Excursions on Balmoral Norway cruise in May query

[skysurfer666]

I am travelling with a friend on the Balmoral for our first ever cruise on May 6 from Southampton.

 

Today I've had the Fred Olsen Tour Programme which looks wonderful but I never dreamed the excursions would be so expensive. So we are going to have to choose just one or two and not knowing the ports involved it is very difficult to choose between them all.

 

Our itinerary is Southampton; Alesund, Norway; Geiranger, Geirangerfjord, Norway; Geiranger, Geirangerfjord, Norway; Olden, Nordfjord, Norway; Skjolden, Sognefjord, Norway; Bergen, Norway; Eidfjord, Hardangerfjord, Norway; Eidford, Hardangerfjord, Norway; Stavanger, Norway; Southampton

 

Can any seasoned cruisers here give me any advice on the ports to stroll around on our own and those where excursions are a must?

 

Very grateful for any advice and many thanks in advance.:)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We did a trip in Olden. Bergen, you can just get off the ship and go into the town. Gerainger is nice to just get off and walk round and I have heard that the trip on the fjord is very good. Stavanger is another port where you can get off and wander :)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Just looking through my photos and notice there is a "glacier bus" on the dock that presumably takes you to the glacier :)

[skysurfer666]

Thanks Linda. Good info. When you mentioned the glacier bus are you talking about Stavanger?

Is eating out and coffee etc expensive? Does anyone stock up with food on the ship and take some of it with them?

Never having cruised before I think I'll be worried about getting back to the ship on time. What would happen I wonder if say you went on the glacier trip by bus and a return bus didn't get you back in time for departure?

Has it ever happened to anyone?

[RivaDiva]

We stopped at Eidfjord, Bergen & Olden and walked into the towns. Some of them have little railways that take you on a sightseeing tour. You didn't mention Flam which is a shame because there is a wonderful mountain railway there. We are too mean to do excursions normally (apart from Casablanca!). They are very expensive. I like to just stroll around and get the feel of the places by doing it my way. But some people do cruises to view specific places so I suppose its 'horses for courses'! Points in favour of doing the excursions however.....the boat will wait if you are late. IT WILL NOT WAIT if you go off on your own and are late. Thats why we never stray too far!

Norway is very expensive but there is so much food on board that its almost a relief not to have to eat on shore! The most I have ever taken was a banana from the breakfast table. And then I felt bad.

I love the Balmoral. I love the size of it and the crew are just wonderful.

I hope you have a lovely time.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Sorry, should have said the glacier bus is in Olden.

 

As RivaDiva says if you are late back they will only wait for you if you are on an organized trip.

 

Drinks are VERY expensive. My husband nearly fell off his chair when he realized he had paid £10 for a beer and £5 for my coffee in Bergen :eek: Needless to say he didn't have a second ;)

 

It is a fabulous cruise though. We went with Princess. I haven't been on Balmoral, only Braemar, but a friend went on Balmoral and liked it.

 

A couple of tasters for you

 

GERAINGER

 

BERGEN

 

[skysurfer666]

Thanks RivaDiva and Cruisin Linda - valuable tips all stored away.

Beautiful photos Linda - can't wait.

I always before thought cruises were 'prison with a chance of being drowned' but it looks like I may have to change my mind!

Generally - and my wallet is pleased about this - it seems you can catch the atmosphere of a place without chasing round on excursions.

After all it's only a day in these places.

We are booked in on a table for six because we love meeting people.

What happens if you wind up with somebody on your table who drives you nuts - can you change?

Thanks again for all your help.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We may have been lucky, but we have always had nice people on our table, except one on our last cruise who talked a lot :rolleyes: The secret is to suggest moving round each night so you can sit with different people ;) I think you can ask to change though.

 

Everyone is a bit nervous on their first cruise, but I'm sure you will enjoy your cruise skysurfer, and be perusing the brochures as soon as you get back :D

 

Before I had cruised I thought you had to pay for all the trips. I didn't realize you could do it yourself :o We generally do a trip if it is somewhere we haven't been before or somewhere a bit dodgy like Casablanca! But quite often we just get off and just wander :)

[skysurfer666]

Yes I'm sure it'll work out. I will browse this site to look at othr folks' experiences.

BTW what does DHMS mean in those boxes please? :confused:

[loulou156]

Hi there skysurfer6666

 

Good question about the tours! We too are doing the Norway cruise in May too :D:D:D:oand have never cruised before. We were shocked st prices of cruises. There is agood book someone recommended by Rick Steves "Northern European Cruise Ports". It has some great tips and details on a lot of the ports we will be visiting. It gives you lots of do's and don'ts about excursions and advice on when you can do your own thing! Lots of places are fine for walking around, there looks like a nice walking tour of Alesund, which takes you to the top view point.

 

Hope you have a great time.... We can't wait now!

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I downloaded this to my Kobo before we went

Cruising:The Norwegian Fjords by Brian and Eileen Anderson

 

It is also available for Kindle

[skysurfer666]

Thanks Linda for the book tip - have just downloaded it to my computer (don't have a Kindle but can make notes before going)

 

And loulou - thanks for your book idea too. It's about £13 on Amazon cos it covers the other countries we're not visiting too - but it's probably worth it if it saves us money going on unsuitable excursions.

 

Fancy you being on the same cruise! Can we get together? I'm new to this site so don't know what's possible. Do I leave an email address here or is that frowned on? Perhaps there's some way I can message you.

 

Maybe there's other folk on here on the same cruise- any suggestions how we contact them?

[skysurfer666]

Just bought the book for £12.15 including postage! Thanks

[LondonTowner]

We have done five cruises now and four of those have been with Fred. In all those cruises and going to very varied destinations we have only ever taken two ship excursions. One was last year when we docked in Gdynia for Gdansk. We didn't have long in port and it was a fairly complicated tram and bus ride to get to Gdansk and the other time was in Oporto as it was also a bit more complicated to get into the centre. We always do our own thing and I have reduced mobility, so it involves a bit more research and planning, but it can easily be done.

 

We did a Norway cruise a couple of years ago and found it was easy to do everything ourselves. We found the local people very helpful and they speak excellent English. It is a shame you are not visiting Flam as it is very easy to go on the Flam railway on your own. In Olden there was one of those little electric trains at the dockside which we took and it was quite a long ride and it took us to a very pretty lake. In Bergen and Stavanger we did the HOHO bus, but Bergen was a bit spoilt for us by the weather. There is a funicular railway and a cable car, both very easy to do on your own.

 

On a cruise to Norway you are actually sailing within the spectacular scenery, so an excursion is not as necessary as some other destinations as you are already seeing what the country has to offer.

 

Yes, Norway is extremely expensive, so we didn't buy any souvenirs. Not that we need any more junk at home and to be honest, I didn't see anything worth buying.

 

We always like to have late sitting dinner and a table for 6. We have been very lucky as we have always met very nice people and had lots of laughs. You can change your table if you don't get on with the other people. Just have a word with the Head Waiter. You will find there is far too much food. We never bother with afternoon tea or the late buffet. There is also tea and coffee throughout the day which you can help yourselves. Compared to other cruise lines the price of onboard drinks are reasonable, comparable to UK pub prices.

 

Fred Olsen passengers do tend to be an older crowd, but that doesn't bother us. We are early 60s, but like to think we are young at heart.

 

Remember Norway weather is very changeable. We went mid June and fortunately had taken suitable weatherproof coats. We had a couple of lovely, warm, sunny days, torrential wind and rain and the rest of the time a bit overcast and around 15C.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

There was a market in Stavanger, not sure if it is on every day though, and we bought some souvenirs there, baseball caps and suchlike. I did buy a troll, he was so ugly I couldn't resist him :D

 

We have been with Fred 3 times, but only on Braemar, but would recommend them to anyone. Lovely food, lovely staff and lovely passengers (mostly :D:D )

[skysurfer666]

Excellent info London Towner - thanks for taking the trouble. How kind people are on this site in helping others.

I'll look out for the market Linda.

A few little questions - I note the luggage allowance is 90 kilos or 200 lbs. Presumably that's the total allowance including hand luggage?

I note that first timer cruisers can phone a number beforehand to register...do they give you a special tour or something to acquaint you with what goes on?

I note you can book massages - any idea what one costs?

 

A couple of questions about this site - what are those funny oblong panels with letters and numbers? And is it possible to contact other posters - I can't figure how to do it. I see you can befriend somebody - does that mean if they agree then you get to be able to message them.

Finally what is the 'roll call'? I went on there but couldn't find Fred Olson cruises listed among the many.

Lastly can I post my email address here so people can contact me?

Thanks cruisers one and all.

Edited April 14, 2014 by skysurfer666

[simonpjd]

Olden - definitely think about doing the tour to the glacier - ok there is a bit of a walk involved but worth the effort. Bergen and Stavangar are the 2 cities you are visiting and both are possible for you to do your own thing. However a tour of Bergen is well worth it if you are interested in a bit of the history of Norway. It is an old Hanseatic trading town and it is fascinating to learn more about this (well it was for me!). Worth doing this the first time and it normally includes the funicular railway trip too. All Norway cruises go to Bergen so you will be there quite often - do your own thing then.

Geirenger is just stunning and a trip to the top of the mountain is great. Take a warm coat - it is often freezing up there even in mid summer - but worth it.

Sounds a great trip and Balmoral is a fine comfortable ship. OK so average age of passengers may be approaching 86 but most are game old 'uns out to enjoy themselves and they do !!

[CRUISIN LINDA]

This is the roll call for May 6th Bamoral

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2025759

 

Just put a message on :)

[rosiepea]

Excluding the fjords, all these ports of call are quite small and can be easily wandered around. Many have little trains and buses that you can use yourself. Tours are fine if you want to go further afield or like to be given information. We have been to all these stops and rarely ever done an official tour

[skysurfer666]

Thanks a lot Rosypea and all the other folk helping on this thread.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I think I may have the prices for massages, skysurfer, but can't find the folder with it in :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[CRUISIN LINDA]

I think I may have the prices for massages, skysurfer, but can't find the folder with it in :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Found it :)

 

On the first day they had a special offer of back neck and shoulder massage for £30, so not sure what the actual price is, but fairly reasonable if I remember correctly. When we were on the Braemar in 2010 the massage was £35 and specal offer price was £27. I imagine the prices are standard across the fleet.

[CRUISIN LINDA]

Ha ha, just read Daily Times for the 4th day of the cruise and it is still quoting £30 for B/N/Shoulder massage :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Edited April 22, 2014 by CRUISIN LINDA

[Mark_T]

Ha ha, just read Daily Times for the 4th day of the cruise and it is still quoting £30 for B/N/Shoulder massage :rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

We've noticed in the past that the prices tend to be very variable if they are not getting many bookings during a cruise, so those first day 'special' prices are often not so special :)

[CRUISIN LINDA]

We've noticed in the past that the prices tend to be very variable if they are not getting many bookings during a cruise, so those first day 'special' prices are often not so special :)

 

Very reasonable though Mark. When I was quite new to cruising, we went on Royal Caribbean, I paid $119 for a massage and facial and on top of that she tried to sell me over $300 worth of skin creams etc and she expected a tip :eek::rolleyes: