Rare bebe08 Posted November 13, 2022 #226 Share Posted November 13, 2022 Eidfjord Scenic cruising Hardangerfjord Alesund Geiranger Scenic cruising Geirangerfjord Bergen Scenic cruising Oslofjord Oslo Kristiansand Stavanger Scenic cruising Sognefjord Flam Hi All, which of the above do you recommend doing a small boat cruise to see the fjord...ie will we see more doing a small boat cruise vs where the cruise ship will take us? This is our first time to Norway and we will be on the HAL Rotterdam. Not sure if it is similar to Alaska where smaller boat tours get you closer to the fjords/scenery. We want to do a good mix of seeing the fjords from sea and land as well as exploring what the ports have to offer. Have already done a lot of research and there is so much to see, so was hoping for some recommendations from those who have cruised Norway before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted November 13, 2022 #227 Share Posted November 13, 2022 in the deep Norwegian fjords the size of the ship is of no importance - the ports you have listed can be called by all cruise ships sailing the Norwegian fjords. Hadangerfjord in/out to Eidfjord - Geirangerfjord in/out to Geiranger - Sognefjord in/out to Flåm - are three deep scenic fjords. Oslo fjord are not as scenic, however Oslo an interesting city. Bergen and Stavanger are good coastal ports. Kristiansand is the least interesting port at your list. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineoclock Posted November 14, 2022 #228 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Advice please as going on Celebrity Silhouette in May. Maloy - no excursions listed yet. Alesund - Srandafjell Olden only cray fishing or cable car & hike, limited mobility so can’t do latter Haugesund - Akrafjord & Langfoss Waterfall any suggestions please for private guides or stick to ship excursions or diy? thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineoclock Posted November 15, 2022 #229 Share Posted November 15, 2022 Thinking of changing Alesund to the path of three trolls. Anyone know which is better? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineoclock Posted November 16, 2022 #230 Share Posted November 16, 2022 On 11/15/2022 at 10:13 AM, wineoclock said: Thinking of changing Alesund to the path of three trolls. Anyone know which is better? Thank you We have now changed to the troll excursions. Anyone have recommendations for Private tour guides for Norway? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgtp Posted November 16, 2022 #231 Share Posted November 16, 2022 On 11/10/2022 at 3:57 PM, hallasm said: You are right - not that much deep Norwegian fjords cruising in the three options Option 2 is, in my opinion, the best - the only option with a deep fjord sailing (albeit not the deepest fjord) to Olden. It looks like two days in Ålesund - that should allow for an excursion/cruse to Geiranger. In Stavanger, an excursion and cruising to the Lysefjorden and the 'pulpit' is possible. The highlight is for sure Longyearbyen and Svalbard. My recommendation is either a deep fjord cruise to at least two of the following ports: Geiranger, Flåm, Older or Eidfjord (prioritized) including coastal cities Bergen, and Ålesund - or a separate Svalbard cruise with more time in Svalbard. For Svalbard you might want to check Hurtigruten expedition cruises. TY so much for the great info. Looked into Flam, Grainger, Olden and Eidjord those all seem to fit the bill exactly! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaisatsu Posted November 20, 2022 #232 Share Posted November 20, 2022 On 11/13/2022 at 10:41 PM, bebe08 said: which of the above do you recommend doing a small boat cruise to see the fjord...ie will we see more doing a small boat cruise vs where the cruise ship will take us? As mentioned, your ship will be able to take you into the fjords, but if you’re looking for more fjord cruising or an experience on a smaller boat: In Flåm, you can take the ferry through Nærøyfjord to Gudvangen. Depending on your port timings, you may be able to combine this with the Flåmsbana railroad and so the Norway in a Nutshell loop. In Stavanger, you can take a ferry into the Lysefjord, which isn’t typically part of the sail-in/out. In both cases, planning/booking in advance can be wise as there are limited departures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted November 25, 2022 #233 Share Posted November 25, 2022 Considering how cold it will be in the fjords and the Baltics between 17 May and 18 June 2023, does it make sense to take the alcohol package? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted November 25, 2022 #234 Share Posted November 25, 2022 2 hours ago, drsel said: Considering how cold it will be in the fjords and the Baltics between 17 May and 18 June 2023, does it make sense to take the alcohol package? Is it more necessary to drink alcohol if the weather is cold? I don't understand the relationship between outdoor temperature and alcohol package. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted November 26, 2022 #235 Share Posted November 26, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, hallasm said: Is it more necessary to drink alcohol if the weather is cold? I don't understand the relationship between outdoor temperature and alcohol package. Let me explain . In the MSC Easy Plus package, the best drinks are the frozen cocktails and even the other cocktails have got plenty of ice . without ice, they would not taste as good. So considering cold it will be in the Norwegian fjords and Baltics from 17 May to 18 June, I expect that we will be mostly having hot coffee and hot water. Hot water is freely available in all the bars and hot coffee is also free in the Buffet. Hence I thought that it does not make sense to pay for the alcohol package., which also includes free Wi-Fi by the way. Edited November 26, 2022 by drsel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaisatsu Posted November 26, 2022 #236 Share Posted November 26, 2022 9 hours ago, drsel said: Let me explain . In the MSC Easy Plus package, the best drinks are the frozen cocktails and even the other cocktails have got plenty of ice . without ice, they would not taste as good. So considering cold it will be in the Norwegian fjords and Baltics from 17 May to 18 June, I expect that we will be mostly having hot coffee and hot water. Hot water is freely available in all the bars and hot coffee is also free in the Buffet. Hence I thought that it does not make sense to pay for the alcohol package., which also includes free Wi-Fi by the way. This is such a personal choice. Are the frozen drinks the only reason you’re considering the package? Some people will drink frozen drinks at 20°C. It will probably be warmer in the solarium if there is one. I might order frozen drinks in a hot tub even in colder weather. Weather varies hugely from year to year. I have seen snow flurries in mid-May and I’ve been sunbathing in 23° sunshine in mid-May. By mid-June, the temperatures are usually warmer, but it may or may not rain. Generally temperatures are unpredictable, but I wouldn’t plan for temperatures to be consistently above 25°. Regarding the WiFi, if you’re coming from an EEA country, you’ll have cellular coverage most of the time you’re in the fjords. So if there are few sea days and more coastal sailing, you may not need WiFi as much. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted December 31, 2022 #237 Share Posted December 31, 2022 On 11/14/2022 at 6:51 AM, wineoclock said: Advice please as going on Celebrity Silhouette in May. Maloy - no excursions listed yet. Alesund - Srandafjell Olden only cray fishing or cable car & hike, limited mobility so can’t do latter Haugesund - Akrafjord & Langfoss Waterfall any suggestions please for private guides or stick to ship excursions or diy? thank you In Olden, I would definitely consider the Loen Skylift. Its expensive, but if you have limited mobility would be a wonderful way to see the beautiful views in Norway. It was still a very beautiful location, with a gorgeous viewing platform. On nice days, paragliders take off from the mountain (that happened the day before we arrived) and that must be spectacular to see if you are lucky enough to get good weather. The food in the restaurant was excellent, especially the sample platter of local meat. It’s unsurprisingly expensive, but the view is outstanding and the food delicious. The Loen Skylift is only a 6 km bus ride from Olden, so it isn’t very difficult to get there. Precovid,Olden Adventures ( http://www.oldenadventure.com/ ) was running shuttles to the Loen Skylift, right next to their buses to the Biksdal Glacier so it would be very easy to travel to both attractions through Olden Adventures. You can also take a cab to the Loen skylift. It is a 40 minute ride to the Briksdal Glacier, so a cab there would probably be quite a bit more expensive. Please note that cabs will refuse to transport children without car seats, and although they are required to provide them upon request we were unable to fill any taxi requests we made (we only emailed the taxi companies 2 days in advance; you might have better luck if you contact cab companies far in advance). The most economical option for getting to the Briksdal Glacier precovid was a public bus that runs from June –August but you'd need to check if it is still running. The Briksdal Glacier has been hit hard by global warming, but the 40 minute bus ride there is quite scenic and lovely, as is the hike itself to the glacier so overall this excursion is a very good choice as long as you realize ahead of time that the most beautiful pictures online of the glacier showing lots of ice are not recent and don’t represent what you will see at the glacier. For travelers with young children or mobility issues, there are troll cars available for rent to reduce the length of your hike. These golf carts travel most of the way to the glacier, leaving you with a very pleasant and relatively flat 700 m walk. Since we didn’t expect my 2 year old to make it all the way to the glacier, my husband and 6 year old went ahead of us. To my surprise, my 2 year old slowly but steadily made the entire hike in the allocated time (they tell you what time to return to the platform to catch your return troll car). Reservations are required for troll cars in May and October, and recommended during the summer months (the troll car season runs from May-October). The only challenging thing is that they do request that you tell them what time you’d like to ride on the troll car, which is hard if you want to chose a time to do this excursion based upon the weather forecast (although it is completely understandable they ask you to pick a time, since otherwise there might be a lot of people trying to get on a troll car at one time and this would cause really long delays). I don’t know if the troll car operators are always flexible about the time of your reservation, but we changed our minds about what time to visit the glacier on the day we traveled since we wanted to visit the Loen skylift in the afternoon when the weather was scheduled to be better. I emailed the troll car operators at 9 am as soon as we got on the bus towards the glacier, and they had already switched my reservation by the time we arrived at the troll car office. We traveled in May, when things are less crowded so I don’t know if they will be able to accommodate a change in reservation time during the busy summer months. The troll car website where you can make your advance reservation is available at: http://www.oldedalenskysslag.com . Near where you pick up the troll car is a small café off the souvenir shop; they have excellent waffles. They are best freshly made, so if you have time keep an eye on the plate where they store the waffles and order them when everyone else bought up the older waffles. My family started off by ordering 4, and ended up eating 12 (the kids really loved them and since they’d just finished hiking to a glacier without a single complaint I wasn’t going to say no), so we were able to get a lot of fresh waffles. I don't know if the 700 m would be too difficult with your mobility issues, but honestly the glacier itself isn't the most impressive glacier and I personally was totally prepared not to reach it (I truly didn't think my child would make it because he just turned 2 the day before the cruise) and I was completely comfortable with my choice to visit the glacier anyway. But ultimately you will know better if this is an option for you. I was particularly impressed by the level of accessibility at the Loen skylift - in the US, they would have the elevator to the restaurant, but at Loen they even had a stairlift for people so they could move around the restaurant and access the best views and not be stuck on one level within the restaurant. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted January 1, 2023 #238 Share Posted January 1, 2023 We will be in Flam and Alesund on Constitution Day and Ascension Days this year. Will museums, shops, restaurants be open? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamrose228 Posted January 4, 2023 #239 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Going on the NCL Prima on a May 2023 cruise Starting in Iceland three ports then onto Norway ports Alesund, Gerginer and Bergen ignore spelling. Best excursions for Norway ports TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Turtles06 Posted January 5, 2023 #240 Share Posted January 5, 2023 7 hours ago, pamrose228 said: Norway ports Alesund, Gerginer and Bergen ignore spelling. Best excursions for Norway ports If you do a search in this forum separately for Alesund, Geiranger, and Bergen, you’ll find a great deal of info about each of them. In fact, just scroll down through the threads. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavalcruiser Posted January 9, 2023 #241 Share Posted January 9, 2023 Hi, we are also looking for a cruise in Norway for 2024. The cruise that we are looking at has three departures: early June, mid-July and mid-August. what would be the best time to go ? Any advice/comments are welcome ! Thank you ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted January 9, 2023 #242 Share Posted January 9, 2023 17 minutes ago, lavalcruiser said: The cruise that we are looking at has three departures: early June, mid-July and mid-August. what would be the best time to go ? My vote goes to early June. Still snow in the mountains and a lot of water in rivers and waterfalls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavalcruiser Posted January 10, 2023 #243 Share Posted January 10, 2023 22 hours ago, hallasm said: My vote goes to early June. Still snow in the mountains and a lot of water in rivers and waterfalls. Thank you ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drsel Posted January 11, 2023 #244 Share Posted January 11, 2023 (edited) On 1/5/2023 at 1:50 AM, pamrose228 said: Going on the NCL Prima on a May 2023 cruise Starting in Iceland three ports then onto Norway ports Alesund, Gerginer and Bergen ignore spelling. Best excursions for Norway ports TIA Check out all info about cruise ports on these free websites www.whatsinport.com www.tomsportguides.com Edited January 11, 2023 by drsel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgtp Posted January 11, 2023 #245 Share Posted January 11, 2023 Well while on board Harmony OTS for NYE we booked the Jewel OTS Artic Cruise. Hit's all the deep Fjord's and does the Artic Crossing. So it essentially is doing everything I wanted to do and see. Downside is, the excursions seem to be super slim picking's and are selling out quickly. So Glad this forums exists, so I can check on some 3rd party excursions or DIY tours and gather info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted January 11, 2023 #246 Share Posted January 11, 2023 50 minutes ago, alexgtp said: Downside is, the excursions seem to be super slim picking's and are selling out quickly. So Glad this forums exists, so I can check on some 3rd party excursions or DIY tours and gather info. Here links for more inspiration - enjoy planning. https://www.cruise-norway.no/ https://www.visitnorway.com/?lang=uk https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/#null 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senga Posted January 11, 2023 #247 Share Posted January 11, 2023 @hallasm We will be visiting Skjolden May 16th, arriving at 7 am, Olden May 17th, arriving at 9 am and Alesund May 18th, arriving at 7 am. What time would you recommend we be up on deck to ensure we enjoy the beauty as we cruise into these ports? I know Alesund is at the START of a fjord but you did say it has lovely scenery too. We are hoping to do the Loen skylift while visiting Olden if it’s a nice day. At that time of year, do you think morning or afternoon would find the sun in the best position for optimal photo opportunities? It's quite expensive so I'd like to get the timing right. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted January 11, 2023 #248 Share Posted January 11, 2023 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Senga said: At that time of year, do you think morning or afternoon would find the sun in the best position for optimal photo opportunities? Yes, Ålesund is on the coast - sailing in/out takes about an hour. Skjolden is located at the bottom of a long deep fjord - here you must be on the upper decks at sunrise at 4:30 am - also sunset at 10:30 pm is a good time. The fjord into Olden is not that long - be at the upper deck two hours before arrival. Same route in and out of the fjords. Just note that 17 May is the Norwegian Constitution Day. It is an official holiday that is celebrated with parades - Loen Skylift might be busy that day - open from 9 am to 10 pm. Edited January 11, 2023 by hallasm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senga Posted January 12, 2023 #249 Share Posted January 12, 2023 @hallasmThank you so much for the valuable information. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Caravan 37 Posted January 19, 2023 #250 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Hi - apologies if this has been requested several times already but...... We're sailing 5 May from Southampton on P&O Britannia to: Our first time in Norway so suggestions for relaxed DIY port stops or any other ideas for best viewing options etc whilst on board would be gratefully received. We have a balcony port side Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now