7 Day Scandivanian Cruise - excursions?

[ckrcjr]

We are booked on the Crown Princess 7 day Scandinavian cruise for July 2020.  Very excited as this will be our first European cruise!  I have been trying to find excursion info for the ports but find most info is for the fjord cruise.  Has anyone taken this cruise and have any suggestions for excursions?  Typically we book independent excursions for the Caribbean but since these ports are all unfamiliar to us we are not sure if we should stick with ship excursions.  The ports are Kristinsand Norway, Oslo Denmark, Skagen Denmark and Copenhagen Denmark.  All thoughts are welcome - if there are any suggestions as what is a must do or something to "skip" that is welcome too.  I have done a search on these boards but limited info for Kristinsand and Skagen.  

 

Thanks so much for any of your thoughts!

[phabric]

I am interested in any suggestions, I will be doing this cruise August 2021 on the Grand.

[hallasm]

Oslo is in Norway.

This is a Copenhagen topic with many ideas - happy to answer specific questions 

 

[hallasm]

.. and topic for Skagen -questions are welcome

 

[Cornishpastyman1]

We did this in Skagen. It was a beautiful day so we went to the beach 😀 We paid by app for the bus to Grenen but the Sandormen there is cash only, I think it was 30 D kr pp. All the best, Tony

 

 

[ckrcjr]

6 hours ago, hallasm said:

Oslo is in Norway.

This is a Copenhagen topic with many ideas - happy to answer specific questions 

 

Thank you for  correcting my quick typing error - Oslo is definitely in Norway.   I have been looking at a few Copenhagen threads and will be asking more questions soon.  Thank you for the offer!

 

[Danish viking]

May i suggest my own Wonderful Copenhagen thread 🙂

[ckrcjr]

Thank you everyone for some helpful info.  I appreciate each and every one.

 

Cornishpastyman1 - we are hoping to go to Grenen and it appears the bus would be much cheaper than the ship's tour - and give us more time to enjoy the area.  The ship will be in port from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. so it sounds like we could do this and still explore the town.

 

Hallasam - are there any other suggestions that would be a must see/do while we are there?  Looks like a wonderful port to visit!

 

Thank you all again - and will be checking the Copenhagen threads again for more hints as well!

 

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, ckrcjr said:

Hallasam - are there any other suggestions that would be a must see/do while we are there?  Looks like a wonderful port to visit!

More information here

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2559816-skagen-denmark-question/?tab=comments#comment-55214729

highlights are Skagens Art Museum, visit to Grenen, The Sand Covered Church and Råbjerg Mile(Dune)

 

[Cornishpastyman1]

4 hours ago, ckrcjr said:

Cornishpastyman1 - we are hoping to go to Grenen and it appears the bus would be much cheaper than the ship's tour - and give us more time to enjoy the area.  The ship will be in port from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. so it sounds like we could do this and still explore the town.

 

 

 

 

With those long port hours and the ship very close to the town you can very easily do that, even if you don't get off the ship until say 10 am. It won't matter at all if you lose 20 minutes once or twice waiting for a bus, and if the weather's bad you can call the whole thing off without being committed to a tour.

 

 

[kaisatsu]

Oslo is a very easy port to DIY with a bit of advance planning. Ship's excursions tend to travel by private bus, which isn't always the fastest way to get around the city, since several roads are restricted to public transit.

 

What to see depends a lot on your interests. Art? History? Architecture? Nature?

 

With zero additional information, this is a (rather exhausting) one-day itinerary that hits my top picks:

• Pick up an Oslo Pass at the cruise terminal and head towards the city hall to catch the tram #12 (towards Majorstuen). Get down at Vigelandsparken and explore the sculpture park. In exchange for studio space, Gustav Vigeland agreed to donate the rest of his life's work to the city, and the park contains myriad (nude) sculptures celebrating the human form through all walks of life.
• Back at the main entrance, catch the bus #20 (towards Skøyen) to Olav Kyrres plass. Switch to the #30 (towards Bygdøy) and get down at Folkmuseet to visit the open-air folk museum. The grounds are quite extensive and contain various historic buildings relocated from around the country, including an iconic wooden stave church. Several of the buildings contain exhibits about traditional Norwegian culture, and in the summer there are often living history demonstrations.
• Grab a quick lunch at the cafe (or plan ahead and bring along a picnic).
• Walk next door (or catch the 30 bus one stop if happens to be there) to the Viking Ship museum to see the famous viking burial ships and related archaeological finds.
• Hop back on the bus #30 and get down at Bygdøynes to explore the Fram Museum of polar exploration. Home to the ship that carried Roald Amundsen south on his expedition to first reach the South Pole, this museum tends to be a pleasant surprise for visitors. There are a number of displays detailing historic polar exploration, and the Fram itself is open for visitors to explore.
• Next door to the museum is the pier for the Bygdøy ferry, which will take you across the harbor and back to the city hall dock near the main cruise pier.

[Thejuggler]

The Oslo ski jump and museum is worth a visit.  Getting there by Metro is a great journey as you climb out of the city to the surrounding hillside.

[Adventures ahead]

Doing the same cruise in September and expecting rainy weather. Following this thread!

[just_dont]

Oslo is a very easy port to DIY with a bit of advance planning.
 
With zero additional information, this is a (rather exhausting) one-day itinerary that hits my top picks:

• Pick up an Oslo Pass at the cruise terminal and head towards the city hall....
  

That's the exact day trip that we did in Oslo this past June, except in reverse. It was a great day.
Note the part about picking up the Oslo Pass, as this provides unlimited tram, bus, and ferry use, as well as entrance to the museums, included in the cost of the pass.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[tanyaewa]

On 2/15/2020 at 4:17 AM, Adventures ahead said:

Doing the same cruise in September and expecting rainy weather. Following this thread!

We will be on that one too! But I’m hoping for sun 

[kitkat343]

We were able to easily DIY copenhagen on our own, even with a  3 year old in tow.  Public transport is wonderful there.  You might want to take a canal cruise, as this is a very pleasant way to see the city.  Try to find a warm, dry patch for that if possible.    

Edited February 20, 2020 by kitkat343

[catz0026]

hoping for sun as well, great tips, much appreciated