Queen Mary 2 - Norwegian Fjords from Southampton

Where this cruise calls, day by day

8 ports and 4 sea days over 11 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Southampton

   United KingdomDepart

   Britain's main cruise homeport, on Southampton Water at the head of the Solent. Almost nobody calls here as a port day - you join or leave your ship at one of five terminals (Mayflower, Ocean, QEII, City and Horizon), which are spread across the working docks and reached by taxi or coach rather than on foot. The city itself was heavily bombed in 1940, so the old core is patchy: surviving medieval walls, the Bargate, and a good maritime museum.

   • SeaCity Museum and its Titanic exhibition - the ship sailed from Berth 44 here
   • Walking the medieval town walls and the Bargate
   • Day trip to Winchester Cathedral, about 20 minutes by train
   • The New Forest for wild ponies, roughly 30 minutes by road

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth alongside; terminals are 2-4 km from the city centre and from Southampton Central station, so use a taxi or the cruise line coach, and allow about 80 minutes by train to London Waterloo.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct (peak turnaround Jun-Aug)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Hamburg

   GermanyPort

   A working sea port, Germany's largest, and cruise ships use three different terminals - HafenCity, Altona and Steinwerder - so it is worth knowing which one before you plan a day. The city has turned its old bonded warehouse district into its main attraction, and the harbour still runs container traffic past the concert hall at all hours.

   • The Elbphilharmonie and its free public plaza on top of the old warehouse base
   • Speicherstadt's brick canals and Miniatur Wunderland's model railway
   • The Sunday morning Fischmarkt, which opens at dawn
   • A harbour barge tour through the container terminals, or the Reeperbahn after dark

   Getting ashore

   HafenCity berths are walkable to Speicherstadt; Altona and Steinwerder need a shuttle, ferry or taxi, so confirm the terminal in advance.

   Best months

   May-Sep; late Nov-Dec for the harbour-side Christmas markets

4. Day 4 · At sea

5. Day 5

   Bergen

   NorwayPort

   The usual start or finish of a Norwegian fjord itinerary, wedged between seven mountains and a deep harbour. Rain is the default - locals hand out umbrellas without comment. The draw is Bryggen, the row of leaning wooden Hanseatic trading houses on the north side of the Vågen inlet, and the funicular that climbs straight out of the old town to a mountain plateau.

   • Bryggen wharf and the alleys behind its facades
   • Fløibanen funicular up Mount Fløyen, 8 minutes from the centre
   • The fish market at the head of Vågen
   • Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg's lakeside villa and composing hut

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at Skolten, a 10-minute walk from Bryggen, or at Dokken/Jekteviken further south, which is 25-30 minutes on foot and usually shuttled.

   Best months

   May-Sep

6. Day 6

   Olden

   NorwayPort

   A village of a few hundred people at the head of Nordfjord, which on a cruise day hosts several thousand visitors. Nobody comes for Olden itself - the point is the glacier arms of Jostedalsbreen behind it and the cable car at neighbouring Loen. The valley road up to Briksdal runs past meltwater lakes the colour of antifreeze.

   • Briksdal Glacier - a 45-minute uphill walk from the car park, or a troll car ride
   • Loen Skylift, which climbs to 1,011 m on Mount Hoven in five minutes
   • Lake Lovatnet and the Kjenndal valley
   • Olden's old and new churches by the waterside

   Getting ashore

   Olden has one deep-water pier plus tender pontoons, so one ship berths alongside and any second ship tenders; the village is a short walk, and Loen is 6 km away by shuttle.

   Best months

   May-Sep

7. Day 7

   Ålesund

   NorwayPort

   A fishing town on a fish-hook of islands that burned to the ground in January 1904 and was rebuilt within three years almost entirely in Art Nouveau - turrets, spires and stone dragons, unusual in Norway. The harbour cuts right through the middle, so ships park among the buildings. Many passengers use it as a springboard for Geiranger by road.

   • The 418 steps up Mount Aksla to the Fjellstua viewpoint
   • Jugendstilsenteret, the Art Nouveau centre in a preserved pharmacy
   • Atlanterhavsparken aquarium on the seaward tip of the island
   • Sunnmøre Museum's collection of historic boats and turf houses

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside in the harbour at Storneskaia or Prestebrygga, right in the centre; the Skateflua berth is a 15-minute walk in.

   Best months

   May-Sep

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Hamburg

   GermanyPort

   A working sea port, Germany's largest, and cruise ships use three different terminals - HafenCity, Altona and Steinwerder - so it is worth knowing which one before you plan a day. The city has turned its old bonded warehouse district into its main attraction, and the harbour still runs container traffic past the concert hall at all hours.

   • The Elbphilharmonie and its free public plaza on top of the old warehouse base
   • Speicherstadt's brick canals and Miniatur Wunderland's model railway
   • The Sunday morning Fischmarkt, which opens at dawn
   • A harbour barge tour through the container terminals, or the Reeperbahn after dark

   Getting ashore

   HafenCity berths are walkable to Speicherstadt; Altona and Steinwerder need a shuttle, ferry or taxi, so confirm the terminal in advance.

   Best months

   May-Sep; late Nov-Dec for the harbour-side Christmas markets

10. Day 10 · At sea

11. Day 11

    Bruges (Zeebrugge)

    BelgiumPort

    Zeebrugge is a container and gas terminal with no town to speak of, and the port day is really about getting out of it. Bruges, 15 km inland, is the point: a medieval cloth-trading city that stagnated when its sea channel silted up, which is exactly why the canals, belfry and guild houses survived intact. Ghent is an alternative for people who have already done Bruges.

    • Climbing the 366 steps of the Bruges Belfry over the Markt
    • A canal boat through the Groenerei and Rozenhoedkaai
    • The Groeningemuseum's Flemish Primitives
    • Beer and chocolate stops - De Halve Maan brewery pipes its beer under the city

    Getting ashore

    Ships dock in the industrial port; Bruges is 25-30 minutes by cruise-line coach or port shuttle, or take the shuttle to Blankenberge station and a 15-minute train.

    Best months

    Apr-Oct

12. Day 12

    Southampton

    United KingdomArrive

    Britain's main cruise homeport, on Southampton Water at the head of the Solent. Almost nobody calls here as a port day - you join or leave your ship at one of five terminals (Mayflower, Ocean, QEII, City and Horizon), which are spread across the working docks and reached by taxi or coach rather than on foot. The city itself was heavily bombed in 1940, so the old core is patchy: surviving medieval walls, the Bargate, and a good maritime museum.

    • SeaCity Museum and its Titanic exhibition - the ship sailed from Berth 44 here
    • Walking the medieval town walls and the Bargate
    • Day trip to Winchester Cathedral, about 20 minutes by train
    • The New Forest for wild ponies, roughly 30 minutes by road

    Getting ashore

    Ships berth alongside; terminals are 2-4 km from the city centre and from Southampton Central station, so use a taxi or the cruise line coach, and allow about 80 minutes by train to London Waterloo.

    Best months

    Apr-Oct (peak turnaround Jun-Aug)