Feels like I made a mistake. Norway

simpleohio

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 2, 2014
earlier this year I was planning on the June Norway trip. But there were some complications and I decided to postpone. Couldn't get my act together. Now I regret it. Especially since it is going on right now.

Now I am looking at 2018 dates and sadly the only 2 times they do the cities aren't the greatest.

7 days that includes:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Oslo, Norway

Kristiansand, Norway

Stavanger, Norway

Or

10 days that include

Copenhagen, Denmark

Kristiansand, Norway

Stavanger, Norway

Alesund, Norway

Plus Iceland


I don't think either agenda showcase the fjords. Ugh Or am I wrong? For the prices I don't think neither are great. Just having regrets for missing out this year and screwing up.

Should I do one of those or go different cruise line or is anyone here can help me book.
 
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We were on the 2015 Norway/Iceland cruise. The Norway ports were the same as the 7 day you noted above: Oslo, Kristiansand, and Stavenger. Stavenger has the the beautiful Lysefjord. We took an excursion though the fjord and it was incredible. You will definitely get the fjord experience there. While Oslo might not have the stunning fjord scenery it is a lovely city with tons of things to do. We thoroughly enjoyed our day there - great port stop! Now, Kristiansand is another story. Honestly I have no clue why Disney keeps stopping there. It's a lovely little town and there was a cute folk museum (though nothing like the one in Oslo!) and I think there was a zoo (didn't go to that), but that day was kind of a waste, port wise. We planned a short excursion then came back to the ship early and got a couples massage which actually turned out to be a great afternoon.

I understand the disappointment with not going further north into the fjords. Most everyone I talked to on that cruise was of the same mindset, that had Disney skipped Kristiansand we could have had more time to explore the fjords. However, the best part of the cruise was yet to come - Iceland!!!!! Wow, just wow. So beautiful, such wonderful people. It was amazing. For us it definitely made up for missing more fjords. We got a taste in Stavenger and know that we want to come back and see more, but I wouldn't trade Iceland for anything on the cruise. Our cruise also had a stop at the end in the Orkney Islands (Kirkwall) which ended up coming in a close second favorite for us to Iceland. All in all it was an amazing adventure.

That's a long winded way of saying, go for the 10 nighter if you can. You won't have any regrets, I promise. Even if you stick with the 7 night, it will be wonderful cruise. You'll see fjords in Stavenger, Copenhagen is just delightful (I could spend a week there and never be bored), Oslo is terrific, and as for Kristiansand - well there is always the spa!! :goodvibes
 
I did the Norwegian Fjords last year and I will admit that both itineraries cut off Geiranger which was my favorite port. I do agree that in Stavenger you have some opportunity with the inclusion of the Lysefjord. I can't say too much about it because we took a different excursion with the knowledge that we would experience the Fjords in Geiranger. That being said, I have to say if you plan to go next year I would absolutely do the one that includes Iceland. I had the opportunity to visit a year and a half ago and it is amazing. I can't recommend the country enough. We went in the winter but in summer it's like a whole different world.

That being said if you aren't committed to the Disney experience there are plenty of cruise lines that visit the region, I hesitate to recommend one over the other because they all offer something different and you have to find one that suits your travel style.
 


I feel you. We were originally planning on Norway for 2018, then the itineraries came out and not only are the dates completely different, but I agree, the itineraries are not as great. Such a bummer. We ended up booking the mediterranean instead. We'll go back in a few years and do Norway. Hopefully this is a temporary change!
 
Iceland is awesome. I do agree. Been there before. So with that in mind what should I open for 19 or go for one of those in 18
 
Geirangerfjord was a highlight for us last year. Next years itineraries wouldn't appeal to me as much. I'd look at other cruise lines to get a better taste of the fjords
 


Agree with @Pens Fan and we were on the same sailing. :) Iceland is like no other place on earth and it shouldn't be missed. That is certainly not taking anything away with how beautiful Norway is because it IS! I would vote for the Iceland cruise as well.

The only port that we thought was "just ok" was Kristiansand and it was still very pretty but we just didn't have much to do there. Oslo is an amazing city with so much to do and Copenhagen is among my very favorites in the world so make sure you add time there too!

Have fun,
Heather
 
I agree that life is too short for regrets. I think that Disney's itineraries on the Norwegian fjords have been been getting less exciting since they introduced them in 2015. That year they offered an amazing 9 nights Norwegian fjords cruise which offered picturesque ports like Molde and Olden (my highlights). They've not been there since but keep going back to woefully unexciting Kristiansand. I do wonder why Disney are docking at some of the less interesting ports now. I would probably sail another line if I wanted to return to Norway.

Personally I don't think the itineraries you described show the fjords or show Norway well. Gerainger, Bergen, Molde and Olden are sorely missed. Maybe port costs are too expensive for Disney and they are maximising profits?
 
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just flew to Oslo and back from Copenh' for less than $300

did bnb's for two weeks ......

ya don't wanna know how LITTLE this cost .....
 
We did the fiords excusion at a surprise stop in Stavanger in May 2015 when our TA had to bypass Newfoundland and Iceland. We had a great time and the scenary was beautiful.
 
I originally booked the Norway w/Iceland for 2018 and then switched to doing the British Isles and WBTA as I would prefer to see more of the Fjords in Norway so we'll wait and see if a better itinerary comes out later. Since the trip will be after a retire we're also doing a stopover for several days in Iceland so it's great to hear how much some of you enjoyed your time there.
 
I went on the 2015 7 night Norweigian Fjord Disney Cruise. I loved the Stavanger port! Like the other poster above, we did the Lyseford excursion and it was pretty cool! Stavanger is a really cool port in itself! When we got back from the excursion, we went to play on a playground made of old oil tanker parts (so cool!) and then roamed the hilly streets and shopped. Beautiful town!
I also went to Alesund, which had a very expensive Frozen based adventure that looked adorable but was too much for us. However, instead, we went to a really awesome lighthouse and climbed to the top for amazing views. They served the best cake I have ever had there, along with pancakes and hot chocolate and tea. Then we went to a beautiful church with gorgeous wooden carvings. After the excursion, I went shopping by myself in Alesund and had a wonderful day! I loved all the ports on the cruise (which also included Geiranger and Bergen). Norway reminded me a lot of Alaska - so clean and beautiful and pure! I actually would have loved to go to Oslo, Kristiansand and Iceland, so those itineraries sound exciting to me! Do you have a sea day cruising through the fjords? I think you will love the trip no matter what!
 
I was on the 7-night this year - if it makes you feel better we were not able to dock in Geiranger due to winds. We did sail up the fjords and it was gorgeous at least! :)

We l-o-v-e-d Alesund so the second itinerary would have my vote! We rented a car and drove to the Trollstigen - absolutely beautiful scenery through the fjords. We were very close to Geiranger but we thought we'd be docking there the next day so we went no further... cest la vie!

Stavanger we took a cruise up the lysefjord to boot. Also very pretty! I think we had a good number of fjords from those two stops!

To be honest though, now that I have done it I would have preferred in retrospect to rent a car. It was so easy to get around and we loved the freedom that day in Alesund! The sun set SO LATE that getting back on the ship and "wasting" hours on a Disney cruise - which you can do much closer to home - gave me my own set of regrets.
 

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