mnocket Posted February 1, 2023 #1 Share Posted February 1, 2023 (edited) My initial thought was to go for an ocean view cabin due to the weather. A web search indicates that the temps will be about 60F and there will be rain about half the days. That said, I've heard some who have cruised the fjords say that a balcony is essential as much time is spent sitting there watching the views (despite the cold & wind). There's a substantial price jump between ocean view and balcony for the 30-day cruise I'm considering on Oceania ($3,000pp). So I've got to ask those of you who have done a Norwegian Fjords cruise..... how important is a balcony? Thanks for all advice. Edited February 1, 2023 by mnocket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted February 1, 2023 #2 Share Posted February 1, 2023 Had a balcony in a Norway/Iceland/Greenland cruise last July/August. Never cruise without one. But that is just us. A balcony is NEVER a requirement, strictly personal choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnocket Posted February 1, 2023 Author #3 Share Posted February 1, 2023 19 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said: Had a balcony in a Norway/Iceland/Greenland cruise last July/August. Never cruise without one. But that is just us. A balcony is NEVER a requirement, strictly personal choice. Thanks for the reply. How much time did you spend on the balcony during your cruise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted February 1, 2023 #4 Share Posted February 1, 2023 16 minutes ago, mnocket said: Thanks for the reply. How much time did you spend on the balcony during your cruise? A lot of time on port days. Much less on sea days, as the wind made it much less desirable. It was never warm, except the day we sailed from Copenhagen and the last day or two into Boston. It was an 18 day cruise, so for 14 days cold air was a factor. But the scenery was also very nice, so definitely spent some time on the balcony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 1, 2023 #5 Share Posted February 1, 2023 (edited) The answer depends largely on your itinerary. How man deep fjord sailings are there. The view from a balcony can be very limited - to get the full benefit it is much better to be on the upper decks. How much time on your balcony depend on your itinerary. sea days and visit to coastal cities you’ll not use the balcony. And yes, it’s quite cold when cruising the deep fjords early in the morning and late evening. Edited February 1, 2023 by hallasm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnocket Posted February 1, 2023 Author #6 Share Posted February 1, 2023 1 minute ago, hallasm said: The answer depends largely on your itinerary. How man deep fjord sailings are there. The view from a balcony can be very limited - to get the full benefit it is much better to be on the upper decks. And yes, it’s quite cold when cruising the deep fjords early in the morning and late evening. Thanks that's helpful🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 1, 2023 #7 Share Posted February 1, 2023 We have done it in a C cabin deck 4 R class & on the O class shipin a B but we are up on deck more than in the cabin when sailing out of the Fjord Our 1st cruise to Norway we were in an inside but again out on deck or in one of the areas to view the outside What O ship are you on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 1, 2023 #8 Share Posted February 1, 2023 1 hour ago, mnocket said: So I've got to ask those of you who have done a Norwegian Fjords cruise..... how important is a balcony? Thanks for all advice. I did have a quick search on Oceania Norwegian fjord cruising - In fact not that many deep fjords included in the itinerary - mostly coastal cities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BklynBoy8 Posted February 1, 2023 #9 Share Posted February 1, 2023 We always get a balcony for special sailings but we are alway anyway in balconies from the past on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 1, 2023 #10 Share Posted February 1, 2023 9 minutes ago, hallasm said: I did have a quick search on Oceania Norwegian fjord cruising - In fact not that many deep fjords included in the itinerary - mostly coastal cities. What are deep fjord ports? We have done Geiranger & Flam but have no idea if they were deep fjords but the scenery was spectacular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnocket Posted February 1, 2023 Author #11 Share Posted February 1, 2023 42 minutes ago, LHT28 said: We have done it in a C cabin deck 4 R class & on the O class shipin a B but we are up on deck more than in the cabin when sailing out of the Fjord Our 1st cruise to Norway we were in an inside but again out on deck or in one of the areas to view the outside What O ship are you on? Sirena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 1, 2023 #12 Share Posted February 1, 2023 22 minutes ago, LHT28 said: What are deep fjord ports? Deep fjord ports with scenic sailing in/out are: Hellesylt/Geiranger, Flåm, Olden, Skjolden and Eidfjord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnocket Posted February 1, 2023 Author #13 Share Posted February 1, 2023 20 minutes ago, LHT28 said: What are deep fjord ports? We have done Geiranger & Flam but have no idea if they were deep fjords but the scenery was spectacular I've been considering Oceania, Seabourn, Silversea and MSC. The only itinerary that includes Geiranger and Flam is Silversea in June. Otherwise there's another Silversea in late Sept that includes just Flam - but at that time there's a slight chance to see the Northern lights. Are these two deep fjords ports a must see? The other options skip these ports, but have lower daily rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 1, 2023 #14 Share Posted February 1, 2023 8 minutes ago, mnocket said: I've been considering Oceania, Seabourn, Silversea and MSC. The only itinerary that includes Geiranger and Flam is Silversea in June. Otherwise there's another Silversea in late Sept that includes just Flam - but at that time there's a slight chance to see the Northern lights. Are these two deep fjords ports a must see? The other options skip these ports, but have lower daily rates. I would opt for the June cruise to see the waterfalls on the way to Flam/Geiranger they are not so great in Aug We have been to Norway in June/July/Aug all good 😉 Go for the itinerary that suits you best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancing Shoes Posted February 1, 2023 #15 Share Posted February 1, 2023 If you want deep fjords, Geiranger is a number one pick. It would be like cruising Alaska and not seeing either Hubbard or Glacier Bay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea42 Posted February 2, 2023 #16 Share Posted February 2, 2023 I wouldn't cruise anywhere without a balcony. I need my private outdoor space to escape the masses. Every ship I've been on has more people than the town I live in and sometimes I just need that escape. Baltic's, Alaska, Norway it doesn't matter. I dress appropriately and spend time everyday in my little piece of heaven. That's not to say I won't be out and about up top but I need my private retreat. We'll be in Norway in May. After dinner and dancing, going back to our cabin and hanging out on the balcony while it's still light out will be great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 2, 2023 #17 Share Posted February 2, 2023 9 hours ago, mnocket said: Otherwise there's another Silversea in late Sept that includes just Flam - but at that time there's a slight chance to see the Northern lights. Are these two deep fjords ports a must see? IMO a Norwegian Fjord cruise is not 'really a fjord cruise' if it does not include the deep fjords. Geiranger and Flåm are the two best deep fjord ports. September is a good time for the Northern Lights as the itinerary goes inside the Arctic Circle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisemom42 Posted February 3, 2023 #18 Share Posted February 3, 2023 On 2/1/2023 at 5:23 PM, hallasm said: I did have a quick search on Oceania Norwegian fjord cruising - In fact not that many deep fjords included in the itinerary - mostly coastal cities. Which are the deep fjords? Just starting to research a Norwegian cruise.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon-t Posted February 3, 2023 #19 Share Posted February 3, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said: Which are the deep fjords? Just starting to research a Norwegian cruise.... The classics are stops such as Geiranger, Olden, Flam, Skjolden. As others have said, some Norwegian cruises will have mainly coastal stops such as Bergen, Stavanger, or Tromso which are nice cities, but are not situated in classic fjords. If you want to see the classic fjord scenery, and enjoy the cruise along the fjord, you need be including some deep fjord stops to avoid disappointment. Geiranger is probably our favourite cruise port, and is an amazing cruise along the fjord to the port. As an aside, I would highly recommending looking at the Lofoten Islands which are included on some itineraries. Having done lots of Norwegian cruises in the past, we stopped at Lofoten for the first time last year and fell in love with the mountain scenery. Edited February 3, 2023 by Simon-t 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 3, 2023 #20 Share Posted February 3, 2023 21 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said: Which are the deep fjords? Just starting to research a Norwegian cruise.... See post #12 and #19 - my highlights are Geiranger and Flåm - also Olden is fine. Some Coastal cities are very tiny and limited activities - in addition to post #19 I’ll also mention Ålesund. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 3, 2023 #21 Share Posted February 3, 2023 I remember seeing some new regulations on ships & their emissions in the Fjords so maybe some lines will be limited in those ports Check Windstar I saw a couple of itineraries that went to Flam & Geiranger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 3, 2023 #22 Share Posted February 3, 2023 1 hour ago, LHT28 said: I remember seeing some new regulations on ships & their emissions in the Fjords so maybe some lines will be limited in those ports Current regulations. Newer ships can sail the fjords until 2025 - Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is expected until 2030 (if using BioGas). After 2030, only electric propulsion for Geiranger and Flåm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jocap Posted February 9, 2023 #23 Share Posted February 9, 2023 I do not know your ship, but should imagine it has suitable indoor places with sea views? We made the mistake on our first cruise to the fjords of booking a last minute inside cabin, on an enormous ship where most of the public rooms looked inwards to a central mall. We had to sit out on deck for the fjord sailings, and kept returning to the cabin to warm up again and again. Mind you, it was May, so pretty bleak at times. The next time we went, we were on a much smaller, older ship with plenty of indoor seating with fantastic views of the sea/fjords. An inside cabin would have been fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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