NCL vs HAL for Norway Cruise

I am looking for cruise for Norway. We can only do 7 days, and would have to go in June 2015. Both NCL and Holland America offer one. NCL on the Norwegian Star out of Copenhagen and HAL on Ryndam out of Harwich(London). Any comments ????

HAL - Ryndam

Harwich (London), UK

1 07 Jun 2015 At Sea

2 08 Jun 2015 Bergen, Norway

3 09 Jun 2015 Geiranger, Norway

3 09 Jun 2015 Cruising Geirangerfjord

4 10 Jun 2015 Alesund, Norway

5 11 Jun 2015 Eidfjord, Norway

5 11 Jun 2015 Scenic cruising Hardangerfjord CO

6 12 Jun 2015 At Sea

7 13 Jun 2015 Harwich (London), UK

NCL - Norwegian Star

Day Cruise Ports Arrive Depart

Day 1 Copenhagen, Denmark (EMBARK) ---

Day 2 At Sea --- ---

Day 3 Alesund, Norway

Day 4 Geiranger, Norway

Day 5 Flam, Norway

Day 6 Bergen, Norway

Day 7 At Sea --- ---

Day 8 Copenhagen, Denmark (DISEMBARK)

Thanks for any input.

Anne

These two cruise lines are so different and the cruise itineraries are so similar that the overriding consideration IMHO should be which line's product you prefer, with the relative prices of the two factored in.

Looking purely at the itineraries, I would pick the NCL one over the HAL one for two reasons: If you haven't been to this part of the world before and want to do the train at Flam, this is your chance. And Harwich (which is not London by any stretch of the imagination - cruise lines routinely lie about this) can be a bit of a pig to get to.

However, another thing to factor in is any pre-cruise or post-cruise stay. If you want to do London, then the HAL cruise obviously makes more sense.

Geiranger and Bergen are my two top choices for Norway ports, and both itineraries include them. The only real differences are departure port and Eidfjord vs Flåm.

For those comparisons, I'd choose Copenhagen and Flåm. Especially if you've never visited Copenhagen.

Both itineraries look great to me, but my first Norway visit is coming later this month. So' I'll defer the the experts on the ports.

These two cruise lines have very different styles. Some people like both styles, but I think most people would sort themselves more into one style or the other. We'd need to know more about your party and your wishes for this cruise to tell which line might suit you better.

We've decided to do the HAL itinerary. We have sailed with HAL before, and know the product. Have never been on NCL, and after reading reviews, I don't think it's a good fit for us. Would have actually loved to have gone on the Celebrity cruise in August, but those dates don't work for us.

We are leaving for a Western Med. Cruise with Oceania in a month. First time with them, with an outstanding itinerary. Love cruising'

Thank you, to those who responded.

Anne

Tough call but we would also probably opt for the Copenhagen departure port. Harwich is not a particularly convenient port located a good 1:40 min drive from London (there are also trains). We have never been big fans of cruising out of England because of the port locations...although it is a good option if you want to spend pre or post cruise time in London or somewhere else within the country. You also might want to consider that airfares are often lower to London then other places within Europe.

Hank

We've decided to do the HAL itinerary. We have sailed with HAL before, and know the product. Have never been on NCL, and after reading reviews, I don't think it's a good fit for us. Would have actually loved to have gone on the Celebrity cruise in August, but those dates don't work for us.

 

We are leaving for a Western Med. Cruise with Oceania in a month. First time with them, with an outstanding itinerary. Love cruising'

 

Thank you, to those who responded.

 

Anne

Since HAL suits your styles, you are making a good choice. Have fun on Oceania and on HAL.

I am looking for cruise for Norway. We can only do 7 days, and would have to go in June 2015. Both NCL and Holland America offer one. NCL on the Norwegian Star out of Copenhagen and HAL on Ryndam out of Harwich(London). Any comments ????

 

HAL - Ryndam

 

Harwich (London), UK

1 07 Jun 2015 At Sea

2 08 Jun 2015 Bergen, Norway

3 09 Jun 2015 Geiranger, Norway

3 09 Jun 2015 Cruising Geirangerfjord

4 10 Jun 2015 Alesund, Norway

5 11 Jun 2015 Eidfjord, Norway

5 11 Jun 2015 Scenic cruising Hardangerfjord CO

6 12 Jun 2015 At Sea

7 13 Jun 2015 Harwich (London), UK

 

 

NCL - Norwegian Star

 

Day Cruise Ports Arrive Depart

Day 1 Copenhagen, Denmark (EMBARK) ---

Day 2 At Sea --- ---

Day 3 Alesund, Norway

Day 4 Geiranger, Norway

Day 5 Flam, Norway

Day 6 Bergen, Norway

Day 7 At Sea --- ---

Day 8 Copenhagen, Denmark (DISEMBARK)

 

 

Thanks for any input.

 

Anne

We are on the NCL one but sailing 5/20/15 and chose this because of their freestyle cruising. Formal nights are optional and for my husband he's thrilled not having to bring all that extra dressy clothes so we can bring all the other extra layer of clothes for the temperamental weather we will be facing. Plus dining is anywhere from 5:30-10:30 in the dining rooms and we would not have to rush to get to that specific dining time. Everyone has their own style and you do what suits you the best.

Jeanne

We have sailed on both of these ships, and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. We prefer the MDR food on HAL, though NCL has a nice variety of specialty restaurants which are very good. NCL has better onboard entertainment IMO.

FWIW, the Ryndam will be leaving HAL's fleet in 2015. It is being transferred to P&O and will sail out of Australia.