Stavenger-Lysefjord cruise with Rodne - Reviews?

[Retired2016Cruiser]

I am interested in doing a Lysefjord cruise (pulpit rock, waterfalls) when we dock in Stavenger on Oct 6th.  I booked with Rodne (can cancel up to 2 days in advance) as it was significantly less expensive than other tours I found.  I saw one helpful, positive comment in this forum about this tour when I searched, but would like to hear any other comments or reviews of this tour company as I saw a few negative comments about Rodne on tripadvisor that concern me a bit (e.g., cancellation due to mechanical failures, switch out of boat from "as pictured" to smaller less comfortable boat, and last minute cancellation after tour departure time, thus being too late to book with another company.)  Any other positive or negative comments about experiences with Rodne or other tour companies?

 

I've tentatively ruled out the Princess tour as it's the highest price ($189) and appears to be an hour shorter, vs. shoreexcursionsgroup.com and a couple other companies or ways to book that I found, which are running about  $125 right now due to a "sale."  Rodne is approx $70.

 

https://rodne.no/en/fjordcruise/lysefjord-preikestolen/

 

(Note: for shoreexcursionsgroup.com the free cancellation is up to 2 weeks in advance, and must book to find out what  company they use)

 

Any comments positive or negative about experiences with Rodne in Stavenger or other companies are welcome - the more recent the better.  Thank you!

 

[Joy_K]

I did this cruise with Rodne in October 2019 and love it.  Great pricing and would not hesitate to repeat should we be back in Stavanger.  We do have another Rodne fjord tour booked this August from Bergen.

[Cruisen Elf]

I read in last year's  Roll Call of a Northern Lights Cruise that Rodne would not refund money less than 2 days out.  Since their port stop was cancelled after that, they did not receive a refund.  I am struggling with the same dilemma - not wanting to pay Princess's prices, but hesitant to book in case the port is cancelled. I decided to to tour the port on my own, and if we want, to take a Rodne cruise the day of our stop without booking and paying ahead of time.  We are stopping in October, though, so the demand may not be as large if you cruise earlier in the season.  Here is the link to that roll call:  

 

[Retired2016Cruiser]

59 minutes ago, Joy_K said:

I did this cruise with Rodne in October 2019 and love it.  Great pricing and would not hesitate to repeat should we be back in Stavanger.  We do have another Rodne fjord tour booked this August from Bergen.

Thank you!  Hope you enjoy the Bergen Rodne cruise!

 

[Retired2016Cruiser]

57 minutes ago, Cruisen Elf said:

I read in last year's  Roll Call of a Northern Lights Cruise that Rodne would not refund money less than 2 days out.  Since their port stop was cancelled after that, they did not receive a refund.  I am struggling with the same dilemma - not wanting to pay Princess's prices, but hesitant to book in case the port is cancelled. I decided to to tour the port on my own, and if we want, to take a Rodne cruise the day of our stop without booking and paying ahead of time.  We are stopping in October, though, so the demand may not be as large if you cruise earlier in the season.  Here is the link to that roll call:  

 

Thank you!  Booking the day of is a great idea to consider. I'm just not sure how much availability there will be given I'm thinking it's a small port. But, we are also stopping there in Oct. so we have plenty of time to mull this over.  I appreciate the input.   And yes, Rodne's terms & conditions do say no cancellation unless before 2 days out.

[WNcruiser]

4 hours ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

Thank you!  Booking the day of is a great idea to consider. I'm just not sure how much availability there will be given I'm thinking it's a small port. But, we are also stopping there in Oct. so we have plenty of time to mull this over.  I appreciate the input.   And yes, Rodne's terms & conditions do say no cancellation unless before 2 days out.

I don't think ships usually have any issues docking at Stavanger. The city/port is located on the "inside" or east coast of land and in a protected area. 

[CCJack]

We went on the rodne excursion and it was very nice,  i would recommend.   I would book the $70 reservation in advance and just eat the loss if ship cancels the Port.    You are looking at 2x the cost to go with cruiseline excursion,  the odds of the ship canceling the Port are not 50%, probably 5% or so.    Also,  i don't see a big risk that the excursion is late to return to Port and missing the ship's departure.  The rodne boats were docked close to our ship right in town, and they don't really go that far away during the excursion.    

 

Have fun...

[Retired2016Cruiser]

4 hours ago, CCJack said:

We went on the rodne excursion and it was very nice,  i would recommend.   I would book the $70 reservation in advance and just eat the loss if ship cancels the Port.    You are looking at 2x the cost to go with cruiseline excursion,  the odds of the ship canceling the Port are not 50%, probably 5% or so.    Also,  i don't see a big risk that the excursion is late to return to Port and missing the ship's departure.  The rodne boats were docked close to our ship right in town, and they don't really go that far away during the excursion.    

 

Have fun...

Thank you! Good to know.  I was hoping the boats docked close to the ship.  And, I am leaning the same way regarding the risk of missing the port. 

 

[kitkat343]

We took it precovid.  The boat was clean and comfortable and they did a fine job.  I would recommend considering Pulpit Rock if your traveling party can handle it (we had a 2 year old and 6 year old with us that we couldn't carry so it wasn't an option for our family) but if Pulpit Rock isn't an option, the ronde boat was a nice way to spend a day.  Not spectacular like Flam, Geiranger or Olden, but a totally nice excursion.  

 

Do you have trip insurance?  That would cover nonrefundable costs if the port is missed.  Or - and I don't know much about this - some of the travel credit cards might cover this (we get private insurance for medical evacuation for our kids so I haven't researched it but someone else might be able to help point you in the right direction of a credit card that might cover a situation like this.)

Edited February 26, 2023 by kitkat343

[Retired2016Cruiser]

1 hour ago, kitkat343 said:

We took it precovid.  The boat was clean and comfortable and they did a fine job.  I would recommend considering Pulpit Rock if your traveling party can handle it (we had a 2 year old and 6 year old with us that we couldn't carry so it wasn't an option for our family) but if Pulpit Rock isn't an option, the ronde boat was a nice way to spend a day.  Not spectacular like Flam, Geiranger or Olden, but a totally nice excursion.  

 

Do you have trip insurance?  That would cover nonrefundable costs if the port is missed.  Or - and I don't know much about this - some of the travel credit cards might cover this (we get private insurance for medical evacuation for our kids so I haven't researched it but someone else might be able to help point you in the right direction of a credit card that might cover a situation like this.)

Thank you! Good point about travel insurance. I do have a credit card that should cover cancellations. (I'm not as worried about that as missing the excursion due to booking with an unreliable company.) For pulpit rock - do you mean hiking it or visiting it by a land excursion? 

 

Our originally booked .Azamara Norway cruise for Jun/2020 (when we thought certainly the 14 days to slow the spread would be over by June - wouldn't that have been nice!) would have gone through more of the spectacular fjords, I think.   I didn't do a lot of research when I replaced the original Azamara cruise with 2 princess cruises -- summer & northern lights (for the same price). So, I'm trying to see as much of the fjords as possible given the itineraries. We do stop at Olden and booked a shuttle bus to Briksdal glacier.  We don't visit Geiranger or  Flam on either cruise.

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Retired2016Cruiser

[Cruisen Elf]

6 hours ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

Our originally booked .Azamara Norway cruise for Jun/2020 (when we thought certainly the 14 days to slow the spread would be over by June - wouldn't that have been nice!) would have gone through more of the spectacular fjords, I think.   I didn't do a lot of research when I replaced the original Azamara cruise with 2 princess cruises -- summer & northern lights (for the same price). So, I'm trying to see as much of the fjords as possible given the itineraries. We do stop at Olden and booked a shuttle bus to Briksdal glacier.  We don't visit Geiranger or  Flam on either cruise.

 

 

Are you on the Oct. 4th Search for Northern Lights cruise?  Come on over and join the roll call!   

 

[Coral]

I did this and booked privately. Loved it. Would do it again in a heart beat.

 

The Princess tour at the time (2018) included a stop for waffles so you can't price match the excursions.

Edited February 26, 2023 by Coral

[CCJack]

9 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

We took it precovid.  The boat was clean and comfortable and they did a fine job.  I would recommend considering Pulpit Rock if your traveling party can handle it (we had a 2 year old and 6 year old with us that we couldn't carry so it wasn't an option for our family) but if Pulpit Rock isn't an option, the ronde boat was a nice way to spend a day.  Not spectacular like Flam, Geiranger or Olden, but a totally nice excursion.  

 

Do you have trip insurance?  That would cover nonrefundable costs if the port is missed.  Or - and I don't know much about this - some of the travel credit cards might cover this (we get private insurance for medical evacuation for our kids so I haven't researched it but someone else might be able to help point you in the right direction of a credit card that might cover a situation like this.)

We also always get private travel insurance for any cruise especially to an international destination. I have filed claims twice with private travel insurance and had no issues, they paid quickly.   Years ago I tried filing a claim with a travel credit card and after 5 or 6 phone calls to the credit card to people to had no clue about the insurance, I just gave up.    Private insurance companies are in the business of paying claims, (and of taking premiums !) on a daily basis.   I  get insurance mostly to cover the big items such as medical evacuation, but you get a whole host of smaller benefits thrown in... lost luggage, cancellations, etc.     We have seen a number of folks evacuated via helicopter from a cruise ship while at sea.   I have no idea what this costs, but I don't want to be in a position of needing that evacuation without insurance. 

[Turtles06]

33 minutes ago, CCJack said:

We also always get private travel insurance for any cruise especially to an international destination.

Same here. Things happen. Unexpected things. Even tripping in your cabin two hours after embarking on a cruise, breaking your wrist, spending two more hours being evaluated and treated in the ship’s medical center and then being medically disembarked (surgery followed at home).  Insurance covered the entire cruise fare.   
 

[Retired2016Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I did this and booked privately. Loved it. Would do it again in a heart beat.

 

The Princess tour at the time (2018) included a stop for waffles so you can't price match the excursions.

Great! Thank  you!  I did notice the waffle stop, but as much as I'd love to taste the local waffles, I figured I'd get enough food on the trip so would prefer to be seeing (and paying for) scenery - 😉

 

 

 

[Retired2016Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Cruisen Elf said:

 

Are you on the Oct. 4th Search for Northern Lights cruise?  Come on over and join the roll call!   

Yes - We are on the Northern Lights cruise (along with 4 other couples). I've been following the roll call.  Thanks!!

 

 

[Coral]

12 minutes ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

Great! Thank  you!  I did notice the waffle stop, but as much as I'd love to taste the local waffles, I figured I'd get enough food on the trip so would prefer to be seeing (and paying for) scenery - 😉

 

If it helps - I did eat waffles in 2 different places and they were darn good. One was in North Cape. The other was on a Tromso private tour. You can find waffles elsewhere! 

 

Also - they had WIFI on the boat excursion. I had crappy internet on the cruise ship we were on (Princess). So it was nice to have my phone get WIFI and send pictures.

 

People did buy tickets the day of. I bought mine in advance. Also - on our roll call, we all planned to go at the same time. Some walked up early and got on an earlier boat. They didn't realize it until later. It was a great tour. I really was torn between that and the tour to the gardens Flor og Fjære. I want to return and do Flor og Fjære.

Edited February 26, 2023 by Coral

[Retired2016Cruiser]

1 hour ago, CCJack said:

We also always get private travel insurance for any cruise especially to an international destination. I have filed claims twice with private travel insurance and had no issues, they paid quickly.   Years ago I tried filing a claim with a travel credit card and after 5 or 6 phone calls to the credit card to people to had no clue about the insurance, I just gave up.    Private insurance companies are in the business of paying claims, (and of taking premiums !) on a daily basis.   I  get insurance mostly to cover the big items such as medical evacuation, but you get a whole host of smaller benefits thrown in... lost luggage, cancellations, etc.     We have seen a number of folks evacuated via helicopter from a cruise ship while at sea.   I have no idea what this costs, but I don't want to be in a position of needing that evacuation without insurance. 

Very good points! We have annual helicopter/evacuation insurance and rely on credit card insurance (and our own medical) unless trip is a "splurge" trip and/or we felt we might be risking a 10 day (or more) covid quarantine stay out of the country.  Always a good idea to have insurance, as you suggest!

[Retired2016Cruiser]

5 hours ago, Coral said:

If it helps - I did eat waffles in 2 different places and they were darn good. One was in North Cape. The other was on a Tromso private tour. You can find waffles elsewhere! 

 

Also - they had WIFI on the boat excursion. I had crappy internet on the cruise ship we were on (Princess). So it was nice to have my phone get WIFI and send pictures.

 

People did buy tickets the day of. I bought mine in advance. Also - on our roll call, we all planned to go at the same time. Some walked up early and got on an earlier boat. They didn't realize it until later. It was a great tour. I really was torn between that and the tour to the gardens Flor og Fjære. I want to return and do Flor og Fjære.

Good to know! Thanks for the tips 🙂 I hadn't heard about Flor&Fjære but just looked it up.  It does look beautiful! Our cruise isn't until after they close for the season, though.  But good to know for future reference.

[kitkat343]

I believe that hiking Pulpit Rock is usually the highlight of Stavanger, but that wasn't an option for my family physically and might not be one for your party either.

 

For Olden, you might want to contact Olden Adventures and give them your time in port and see if you can visit both the Loen Skylift and the Briksdal Glacier (they run buses to both excursions so they should know if you will have enough time.)  The Loen skylift is expensive, but amazing.

 

We were extremely fortunate to learn that the Loen Skylift opened three days prior to our arrival in Olden. I was a bit anxious about the logistics of visiting a brand new attraction with small children, and the owner of Olden Adventures was very patient and reassuring about the logistics of reaching the skylift. As it turned out, the weather was a bit rainy on the day we arrived, so there were very few crowds. 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. Olden Adventures ( http://www.oldenadventure.com/ ) is 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 is a public bus that runs from June –August. The Norway tourist office stated that in the 2017 season the bus left Port Olden at 9:58 am, and departs Biksdal Glacier at 1:30 pm, and is currently listed as costing 132 NOK for each adult ticket. You might want to contact the tourist office to see if there is any way to purchase tickets ahead of time or if they can run additional buses if the first one is full.

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. 

Edited February 26, 2023 by kitkat343

[Coral]

9 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

I believe that hiking Pulpit Rock is usually the highlight of Stavanger, but that wasn't an option for my family physically and might not be one for your party either.

 

I think it is time consuming also. On our ship - they did a modified hike as there wasn't time to do the full hike.

[Turtles06]

Funny that waffles keep coming up!   We have a tour booked through HAL this summer out of Eidfjord that includes waffles. 😂  (It's not why we booked the tour, but I'll be happy to have some.)  

[Hezu]

19 hours ago, Coral said:

If it helps - I did eat waffles in 2 different places and they were darn good. One was in North Cape. The other was on a Tromso private tour. You can find waffles elsewhere!

Waffles are quite popular in Norway, so there is indeed number of places where they are on offer.

[Retired2016Cruiser]

On 2/26/2023 at 2:21 PM, Coral said:

I think it is time consuming also. On our ship - they did a modified hike as there wasn't time to do the full hike.

Thanks! Yes, I was thinking we may need more time for the hike.  I will double-check the Princess tours to see if they have a modified one.  Also, I'm wondering if hiking in early Oct. might be pushing in terms of weather.

[Coral]

2 minutes ago, Retired2016Cruiser said:

Thanks! Yes, I was thinking we may need more time for the hike.  I will double-check the Princess tours to see if they have a modified one.  Also, I'm wondering if hiking in early Oct. might be pushing in terms of weather.

Our trip was in June.