Norwegian Fjords 2024

 

Ship: Celebrity Silhouette

 

In June of 2024 I ventured out for a massive 8 country European trip that started in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

 

The first night, started by staying at an Airport hotel (NintyNine Hotel) near the airport. This was a great place to stay.  The next morning, I took an UBER to Rotterdam, that was about $80USD.  I dropped my bags off at the ship and just walked around the area.  A few sights to see, coffee to be had and then onto the Silhouette around 1pm.

 

The cruise sails down the river for a while and passes by the beautiful Hoek Van Holland park and beach.  Don't miss the views!

 

The first day of the cruise is sailing in the North Sea towards the Fjords, so, its a good chance to rest and take in some of the scenic views. Enjoy the ship, eat well.

 

Molde, Norway. Our first stop. I did a coastal hike with the cruise line. They drove us out to Farstad to explore the coastline and the burial mounds at Nordnest.  An easy hike, beautiful scenery and some morning movement.  Once we returned, I walked around the small town and explored some of the shops and pubs.  Molde is a nice city to shop, eat and walk around.

 

Olden, Norway - Olden has to be one of my favorite places I have ever been.  Deep in the Fjords, the scenes are Majestic!  First, I did an excursion/hike to a glacier.  This was a walk in the park but a great sight to behold.  Once at the park, the hike to the glacial pool is easy because you take a trollcar up to the top!!  The trip in the trollcar is short and its fun.  Its hard to describe the majestic beauty of this area. You will see waterfalls, glaciers, beautiful blue waters and amazing mountains.  This port and this experience is what my minds eye says "this is Norway." See my instagram or flickr to see more pictures of this area.

 

After I got back to town, I went up the cable car to view the fjords from high above.  A beautiful clear day and you get to see both fjords converge for a wonderful sight.  Stop in at the pub afterward for a local beer, an elk burger and take a look at the tables!  The owner of the pub carved them by hand.

 

Alesund, Norway - Home of the famous Trollstigen! This is the famous switchback road you see in travel magazines and on internet pictures and videos from Norway.  I took a VIATOR excursion that took us about 90 minutes from the port to see the famous road.  There is a guest area, gift shop, food and a viewing area.  Such a beautiful walk and view from high up the mountain.  You'll probably see a few goats as well! Dont forget to look up, the mountain tops are majestic to behold.

 

Stavenger - I really wish the cruise line would have given us about 3-5 more hours in port.  I felt like they could have.  I went out to the Geysers, which was about an hour ride.  It was OK.  I would try and do something else if I had a second chance at it.

 

My favorite things to do on this itinerary were; 

1. Hike to Pulpit rock - Tough, but rewarding.  Please dont attempt if you have foot, leg or back issues!  The views were stunning.

 

2. Olden.  Really great views, sights, the cable car and Olden pub (Molla Guesthouse) really cool across the board.  My favorite port on this itinerary.

 

3. the Trollcars -  Briksdall glaciers and the trollcars were really fun and a sight to see.

 

I loved this cruise.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Id love to do it with a smaller ship, but the Celebrity experience was great.  I did see a Ponant vessel in Olden, that must have been a great cruise as well.  I only saw them once along our cruise.  Probably had a longer itinerary and could get even deeper into the fjords because of it being a much smaller vessel.  I highly recommend a Norwegian Fjords cruise!

 

To see pictures: Norway Pictures

 

 

For those not familiar, Virgin Voyages is a fairly new cruise line with a different approach to cruising and its ship builds.  Focused on a romantic feel, with smaller venues on board the ship, its certainly is a new take on cruising.

 

The Scarlet Lady launched in 2019 to much fanfare.  A new cruise line with a new concept, giving even more options to a growing industry.

 

The ship itself stands out with its red color inside and out.  You know, just by its look and colors this ship is special.  Inside the ship, the venues are noticeably smaller than cruise ships of past.  Mainly the dining areas, you will find yourself in a more intimate venue each night enjoying a different menu.  I loved the food and the selection for all meals, especially at dinner.  The one drawback is you are sitting in very close quarters to other passengers, which does give it somewhat of a crowded feel.

 

The sports bar and arcade is a neat venue with wings and popcorn pretty much all day, however, they only have two tvs.  It becomes an issue when there is a popular game everyone wants to watch.  There is nowhere to sit, or even stand!  A massive drawback for sports fans.

 

Sadly, I felt this way about most events on board, karaoke was fun, but crowded, the casino was crowded and of course the pool deck was crowded (this goes for every contemporary cruise line.). Whenever there was a cruise line event going on, the hosting venue was stressed with passengers.  As nice as the ship is, that seems to be a common observation by many cruisers.

 

The balcony staterooms have the same issue as the bathrooms and shower are tiny.  The living space is alright, typical in the industry with a new twist on lighting and layout.  Id certainly be comfortable booking a balcony again.

 

The 5 night cruise went to Puerto Plata Dominican Republic and Bimini island, which has a beach club exclusive to VV guests.  It has a great beach and pool area.  A nice itinerary with a lot to do.

 

In closing, VV has great service and food, a cool, hip and romantic atmosphere and interesting events and entertainment on board.  Very unique and exclusive to VV.

 

The drawbacks are smaller venues and new twists on dining that some people don't care for. (switching dining rooms every night).

 

I do recommend sailing on Virgin Voyages and I look forward to exploring their newer ships and longer itineraries.  Let me know how I can help!

 

In January, I sailed a 7 night cruise on the Celebrity APEX.

 

Full Pictures here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/raffles/albums/72177720320151217/

 

This review will be a quick overview of what cruiselife is like on board.  I will also briefly discuss the ports we visited; San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Puerto Plata, and some activities you may want to try in each port.

 

The Celebrity APEX is part of the EDGE class series Celebrity started in 2018.  The APEX started sailing in 2019.

 

APEX still feels brand new, is well maintained and is easy to navigate.

 

One of the big differences for the Apex are the infinite balcony cabins.  These cabins do make your room larger, however, the trade off is you do not have the traditional balcony experience.  You can see an example of an infinite balcony here: INFINITE BALCONY

 

This cruise I had to stay in an ocean view.  It was a nice room, really convenient to get around the ship. You can view that here: MIDSHIP WINDOW

 

Some of my favorite venues on the ship are Raw on five and the Martini bar.  The Martini bar has a wide open feel and is great for socializing.

 

Generally speaking the APEX has a lot of nice spaces to relax, such as the magic carpet and the rooftop terrace, however, some spaces leave you wondering why more space was not allocated.  Craft Social is way too small, as is the casino and the sunset bar is so crowded, it's hard to enjoy.  I often found myself wondering why so many of the most popular places are too small.

 

The food and dining areas are excellent, lots of selection at the buffet and plenty of places to sit. The smaller dining venues add to the dinner experience, which was nice.

 

We visited four ports on this cruise, which was nice.

 

San Juan - I did a city bike ride with Shore excursions group.  The guides were amazing, the tour was fun and informative, the bikes were kind old but they worked.  I would do this tour again if it was a different route so I could see more.

 

St, Maarten - I did a bike ride here as well.  It went around the city and some of the popular viewing spots.  After that, I went to BIG BASTARDS and rented a chair.  Its right on the beach and I would love to go back.  I also saw about 15 turtles while I was swimming right off the beach.

 

St. Thomas - We docked at Crown bay, which is kinda away from where I liked to be, so I stayed on board.  There are tons of things to do in St. Thomas.  From beaching to snorkeling, there is something for everyone in ST. Thomas.

 

Puerto Plata DR - I rented a private van here and went up the coast about 30 minutes to Cabarete, where I used to live.  I just walked around and enjoyed my surroundings.  DR is another place that has a lot of different things to do and try, a very active port.  Lots of people go hiking and waterfall diving.

 

See all of my cruise info and reviews here https://cruisetalk.locals.com/

 

Check out sailings on the APEX here: SAIL THE APEX