Which Line to the Norwegian Fjords

[travel2]

Would love to hear your experiences if you have traveled to the Fjords.

Thanks

[beachchick]

I certainly like cruising RCI, but I don't know what fjord cruises they do. Honestly, I would not take a large or mega ship for a fjord cruise. If you can live without many of the "traditional" cruise things (pool areas, many bars, lots of "dining" venues, glitz and glamour, etc.) and still enjoy your cruise I highly recommend Norwegian Coastal Voyages (properly known as the Hurtigruten, meaning fast route).

This is the cruise ferry that is used by Norwegians for transport to areas of Norway that are inaccessible (or nearly so) by other means. They also take pax for cruises up and down the coast. The cabins are not fancy or huge, but they have what you need and ours was clean and neat. There are many short stops (1 hour to 6 hours or so) every day. Mail, goods, and pax are loaded on and off at each port. IMO it is the only way to cruise the fjords. You will see far more of the country and the coastline than you would any other way. There is nothing like standing on deck at midnight and eating a hearty bowl of Norwegian soup while watching the sun swoop above the horizon.

There are several classes of ships. Some of the slightly larger (still much smaller than you are probably used to), newer ones have more amenities, but none mimic the RCI (and other) lines. The experience is for the trip rather than for the ship. The trip is beautiful.

Norway is a fabulous country. The people are delightful. If you do go, try to give yourself time before or after for land days.

BTW: Although the weather is rarely super warm in the summer, it is temperate. Plus, the gulf stream skirts along the coast. This helps make the coastal cities nice. It also allows the fishing communities to survive. In fact, one of the best outdoor botanical gardens I've ever seen is in Tromso, well above the Arctic Circle. There are plants from all over the world--and they thrive there.

One other aside: On NCV, Americans are often, probably almost always, in the minority. You will meet people from all over, especially in the summer, particularly from Europe and from the other Scandinavian countries.

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]beachchick

[madforcruising]

Although I´ve never done this I´m totally with beachchick. Friends of mine did the Hurtigruten and they highly recommended it. It´s on a high position on my list and I would choose Hrtigruten for this. Former they have been called post ships and in deed they still are although it changes. They have some new vessels now and they are more like cruise ships then like ferries. Some of them even have a pool area now. As I know from friends this tour is great in the summer when it never gets dark all night long as well as in the winter when you´ll never see the sun but instead of this the northern lights. Must be great all year long.
You can check it out by yourself:
[url="http://www.hurtigruten.com/index.asp"]http://www.hurtigruten.com/index.asp[/url]

First pics of the undocking of the Jewel of the Seas:
[url="http://community.webshots.com/album/125049819TVWuuS"]http://community.webshots.com/album/125049819TVWuuS[/url]

Jewel of the Seas - 05/28/04 Scandinavia / Russia / Baltic
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;05;28;7;20;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

Jewel of the Seas - 09/28/04 Canada / New England
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;09;28;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]


09/2003 - Legend of the Seas Hawaii
06/2003 - Norwegian Dawn Florida and Bahamas
2002 - MS Columbus - Cruise to nowhere
2001 - Grandeur of the Seas Mediterranean and Transatlantic
2000 - Splendour of the Seas Transatlantic
2000 - Viking Star on the Danube River
1999 - Vision of the Seas Panamacanal cruise
1998 - Vision of the Seas Transatlantic
1997 - Crystal Symphonie to Mexican Riviera
1996 - Delta Queen on the Mississippi
1995 - Legend of the Seas to Alaska

[travel2]

Thanks beachchick and madforcruising.
Firstly we are seniors. We were first considering RCI's newest ship the Jewel of the Seas, doing the british isles and then Norway, i.e. Bergen, Flaem,Geiranger,Hellersylt on to Amsterdam and back to London. Now I looked at Holland American Line and found their newest ship, the Westerdam is doing a trip to the Fjords, not doing the british isles but mostly Norway, crossing the Arctic Circle up to the North Cape. Somehow this route has more appeal but we cruised only one on the Holland American Line and were not impressed. I guess we have to make a decision fast at this point.
Thanks again for your tips.

[travel2]

addendum for madforcruising.
We did the Serenade of the Seas to Canada last year, sistership to the Jewel - What a ship.
By the way, where in Germany do you live? I am originally from the Heidelberg area.

[madforcruising]

travel2:
This year will e my first time on Radiance Class ship. I´m really looking forward to it especially as the Jewel already looks so beautiful from outside. Just a few more hours for her to go out to sea. It´s planned to get her out of the shipyard this night.
How did you like your trip to Canada?

I live in the middle west of Germany in the Ruhrgebiet. It´s not to far away from the border to the Netherlands and about two hours north of Cologne.

First pics of the undocking of the Jewel of the Seas:
[url="http://community.webshots.com/album/125049819TVWuuS"]http://community.webshots.com/album/125049819TVWuuS[/url]

Jewel of the Seas - 05/28/04 Scandinavia / Russia / Baltic
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;05;28;7;20;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

Jewel of the Seas - 09/28/04 Canada / New England
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;09;28;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]


09/2003 - Legend of the Seas Hawaii
06/2003 - Norwegian Dawn Florida and Bahamas
2002 - MS Columbus - Cruise to nowhere
2001 - Grandeur of the Seas Mediterranean and Transatlantic
2000 - Splendour of the Seas Transatlantic
2000 - Viking Star on the Danube River
1999 - Vision of the Seas Panamacanal cruise
1998 - Vision of the Seas Transatlantic
1997 - Crystal Symphonie to Mexican Riviera
1996 - Delta Queen on the Mississippi
1995 - Legend of the Seas to Alaska

[travel2]

Madforcruising
Our tour on the Serenade of the Seas started in NY, which was ideal for us living in NJ.
We did not get off in Newport, RI nor in Boston, since we know the area, but we rather explored the ship while the crowd left, also enjoying the pool side during those days (we went late in August and had perfect weather).
In St. John we took the RCI St, Martins tour with a stop at the reversing falls. The Bus ride to St. Martins was a lenghty one and boring. We'd probably make a different selection now.
Bar Harbor was by far the most memorable outing. We opted to book our own, a tour on the list of AAA. In Halifax we took the RCI Peggy's cove fishing village tour - also a lengthy bus ride to get there. Peggy's cove was interesting, but we'd probably would have enjoyed other outings better - our friends all agreed. Some passengers went on a Whale Watching cruise but did not see any whales.
The ship was beautiful. Try to get a "window seat" in your dining room.
The entertainment was only so - so. The food was very good, however we missed the Austrian/German pastry which RCI serves on their other ships.

I don't know the Ruhrgebiet well, I have been in Essen and Cologne but my "play time" in my youth was Bingen and Ruedesheim.

Enjoy your cruises.

[beachchick]

travel2, My mom (in her 70's) went on the Hurtigruten with us and loved it. She had no problem getting around or enjoying the ship and the ports. There are elevators and the stairs are wide and easy to climb. There are plenty of comfortable lounges indoors and out. The viewing decks are great. All ports are docked (no tenders); they kind of have to be to offload things like automobiles. The size of the ships allows them to navigate down the smaller fjords and passages that the large ships can't do--you really do get an in-depth experience of the fjords. Imagine feeling like you could reach out and touch the shore on both sides of the ship.

The staff was most accommodating and helpful. The dining room staff even stored my open bottles of wine and would get me a glass any time I asked (dh and mom don't drink). It was really quite wonderful. There is a cruise director. Ours was great. She had to do announcements in 4 languages--now that's a tough job! Most of the activities center around the scenery. There is a daily handout listing ports, port times, and information about the various ports. There are shore excursions available every day. You can choose one or choose from various packages.

As for dining, breakfasts are smorgasbord style. Plenty of choices, both hot and cold. Very good quality. DH liked it so much we now usually have a mini smorgasbord style breakfast at home instead of typical American fare. Dinner is a much more set menu than we are used to having, but the food was good. Most dining room food is Scandinavian/European cuisine. Scandinavian food is delicious (except, at least for me, the many different types of pickled herring!). The cafe is more like a cafeteria in selection, but it was more than adequate for snacks or a quick lunch. A word of warning: Norwegian ice cream is highly addictive! DH had to have at least 2 a day or he would pout. Also Norwegians take their coffee seriously--it is strong and usually very good. When we sailed, you could opt for buying the dining package or dining ala carte and paying only for the meals you had in the dining room. The cafe was always cash only. Alcohol is a separate charge.

Here's one of my favorite stories from our cruise: One evening about 8 or 9 we were out on deck looking at the high rocky shore on both sides of the ship. A huge Eagle started flying by the ship. The sun was glinting off it's wings and reflecting into the water. DH said to the gentleman standing next to us, "Now that is something you don't see every day." The man responded with, "I do. This is my commute." We then had a very enjoyable conversation with him.

I would do it again in an instant.
[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]beachchick

[madforcruising]

Thanks travel2 for your thoughts and hints about the Canada cruise.

As you know Essen I live about 30 kilometers north of Essen.

Enjoy your cruise whatever ship you choose, I´m sure you´ll have a great time.

First pics of the undocking of the Jewel of the Seas:
[url="http://community.webshots.com/album/125049819TVWuuS"]http://community.webshots.com/album/125049819TVWuuS[/url]

Jewel of the Seas left Meyerwerft Shipyard
See Photos of River Ems passage
[url="http://community.webshots.com/album/131001309cIkOdH"]http://community.webshots.com/album/131001309cIkOdH[/url]
Jewel of the Seas - 05/28/04 Scandinavia / Russia / Baltic
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;05;28;7;20;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]

Jewel of the Seas - 09/28/04 Canada / New England
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;09;28;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]


09/2003 - Legend of the Seas Hawaii
06/2003 - Norwegian Dawn Florida and Bahamas
2002 - MS Columbus - Cruise to nowhere
2001 - Grandeur of the Seas Mediterranean and Transatlantic
2000 - Splendour of the Seas Transatlantic
2000 - Viking Star on the Danube River
1999 - Vision of the Seas Panamacanal cruise
1998 - Vision of the Seas Transatlantic
1997 - Crystal Symphonie to Mexican Riviera
1996 - Delta Queen on the Mississippi
1995 - Legend of the Seas to Alaska

[MarciaL]

We did this last year on the Grandeur of the Seas and it was wonderful. I would go again in a second. We will be on the Jewel for the crossing to Boston in Sept. Take the Jewel to the Fjords, you will never regret it.

JEWEL

[MVPinBoynton]

The Radiance class ships are just wonderful. We did the Med on Brilliance last year. We liked her so much, it was an easy decision to the British Isles/Norwegian Fjords on her brand new sister. It has so much glass for you to be able to see the outside. It will be just marvelous going up the fjords. It also has a covered pool, which with the cooler weather should get a lot of use.

Mike


See our reviews and pictures at [url="http://www.thepreismans.com/"]Mike and Carol's Website[/url]

Costa Classica 3/94
Celebrity Mercury 4/98
Carnival Destiny 4/99
Crown Princess 7/01
Norwegian Star 11/01
Grand Princess 12/01
Sun Princess 3/02
Celebrity Constellation 11/02
Brilliance of the Seas 6/03
Navigator of the Seas 11/03
Jewel of the Seas 06/04
Tahitian Princess 02/05

[travel2]

We loved the Serenade of the Seas last year (NY - Canada) and it is for this reason that we were considering the Jewel of the Seas for the Fjord trip BUT in lookin at HAL's Westerdam route we wondered if we should opt for this ship. It crosses the Arctic Circle and cruises by the North Cape and is bypassing the English Isles.
Have to make a decision today.