there, it is very unique. We were disappointed as they were doing some work on it when we were there and the front was covered with scaffolding.

 

If you email me, put NCV Northern Lights as the subject.

[NHBob]

Bob - Reading your descriptions of the possibilities, it looks like you have their brochure on the voyages. If not, let me know and I'll send you our copy as we don't need it. There are quite a few different options in the brochure than those you have listed.

 

PaulWN-

 

Thanks for the quick response and offer of brochure. My TA has the 2006 brochure and NCV tells me the 2007 brochure isn't available yet - the the information in my previous post comes from an e-mail they sent me and the Winter Voyages section on their website. So, I think I'll put TA to work on this tomorrow and see what she comes up with.

 

Then I'll have to decide by 8/31 whether I want to do it this winter, 06-07, or put it off until the next winter.

[glgolfer]

The brochure I have is from Oct 2006 to April 2007. Titled Norwegian Coastal Voyage presents in Search of the Northern Lights. It has much more than what you talked about.

 

If you didn't scroll back far enough, we did the 17 day Grand Norway in May of 2005. That and our China trip are the 2 best of all we have taken so far.

[NHBob]

The brochure I have is from Oct 2006 to April 2007. Titled Norwegian Coastal Voyage presents in Search of the Northern Lights. It has much more than what you talked about

 

Thanks for the brochure info. Little embarassed I didn't

find it myself, as all it required was clicking on the NCV "request brochures" page.

 

Anyway, was able to download and print it, so won't put you to the trouble of mailing yours to me. Thanks anyway.

 

Will post something in this thread once I decide on something.

[Rita1234]

A couple of things you may wish to keep in mind. Winter in North Norway is dark, 2-4 hours of daylight at the most. Also, the weather can be extremely bad, so you may hit very heavy seas. I am taking a short trip on one of the ships from Mehamn to Honningsvaag in December, and I will decide which day I go depending on the weather report. I am not crazy about travelling during the winter storms up there, and even though my trip is only a couple of hours, being on the ship in extremely bad weather is no fun. I would rather not take the trip at all, but it is 5 hours of driving each way, versus 2 hours on the ship each way, and my dad rather just take the car on the ship and save 6 hours of driving time round trip.

 

Unfortunately in the winter, you can't get up to North Cape. At least that was the case when I used to live there, so that is somthing you would miss.

 

Tromso you can walk on your own, easy to find anything there.

 

Rita

[susan1234]

1. How is the laundry facility on board? Are the machines always 'occupied'? Do we need to bring detergent and fabric softener?

 

2. PaulWN mentioned waterproof shoes, are they absolutely a must? We are trying to pack light.

 

Thanks.

[glgolfer]

We bought fairly light Goretex walking shoes from Cabelas. They were good quality and were very comfortable. Cabelas has a very large selection of good shoes for outdoor use. We wore them on the plane and just took them off for most of the flight.

You really do need a good qualty, waterproof walking shoe.

[susan1234]

Thank you, PaulWN, I am looking into the waterproof footwear now but in the mean time.... what about laundry? If it is fairly easy and hassle free to do the washing and drying on the ship, then we will just pack half as needed, except shoes, of course. ;)

 

For the poster(s) who asked, the contact numbers on Midnatsol are:

 

(calling from U.S.)

 

(011) (47) 7778 7710

(011) (47) 9948 7277

[glgolfer]

Susan - We didn't use the laundry, but we think someone we talked to did and told us how long it took. We think we sent somethings to the ship laundry for them to do and they came back OK. We don't do our own laundry on trips, too much like being at home.

[nowornever]

We did laundry twice on board & it's a snap. Costs about 30-35 Kroner ($5-6) for the washer & the dryer is free. There is a setting on the machine that will make it a short cycle (short being about 1 hour!) - think it's "KORB" (desk person will tell you.) They have a big box of detergent there for your use so no need to bring your own unless you have a special one. Perfectly safe to go about your business while you wash. One word of warning. Get there early because after about 10 or so, it's very busy. We went at 8 or so & when we were finished & ready to put in dryer, people were already waiting for machines.

 

You're going to love the ship - hope your weather will be as wonderful as ours. Shirtsleeves everywhere but at the North Cape & it wasn't even that cold, just windy. If you have any other questions, I'll try to help since it's fresh in our minds (our trip was Aug 4-11).

[dcsam]

I'm sure I posted this somewhere before, but will again. I was on the Midnatsol last August with my mother. My husband was able to call me every day (although it was 4 in the morning) using our Costco MCI calling card. 4 cents per minute!!! There is a ship number. He called that and asked to be transfered to my room. Amazing!

Carrie

[susan1234]

Thanks guys (or gals) for the info. It is a toss between doing laundry and one more suitcase to lug around, or to be lost by the airlines. Laundry wins. Since it's just a 6-day cruise, guess I'll only do it one time. Not too bad.

 

nowornever: We are leaving in two days! Did you do the roundtrip like PaulWN did, or one-way? One-way for us: two nights in Oslo and train to Bergen. Cruise. Then fly back from Kierkenes to OSL.

 

Did anyone take the NIAN (Norway In The Nutshell) tour in conjunction with the cruise?

 

Oh, how early can we board the ship, it sails at 20:30. I think.

 

Dinner: Open seating? Early or late preferred?

 

Do we need rain ponchos, umbrellas, hairdryers?

 

Anymore tips and advice y'all could think of, e.g. what you would have done differently, brought along... etc., would be much appreciated.

 

PaulWN: Got the waterproof shoes at the neighbourhood New Balance shop. Thanks!

[glgolfer]

If the dining is still the same, you will be assigned a table and time for the evening meal. That will be it for everynight. There were (if I remember right) 5 different times for dinner. There is an appetizer, an entree and a dessert. There is no menu and no choice. Unless you want to spend big bucks for something else. You will not go hungry and everything was very good. Nothing repeated for the round trip.

Lunch was always a buffet with open seating some days. Other days there were two seatings and you ate at your assigned table and time. You need to check the daily info sheet to see which it is.

Breakfast is always a buffet and always open seating.

 

You will have the chance to eat whale meat, gull eggs, smoked ox tongue, smoked lamb and various other interesting things. You should also be able to eat cloudberries for dessert sometime during the trip.

If you like crawfish, you're in luck.

[nowornever]

We did the one way from Bergen-Kirkennes. for a couple of days the lunch was open seating since excursions were going on & some people needed to eat early. I asked for vegetarian a couple of nights that I didn't want the meat offered & it was fine. Paul is correct, you will not go hungry. They post the menu for the evening around lunch so you can see if you like it & adjust lunch accordingly. Poncho would be a good idea. I understand we really lucked out on the weather, that sometimes it is misty, especially in the mornings. Another word of advice: on booze. If you enjoy wine or any other adult beverage, take it with you since it is very expensive on board. In fact, all of Norway is. We took a box (yes a box!) with us & it worked out nicely as we had a little fridge & kept it cool. Are you spending the night before in Bergen? It's a very interesting city. We walked from our hotel (Neptun) to the dock & it only took about 15 minutes. Didn't wait for the bus since it appeared that it would be a mob scene. We got on about 6 p.m., very easy embarkation. I'll check this site later today if you have any other questions. Please let us all know how you liked it when you return. Paul, thanks again for answering our questions before we left.

 

Have a great time.

[susan1234]

Thank you, PaulWN and nowornever. We are all packed (too much! :o )and leaving for the airport in an hour.

 

Yes, we will be staying one night at Scandic Bergen City. Neptun is full, and the other nicer hotels are also unavailable or very expensive. :(

 

Will try to post when on board to let you know how things are.

 

P/S Is it just me or after all the careful planning, sorting, coordinating,...etc., there is always going to be one thing you forgot to pack? :mad:

[susan1234]

nowornever: did you fly out of Kirkenes right after the cruise? Our flight is at 11:30a.m., do we have enough time? Thanks.

 

Susan in sunny Oslo. ;)

[nowornever]

that's the same flight we took & you have plenty of time. It won't leave without you. They had to take off some cargo before they let us off so it was a bit slow (then the bus driver couldn't start the bus!) & we all made it just fine. Don't worry - enjoy!!! Keep us posted.

[glgolfer]

Yes - Keep us posted as to how you like the trip and what you are doing, if at all possible. I think you will have one of the best trips of your life.

[NHBob]

Bob - Reading your descriptions of the possibilities, it looks like you have their brochure on the voyages. If not, let me know and I'll send you our copy as we don't need it. There are quite a few different options in the brochure than those you have listed.

thirdparty@tampabay.rr.com

 

We have not been there in winter, but I have a couple recommendations.

1. Book one of the new millenium ships. Midnatsol, Finnmarken or Trollsfjord. We were on the Midnatsol and it was very nice.

 

2. We went to the midnight concert in Tromso at the Cathedral. If you have not been there, it is very unique. We were disappointed as they were doing some work on it when we were there and the front was covered with scaffolding.

 

Well, I’ve done it – booked the January 20th Northern Lights Festival, Bergen – Tromso. At $2,500, couldn’t resist it – that includes air, hotels in Bergen and Tromso, and 4 nights on MS Trolllfjord, one of the ships Paul recommends – everything except insurance and a few meals on shore.

 

Asked a friend in Sweden if I was crazy to visit the Arctic in January. His reply: "No, you’re not crazy – go for it."

 

Rita, thanks for the info. Interesting to hear from somebody who actually grew up in the area. Since I’ve been north of the Arctic Circle several times in summer when it never got dark, thought it would be interesting to experience the opposite.

 

I realize I’m taking a chance on the weather – luckily rough seas don’t affect me. I guess summer can have some bad spells too. I was lucky enough to have perfect weather on cruises to Norway, Alaska, Iceland and Greenland. However, crew on my late wife’s and my North Cape cruise in 1991 told us that on the previous voyage they could hardly see the bow of the ship, let alone the Cape!

 

Having seen North Cape in daylight, I’m not to anxious to go up there in winter. NCV is actually offering a North Cape itinerary January to March – wonder how often they actually make it. On our 1991 visit I think the bus driver who drove us back down to Skarsvag must have been suicidal; he scared us to death in broad daylight. Hate to even think of that ride in a snowstorm in the dark.

 

For anybody who might be interested, Tromso has an excellent website, including a long list of winter activities. Might be tempted to extend a few days if I were not already booked on a Panama Canal cruise On February 11. Website is http://www.destinasjontromso.no/.

 

One thing that surprised me on website is the winter temperatures in Tromso, with average daily lows about the same as here in NH, and an all-time record low around 0 F, something we experience every winter here.

 

Anybody else even thinking of booking this? Given the trouble my TA had booking it (everything had to be referred back to Oslo) I may the first and only American on this tour. This doesn’t really bother me – I’ve yet to meet a Scandinavian who didn’t speak English.