Newbie for Norwegian Fjords- 2 wk Cruise on HAL

[kkelley]

Good morning,

Huge bucket list booked for this year in August of these Fjords: 

Trying to book excursions and day trips for this exciting trip: I have such a silly question that I am sure that experiences Norway visitors might be able to guide and direct me.

I have a silly question of sort regarding the Norway Fjord cruise we have scheduled in August on HAL.

 

I am in process of selecting shore excursions when we are in ports.  Looking at both cruise line and excursions and other independent ones.

Example of first few days of itinerary;

 

Aug 19th: Eidford, Norway. In port from 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Aug 19th: "Scenic cruising of the Hardangerfjord"

 

Aug 20th: Bergen, Norway

 

Aug 21st: Flam Norway

Aug 21st: "Scenic cruising Sognefjord"

 

 There is one more listing for Olso later on and then the same day "Scenic cruising Oslofjord"

 

Here is the question related to the description of these days:

 

Will we be sailing in/out of these ports on these Fjords to get to these port stops? I would not want to schedule an independent excursion doing the same thing if we sail in and out of these Fjords whilst getting to the port stop.

 

When we are in Stavanger, I have found a small excursion boat that goes down the Lysefjord to see Pulpit Rock, but do we sail on this Fjord to get to Stavanger? If I did this would it be a duplication of scenery we have already viewed?

 

While doing the "scenic cruising" this clearly might be before daylight or after dark? So do you miss the scenery?

 

Any advice appreciated and thank you in advance for your time taken if you are able to share your knowledge.

 

Kindly,

 

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, kkelley said:

Will we be sailing in/out of these ports on these Fjords to get to these port stops?

Yes, you’ll be sailing in and out of the same fjords. You’ll see the scenic fjords from the ship in Eidfjord, Flåm and Oslo.

1 hour ago, kkelley said:

When we are in Stavanger, I have found a small excursion boat that goes down the Lysefjord to see Pulpit Rock, but do we sail on this Fjord to get to Stavanger?

You’ll not sail the fjords in Stavanger - you’ll not see Lysefjord from the ship. Check where the ship is docking in Stavanger- some ships dock far from the city - in Sandnes.

1 hour ago, kkelley said:

While doing the "scenic cruising" this clearly might be before daylight or after dark?

Sunrise is 5 am and sunset 9 pm - still daylight when sailing - be on upper deck at sunrise.

 

Edited January 22 by hallasm

[CCJack]

In Stavanger we docked in town and could easily walk to the blue Rodne  Lysefjord excursion boats.   There were 2 or 3 Rodne boats.  One was for the ship's excursion but you can easily book your own ticket on one of the other boats.  As long as you are docked downtown it is a very easy walk.   

 

The long Fjords you sail into you will see spectacular views from the ship for a long while during sail in and sail out.  Probably no need to book another excursion on water that goes through the same fjord.  Perhaps a land based excursion to hike, bike or train on the fjords to see another viewpoint.

 

 

 

 

[biggerbearmom]

We were in Flam this past summer and had sailed through the area on two other occasions. On this trip we took the ferry from Bergen to Flam, such a different experience being on a small boat and looking up and at the scenery. Once in Flam we took a RIB boat on a fjord excursion. It was fabulous, and again, it was scenery we had previously seen, but getting in close and seeing it from the water level is quite different.

[kitkat343]

5 hours ago, CCJack said:

In Stavanger we docked in town and could easily walk to the blue Rodne  Lysefjord excursion boats.   There were 2 or 3 Rodne boats.  One was for the ship's excursion but you can easily book your own ticket on one of the other boats.  As long as you are docked downtown it is a very easy walk.   

 

The long Fjords you sail into you will see spectacular views from the ship for a long while during sail in and sail out.  Probably no need to book another excursion on water that goes through the same fjord.  Perhaps a land based excursion to hike, bike or train on the fjords to see another viewpoint.

 

 

 

 

 

We did the Rodne boat in Stavanger, along with walking through the historic neighborhood.  We had a 2 year old so we couldn't hike Pulpit Rock.  The Rodne cruise was a very pleasant excursion, but not necessarily a must do given all the fjords you'll see elsewhere, so if your group is capable of hiking Pulpit Rock you should consider that.  As noted, the Rodne cruise was very easy to reach independently and a very good choice if you don't have any other options.

 

7 minutes ago, biggerbearmom said:

We were in Flam this past summer and had sailed through the area on two other occasions. On this trip we took the ferry from Bergen to Flam, such a different experience being on a small boat and looking up and at the scenery. Once in Flam we took a RIB boat on a fjord excursion. It was fabulous, and again, it was scenery we had previously seen, but getting in close and seeing it from the water level is quite different.

In Flam, I'd strongly recommend booking tickets independently for the Flam railroad.  Please note that they sell out quickly so get them early.  We did that in the morning and visited a goat farm in the afternoon for our kids.  If you have a full day in this port, you can do the train in the morning and another excursion like the RIB boat in the afternoon.

Edited January 23 by kitkat343

[biggerbearmom]

11 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

 

In Flam, I'd strongly recommend booking tickets independently for the Flam railroad.  Please note that they sell out quickly so get them early.  We did that in the morning and visited a goat farm in the afternoon for our kids.  If you have a full day in this port, you can do the train in the morning and another excursion like the RIB boat in the afternoon.

Absolutely, the train is popular. We did Flam to Myrdal in 2013 and bought our tickets through the vy.no website. So much cheaper than the ship excursion. On this trip this past summer we spent two nights in Flam and then took the train back to Bergen to pick up our Viking cruise. 

[kkelley]

Thank you all for your responses.

We did book the Flam Train on our own with a later time than the ship excursion has for a couple of reasons. The itinerary for Flam for HAL states that this will require a tender, however on Cruise Mapper I see no other ships in port other than HAL, so I am puzzled as to why the itinerary lists a tender.

I am planning on booking the Rodne cruise when in Stavanger.

 

I do have one other question: I have always researched how many ships are in port using Cruise Mapper but is there a way to tell exactly where a ship will be berthed or what area it is berthed when in port (in advance)?

[edinburgher]

1 hour ago, kkelley said:

is there a way to tell exactly where a ship will be berthed or what area it is berthed when in port (in advance)?

Sometimes where there are several docking options, the OFFICIAL "port of ?" will show which ship is docking where, so worth a try for each.