cruise advice for Norway

[Smokeyeye_mom]

I have only been on a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas. We loved it. Now we would like to go cruise Norway in 2020. I am now at a loss. What is the best cruise line to use? Is Disney really better? I don't have anything to compare it too. I am also looking for around an 7 day cruise in the mid May through Mid August time frame since my boys will be in college starting the end of August. It would be my husband and I and our two sons age 17 and 20. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thanks

[Hlitner]

You have to realign your thinking since you are now looking to cruise for itinerary...not for the cruise line. That is not to say that you shouldn't book a nice ship...but rather the itinerary takes precedence. Disney is not a major presence in Norway (not sure it has any presence). When you limit yourself to 7 days you really do reduce the options..since longer cruises are more common in those waters. The mass market lines that commonly go to Norway would include HAL, MSC, Princess, etc. I did spot a decent 7 night itinerary on HAL's Koningsdam (this is HAL's newest ship) on Jun 3, 2018. This particular cruise is round trip from Amsterdam (a city easy to access from North America) and includes 4 Norwegian ports. What I like about the itinerary is that it includes Bergen and Geiranger (2 favorites of ours). The negative is that it does not include Oslo (a large city with much to offer the tourist). RCI has a slightly longer cruise (round trip from Copenhagen) at the same time of the year.

 

One consideration when flying to Europe is that the cost of the flight eats a major chunk out of any budget. That is why many frequent travelers (including me) urge folks to find a way to spend more time (we think 2 weeks is a nice minimum) in Europe. The air costs the same for a 14 or 25 day visit as it does for a 7 day stay. And it takes most folks 1-2 days just to recover from jet lag.

 

Hank

[jocap]

I think almost every cruise line which sails from the UK does Norwegian cruises during the spring and summer, some for a week, and some much longer. The only sea days are going to and from the UK; the rest are all ports or cruising up the fjords.

We're going on a small ship from the North of England this year; we have been on a massive one which was built for the Caribbean, and because many of the facilities are out on deck, it wasn't a good choice... the weather can be poor, so everyone was crammed inside in a ship which was inward looking with few views to the outside. Choose a ship with good viewing areas from the inside, and if possible, an indoor pool.

[MCC retired]

Most Norway cruises are longer than 7 days although RCI and HAL did offer a couple 7 nighters early and late in the season.

We did a 7 nighter May of 2016 on RCI from Copenhagen.

Definitely the itinerary is the highlight , the cruise ship secondary .

 

 

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[puppycanducruise]

We did a 7 day cruise on the Rotterdam (HAL) sailing from Rotterdam. We stopped in Eidfjord, Gerainger, Alesund and Bergen, then back to Rotterdam. It was a wonderful cruise, a smallish ship (1300 passengers). We spent several days in Amsterdam before the cruise - lots to see there! - then took the train to Rotterdam to board the ship.

Although it was a wonderful cruise, 7 days in Norway was NOT enough. I would do longer next time.