Queen Victoria - Norwegian Fjords Explorer

Where this cruise calls, day by day

6 ports and 3 sea days over 8 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Southampton

   United KingdomDepart
   Southampton port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   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

4. Day 4

   Geiranger

   NorwayPort

   The most photographed fjord in Norway and, on a busy August day, one of the most crowded. The ship spends the last hour of the approach threading a 15 km arm barely 250 m wide in places, past the Seven Sisters falls and the abandoned cliff farms. The village at the end has a few hundred residents and a road that switchbacks up to a viewpoint at 1,500 m.

   • Dalsnibba viewpoint and the Geiranger Skywalk at 1,500 m
   • Flydalsjuvet, the rock ledge with the classic fjord photograph
   • The Ørnesvingen (Eagle Bend) hairpins on the road toward Eidsdal
   • The Norwegian Fjord Centre in the village

   Getting ashore

   Geiranger is a tender port - ships anchor in the fjord and tender to the village pier, a few minutes' ride, and the tender queue on multi-ship days can eat an hour.

   Best months

   Jun-Aug (road to Dalsnibba usually opens late May)

5. Day 5

   Flåm

   NorwayPort

   A hamlet at the head of Aurlandsfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord, that exists almost entirely for the railway. The Flåm Line climbs 863 m in 20 km on adhesion alone, past the Kjosfossen waterfall where the train stops for photographs. Outside the station there is a brewery, a couple of shops and a great deal of scenery.

   • The Flåm Railway to Myrdal, about an hour each way
   • Stegastein viewpoint, a wooden platform 650 m above the fjord
   • A RIB or ferry into Nærøyfjord, the narrowest navigable fjord arm in Europe
   • Ægir BrewPub, built to look like a stave church

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at the Flåm quay, a couple of minutes' walk from the railway station and the village.

   Best months

   May-Sep

6. Day 6

   Stavanger

   NorwayPort
   Stavanger port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

7. Day 7 · At sea

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Southampton

   United KingdomArrive
   Southampton port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore