Cruise to Norway. Still confused

Hi, I have booked a cruise to Norway- Starts in Hamburg and visits- Kristiansand, Haugesund, Alesund, Bergen, Flam, Geiranger.

I booked late and we leave July 30th and I'm still unsure about the ports (Norwegian Jade).

I see I can get the HOHO bus in Bergen, Geiranger and Ålesund (buy 3 get one free) but I'm worried that I'll miss out on seeing amazing scenery by staying in towns.

Do you see Fjords from the ship?

I am willing to do some tours but not sure which ports warrant it.

The Troll tour appeals to me but it's very expensive. Is it worth it? What about the other ports?

I've cruised a fair bit and found some tours amazing and others I wished I hadn't bothered, hence the questions. I know it's subjective but I appreciate any opinuons.

I'm just worried that I'll be disappointed having travelled all that way and not seeing fjords.

Thanks.

Lynne

You will see wonderful views of the fjords from your ship. At least one of the days is devoted to scenic cruising.

We did a wonderful train ride in Flam, I'm sure NCL offers this excursion.

The best thing to do is to pick up a guide book on your ports and read up on the places you most want to see. Some ports can be explored on foot, others you can book with the cruise line.

The Norwegian Fjords are breathtaking.

Have a great cruise.

Jonathan

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Flam and Geiranger both are inside a fjord, so sailing in and out is awesome and it can take some hours! Often the front deck of ships are opened to the passengers to enjoy the best view.

Below a video of what you can see from the ship - then buy three and get one free HoHo for Bergen, Geiranger and Ålesund is a good offer. Take the train ride in Flåm.

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Flam and Geiranger are both at the end of scenic fjords. However, check your arrival times at the ports. These are often 7 or 8 am, which means that the ship may already have done its scenic cruise! Don't know why they don't do some sailing during the day time, but maybe they are keen to optimise the opportunity to sell excursions!

We found the best way to enjoy the most scenery was to wake up very early ( there will be very short nights at that time of year) and watch the scenery from our balcony for an hour or two before arriving at the head of the fjord.

Then in the evening, we spent the two to three hours after sail away, admiring the scenery before heading off for food or entertainment. The back of the promenade deck on Jade was particularly good for seeing both sides of the fjord at once.

Don't miss the seven sisters waterfalls about fifteen minutes outside Gerainger , on the port side going in, and the starboard side going out!

The Flam railway is amazing. You can do this with Norway in a Nutshell, or as a stand alone roundtrip to Myrdal and back.

If you decide to travel to Myrdal and back please note that the station is a 1-2 minute walk from where you dock, so you should try to purchase tickets individually first at https://www.nsb.no/en/our-destinations/our-regional-railway-lines/flamrailway . If they are sold out directly from the railway, then you can see if your ship still has tickets. Flam is a possible tender port, so please find out if your ship is docking so you know what time you can safely purchase tickets.

We had a lovely excursion in which you can visit goats on a local farm and then enjoy local cheeses and meats in the town that inspired Frozen, which was organized by Flam Guideservice at http://www.fjordsafari.com . They were outstanding guides, and also offer more exciting tours such as RIB boats if that's what you'd prefer.

In Geiranger, you can check to see if the HOHO buses visit all of the scenic viewpoints available (Eagles Bend, Flydalsiuvet, the Gieranger Skywalk. I'm not sure if the HOHO buses go to the skywalk (it wasn't open at all on May 23rd, when I was in Geiranger).

What ever you decide on in Flam and Geiranger I would REALLY encourage you to make your reservations asap and have tickets in hand when you get off the ship. Both are very small villages that are completely over run with thousands of tourists most days in the summer season You can barely move around the dock/tender areas many days. Definitely not places to wander around a bit and then decide on something to do.

Also be aware that in Geiranger the HOHO bus goes to 2 scenic overlooks for a short stop at each and that's it. And your "all day" ticket entitles you to 1trip to each of the overlooks only. They do not go to the peak of Mt Dalsnibba which in my opinion is the highlight of the trips there. Inexpensive bus excursions that do go to Dalsnibba are available on visitNorway.com

THANK YOU! SO MUCH! I really appreciate all the replies. They have really alleviated my concerns.

The video made me very excited and eager to go. Thank you so much for that.

I am now not so panicky about missing things. The train is booked out although a few people are cancelling the 7.30 train as we dock at 7am and you lose your money if the ship is late.

Now to decide on tours. If anyone has done any I'd appreciate your thoughts. Time's running out I know.

THANK YOU! SO MUCH! I really appreciate all the replies. They have really alleviated my concerns.

 

The video made me very excited and eager to go. Thank you so much for that.

 

I am now not so panicky about missing things. The train is booked out although a few people are cancelling the 7.30 train as we dock at 7am and you lose your money if the ship is late.

 

Now to decide on tours. If anyone has done any I'd appreciate your thoughts. Time's running out I know.

There are 2 different sites with allocation of tickets for the Flam railway

https://booking.visitflam.com/en/to-do/a585205/train-trip/showdetails?_ga=2.142659765.1853888297.1496862941-739421715.1496862941

And the https://www.nsb.no/en/frontpage site

Now sure if you have tried both

I haven't been yet, we are there next week,,,, but the boat trip from Flam up the Nærøyfjord is meant to be amazing too

https://www.visitflam.com/en/se-og-gjore1/pakker/fjord-cruise-naroyfjord-rundtur/

Two tours I would happily do again:

Flam Norway in a Nutshell. You'll see some of the interior away from Fjords and do the train, either up or down the mountain and you will also take a normal train to/from Voss. If you don't do a tour there is very little in Flam.

Alesund. Troll Road. Again another full day but a chance to see some spectacular scenery. The only downside with this trip is you won't get chance to see Alesund.

Both tours include a Norwegian buffet lunch. This is part of the reason for the high cost, food is v expensive.

Flam and Geiranger are both at the end of scenic fjords. However, check your arrival times at the ports. These are often 7 or 8 am, which means that the ship may already have done its scenic cruise! Don't know why they don't do some sailing during the day time, but maybe they are keen to optimise the opportunity to sell excursions!

 

We found the best way to enjoy the most scenery was to wake up very early ( there will be very short nights at that time of year) and watch the scenery from our balcony for an hour or two before arriving at the head of the fjord.

Then in the evening, we spent the two to three hours after sail away, admiring the scenery before heading off for food or entertainment. The back of the promenade deck on Jade was particularly good for seeing both sides of the fjord at once.

Don't miss the seven sisters waterfalls about fifteen minutes outside Gerainger , on the port side going in, and the starboard side going out!

Great advice to get up early. On our Flam day (arrival 6:30 am) I was up at 4. I was the only one on the deck of the Queen Elizabeth for 2 hours. It was so magical - just fantastic - the whole ship to myself and the best views of the whole week. We were sailing end of June so daylight was a bit longer than what you will have, but sunrise will still be very early.