Inside vs Balcony for Norwegian Fjords Cruise

[Casey2]

We are thinking about taking a Norwegian Fjords cruise next year. Usually we book insde cabins in Europe because we are off the ship all day and would rather put the money towards excursions. Due to the incredible scenery in on this type of cruise, should we book a balcony?

[TLCOhio]

We are thinking about taking a Norwegian Fjords cruise next year. Usually we book insde cabins in Europe because we are off the ship all day and would rather put the money towards excursions. Due to the incredible scenery in on this type of cruise, should we book a balcony?

 

Good question. Definitely do NOT do an inside room for this great area of the world. A balcony versus a large outside window is a little more challenging choice, depending on the cost options AND the size of your budget. WHY?? The days are much longer in these Norway areas during the summers. You want to maximize soaking up all of the glances, sights, experiences, etc., connected with these great visually exciting areas. Even if in your room changing your clothes, relaxing for a short time, etc., you want to see and experience these great areas, know what is happening outside, etc. See some of my pictures below. Plus, read through my live/blog that is connected below for many more details and photos on the many excellent options, potentials in these areas.

 

KEY NORWAY COAST QUESTION: Your key choice is whether to just focus on the lower Norway fjords, Bergen, etc. Nice and wonderful. BUT, there is the option of going up, UP farther north, above the Arctic Circle, seeing such great places such as the Lofoten Islands, the North Cape, interesting cities such as Tromso and Trondheim, etc. Only doing the lower portion requires less time, has more sailing options and costs less. BUT, if you can take the added time, seeing farther up this Norway coast can be very special and unique. Especially if you love nature, great scenery, wildlife, etc. Your choice?

 

Keep these good questions rolling along!! Lots of great ideas and people are here on these boards and they are happy to help. Don't be shy!! The only "dumb" question is the one you don't ask. Keep researching and planning. It will be very helpful for when you do your actual trip and that experience.

 

What are your reactions and added interests, questions?? Tell us more!!

 

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 117,472 views.

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

 

 

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 is the harbor in Gjesvaer near the North Cape at the top of Norway.:

 

 

 

You go on these Norway Coast cruises for the spectacular fjords. From the journey to Flam, Gudvangen and Sognerfjord, here is one picture giving you a sampling of the skies and views for these beautiful internal coastlines of the fjords. Being up on the top of the boat can provide great view on BOTH sides as you sail up and down these various fjords.

 

 

 

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.:

 

 

 

Here’s a close look at these historic Bergen Hanseatic merchant warehouse building fronts, people taking pictures, etc. Super loved the charm, character, history and beauty in Bergen.:

 

 

 

This is the super scenic view from immediately above Geiranger that shows the Silver Cloud and Costa ships tendered. A little before this picture, we were to go to Mt. Dalsnibba as a photo stop from this 4,920-foot vantage for the snow-covered surrounding mountains, icy glaciers, crystalline lakes and Geirangerfjord far below. Here is this view, at a lower level, that provided a wonderful vista.:

 

[LHT28]

Our 1st Norway cruise was in an inside ..great for sleeping when the sun sets just after midnight & rises at 12:15 am ;)

We found lots of places to see the scenery on deck ..saving money for tours

 

It is a personal choice if you can afford an oceanview or a balcony cabin go for it

Or take the inside & save some $$ for other things

 

YMMV

[NancyIL]

I book the cabin I consider to be the best value, and that's usually an inside. However, the price of an oceanview cabin was the same price as an inside on my 12-night Norway cruise in 2012, so I booked the OV. When I checked in at the port, I had been upgraded to a balcony. :) While I certainly enjoyed the balcony, I haven't minded going outside to view the scenery when I had inside cabins. You get a much better view from an open deck than from a balcony - unless it's an aft balcony.

[hallasm]

I did have a balcony cabin; however I did spend a lot of time at upper decks.

So an inside will work.

 

Here is what I saw:

(link to short video)

[NancyIL]

I did have a balcony cabin; however I did spend a lot of time at upper decks.

So an inside will work.

 

Here is what I saw:

(link to short video)

 

Beautiful video - thank you!

[dsrdsrdsr]

I've been to Norway quite a few times, and never had a balcony or an outside cabin. There's always loads of deck space, so unless getting to and from the cabin is a problem (eg. walking difficulties), then I've never felt the balcony would be worth anything. And as someone points out above, the midnight sun is not a good thing when it's shining through your bedroom window!

[Alaskanb]

I loved having a balcony for scenic cruising especially first thing in the morning! Just slip on a robe and have tea/coffee in my own space...bliss :)

[Hlitner]

We did the Norwegian Fjords (twice) on the Prinsendam where we had booked a "porthole" cabin. We found it no big problem since we spent most of the scenic part of the cruise up in the Crows Nest (an upper level bar with great bow views). So I guess the inside cabin is OK as long as you are willing to drag yourself to a public room for the more scenic parts of the cruise. The truth is that even if we did have a balcony cabin (on most cruises we do have a balcony) we still would have gone to a public viewing place since in the Fjords you want to have a view of both sides of the ship.

 

Hank

[roothy123]

I don't know how many days you'll be going through the fjords, but we recently had an inside cabin on our cruise, which spent 1 day traveling the Norwegian fjords (Geirangerfjord, plus Storfjord, but the latter one was at night, so we didn't see anything) and one day in beautiful Aalesund. It seemed like just about everyone went up top for the short trip from Geiranger to Hellesylt (about 2 hours, with one hour of pouring rain, which had people scurrying inside!), so unless you want to view things in private, there's really no huge advantage in my mind to getting a veranda cabin. I suppose that might be different if the cruise had a lot of fjord viewing time, and in daylight hours, but ours didn't - just the 2 days in Norway. Throughout the whole trip, or at least early in the morning and later at sailaway, I DID spend a good amount of time way up top, at a place where I could see both sides of the water. I also occasionally tuned the ship's TV to the bridge and aft cams, to see if there was anything of interest "out there."

[Casey2]

Thanks for your responses. We have a lot of thinking to do.

[dsrdsrdsr]

It seemed like just about everyone went up top for the short trip from Geiranger to Hellesylt (about 2 hours, with one hour of pouring rain, which had people scurrying inside

Just out of interest, what did they do during the rather longer trip from Hellesylt to the sea? The total sail-in and sail-away take about 4 hours normally, unless you're on a speedboat.

 

Few Norwegian cruises do only one fjord anyway. I think you picked a bad itinerary.