Help w/ Norway

[hollon]

I want to go to norway and don't know which itinerary is better, there is one that leaves denmark and one in london - any suggestion would greatly be appreciated, We will love any schedule but hope yall will help. I do like big ships and know IOS leaves out of london, but want the best schedule - thanks :)

[pete98]

What are the ports?

 

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[Biker19]

Only you know what you like - research the ports and decide for yourself.

[Beerbrewingcoffeecat]

I want to go to norway and don't know which itinerary is better, there is one that leaves denmark and one in london - any suggestion would greatly be appreciated, We will love any schedule but hope yall will help. I do like big ships and know IOS leaves out of london, but want the best schedule - thanks :)

For Norway the best cruises are the 12 day Baltic and FYI RCI leave from Southampton not Tilbury (London) Happy Cruising Pete.

[pete1681]

Why does Norway have bar codes on their ships?......

 

 

 

 

It's to.......scandanavian.....

 

You're welcome!

[sddsddean]

A Baltic cruise doesn't really go to Norway (though it might go to Oslo or similar). Both RCI and Celeb run cruises to Norway from Southampton (which is around 80 miles from London!), so if you go Celeb you can get recipricol status on that cruise (eg Diamond RCI = Elite Celeb). You want to try and get a cruise that does both Flam and Geirenger, as these are at the ends of the two longest and most spectacular fjords. I'm not sure if Celeb still do the Iceland and Norway cruise. We did that a few years ago and it was great, but don't expect to be doing much sunbathing!!

 

Simon

[Saab4444]

For Norway the best cruises are the 12 day Baltic and FYI RCI leave from Southampton not Tilbury (London) Happy Cruising Pete.

 

 

 

12 day Baltic cruises do not go to the Norwegian Fjords.

 

Indy cruise on May 20 is a very good itinerary.

 

 

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[cinnamon]

Geiranger is a must. The sail in and out down the fjord is spectacular.

 

 

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[hollon]

Do you think you need a balcony for the cruise - I'm leaning towards the Indy on May 20th, if it's like alaska, we didn't use it that much, but loved the fact that we could jump inside when it was really cold

[Hey Tina]

I don't think I could ever go back to not having a balcony after having one. Especially since my next cruise (first to Norway) is during the Northern Lights, so obviously I want to be able to go out on my balcony. I don't think anyone can tell you if a balcony is worth it for you besides you.

[pete98]

We used our balcony all the time, particularly in the Fjords. It's not necessary, but it sure was nice!!!

 

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[Spurschick]

If you are comparing Indy with Serenade the Indy looks like it has an extra port depending on the dates you wish to sail. If you prefer bigger ships I would go with the Indy.

[Taishartrueblood]

I don't need or use a balcony but it was cheaper for me to get a balcony then an inside for my next cruise so...

[dani negreanu]

Geiranger is a must. The sail in and out down the fjord is spectacular.

The sail in was at 6AM, and I was able to see it in my PJ, wrapped in a blanket :D

 

We used our balcony all the time, particularly in the Fjords. It's not necessary, but it sure was nice!!!

This +

I think this is THE cruise to have a balcony :D:D

[sddsddean]

This was the only cruise we have ever had an aft balcony which was well worth the money. Beautiful panoranic views of the whole fjord as you sailed in and out. Saved you having to pick which side to look at!

 

Simon

[hollon]

WOW, so far the airfare from Knoxville TN, is extremely high - is there another airport that yall have gotten better deals from and maybe I can fly out of another city - any advice - airfare is around1700.00 pp - I'm rounding off

[xpcdoojk]

WOW, so far the airfare from Knoxville TN, is extremely high - is there another airport that yall have gotten better deals from and maybe I can fly out of another city - any advice - airfare is around1700.00 pp - I'm rounding off

 

If you are trying to fly into Southampton I am sure it is expensive. Most people fly into one of the London airports. I think Gatwick would be the easiest to reach by train to Southampton. A car hire will cost 100 GBP for transport, which might be about what RCI will charge. You can take National Express Coaches from either Gatwick or Heathrow. Obviously, getting from the airport in Copenhagen would be easy as the port is there.

 

I guess, I need more details to give you much of an informed opinion.

 

JC

[Spurschick]

WOW, so far the airfare from Knoxville TN, is extremely high - is there another airport that yall have gotten better deals from and maybe I can fly out of another city - any advice - airfare is around1700.00 pp - I'm rounding off

Depends on what month you are looking at but that's the prices for next year.thry sometimes come down a bit when they go a fall sale. With the exchange rate as it is that's a pretty standard rate to U.K.

 

You could see if RC or a TA could get you better rates.

[sddsddean]

As JC says, the usual way to fly to UK is fly into Heathrow (LHR) or Gatwick (LGW) and use ground transport to Southampton. However, some people have said they managed to get a cheaper flight by flying to Dublin and then getting an Aer Lingus flight direct to Southampton...you might want to look at that for comparison.

 

Simon

[Mr. Click]

We have looked at both RCI and Celebrity for this trip and settled on the May 20th RCI sailing. Celbrity's price was higher by close to $2000 when we booked while on the Millennium in March and it leaves from Dublin and does a stop or two before getting to Norway. RCI, the Indy leaves from Southampton, spends a day at sea and then does a bunch of fjords and ports in Norway before a sea day going back to Southampton.

 

Airfares...they go up and down, right now they look a bit high but it is still 10 months away so I expect to see them fall some as we get inside the 6 month window. We are flying from EWR (Newark) to either LHR or LGW depending on the fares. Looking at United fares now they are asking about $1150 per person RT but they have many many many empty seats so look for the fares to go down.....we are.

[allyfree]

Just back from Scandinavian trip from Southampton on Independence ...can highly recommend. Sailed to Stavanger, Kristiansand, Oslo, Copenhagen and the on to Skagen on the tip of Denmark where the North Sea meets the Baltic .... would suggest a cheaper/easier option may be flying to Manchester and getting train (a few hours but very relaxing way to travel). We stayed night before in Holiday Inn (Herbert Walker Avenue) a few minutes taxi drive from station and 2 minute walk directly into cruise terminal .... happy travels, whatever you decide !

[pete98]

WOW, so far the airfare from Knoxville TN, is extremely high - is there another airport that yall have gotten better deals from and maybe I can fly out of another city - any advice - airfare is around1700.00 pp - I'm rounding off

Airfare was one of the reasons we tried a different cruise line for our Norway cruise. We were able to fly to Frankfurt for 600$ pp and then take the train to the coast for 50$ pp. We saved so much money, we extended our trip by 4 days in Germany.

 

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[hollon]

thank you all, i'll try the train or a different airport to fly into, i really like the IOS schedule from what yall are saying

[TickledBlue]

I did a trip report on our Norwegian fjords cruise on Serenade here.

 

We flew from Chicago to Copenhagen for $420 pp round trip, would have cost $500 pp more if we flew from Indianapolis so it was worth the 4.5 hr drive from home to Chicago. You could look at separate flights to airports where there is lots of competition from European airlines (Chicago or New York).

[Havingfun2010]

WOW, so far the airfare from Knoxville TN, is extremely high - is there another airport that yall have gotten better deals from and maybe I can fly out of another city - any advice - airfare is around1700.00 pp - I'm rounding off

 

Use air2sea to get you quotes. They will give you international airlines also. Certain cities are cruise gateway cities. For example, I live in Florida. I can chose 4 airports, within 2.5 hours, but I book my flights from Miami because it is a "cruise" gateway city, and for some reason, the prices are really cheap. I have to drive another 2.5 hours, but for a savings of $800 to $1100 for two people, it's worth it. If you can be creative, than you can find better prices.

 

Flights can be extremely weird and it based on supply and demand. Here is a ridiculous example. Florida to Amsterdam. From Miami, it is $816.00. The trip takes you to Atlanta as a hub, than to Amsterdam. It is a 5 hour car ride. I can drive 5 hours to Atlanta. So a flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam is guess what? It was almost $1300.00 per person. It was on the exact same flight from than the previous with a connecting flight.

 

Anyway, my advice is use air2sea, shop around for other cities, and see what you can tolerate.