Norwegian Fjords Disney Cruise Line Report — Day 4
Day 4 of our Disney Cruise Line voyage through the Norwegian fjords had us stopping in Ã…lesund. We’ll do this the same way as our Day 3 report about Stavanger, with generalized Norway cruise planning info for Ã…lesund first, followed by anecdotes about our Port Adventure and experience.
Prior to the trip, Ã…lesund was the port that excited me the most. It also is the port that gave me the most stress while planning, as there were a few things I wanted to do. For the sake of others planning, I’ll go over some of the leading contenders here, including things we did not end up doing.
Actually, the main thing we wanted to do in Ã…lesund was simply explore the city. This city has a fascinating history…thanks to the entire town burning down in January 1904. The stated cause is supposedly a cow kicking over a torch–between this cow and Mrs. O’Leary’s, cows are quite the pyromaniacs.
Following the fire, German Kaiser Wilhelm II sent emergency assistance, and dozens of out-of-work architects descended upon the city. Art Nouveau was the international flavor of the time, and the vast majority of the city was rebuilt in a Norwegian flavor of Art Nouveau. Ã…lesund now stands as something of a case study in the style, with it dominating much of the city-center.
Aside from just wandering around taking in this unique city (and also visiting the Art Nouveau Centre (Jugendstilsenteret) to learn more about it), we had a few goals for this port. First, Sunnmøre Museum. This is an open air museum with 55 old houses allowing visitors to step back in time as it showcases bygone culture and building styles. Oh, and it also has viking ships.
My desire to visit Sunnmøre Museum was motivated mostly by the potential photo ops, but it sounded like the substance would be worthwhile, too. One thing to note is that Sunnmøre Museum is where Disney Cruise Line’s pricey Frozen meet & greet excursion takes place, causing the entire place to close to guests who are not participating in that.
Second, Aksla Viewpoint. Also going by the name Fjellstua Viewpoint, this is the #1 thing to do in Ã…lesund per TripAdvisor reviews. It’s easy to see why, as the photos I had seen from this location were stunning…and it’s free!
To accomplish the first and second items, we debated purchasing a City SightSeeing Hop-on Hop-off bus ticket. This company operates in most (all?) of the port cities, and we never ended up using them. We were dissuaded by some tepid reviews complaining of too few buses, but ultimately we learned that these are all very walkable cities. I’m glad we didn’t buy tickets for this bus, but your mileage may vary on that.
Third, the Majestic Island of Glorious Puffins. Officially known as Runde Island, I had read about the experience of taking a RIB Wildlife Sea Safari out to see these little birds. Doing a RIB (rugged inflatable boat) tour was on our list of things to do in Norway, but this ultimately did not make the cut for Ã…lesund due to a combination of cost (over $100), time, and alternatives.
Finally, the Path of Trolls or Trollstigen. This is basically a winding mountain drive with numerous hairpin turns that takes visitors through the Trolltindene mountain range and through Reinheimen National Park.
A ‘mountain drive’ might not sound particularly appealing, but there’s a good chance you’ve unknowingly seen photos of this–it’s breathtaking.
I had seen such photos, and as soon as I realized what Path of Trolls was, it became my #1 choice for Ã…lesund. Unfortunately, it’s not actually in Ã…lesund, and doing it would basically consume our entire day. That was not the only problem, either.
One of the downsides to booking last minute is that everyone else booking excursions can beat you to the punch. On our Caribbean cruises, this has never been an issue, primarily because I don’t really care about the Caribbean. Here, it was an issue.
First, I tried to rent a car in Ã…lesund so we could do the Path of Trolls ourselves. Not only would it be cheaper, but we could do it more efficiently and not have to wait for a group. Unfortunately, the Avis rental car agency in Ã…lesund was sold out by the time we booked the cruise. (To my knowledge, every other rental car place in Ã…lesund was actually at the airport, and not accessible from the port.)
Then, I looked to third party tour operators. Nothing. Finally, we considered a Disney Cruise Line Port Adventure. There were two options for this, one without lunch and one with lunch. The cheaper without lunch version was fully booked by the time we booked the cruise.
Even though this was the thing I wanted to do most in Ã…lesund, we went back and forth on booking this expensive ($165 each) excursion for weeks, until finally booking it 3 days before the cruise. Even though we were trying to do this cruise on a tight budget, we figured we’d really regret not experiencing this.
We’re both incredibly glad that we did the Path of Trolls. The tour was pretty efficient and our guide was knowledgeable and had a subtly wry sense of humor that was engaging. While I was concerned that the tour would be bogged down by a late start (potentially?) and an overly long lunch, it was actually a fairly tight experience.
If you have the option, I’d recommend booking the Path of Trolls Port Adventure via Disney Cruise Line rather than renting a car and driving yourself, unless you’re really comfortable behind the wheel and/or have a family and want to avoid paying ~$165 x4.
I’d avoid the version with lunch, but if you have no option, having lunch provided is not the end of the world. The buffet was surprisingly good, and–so long as you like salmon–you get decent value by Norwegian standards. We’ll cover the why behind both of these recommendations in our anecdotal report of the experience that follows…
After a quick meeting in the Buena Vista Theater, we were led out to the buses (before any other guests had gotten off the ship, I believe) and the bus left promptly.
This made me quite happy, as I had read a couple of reports about this Port Adventure getting off to a slow start. I was hopeful with our quick start that we’d have an hour or two to explore Alesund at the end of the day.
The drive began with a stop at Stordal Church, which gave us time to explore on our own for 15-minutes. This church was beautiful, with a tapestry of fresco paintings covering the interior. It may be an odd way to describe it, but this art felt almost like a tattoo sleeve.
Here are some photos from Stordal Church:
Our bus was the first to arrive at this small church (there were several buses), and we immediately raced off the bus to be the first inside the church once we stopped.
The downside of traveling in a large tour group is that you’re part of the kind of tour group that drives other travelers mad and overcrowds sites. 😉
At every stop along the Path of Trolls, we were the first off the bus and among the last back on it. Almost everyone was back aboard the bus well before the stated “end” time. I couldn’t quite understand this.
Getting off of the bus and racing into the church gave us a few minutes of it empty without others inside, and I was able to snap a few photos before it became chaotic. Quite clearly, this intimate space was not built to accommodate a few packed buses.
We always got back on with 1-2 minutes to spare, wanting to enjoy every last moment of the Norwegian mountains. I wouldn’t be surprised if us habitually being the last people back on the bus irritated others on our tour, but I didn’t do the Port “Adventure” to spend all day engaged in the perilous activity of gazing at Norway’s nature pass through a bus window. In any case, we never held up the bus.
The next stop was somewhere in Valldal valley along the waterfront, which was basically a stop for some photos, and a chance to get refreshments at a nearby cafe.
We noticed a grocery store across the street, so we went there to get snacks instead of the cafe. (No, that’s not a knock-off Surge…it is Surge, but without the S. I wonder if “surge” means something obscene in Norwegian.)
Following that, we headed to Gudbrandsjuvet. This is a narrow gorge through which the Valldøla River runs. Over this area, a beautiful boardwalk and observation platforms have been built.
The chaotic flow of the water here has created some really beautiful formations in the rocks, and the way the boardwalk is built above the river and waterfalls immerses you in the experience and is really great.
We would’ve never even known this place existed if we did this “tour” on our own with a rental car, and it ended up being one of my favorite stops along the way. The stops we had made up until this point made me really pleased that we did the Path of Trolls Port Adventure. Already, I was satisfied with the experience.
Gudbrandsjuvet is almost something of a base for the drive up to the Path of Trolls. Almost as soon as we had left this lovely little area, we began our ascent, entering Reinheimen National Park.
All of what we experienced up until this point was merely an opening act. Things had gotten progressively better as we passed through Reinheimen National Park, with some beautiful peaks that rivaled some of the best in the United States. However, I don’t think we were prepared for the jaw-dropping grandeur of the view from the top, nor did we comprehend what the Trollstigen had in store for us. On Page 2, we’ll cover driving through the Path of Trolls and returning to Ã…lesund…
I’m really enjoying your report, it’s bringing back so many memories! This was our first cruise, we were on the inaugural sailing to Norway and it was a really amazing experience. The Path of the Trolls was one of my top choices, but at the end we didn’t do it because I thought it would be too long for my then 5 year old daughter. We did the Sunmore Museum instead, it was really beautiful (we didn’t do the Frozen one). I hope we can go back in the future, definitely a cruise to do again!
Oh, and next year we’re doing the Alaska cruise… end of August when prices go down. We’re flying from Europe so flights almost double the cost, but it really sounds like an unmissable cruise… Need to go while it’s still all there!!
I also vote for Alaska! We went on an Alaskan cruise a few years ago with our then 2.5yr old daughter and 4.5yr old son. It was not a Disney cruise but we were sooo glad we did it. Everyone, esp our son, loved every minute. He is obsessed with whales and old steam trains and Alaska has both. Definitely try to get a balcony room. A lot of Alaska is seeing the beautiful nature and there nothing quite like waking up in the morning and seeing glaciers up close in your pajamas. I forget which side of the boat we were on but depending on itinerary, one side will show all the ports and gorgeous coastline and the other will show lots of vast ocean (aim for the coastal views). I got a weekly spa pass cause the spa on that particular boat was in the front of the ship with floor to ceiling huge windows, a true 180 degree view of the ocean. Lounging in a heated lounger while sailing into the Pacific Ocean and seeing whales in the distance was breathtaking. We did not do an Alaskan land portion (sailed in and out of Seattle) but perhaps next time!!
“I got a weekly spa pass cause the spa on that particular boat was in the front of the ship with floor to ceiling huge windows, a true 180 degree view of the ocean. Lounging in a heated lounger while sailing into the Pacific Ocean and seeing whales in the distance was breathtaking.”
That sounds awesome!
As someone who took a few last hurrah trips I say go for it! Cruising as a party of three hurts the pocketbook after cruising as 2. You pay cruise fare, then have to pay for nursery time. Ouch.
But parkour training is super expensive at the start, so if you’ll miss that money next year, Alaska will always be there.
Or, third option, find a deal for another cruise line. Several family members have done that and loved the Alaska cruise. (They hadn’t/haven’t sailed DCL)
We won’t miss the money (well, I always miss money we’ve spent), it’s more about the idea of spending so much money on a cruise when we’ve spent so little in the past. I guess maybe we should be thankful that we’ve underpaid in the past, and just make the plunge here.
As someone who has lived in Alaska for the last five years, I’d say skip the cruise and come up on your own. There are lots of good deals in the spring from local tour companies that can be used all summer. You can rent an RV and see a lot of the state in a fairly efficient manner. (And don’t be afraid to travel with kids, it’s really not that bad, especially when they’re under 2.)
That’s a “someday” trip for us, separate for this. There are several remote places I want to go in Alaska (including Katmai NP), so that trip is probably a month-long endeavor that’ll be really costly. Definitely not a right now thing for us.
Thanks for the feedback, though! 🙂
Couldn’t agree with this more. Five years ago my husband and I rented an RV and drove around Alaska. Our favorite vacation ever. My favorite was the 10 hour drive to Wrangell St. Elias NP. Where you have to park and then walk across a foot bridge because no cars are allowed in a town with no running water so we could hike a glacier. You could never see Alaska via cruise. At best, you’re seeing Canada because you’re just in the arm of Alaska. I’m sure the cruise is amazing, but nothing close to the beauty of seeing the real Alaska.
I’d say go for it on the Alaska cruise! I’ve never been (on any cruise, for that matter) but everything I’ve heard about the ones to Alaska on DCL has been great.
Also (because what is the internet for if not unsolicited advice) junior parkour training teams do not necessarily mean lack of travel, or even more expensive for the first couple of years–lap children can get free/reduced fares, some international carriers have reduced infant seating if you don’t want the lap option (and that bassinet seat can be amazing), and you often don’t have to pay extra for an infant in hotels/restaurants/etc. (though the state of one’s travel budget is another story). However, in my research at least, cruises are one of those things where you still have to pay a decent amount for the under 2 crowd, so the “free infant” thing doesn’t go as far, thereby strengthening the “go to Alaska now!” argument. Our padawan definitely changed our travel style, but we’ve actually had MORE travel adventures further afield with our addition than we had before. Just some food for thought.
Thanks for the thoughts on this! We’ve weighed the pros & cons of doing an Alaskan cruise now versus in a couple of years, and on balance, now definitely seems like the way to go–at least for us.
Yeah-we missed the window on kid-free cruising for a variety of reasons. With a young ‘un, we’re holding off on trying a cruise until such time that we can take advantage of the kid spaces, and the kiddo can actually participate in the experience more since we’d have to pay whether the child is 1 or 6. Thus we’ve chosen to do other travel stuff where we can leverage the lap child/free infant benefit while we can–went to Ireland last fall, going camping for a week this summer, heading to WDW for a week…all of which are things so many friends I have with kids under 2 don’t even consider doing or think we’re crazy for doing, but as long as we’re flexible (and since we don’t have special needs to consider), we’ve found traveling with an infant to be a really fun and engaging experience, so we try to encourage others to give it a go as well. Not to mention that infant passport photos are hilarious. In the mean time, I’ll have to live vicariously through your cruise trip reports until we can make it on our own!
Land and sea trips are a great way to do both! We did that in 2015 as our last hurrah before having a non-furry child. We did go through a non-Disney company. I found the land and sea trip to have an all encompassing experience of Alaska. From the sea portion we experienced the glaciers of Glacier Bay, Juneau (which has no roads to it) and all the beauty and wildlife of the inside passage. While the land portion took us to anchorage and Denali national park. I will not ever go back to alaska and skip denal. It is one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We saw the most incredible animals and the guide had a reverence for the park and the lives of everything in it that made the experience exceed everything we thought it could be. At night we sat at the hotel in the hot tub and watched across the river as a moose and her calves meandered by. It is something that you should take the plunge and experience!!!
Oop
Denali not denal…
I agree that a land and sea option is the way to go with Alaska. My family did a cruise after my college graduation in 2012 with Princess on the interior passage from Vancouver to Wittier (port of Anchorage) where we got on a glass domed train to Denali after and then back to Anchorage. From what I’ve heard the DCL Alaskan cruises are round trip out of Vancouver so you couldn’t even do your own land portion in Alaska after without significant travel. The Alaskan cruise is the only cruise I have ever been on and I’ve never been on a Disney cruise but I would really suggest looking outside of DCL for an Alaska land and sea package.
Denali National Park is a must-do for me at some point, but (as I’ve said in other comments) that time is not now. Whenever we do the “land” portion of an Alaska trip, we are knocking out ALL of its National Parks at once, which will be costly and time-consuming.
Is there any chance you can do anything about the way you embed the pictures on the blog? The photography is a key reason I started coming to the blog (I stayed for the information and wit!). On my 24″ monitor, the photos in the trip report are ~6″ diagonal. And if I click on a picture… it opens up in some kind of pinterest thing that is also ~6″ diagonal.
I know you put a lot of time into your photography, it would be nice to be able to enjoy it!
Believe me, I don’t like this, either. I reduced the size of the photos because the site was getting too large for the server. I’m still trying to figure out a different solution…
DEFINITELY do the Alaskan cruise! My husband and I did one for our honeymoon, and cruising past the glaciers was absolutely spectacular. You also want to spring for a stateroom with a balcony for this cruise. Think of it as your Babymoon (I am assuming that this is what you mean by “the next phase”)! Congratulations! 🙂
And what might “the next phase of your life” define to? I can only think of one instance where I would use that phrase. (Perhaps I read more into it than I should have).
Even though I will probably never get the chance to actually visit Norway, I feel that I have at least had a modicum of the Norwegian experience by reading your multi-day posts. Thank you for that. Pictures are beautiful.
You should do the Alaska cruise! It is a wonderful way to see Alaska, plus you will want to go again 🙂 I saw an incredible amount of wildlife from the boat, including watching a mama and baby orca playing in the ship’s wake.
Go for it and head to Alaska! I went the last week in august in 2012 and I was the most incredible cruise I’ve been on. I’ve done westbound transatlantic on the magic 10 years ago, the first time they went to Europe (loved the sea days as a kid) and eastbound panama twice (the first time they went to LA in 2005 and again in 2008). I have countless other trips on DCL too but Alaska was simply unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. GO FOR IT!!!
I just got back from a cruise to Alaska (although not on DCL unfortunately) and would highly recommend it. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, wildlife, and excellent stops in towns that aren’t accessible by road. I would say a trip to inland Alaskan cities like Fairbanks, etc would be cool as well, but a cruise on the Inside Passage (Juneau, Ketchikan, etc) is a must for anyone interested in travel. It sounds like your Norway experience was very similar to Alaska with very walkable cities, lots of interesting hiking, and rides along mountainsides (we did trains instead of buses). I don’t think you would be disappointed!
Long time reader, first time poster.
While I have not cruised to Alaska with Disney, I have done an Alaskan cruise. The ports and experiences were far superior to me than those in the Caribbean. From dog sledding on a glacier to zip lining through a rainforest, I made a lot of unique memories in Alaska.
Similarly, the scenery while sailing was breathtaking. Alaska is a unique and spectacular cruise destination, but do be warned that everyone I know who has sailed to Alaska once either has sailed to or plans to sail to Alaska again.
If the price tag is more of a gut, “I’m frugal and this is likely irresponsible” feeling, and it would not pose a significant financial hardship, I would say cruising Alaska is absolutely worth it. Even if you decide not to do it now, junior parkour champions who are the third member of a room do sail for a *little* less than adult parkour novices, which is something to keep in mind.
Thanks for sharing the trip report. I hadn’t considered a Norwegian cruise before you wrote this post, but it is now something we are heavily considering adding on to a potential Europe trip in a couple of years.
Did you price the first 7-night Alaskan cruise for 2018 (May 21)?
Seems that the earliest and last Alaskan cruises of next year were the cheapest.
I’ll be experiencing the first 7-night Alaskan cruise next year!
Congratulations in “entering the ( infamous ) next phase” wishing you all the best and looking forward to part 4!
I love reading your trip report! I did a Norwegian Fjords cruise and it was my favorite cruise by far. After that, I would say my favorite was a Baltic cruise. Both were on Holland America – now I want to repeat these itineraries on DCL. 🙂
Something to think about for Alaska, my father-in-law has RV’ed Alaska several times and stayed up there several months. In his opinion a cruise is a necessary adjunct to driving as there things that can’t been seen on a land tour and things that can’t been seen from a cruise. Parkour training is time consuming and can take up much of your travel budget so I say cruise to Alaska while the cruising is good!
We did an Alaskan cruise with a non-Disney ship in 2009, before we had any experience with Disney Cruises. The glacier views, exploring the ports, and the wildlife viewing were all amazing. The ship was just ok. I don’t recall there being much in the way of entertainment. The glaciers were the main attraction but after seeing them all day there was nothing much else to do. And there was definitely nothing for our then 1 year old on board. After having experienced several Disney cruises in the Caribbean and the West Coast, we definitely want to go on a Disney ship to Alaska. After Norway next year, Alaska will be next. Unless Disney brings back a Hawaiian cruise. Then all bets are off.
We have done Alaska with DCL twice. Once in may and the other in august. So far it’s been my favorite place to cruise. Yes it’s expensive but as there are no roads cruising is the best way to get up there apart from flying in those tiny planes. We had ample time to do multiple attractions in each stop and the history was fascinating. I would definitely bite the bullet and go next year. Even if you only stop at Tracey’s crab shack in Juneau.
I second the Tracey’s Crab Shack recommendation!
Thirding!
I (somehow) read that as Joe’s Crab Shack the first time through, and was very perplexed at the recommendation. Upon Googling this name, I now understand why this tip has been made a few times now! 😉
Congratulations in advance for “entering the next phase of your lives”!
Thank you. This new phase, in which we begin rigorous training to enter the competitive parkour circuit, should be our best adventure yet!
Have you seen Geoff Britten, the first American Ninja Warrior? You do look a fair bit like him and parkour is a good gateway no Ninja Warrior… 🙂
I had to look up parkour. I thought you mis-spelled “park tour”!