Advice Please - Fjords

[woollywool]

Hi all, I was wondering if you could give me some advice, We have just booked a 7night cruise on the Azura, visiting Stavanger, Flam, Olden and Bergen. In cruise personaliser, it shows the itinerary, but only has times as early morning and depart afternoon/ evening. I have gone to the ports websites for times, but it just say n/a. I only want to know so we can start to plan trips as generally we book independently and want to get the most out of it.

 

In stavanger, there is another ship in port, but the rest of the time,we appear to be the only ship in. We are definitely want to do the flam railway, but definite recommendations or companies you have used would be great fully appreciated!

 

Many thanks.

 

 

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[Onelung]

Hi all, I was wondering if you could give me some advice, We have just booked a 7night cruise on the Azura, visiting Stavanger, Flam, Olden and Bergen. In cruise personaliser, it shows the itinerary, but only has times as early morning and depart afternoon/ evening. I have gone to the ports websites for times, but it just say n/a. I only want to know so we can start to plan trips as generally we book independently and want to get the most out of it.

 

In stavanger, there is another ship in port, but the rest of the time,we appear to be the only ship in. We are definitely want to do the flam railway, but definite recommendations or companies you have used would be great fully appreciated!

 

Many thanks.

 

 

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You have posted the exact question I've been ponding on too! Hope we get some useful info from the regulars.

[kruzseeka]

You have posted the exact question I've been ponding on too! Hope we get some useful info from the regulars.

 

http://www.cruisecal.com/portal/ItineraryLookup/tabid/2918/Default.aspx

 

If you scroll down to Azura then 'Find dates' all Azura's sailings should come up. Select 'View' for your date and the info should be there - subject to unforeseen circumstances of course. I find it pretty reliable.

[woollywool]

Would still love to hear suggestions about what not too miss at these places.

 

 

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[woollywool]

http://www.cruisecal.com/portal/ItineraryLookup/tabid/2918/Default.aspx

 

 

 

If you scroll down to Azura then 'Find dates' all Azura's sailings should come up. Select 'View' for your date and the info should be there - subject to unforeseen circumstances of course. I find it pretty reliable.

 

 

 

Thank you very much for this information. It’s been a real help.

 

 

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[kruzseeka]

Would still love to hear suggestions about what not too miss at these places.

 

 

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The classic trip at Flam is the railway.. You will have read the debate about prebooking independently v P&O. If you have done that before or just fancy a walk in the serene valley, you can walk up to the Flam Stave Church. There's a good walking map you can pick up at Tourist information (in the same building as the ticket office). Don't forget though that the best excursion here is the sail-in and sail-out.

 

There is a trip to some wonderful gardens from Stavanger. It's not cheap and I'm not sure you can do it independently but if you like that kind of thing, it's fantastic.

 

https://florogfjare.no/en/about-flor-fjare/

The Oil Museum is surprisingly interesting too but Stavanger has a fair bit to explore - the old town with picturesque clap board houses with roses around the doors type of feel. On the opposite side of the harbour are some colourful Hanseatic style buildings with cafés along the waterfront.

 

 

Bergen I'd recommend the funicular to the view point at the top. Go early or book ahead as there are often long queues. There are some lovely woodland walks on the top. Explore the Bryggen too on the harbour side.

 

 

Olden there is a nice walk up to the lake - again a map is available at tourist info. Not done any trips here so can't recommend anything else.

[groovechick]

There are local companies that operate boat trips to the tropical gardens direct from the dock at Stavanger - literally 2 minutes from the berth. You just turn up and buy a ticket. I don't know the price, but the family on our cruise who did it said it was significantly cheaper than P&O's package.

[kruzseeka]

There are local companies that operate boat trips to the tropical gardens direct from the dock at Stavanger - literally 2 minutes from the berth. You just turn up and buy a ticket. I don't know the price, but the family on our cruise who did it said it was significantly cheaper than P&O's package.

 

That's interesting. I looked up the gardens after we got home and got the impression that it was an extremely 'managed' situation in that the ferry to the gardens was run by the owners of the garden and the only independent trips were bookable through the gardens website. They offered trips from midday (with lunch?) or late afternoon/evening with evening meal included. The cost to book for an afternoon from the garden's website is £111 which is considerably more than we paid.

 

I thought how well they'd got it sewn up from a business point of view opening for cruise passenger excursions in the morning then offering trips later in the day linked to having a meal thus maximising

their restaurant bookings.

 

I definitely got the impression we were the only people there in the morning and had guided tours by the founder's son and daughter-in-law. The ferry which arrived to take us back, brought other visitors to the gardens just after midday.

 

I may have totally misunderstood this and would be very interested to know if anyone has firsthand experience of a DIY trip here as I'd definitely do it that way again if it were possible to just pick up harbourside.

 

I know that you can get boat trips to Pulpit Rock from the harbour which are cheaper than the P&O ones.

Edited July 4, 2018 by kruzseeka

[woollywool]

Kruzseeka and groove chick, thank you for this information, it’s been a great help. Has anyone managed to do 2 organised p and o trips in one day? I’m wondering how much is actually possible in a day.

 

 

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[kruzseeka]

Just found this on the Flor & Fjaere website about visiting the gardens:

 

 

Our 2018 season is from May 5th to September 22nd

 

Our main departures are at 12:00 and 5:00 pm for table reservations.

Additional departures are scheduled by necessity. Check our departure schedule in our online booking calendar.

 

Departures for special events are by agreement.

 

All visits must be booked in advance.

Online booking, booking@florogfjare.no

or by telephone +47 51 11 00 00

 

You may arrive in your own boat, but advance booking and information about the boat is necessary.

 

Please note that Flor & Fjære is a restaurant destination and all visits to our park and gardens include dining.

 

We are open Monday to Saturday. CLOSED SUNDAYS.

 

So it seems unlikely you can just pick up a trip there from the harbour. Perhaps the people you spoke to groovechick did one of the other Fjord excursions independently.

[cruisefan2012]

I sailed on Azura in 2012 and went to Stavanger Flaam, Olden, Bergen

 

My only advice is - take a camera as the scenery is INCREDIBLE !!

[Book bug]

Hi all, I was wondering if you could give me some advice, We have just booked a 7night cruise on the Azura, visiting Stavanger, Flam, Olden and Bergen. In cruise personaliser, it shows the itinerary, but only has times as early morning and depart afternoon/ evening. I have gone to the ports websites for times, but it just say n/a. I only want to know so we can start to plan trips as generally we book independently and want to get the most out of it.

 

In stavanger, there is another ship in port, but the rest of the time,we appear to be the only ship in. We are definitely want to do the flam railway, but definite recommendations or companies you have used would be great fully appreciated!

 

Many thanks.

 

 

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Another way is to go on cruise planner and do some mock bookings, you get the excursion start times - so the earliest one is usually just after you dock. Then doing it the other way how long excursion is can work out departure times- usually 30 mins before departure. Can take a while but with P&O not advertising port times it can sometimes be the only way, hope this helps