Question of ignorance: Fjords too much time at sea?

Hello, my husband and I are considering the Fjords 14 day trip June 2015 on the Quest. My husband loves to hike and I am more a meanderer. The itinerary looks like it has a LOT of days where one is cruising and looking at spectacular sights. My question is: Might an active 53-year-old be bored? Are there enough things to do on the days at sea and cruising only besides looking out the window that he'll be content? Many thanks in advance for your thoughts. :)

Sea Days have:

- Lectures

- Trivia

- Sales things

If you need to get out and about and the gym doesn't cut it I'd recommend against a cruise with sea days.

On our TA there were some days that had more diversions than others but usually it was lectures and trivia.

We just returned from this trip and for us there was a perfect balance of sea and land days. The land excursions included plenty of hikes and other "outdoors'y" stuff. Being on the ship and at sea is the whole point of cruising for us and certainly the magnificent fjord views are best seen from the water. However, we were blessed with exceptionally good weather for the whole 2 weeks which I'm sure made a difference.

I believe some of the hikes are fairly demanding so even your "active" husband might appreciate the opportunity for some relaxation on sea days?

A good book - or two?

Tony

I am booked on that cruise and am counting the days! We will enjoy the views, spa, lectures, Galley Market lunch, etc. on sea days. I'm 51 and very active but love the true down time of a sea day!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

For me there is no such things as too many days at sea. Being at sea is why I love to cruise. When I want to explore land thoroughly I take a land trip. But that's just me.

A cruising friend is planning her 7th fjord journey in 2015. With global warming upon us--and our record drought in California-- it perhaps behooves us to see those gorgeous waters before they may be gone. I have viewed fjords in Alaska, New Zealand and Chile too but would return often only to Norway.

I'll provide another perspective regarding this question. It seems to me that cruisers are often in one of two camps--- those who look forward to sea days and those who try to avoid them. I fall into the later camp. There are some to cruises to locales that interest us but we have not booked owing to the percentage of sea days to port days. Contrary to the notion expressed by some our anti-sea day stance does not stem from our inability to entertain ourselves or any belief that there is not enough going on on those days, but rather from a lack opportunities for physical activity. Yes, we have played trivia, gone to too many poor cooking demos and listened to lecturers with .varying degrees of knowledge of the subject matter and delivery skills. And we love talking to our fellow passengers but really cannot sit for 14 hours drinking, eating and talking. We need to move. We find gyms to be a bore and walking laps a poor substitute for walking around interesting places on shore. That is just us-- not better or worse -- just how we are. We did book the Norwegian fjords cruise a few years ago and because it was right about at the maximum number of sea days we thought we could bear. We made up for all of this by taking long walks and hikes in most ports. The scenery was lovely and we did enjoy ourselves and are glad we went but it was really right on the edge for us as far as sea days.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

You are right, for some people, ie us, the ship is the destination. For others it's more a transport facility, albeit a very nice one, from one port to the next. Our idea of the cruise from hell would be a busy, port intensive Med cruise and heaven would be almost a week at sea on a TA. Or maybe we are just lazy slobs LOL

I love Seabourn Atlantic Crossings ~with only one port ~one of my favorites, Madeira Portugal~ from Europe in the fall & to Europe in the spring. My 1st TA was so enjoyable with my Mother (90 yrs young) since, I've been a hooked "blue water" Crossing Sailor for the past 13 years. Always akin to a family reunion. We've all enjoyed birthdays, anniversary evenings, card room special cocktails/dinners, fun ship contests, etc. ~ I don't play Trivia~ much rather spend my time having dining room lingering luncheons with shipmates. (Yep, and the Fry Chef's delicious fried onion rings) Many other activites as well ~ or I do nothing but relax and gaze at the beautiful ocean.....'oh those lazy, hazy, crazy, superb Seabourn days/nights.

Martita B

These posts show the blindingly obvious - we are all different, and luckily there are cruises to suit us all.

Our individual preference is for no more than 2 non-consecutive days at sea in a 10 day + cruise, but as we are not particularly good at walking long distances nowadays we enjoy the little ports you can just have a stroll round, like Bandol, Le Lavandou, the ports in Corsica etc. A sit and a coffee or drink, and back for lunch! The lots of days at sea are great for the particularly social animals, not so much for the quieter ones. I think the transatlantics often attract people who already know each other and enjoy catching up and lots of talk.

Back to focusing on the original question --- are there too many sea days for an active person?When we did this cruise we did not have as many sea days . We had additional ports of I believe Olden and Oslo. So in your case 50 percent of the days are sea days. Only two of those days are what could truly be considered scenic cruising days --- on the others you are not likely to be sailing close enough to the shore to see much other than seagulls and other ships. For active people that is a lot. One strategy might be to make sure that on the port days your husband has the opportunity for some intensive hiking in this lovely setting and then he can use the sea days to relax and plan his adventure in the next port. Flam is a great spot for a beautiful long, but not difficult hike We took the train up to Myrdal and then hiked back down to Flam taking in waterfall views as we meandered down the hill and through the valley floor. It was about 13 miles but it was downhill. Bergen, instead of waiting in the long funicular line take the meandering trail from town up to Mt. Floyen. I forget the distance but if you are on good shape it will take under an hour. Not only are you entertained by a series of gigantic trolls carved from tree trunks enroute but at the top there are amazing views down to the town and water below. And if that, and hiking back down is not enough, at the top there is whole series of meandering hiking trails.These are just two examples --- most ports offer similar opportunities.

To those of us who enjoy activity port intensive cruise are rather heaven on earth --- wonderful way to sample a number of new and old places without the hassle of arranging transportation. Seabourn is far more than a transit mechanism for us however. We love the nice suite, the wonderful service, good food and wine and the company of our fellow passengers and hard working crew. We don't launch off on bus tours each day we usually make our own plans at a pace and timing of our own choosing. Let's not turn this thread into something other than the original query.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Just to clarify, there are 5 sea days on this cruise - June 14, June 17, June 21 -22, and June 26, and it's a 14 day cruise. I don't want my DH to see 50% sea days as he might divorce me! 😃

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

five sea days leaves nine port days. That's closer to one third sea days than 50%.

Sorry, misread the itinerary. Also noted that you do stop in the charming Olden. Many cruisers go from there on a glacier tour --- canceled the day we were there. We had planned on using it just for transportation as there was an issue with the local bus that day. instead we went on two lovely non intensive hikes in either direction from where the ship docked through farmlands, by stave churches and along creeks with rushing waters.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I just did an Iceland Fjord cruise, 11 nights with 5 ports and 4 sea days. I'm a really active person (hiker, backpacker, kayaker) and it was a great mix of activity and relaxing for me. I pack a lot into port days so I look forward to relaxing on sea days. I usually do all the trivia and there was also a watercolor class every sea day which I enjoyed. I always bring my gym clothes but usually don't have time to use them.

If you go to Geiranger there's plenty of strenuous hikes to keep you busy. And the scenery is amazing! In Bergen I hiked up the mountain and took the funicular back down with plenty of time to explore the city.

Enjoy!

This has been really helpful and we've decided to take the plunge. We're booked on the cruise and will be very excited to hike hard (him) and laze in a lovely way (me). Cannot wait to celebrate our 25th this way!! :)

Both of you will be happy with your days ashore and on ship. Congratulations on your decision and on your Silver Anniversary! Fair winds and following seas.

Winnie

See you on board - we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

53 and active.....if you could give up the luxury aspect.....a serious look at Hurtigruten might be worthwhile. Pretty neat way to do coastal Norway. We did Quest this year and a different company during 2013. Never bored.

Are there any energy group classes, such as Zumba, Line Dance, Yoga, Aerobic on Quest?

This has been really helpful and we've decided to take the plunge. We're booked on the cruise and will be very excited to hike hard (him) and laze in a lovely way (me). Cannot wait to celebrate our 25th this way!!

Congratulations on getting your June 2015 Norway booking done. It's great that you are not just doing the lower fjords, Bergen, etc., but going all of the way UP, UP to the top of Norway and Europe. Our July 2010 cruise also departed from and returned to wonderful Copenhagen. Our trip, like yours, had stops in Flam, Alesund, Lofoten Islands, Tromso, Honningsvag/North Cape and Bergen. We did not go to Olden or Stavanger.

Below are a few of my visual samples/previews to help in building up your excitement for this trip/adventure. I do not think your husband will find things to be boring or the same-old as you sail up and down this varied and scenic coastline. Have your binoculars handy!! I liked to sit on the upper, back of the ship to see the sights on both sides, not having any cold or winds to worry about, etc. See more details and potentials to consider from my live/blog connected below. Happy to share more, answer any questions, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 154,843 views. Nice to be hitting this high of a level for viewership. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

At Flam, you can see here some of the great fjord, dramatic mountains, waterfalls, etc. Below are some pictures and highlights from this day in the Sognerfjord that is rated as the best in all of Norway for these views and doing a spectacular train ride up the mountain, seeing the valleys, waterfalls, etc.:

Right near the Hanseatic merchant warehouse area is the Bergen Fish Market with lots of options to buy food to eat on site or just watch, enjoying the “show” as people ask questions and buy the various fresh fish items.:

As we departed Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands of Norway on a perfect, sunny day, these are two of the green, tree-covered mountains rising up from the sea that we saw with the small out-islands in the foreground.:

This is one of my many puffin visuals, showing their bright orange feet, plus their cute and unique beaks. We had a private boat from the harbor in Gjesvaer near the North Cape at the top of Norway.:

This is the dramatic overview of Alesund from the Aksla vantage point along the western coast of Norway. This spot allows a nearly 360-degree view of this setting for this island city and the surrounding mountains and islands. It is at a 597’ height overlooking the five islands making up the scenic town. The canal or waterway in the middle of the town is called "Brosundet" (or the Bridge sound). That means Ale sund (sloping sound). Or, reflecting that the sound slopes through town. This is how Alesund got its name.:

Late to this thread, but happy to say we have just booked this cruise as well. We're 50-somethings, and find the mix of sea days and ports very appealing. Some of the sea days there is some scenic cruising, and having not been to Norway since I was 14, I'm looking forward to seeing the fjords from the water. (I'm a photo enthusiast, so I can be entertained for hours with rocks and water!) On days when it's truly "at sea", we're happy to soak up the ship-as-the-destination atmosphere -- and even allow ourselves to just relax instead of feeling we ought to be doing something all the time!

We did this cruise on the Seabourn Quest in June 2014 and loved it. I had some

concern about spending the entire cruise in one country but the variety of ports and scenery was spectacular. Weather is a key factor and we were fortunate.

We thought the mix of sea days to port days was just about perfect.