Norwegian Fjords cruise?

[Peelboy]

If I want to see the northern light and the deep fjord what’s the best month to go,preferably with celebrity HAL or princess.  Thanks 

[ShawninFL]

3 hours ago, Peelboy said:

If I want to see the northern light and the deep fjord what’s the best month to go,preferably with celebrity HAL or princess.  Thanks 

The northern lights require darkness to be seen, so winter is the best time to see them...not a mainstream cruise timeframe into Norway.  We did happen to see the northern lights on a transatlantic cruise leaving Akureyri, Iceland in early September about 5 years ago.  So if you can find a sailing in the fall that goes well north into Norway, you may have a shot at seeing them.  It's truly just catching the lucky break of the conditions being right in the atmosphere while also being under clear skies.

[rmalbers]

One thing, (I might have missed it) that I haven't seen mentioned is tendering, a lot of tendering with the 'regular' cruise ships.  One advantage to small ships is that they can get to places the large/r cruise ships can't.  That's sort of why you see a lot of the large ships going to the same places, and not much variety.

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, Peelboy said:

If I want to see the northern light and the deep fjord what’s the best month to go,preferably with celebrity HAL or princess.  Thanks 

26 September 23 to 31 March 2024 are the dates H offers its "free cruise if the Northern Lights don't appear" guarantee. You also have to be north of the Arctic Circle. So if any the cruise lines you mention go at that those  times and sail above the Arctic circle they will be your best chance.

[RichYak]

3 hours ago, Peelboy said:

If I want to see the northern light and the deep fjord what’s the best month to go,preferably with celebrity HAL or princess.  Thanks 

IMO, these should be separate vacations, the first one in winter (not necessarily in Norway) and the other during the summer months.

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, Peelboy said:

If I want to see the northern light and the deep fjord what’s the best month to go,preferably with celebrity HAL or princess.  Thanks 

Princess usually offers a Northern Lights cruise in October every year. 

[BuckeyeMark]

On 5/14/2023 at 7:36 AM, ShawninFL said:

We did the "Land of the Midnight Sun" cruise in June 2022 and absolutely loved this cruise.  We ended up choosing Royal Caribbean as our first choice, Celebrity, was only offer 7-night options and we wanted to travel all the way north to Honinngsvag.  And Holland America and Princess were cost prohibitive to our budget.  We were blown away by Norway's natural beauty, even more beautiful than Alaska.  We had 5 clear days/nights of 24 hour sunlight.  Quite the amazing experience still partying at 2 AM in full daylight.  Our itinerary included Molde, Tromso, Honningsvag, Flam, Alesund, Haugesund, and Kristiansand.  Yes, our itinerary missed Bergen and Greinger, but we'll catch them next time.  Yes, cruising out of Flam was amazing, but in all honesty, after an hour or two for looking, you do move onto other things. Make sure to schedule tours to seek out the natural landscape in ports.  We rented vehicles in two ports and toured ourselves.  We took the train in Flam, ziplined down the mountain and rode bikes back to town.  The others we hired a private guide or did a private tour.  We weren't disappointed in anything we did.  Definitely do your research for this cruise so you don't miss seeing something you find out you were near after you get home.  Happy cruising,

This was a super helpful post.  Thank you.

[FlyingAnchor]

On 5/9/2023 at 5:37 PM, MMMCruiser said:

I looked at that one, but now I'm considering the other one in 2024 (APEX) that goes to both Geiranger and Flam because I really want to see the deeper fjords.

 

Just did the 7 night out of the Netherlands on Apex. Flam, Geiranger, Haugesund, and Bergen. Flam and Geiranger were breathtakingly gorgeous. Haugesund taught me more about the history of Norway than any other port, which I appreciated. Bergen was fine. Multiple X excursions were canceled in each port, all within the final week leading up to sailing or after embarkation day.

If you go to Flam, I highly encourage you to do the zip line! We booked a combo train/zip line/biking tour and it was amazing. Geiranger we booked the RIB boat and it was great for seeing the 7 sisters and the fjord up close. I'd go back to Norway in a heartbeat. It was magical! 

[trafficgirl124]

Just returned last night from a 7 day Norwegian Fjords cruise on the Apex. It was absolutely amazing. We went to Haugesund, Flam, Geiranger, Bergen. This was the best cruise I have been on. The scenery is out of this world. I’m planning on going back next year. 

Edited May 16, 2023 by trafficgirl124

[MMMCruiser]

1 hour ago, FlyingAnchor said:

 

Just did the 7 night out of the Netherlands on Apex. Flam, Geiranger, Haugesund, and Bergen. Flam and Geiranger were breathtakingly gorgeous. Haugesund taught me more about the history of Norway than any other port, which I appreciated. Bergen was fine. Multiple X excursions were canceled in each port, all within the final week leading up to sailing or after embarkation day.

If you go to Flam, I highly encourage you to do the zip line! We booked a combo train/zip line/biking tour and it was amazing. Geiranger we booked the RIB boat and it was great for seeing the 7 sisters and the fjord up close. I'd go back to Norway in a heartbeat. It was magical! 

I was watching some posts about your cruise on Instagram.  I wanted to book it, but the dates didn't work out for us this summer so we pushed back to 2024.  I'm so glad you had a great time.  We cruised in Norway a few years ago with 3 different ports and it was amazing.  The Apex itinerary is even better, so I have high hopes. 

[sergel02]

I just go back from it and made a Thread talking about it. I really enjoyed it, and I liked the mix of cities and towns with scenery.

 

Flam and Geiranger were the highlights when it comes to scenery though.

[VioletView]

For various reasons, we have a Celebrity credit to use and I was looking at a 8-night cruise out of Southampton, stopping in Nordfjordeid, Flam, Geiranger, Alesund, and Kristiansand.  On this type of itinerary, is it more likely that we'll have to do excursions via Celebrity or will it be "easy" to tour on our own and/or with a smaller tour group?  

[JohnAlleb77]

3 hours ago, VioletView said:

For various reasons, we have a Celebrity credit to use and I was looking at a 8-night cruise out of Southampton, stopping in Nordfjordeid, Flam, Geiranger, Alesund, and Kristiansand.  On this type of itinerary, is it more likely that we'll have to do excursions via Celebrity or will it be "easy" to tour on our own and/or with a smaller tour group?  

 

For Nordfjordeid i think its quite easy to book something on your own. 

Check www.fjordex.no

 

Nordfjordeid is a really nice port, www.portofnordfjordeid.no for more info. 

 

 

[dani negreanu]

3 hours ago, VioletView said:

On this type of itinerary, is it more likely that we'll have to do excursions via Celebrity or will it be "easy" to tour on our own and/or with a smaller tour group?  

 

Much depends on your "comfort" level -- if you fear not getting back to ship on time.

 

The only time we've taken ship excursions was when using a ferry. Otherwise, do your home work and you'll find better choices and rates with local vendors. Geiranger, for example.

https://www.geirangerfjord.no/panoramic-bus-geiranger-2

 

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by dani negreanu

[LME70]

Hi, In 2018, we did the Geirangerfjord panoramic bus mentioned by Dani above. There was plenty of time to fit this in for the Princess cruise we were booked on. It was really good.

 

Last year we went to Kristiansand, we didn't do any excursions just walked into town from the port (about 30 minutes walk, but we are slow). It wasn't that exciting a port so an excursion might be a good option.

 

Hope you have fun.

[FlyingAnchor]

On 7/18/2023 at 12:55 PM, VioletView said:

On this type of itinerary, is it more likely that we'll have to do excursions via Celebrity or will it be "easy" to tour on our own and/or with a smaller tour group?

We booked an excursion through Norway's Best in Flam and they were super responsive to my email questions trying to figure out the timing and how and when we'd get back to the ship. We did the combo Flam Railway/Zipline/Bikeride tour and it was amazing. I'm afraid of heights and survied the zip line and would do it again in a heartbeat! 

[Redrobo]

Have a look at the Roll call for Silhouette 24 June 2023 .  There are numerous posts about going under your own steam

[Bama2georgia]

On 5/12/2023 at 8:12 AM, Sigyn said:

Do you watch Ted Lasso? If so, you know what Roy Kent would say to them. 

Thanks for this! It made me LOL! I heard Roy Kent give his answer loud and clear!

[NMTraveller]

On 5/13/2023 at 4:24 AM, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Thank you. The shilling for Hurtigruten has gotten ridiculous. We get it. @the penguins loves (and/or possibly works for?) that line. This is the Celebrity page and a thread about Celebrity's Norwegian Fjords cruises.

Hmmm.  Time to look at Hurtigruten...

[busby]

We are booked on Apex July 24, itinerary includes Gerainger and Flam ,been to Flam before but well worth a 2nd visit.Did a 14 day cruise to North Cape pre covid ..fantastic