Norwegian Fijords

[Polycarp]

I'm looking for a cruise (about 2 weeks) that would cover the Norwegian Fijords. I am steering away from many of the Baltic cruises because they spend a large amount of their time more in the Baltic area and I am more interested in the fijords. I've read a little about the Norweigian Coastal Cruise line that cruises as well as carries supplies and ferries individuals among the many islands. Does anyone have any experience with this cruise or know of any cruise line that really concentrates on the fijord area?

 

Thanks,

Polycarp

[Globaliser]

The Baltic cruises are definitely a different kettle of fish from those that go to the Norwegian fjords. So discard all the Baltic cruises when you go hunting. Nevertheless, you should still find a few cruises with most of the lines that do European cruises that run up the Atlantic coast of Norway and therefore go into the fjords. I don't think any of them really concentrate on this, as such, but it is a regular offering. It's just that there may only be a handful of these cruises per ship per year.

 

One I definitely know about is the 2 week cruise planned on the Sea Princess for mid-June 2006. It's basically a repeat of the cruise that I have just done - up the Norwegian coast, and then north to Spitsbergen and back. Spitsbergen is (in cruising terms) a very exotic and rare destination, and definitely worth the voyage IMHO.

 

But there will be others - just look at each cruise line in turn.

 

The Norwegian Coastal Voyage (or Hurtigruten) is definitely a good alternative. But the ships are not cruise ships in the conventional sense. There's relatively little entertainment on board, for example. And they do make their working calls, sometimes at odd hours of the night. Many of the calls are also very brief, so you will not get an all-day stop in a port the way that a conventional cruise does. Some of the shore excursions they organise therefore start in one port, and finish in another one further along the ferry's route. However, because the ship will be darting in and out of ports all over the place, you will probably see much more scenery when cruising than on a conventional ship.

[LHT28]

Look for Scandinavian cruises

Try Orientlines ....we did the Marco Polo in 2003 up the fjords in June and it was spectacular scenery.

[Sandy R]

Don't know if they still do the itinerary but 2 years ago we sailed on Celebrity's Constellation to the Norwegian Fijords. It was a wonderful cruise. Their "Overland Excursion" in Grienger/Helleyset was definitely sensory overload.

 

Sandy

[Bruin Steve]

We just finished up a Celebrity Constellation cruise a couple of weeks ago that visited the Norwegian Fjords...and a really nice cruise it was...

 

Celebrity does it on the Connie only once a year (although this year it had some shorter versions on the Century as well)...

 

But, it's not totally a Norwegian Fjord cruise...It's a 14 night itinerary that goes from Dover to Le Havre, France to Cork, Ireland to Dublin to Belfast, Northern Ireland to Glasgow, Scotland...and then to Geiranger/Hellesylt, Norway to Olden, Norway to Bergen, Norway, then to Copenhagen and back to Dover...You get a nice sampling of the Norwegian Fjord Country...but also a nice taste of Ireland and a couple of other places mixed in...My wife was really interested in seeing Ireland, so this itinerary worked for us...

 

Some lines do a more intense Norwegian route...

 

Most notably, Holland America...which July 10, 2006 on the Prisendam is doing this trip:

 

Midnight Sun Explorer - Amsterdam/Amsterdam 21 Days

FROM: Amsterdam, Netherlands TO: Amsterdam, Netherlands

SAILING DATE: July 10, 2006

SHIP: ms Prinsendam

 

0 Amsterdam, Netherlands 5:00 pm

1 At Sea

2 Oslo, Norway 10:00 am 5:30 pm

3 Kristiansand, Norway 8:00 am 5:00 pm

4 Bergen, Norway 8:00 am 5:00 pm

5 Hellesylt (Cruising), Norway 1 7:00 am 8:00 am

5 Geiranger, Norway 10:00 am 6:00 pm

6 At Sea

7 Tromso, Norway 10:00 am 6:00 pm

8 Honningsvag, Norway 8:00 am 10:00 pm

9 At Sea

10 At Sea

11 Longyearbyen, Norway 1 11:00 am 8:00 pm

12 At Sea

13 At Sea

14 Akureyri, Iceland 8:00 am 6:00 pm

15 Isafjord, Iceland 1 Noon 6:00 pm

16 Reykjavik, Iceland 7:00 am 5:00 pm

17 At Sea

18 Lerwick, Great Britain 1 10:00 am 5:00 pm

19 Edinburgh, Scotland, Uk 1 10:00 am 11:00 pm

20 At Sea

21 Amsterdam, Netherlands 8:00 am

 

That might be just a little too much fjord for me...but, if you really want to cruise the fjords as much as possible and you have three weeks to spare...

[42trvl]

Crystal also has a cruise in June that concentrates on that area - 12 days I think. It looks very nice.

[Sea-hawk]

In July we cruised for 14 days on Seabourn, from London to London. It was fantastic. We did the Baltic capitals a few years ago and really wanted to concentrate on the fjords this time. The first week was in the fjords with stops in the mornings and afternoons, and a full day in Bergen. The second week was Oslo, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The ship was a perfect size, with only 190 passengers, and the weather was sunny the whole time and in the 80's.

 

Next year they are offering 2 10-day cruieses to the fjords and Oslo both starting and ending in Copenhagen. They also have 1 16-day cruise to the fjrods and Ireland from Copenhagen to London and finally a 15-day London to Copenhagen curise that does the fjords only, but goes way up to the Aritc Circle. They didn't offer the last one this year, and we loved to fjords so much, we are really thinking about doing that one next year. We've heard great things about it from both other guests and crew.

[Galaxy]

Here is some pics of Constellation in Geiranger and Olden in july this year...:)

 

 

Hope you don't mind that i post those pictures for you folks....-Galaxy-

[bobby'sgirl]

The pics are beautiful. Makes me want to go on a similiar cruise. Thanks for sharing.

[bigcruisefan]

I read all of the posts with interest and have checked out several of the cruises mentioned. I'm planning on a Summer 2007 cruise with a fjord focus and was just wondering if anyone else had been doing research or had any suggestions for me.

 

Thanks in advance!

[englishmum]

I have read all these posts and cruising the Norwegian Fijords sounds fantastic,I am seriously thinking about this one.Could anyone tell me when is the best time to see the Northern Lights,and do any of the tradional cruise lines do a cruise at this time.Has anyone seen the Northern Lights and were they as spectacular as people say?

[Ine]

In summer 2007 - our of The netherlands - Prinsendam of HAL has a cruise to the top of Norway, even more north since it incl. Spitsbergen, check:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/dest/itinerary.do?selectedItin=20070724:P715:ENP018&dest=E

 

In June 2007 Rotterdam -HAL- will sail Norway, without Spitsbergen, check:http://www.hollandamerica.com/dest/itinerary.do?selectedItin=20070611:T712:ENT012&dest=E

 

 

Also Century of Celebrity will sail to the top of Norway:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/search/vacationItinerary.do;jsessionid=0000wWcJyxvLNpsVH_8oIgmVzDa:1028etot9?packageCode=CN12U006&backPageName=Itinerary+Search+Results

 

End of June/beginning of July is the time that so far north it will not get dark during the night.

[Sue G]

We did the complete 12 day trip in Sept 2004. I think it was one of the best holdays I have head - totally relaxing. As previously mentioned it is also a working boat but this does not interfere with the enoyment of the passengers in fact watching them load and unload can be entertaining. It makes 34 ports of call - what it does in the day northbound it does during the night southbound (more or less) and vice versa. There was no entertainment on board on our trip but we did not find this to be a disadvantage. The crew were excellent and always friendly and helpful. The accommodation was good and the food was excellent - buffet for breakfast & lunch and set meal for dinner.

The ship does sail into Gerainger fjord but ours was the last trip that went into the fjord. It also goes into the Trollfjord, subject to the weather as it is quite tight for the ship and it has to do a complete 360 degree trun at the end to sail out again and she is close to the rock face - on the way up this happens at about 11pm and they serve "troll tail" soup on the top deck. On the return trip it is in daylight which if you saw this first you may be reluctant to do it at night but shows the skill of the captain.

As these are working boats they do have to adhere to there timetable so sometimes if you arrive late in a port you do no get as much time as you thought you would have but some of the ports are quite small with little to see. The only port were they dock out of the town is Trondheim and it is approx 45 min walk into the town.

You can meet lots of people on board including locals.

If you want a really relaxing holiday where you will not feel guilty doing nothing then this is the holiday to do - just sit back and drink in the magnificent scenery that Norway has to offer.

 

Sue G

[glgolfer]

We did the 17 day Grand Norway trip in May of 2006. We loved it and would take it again anytime. Here's our review. The webshots address for pictures is at the end of the review. If you (or anyone else) have any other questions, you can email me at thirdparty@tampabay.rr.com

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=189561

[Globaliser]

The ship does sail into Gerainger fjord but ours was the last trip that went into the fjord.

Just to clarify this for anyone who's concerned about not getting to Geiranger in the future. The Hurtigruten only calls at Geiranger during the summer timetable, but is (like all the other calls) a daily stop when the summer timetable's operating.