Day 7: Geiranger
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Sunrise: 4:05 AM
Sunset: 11:16 PM
Temp: Cloudy 44˚F (it actually drizzled on and off most of the day)
All Ashore: 8:30 AM
All Aboard: 4:45 PM
Today’s Plan: Private tour of the Overlooks and up to Mt. Dalsnibba, The Waterfall Walk
Of all the ports this was the one I was looking forward to the most. Evidently, this is the port that inspired Arendelle in “Frozen.” I certainly saw why.
The night before, Commodore Tom told us that we would be entering Geiranger Fjord at 5:45 AM and to be ready by 5:30 AM. This was also stated in the Navigator. I went up on Deck 10 by 5:35 AM with a few other intrepid passengers.
One of the improvements made to the Magic during its refurb was shade canopies on Deck 10. They sure did come in handy this morning. Not so much for shade, but for protection from the elements, it was cold and drizzly.
Several of us stood under the canopies as we slowly made our way through the fjord. It reminded me very much of going through Tracy Arm in Alaska, except colder and no ice.
The Geirangerfjord is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 9 mile long fjord is very narrow and we were close to the side of the fjord most of the way in, especially on the starboard side. You can see the shade canopy here. There were about 3 or 4 along each side of deck 10.
The water is over 800 feet deep. There were waterfalls cascading down the crevices and snowcapped peaks wherever you looked.
The first major waterfall we came up to was The Seven Sisters. Personally, it wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. But in all fairness, they really hadn’t had a spring thaw yet, so run off was late. It was still a beautiful site.
The next waterfall directly across from The Seven Sisters was The Suitor. Legend has it that The Suitor tried and failed to court The Seven Sisters. That is why when you look at The Suitor you will see the outline of the bottle he drowned his sorrows in.
Occasionally you would see a structure on the side of the cliff and wonder how anybody even reached it.
Some more scenery of the fjord.
It didn’t take long after passing these falls that we saw Geiranger. “Just around the river bend” came to mind.
Here’s the Waterfall Walk.
Eagle Bend Road with its 11 hairpin turns.
I had spent most of the time near the aft, port side under a canopy. After passing the waterfalls, I made my way up to the front of the ship to watch us coming into Geiranger. It was crowded.
DCL had set up a couple of tables with hot drinks, warm breakfast sandwiches, danishes and croissants. I grabbed a croissant as I continued taking pictures.
It is a picturesque, charming village set at the end of the fjord. I think it boasts only 215 full time residents. They even had to bring tour busses over by Ferry from Ålesund for the cruise passenger tours. I have never seen anything so green and lush as the Geiranger Fjord. Geiranger is a popular resort during the summer and it has many locations for RVs and camping. It also has a couple of large hotels.
I also saw Brent taking photos and talked to him a bit. I think the entire crew was just awed by the beauty of this fjord. Several of them had come out to watch us come in.
Since Geiranger has no piers large enough for cruise ships, it utilizes the Sea Walk.
However, only one ship can use it per day. Basically it is a floating jetty that is driven out to the ship on motorized pontoons. The ship was tied to 2 moorings, one on either end of the ship.
I went down to Deck 4 and watched one man with a remote control console move the walking pier to the ship.
It takes about 7 minutes from start to finish. Here it is in just over 2 minutes.
I was joined by several crew members who watched with interest. A ramp was then attached to the Deck 1 Aft door and we were set. Fascinating stuff!
The Rotterdam (which joined us in every port) was forced to tender it’s passengers to the pier. In addition, the tender boats had to go all the way around the Magic because the Sea Walk was in their way. (Insert evil laugh here!)
After watching the Sea Walk get connected, I went back to the stateroom for a nice hot shower and then we went to breakfast at Cabanas. We didn’t have to meet our private tour until 9:30 AM.
After breakfast we walked around the ship and took some more photos of this beautiful location.
Next: Geiranger Overlooks
I hope it works out that you can make this cruise. It's practically in your backyard.
!! We went on a different excursion and had some snow by the road, but nothing quite like that...
Still, views from up there were stunning.
