Oslo Port of Call

[tysmomm]

Hello.

 

My family of four will be in Oslo this June as part of our Scandinavian cruise.  I have done a lot of research, and am trying to decide if we can cover all main attractions and get to the Viking Museum on our own without too much trouble.  I have two teenager boys:  17 & 19.  My husband and I and the boys are athletic and can cover lots of ground, but thought I would check in with other cruisers to see what I could learn.  I don't mind maneuvering metro a little bit, but anything daunting (or not in English) freaks me out a little.  🙂  Thanks for your thoughts.

[1025cruise]

Have you checked the ports of call boards?

[JayRich65]

We got off boat earlier, caught ferry boat to peninsula with Viking and Fram, we were able to beat the cruise buses to the Viking museum, when we were done the buses started to arrive.  We then walked to Fram, and were back in Oslo for a late lunch.  With four folks, taxi may be quicker and not much more expensive.  Especially if you want to go out to ski jump or park too.

 

[Broadside]

I don't know the port but asking for assistance / speaking in English in Oslo is not an issue.

[tysmomm]

Thanks JayRich65.  Good information.  I will check the ferry times and rates and compare to taxi.  Thanks again!

[tysmomm]

3 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Have you checked the ports of call boards?

I will do so now!  Thanks for that tidbit.   🙂

[travellingnana]

I recommend the Oslo Travel Card.  It’s good for transportation in the city (including the ferry out to Bygdoy Island) as well as admission to museums.  We took the ferry out to Bygdoy, saw the Fram Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, the Kon Tiki Museum, and the Folk Museum (all covered by the card).  It worked perfectly.  At the time we were in Oslo ( a couple of years ago) I had to buy the card once we were there; you may be able to download it ahead of time as an app now.  After returning from Bygdoy we even had time to take the train up to the ski jump...and the train was covered by the card too!

[tysmomm]

1 hour ago, travellingnana said:

I recommend the Oslo Travel Card.  It’s good for transportation in the city (including the ferry out to Bygdoy Island) as well as admission to museums.  We took the ferry out to Bygdoy, saw the Fram Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, the Kon Tiki Museum, and the Folk Museum (all covered by the card).  It worked perfectly.  At the time we were in Oslo ( a couple of years ago) I had to buy the card once we were there; you may be able to download it ahead of time as an app now.  After returning from Bygdoy we even had time to take the train up to the ski jump...and the train was covered by the card too!

Awesome information!  Thanks. I will research the card now.  Is the ferry easy to figure out?

[MAVIP]

7 hours ago, tysmomm said:

Thanks JayRich65.  Good information.  I will check the ferry times and rates and compare to taxi.  Thanks again!

Ferry (walking distance from terminal): credit card payment in september 2019 in NOK, (about $ 8,70) for a return ticket to the Museum "Island" for the two of us (67+ seniors). This year, with children and grandchildren I plan to buy day tickets for public transport (very frequent) to the island etc. About US$ 12,15 for adults and half price for seniors and children.   bus #30 to Viking Museum. 9 minutes walk from cruise terminal to Wessels Plass, 16 minutes bus, 2 minutes to museum. 

[ontheweb]

When we were in Oslo on a cruise we intended to take the ferry, but it was not running due to rough seas. We still made it to the Viking Museum with no problem. One of the good things in Oslo is when you are at the bus stops times are posted for each of the next busses.

 

Another place we went to that does not seem to be on any excursion list was the Munch Museum. Of course art museums are always high on our to do list since DW is an art teacher. 

[trosebery]

Only tricky thing about taking the ferry across to the Bydgoy peninsula is that there are a couple of ferries there and you need to make sure you're taking the right one. (Read the signs and when in doubt, ask -- most people speak English.)

 

The museums are great, even for kids and teens. My favourite was the Fram. My kids' favourite was the Kon-Tiki.

 

We got the Olso Pass on the app on my phone. (You'll need to be on WiFi when you activate it.) It covered all the transit (which Google helped us navigate as Google knew the ferry, bus, and tram schedules) and admissions.

 

I also really liked the Vigeland Sculpture Park.

[kaisatsu]

16 hours ago, tysmomm said:

I have done a lot of research, and am trying to decide if we can cover all main attractions and get to the Viking Museum on our own without too much trouble.

What do you consider to be "all main attractions"? I would say that it's impossible to see all the main attractions in a single port day, so you will have to choose a subset of what you most want to see. (Also, if you are visiting this summer, it will probably not be possible to see The Scream, since the National Gallery is closed until 2021 and the copy at the Munch Museum is likely to be in preservation until it's moved to their new building.)

 

Logistically, it's fairly simple to get anywhere. In some cases (i.e. the Holmenkollen ski jump) it can be time-consuming, but it's rarely difficult. Nearly anyone between the ages of 15 and 75 is likely to speak English fluently. Nearly all public transit has digital displays showing the name of the next stop.

 

Specific advice for how to get around depends on what you want to see, in order to provide the best recommendations for how to travel between them.

 

If you're just looking to visit the Viking Ships, you can either catch the aforementioned Bygdøy ferry from the Rådhusbrygge pier in front of the city hall. The ferry is included in the Oslo Pass but is no longer part of the regular transit network (so a Ruter transit day pass does not cover it). The first of the two ferry stops (Dronningen) is a 10-minute walk from the museum. Alternatively, using an Oslo Pass or Ruter ticket (which can be purchased from ticket machines or convenience stores) you can take the bus #30 from Nationaltheatret, which is about 15 minutes' walk from the primary cruise pier.

 

FYI - If you're visiting in 2020, you can find your ship's current pier assignment on the list linked here: https://www.oslohavn.no/no/cruiseliste/

 

If you're visiting Vigelands Park before the Viking Ship Museum, you can take the bus #20 towards Skøyen from the park entrance to Olav Kyrres plass and then switch to the bus #30 towards Bygdøy.

Edited February 5, 2020 by kaisatsu

[travellingnana]

9 hours ago, tysmomm said:

Awesome information!  Thanks. I will research the card now.  Is the ferry easy to figure out?

Most definitely easy. It leaves from pier 3 which is within easy walking distance from the cruise port.  We bought our travel pass from Batservice Sightseeing which is also on Pier 3.

https://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=181623

[tysmomm]

Thanks everyone.  Your information was very helpful.  Sounds like we have plenty of options to get ourselves to the Viking museum.  I will check out the prices for admission to the sites we want to see and compare against the price of the Oslo Travel card to see if that is worth purchasing as well.  We aren't huge "art" people, so we are not interested in walking through art galleries and/or art museums.  We are really interested in the old buildings, architecture, cathedrals, tasting great local food, shopping, etc. I think we will be able to hit all the major cruise passenger "must sees."  Thanks again everyone! 

[kaisatsu]

59 minutes ago, tysmomm said:

We are really interested in the old buildings, architecture, cathedrals, tasting great local food, shopping, etc.

You might consider the Folk Museum, which is next door to the Viking Ship Museum. It’s an open-air museum with historic buildings relocated from all over the country, including an iconic wooden stave church.
 

Oslo is pretty understated when it comes to old buildings and cathedrals. Neither the palace nor the Oslo cathedral are particularly impressive (appropriate given the humble roles both royalty and religion

play in local society). However, both (along with the National Theater, parliament, and Oslo University) are on the central pedestrianized shopping street Karl Johans gate, which can make for a pleasant stroll.

 

For modern architecture, it’s worth a visit to the famed opera house, where you can walk right up onto the roof for views of the harbor and the other surrounding modern architecture, including the Barcode, the new Munch museum, and the upcoming central library.

 

Great local food comes in surprising varieties. Take-away sushi is an affordable local staple (hooray Norwegian salmon). Of course there are lots of options for New Nordic (I like Sentralen for their innovative small dishes based on traditional Norwegian ingredients). Classic Norwegian dishes are more often eaten at home, given the high costs of dining out, but you can find decent examples at Lorry on the north edge of the palace park, or more fish-oriented options at Rorbua in the renovated Aker Brygge waterfront.

[tysmomm]

1 hour ago, kaisatsu said:

You might consider the Folk Museum, which is next door to the Viking Ship Museum. It’s an open-air museum with historic buildings relocated from all over the country, including an iconic wooden stave church.
 

Oslo is pretty understated when it comes to old buildings and cathedrals. Neither the palace nor the Oslo cathedral are particularly impressive (appropriate given the humble roles both royalty and religion

play in local society). However, both (along with the National Theater, parliament, and Oslo University) are on the central pedestrianized shopping street Karl Johans gate, which can make for a pleasant stroll.

 

For modern architecture, it’s worth a visit to the famed opera house, where you can walk right up onto the roof for views of the harbor and the other surrounding modern architecture, including the Barcode, the new Munch museum, and the upcoming central library.

 

Great local food comes in surprising varieties. Take-away sushi is an affordable local staple (hooray Norwegian salmon). Of course there are lots of options for New Nordic (I like Sentralen for their innovative small dishes based on traditional Norwegian ingredients). Classic Norwegian dishes are more often eaten at home, given the high costs of dining out, but you can find decent examples at Lorry on the north edge of the palace park, or more fish-oriented options at Rorbua in the renovated Aker Brygge waterfront.

This is great feedback.  We were planning on going to the open air museum as well.  Thanks for the reminder.  I LOVE the restaraunt tips.  I'm envisioning a traditional Norwegian lunch, so your recommendations are perfect, and lots of snacking by the teenage boys throughout the day....thinking pasteries, local drinks, bakeries, etc.  This has been very helpful.  Thank you.  

[mygreyhound66]

Good day, I am hoping to get some information pertinent to the fact that we are arriving on Celebrity and I have looked up the pier and it will be Filipstaad.  Apparently that pier is inconvenient for travelling about on public transport.  we were planning to take the ferry to the Fram museum, I am also planning to download the Oslo pass app and trigger it just before arrival!  But if someone could help me with logistics of getting to the Fram from our pier I would be grateful.  Husband can't walk huge distances, so would like to save his legs for actual sightseeing, not traversing the port/pier!  thanks to all.......

[kaisatsu]

34 minutes ago, mygreyhound66 said:

Good day, I am hoping to get some information pertinent to the fact that we are arriving on Celebrity and I have looked up the pier and it will be Filipstaad.  Apparently that pier is inconvenient for travelling about on public transport.  we were planning to take the ferry to the Fram museum, I am also planning to download the Oslo pass app and trigger it just before arrival!  But if someone could help me with logistics of getting to the Fram from our pier I would be grateful.  Husband can't walk huge distances, so would like to save his legs for actual sightseeing, not traversing the port/pier!  thanks to all.......

Unfortunately, Filipstad really doesn't have many options. It's a 20 minute walk back to the city hall and Bygdøy ferry pier. You could also walk 7-8 minutes up to the Hjortnes stop along the E18, and catch the bus #81 back to Nationaltheatret, where you can connect to the bus #30 to Bygdøy. You could then take the ferry back to the central pier if you wanted to explore more in the city center.

[Fran2020]

Hi all, could anyone recommend a good fish restaurant in Oslo? Any tips are welcome!

[SarahD112]

What about a hop on, hop off bus as a way to see everything?

[TMLAalum]

9 hours ago, SarahD112 said:

What about a hop on, hop off bus as a way to see everything?

 

We will be taking the tram to see the sights of Oslo. 

https://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=819198

Tram 12 goes by all the major sights including Vigeland Sculpture Park and can be used as a HoHo!

[lynncarol]

My husband and I are senior citizens, and it was incredibly easy to visit the museums by ferry. Also, since our ship berthed near the castle, we bought our Oslo pass in the first big souvenir shop you encounter on the dock. The Senior Citizen rate for the Oslo pass is half that of an adult, so not sure how much money it would save you if you weren't eligible.

However, for the OP whose husband has issues walking, I must say that it was a rather long walk uphill once the ferry dropped us off at the Bygdoy pier. We saw both museums and still had time to visit the Vigeland sculptures in the afternoon by tram. Really enjoyed that as the lilacs were all in bloom during our visit.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, lynncarol said:

My husband and I are senior citizens, and it was incredibly easy to visit the museums by ferry. Also, since our ship berthed near the castle, we bought our Oslo pass in the first big souvenir shop you encounter on the dock. The Senior Citizen rate for the Oslo pass is half that of an adult, so not sure how much money it would save you if you weren't eligible.

However, for the OP whose husband has issues walking, I must say that it was a rather long walk uphill once the ferry dropped us off at the Bygdoy pier. We saw both museums and still had time to visit the Vigeland sculptures in the afternoon by tram. Really enjoyed that as the lilacs were all in bloom during our visit.

We had it all planned with the ferry and instructions in these boards from an Oslo native. And then we got to Oslo, the ferry was not running because of the weather. We still got to see what we wanted. And one convenient thing about the busses is that at the stops there is information on each bus route about how long a wait there will be for the next bus.

[SarahD112]

I think we’re going to get the Oslo city card. Includes the hop on hop off bus, boat, cute little train and museum admissions. 

[catz0026]

really like all the details for how to get around Oslo.  We will be seeing it for the first time next summer so really like all of the details.  We figure to go to the Viking Museum first to hopefully beat some of the crowds, then walk downhill to the Fram and Kon tiki museums.  From there we will take the ferry back to city hall area for more touring.