Islander500 Posted June 3 #1 Share Posted June 3 (edited) Hello Cruisers! We normally sail on Celebrity so we have little experience with other cruise lines (only with RC when we used to take our kids.) We are looking to book a cruise to Norway on a smaller ship in 2025, but I am stumped. Please give us any advice you can share about the cruise lines, too, but primarily the itineraries. Our trip will include visiting London, an 7-8 day road trip through England (before or after the cruise) It's likely this will be our only trip to Norway so want not to miss the highlights! Your help will be so appreciated! Oceania (15 day) - June Southhampton At Sea Belfast, Ireland Killybegs, Ireland Isle of Sky, UK Lerwick, UK Alesund, Norway Geireinger, Norway Nordfjordeid, Norway Flam, Norway Stavanger, Norway Kristiansand, Norway Skagen, Denmark Oslo, Norway (2) OR Viking (14 day) - June/July Bergen, Norway (2) Geiranger, Norway Sail Norwegian Sea Lofoten, Norway Tromso, Norway Honnigsvag, Norway Sail Norwegian Sea Lerwick, UK Orkney Islands, UK Edinburgh, Scotland Sail the North Sea London (Greenwich) (2) Thanks again! Edited June 3 by Islander500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted June 4 #2 Share Posted June 4 These are two good but different itineraries. Oceania has two deep fjords to Geiranger and Flåm, while Viking only has one to Geiranger. Viking is an Arctic Circle cruise with midnight sun from Lofoten to Honningsvåg (North Cape) in June/July. For the Oceania cruise, Ålesund and Stavanger are nice DIY cities. Stavanger is less interesting and Nordfjordeid a small village without many activities. For Viking cruise, Bergen and Tromsø are interesting cities and Lofoten are scenic islands. And as I said, Honningsvåg is the North Cape. A bit irrelevant to indicate "Sail Norwegian Sea and the North Sea" - in my view just sea days. The other port calls in Ireland, UK, Denmark or Norway look interesting for both cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thejuggler Posted June 4 #3 Share Posted June 4 If the priority is seeing Norway the Viking trip would be my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted June 4 #4 Share Posted June 4 40 minutes ago, Thejuggler said: If the priority is seeing Norway the Viking trip would be my choice. Don't quite agree. Viking is also an Arctic Circle and Midnight Sun Cruise with 5 Norwegian ports of call including one deep fjord - however including Bergen and the Lofoten Islands. Oceania has 7 Norwegian port of call including two deep fjords and Oslo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnAlleb77 Posted June 4 #5 Share Posted June 4 11 hours ago, hallasm said: Nordfjordeid a small village without many activities. Nordfjordeid is not that small and has lots of activities.. Some of Norways finest nature right off the dock, easy accesible for hikes/walks right off the dock. Excursions like Geiranger, Loen skylift, Briksdal glacier available. One of two ports in Norway which offer excursion to Selja monestary. Bike hire, car hire, atv hire. North Europe deepest lake only a bike trip away. Also other local tours https://www.fjordex.no/ www.portofnordfjordeid.no Viking ship museum with a replica of the largest viking ship found in Norway. https://sagastad.no/en/ 70 ships this year. Probably up to 85 ships next year. 40% of the passengers stay in town. Ships like MSC Euribia, MSC Virtousa, Aida Nova, Britannia, Disney Magic, Queen Anne and The World. Mein Schiff 7 which are in sea trials now docks in Nordfjordeid as its second port on its maiden voyage in a couple of weeks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander500 Posted June 5 Author #6 Share Posted June 5 My husband and I are split on the itineraries so still looking for more pros/cons on the 2 itineraries. Is Bergen not a must? Is Oslo a must see if you're in Norway? Thoughts on a compromise option -- What if we do the Viking to experience the Midnight Sun and then travel by car for a few days from Bergen to see the nearby fjords? But then we'd be missing Alesund and a few of the other Norwegian ports. Decisions, decisions...:) Thanks so much to everyone who has responded.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted June 5 #7 Share Posted June 5 Here is a suggestion if you choose Viking from Bergen. Fly into Oslo and spend a few days in Oslo - take the train from Oslo to Flåm or Myrdal where you can spend the night. Cruise on the Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord (UNESCO World Heritage List) before taking the train (or bus) to Bergen where you spend a few nights - a suggestion is The Hanseatic Hotel at Bryggen. The alternative to the train is of course to rent a car in Bergen, but the train journey from Oslo to Bergen is fantastic. In addition Lofoten and Tromsø. Midnight Sun is an experience. Ålesund is not a must. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitkat343 Posted June 5 #8 Share Posted June 5 I visited Norway with small children, so we only did the 7 day heritage fjords. It really depends on what your goals are since it sounds like you are trying to do more than just the deep fjords, but in terms of the deep heritage fjords it's important to note that they are very weather dependent. We visited Olden, Flam and Geiranger, which are all spectacularly beautiful. But the weather was beautiful and clear in Geiranger, and cloudy and rainy in both Olden and Flam. You could really appreciate how stunning Norway was in Geiranger on that clear day (and would imagine it would be equally amazing in the other two sites on a clear day). The Oceana gives you an extra day to hopefully get really clear weather so you can appreciate how beautiful the deep fjords are. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinburgher Posted June 6 #9 Share Posted June 6 On 6/4/2024 at 12:37 AM, Islander500 said: It's likely this will be our only trip to Norway You may find that you want to return for a second, or even a third visit, as it took us three or four cruises to tick all the boxes we wanted to tick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaisatsu Posted June 6 #10 Share Posted June 6 Geographically, Oslo fits better into a Baltic Sea cruise than a Norwegian coastal cruise. Whether it's a "must" is subjective. The dramatic western fjords are probably the only given. I'd personally want to include Lofoten and Tromsø. Bergen is also pretty iconic. Including the Arctic plateau and North Cape (accessible from Honningsvåg) ticks yet another box. I'd choose the Viking itinerary for the diversity of Norwegian landscapes. The Oceania trip is mostly just fjords and southern coastal cities, which aren't the most exciting. Ålesund is nice, but I wouldn't consider a must. In my opinion, Stavanger and Kristiansand are easy to skip as they have far less to offer tourists. I really like hallasm's suggestion to fly into Oslo and take the "Norway in a Nutshell" route overland to Bergen. That lets you include a day or two in Oslo depending on your interests and another fjord with the detour to Flåm, including both the famous Flåmsbana railroad and the Nærøyfjord cruise. When my sister came to visit, this is almost exactly what we did, though instead of a Viking cruise, we were sailing the Hurtigruten coastal ferry. The traditional Norway in a Nutshell itinerary can be done as a single (long) day trip from Oslo to Bergen. Depart Oslo by train in the morning, passing through suburbs and into forest before eventually climbing above the tree line to the rocky inland plateau. You can get a glimpse of the Hardangerjøkulen glacier in the distance from the train. At Myrdal (a remote rail junction), you switch to the Flåmsbana mountain train, which descends 800 meters in a serious of switchbacks to the valley and the coastal fjord village of Flåm. From there, an electric sightseeing boat cruises through part of the Sognefjord to the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord (literally "narrow fjord" which is too narrow for most cruise ships to pass) to Gudvangen, where a bus brings you back up to Voss to rejoin the train line to Bergen. This is an extremely popular tourist route and the tickets can be booked individually yourself or as a complete package through fjordtours. If you have a lot of luggage, there is a porter service that can transfer your bags from Oslo to Bergen separately. And as mentioned, it's possible to stop off in Flåm if you want to break up the trip (I wouldn't recommend staying in Myrdal as the Vatnahalsen hotel is pretty much the only thing there). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_BJ Posted June 6 #11 Share Posted June 6 (edited) we did the Nutshell option: cruise ended in Bergen where we spent two nights, then did Nutshell train/bus/ferry to Flam and spent a nite there, then train from FLAM to Myrdal and met the Oslo train ... spend two more nights . . .plenty of flight options out of Oslo back to US . . . We'd done Viking Midnight Sun, Greenw' to Bergen . . Edited June 6 by Capt_BJ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakridger Posted June 6 #12 Share Posted June 6 I just rode the train from Oslo to Bergen 3 days ago. Just do it!! 😉 I'm boarding the Havila Castor tomorrow for the Bergen to Kirkenes to Bergen round trip. I'll come back and post some thoughts here on CC either during or after the trip. ~Nancy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander500 Posted June 6 Author #13 Share Posted June 6 All; I cannot begin to tell you how happy we are and how appreciative of your time and recommendations! We booked the Viking cruise this morning but in reverse order, will start in London for a few days, skip the road trip in England (we will do that another time) and end the cruise in Bergen. We plan to ride the train as recommended to the Flam area, doing some sightseeing and vising those fjords up close, and will finish the trip with a few days in Oslo. Thanks so much to all of you who gave me such great advice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_BJ Posted June 8 #14 Share Posted June 8 Flam is a very different place when there's no cruise ship .... yes ... that's people swimming in Flam . . . not a pool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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