Question re Norway cruising

[ging466]

Hi

I'm looking at the HAL cruise on Prinsendam, July next year. It stops at Bergen and Kristiansund and then Honnigsvag before going onto Longyearbyen and Iceland.

 

My question is whether Bergen and Kristiansund are sufficient to see the fjords or should I choose another cruise which makes more stops up the coast of Norway?

 

Any advice is much appreciated.

 

Cheers

Ging466

[Flick]

The fjords are basically along the Southern and Southwestern coasts of Norway. That said, the scenery along all of the coast of Norway is spectacular and it would be a shame to limit yourself to just tose two locations. We have been to Alaska twice and feel Norway is 10x more scenic. Indeed out of 27 cruises that remains our favorite for scenery and interesting daily changes. Our favorite "land cruise" is the Austrian Tyrol so you can see we are really into mountains!LOL

[lauralou2]

Hi We are going on the Grand Princess to Norway in 3 weeks time . The itinerary is Stavenger Hellesylt Geiranger Trondheim Honnisvag TRomso Flamm [for the famous mountain railway ] and lastly Bergen , if you are looking for a scenic trip then thats the sort of intinerary you should be looking for !!! .but thats only my opinion . The Grand is also doing this trip in July both trips are from Southampton . Janet

[KCcruisin07]

We made a similar cruise last year on Celebrity Century, and it was awesome!

[ging466]

Thankx for yr help.

 

I particularly wanted to go to Iceland and Spitzbergen which this HAL trip also does...because of that I guess HAL isn't able to make too many stops up the coast of Norway.

 

If I go to Bergen and Kristiansund, will I still see a fjord?

 

Also the trip is July (summer) so will I see snow there?

 

This will be my one and only trip to the area that's why I want to try to fit everything in.

 

Cheers

Ging

[Liv4cruzin]

I'm doing the Scotland/Fjords cruise on Rotterdam very soon. My research has shown that those photos that we see of the deep fjords are a little further up the western coastline. From what I've read it's doubtful you'd see snow until you got way up there. For instance, we stop in Tromso & Honningsvag; & we can expect to see some snow once we leave the town area & head up into the higher altitudes on tours. I also wanted to see Spitzbergen & Iceland. But when push came to shove, I opted for more fjords instead. It's just a matter of which is more important to YOU.

[Globaliser]

I particularly wanted to go to Iceland and Spitzbergen which this HAL trip also does...because of that I guess HAL isn't able to make too many stops up the coast of Norway.

...

Also the trip is July (summer) so will I see snow there?

A call in Spitsbergen is very special. Personally, I wouldn't pass this up just for a look at some fjords. The fjords will still be there next time, but cruises to Spitsbergen are an endangered species. And you should have a decent chance of seeing some snow in Spitsbergen!

[kruzseeka]

Bergen and Kristiansund are both located on the coast and you don't really travel down the fjords to dock. Perhaps your cruise offers a trip up the fjords from this destination to give you a flavour. But to cruise to Geiranger is awesome (I believe it's almost 100 miles to the end) and part of the spectacle is the stately progress, sliding through these majestic mountains, seeing ever-changing vistas and famous waterfalls.

 

Flam is also at the end of a very long fjord (Sognefjord) so you get the benefit of the fabulous scenery before and after your destination. As already mentioned, the train ride at Flam is one of the highlights of a visit to the fjords.

 

We travelled in June and there had just been an unseasonally late fall of snow which meant quite a lot of snow on the mountain tops (and also cold winds when the wind whipped down the fjord - but the changes of direction could also mean it was very sheltered sometimes). I'm not sure how much snow would be on the top usually - although even in Morocco the Atlas Mountains are snow-clad so I would think there is always some snow on the north-facing high peaks in Norway. I'm going again next month - so I can report back!

 

I do take the point about Spitzbergen, but could you find an itinerary which includes crising IN the fjords as well as Spitzbergen? The fjords are such a fantastic sight it would be as shame to miss this treat.

[KCcruisin07]

We really loved our cruise to Norway last year. Of course Geiranger is on a fjord, and that was a delightful stop. Some of the time going to or from ports we were cruising in a fjord!

We loved Bergen for the fish market, the picturesque waterfront shops, and the funicular ride that took us to the top of Mt. Floyen for a great panoramic view. We were in the land of the midnight sun. It stayed light longer than we were awake! We crossed the international dateline.

I googled Celebrity Cruise +fjord and got Celebrity Journey for this summer. The itinerary is a little different, but it has on fjords Geiranger, Alesund, and Flaam, which is on Sognefjorden, deepest and longest fjord in the world. Also I believe it was at Olden, you could go and walk on a glacier.

While it does not go to Iceland, I think this itinerary is even stronger than the one we took because it includes Oslo and Copenhagen. But if you really want to see Iceland I think one of the people on our tour flew their from Amsterdam, so I guess that could be worked out on your return trip.

[Fifty Dollar Bob]

The ideal cruise is leaving tomorrow, on QE2......

 

Seriously, the North of Norway is well worth seeing. Bergen isn't, but you'll have trips away from it that will allow you to see fjords. Such a pity that the line didn't put a stop at Geiranger in the cruise, cancelling one of the other two.

 

Longyearbyen is not to be missed.

[ging466]

Longyearbyen is not to be missed.

 

Can you pls explain why it isn't to be missed in comparison to missing the fjords?

 

I've found that the Tahitian Princess goes up the coast of Norway, calling in at all the fjords, Honnigsvag and then goes across to Spitsbergen: the Magdalena fjord & NY Alesund....not Longyearbyen.

 

Cruising solo to these parts of the world are mighty expensive!

 

Cheers

Ging466