Feedback on Norway on Star Legend

[lilli]

We are considering booking a trip on Star Legend--Copenhagen to Leith--and was looking for any feedback on experiences sailing with Windstar in Norway.  We have sailed the Panama Canal and French Polynesia with Windstar before.  

Thank you!

[LT Hambone]

After recently sailing this itinerary, I have two words for you -

 

 

BOOK IMMEDIATELY !!!!!

 

Norway is planning to ban cruise ships in the fjords starting in 2026. One of our Norway guides explained to us that the current plan is to ban most diesel-fueled cruise ships in 2026 in some of the smaller fjords, then work their way up to a full ban in all the main fjords. There is also some talk that some LNG-fueled ships will be allowed, and the dates might slide a little. But the bottom-line is this - 2025 might just be the last year of restriction-free fjord cruising.

 

Need more incentive? How about dinner with a view?

 

 

Because this itinerary only spends the mornings in the fjord ports, you have all afternoon and early evening to enjoy the scenery. In the evening we ate at the Star Grill and had the most amazing views to enjoy! Yes, it was a little chilly, but this is Windstar and they had blankets on all the chairs!

 

For the three main fjord stops, we did something a little bit different.

 

In Geiranger, we booked a two-seater electric Twizzy with eMobility Geiringer and did our own fun driving tour up and down the mountains. (These are also available in Flåm) Yup, that's the Star Legend at anchor!

 

 

In Olden, we took a ship tour to Kjenndal Glacier. Most people go to Briksdal Glacier and ride the Troll Cars, but IMO, Kjenndal Glacier is just as scenic, more accessible, and less crowded -

 

 

In Flåm, we skipped the famous train and had a private tour that went over a very scenic mountain to visit a 700+ year old stave church -

 

 

On the way back we drove through the world's longest road tunnel - so long it has three "rest caves" for people to stop if they need a break! Much better than a train, IMO.

 

Feel free to ask any questions. This was definitively one amazing trip!

 

 

 

[lilli]

Wow! Great information—thanks for the pics as well!

[r&rd]

I agree the scenery is lovely. But one correction - Norway has delayed the ban on large cruise ships until 2032.

[LT Hambone]

6 hours ago, r&rd said:

But one correction - Norway has delayed the ban on large cruise ships until 2032.

 

As our guide said, things are constantly changing! In just a little over a month, the date has changed yet again!

 

What was really cool was seeing what Norway has already done to be ready. Several of the large ferries are electric - there giant plugs at the dock that automatically plug in when the ferry arrives. And in Geiranger, there were several boat tours using electric boats.

 

Enjoy Norway!

[GottaKnowWhen]

Returned last month from Dublin-Copenhagen 18 days on Star Legend. (Photos at link in Signature below.) I had envisioned early morning sail-ins, sunrise over the fjords. Minor difficulty - that requires getting up before sunrise! But every other aspect of the trip was fantastic! The time in ports, the afternoons' slow passage through the fjords, waterfalls, small villages, beautiful hillsides... Just do it.

Stan

[oakridger]

@GottaKnowWhen Your pictures were fantastic and brought back recent memories of Norway from this June!  Thank you.

 

~Nancy

[lilli]

LT Hambone--we did book the cruise for July 2026, What company did you use for the private tour in Flam?  The two seater electric cars in Geiranger look awesome!

 

GottaKnowWhen--Your pictures are fabulous!  Wonderful to see a sneak peak.  How many days did you spend in Ireland before boarding ship?  We will be ending in Dublin and would like to spend a few days I think.  

Thanks to all!

Edited September 6 by lilli

[LT Hambone]

@lilli -

 

Congrats on booking!

 

The two seater electric cars are a blast to drive, and very easy! Included is an audio guide / GPS to show and tell you where you are and going, and there's a lot of time for lots of stops.

 

We booked a modified/private The Wonders of Flåm with Velkommen Norway. The standard tour start time and length did not fit into our time in port, so Bas (the founder of Velkommen Norway) did a customized private tour that started as soon as we got off the tender and ended about an hour before the last tender. Was an amazing day seeing some sights the mainstream tours skip -

 

 

We also toured with Bas in Bergen - he combined their Chasing the waterfalls of Hardangerfjord and The Magnificent Glacier Lake Bondhus tour into one all-day 10+ hour jaunt to one of the most beautiful glacier lakes I have ever seen -

 

 

The funniest part was we had an entire full-size tour bus all to ourselves for the day!

 

If you need a suggestion for some amazing tour guides in Edinburgh, please let me know!

 

 

Enjoy!

[LT Hambone]

@GottaKnowWhen -

 

 

Great pics!

 

I think we were on the same cruise, at least the part from Edinburgh to Copenhagen where there was a very large group from Purdue on-board.

[GottaKnowWhen]

55 minutes ago, LT Hambone said:

@GottaKnowWhen -

 

 

Great pics!

 

I think we were on the same cruise, at least the part from Edinburgh to Copenhagen where there was a very large group from Purdue on-board.

That was my first experience with a large Group onboard. Fortunately they did not overwhelm but kept to themselves and it went smoothly. My graduate degrees are from Purdue, I met a few other alum on board who also were not part of the Group, and we were pleased to be able to keep our distance and do our own thing. 

As you'll have seen in my photos, we did the Flambana rail trip. It was a good day, well worth it, but your photos from that day on your excursion did get me thinking about how I coulda shoulda looked for alternatives to the train...

Stan

Edited September 6 by GottaKnowWhen

[GottaKnowWhen]

10 hours ago, lilli said:

LT Hambone--we did book the cruise for July 2026, What company did you use for the private tour in Flam?  The two seater electric cars in Geiranger look awesome!

 

GottaKnowWhen--Your pictures are fabulous!  Wonderful to see a sneak peak.  How many days did you spend in Ireland before boarding ship?  We will be ending in Dublin and would like to spend a few days I think.  

Thanks to all!

Our overnight flight from ATL arrived about 8:30am local time Tuesday Morning. Went to the hotel (pre-booked driver), checked in, wandered the streets. Wednesday we did an all-day excursion with Tours-By-Locals to the west coast. Thursday again we spent on our own in Dublin, including a Hop On Hop Off ride around the city. Friday we packed up and headed for the port. So we had about 2 days in Dublin, another day in the countryside. 

Stan

[lilli]

Thank you both for your input! LT Hambone— would love to hear about your excursions in Edinburgh!

[LT Hambone]

1 hour ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

That was my first experience with a large Group onboard. Fortunately they did not overwhelm but kept to themselves and it went smoothly.

 

The only big issue we had with the group was the morning in Flåm. The night before we spoke with the ship's Operations Officer about tendering ashore for an independent tour with all of the ship's tours. He told us to be in Amphora by 7:45 and he would load us onto one of the first tenders with the the ship's tour folks.

 

The next morning we arrived in Amphora to find 80+ Purdue folks waiting for the tenders. Half way through the loading of the second tender with the Purdue folks, the Operations Officer stopped the Purdue line and pulled us (and about a dozen other folks) to board the tender. As my wife and I passed the Purdue line, one guy bellowed out, "What are they doing? We have exclusive use of the tenders!!!". 🙄

 

 

[LT Hambone]

2 hours ago, lilli said:

Thank you both for your input! LT Hambone— would love to hear about your excursions in Edinburgh!

 

Ask and 'ye shall receive!

 

In Edinburgh we used two tour companies.

 

Scottish Guided Tours - We used them way back in the summer of 2022 on a UK cruise for our stop in South Queensferry. We had asked about a city tour, but Nial (the owner) said that because the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was running, seeing the city would be challenging. Instead, Nial arranged a tour to go to Stirling Castle, the Falkirk Wheel, and Rosslyn Chapel. Because our ship was 2+ hours late due to a medical emergency, we had to skip Rosslyn Chapel. But on the way back to the port, Nial surprised us with a visit to a pineapple topped house!

 

So for this visit to Edinburgh, we asked Nial if we could do a tour that included Rosslyn Chapel. We spent the day with one of Nial's associates (Alan) visiting Rosslyn, Hadrian's Wall, and the Scottish Borders. Absolutely amazing day!

 

We also asked Nial about a walking tour of Edinburgh, and he scheduled an Edinburgh Castle & Old Town Tour with Local Eyes, and was a great tour (even in the rain!).

 

And if you have time, make sure you also visit Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, which is docked next to the Lieth Cruise Terminal (the below pic was taken from the bridge of the Britannia). If you do visit the yacht, make sure you count the stuffed corgis!

 

 

 

Hope this helps!