First time on cruise to norway

Hello

I'm considering take Norway and arctic circle cruise of Royal Carribean on 09 June 2019.

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/11NightArcticCircleCruise-SR11U047?currencyCode=USD&sCruiseType=CO&sailDate=06%2F03%2F2018

We come with 9 years child, 5 years child and 1 year baby.

I have some worries regarding:

- people say on cruise I will see nothing of Norway, is it true? From the ship I will not see few fjords and dramatic views of Norway?

- will I see wildlife like whales or others?

- can we walk to destination from port easily or take a bus? As we do not take baby seat for taxi.

- are the waves in Arctic will be safe enough? Especially for baby

- is the temperature too extreme for a baby or can just get good cloth?

Overall, will it be safe and scenic cruise in which I could sit and enjoy view except just the sea itself, or is it just the ship which makes the difference and not the views?

People really let me down on this so not sure.

I have troubles with that link, it doesnot give the details of the ports you will go too. So better name the ports to get the correct information.

No you will see no whales, maybe some other wildlife, but donot expect too much.

Once I know which ports you will vist, I and others can tell you more.

We travelled with a 2 year old and 6 year old, and the ports we'll duplicate with you are Geiranger, Flam and Bergen.

Please note that taxis require car seats for children, and refused to transport my family. This was the one thing that made this cruise much harder than my previous cruise to the Baltics, where we mostly used public transportation but in a pinch could hop in a cab when the children were cold and cranky and tired. It really made a huge difference in our trip. However, there are HOHO buses available which might solve your problem. We were also told by the Norwegian tourism site that cabs are required to provide car seats for children. We were unable to book cabs ahead of time, but tried emailing cab companies 1-2 days before we arrived. They later replied stating that they did not receive our emails in time. You might have better luck trying to book months out.

There will be incredible views on the sail in in Geiranger and Flam (maybe other places on your cruise too, but these are the ones I've visited).

The Flam railway is a five minute walk from where you dock or tender, so this can easily be undertaken as an independent excursion. We booked our tickets online at the Norwegian Railways site at https://www.nsb.no/en/?gclid=CMuvnubiitMCFYoy0wodZb8BnQ .

If that site is showing that everything is booked, other cruise critic posters have mentioned trying http://booking.visitflam.com/en/to-do/a1488268/the-flåm-railway/showdetails, and other posters have stated that this site has access to different tickets and sometimes has availability even when the Norwegian railway site lists no availability (I don't have any personal experience with the second site, but the first one worked easily for us). Also, people have reported on the forums that when the train was initially sold out, they kept checking and eventually tickets opened up due to cancellations.

A quick online search seemed to recommend that you should sit on the right side of the train on the Flam to Myrdal journey. The view on that side was quite lovely, but might also be on the other side.

In Flam, we had a lovely afternoon visiting a goat farm,exploring the beautiful town of Undredal, and then eating local cheeses (including brown caramel goat cheese) and a delicious lunch that was organized by Flam Guide Service (http://www.fjordsafari.com). Fjord Safari's booth is located about a minute away from the Flam railway platform, so you will have no problem finding your tour. You can combine this tour with a hike and boat ride along the fjords if your group is all physically fit. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable excursion, which I would highly recommend. We traveled in May, before the goats move to their summer farms so this excursion had to be individually arranged. Flam Guide service stayed in contact with us and gave us updates as they worked to book this reservation, and they also helpfully provided car seats for our children. Our tour guide was highly knowledgeable and helpful and this tour was one of the highlights of our cruise. Our children really loved it too!

In Geiranger there are buses that you can meet very close to the port that will take you to all the major sites. We chose a private tour just for our family, but were greatly disappointed in the service provided by Geiranger Fjord Service ( https://www.geirangerfjord.no .) They refused to provide a car seat for our 6 year old, and were the only tour provider in England and Norway to do so, so we needed to bring one from the US just for this tour. And they promised us by email that we could stop wherever we wanted to, including a goat farm near the lake we were visiting. But the driver lied and claimed that anyone stopping at a farm in Norway needed special vaccines. We'd done the visit to the goat farm in Flam the day prior, so we didn't argue with him, but it was not worth the extra cost to have a private driver through Geiranger Fjord Service. However, they also run much less expensive bus tours to the main attractions and I'm guessing they do a fine job with that, as most of their tripadvisor reviews were positive. You'd want to visit Eaglebend - Flydalsjuvet - Dalsnibba (the Geiranger Skywalk) if the road to the Geiranger Skywalk is open during your visit.

Visitors should note that the viewing platforms in Geiranger are amazing (especially on a clear day) but there are hairpin roads to reach them, and it could be a little challenging if you are prone to car sickness.

At the end of the tour, we decided to stop for lunch in Geiranger. We were a little scared to stop at Braserie Posten, since it is in a tourist trap location right near the cruise ship terminal, but the yelp reviews were positive and the food was excellent. There is seating with a beautiful view of the harbor in the back of the restaurant. We went through two bowls of fish soup, since the kids were so happy eating all of it. It is a very short walk from this restaurant to the dock, so this is a nice way to conclude your day in Geiranger.

We were in Bergen in an awful weather day, so we don't have many recommendations for you. The fish market has outdoor heaters and blankets so even though it was freezing outside, we were quite comfortable eating there. The fish market is close to the funicular. We did the funicular in terrible weather (we knew that ahead of time, but our 2 year old and 6 year old loved the ride even without a view, so it was a good choice for our family.) It is recommended that you buy your funicular tickets ahead of time to avoid one set of lines, but need to balance out whether or not you want to ride this if the weather is terrible and you can't see much. There is a nice troll playground at the top.

There are HOHO buses a short distance away from the dock. We took the Museum bus, which worked out fine for us. It doesn't go to as many places as the HOHO bus and you can see their schedule at https://en.visitbergen.com/things-to...e-bus-p1685153 . There is only one bus and it makes 4 stops and includes admission to several museums in Bergen. The nice thing was that they were able to tell us exactly what time the bus would be returning when they dropped us off, so we didn't have to wait at all. And although the Funicular is not technically a stop, we were the only people on the bus and it was along the route, so they kindly dropped us off there.

thanks!

Day 1 - Geiranger 07:00-16:00

Day 2 - Arctic circle (cruising) - As we sail north towards the Norwegian town of Honningsvag, take in the singular beauty of the Arctic region, including its vivid skies, massive glaciers and unique wildlife, from the comfort of the ship.

Day 3 - Tromso 09:00-18:00

Day 4 - Honningsvag 07:00-15:00

Day 5 - cruising

Day 6 - Alesund 10:00-18:00

Day 7 - Flam 10:30-18:30

Day 8 - Bergen 07:00-17:00

Other few days cruising from Copenhagen

Thanks!!

Any view while cruising from one port to the other? I mean while not coming to port. Only sea or see mountains/coastline with houses/somthing else?

Have you looked on YouTube for videos of Norway cruises.

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You will see plenty of Norway. Especially on the west coast, towns and cities tend to be small, and the natural beauty stretches right up to the city limits. And places like Geiranger are especially small (~200 permanent residents), so you're surrounded by nature. The sail-in and sail-out of many of these places is spectacular and one of the best ways to enjoy the fjord scenery.

However, there is not a huge amount of wildlife, especially since the countryside is dotted with small farms and villages. In the far north, you may see reindeer. Otherwise, you're more likely to see domestic livestock (especially sheep and goats) than wildlife.

In Geiranger and Flåm, you will start off in the heart of town (what town there is). In other places, it can vary a bit depending on where your ship docks. Tromsø and Bergen both have good public transit systems, and the downtown areas of these cities and Ålesund are relatively compact and easy to navigate on foot.

Within the fjords, there are no waves (other than those caused by other ships). In open seas, the conditions vary, but it's not particularly bad. It's possible to have some choppy days, and the crossing from Copenhagen to Norway can sometimes have bigger swells. Overall I'd say there's a bit more movement than you typically find in the Caribbean, but it's always safe. The ship's captain will avoid unsafe conditions, so it's more a matter of comfort.

The temperature is obviously safe for a baby. Norwegians have babies too. (They even let babies sleep outside bundled up in their prams in the winter) There's a traditional Norwegian saying that there's no bad weather, only bad clothing. This certainly applies to babies as well!

Cruising between destinations, you'll have fantastic views (often for hours) as you sail in and out of port. However, on sea days you'll be out in open waters. Although there isn't any land in view, sailing that far north in June, if the weather is clear you'll get a great view of the midnight sun at night. When you're out at sea, there's nothing blocking the horizon, so you can watch the sun going lower in the sky and then starting to rise again without actually setting.