Norwegian Fjords & Western Mediterranean B2B or SBS

[Jimbo]

Anyone every done both on the same trip overseas. is it possible without much hassle traveling in between. Looking to sail from Amesterdam

[hallasm]

There are not that many Mediterranean cruises from Amsterdam.  You will have a greater chance from, for example, Southampton.

[MeHeartCruising]

I agree with hallasm.  You may need to put a day or 2 in between cruises and travel from Amsterdam to a different port for the second embarkation.  

 

One way to do this would be to ride the Eurostar train from Amsterdam to London (through the English Channel tunnel) and then on to Southampton.  

 

However, if I were to do this, I'd probably fly from Amsterdam to a more southern embarkation point such as Rome or Barcelona.  It really depends on what ports in the Mediterranean you would like to visit most.

 

If you're not married to the Mediterranean option, you could look at a Norwegian Fjords cruise back to back with a Baltic cruise.  There are probably some of those out of Amsterdam.

Edited December 22, 2022 by MeHeartCruising

[Jimbo]

20 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

I agree with hallasm.  You may need to put a day or 2 in between cruises and travel from Amsterdam to a different port for the second embarkation.  

 

One way to do this would be to ride the Eurostar train from Amsterdam to London (through the English Channel tunnel) and then on to Southampton.  

 

However, if I were to do this, I'd probably fly from Amsterdam to a more southern embarkation point such as Rome or Barcelona.  It really depends on what ports in the Mediterranean you would like to visit most.

 

If you're not married to the Mediterranean option, you could look at a Norwegian Fjords cruise back to back with a Baltic cruise.  There are probably some of those out of Amsterdam.

Issue is we are married to the Mediterranean..........would there be any cruises that  leave from Barcelona that go up to Norway and back to Barcelona, RT so then we could hook up with a Mediterranean Cruise.

 

We could do a 14 or 15 night cruise with a 7 day cruise.

Edited December 22, 2022 by Jimbo

[CruiserBruce]

I have not heard of a cruise from Barcelona to the Baltics. Some cruise lines, like HAL, may start a ship in the Med for April and May, then move it to AMS, Rotterdam, or possibly Copenhagen for June on. So you might be able to catch a cruise in the Med, them move with the ship to northern Europe.

[gnome12]

49 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Issue is we are married to the Mediterranean..........would there be any cruises that  leave from Barcelona that go up to Norway and back to Barcelona, RT so then we could hook up with a Mediterranean Cruise.

 

We could do a 14 or 15 night cruise with a 7 day cruise.

Might I politely suggest that you take a look at a map, and check the locations of the Mediterranean and Norway. Any trip that combined the 2 would have to come all the way around the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal), which is a long way from Norway before you could possibly get into the Mediterranean. I agree with the suggestion that to combine these 2 destinations you really need to transfer between a northern port (Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Southampton, etc.) and a port actually on the Mediterranean.

[hallasm]

54 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

would there be any cruises that  leave from Barcelona that go up to Norway and back to Barcelona, RT so then we could hook up with a Mediterranean Cruise.

No. Might be a reposition cruise but not likely. best options for Norwegian fjord in combination with a Mediterranean cruise is still from Southampton

[Jimbo]

I think we may do the 2  cruises from Southampton as some have suggested. Does anyone have any comments on these 2  itineraries. Good or Bad ? Ports, temperatures this time of year etc?

 

• • Day 1: Southampton - England
  • Fri Jul 12 2024 | Depart 05:00 PM
• • Day 2: At Sea
  • Sat Jul 13 2024 |
• • Day 3: Stavanger - Norway
  • Sun Jul 14 2024 | 07:00 AM To 05:00 PM
• • Day 4: Flam - Norway
  • Mon Jul 15 2024 | 08:00 AM To 05:00 PM
• • Day 5: Alesund - Norway
  • Tue Jul 16 2024 | 08:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 6: Bergen - Norway
  • Wed Jul 17 2024 | 07:00 AM To 02:00 PM
• • Day 7: At Sea
  • Thu Jul 18 2024 |
• • Day 8: Southampton - England
  • Fri Jul 19 2024 | Arrive 05:30 AM
• Then the second cruise...................................Western Mediterranean.

• • Day 1: Southampton - England
  • Fri Jul 19 2024 | Depart 05:00 PM
• • Day 2: At Sea
  • Sat Jul 20 2024 |
• • Day 3: At Sea
  • Sun Jul 21 2024 |
• • Day 4: Seville (Cadiz) - Spain
  • Mon Jul 22 2024 | 08:00 AM To 04:00 PM
• • Day 5: At Sea
  • Tue Jul 23 2024 |
• • Day 6: Cagliari - Sardinia - Italy
  • Wed Jul 24 2024 | 10:00 AM To 05:00 PM
• • Day 7: Rome (Civitavecchia) - Italy
  • Thu Jul 25 2024 | 07:00 AM To 07:00 PM
• • Day 8: Nice (Villefranche) - France
  • Fri Jul 26 2024 | 08:00 AM To 05:00 PM
• • Day 9: Barcelona - Spain
  • Sat Jul 27 2024 | 09:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 10: At Sea
  • Sun Jul 28 2024 |
• • Day 11: Lisbon - Portugal
  • Mon Jul 29 2024 | 11:00 AM To 11:59 PM
• • Day 12: At Sea
  • Tue Jul 30 2024 |
• • Day 13: Vigo - Spain
  • Wed Jul 31 2024 | 07:00 AM To 04:00 PM
• • Day 14: At Sea
  • Thu Aug 01 2024 |
• • Day 15: Southampton - England
  • Fri Aug 02 2024 | Arrive 05:30 AM

[gnome12]

About a third of your days (8) are sea days. For me, that would be a deal breaker, but I know others like them. Note that the second itinerary only has 4 Mediterranean ports.

[VMax1700]

How about these two cruises on Holland America:

 

 

 

Nieuw Statendam Departs Civitavecchia (Rome) on 29th April 2023 and ends in Ijmuiden (Amsterdam) on 28th May.  Or you could embark in Barcelona on 6th May.

 

 

[VMax1700]

Sorry, didn't realise you were talking about 2024.  There may be something similar in 2024 but the recently published itineraries for Europe 2024 are a mess on the website as itineraries listed are different to the names of the cruises and the publish voyage map.

[MeHeartCruising]

I would take the OP's proposed itinerary in a heartbeat.  It's a great itinerary as long as it gets you to ports you're interested in.  As mentioned above, it's only part of the Mediterranean, but it offers so much else too.  The northern half will give you a good feel for Norway and has some Fjords, but not all those stops are deep in the Fjords either.  With 23 days aboard, I don't mind a few sea days now and then to recover from extensive port days.

 

The second set of cruises on Holland America above would also be a fantastic trip if it is offered in the OP's time frame.

[CCJack]

Nothing wrong with either of the proposed 2 cruise trips above, they all sound fun.    We were on a Norway cruise with the exact same ports and it was a great cruise.   Flam is in a deep Fjord..

 

However,   - If I were planning a 23 day trip and only allowed 7 hours in Rome (considering drive time from port) , I think that misses the mark.      I do like sea days to unwind  but I would trade a couple of those sea days for 2 hotel nights in Rome - too many historical bucket list sites in Rome to do in an afternoon.      I would begin  or end the Med cruise in Rome, even if it means shortening the med cruise by a couple days.   Then take a Rome to Amsterdam flight  for the Norway departure.  Amsterdam airport is a very easy and short trip to downtown where the ships dock (Southampton is a bit of an effort from Heathrow).   Plus Amsterdam is more interesting than Southampton.

 

Adding a flight is a hassle, but in this case, I think it is well worth it. 

[Jimbo]

On 12/22/2022 at 11:05 AM, gnome12 said:

About a third of your days (8) are sea days. For me, that would be a deal breaker, but I know others like them. Note that the second itinerary only has 4 Mediterranean ports.

 

4 hours ago, CCJack said:

Nothing wrong with either of the proposed 2 cruise trips above, they all sound fun.    We were on a Norway cruise with the exact same ports and it was a great cruise.   Flam is in a deep Fjord..

 

However,   - If I were planning a 23 day trip and only allowed 7 hours in Rome (considering drive time from port) , I think that misses the mark.      I do like sea days to unwind  but I would trade a couple of those sea days for 2 hotel nights in Rome - too many historical bucket list sites in Rome to do in an afternoon.      I would begin  or end the Med cruise in Rome, even if it means shortening the med cruise by a couple days.   Then take a Rome to Amsterdam flight  for the Norway departure.  Amsterdam airport is a very easy and short trip to downtown where the ships dock (Southampton is a bit of an effort from Heathrow).   Plus Amsterdam is more interesting than Southampton.

 

Adding a flight is a hassle, but in this case, I think it is well worth it. 

I think we have come up with a solution. We will need a flight to Amsterdam and then a flight from Amsterdam  to Barcelona(2 night stay) then the Med Cruise which ends in Rome( 2 night stay) then fly home from Rome.

Does this sound better, pros and cons for this total itinerary?

 

• • Day 1: Amsterdam - Netherlands
  • Thu May 30 2024 | Depart 04:00 PM
• • Day 2: At Sea
  • Fri May 31 2024 |
• • Day 3: Geiranger - Norway
  • Sat Jun 01 2024 | 10:00 AM To 07:00 PM
• • Day 4: At Sea
  • Sun Jun 02 2024 |
• • Day 5: Tromso - Norway
  • Mon Jun 03 2024 | 10:00 AM To 07:00 PM
• • Day 6: Honningsvag - Norway
  • Tue Jun 04 2024 | 07:00 AM To 05:00 PM
• • Day 7: At Sea
  • Wed Jun 05 2024 |
• • Day 8: Alesund - Norway
  • Thu Jun 06 2024 | 11:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 9: Flam - Norway
  • Fri Jun 07 2024 | 08:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 10: Stavanger - Norway
  • Sat Jun 08 2024 | 08:00 AM To 07:00 PM
• • Day 11: Kristiansand - Norway
  • Sun Jun 09 2024 | 07:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 12: At Sea
  • Mon Jun 10 2024 |
• • Day 13: Amsterdam - Netherlands
  • Tue Jun 11 2024 | Arrive 06:00 AM
• Second Cruise Barcelona to Rome

 

 

• • Day 1: Barcelona - Spain
  • Thu Jun 13 2024 | Depart 05:00 PM
• • Day 2: At Sea
  • Fri Jun 14 2024 |
• • Day 3: Provence(Marseille) - France
  • Sat Jun 15 2024 | 07:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 4: Nice (Villefranche) - France
  • Sun Jun 16 2024 | 08:00 AM To 07:00 PM
• • Day 5: Santa Margherita - Italy
  • Mon Jun 17 2024 | 08:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 6: Florence/Pisa(Laspezia)Italy
  • Tue Jun 18 2024 | Arrive 07:00 AM
• • Day 7: Florence/Pisa(Laspezia)Italy
  • Wed Jun 19 2024 | Depart 06:00 PM
• • Day 8: At Sea
  • Thu Jun 20 2024 |
• • Day 9: Naples - Italy
  • Fri Jun 21 2024 | 07:00 AM To 06:00 PM
• • Day 10: Rome (Civitavecchia) - Italy
  • Sat Jun 22 2024 | Arrive 06:00 AM

 

[MeHeartCruising]

The new plan sounds perfect to me!  Have fun.

[CCJack]

I agree, this new plan sounds great..  you have added some hassle with hotels / luggage, etc in Barcelona and Rome, but I think well worth it.   Rome, especially, takes some pre planning as it will be crowded.   If your budget allows consider a private local tour guide to take you through the Vatican Museum.

 

Perfect time of the year to go to Norway, those northern stops will have near 24 hour daylight in June and I think that is fun in itself.  

 

Small suggestion if possible.... I would prefer to do Med first.   Med cruise is all about the cities and it can be more "work" with the big cities, crowds, traffic, etc.   whereas Norway is very beautiful from the ship and most ports are small (maybe very small) cities.   For us it was just a much more relaxing cruise, and would  be good to  do the relaxing portion last, IMO.   Not a deal breaker though.

 

Have fun planning.

 

 

 

[Jimbo]

5 hours ago, CCJack said:

I agree, this new plan sounds great..  you have added some hassle with hotels / luggage, etc in Barcelona and Rome, but I think well worth it.   Rome, especially, takes some pre planning as it will be crowded.   If your budget allows consider a private local tour guide to take you through the Vatican Museum.

 

Perfect time of the year to go to Norway, those northern stops will have near 24 hour daylight in June and I think that is fun in itself.  

 

Small suggestion if possible.... I would prefer to do Med first.   Med cruise is all about the cities and it can be more "work" with the big cities, crowds, traffic, etc.   whereas Norway is very beautiful from the ship and most ports are small (maybe very small) cities.   For us it was just a much more relaxing cruise, and would  be good to  do the relaxing portion last, IMO.   Not a deal breaker though.

 

Have fun planning.

 

 

 

Nothing lined up flipping them, would have been to many land days between cruises and thought it was best just flying between Amsterdam to Barcelona, rather then from Rome to Amsterdam which would have been a longer more expensive flight I think so.

 

Got a (Equinox 12 night)  V1 deck 8(middle of bump out for $4554 plus $600 OBC plus all 3 perks free internet, free Tips and the  free drink package.............To good of deal to pass up the V1 Category.

 

2nd leg Jewel of the Seas (9 Night) Category 2D (Deck 7 hump)for $4164 with $250 OBC  (5 free drinks Diamond Plus)

 

Both Cruises are totally refundable.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Jimbo