Any "must not miss" ports in Norway?

[Grandma Cruising]

44 minutes ago, uktraveller said:

Oops, we’re on the 24th June, not July! 
 

itinerary says

01 July 06.30. -19.00 Trollfjord

01 July 07.00-17.00  Svolvaer

 

The ship does sail into Trollfjord and turns around there, however I’d still recommend a tour we did from Svolvaer - it was a RIB tour which went into Trollfjord and then took us to see Sea Eagles

https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/trollfjord-%26-sea-eagle-rib-safari-lofoten-explorer/212019/

[Turangi!]

WROTE THIS WHILE GC WAS POSTING,,, Thanks for the clarification!!!  

 

We are also on the June 24 Norway Pursuit cruise. Now I am confused because the Itinerary and the cruise planner show the same overlapping information with different arrival and departure times… there is a RIB tour to Trollfjord listed in our shore excursions, so I am guessing we go into Svolvaer and the TrollFjord is a highlight but unusual to double list with arrival and departure for both!?!  

 

UKTraveller~ We have a Roll Call for the June 24 Pursuit, but this particular thread on not to miss excursions has been very informative since these CC members have already done Norway!!!  

 

Mary aka Turangi!

Edited December 24, 2022 by Turangi!
GC clarified my question before I put this up!!

[Grandma Cruising]

My memory is that the ship went into Trollfjord the day after we were in Svolvaer, we didn’t do the ship’s RIB tour, we booked it privately.

[Host Jazzbeau]

If depends on what you want to do with your time in Svolvaer.  We rented a car and drove down to the southern tip of the island.  The craggy mountains of Lofoten have a 'terrible beauty' that was amazing to see, and the few villages and churches are a testament to the hardy folks who make a life there.

 

Watching the Azamara ship turn around in Trollfjord was amazing – barely any spare room fore or aft when you are turned 90 degrees!

[uktraveller]

3 hours ago, Turangi! said:

 

We are also on the June 24 Norway Pursuit cruise. Now I am confused because the Itinerary and the cruise planner show the same overlapping information with different arrival and departure times… there is a RIB tour to Trollfjord listed in our shore excursions, so I am guessing we go into Svolvaer and the TrollFjord is a highlight but unusual to double list with arrival and departure for both!?!  

 

Svolvaer cruise schedule shows we are there from 7 till 5 on the 1st…..but it’s definitely confusing giving overlapping times for the Trollfjord sailing! 
 

We had this cruise booked for July 2020 and obviously couldn’t go….so very excited to finally be planning. 

[oddjob16]

7 hours ago, uktraveller said:

Oops, we’re on the 24th June, not July! 
 

itinerary says

01 July 06.30. -19.00 Trollfjord

01 July 07.00-17.00  Svolvaer

 

You will have a beautiful sail in Trollfjord. No worries. Only strong winds will cancel it.

[travelberlin]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:47 PM, Turangi! said:

We are booked for Norway in June 2023 and I have done some preliminary research on tours but would love some input about highlights!  DH wants to do the Crab Safari ….  is it worth it?!  Can Bergen be done on our own?! The smaller ports it looks like there are specific tours offered… any not to be missed?  For the AZMazing Evening…there is a placeholder listed as Best of Norway in Tromso… anyone remember any details from their AZ cruise?!  Thanks!

 

 Happy Holidays!

 

 

Bergen can be done on your own. When we were there the weather changed suddenly and it started raining within seconds. Very strong rain and  we had to go back to ship because we were soaked.

 

Concerning the crab safari, we have avoided it. As much as I enjoy eating crabs, we did not want to go to catch them and then to see how they were cooked. 
 

If you enjoy eating crabs, there are lots of restaurants close to the market area in Bergen which serve them.

 

Ivi

[audobon_tx]

Trollford, White Night

[Turangi!]

TravelBerlin…  I have been cooking lobsters since my teenage years and I am well past retirement and recently on Vancouver Island had friends catch and prepare crabs for a most memorable feast… DH had to clean them in the ocean in January… so we are serious crabbers… if the AZ excursion is tacky… all the more fun…. mussels in Kotor Bay was the best cruise excursion ever… I take my seafood seriously!🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

[Turangi!]

AudobonTX.

 

Great photos… looks like a fabulous White Night!

[JM0115]

We are considering the July 13 2024 17 Night Norway Intensive. Wish they were going to Geiranger as it is one of my favorite spots, but we are fortunate in that we have been there before.  What do they do for the Azamazing Evening on this cruise?

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, JM0115 said:

We are considering the July 13 2024 17 Night Norway Intensive. Wish they were going to Geiranger as it is one of my favorite spots, but we are fortunate in that we have been there before.  What do they do for the Azamazing Evening on this cruise?

Ours was a musical event in Trondheim Cathedral. 

[Cruprince]

Your cruise is rich in destinations. I don't know all of them yet, but I've already visited some
Alesund - take a half-day tour with a local guide. We had an unforgettable experience with the Viking Islands.
Trondheim - the old Norwegian capital, and now a student town with an amazing atmosphere.
Olden - the village itself is not very interesting, but you have a good option to take the tour of Olden-Geiranger, as you have enough time for this, and Geiranger is a must destination!
Haugesund - I liked it the most, maybe because of the great sunny weather or the influence of the architecture, like in the beautiful Ålesund, and the delicious food in the harbour. I am planning to cruise again with this port.
Stavanger is the oil capital of Norway, and there we had an excursion to the museum with a walk through the city center.

 

[JM0115]

3 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Ours was a musical event in Trondheim Cathedral. 

Thank you!

[JM0115]

We are now booked for July 13, 2024 Norway Intensive!

[Grandma Cruising]

5 hours ago, JM0115 said:

We are now booked for July 13, 2024 Norway Intensive!

Lucky you, for me it was my best ever cruise.

A couple of suggestions - in Lofoten we did a great RIB tour which went into Trollfjord and took us to see Sea Eagles  https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/trollfjord-%26-sea-eagle-rib-safari-lofoten-explorer/212019/

In Honningsvag we took a great tour to the North Cape  - we organised it through the roll call and had two bus loads, everyone enjoyed it https://www.blue-puffin.com/en/

 

[JM0115]

8 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Lucky you, for me it was my best ever cruise.

A couple of suggestions - in Lofoten we did a great RIB tour which went into Trollfjord and took us to see Sea Eagles  https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/trollfjord-%26-sea-eagle-rib-safari-lofoten-explorer/212019/

In Honningsvag we took a great tour to the North Cape  - we organised it through the roll call and had two bus loads, everyone enjoyed it https://www.blue-puffin.com/en/

 

Does AZ have an excursion to North Cape from Honningsvag as well?

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, JM0115 said:

Does AZ have an excursion to North Cape from Honningsvag as well?

It did when we were there, but the blue puffin one was cheaper and very good!

[Turangi!]

GC,

 

Thanks for all the great advice on the AZ Norway cruise. My question is how cold does it get above the Arctic Circle on this cruise…. but living in Canada, my definition of COLD is very different from many people!  Overpacked for Alaska on RCI last year and ended up in Covid Quarantine and never needed anything warm!!!  We will be in London end of June before the cruise, so I am expecting it to be HOT HUMID and maybe rainy… 

Anything above  0 Celsius is balmy! 

 

M aka Turangi!

[Grandma Cruising]

It can vary so much. We did a Norway cruise with Azamara and it was actually much colder in Flam than in the Arctic Circle. It was snowing when we got off the Flam railway. At the North Cape (furthest north we went) it was not as cold as it was further south.

[Turangi!]

GC… Thanks, exactly the answer I thought… Midnight sun in the Arctic can make it quite warm and sunny at the time we are going but you never know what you will get… layers, but I’m not bringing my winter gear… gloves and a scarf, and lots of layers! 

 

M aka T!

 

[Grandma Cruising]

57 minutes ago, Turangi! said:

GC… Thanks, exactly the answer I thought… Midnight sun in the Arctic can make it quite warm and sunny at the time we are going but you never know what you will get… layers, but I’m not bringing my winter gear… gloves and a scarf, and lots of layers! 

 

M aka T!

 

Midnight sun was Azamazing. We had white night in the arctic circle and it was quite mild 

[Sallyandtex]

On 12/3/2022 at 5:15 AM, Grandma Cruising said:

One of the issues is that some of the nicest ports can no longer be visited by ‘normal’ cruise ships. These are mostly Fjord ports like Flam & Geiranger who will only allow ships that produce zero emissions.

Other than those two, I would say the Lofoten Islands are a must. The scenery is spectacular. Bergen is lovely and it’s good to go to the North Cape (port might be Honnisvag)

Hi,We visit Lofoten part of the cruise, wonder if we should stay in Port or take an excursion? Prefer to spend time around the ports independently if there are things to see there, We like walks and scenery not shops thanks!

[Grandma Cruising]

6 hours ago, Sallyandtex said:

Hi,We visit Lofoten part of the cruise, wonder if we should stay in Port or take an excursion? Prefer to spend time around the ports independently if there are things to see there, We like walks and scenery not shops thanks!

We did a great excursion in Lofoten which we booked on line. It was a RIB tour that took us into Trollfjord and to see Sea Eagles. https://www.lofoten-explorer.no/en/

I know we also went into Trollfjord on the Journey, but it was a very different experience in a RIB.

[Sallyandtex]

56 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We did a great excursion in Lofoten which we booked on line. It was a RIB tour that took us into Trollfjord and to see Sea Eagles. https://www.lofoten-explorer.no/en/

I know we also went into Trollfjord on the Journey, but it was a very different experience in a RIB.

Thanks,  do you think there is a need to pre booķ?