Norwegian Fjords Excursions

[jane01jp]

I need recommendations for Norwegian Fjords cruise excursions.

We are family of four, ages 17 to 57, reasonably active.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Are you looking at DCL or outside vendor excursions? Also, which ports? Sail dates?
We did 3Norway ports with DCL excursions last summer and we were happy with them. However, the Norway fjords cruises before our repo cruise went to some other Norway towns-all told, DCL visited quite a few Norway ports across all their cruises last year, so having the port names will help get the feedback you need.

 

[jane01jp]

The ports are:

Stavanger
Alesund
Geiranger
Bergen

We are departing from Copenhagen, so we would also be interested in things to do there for a couple of days.

We would entertain either DCL or non-DCL vendors.

Thanks.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

We took this same cruise last year. Check out my trip report. We took an independent Lyesfjord cruise out of Stavanger that was very nice. Copenhagen is a very walkable city. I would recommend the canal cruise.

 

[Birdie dog]

We did the 9 night this year and it was my favorite trip ever. My number one suggestion is give yourself time to check out Bergen. We did an 8 hour excursion to a glacier and I was bummed every minute of it that we didn't wander the city. It was beautiful and you could see there was a lot happening right around the boat. Next time, I won't book anything for Bergen.
In Geirainger we did the Norway museum and some lookout. The description by Disney was take 22 hairpin turns while getting to the highest lookout in Norway. Ugh. I am not prone to car sickness but I wanted to puke. Well, that and I kept imagining myself careening to my death. Totally wouldn't do it again.
In Stavanger we did Pulpit Rock. A long day and my husband described it as "Norway's answer to the Bataan Death March". But we had a lot of laughs and the scenery was gorgeous. I might do it again even though I thought I'd die at the time.
Molde is just a gorgeous little town and we walked around and took pictures and window shopped. I loved it there.
Olden is a tiny town with very little to do but it was gorgeous. I actually wanted to do an excursion to the farm (goat farm I think) but they couldn't accommodate 4. (I believe that was also an option on the 22 hairpin turn day- I should have picked that).
And finally, in Ausland, we did RHIB boat out into the North Sea. It was COLD but SOOOOO awesome! We saw tons of birds, puffins and seals swimming in the sea. It was my number one favorite thing we did and I'd do it again in a second. I think, because it's so cold there, others chose to do the RHIB in another port as we were the only ones on our excursion, but the puffins and seals were 1000% worth it!

 

[turtle27]

We did the 9 night this year and it was my favorite trip ever. My number one suggestion is give yourself time to check out Bergen. We did an 8 hour excursion to a glacier and I was bummed every minute of it that we didn't wander the city. It was beautiful and you could see there was a lot happening right around the boat. Next time, I won't book anything for Bergen.
In Geirainger we did the Norway museum and some lookout. The description by Disney was take 22 hairpin turns while getting to the highest lookout in Norway. Ugh. I am not prone to car sickness but I wanted to puke. Well, that and I kept imagining myself careening to my death. Totally wouldn't do it again.
In Stavanger we did Pulpit Rock. A long day and my husband described it as "Norway's answer to the Bataan Death March". But we had a lot of laughs and the scenery was gorgeous. I might do it again even though I thought I'd die at the time.
Molde is just a gorgeous little town and we walked around and took pictures and window shopped. I loved it there.
Olden is a tiny town with very little to do but it was gorgeous. I actually wanted to do an excursion to the farm (goat farm I think) but they couldn't accommodate 4. (I believe that was also an option on the 22 hairpin turn day- I should have picked that).
And finally, in Ausland, we did RHIB boat out into the North Sea. It was COLD but SOOOOO awesome! We saw tons of birds, puffins and seals swimming in the sea. It was my number one favorite thing we did and I'd do it again in a second. I think, because it's so cold there, others chose to do the RHIB in another port as we were the only ones on our excursion, but the puffins and seals were 1000% worth it!

Can I ask if the RHIB tour would be ok for a pooh sized person? Said person walks 3 miles a day, but is still big! I had read on trip advisor that some people said this was a rough ride.

 

[Birdie dog]

It was bumpy but I thought it was amazing. I stood the entire time. I think if you relaxed your muscles and went with it, you'd do fine. My best friend is about 15 years older than me and she loved it too. We took pictures that each of us have up in our houses. We look like minions.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

We did the Adventures by Disney in Copenhagen and will agree that Copenhagen is very walkable. There is a Disney store there that sold "Denmark" Disney shirts that were popular among the cruisers and were nice designs.
Tivoli (Copenhagen) is very much worth a visit, and although billed as an amusement park, it is not like US amusement parks - tons of restaurants that were good quality, interesting shopping (never saw a tshirt for sale there as an example), and of course rides. We had a very good time at Tivoli doing a lot.
The canal tour is also worthwhile as others mentioned. The canal tours are at Nyhaven - we were told this is the most photographed spot in Denmark.
Our only port that is the same as yours is Stavanger. I'll have to look at our notes as I'm not sure which excursion was that day, but as mentioned, we were happy with our DCL excursions with 2A and 2C (8, 16).
One of the Norway excursions was a walk through a very picturesque town and we stopped for a bit at a convenience store/gas station (for boats) and had great fun selecting snack foods, etc that were normal Norwegian flavor combinations, but new to us. We ate it all (snacks and Popsicles) on the spot as we could not bring any on the tour bus. We also got one of the best classic Norway photo shots here with a flying Norway flag, rocky shore, classic house across the water.

 

[michellekcm]

Because we have young children I just about always book through DCL - just makes life easier for me .

We did the Anna and Elsa excursion at Sunmore Village in Alesund. Our children enjoyed it, but I loved it too. I love recreation type villages etc. I think there was an excursion that went there earlier in the day without the Anna and Elsa part if that is more within your budget/taste .

We loved the farm excursion in Bergen - you got to see a working farm, ride a horse, eat traditional snacks etc.

 

[adamki]

We are departing from Copenhagen, so we would also be interested in things to do there for a couple of days.

While you're in Denmark, if you have a day to take a road trip I would recommend visiting Kronborg Castle in Helsingør and Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød, both north of Copenhagen.

The drive up the coast to Helsingør is amazing and the Frederiksborg Castle looks like something out of a movie. Driving in Denmark is not difficult (nothing like the narrow roads you would find in the UK).

Otherwise, in addition to the previous recommendations in the city the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen is a fun tour (even for the kids) and includes a beer sample (or a soda for kids, IIRC).

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The ports are:

Stavanger
Alesund
Geiranger
Bergen

We are departing from Copenhagen, so we would also be interested in things to do there for a couple of days.

We would entertain either DCL or non-DCL vendors.

Thanks.

We did the 9-night and the 11-night last year. They were AMAZING!

In Copenhagen, we hired Tours in Copenhagen, http://toursincopenhagen.com, to do a one-day walking tour and a tour up to Helsingborg. They were great! We also went to Tivoli, the National Museum and did a boat tour on our own. Copenhagen is very walkable and you don't really need an "excursion" here if you want to save some money.

In Stavanger, we, again, hired a private tour company for a walking tour, but didn't really need one. If you want to stay in Stavanger, you can do it on your own as everything is within walking distance of the ship. We went to the Old Town, walked by the church (it's closed right now) and went to the three museums - Canning, Maritime and Petroleum. They were great and had some wonderful interactive areas for children. Eat lunch at Fisketorget!!

In Geiranger, we booked privately with Geiranger Fjord Service and did a private limo tour (our driver was fantastic! He was a local and showed us some wonderful areas that you wouldn't see from a tour bus. the limo was quite "vintage" though LOL!). We also did the RIB boat - it was AWESOME!!! I highly recommend it!! The little town has some great restaurants - DEFINITELY go to the chocolate cafe - amazing!!! I would book privately in this port as Disney is booking with the same company - might as well save some money!

In Bergen, we hired Bergen Guide Service because I wanted to see the Fantoft Stave Church in the morning. I would only recommend seeing this stave church if you aren't seeing one anywhere else as is a replica. You can definitely do Bergen on your own - we did the funicular to Mt. Floyen (go EARLY before the crowds build), walked to the fish market and to the Hanseatic Museum. We did Disney's Ovre Eide Farm excursion in the afternoon - if your kids like animals, this was a lovely excursion. The children rode Norwegian horses, fed the sheep and then we had a local snack.

 

[jenf22]

Copenhagen: We had a great time at Tivoli and I highly recommend it. We also wandered around the main shopping area, but missed the Disney store and the Lego store because it was Founder's Day and everything was closed When we got off the ship, we did an excursion through NCL that hit some city highlights (a very neat fountain, a church, some government buildings, and The Little Mermaid) prior to dropping us off at the airport.

Alesund: We did the Path of the Trolls through a local company that someone in our meet-up group arranged. We ended up filling the whole bus and it was cheaper for the 3 of us than 1 ticket through NCL. They also took us to Mt. Aksla and a couple of other stops as well. We really enjoyed it. Mt. Aksla was stunning:


Geiranger: We booked our excursions through Geiranger Fjord Service. They had a combo that was a cruise through the fjords and then a bus ride to Mt. Dalsnibba. We asked the driver to drop us off at the visitor center so we could take the waterfall walk back to town. We loved Geiranger, it was our favorite port. We had no problems with the fjord service and it was WAY cheaper than through NCL.


Bergen: We took the light rail-type train to the Stave church and had plans for the funicular. This was our only day of yucky weather and it was cold and rainy. So we just wandered the town some and visited the church.


I can't help with Stavanger since our cruise went to Flam. We had hoped to cruise DCL, but the price just didn't work for us. We had a great time in Norway. Best cruise ever!

 

[turtle27]

Copenhagen: We had a great time at Tivoli and I highly recommend it. We also wandered around the main shopping area, but missed the Disney store and the Lego store because it was Founder's Day and everything was closed When we got off the ship, we did an excursion through NCL that hit some city highlights (a very neat fountain, a church, some government buildings, and The Little Mermaid) prior to dropping us off at the airport.

Alesund: We did the Path of the Trolls through a local company that someone in our meet-up group arranged. We ended up filling the whole bus and it was cheaper for the 3 of us than 1 ticket through NCL. They also took us to Mt. Aksla and a couple of other stops as well. We really enjoyed it. Mt. Aksla was stunning:


Geiranger: We booked our excursions through Geiranger Fjord Service. They had a combo that was a cruise through the fjords and then a bus ride to Mt. Dalsnibba. We asked the driver to drop us off at the visitor center so we could take the waterfall walk back to town. We loved Geiranger, it was our favorite port. We had no problems with the fjord service and it was WAY cheaper than through NCL.


Bergen: We took the light rail-type train to the Stave church and had plans for the funicular. This was our only day of yucky weather and it was cold and rainy. So we just wandered the town some and visited the church.


I can't help with Stavanger since our cruise went to Flam. We had hoped to cruise DCL, but the price just didn't work for us. We had a great time in Norway. Best cruise ever!

Do you know which private company in Alesund? I have been trying to get something organized and am receiving zero responses from any of the local tour sites I have found through the other cruise site and the web. ANy advice on how to get someone to respond or a new contact would be appreciated!

 

[linetbo]

Copenhagen: We had a great time at Tivoli and I highly recommend it. We also wandered around the main shopping area, but missed the Disney store and the Lego store because it was Founder's Day and everything was closed When we got off the ship, we did an excursion through NCL that hit some city highlights (a very neat fountain, a church, some government buildings, and The Little Mermaid) prior to dropping us off at the airport.

Alesund: We did the Path of the Trolls through a local company that someone in our meet-up group arranged. We ended up filling the whole bus and it was cheaper for the 3 of us than 1 ticket through NCL. They also took us to Mt. Aksla and a couple of other stops as well. We really enjoyed it. Mt. Aksla was stunning:


Geiranger: We booked our excursions through Geiranger Fjord Service. They had a combo that was a cruise through the fjords and then a bus ride to Mt. Dalsnibba. We asked the driver to drop us off at the visitor center so we could take the waterfall walk back to town. We loved Geiranger, it was our favorite port. We had no problems with the fjord service and it was WAY cheaper than through NCL.


Bergen: We took the light rail-type train to the Stave church and had plans for the funicular. This was our only day of yucky weather and it was cold and rainy. So we just wandered the town some and visited the church.


I can't help with Stavanger since our cruise went to Flam. We had hoped to cruise DCL, but the price just didn't work for us. We had a great time in Norway. Best cruise ever!

Did you like it? I am thinking doing another cruise next year.

 

[jenf22]

Do you know which private company in Alesund? I have been trying to get something organized and am receiving zero responses from any of the local tour sites I have found through the other cruise site and the web. ANy advice on how to get someone to respond or a new contact would be appreciated!

We used http://moereguide.com/index.php/en/towns/andalsnes/trollstigen-scenic-drive. We did have some trouble getting responses from them in the winter. We figured it was because they are basically closed in the winter. I think the person organizing it would get contact from them every 2-3 weeks or so (we asked a lot of questions). We basically rented the whole bus and then the price per person would go down as more people signed up.

Did you like it? I am thinking doing another cruise next year.

We LOVED it! It was my 40th birthday trip so we did 2 nights in London, 2 in Paris, 1 in Copenhagen, this cruise, and then 2 nights in Iceland. It was awesome. Yeah, the Star wasn't as nice as the DCL ships we've been on, but we were in port 4 days and still kept ourselves busy on the sea days. NCL gave us the UBP and UDP, so all drinks were included and we got to eat in the specialty restaurants for free. We loved 3 of the 4 specialty restaurants (the Italian place was just ok). The main dining rooms were less than impressive, but the buffet was good. We had a great time and loved Norway. It's so clean and there are waterfalls everywhere!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

The ports are:

Stavanger
Alesund
Geiranger
Bergen

We are departing from Copenhagen, so we would also be interested in things to do there for a couple of days.

We would entertain either DCL or non-DCL vendors.

Thanks.

We did the Norway/Iceland/Scotland sailing last summer that departed from Copenhagen but our only in common Norway port with yours was Stavanger. As others might have told you, I would *HIGHLY* recommend adding time to Copenhagen before the cruise. We arrived on a Friday before our Monday departure and that helped with jet lag too (it's always worse for me going to Europe since I can't sleep on the flights going over when that should be my bed time). We walked everywhere and did almost 15 miles one day We met up with another family from our cruise group (and we remain close friends) and explored together with them most of the time. We went to Tivoli, took a canal boat tour, went to Malmo, Sweden for half a day, explored the town, went to the Disney store, went to a few castles, etc. It's a very walkable city and truly lovely. My DS and DH also agreed it was among their top three favorite places from the entire trip (and we went to seven countries).

In Stavanger we decided to do our own thing as we had heard how lovely the town was and since the Magic docked right downtown it was also very walkable. We got some free wifi at the new, close by Starbucks (lol) then walked around the town, went to the Petroleum Museum (we enjoyed it and it gets great reviews on TripAdvisor), did some shopping, etc. We had planned to go to the Three Swords Monument outside the town via city bus but the plans fell through so we stayed in town. Our port time was short in Stavanger so we didn't have as much time as some of the other sailings.

Heather

 

[bksaffle]

We are very excited, we will be on the Norway, June 29th cruise. I have been doing a lot of research....thank you everyone for all the pointers. We will be spending 3 days in Copenhagen Prior to the cruise, then we are also on the B2B cruise going to the Baltic on July 6th, then spending 3 days in London....

 

[clten]

In Stavanger, we did the Port Adventure to Lyesfjord. Absolutely loved it even though the weather was less than cooperative. Gorgeous scenery would do this again in a heartbeat. Had plenty of time afterward to explore the compact downtown area so didn't feel like we had to choose either the fjord or the port area.

 

[linetbo]

We did the Norway/Iceland/Scotland sailing last summer that departed from Copenhagen but our only in common Norway port with yours was Stavanger. As others might have told you, I would *HIGHLY* recommend adding time to Copenhagen before the cruise. We arrived on a Friday before our Monday departure and that helped with jet lag too (it's always worse for me going to Europe since I can't sleep on the flights going over when that should be my bed time). We walked everywhere and did almost 15 miles one day We met up with another family from our cruise group (and we remain close friends) and explored together with them most of the time. We went to Tivoli, took a canal boat tour, went to Malmo, Sweden for half a day, explored the town, went to the Disney store, went to a few castles, etc. It's a very walkable city and truly lovely. My DS and DH also agreed it was among their top three favorite places from the entire trip (and we went to seven countries).

In Stavanger we decided to do our own thing as we had heard how lovely the town was and since the Magic docked right downtown it was also very walkable. We got some free wifi at the new, close by Starbucks (lol) then walked around the town, went to the Petroleum Museum (we enjoyed it and it gets great reviews on TripAdvisor), did some shopping, etc. We had planned to go to the Three Swords Monument outside the town via city bus but the plans fell through so we stayed in town. Our port time was short in Stavanger so we didn't have as much time as some of the other sailings.

Heather

Did you went to Malmo on your own or a tour? It is something I should do, I have 3 full days in Copenhagen.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Did you went to Malmo on your own or a tour? It is something I should do, I have 3 full days in Copenhagen.

On our own! We stayed at the Imperial Hotel in Copenhagen which was centrally located so we walked to the main train station and bought tickets from the machine (which was easy to follow) and I think the trains were at least three an hour. The same was true for coming home as well.

Part of the awesome journey going to Malmö is on the amazing Oresund Bridge where the train tracks are suspended under the bridge and both trains and cars go under the water ~ fascinating the engineering feat and how it was built.

In Malmö the train station is also centrally located and we walked to the Lilla Torg area, the Malmo castle, and ate lunch at a great little cafe outside. If it matters, right outside the Malmo train station is a really nice Starbucks so more free wifi and it was a beautiful location.

Heather