Rip off shore excursions: Flam railway

[buchanan101]

Cunard price: $159 each

NorwayBest: 730NOK = £54 = $68 each

 

Have booked direct for Queen Anne in June - one train already sold out (on Norway Best) - there's also a Silverseas ship in the same day.

 

But the Cunard mark up is obscene, especially as they'll bulk purchase for <<$68 per - it's a short walk from the ship

Only downside... if we can't dock. In a fjord...

 

Not pre-booking either of the Bergen options (cable car/funicular) as I understand both are easily reachable, though the ship doesn't arrive early morning

 

 

[Solent Richard]

2 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Cunard price: $159 each

NorwayBest: 730NOK = £54 = $68 each

 

Have booked direct for Queen Anne in June - one train already sold out (on Norway Best) - there's also a Silverseas ship in the same day.

 

But the Cunard mark up is obscene, especially as they'll bulk purchase for <<$68 per - it's a short walk from the ship

Only downside... if we can't dock. In a fjord...

 

Not pre-booking either of the Bergen options (cable car/funicular) as I understand both are easily reachable, though the ship doesn't arrive early morning

 

 

 

We did Norway best as well, I even produced an article on my cruise blog...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2023/08/02/one-way-to-do-flam/

 

The cruise lines do have their own trains allocated....

 

 

While I have no means of checking your Cunard price I did make a note of the cruise line's that we used last May....

 

 

Of course, for those who by their very nature prefer to stick with the cruise line for their shore experiences, there is the guarantee that should the visit be cancelled they are sure of a full refund.

 

If you are like me, then a gamble, whatever the challenge,  is often worth the outlay 😂

 

[Bedruthen]

It’s not unusual. You are paying for convenience.
Personally we love to make tour independently and in 20 years, have never had a problem. We have taken the train to Florence and Rome from the ports, hired taxi and driver for the day, and mimicked many of the cruise line tours for significantly less. All the cruise lines rely on their passengers innate fear of the boat sailing without them to sell their tours and price accordingly.

[buchanan101]

 

Here you go Richard!

 

I'd expect maybe 50% markup, but ~135%?

 

As a shareholder I admire their ambition...

 

Train before ours was sold out... about 11am?

 

We are back by 14.30

 

[elmsliebev]

26 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

 

Here you go Richard!

 

I'd expect maybe 50% markup, but ~135%?

 

As a shareholder I admire their ambition...

 

Train before ours was sold out... about 11am?

 

We are back by 14.30

 

is this the cruise departing 23rd June? We're on that too and have booked the railway independently, the one after you I think. I noticed there was a Cunard trip planned for later than the one we have booked.

We're also doing our own thing with the troll cars in Olden, much cheaper even allowing for hiring a taxi to get to the glacier. 

Booking your own does of course bring some risk but one we're currently prepared to take. 

[foodsvcmgr]

As inflated as this appears to be, the markup on Celebrity excursions vs identical independent tours is far higher in my experience.

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

HAL also inflates prices, especially in small ports where there isn't much to do unless you book a tour. And they contract as many local vendors as possible, so everything is sold out before you can try to book independently. I think the smaller the port, the more they know they can charge. 

 

 

 

[buchanan101]

2 hours ago, elmsliebev said:

is this the cruise departing 23rd June? We're on that too and have booked the railway independently, the one after you I think. I noticed there was a Cunard trip planned for later than the one we have booked.

We're also doing our own thing with the troll cars in Olden, much cheaper even allowing for hiring a taxi to get to the glacier. 

Booking your own does of course bring some risk but one we're currently prepared to take. 

Yes, that's the one. We are the one after the sold out one. Couldn't see when Cunard trips were. I booked as near middle of the day as I could for late arrival/delayed trains issues

 

Don't know about troll cars and Olden - only other one planned so far is to go up cable car or funicular in Bergen if the weather is Ok - it's a late morning or early afternoon arrival which is a bit rubbish

[Solent Richard]

3 hours ago, buchanan101 said:

 

Here you go Richard!

 

I'd expect maybe 50% markup, but ~135%?

 

As a shareholder I admire their ambition...

 

Train before ours was sold out... about 11am?

 

We are back by 14.30

 

 

It crossed my mind to mention that when I originally answered your OP.

 

I'm always eternally grateful to the member(s) who do consistently book through the cruise line.

 

Your challenge is now to climb that valley side to the mini-glacier prior to the train ride, I did it afterwards....

 

 

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[elmsliebev]

1 hour ago, buchanan101 said:

Yes, that's the one. We are the one after the sold out one. Couldn't see when Cunard trips were. I booked as near middle of the day as I could for late arrival/delayed trains issues

 

Don't know about troll cars and Olden - only other one planned so far is to go up cable car or funicular in Bergen if the weather is Ok - it's a late morning or early afternoon arrival which is a bit rubbish

the latest one on "My Cunard" is showing as 14.45, which is probably the 14.55 train as t's so close. We're on the 13.30 train.

Yes, we're thinking of the funicular in Bergen, then walking back down. We'll wait and see what the weather is like too. 

[Winifred 22]

On QM2 Last May they had just reserved some carriages at the front of the train. My ticket purchased as soon as we docked was half the excursion price. 

[fabnfortysomething]

the train is the same one for both independent and cruiseline passengers

all cruiselines block book seats so can sometimes be difficult to find seats independently especially if more than 1 ship in port

however its worth persevering as the cost can be half of that of cruiseline and as you are on same train they cant pull that old scare tactic that ship may leave without you

 

our experience several years ago was that a member of roll call co ordinated seats and reserved a central carriage for us

this meant when stopped at waterfall half way up we were directly opposite platform whereas carriages front and back of train were in tunnel and passengers had to make their way down carriages to exit-and yes those were the ones reserved by cruiseline

 

the other difference was that the cruiseline trip included a waffle at the hotel at penultimate stop before Myrdal

 

there is only single track with a cross over point half way up

the preceeding train was delayed coming back down so we waited for 20 minutes at this cross over point-good views though

 

when we arrived at hotel stop there was a crowd waiting to board having had their overpriced waffle

however they werent allowed to get on until train was on return journry 20 minutes later

it was late May but at that elevation there was snow and ice piled up on the platform!

 

we were feeling very smug we had booked independently! 

[Solent Richard]

11 hours ago, fabnfortysomething said:

the train is the same one for both independent and cruiseline passengers

all cruiselines block book seats so can sometimes be difficult to find seats independently especially if more than 1 ship in port

 

I would beg to differ having travelled more recently. 

 

There definitely was a separate train for ship excursion booked travellers as my blog review at # 2  indicates....

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2023/08/02/one-way-to-do-flam/

 

 

I had booked online using the same website as the OP and my wife and i found no problem picking the seats that suited us on the day....

 

 

 

...though there was a small section reserved in that particular carriage.

 

If I could possibly give a tip to those travelling in the near future, @buchanan101 in particular, aim to sit on the outward journey in the second carriage from the front left hand side. The reason I mention this is because when the train stops at the Kjosfossen Waterfall you are in a prime position to find an advantageous position for an uncluttered view of the legendary and seductive  Huldra entertainment performance....

 

 

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[buchanan101]

It must be a hell of a waffle to allow for their near 60% cut of the price...

 

I could've waited to buy on arrival but doubt it'd be that much cheaper than NorwayBest price - I do like a certain amount of piece of mind, just not $180 worth... heck that pays for Starlink...

[buchanan101]

Thanks for the tip @Solent Richard.  2nd carriage left hand side

 

Suspect the train ahead of the one I booked is the reserved one as sold out. Two ships in Flam that day - hope we pull rank over the Silverseas one (Silver Dawn) and can dock.

[Solent Richard]

5 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Thanks for the tip @Solent Richard.  2nd carriage left hand side

 

Suspect the train ahead of the one I booked is the reserved one as sold out. Two ships in Flam that day - hope we pull rank over the Silverseas one (Silver Dawn) and can dock.

I expect the 'other' will be tendering, as was the case when we were there....

 

[buchanan101]

5 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

I expect the 'other' will be tendering, as was the case when we were there....

 

It's a fair bit bigger than that, but still about 20% of the QA capacity so i suspect size matters...?

Edited March 20 by buchanan101

[NE John]

6 hours ago, Solent Richard said:

I expect the 'other' will be tendering, as was the case when we were there....

 

@Solent Richard  When are you ever at home?!? 😉

[mnocket]

I pretty much expect that cruise line excursions are going to be twice the cost of booking independently.  There are times when I'm willing to pay that markup, but I typically do the research and book my own excursions. 

[sogne]

3 hours ago, buchanan101 said:

It's a fair bit bigger than that, but still about 20% of the QA capacity so i suspect size matters...?

Flam PA indicates 3 ships there on 23rd June  cruise. QA arrives 0730 the other 2 between 0800 & 0900

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

I pretty much expect that cruise line excursions are going to be twice the cost of booking independently.  There are times when I'm willing to pay that markup, but I typically do the research and book my own excursions. 

 

I don't expect 2x the cost, but I know there will be some markup. For my Alaska cruise on QE, the bear excursion in Wrangell is $545. It's $373 to book independently, BUT all the jet boat companies are contracted to Cunard. So if I want to go, I have to book through Cunard. I think this is the largest markup I've ever paid for a shorex.

 

OTOH, the hovercraft tour in Ketchikan is $176 through Cunard and $183 direct with the company, which does have availability on its website.  The whale watch I'm doing in Juneau has no public availability on its website for my tour. They contract with a variety of cruise companies, and given how many ships call at Juneau, they've always got customers that way.  So you have to choose a link to your cruise line. Interestingly, I'm paying $237, but on NCL, it would $299. On HAL it's $245. 

[buchanan101]

20 minutes ago, sogne said:

Flam PA indicates 3 ships there on 23rd June  cruise. QA arrives 0730 the other 2 between 0800 & 0900

 

QA arrives on 26th though... We leave Southampton on 23rd (this is Cruisemapper)

 

 

 

I see Flam adds Norwegian Star at 9am. A bit smaller, wonder which they allow alongside given that that's Norwegian...

 

Edited March 20 by buchanan101

[3rdGenCunarder]

I don't think NCL is any more Norwegian than HAL is Dutch (Norwegian's largest stakeholder is Hong Kong company). I doubt the name will get them first shot at a dock. Money might do it, though.  Who know how dock assignments are made?

 

Even with two ships, and definitely with three, in Flam I would book something in advance. I wouldn't risk booking the train on the day. BTW, check out the museum about building the railway.

[sogne]

18 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I don't think NCL is any more Norwegian than HAL is Dutch (Norwegian's largest stakeholder is Hong Kong company). I doubt the name will get them first shot at a dock. Money might do it, though.  Who know how dock assignments are made?

 

Even with two ships, and definitely with three, in Flam I would book something in advance. I wouldn't risk booking the train on the day. BTW, check out the museum about building the railway.

From a safety point of view I would think 1st ship arriving ie QA would dock. 

[sogne]

www.flamport.no