Must see ports in Norway

[Bizziecruzer]

Hi we will be cruising to Norway in September 2023.

Having trouble deciding between these 2 itineraries. Can anyone please make suggestions as to why they think one is better than the other?

Copenhagen, Helleslyt, Geiranger, Bergin, Stavanger, Kiel and Copenhagen. Costa Firenz.

 

Copenhagen, Helleslyt, Maloy, Flam, Kiel and Copenhagen. MSC Euribia.

 

We are swaying towards the one that goes to Flam, however that means no Bergin. Thanks in advance for your input.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Bizziecruzer
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[markeb]

First one. It goes to Geiranger. Gerainger is one of the most unique sites in Scandinavia. You also get Bergin. Full disclosure: I've never been to Flam, so I can't compare, but I'll never forget Geiranger.

[Ine]

To us Geiranger is absolutely nr. 1, Flam a good number 2. Both great sailing into and from the fjord. Geiranger has a great tour to 3 different viewpoints. In Flam of course make the train ride, but also the bus to Stegastein viewpoint is great. 

[Ashland]

11 hours ago, Bizziecruzer said:

Hi we will be cruising to Norway in September 2023.

Having trouble deciding between these 2 itineraries. Can anyone please make suggestions as to why they think one is better than the other?

Copenhagen, Helleslyt, Geiranger, Bergin, Stavanger, Kiel and Copenhagen. Costa Firenz.

 

Copenhagen, Helleslyt, Maloy, Flam, Kiel and Copenhagen. MSC Euribia.

 

We are swaying towards the one that goes to Flam, however that means no Bergin. Thanks in advance for your input.

We just returned from an RCI Jewel Arctic Circle itinerary cruise and some of our ports were very disappointing but, Geiranger & Bergin were the highlight !!

[BuckeyeMark]

15 hours ago, Ashland said:

We just returned from an RCI Jewel Arctic Circle itinerary cruise and some of our ports were very disappointing but, Geiranger & Bergin were the highlight !!

What disappointed and why?  NEED MORE INFO PLEASE!!!!

[Ashland]

7 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

What disappointed and why?  NEED MORE INFO PLEASE!!!!

One of our ports it was a Sunday and everything was closed (the small town was a ghost town) except for a tourist office and one gift shop at the port. A few others just reminded us of any large city in the US. Unfortunately RCI docked at basically some industrial docks. At times there was a shuttle provided..but one in particular just dropped us off at the city bus station and you were on your own with no information given. Oslo we also were pretty far out and there was literally nothing at the dock...no info provided at all (yes even though we usually never complain this time we did complain onboard).

 

Also some had saved receipts from port stops to get a refund back on I believe tax in Norway but since Oslo was our last port they were told they would have to make an approx 30 min one way walk to the office that processed this. This is something that should have been told or one set up at our dock...as I said there was only one security guard at the gate of this far away port dock.

 

I may have over expected our port stops to be quaint towns and feel like we were actually in Norway. The only ports that lived up to this was Geiranger & Bergen. We are glad we did this cruise but certainly won't book it again. Sorry some may disagree but this was our personal opinion. 

[gnome12]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

One of our ports it was a Sunday and everything was closed (the small town was a ghost town) except for a tourist office and one gift shop at the port. A few others just reminded us of any large city in the US. Unfortunately RCI docked at basically some industrial docks. At times there was a shuttle provided..but one in particular just dropped us off at the city bus station and you were on your own with no information given. Oslo we also were pretty far out and there was literally nothing at the dock...no info provided at all (yes even though we usually never complain this time we did complain onboard).

 

Also some had saved receipts from port stops to get a refund back on I believe tax in Norway but since Oslo was our last port they were told they would have to make an approx 30 min one way walk to the office that processed this. This is something that should have been told or one set up at our dock...as I said there was only one security guard at the gate of this far away port dock.

 

I may have over expected our port stops to be quaint towns and feel like we were actually in Norway. The only ports that lived up to this was Geiranger & Bergen. We are glad we did this cruise but certainly won't book it again. Sorry some may disagree but this was our personal opinion. 

You still haven’t mentioned the actual ports that you didn’t enjoy. It would be helpful to others to know that. 

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, gnome12 said:

You still haven’t mentioned the actual ports that you didn’t enjoy. It would be helpful to others to know that. 

Sorry I didn't but here they are round trip from Amsterdam July 26-Aug 7, 2022

Geiranger

Tromso

Honningsvag

Alesund

Bergen

Kristiansand

Oslo

 

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, Ashland said:

Sorry I didn't but here they are round trip from Amsterdam July 26-Aug 7, 2022

Geiranger

Tromso

Honningsvag

Alesund

Bergen

Kristiansand

Oslo

This is in fact a very nice itinerary but for a Norwegian Fjords cruise you need to do your research and plan excursions in advance - some of the ports a quite small and sights are not easily accessible without an excursion/bus ride - and they are not available at the pier (maybe except for Geiranger). 

[hallasm]

On 8/19/2022 at 1:41 PM, Bizziecruzer said:

suggestions as to why they think one is better than the other?

Copenhagen, Helleslyt, Geiranger, Bergin, Stavanger, Kiel and Copenhagen. Costa Firenz.

 

Copenhagen, Helleslyt, Maloy, Flam, Kiel and Copenhagen. MSC Euribia.

For sure the first cruise including Geiranger, Bergen and Stavanger

At the first cruise Hellesylt is a short technical stop for excursions to Geiranger. At the second you need to arrange for excursions from Hellesylt to Geiranger - either by bus or boat.

Måløy is a new cruise port - a very tiny town.

 

[kaisatsu]

14 hours ago, Ashland said:

Oslo we also were pretty far out and there was literally nothing at the dock...no info provided at all (yes even though we usually never complain this time we did complain onboard).

 

Also some had saved receipts from port stops to get a refund back on I believe tax in Norway but since Oslo was our last port they were told they would have to make an approx 30 min one way walk to the office that processed this. This is something that should have been told or one set up at our dock...as I said there was only one security guard at the gate of this far away port dock.

Sounds like RCCL opted for the Filipstad dock in Oslo again. We actually have three cruise piers that are right in the center of town, the primary pier being located literally alongside the 14th-century Akershus castle with a visitor center on site.

 

14 hours ago, Ashland said:

I may have over expected our port stops to be quaint towns and feel like we were actually in Norway.

I think you did feel like you were actually in Norway! Nothing open on a Sunday and not much going on? Quaint and very Norwegian! 😆

 

Keep in mind that Norway is still Scandinavian, so while there’s a love for the classic colorful wooden structures, there’s also a long history of Scandinavian minimalism. A lot of people also choose modern structures for the environmental considerations as they are more efficient to heat and maintain.

 

Also, a lot of the coastal towns are tiny with just a few hundred residents. There has been some pushback over the last decade because the small towns were suffering under the influx of thousands of tourists in a single day. Several of them decided they didn’t want to deal with it anymore and closed to cruise ships.