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Fjords? or fjord-less?


LittleFish1976
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I have been feeling very keen to do a Hurtigruten cruise towards the end of this year but have just been reading lots of reviews on another review site which have left me feeling unsure. The comments which concerned me the most were to the effect that these ships do not go into the fjords and that they are 'coastal' cruises rather than into the fjords. The upshot of this is that people describe the trips as boring. Are there many people on this forum who would describe the trips on Hurtigruten ships this way?

 

I am surprised that they don't go into the fjords as I thought I had read that they did but apart from that I would have thought that a coastal cruise in Norway would have provided fabulous scenery anyway.

 

I'd love to hear your opinions - good and bad, please. And by the way, I'm thinking of going in early October.

Edited by LittleFish1976
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You can look at other discussions on the subjects for instance this one : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2255640

 

If by "fjords" you mean the iconic fjords that are seen in every brochure or website about tourism in Norway then indeed most of the trip does not enter into this kind of fjords. The exception is in the summer (June to August) when the Northbound ship sails in and out Geirangerfjord ("the" iconic fjords) and in Autumn (September-October) when they sail in and out Hjorundfjord (less known than Geiranger but just as beautiful). These sailings take a good chunk of the second day of the journey from Alesund. Also, the northbound ship enters the Trollfjord in Lofoten, a very small narrow fjord, when the season is right (mostly late spring to autumn).

 

However, the whole trip is near the coast or "inside" the coast as the Norwegian coastline is very indented with lots of islands and the ships sail in between, or at the feet of mountains, or in narrow channels... So for me I find the landscape outside the ship constantly beautiful, and changing all the time. I have done the trip in total or in parts 7 times now and I'm still not tired of it.

 

Whether you find it boring or not depends a lot I think on what you are seeking in this kind of cruise. There is little entertainment on board, the entertainement is the landscape. If you are good with that, then you will have a good time. Reading reviews, I often find that people disappointed with the trips are people who didn't really know the kind of trip they were taking and thought that indeed it would be another fjord cruise like a mainline cruiseline would provide. Indeed, it is not. I am more than happy spending most of my free time outside on the decks and watching the stunning scenery and light go by on every side of the ship. I'm a photographer so this is a dream trip for me. Research thoroughly how this trip goes to know if it would fit you or not.

 

You can look at my travel blog in my signature to see the kind of landscape you can encounter along the way.

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I am surprised that they don't go into the fjords as I thought I had read that they did but apart from that I would have thought that a coastal cruise in Norway would have provided fabulous scenery anyway.

 

They do go into fjords. Not in fjords all day every day, but when they're outside of them the scenery is, also, as you thought, 'fabulous'. Certainly not boring!

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SarniaLo is totally correct. The scenery is amazing as you are near the land. It is definitely not a cruise ship; no "shows", gambling, dancing, etc. The scenery is the show. There are excursions that can be worth doing. If you want a "fjord" experience, add a few days and so "Norway in a Nutshell" as an extension. I have spent many days on this ships, traveling the full 12 day cruise as well as using the ships for transportation between towns. It is always special!

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Many thanks to everyone so far for their replies to my original questions - I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond. Your answers have been very helpful. I do understand that it's not a 'cruise ship' experience (and nor would I want it to be!).

 

Thanks SarniaLo for your suggestions; I did read your blog a few weeks ago and found it helpful and charming! And thanks also for the link to the previous thread on this board - I found I had read it but it's useful to re-read posts as I find that during the research process one tends to come up with new questions so view previous information differently.

 

Thanks digitl for the reassurance about the scenery! It must have just been the perception of those who wrote on the other site I was looking at - maybe they were expecting something different and so were disappointed.

 

Thanks janetcbl for your reassurance that 'the scenery is the show' - that's what my perception from my research has been. Unfortunately, my travelling companion (adult daughter who lives overseas) only has one week for our trip so we'll be travelling one way on the ship only. I have been looking into doing the Oslo to Bergen (or as it will turn out, probably Bergen to Oslo) rail trip, also. I think given what's left accomodation-wise we will probably have to book for the south-bound journey which wouldn't be my first preference; some posters seem to say that the stops are longer on the north-bound journey. Is this correct?

 

In sum, we are the sort of people who would relish the opportunity to have five or six days to contemplate the water and the distant landscape and enjoy the pace of life on a small(-ish) ship. We are both also very interested in photography so it sounds as though it would be perfectly suited to us.

 

Another practical question: What are the best devices to attach to boots to walk on ice? I've never used such a thing but I'd better start researching them if anyone can share some experiences or advice.

 

Thank you so much to all you generous travellers out there for your advice and experience.

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It sounds as you would indeed be the type of person to enjoy this trip. When are you planning to go exactly?

If you want to visit some towns then the Northbound trip is a bit better for Ålesund (stop during the day) Trondheim (all morning stop until 12), and Tromsø (afternoon stop). On the way back these stops are either during the night or shorter (Trondheim for instance, stop until 10). Northbound you also get to go to North Cape, which you will not visit Southbound in Autumn or Winter. On the other hand, my favorite day of cruising is on the Northbound trip, the day sailing through Vesteraalen and Lofoten with I think the most dramatic landscapes of all the trip, and the day after that along the Helgeland coast is not shabby either! But don't come too late in the season if you want to enjoy a bit of daylight. I have done one trip late September/early October and it was perfect for autumn colors and already late enough for some Northern Lights.

 

If you come before winter you may not need spikes at all. Don't worry too much about them anyway. You will not be doing glacier hikes. The streets are cleaned all the time so what you may get is a thin layer of ice (usually iwith small pebbles mixed into it in towns ). I have very basic spikes that I bought at the supermarket and only have spikes under half the foot (not under the heel) and they work fine. I would still advise to find some that have spikes under the heel as well, they may be more comfortable, and choose some that are easy to put on and off. Chain devices like this can work : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yaktrax-Walker-anti-slip-regular-footwear/dp/8629000414 or like that : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rubber-Grips-Studs-Traction-Medium/dp/B016SEE36S . Mine are like this : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Slip-Grippers-Crampons-Universal-Traction/dp/B00A7D3JG2

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Northbound only or southbound only? Northbound every time! Useful time in the more interesting ports does it for us.

 

As for walking on ice, we have travelled in February/March and in October and haven't found the need to attach anything to our footwear. We simply wore boots with grippy treads.

 

If you are into photography then take plenty of memory cards and a spare battery (the cold tends to reduce the effective charge). For the northern lights you may want to take something to hold your camera steady as you're into 30 or 40 second exposures. A Gorillapod is useful as it's lightweight and takes up only a little space.

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Thanks, SarniaLo. I appreciate your advice. I've done a lot of research just now and can see some options, Northbound. We plan to go late September or early October. Departing on the 2nd October though it looks, from the itinerary, as though all the offerred excursions occur during the night-time! The ship seems to dock at the relevant ports either in the evening or in the middle of the night. I checked as I read that you should check before booking for the excursions as this does happen. Possibly the schedule changes once the shorter days and cooler weather come around. In fact, the Southbound itinerary looks more friendly for seeing ports during daylight hours on similar dates.

 

And the Hurtigruten website doesn't give up its secrets without a struggle and many re-loadings of pages and back-tracking.

 

I'll check out the links for the spikes - thanks!

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Northbound only or southbound only? Northbound every time! Useful time in the more interesting ports does it for us.

 

As for walking on ice, we have travelled in February/March and in October and haven't found the need to attach anything to our footwear. We simply wore boots with grippy treads.

 

If you are into photography then take plenty of memory cards and a spare battery (the cold tends to reduce the effective charge). For the northern lights you may want to take something to hold your camera steady as you're into 30 or 40 second exposures. A Gorillapod is useful as it's lightweight and takes up only a little space.

 

Good to know about your experience with footwear in October - thanks digitl.

 

And thanks for the advice about memory cards and battery charging - makes sense that it would drain the battery more in low temperatures but I would never that thought of that. And I have been caught out before running out of space on a memory card - discovered at the end of a day of site-seeing in rural Greece that the card had started to wipe itself and replace with new shots; I definitely lost quite a few that day. :(

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Thanks, SarniaLo. I appreciate your advice. I've done a lot of research just now and can see some options, Northbound. We plan to go late September or early October. Departing on the 2nd October though it looks, from the itinerary, as though all the offerred excursions occur during the night-time! The ship seems to dock at the relevant ports either in the evening or in the middle of the night. I checked as I read that you should check before booking for the excursions as this does happen. Possibly the schedule changes once the shorter days and cooler weather come around. In fact, the Southbound itinerary looks more friendly for seeing ports during daylight hours on similar dates.

I'm a bit confused by your message, it seems you are mixing up Northboung and Southbound. What are the relevant ports for you?

As I said, Alesund, Trondheim, Tromso are better visited on the Northbound voyage (Northbound = the one going North ie departing Bergen and going to Kirkenes, maybe this is the confusion?). Also, at this season the ship enters Hjorundfjord from Alesund on Day2 after leaving Bergen, this for me would be a good reason also to choose the Northbound trip (again, the one going from Bergen to Kirkenes). For the main part it is the same schedule all yearlong, the main changes between Summer/Autumn vs Winter is an earlier departure from Bergen in Summer/Autumn to accomodate for the fjord sailing on day 2.

 

I think at this season you don't need to book excursion in advance, they are not likely to sell out. And to be honest you don't need much excursions. Towns can be easily visited on your own. Which excursion would you be interested in?

 

The new website is a disaster. Maybe look at the schedule in one of the online brochures.

 

In October you won't need spikes, it highly unlikely you get snow on the ground.

Edited by SarniaLo
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And I have been caught out before running out of space on a memory card - discovered at the end of a day of site-seeing in rural Greece that the card had started to wipe itself and replace with new shots

 

That is seriously odd. Is it a camera setting? A faulty card? I have never heard of a camera allowing images to be overwritten. Mine simply refuses to go any further until the card is changed.

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Just to check: did you find the timetable for the season in which you intend to travel? Hurtigruten's website is hard work and the new one is harder than the old one!

 

Great minds, digitl!

I was just complaining about the website on another post. I find the website very clumsy as I have to keep back-tracking to the start of the search process to see what accommodation is available on any given sailing. I'm searching by month which brings up a calendar of the whole month from which I choose one date and can then see what's available in the way of cabins. I've also had a look at the detailed itineraries on a couple of trips and compared them to the excursions offerred on same. This confuses me, as I've just been writing, but a lot of them, in fact all of the excursions on one particular Northbound sailing occur during night time hours. Very odd but I can't see how I could be misreading it as they use a 24 hour clock way of expressing times so there can be little mistaking that! Surely?!

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That is seriously odd. Is it a camera setting? A faulty card? I have never heard of a camera allowing images to be overwritten. Mine simply refuses to go any further until the card is changed.

 

It was a new camera and I'd never been in that situation before so I assumed it was normal. I won't let it happen again though.

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I'm a bit confused by your message, it seems you are mixing up Northboung and Southbound. What are the relevant ports for you?

As I said, Alesund, Trondheim, Tromso are better visited on the Northbound voyage (Northbound = the one going North ie departing Bergen and going to Kirkenes, maybe this is the confusion?). Also, at this season the ship enters Hjorundfjord from Alesund on Day2 after leaving Bergen, this for me would be a good reason also to choose the Northbound trip (again, the one going from Bergen to Kirkenes). For the main part it is the same schedule all yearlong, the main changes between Summer/Autumn vs Winter is an earlier departure from Bergen in Summer/Autumn to accomodate for the fjord sailing on day 2.

 

I think at this season you don't need to book excursion in advance, they are not likely to sell out. And to be honest you don't need much excursions. Towns can be easily visited on your own. Which excursion would you be interested in?

 

The new website is a disaster. Maybe look at the schedule in one of the online brochures.

 

In October you won't need spikes, it highly unlikely you get snow on the ground.

 

This is the time it shows that the ship will be in this port -

 

19:30 - 23:00 The Hjørundfjord

so I am assuming that if an excursion is listed for that port that it takes place within that time frame. I did read that some excursions occur during the night on another post - they said to be aware of this - that's why I checked. It doesn't seem right to me but that's how it appears. I'm looking at the excursions which appear on the page for a given sailing (specifically Bergen to Kirkenes departing Bergen on October 2 on Finnmarken). :/

Edited by LittleFish1976
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I'm sorry the link doesn't work for me. I don't know when the 19:30 - 23:00 comes from. Here is the sailing plan :

https://www.hurtigruten.com/pages/practical-information/sailing-plan/?season=Autumn

You leave Alesund at 9.30 in the morning, then sail through the Hjorundfjord and back in Alesund at 17.15 . There are times indicated for "The Hjorundfjord" which are 11.30 to 15.00 . I think this refers to the stop the ship makes at the end of the fjord in the small village of Urke, and this is when you can do an excursion.

 

This website is really awful. Use the brochure as much as you can for practical information about the sailngs.

Edited by SarniaLo
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Which excursion?

 

Hi SarniaLo,

 

The mystery of the night-time ports is (half) solved! I noticed last night whilst looking at the Hurtigruten website that when I first open the 'itinerary' page of the booking process, the times seem as expected i.e. daytime ports BUT when I navigate away from that page, even within the Hurtigruten website, even within the booking process pages, and then return the itinerary page, the times change to my local time zone (which being Australia and 8 hours ahead of Denmark make for a strange-looking schedule for a trip.

 

No wonder my consternation when looking at those times and believing that all the ports with excursions were during the night.

 

I have no idea why this is happening and I've never had it happen before with a website. Anyway, it's good to know that my eyes weren't deceiving me nor was I going quietly nuts.

 

Thanks for the link to the seasonal sailing schedule - it would have taken me ages to find it and it's very useful.

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The mystery of the night-time ports is (half) solved! I noticed last night whilst looking at the Hurtigruten website that when I first open the 'itinerary' page of the booking process, the times seem as expected i.e. daytime ports BUT when I navigate away from that page, even within the Hurtigruten website, even within the booking process pages, and then return the itinerary page, the times change to my local time zone (which being Australia and 8 hours ahead of Denmark make for a strange-looking schedule for a trip.

This is absolutely ridiculous, particularly for this kind of trip where timing is essential! Maybe you should mention the issue to Hurtigruten (drop an email). This is another of the many issues with the new website, but this one is not only annoying, it can be hugely confusing (as your experience show).

Glad you could sort it out anyway.

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  • 1 year later...

If we go between Feb and March, does it mean we will not be able to sail in and out of any fjord? So which month would be the best if we would like to maximize our chances of sail into a fjord?

 

Thanks!

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June through August (September?). It was wonderful the first week of June!

 

You can also include May but beginning of June when still a lot of snow at the mountains.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thank you both for the advice. It's hard to find a good time for both fjords and northern lights. Guess I may just have to come back a few times. ;p

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You will be in fjords a good amount of a Hurtigruten cruise both going north and south...much more so that traditional cruise ships because of the small town/ports at which Hurtigruten stops which are not included on those cruise ships' route. You won't see a couple of the most spectacular of these (Trollfjord or Geirangerfjord) in the middle of the winter, but those are just a few hours out of the many that you will be traveling through Norwegian fjords with Hurtigruten, and I don't believe most other cruise ships include the Trollfjord at all.

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