Great news on Norway fjord cruises

[mexicobob]

The country of Norway has recently reversed their policy of preventing ships from entering their fjords that did not meet environmental standards from 2026 to 2032. Hopefully, Oceania will schedule some cruises to take advantage of this. Look forward to making reservations. 

[pinotlover]

This provides another perfect example on why a cruise line shouldn’t publish and set its schedule to far out in advance. All those with posted cruises through 26&27 will now miss out on these new possibilities . Probably already too late for Oceania to adjust for 2026, but 2027 may bring different adventures.

[ATWCruiser]

https://maritime-executive.com/article/norway-sets-phased-in-dates-for-zero-emission-shipping-in-fjords

 

This article states that the

"The Storting (Norway’s Parliament) finalized the rules this week setting a phased-in schedule. Cruise ships and ferries under 10,000 gross tons will have to operate with zero emissions by January 1, 2026. For the large ships, the implementation is delayed until January 1, 2032."

 

Well, Marina is 66,000 gross tons and Vista is 67,000 gross tons so is not exempt.  I don't know if their ship is equipped to meet the new guidelines.  I am guessing it does not.

 

Fortunately, I signed up for the Northern Fjord Cruise on Vista in 2025 before the new rules goes into effect.  Times are changing.

[PhD-iva]

I’m just off Sirena’s 10 August - 28 August Oslo to Southhampton cruise with stops in Kristiansand, Stavanger, Alesund, Hammerfest, Honningsvag, Alta and Tromso. Norway is amazing and I highly recommend the itinerary.

On another note, I thought the food was excellent (subjective I know).

[1985rz1]

17 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

I’m just off Sirena’s 10 August - 28 August Oslo to Southhampton cruise with stops in Kristiansand, Stavanger, Alesund, Hammerfest, Honningsvag, Alta and Tromso. Norway is amazing and I highly recommend the itinerary.

On another note, I thought the food was excellent (subjective I know).

I too was on this cruise and agree wholeheartly.

[mexicobob]

On 8/30/2024 at 9:39 AM, ATWCruiser said:

https://maritime-executive.com/article/norway-sets-phased-in-dates-for-zero-emission-shipping-in-fjords

 

This article states that the

"The Storting (Norway’s Parliament) finalized the rules this week setting a phased-in schedule. Cruise ships and ferries under 10,000 gross tons will have to operate with zero emissions by January 1, 2026. For the large ships, the implementation is delayed until January 1, 2032."

 

Well, Marina is 66,000 gross tons and Vista is 67,000 gross tons so is not exempt.  I don't know if their ship is equipped to meet the new guidelines.  I am guessing it does not.

 

Fortunately, I signed up for the Northern Fjord Cruise on Vista in 2025 before the new rules goes into effect.  Times are changing.

"For large ships the implementation is delayed until January 1, 2032". There will be many "large ships" adding cruises to this part of the world. You are correct... times have changed.

[clo]

53 minutes ago, mexicobob said:

"For large ships the implementation is delayed until January 1, 2032". There will be many "large ships" adding cruises to this part of the world. You are correct... times have changed.

We've done a RT Bergen to Kirkenes on a 100 pax Norwegian ship. I'm glad they're looking after the planet.

 

[WonderMan3]

On 8/30/2024 at 10:39 AM, ATWCruiser said:

https://maritime-executive.com/article/norway-sets-phased-in-dates-for-zero-emission-shipping-in-fjords

 

This article states that the

"The Storting (Norway’s Parliament) finalized the rules this week setting a phased-in schedule. Cruise ships and ferries under 10,000 gross tons will have to operate with zero emissions by January 1, 2026. For the large ships, the implementation is delayed until January 1, 2032."

 

Well, Marina is 66,000 gross tons and Vista is 67,000 gross tons so is not exempt.  I don't know if their ship is equipped to meet the new guidelines.  I am guessing it does not.

 

Fortunately, I signed up for the Northern Fjord Cruise on Vista in 2025 before the new rules goes into effect.  Times are changing.

Is it just me or does this seem to be backwards logic? Wouldn't the larger ships be the ones producing more emissions and therefore the ones they'd want out of the fjords sooner unless they comply?

[EJL2023]

8 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

Is it just me or does this seem to be backwards logic? Wouldn't the larger ships be the ones producing more emissions and therefore the ones they'd want out of the fjords sooner unless they comply?

I was thinking the same. I guess perhaps they may realize it will take the larger ships to become compliant and more of chance for them to do so with this time frame. Or…….the almighty tourism dollar won out and they realize what a dent it would put in their economy so pushed that one out.  Maybe a bit of both. 

[ORV]

2 hours ago, EJL2023 said:

I was thinking the same. I guess perhaps they may realize it will take the larger ships to become compliant and more of chance for them to do so with this time frame. Or…….the almighty tourism dollar won out and they realize what a dent it would put in their economy so pushed that one out.  Maybe a bit of both. 

Kind of like the old saying that you don’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. 

[mexicobob]

Anyway..................
I am looking forward to finding a cruise on Oceania to The Fjords in the next few years. Might be that another line may have a better itinerary. We shall see. Am sure many options are going to become available as the restrictions have been lifted for a few years. 

[CruisingWalter]

On 8/30/2024 at 9:38 AM, pinotlover said:

This provides another perfect example on why a cruise line shouldn’t publish and set its schedule to far out in advance. All those with posted cruises through 26&27 will now miss out on these new possibilities . Probably already too late for Oceania to adjust for 2026, but 2027 may bring different adventures.

 

Cruise lines can, and will, redeploy ships based on changing environments. Not too late to redeploy a ship for 2026 since there is a lot of time for people to adjust their vacation plans. Not saying they will, but the opportunity is certainly there to change at least one ship's deployment for 2026 to take advantage of the changes in Norway. 

[clo]

On 9/4/2024 at 7:31 PM, mexicobob said:

Anyway..................
I am looking forward to finding a cruise on Oceania to The Fjords in the next few years. Might be that another line may have a better itinerary. We shall see. Am sure many options are going to become available as the restrictions have been lifted for a few years. 

Curious why you're looking specifically at Oceania.

[mexicobob]

7 hours ago, clo said:

Curious why you're looking specifically at Oceania.

Not looking specifically at Oceania, but would be my first choice.  Not sure if we want to go on a small ship like you did but maybe I am wrong. Do not want to go on a "big" ship. Itinerary will be the deciding factor. Your thoughts and suggestions would be welcomed.