Norwegian Fjord Cruise Advice please.

Lurcher

Lurcher

Active member
Wife and I are planning to do a Cruise early Sunmmer or Autumn. We are definitely not 'cruise people' and are looking for a more casual trip, no silly dressing up and definately no 'entertainment'. I've looked at the usual suspects but would prefer a smaller boat trip, maybe a smaller locally based company. Struggling to find much beyond P&O etc. Looking for up to 2 weeks which could include a couple of days in Bergen before or after.

Any experience/Advice appreciated.
Thanks.
 
No idea about the cruises but I've worked there for 3 years and definitely recommend Bergen. It's a lovely little City and beautiful in the summer if you catch a sunny day.
 
Lurcher said:
Wife and I are planning to do a Cruise early Sunmmer or Autumn. We are definitely not 'cruise people' and are looking for a more casual trip, no silly dressing up and definately no 'entertainment'. I've looked at the usual suspects but would prefer a smaller boat trip, maybe a smaller locally based company. Struggling to find much beyond P&O etc. Looking for up to 2 weeks which could include a couple of days in Bergen before or after.

Any experience/Advice appreciated.
Thanks.
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Sound like me before we did our first cruise

Not the Fjords but we went with TUI (Adult only) cruise and was well impressed.
As Hickton says, everything is optional.

Fjords is on the cards though.....eventually
 
Did Fjords on P&O Iona last June , you don’t have to do the formal nights and the entertainment wasn’t great but as has been said , it’s optional. P&O are a bit stuffy and predominantly full of brits ,which to be honest can be a bit boring.The Fjords are spectacular and you can cruise from Southampton which was a first for me.
 
Only done one cruise (Alaska) so my advice is limited, but probably very relevant from one newbie to another:

Definitely pay more for a balcony. I'm sure it must feel claustrophobic otherwise, especially if you're in a windowless room (you can always go up on deck to view but it's nice to be able to go onto the balcony to admire the view in your pj's on a morning!

Research any onshore trips before booking. Are they cheaper to book direct rather than with the cruise line? Check your timings carefully though.

We didn't do any of the formal stuff, but we did do a show and I quite enjoyed it. Best bits though were the nature talks etc, so if they do that sort of thing then I'd recommend them.

Lastly, we paid for the full drinks package. Not sure if we got our money's worth or not, but it was good to be able to go to the bar and order any drink we liked without worrying about whether it was in the package or not.

I live in the US right now, but a Scandinavian cruise will definitely be on my list when I finally come home, so let me know what you thought of it!
 
Lurcher said:
Wife and I are planning to do a Cruise early Sunmmer or Autumn. We are definitely not 'cruise people' and are looking for a more casual trip, no silly dressing up and definately no 'entertainment'. I've looked at the usual suspects but would prefer a smaller boat trip, maybe a smaller locally based company. Struggling to find much beyond P&O etc. Looking for up to 2 weeks which could include a couple of days in Bergen before or after.

Any experience/Advice appreciated.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
The one we did we didn’t dress up once and the entertainment was basically a really good rock covers band. Which I enjoyed. There is no pressure with cruises at all, all very casual. It’s not the Titanic!

Can’t remember which fjords we saw but they were mint.
 
Have done about 15 cruises, we haven’t been with Fred Olsen but they sound ideal for you as they only have small ships .
They do sail from Newcastle as well so a big tick if you don’t want to fly or travel to Southampton.
Done the Fjords on 3 occasions and loved it, would highly recommend.
Olden is our favourite port from the ones we have visited in Norway.
 
This brings back memories from 10 years ago, sat watching the cruise ships pop into Stavanger. Italians got off theirs and strolled round looking suave, Germans got off theirs and went walk about, Brits got off their Tui ship and headed for burger king.
 
The only advice (albeit unwanted) is recognise cruise ships have the worst carbon footprint of any form of travel by a mile.

They are actively destroying the natural world that people want to enjoy.

I know there are some kind of ‘electric’ cruise ships out of Bergen.
Not sure how that plays out

All a bit tricky - given there is prob no better way to see the fjords.
 
We have done the Fjords twice on P&O. I absolutely love it there and so does my whole family. We are going again next year. The place is so beautiful, that I could just sit for hours on the ship and watch the world go by. Waterfalls, and beautiful landscapes for miles after miles after miles.

We like the P&O ships. The food is great. You can go to busy areas and quizzes and entertainment, or you can chill out in relaxed quiet bars.

If you want to try something a bit different, the consider the Hurtigruten. I think that there is even a way of going all the way north on a local ship and coming back south on a train. I have not done that as we love the "normal" cruise, but perhaps worth investigating.
 
As Steer said, Hurtigruten is worth considering. It's not a cruise ship, no formal nights, casual dress and entertainmant consists of a piano in one of the bars. Have used the company 5 or 6 times since retiring and going back next month on a Northern lights voyage. The coastal journey from Bergen to Kirkenes [on the Russian border] is spectacular. You can take the voyage North from Bergen, or South from Kirkenes or combine the 2. The ship is very comfortable but not luxurious. If the journey is the most important thing then I can highly recommend it. If you want to be entertained and pampered then you are on the wrong ship.
 
PS.
You can't travel back by train from the North of Norway. I can recommend flying into Oslo and spending a night or two there before taking the train to Bergen. A fantastic rail journey.
 
timetoretire said:
PS.
You can't travel back by train from the North of Norway. I can recommend flying into Oslo and spending a night or two there before taking the train to Bergen. A fantastic rail journey.
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Seconded. If your ferry docks in Flam you can get the train up to Myrdal and that journey is spectacular as it takes you up top under waterfalls.
 
We have done Fred Olsen cruises from Newcastle to the Fjords and onto Svalbard. They were both excellent. Why cruise from Southampton when you can go from North Shields or Rosyth.
 
I’m currently doing work on quite a few cruise ships…
I get to stay in guest cabins mainly, sometimes crew cabins…
I’ve been on several princess ships, a couple of Hollander America and Disney a P&O Australia and a Cunard…
Cunard was by far superior, Disney are great for that Disney experience but expensive and the princess ships have been hit and miss, some good some pretty naff… the P&O was terrible and the HA were both quite nice…
I’ve only stayed in inner guest cabins, yet to taste balcony cabin…
My parents did MSC Virtuosa round the fjords and loved it… it’s the ship that features in the good ship murder staring Shane ward…
You will need patience as they’re all full of slow dithering old people, many who really shouldn’t go to sea on ships…
 
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