Tips for booking a Fjords cruise

[Presto2]

Hi, hope everyone has had / are having a good Christmas :-)

 

We have been looking at cruises for 2018 and are toying with doing a one week cruise to the Fjords in August 2018. We've never done one before and to be honest have no idea what we are looking for re the best ports etc.

 

The ship choice is Britannia, Arcadia or Ventura and as a couple in the school holidays Arcadia may be a good option!

 

We're just wondering which places people would say are a MUST for such a cruise and what sort of excursions P&O do (ones to recommend)

 

Have to say that as someone who prefers a warm cruise mid August I am not 100% sold on the idea of this cruise, but the scenery just looks stunning and if we follow it with a 12 day Canary Island Cruise we get the best of both worlds. :-)

 

Finally, what sort of cabin would people recommend? We always go for a balcony but wonder if an aft cabin would get better views.

 

Thanks everyone

 

:D

[David Owl]

As you will see from my cruise list this is my favourite cruise destination. Most of the trips go to similar places but in order of preference I would say Flam, Geiranger, Stavanger and Bergen are the best.

 

Personally I didn't reckon much to Alesund, Trondheim or Tromso, but I suspect that there are some who don't agree with me.

 

Whilst you might want to do some of the tours from these places we find that having done them we now much prefer to just potter around the ports. The best of the scenery is from the ship, especially in the early morning sail-ins when there are not too many people around.

 

We have always found that the Celebrity trips manage to dock, whereas many others have to tender, but Ventura and Britannia are fine ships so wouldn't object to going on them again. Not so keen on Arcadia though.

 

Hope you have a great trip whatever you decide.

[hallasm]

The must is at least on of the big fjords 1) Stor Fjord and Geiranger Fjord to Geiranger and/or 2) Sognefjord and Aurland Fjord to Flam

and then of cause Bergen.

Here is a link to my review of Norwegian Fjords Cruise with videos, pictures and an active map.

 

Also two vidoes for inspiration:

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[Presto2]

Many thanks both. We have just been looking at a cruise that Arcadia does. I have heard mixed reviews about her but as she it adults only it does appeal to us.

The itinerary for the cruise means nothing to us at all but is 12 days. Help !

 

Southampton

Bergen

Skjolden

Lustrafjorden (Cruise by)

Sognefjord No (Cruise by)

Alesund

Trondheim

Storfjorden (Cruise by)

Sunnylvsfjorden (Cruise by)

Hellesylt

Geiranger

Geirangerfjord (Cruise by)

Olden

Innvikfjorden (Cruise by)

[pete14]

Many thanks both. We have just been looking at a cruise that Arcadia does. I have heard mixed reviews about her but as she it adults only it does appeal to us.

The itinerary for the cruise means nothing to us at all but is 12 days. Help !

 

Southampton

Bergen

Skjolden

Lustrafjorden (Cruise by)

Sognefjord No (Cruise by)

Alesund

Trondheim

Storfjorden (Cruise by)

Sunnylvsfjorden (Cruise by)

Hellesylt

Geiranger

Geirangerfjord (Cruise by)

Olden

Innvikfjorden (Cruise by)

 

The itinerary looks good with a mix of ports. Geiranger is my favourite because it is tiny and so peaceful unless there are other cruise ships visiting. If the weather is good, the scenery will be wonderful, if cloudy, less so but still much better than cruising at sea. Arcadia is a nice ship imo. Balcony cabins across the back of the ship do give great views of where you have been and balconies are larger (depending on deck) but at least partially shaded and possibly overlooked from above.

[Eboracum_d]

I can see the attraction of an adult only ship during the school holidays.

 

Hellesylt is a very small town at the mouth of Gerainger fjord. The ship tends to drop off excursion parties then who then rejoin the ship at Gerainger itself later in the day. Personally I would stay on the ship to enjoy the journey down the fjord. I would take the excursion ( offered by the local Tourist Board at half the P and O cost) from Gerainger to Mt Dalsnibba.

 

 

Alesund is a fairly small town the centre of which was rebuilt in Art-Deco style following a fire.

 

Trondheim is a bigger place though small enough to be best explored on foot. The suggested walking tour takes in the cathedral, Royal Palace and Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your itinerary does not include Flam which would be on my must-do list.

 

 

 

 

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[Host Sharon]

I would say, the smaller the ship the better as most of the ports are small and become crowded very quickly, also tendering is better on a smaller ship so I'd go with Arcadia. Most of the ports can be explored independently on foot. Olden needs a tour and most go to the Briksdal Glacier but from the recent photos I have seen it has shrunk so much I'm not sure it's worth it any more.

 

I'd also suggest you don't need a balcony. The view sailing up and down the fjords are much better experienced on deck where you can see both sides at once.

[Eboracum_d]

There is quite a pleasant walk from the ship, following the course of a small river ( or large stream) up to a lake with a couple of churches ( one if them very old ) on the way.

 

 

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[Daddyglove]

We went earlier this year and although it is a small port i have to olden was best day

So much to see and weather was great

 

 

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[danielundecided]

Arcadia has a sundome (you can swim in all weathers), is smaller and adult free.

 

We don't mind kids but if we were in your position the Arcadia cruise would seem to be a no brainer.

 

Dan

 

 

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[David Owl]

Strangely, we booked Arcadia because there were no children but didn't like it much because there were no children.

 

The fact that it was adults only meant that not only were there no children but there were no parents either, so almost everyone on board was over 60 with loads of buggies darting around.

 

I agree at the views are better from on deck but I would still prefer the option of a balcony to get away from the crowds.

 

I'd forgotten about Dalsniba which is well worth a visit.

[Presto2]

Know what you mean about having no children. We used to go to a hotel in Cyprus and since it has become adults only it has lost some of its atmosphere. We liked seeing all of the families on Oceana last year and are usually ok in the company of people of all ages. It would be nice to go on a cruise where sunbeds aren't like gold dust and the pools packed full and impossible to swim in. Good that you can swim in al weathers :)

 

Silly question - but as it is adults only do they still have the sailaway parties or is it generally quieter? I understand that the adults may be older but as it will be in August I would imagine that it would have some younger passengers.

[Mysticalmother]

Know what you mean about having no children. We used to go to a hotel in Cyprus and since it has become adults only it has lost some of its atmosphere. We liked seeing all of the families on Oceana last year and are usually ok in the company of people of all ages. It would be nice to go on a cruise where sunbeds aren't like gold dust and the pools packed full and impossible to swim in. Good that you can swim in al weathers :)

 

Silly question - but as it is adults only do they still have the sailaway parties or is it generally quieter? I understand that the adults may be older but as it will be in August I would imagine that it would have some younger passengers.

 

We went to the Fjords and Nth Cape on Arcadia in July 2015 and have no regrets! The age demographic was very mixed but there were a LOT more younger adults i.e.30's /40's/50's than we were expecting. With the covered pool swimming was possible all the time, and in fact when the weather was not brilliant was a really nice area to relax. Sailaway parties were still on the menu, and well attended!

 

The 12 day itinerary looks good, you are going quite far north, well worth it.

 

Now my personal opinion is that a Balcony is a must on a fjords cruise if you can afford it. Although the best views are from the top decks I admit, being able to view the scenery in the almost 24 hour daylight in your PJ's from your balcony day and night is attractive! But if you decide to go for inside/outside then the Crows nest at 4 am is the place to view the scenery....

[Presto2]

We went to the Fjords and Nth Cape on Arcadia in July 2015 and have no regrets! The age demographic was very mixed but there were a LOT more younger adults i.e.30's /40's/50's than we were expecting. With the covered pool swimming was possible all the time, and in fact when the weather was not brilliant was a really nice area to relax. Sailaway parties were still on the menu, and well attended!

 

The 12 day itinerary looks good, you are going quite far north, well worth it.

 

Now my personal opinion is that a Balcony is a must on a fjords cruise if you can afford it. Although the best views are from the top decks I admit, being able to view the scenery in the almost 24 hour daylight in your PJ's from your balcony day and night is attractive! But if you decide to go for inside/outside then the Crows nest at 4 am is the place to view the scenery....

 

Just love my balcony - we have always loved Kotor in the Med. It is what we imagine the Fjords must be like (though somewhat warmer). We are toying with booking a suite (something we have never done) as the cost of the cruise and on board credit makes it cheaper than some of the 2 week cruises we have seen on other cruise lines ! (Without air fare!)

Edited December 27, 2016 by Presto2

[Presto2]

Sorry double post for some reason

Edited December 27, 2016 by Presto2

[P&O SUE]

We just loved the Fjords Presto and keep saying we will do another one but other cruises come up [emoji4] we went in late April/May and it was very cold and all the waterfalls were frozen! We still loved it though and the sail through the fjord to Olden is stunning. The Norwegian people are very welcoming and most speak very good English

 

 

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Edited December 30, 2016 by P&O SUE

[Selbourne]

We did our first Fjords cruise on Britannia this year, which we enjoyed very much BUT I would be wary of booking Britannia again for the Fjords. Whilst we love the ship, our scheduled calls to Flaam and Olden were BOTH cancelled a few months before (they had been cancelled a long time before as P&O surrendered the stops to Cunard, but P&O continued to sell the cruise knowing that the itinerary was incorrect for many more months). I did some detective work and found that 6 visits by Britannia to Flaam / Olden had been cancelled in a year, so I would personally be very cautious about booking a Britannia cruise with a specific itinerary in mind as it's very likely to change.

 

At around the same time, some friends did a Fred Olsen Fjords cruise and not only did they do all the best fjords, the Captain added in some extra (not advertised) minor fjords, as well as taking the 'narrow' and more scenic routes that the larger P&O ships can't navigate.

[Eboracum_d]

Being smaller, the Olsen ships might well be able to get into ports denied to the P and O / Carnival mega ships. But Olsen is something of an acquired taste.

 

You might also look at Thomson which also has a few cruises to Norway this summer. I was doubtful about going on a Thomson cruise but will be doing my third next year. The ship is ex Holland America and I would regard the standard of catering as being equivalent to P and O -- actually. The speciality restaurant is rather better than the P and O offering.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Eboracum_d

[Presto2]

Thanks everyone. I have to say that the only thing making hubby edgy is the fact that we would have to give up our 'warm' August cruise to somewhere like the Med. to do this cruise. Interesting that they could do one in April / May as that may suit us better than a Winter break and we can still keep the warm holiday. Off to look now :)

[plumduff68]

We did our first cruise to the fjords with P&O in early September this year. We had one rainy day and 6 glorious days.

Our northbound sea day was swimwear on the top deck and the sea was like glass!!!

You may not have to give up your hot holiday 😋😋

 

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[starryuk]

We did a fjord cruise on Holland America. Our ship had an open deck right at the front and early in the morning they served us hot chocolate and cinnamon buns as we entered the fjords. Magic. The only thing which disappointed me a little was that in August, the waterfalls were not the thundering thundering torrents that I had imagined and there was not much snow on the hilltops. The scenery was idyllic though and I would like to go back in springtime.

[Eboracum_d]

We have been in all four seasons. I am not sure there are any waterfalls on the regular cruising routes that are in the " thundering torrents" category. There's probably a fair amount that comes down in Geraingerfjord but it is dispersed a series of separate paths. So pretty rather than awe inspiring. There's certainly a fair amount of spray coming from the river/stream at the head of the Fjord.

 

 

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[GP&LK]

We did our honeymoon on Britannia to the Fjords in June- fab time

 

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE] Edited December 31, 2016 by GP&LK

[Frogemax]

We are booked on this Arcadia cruise in August 18' and I can't wait - and can I just mention that I'm under 60 and so looking forward to going in a pool in August without being dive bombed or attacked by inflatables! Heaven!

 

 

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[Jo and Rob]

Book with Celebrity. They have a floating pontoon in Gereinger which means you don't have to use the tender boats like other companies.

 

Flam - definitely the train journery

Stavagner - oil refinery museum is in walking distance and is interactive

Bergen - easy DIY, tourist train, fish markets, funicular

Gereinger - take a trip. The rib boat is great fun. Hot chocolate is good here, buttons of chocolate added to hot milk.

Get a balcony cabin - the view outside is better than the theatre, stunning, so quiet and it changes every minute