Decent Norway itinerary?

[Ozzyrosie]

Hi everyone. I’m looking for 7 to 10 day cruise that visits Norwegian fjords that doesn’t break the bank. I found a HAL one that departs June 17 that looks decent based on ports I’ve researched on this thread. What do you think? Other ideas? We can depart anytime from mid June to October. I’m trying to keep the cost down as we depart from Toronto so with Canadian dollars and steeper flight prices, it’s a challenge.  The HAL cruise I booked is about 5k Canadian for a limited view verandah and everything included. Or maybe I should wait to book? Your feedback much appreciated. 

[hallasm]

All in all a decent itinerary.
Eidfjorden may not be the most interesting place to visit, but a nice sailing through the Hardangerfjord.  
Geiranger is one of the best destinations with beautiful viewpoints and a scenic deep fjord.
Ålesund and Bergen are definitely two good cities to visit.  Bergen has many interesting sights.

Also mid Kune is a good time for Norwegian fjords - still snow in the mountains and water in the rivers. In particular the Seven Sisters waterfall just before arrival into Geiranger.

[kitkat343]

 

3 hours ago, hallasm said:

All in all a decent itinerary.
Eidfjorden may not be the most interesting place to visit, but a nice sailing through the Hardangerfjord.  
Geiranger is one of the best destinations with beautiful viewpoints and a scenic deep fjord.
Ålesund and Bergen are definitely two good cities to visit.  Bergen has many interesting sights.

Also mid Kune is a good time for Norwegian fjords - still snow in the mountains and water in the rivers. In particular the Seven Sisters waterfall just before arrival into Geiranger.

Hallasm (or anyone else) do you know what is happening with the law about low emission ships in the heritage fjords?  I'm just wondering if this could affect the OP.  I agree that Geiranger is a wonderful port stop, but has Norway announced which ships are cleared for docking there?  

 

 

[Cruprince]

This is a great route! In Eidfjord, don't miss the tour to Voringsfossen, an incredibly fantastic waterfall.
Alesund deserves to be explored locally. We were very fortunate that we were advised to take a tour of the Viking Islands instead of taking a full day out of this charming city.
Legendary Bergen is good to explore on a walking tour with a local guide.
Have fun on your cruise!

[MeHeartCruising]

This does indeed look like a decent itinerary.  Even better than decent. I would have no issues booking this cruise at all.  Have fun!

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Hallasm (or anyone else) do you know what is happening with the law about low emission ships in the heritage fjords?

The Norwegian Parliament has adopted a resolution to halt emissions from cruise ships and ferries in the Norwegian world heritage fjords as soon as technically possible and no later than 2026.

 

Until 2026, it is still possible to sail in the fjord with ships with engines installed after 1 January 2016.

 

However, there is a proposal to allow the use of biogas under certain circumstances for a transitional period of 5 years so that new cruise ships powered by biogas can still sail the fjords until 2030.

 

The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has submitted a proposal for a regulation on vessel emissions in World Heritage fjords by 1 January 2026 – and ships of 10,000 GT and upwards will be permitted to use biogas for a five-year period as part of a transitional arrangement.

Edited January 18, 2023 by hallasm

[kitkat343]

1 hour ago, hallasm said:

The Norwegian Parliament has adopted a resolution to halt emissions from cruise ships and ferries in the Norwegian world heritage fjords as soon as technically possible and no later than 2026.

 

Until 2026, it is still possible to sail in the fjord with ships with engines installed after 1 January 2016.

 

However, there is a proposal to allow the use of biogas under certain circumstances for a transitional period of 5 years so that new cruise ships powered by biogas can still sail the fjords until 2030.

 

The Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) has submitted a proposal for a regulation on vessel emissions in World Heritage fjords by 1 January 2026 – and ships of 10,000 GT and upwards will be permitted to use biogas for a five-year period as part of a transitional arrangement.

Thanks.  Hopefully the ships will be in compliance soon.

[Turtles06]

I'm glad to read the replies to the OP, as we are booked on this itinerary as well, although sailing in July and preceded by a HAL cruise that goes to, among other places, Skolden, Stavanger, Trondheim, and Honningsvag (North Cape).  And also Bergen, which will give us two days in this city (one on each leg of our B2B).

 

3 hours ago, Cruprince said:

This is a great route! In Eidfjord, don't miss the tour to Voringsfossen, an incredibly fantastic waterfall.
Alesund deserves to be explored locally. We were very fortunate that we were advised to take a tour of the Viking Islands instead of taking a full day out of this charming city.
Legendary Bergen is good to explore on a walking tour with a local guide.

 

I'm not the OP, but I wanted to thank you for posting those tips. We're already booked in Eidfjord for a tour to the waterfall, and in Alesund (which is lovely and which we've visited before), we have booked a tour going to the islands of Giske and Godoy, and then a visit to the Sunnmore Museum.

 

Bergen (which we'll visit twice) I think will be DIY days for us, and I'd already been thinking that a walking tour would be great, so thanks for that.  Any guide or company you'd recommend?   Thanks again. 

[hallasm]

37 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

Hopefully the ships will be in compliance soon.

New ships until 2026 - the following 5 years ships with Bio-gas (LBG) will be allowed. I assume that cruise ships built for LNG can also use LBG.  
After 2030 only electric propulsion - then we'll see how many electric cruise ships exist by then.

Hurtigruten and Havila today have hybrid ships that can sail the fjords electrically - Hurtigruten plans to deploy purely electric powered ships by 2030.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by hallasm

[Ozzyrosie]

Thanks so much every- your feedback has been incredibly wonderful. I really appreciate it. I could go on this itinerary for $1000 less. Is this just as good as my other one? Thanks 🙏 again. Love ❤️ this community.

[Traveling Library]

Your latest option includes Flam which I loved. Make sure you take the train trip (you can book the tickets yourself). Oslo has a wonderful Resistance Museum and Stavanger has pretty white houses and you can take a small boat trip to either just see Pulpit Rock or hike Pulpit Rock or just walk around the port. Kristiansand has a busy pedestrian street.

Either cruise will have beautiful fjords.  IMHO either cruise would be lovely but I'd vote for the one with Flam.

[hallasm]

Also a decent itinerary.
Oslo fjord is not that scenic but Oslo is excellent.

IMO Kristiansand is not that interesting 

Stavanger is fine with scenic excursions option at Lysefjord to Pulpit Rock.

Flåm and Geiranger is the both located in deep scenic fjords - Take the railway in Flåm - trickets must be booked in advance. 

[puppycanducruise]

23 hours ago, Ozzyrosie said:

Hi everyone. I’m looking for 7 to 10 day cruise that visits Norwegian fjords that doesn’t break the bank. I found a HAL one that departs June 17 that looks decent based on ports I’ve researched on this thread. What do you think? Other ideas? We can depart anytime from mid June to October. I’m trying to keep the cost down as we depart from Toronto so with Canadian dollars and steeper flight prices, it’s a challenge.  The HAL cruise I booked is about 5k Canadian for a limited view verandah and everything included. Or maybe I should wait to book? Your feedback much appreciated. 

 

We took a cruise with a similar itinerary a few years ago on HAL.  We sailed from Rotterdam, not Amsterdam.  It was a wonderful cruise, our only complaint was that it was too short, next time, we'll go for a 14 day cruise not 7 day.

Amsterdam is a great city to explore.  I hope you are staying there a few days before or after the cruise.

[Ozzyrosie]

41 minutes ago, puppycanducruise said:

 

We took a cruise with a similar itinerary a few years ago on HAL.  We sailed from Rotterdam, not Amsterdam.  It was a wonderful cruise, our only complaint was that it was too short, next time, we'll go for a 14 day cruise not 7 day.

Amsterdam is a great city to explore.  I hope you are staying there a few days before or after the cruise.

Thanks. I wish we had the time for 14 days but not this year. Love Amsterdam - I lived in the Netherlands a while back so I know the city very well.