IONA Fjords Port timings?

[hebbie67]

Hi, Does anyone know the approximate port arrival/departure timings for Iona Norwegian Fjords (Stavanger, Olden, Hellesylt, Haugesund)?  I've looked at the port websites and the usual sites such as cruisemapper & crew-centre etc but they just say N/A which makes it difficult to plan!  Any ideas why this is or advice would be appreciated.  Many thanks

[terrierjohn]

Yesterdays full page advert in the paper for lots of Iona sailings for the remainder of 2022 and also 2023, listed ports as Stavanger, Alesung , Olden and Haugusund. So it looks as though Geiranger/Helesylt has been totally dropped, leaving only one Fjord visit.

[hebbie67]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Yesterdays full page advert in the paper for lots of Iona sailings for the remainder of 2022 and also 2023, listed ports as Stavanger, Alesung , Olden and Haugusund. So it looks as though Geiranger/Helesylt has been totally dropped, leaving only one Fjord visit.

Oh! We depart next Saturday and Hellesylt is on our itinerary.... just no clear timings which is quite frustrating.

[niccynoo66]

hi,

we were on Iona last week and these were our port times 

Stavanger 09.30 - 4.30 

Olden 09.30 - 5.30

Hellesylt 06.30 - 4.00

Haugesund 10.00 - 5.30

 

Hope this helps a bit,

Nicky 😊

[hebbie67]

2 hours ago, niccynoo66 said:

hi,

we were on Iona last week and these were our port times 

Stavanger 09.30 - 4.30 

Olden 09.30 - 5.30

Hellesylt 06.30 - 4.00

Haugesund 10.00 - 5.30

 

Hope this helps a bit,

Nicky 😊

Thank you so much Nicky - that's exactly what we were looking for 🙂  Hope you had a good cruise.  Any other tips would be greatly received!  Heb

[niccynoo66]

Morning ,

We had a fabulous time and all of us loved the cruise. 
Please ask away and I will hopefully be able to answer any questions 😁

[Ladyshopper23]

19 hours ago, niccynoo66 said:

hi,

we were on Iona last week and these were our port times 

Stavanger 09.30 - 4.30 

Olden 09.30 - 5.30

Hellesylt 06.30 - 4.00

Haugesund 10.00 - 5.30

 

Hope this helps a bit,

Nicky 😊

Thanks for this, helpful to me too, as we go a week on Saturday.

Did you book shore excursions, or just do your own thing?

Any top tips of things not to miss?

[niccynoo66]

Hi 

just for info we were a family of six , me and husband (45 and 50), our teenagers (19 and 16) and my parents (73 and 75) 😊

in stavanger we explored ourselves , we were off ship for three hours and it was a beautiful place. We saw the lake and fountain , cathedral (covered up 😟) , old town and the colourful street. We all loved it 😍 

 

in olden we were all booked on the P and. O excursion, troll car and briksdal glacier . Well  this was stunning , best trip we’ve ever done and teenagers were totally amazed by the scenery x troll cars were great fun too . 
think we were off the ship for about three and a half hours 

 

in Hellesylt my mom and dad went to Gerainger fjord on the ferry through P and O excursion, really loved it and saw loads of scenery waterfalls etc ( they were out for maybe five hours ? ) 

the rest of us did the kayaking through P and O , plenty of fun and moments of sheer terror 😂

and finally Haugesund , 19 year old gave it a miss 😆 the rest of us walked into town via the bridge , very easy and tourist board give you a map . Not much to see , there are shops snd cafes . Mom and dad would have preferred an excursion tour to somewhere else ! 
we saw the town , the park , townhall and Marilyn monroe fountain. To be fair we had done little research for this port 

 

best wishes

nicky 

[hebbie67]

12 hours ago, niccynoo66 said:

Morning ,

We had a fabulous time and all of us loved the cruise. 
Please ask away and I will hopefully be able to answer any questions 😁

Thanks for the port/trip information below - really useful!  A couple more questions please:

What did you pack?  The weather forecast looks quite cool (compared with recent UK heatwave!) and possibly wet - think we've put aside way too much stuff to cover all eventualities at present!

How dressy were the 'evening casual' nights?  

How did you find the anytime dining system? Any recommendations?

I read somewhere about bars closing at 11pm - is this right?!

Thank you!

Heb

[niccynoo66]

For packing we took layers , t shirts , jumpers and light jackets .  On all but one day we were fine without the jackets , and in stavanger only needed t shirts. We also took an umbrella but fortunately didn’t need it. 
The formal night we were all dressed up , we saw lots of people dressed up in dresses and suits. On the other nights we saw a variety of outfits , we had meals in many different places and people were dressed accordingly. I wore smart trousers and a nice top on normal nights and a sparkly dress on celebration night. 
we find any time dining suits us with teenagers but I think mom and dad prefer to have a set time so we mixed and matched and had some meals together as six and others separately. Once we were ready to eat the virtual queue was easy to use and usually only took five mins before our table was ready. 
we ate in three of the four main restaurants, Pearl, Opal and coral , all really enjoyed the food and found something for everyone. 
we also ate at the quays , breakfast is usually quieter there. Also in Olive Grove and the beach house , both excellent and thumbs up from all six of us . 
we used horizons on and off and it was always good , with a mix of foods. We all had a big ice cream in the ice cream shop , delicious and huge portions. 
many drinks were had in all the bars 😁 they had a limited cocktail menu in the crows nest and emerald bar but we still got to try some of them. My husband said some bars didn’t have Peroni but he turned to gin 😂

We did manage to book what restaurants we wanted but did have to go to The olive grove to get a table for six. 
All staff on board were friendly and helpful . I’m an early bird so was back in my cabin by ten but bars were certainly open until late / early . ( confirmed by husband and teenage son !) 

there was a full schedule on board of talks and quizzes etc and both theatre shows were enjoyable and entertaining 😊

Nicky x 

[hebbie67]

Than you so much Nicky for such comprehensive info!  All very reassuring - can't wait to set sail now 😀 Cheers Heb x