Norwegian Fjords

[bebe08]

• Eidfjord
• Scenic cruising Hardangerfjord
• Alesund
• Geiranger
• Scenic cruising Geirangerfjord
• Bergen
• Scenic cruising Oslofjord
• Oslo
• Kristiansand
• Stavanger
• Scenic cruising Sognefjord
• Flam

Hi All, which of the above do you recommend doing a small boat cruise to see the fjord...ie will we see more doing a small boat cruise vs where the cruise ship will take us?  This is our first time to Norway and we will be on the HAL Rotterdam.  Not sure if it is similar to Alaska where smaller boat tours get you closer to the fjords/scenery.  We want to do a good mix of seeing the fjords from sea and land as well as exploring what the ports have to offer.  Have already done a lot of research and there is so much to see, so was hoping for some recommendations from those who have cruised Norway before.  

[hallasm]

in the deep Norwegian fjords the size of the ship is of no importance - the ports you have listed can be called by all cruise ships sailing the Norwegian fjords.

Hadangerfjord in/out to Eidfjord - Geirangerfjord in/out to Geiranger - Sognefjord in/out to Flåm  - are three deep scenic fjords.
Oslo fjord are not as scenic, however Oslo an interesting city.

Bergen and Stavanger are good  coastal ports.

Kristiansand is the least interesting port at your list.

 

[wineoclock]

Advice please as going on Celebrity Silhouette in May.

 

Maloy - no excursions listed yet.

Alesund - Srandafjell 

Olden only cray fishing or cable car & hike, limited mobility so can’t do latter

Haugesund - Akrafjord & Langfoss Waterfall 

 

any suggestions please for private guides or stick to ship excursions or diy? 
 

thank you 

[wineoclock]

Thinking of changing Alesund to the path of three trolls. Anyone know which is better? Thank you 

[wineoclock]

On 11/15/2022 at 10:13 AM, wineoclock said:

Thinking of changing Alesund to the path of three trolls. Anyone know which is better? Thank you 

We have now changed to the troll excursions.

 

Anyone have recommendations for Private tour guides for Norway? Thank you 

[alexgtp]

On 11/10/2022 at 3:57 PM, hallasm said:

You are right - not that much deep Norwegian fjords cruising in  the three options

Option 2 is, in my opinion, the best - the only option with a deep fjord sailing (albeit not the deepest fjord) to Olden.
 It looks like two days in Ålesund - that should allow for an excursion/cruse to Geiranger.
 In Stavanger, an excursion and cruising to the Lysefjorden and the 'pulpit' is possible.

 

The highlight is for sure Longyearbyen and Svalbard.

 

My recommendation is either a deep fjord cruise  to at least two of the following ports: Geiranger, Flåm, Older or Eidfjord (prioritized) including coastal cities Bergen, and Ålesund - or a separate Svalbard cruise with more time in Svalbard. For Svalbard you might want to check Hurtigruten expedition cruises.

 

TY so much for the great info. Looked into Flam, Grainger, Olden and Eidjord those all seem to fit the bill exactly!

[kaisatsu]

On 11/13/2022 at 10:41 PM, bebe08 said:

which of the above do you recommend doing a small boat cruise to see the fjord...ie will we see more doing a small boat cruise vs where the cruise ship will take us? 

As mentioned, your ship will be able to take you into the fjords, but if you’re looking for more fjord cruising or an experience on a smaller boat:

In Flåm, you can take the ferry through Nærøyfjord to Gudvangen. Depending on your port timings, you may be able to combine this with the Flåmsbana railroad and so the Norway in a Nutshell loop.

 

In Stavanger, you can take a ferry into the Lysefjord, which isn’t typically part of the sail-in/out.

 

In both cases, planning/booking in advance can be wise as there are limited departures.

[drsel]

Considering how cold it will be in the fjords and the Baltics between 17 May and 18 June 2023, does it make sense to take the alcohol package?

[hallasm]

2 hours ago, drsel said:

Considering how cold it will be in the fjords and the Baltics between 17 May and 18 June 2023, does it make sense to take the alcohol package?

Is it more necessary to drink alcohol if the weather is cold?

I don't understand the relationship between outdoor temperature and alcohol package.

[drsel]

5 hours ago, hallasm said:

Is it more necessary to drink alcohol if the weather is cold?

I don't understand the relationship between outdoor temperature and alcohol package.

Let me explain .

In the MSC Easy Plus package, the best drinks are the frozen cocktails and even the other cocktails have got plenty of ice .

without ice, they would not taste as good.

 

So considering cold it will be in the Norwegian fjords and Baltics from 17 May to 18 June,  I expect that we will be mostly having hot coffee and hot water.

Hot water is freely available in all the bars and hot coffee is also free in the Buffet.

 

Hence I thought that it does not make sense to pay for the alcohol package., which also includes free Wi-Fi by the way.

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by drsel

[kaisatsu]

9 hours ago, drsel said:

Let me explain .

In the MSC Easy Plus package, the best drinks are the frozen cocktails and even the other cocktails have got plenty of ice .

without ice, they would not taste as good.

 

So considering cold it will be in the Norwegian fjords and Baltics from 17 May to 18 June,  I expect that we will be mostly having hot coffee and hot water.

Hot water is freely available in all the bars and hot coffee is also free in the Buffet.

 

Hence I thought that it does not make sense to pay for the alcohol package., which also includes free Wi-Fi by the way.

 

This is such a personal choice. Are the frozen drinks the only reason you’re considering the package? Some people will drink frozen drinks at 20°C.  It will probably be warmer in the solarium if there is one.  I might order frozen drinks in a hot tub even in colder weather.

 

Weather varies hugely from year to year. I have seen snow flurries in mid-May and I’ve been sunbathing in 23° sunshine in mid-May. By mid-June, the temperatures are usually warmer, but it may or may not rain. Generally temperatures are unpredictable, but I wouldn’t plan for temperatures to be consistently above 25°.

 

Regarding the WiFi, if you’re coming from an EEA country, you’ll have cellular coverage most of the time you’re in the fjords. So if there are few sea days and more coastal sailing, you may not need WiFi as much.

[kitkat343]

On 11/14/2022 at 6:51 AM, wineoclock said:

Advice please as going on Celebrity Silhouette in May.

 

Maloy - no excursions listed yet.

Alesund - Srandafjell 

Olden only cray fishing or cable car & hike, limited mobility so can’t do latter

Haugesund - Akrafjord & Langfoss Waterfall 

 

any suggestions please for private guides or stick to ship excursions or diy? 
 

thank you 

In Olden, I would definitely consider the Loen Skylift.  Its expensive, but if you have limited mobility would be a wonderful way to see the beautiful views in Norway.    It was still a very beautiful location, with a gorgeous viewing platform. On nice days, paragliders take off from the mountain (that happened the day before we arrived) and that must be spectacular to see if you are lucky enough to get good weather. The food in the restaurant was excellent, especially the sample platter of local meat. It’s unsurprisingly expensive, but the view is outstanding and the food delicious. 

The Loen Skylift is only a 6 km bus ride from Olden, so it isn’t very difficult to get there. Precovid,Olden Adventures ( http://www.oldenadventure.com/ ) was running shuttles to the Loen Skylift, right next to their buses to the Biksdal Glacier so it would be very easy to travel to both attractions through Olden Adventures. 

 

You can also take a cab to the Loen skylift. It is a 40 minute ride to the Briksdal Glacier, so a cab there would probably be quite a bit more expensive. Please note that cabs will refuse to transport children without car seats, and although they are required to provide them upon request we were unable to fill any taxi requests we made (we only emailed the taxi companies 2 days in advance; you might have better luck if you contact cab companies far in advance). 

 

The most economical option for getting to the Briksdal Glacier precovid was a public bus that runs from June –August but you'd need to check if it is still running.

 

The Briksdal Glacier has been hit hard by global warming, but the 40 minute bus ride there is quite scenic and lovely, as is the hike itself to the glacier so overall this excursion is a very good choice as long as you realize ahead of time that the most beautiful pictures online of the glacier showing lots of ice are not recent and don’t represent what you will see at the glacier. 

 

For travelers with young children or mobility issues, there are troll cars available for rent to reduce the length of your hike. These golf carts travel most of the way to the glacier, leaving you with a very pleasant and relatively flat 700 m walk. Since we didn’t expect my 2 year old to make it all the way to the glacier, my husband and 6 year old went ahead of us. To my surprise, my 2 year old slowly but steadily made the entire hike in the allocated time (they tell you what time to return to the platform to catch your return troll car). Reservations are required for troll cars in May and October, and recommended during the summer months (the troll car season runs from May-October). The only challenging thing is that they do request that you tell them what time you’d like to ride on the troll car, which is hard if you want to chose a time to do this excursion based upon the weather forecast (although it is completely understandable they ask you to pick a time, since otherwise there might be a lot of people trying to get on a troll car at one time and this would cause really long delays). I don’t know if the troll car operators are always flexible about the time of your reservation, but we changed our minds about what time to visit the glacier on the day we traveled since we wanted to visit the Loen skylift in the afternoon when the weather was scheduled to be better. I emailed the troll car operators at 9 am as soon as we got on the bus towards the glacier, and they had already switched my reservation by the time we arrived at the troll car office. We traveled in May, when things are less crowded so I don’t know if they will be able to accommodate a change in reservation time during the busy summer months. The troll car website where you can make your advance reservation is available at: http://www.oldedalenskysslag.com . 

Near where you pick up the troll car is a small café off the souvenir shop; they have excellent waffles. They are best freshly made, so if you have time keep an eye on the plate where they store the waffles and order them when everyone else bought up the older waffles. My family started off by ordering 4, and ended up eating 12 (the kids really loved them and since they’d just finished hiking to a glacier without a single complaint I wasn’t going to say no), so we were able to get a lot of fresh waffles. 

 

I don't know if the 700 m would be too difficult with your mobility issues, but honestly the glacier itself isn't the most impressive glacier and I personally was totally prepared not to reach it (I truly didn't think my child would make it because he just turned 2 the day before the cruise) and I was completely comfortable with my choice to visit the glacier anyway.  But ultimately you will know better if this is an option for you.  I was particularly impressed by the level of accessibility at the Loen skylift - in the US, they would have the elevator to the restaurant, but at Loen they even had a stairlift for people so they could move around the restaurant and access the best views and not be stuck on one level within the restaurant.

[Sea42]

We will be in Flam and Alesund on Constitution Day and Ascension Days this year. Will museums, shops, restaurants be open?

[pamrose228]

Going on the NCL Prima on a May 2023 cruise Starting in Iceland three ports then onto Norway ports Alesund, Gerginer and Bergen ignore  spelling. Best excursions for Norway ports

 

TIA

[Turtles06]

7 hours ago, pamrose228 said:

Norway ports Alesund, Gerginer and Bergen ignore  spelling. Best excursions for Norway ports

If you do a search in this forum separately for Alesund, Geiranger, and Bergen, you’ll find a great deal of info about each of them. In fact, just scroll down through the threads. 

[lavalcruiser]

Hi, we are also looking for a cruise in Norway for 2024.  The cruise that we are looking at has three departures: early June, mid-July and mid-August.

what would be the best time to go ?

 

Any advice/comments are welcome !

 

Thank you !

[hallasm]

17 minutes ago, lavalcruiser said:

The cruise that we are looking at has three departures: early June, mid-July and mid-August.

what would be the best time to go ?

My vote goes to early June.  Still snow in the mountains and a lot of water in rivers and waterfalls. 

[lavalcruiser]

22 hours ago, hallasm said:

My vote goes to early June.  Still snow in the mountains and a lot of water in rivers and waterfalls. 

Thank you !

[drsel]

On 1/5/2023 at 1:50 AM, pamrose228 said:

Going on the NCL Prima on a May 2023 cruise Starting in Iceland three ports then onto Norway ports Alesund, Gerginer and Bergen ignore  spelling. Best excursions for Norway ports

 

TIA

Check out all info about cruise ports on these free websites

 www.whatsinport.com

www.tomsportguides.com

Edited January 11, 2023 by drsel

[alexgtp]

Well while on board Harmony OTS for NYE we booked the Jewel OTS Artic Cruise. Hit's all the deep Fjord's and does the Artic Crossing. So it essentially is doing everything I wanted to do and see.

Downside is, the excursions seem to be super slim picking's and are selling out quickly. So Glad this forums exists, so I can check on some 3rd party excursions or DIY tours and gather info.

[hallasm]

50 minutes ago, alexgtp said:

Downside is, the excursions seem to be super slim picking's and are selling out quickly. So Glad this forums exists, so I can check on some 3rd party excursions or DIY tours and gather info.

Here links for more inspiration - enjoy planning.

https://www.cruise-norway.no/

https://www.visitnorway.com/?lang=uk

https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/#null

[Senga]

@hallasm

We will be visiting Skjolden May 16^th, arriving at 7 am, Olden May 17^th, arriving at 9 am and Alesund May 18^th, arriving at 7 am.  What time would you recommend we be up on deck to ensure we enjoy the beauty as we cruise into these ports?  I know Alesund is at the START of a fjord but you did say it has lovely scenery too.

 

We are hoping to do the Loen skylift while visiting Olden if it’s a nice day.  At that time of year, do you think morning or afternoon would find the sun in the best position for optimal photo opportunities?  It's quite expensive so I'd like to get the timing right.

 

Thanks.

 

 

[hallasm]

30 minutes ago, Senga said:

At that time of year, do you think morning or afternoon would find the sun in the best position for optimal photo opportunities? 

Yes, Ålesund is on the coast - sailing in/out takes about an hour.  
Skjolden is located at the bottom of a long deep fjord - here you must be on the upper decks at sunrise at 4:30 am - also sunset at 10:30 pm is a good time.

The fjord into Olden is not that long -  be at the upper deck  two hours before arrival.  
Same route in and out of the fjords.

 

Just note that 17 May is the Norwegian Constitution Day. It is an official holiday that is celebrated with parades - Loen Skylift might be busy that day - open from 9 am to 10 pm.

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by hallasm

[Senga]

@hallasmThank you so much for the valuable information.  Much appreciated.

[Caravan 37]

Hi - apologies if this has been requested several times already but......

We're sailing 5 May from Southampton on P&O Britannia to:

 

Our first time in Norway so suggestions for relaxed DIY port stops or any other ideas for best viewing options etc whilst on board would be gratefully received.  We have a balcony port side Thank you!