Air Arrangements from Bergen

[Scootoir]

1 hour ago, Michael219 said:

Scootoir, thanks so much for your comments, suggestions and review - all appreciated!!  We are quickly approaching the dreaded 12 month in advance final payment date but that also means we're getting close to this fantastic trip!

 

That payment is a killer.  Not being a cruiser I did not expect to have to book so far in advance and make that payment so early.  I guess if they had trouble filling the ships Viking would change that model.

 

[Michael219]

On 7/18/2019 at 4:11 PM, Scootoir said:

 

That payment is a killer.  Not being a cruiser I did not expect to have to book so far in advance and make that payment so early.  I guess if they had trouble filling the ships Viking would change that model.

 

Book while on-board and there apparently is a better timeline for final payment - or (as I've read elsewhere), have more than one cruise booked at the same time.  We were just able to push our final payment out as (per my request) our TA reminded Viking that this reservation had originally been booked while we we were on their Italian Sojourn itinerary this past April.  I'd asked this before but told the payment was the 12-months - - that said, I remembered something I was taught many years ago:  "If you don't get the response you want, ask again as perhaps they misunderstood the question", or something like that!  

Now I am looking at a couple of days post cruise, taking the train from Bergen to Oslo for an extra night or two.  No surprise that the post cruise excursion booked with Viking is much more expensive than if we do it ourselves.  I'm in the midst of researching all of this now, for probable self-booking.

[Dauntless]

On 7/25/2019 at 5:49 PM, Michael219 said:

 

Now I am looking at a couple of days post cruise, taking the train from Bergen to Oslo for an extra night or two.  No surprise that the post cruise excursion booked with Viking is much more expensive than if we do it ourselves.  I'm in the midst of researching all of this now, for probable self-booking.

 

Booking this on your own is easy.  You can arrange it to all the way to Flam and spend the night and then continue on..  You can also do Flam to Bergen or the other way by ferry and cruise the fjord.  This would allow you see Flam without having to cram it in while at the other port.  It was included in our cruise on this itinerary but we did the included and skipped the train ride as we were doing a version of NIAN after the ship departed Bergen and it included the Fjord Safari and back up the road by van to return to Bergen.  We stayed at the airport hotel that night and left about 10:00 the next morning with a short walk to the airport.

[Michael219]

44 minutes ago, Dauntless said:

 

Booking this on your own is easy.  You can arrange it to all the way to Flam and spend the night and then continue on..  You can also do Flam to Bergen or the other way by ferry and cruise the fjord.  This would allow you see Flam without having to cram it in while at the other port.  It was included in our cruise on this itinerary but we did the included and skipped the train ride as we were doing a version of NIAN after the ship departed Bergen and it included the Fjord Safari and back up the road by van to return to Bergen.  We stayed at the airport hotel that night and left about 10:00 the next morning with a short walk to the airport.

Hello Dauntless,

Thanks or your post!  As I was researching this, I came to find that there was some discounted pricing available for our cruise.  In order to maximize the savings we needed to change the date which we had no problem with - so now we are departing from Bergen and ending in Copenhagen.

We are currently booked on the Viking pre-excursion of Oslo to Bergen but have time to change this to a DIY experience. It certainly looks easy enough to book the train and more!  

[just_dont]

Hello Dauntless,
Thanks or your post!  As I was researching this, I came to find that there was some discounted pricing available for our cruise.  In order to maximize the savings we needed to change the date which we had no problem with - so now we are departing from Bergen and ending in Copenhagen.
We are currently booked on the Viking pre-excursion of Oslo to Bergen but have time to change this to a DIY experience. It certainly looks easy enough to book the train and more!  

I'll second DIY Oslo to Bergen. I absolutely LOVED this part of our vacation.
Not knowing exactly when you'll be there, if it's June to August, you may consider 2 nights in Flåm.
And spend time in Oslo and Bergen for leisurely exploring as well. The Viking pre-cruise just doesn't give you any real time to explore.

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[Michael219]

14 hours ago, just_dont said:

I'll second DIY Oslo to Bergen. I absolutely LOVED this part of our vacation.
Not knowing exactly when you'll be there, if it's June to August, you may consider 2 nights in Flåm.
And spend time in Oslo and Bergen for leisurely exploring as well. The Viking pre-cruise just doesn't give you any real time to explore.

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Hi just_dont!

Thanks for your reply and suggestion - we'll be there in late June/early July.  I am looking at all options but we'll have a limited number of days over and above the cruise itself.  We currently intend to fly into Oslo for 1-2 nights pre-cruise & take the train to Bergen. I will most definitely look at the potential to spend at least night in Flam - I like the idea of not cramming so much into a port day.  Any hotel suggestions in Oslo and Flam?

[Liz Masterson]

I had some questions about this whole Oslo to Bergen Train Extension.

 

We had booked the 4 day Extension with 2 nights in a hotel inOslo, the train ride, and 2 nights in a hotel in Bergen before we board the ship.  But recently when I went to check a few things out the description on line had disappeared. So I emailed TellUs@VikingCruises.com and they were terrific!

 

It is still on and now up on the website. (They have been updating the website a lot recently.) There is not a Viking Host on the train... but it is 'narrated' (Maybe by an actual person as others have reported having someone assigned to their car?)and Viking Guests are in their own car and have a meal. etc.  There is no need to upgrade your seats as the physical seats are all the same comfort level, but the upgrade allows you to reserve a specific seat and includes refreshments.

 

It would probably be less expensive to do it on our own. But it will also be nice to have Viking handling the luggage! And it will give us a chance to meet some new friends along the way.

 

Here is their email reply to me... but they also called. Nice service.

Note to self: Remember your charger and plug adaptor. Just in case you run down the battery taking pictures!🙂

-------

 

The train journey from Oslo to Bergen or Bergen to Oslo varies between 6 30 minutes and 7 hours.

Transfers to and from the train stations are provided.

The train tickets are standard class, Viking reserves a rail car exclusively for our guests; therefore the tickets are not upgradeable to a different class of service.  The train is NOT escorted by a Viking host.

A meal service is provided.

The Rail Line is NSB  

Pre  Cruise - Direction going Oslo to Bergen - The train leaves Oslo around 12 noon and arrives in Bergen in the evening, usually around 7 PM (Timing subject to change)

Post Cruise - Direction going Bergen to Oslo - The train leaves Bergen around 8 AM and arrives in Oslo usually in the afternoon, usually around 3 PM (Timing subject to change)

https://www.nsb.no/en/our-destinations/our-regional-railway-lines/bergenrailway

 

Note:-  The main differences in the two packages are that Oslo & Scenic Train has 2 nights hotel in Oslo whereas Oslo & Bergen rail has 1 Night Bergen & 1 Night in Oslo.

The other difference is Oslo & Bergen Rail includes a Bergen and an Oslo city tour. Oslo & Scenic Train only has an Oslo included tour.

There are elctrical outlets/sockets at each seat which would need European adaptors which are not available on the train. (JP BSL 28/2/19)

 

Note:- The Flam railway is not part of the journey, but it does conect along the route at Myrdal station.

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, Michael219 said:

Hi just_dont!

Thanks for your reply and suggestion - we'll be there in late June/early July.  I am looking at all options but we'll have a limited number of days over and above the cruise itself.  We currently intend to fly into Oslo for 1-2 nights pre-cruise & take the train to Bergen. I will most definitely look at the potential to spend at least night in Flam - I like the idea of not cramming so much into a port day.  Any hotel suggestions in Oslo and Flam?

Hi Michael219 -

Good points as well.  Sounds like we're doing the reverse cruise!  We are doing late June/early July as well, but on the Viking Sun leaving out of London and finishing in Bergen.  Thus, we are going to do the train to Oslo (DIY) and look at possibly doing Flam.  We were told by friends to stay at the Thon Rosenkrantz in Bergen and in Oslo as they are quite good, so we booked those.  We don't generally have much luggage on a Viking cruise so we'll do our own on the train - not an issue for us.  We'll "see" you sometime in early July as our two ships (Jupiter and Sun) cross paths up in northern Norway!

[just_dont]

Hi just_dont!
Thanks for your reply and suggestion - we'll be there in late June/early July.  I am looking at all options but we'll have a limited number of days over and above the cruise itself.  We currently intend to fly into Oslo for 1-2 nights pre-cruise & take the train to Bergen. I will most definitely look at the potential to spend at least night in Flam - I like the idea of not cramming so much into a port day.  Any hotel suggestions in Oslo and Flam?

My perspective on our recent trip to Norway was that it was likely to be a once in a lifetime experience, so we decided to give ourselves plenty of time. We spent 3 nights in Oslo, which may have been one more than necessary, one night in Flåm (Flåmsbrygga - excellent) and two nights in Bergen prior to boarding.
You'll want to consider what time you'll be arriving each place. We flew into Oslo from London on an early morning flight, so we actually had some time in Oslo our first day. If you're arriving late in the day, you won't have much time for exploring your first day. We spent a full day exploring Oslo and surrounding areas. Our other full day was somewhat rainy, so we didn't accomplish as much, but it was nice to have options. We left Oslo right after breakfast and arrived in Flåm around 2:30 in the afternoon. The Flåm railway is quite special, and Flåm is a beautiful little fjord village - especially after the cruise ships leave.
We took the second (NiaN) ferry out of Flåm so we could have a leisurely breakfast. The ride through the fjords was wonderful. Following the subsequent bus and remaining train ride, we arrived in Bergen around 4pm. Having two nights in Bergen gave us a full day to explore Bergen prior to boarding around 10am following a leisurely breakfast, with a little more time in the Bryggen on embarkation day.
With ship's pre-cruise, you'll be more rushed in both Oslo and Bergen, and you'll miss Flåm and the Flåm railway. If you're not spending a night in Bergen, you'll probably be arriving later on embarkation day after many other pax have already boarded.
And it was really easy to plan and book the NiaN online.
Doing it over, I might've spent one less night in Oslo so we could've spent an extra night in Flåm - especially if our day in Flåm would have been cruise ship free.

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[just_dont]

I had some questions about this whole Oslo to Bergen Train Extension.
 

It would probably be less expensive to do it on our own. But it will also be nice to have Viking handling the luggage! And it will give us a chance to meet some new friends along the way.
 

There is a private porter service that you can hire to transport your luggage between Oslo and Bergen (hotel to hotel), which is great if you're taking the Flåm detour. We sent four suitcases (picked up at our hotel in Oslo), leaving us each with a quite small bag for our train ride, overnight in Flåm, and fjord cruise. Suitcases were waiting for us in our hotel room in Bergen when we arrived the next evening.

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[mhb1757]

23 hours ago, just_dont said:

 

 

There is a private porter service that you can hire to transport your luggage between Oslo and Bergen (hotel to hotel), which is great if you're taking the Flåm detour. We sent four suitcases (picked up at our hotel in Oslo), leaving us each with a quite small bag for our train ride, overnight in Flåm, and fjord cruise. Suitcases were waiting for us in our hotel room in Bergen when we arrived the next evening.

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I will second this suggestion for using Porter Service Norway. It made the entire Oslo to Bergen trip SO much easier. We sent our luggage via Porter Service and just took our overnight necessities for the night in Flam in our backpacks. Nothing to haul off and on multiple trains, buses and ferries. Very reasonable cost and the luggage was waiting for us in Bergen. Loved it. 

[Michael219]

On 8/13/2019 at 4:48 PM, CCWineLover said:

Hi Michael219 -

Good points as well.  Sounds like we're doing the reverse cruise!  We are doing late June/early July as well, but on the Viking Sun leaving out of London and finishing in Bergen.  Thus, we are going to do the train to Oslo (DIY) and look at possibly doing Flam.  We were told by friends to stay at the Thon Rosenkrantz in Bergen and in Oslo as they are quite good, so we booked those.  We don't generally have much luggage on a Viking cruise so we'll do our own on the train - not an issue for us.  We'll "see" you sometime in early July as our two ships (Jupiter and Sun) cross paths up in northern Norway!

Hi CCWineLover,

Thanks for mentioning the Thon properties, I just booked us into the Thon Rosenkrantz in Bergen for the night prior to boarding our Viking Sky.  We are also booked at the Thon Opera in Oslo for a night there prior to heading down to Bergen.  Still a chance we'll decide to spend a night in Flam but undecided at the moment.

Any suggestions for a hotel in Copenhagen?  🙂

[just_dont]

Still a chance we'll decide to spend a night in Flam but undecided at the moment.

Do it!
It's absolutely beautiful and peaceful there in the summer after the cruise ship(s) have left, and in the morning before the tourists start arriving. A great way to split the much more crowded cities of Oslo and Bergen.

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