Earlier this year, I shared why I’m eager to take a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords soon. Norway is imposing cruise restrictions on UNESCO heritage fjords starting in 2026, and it will be more difficult to see the fjords by cruise ship. I booked a cruise on MSC with an itinerary I loved at a great price. I even status matched to the highest MSC status level from my Disney Cruise Line status.
But yesterday, my travel agent received an email from MSC with an itinerary change for my cruise. And not a small change, a major change! The cruise I booked is no longer visiting any of the fjords!
Cruise Itinerary Changes
A little-known fact about cruises is that the cruise line can change ports with no notice. It’s in the cruise contract you sign. Normally, this only happens when there is bad weather or political unrest at a port. But sometimes, the itinerary gets shaken up beyond recognition months in advance. So, if you pick a cruise for a specific port, there is a risk you might not make it to that port.
Originally, my cruise was going to visit Flam (fjord), Olden (fjord), Stavenger/Lysefjord (fjord) and Haugesund. That itinerary includes 3 fjords.
The new itinerary is visiting Skagen (Denmark), Copenhagen, Oslo, and Zeebrugee (Belgium). I’m sure those cities/ports are great, but none are Norwegian fjords.
Weighing my Options
Since I don’t like the new itinerary and I plan to cancel, my options are:
- Book another cruise that visits the fjords
- Travel to Norway via land and visit on my own
The first option sounds easy, but it’s not. There aren’t a ton of options for cruises that visit 3 fjords. And, the ones that I’ve found are much more expensive than the cruise I had originally booked.
Scrapping the cruise idea for a land-based trip is tempting. I could stay in Bergen on points (there is a 15k/night Hyatt-affiliated hotel in town) and easily take the train to Flam. But from Bergen, Olden is a 6-hour bus ride one direction. And Stavenger/Lysefjord is a 6-hour bus ride the opposite direction. It’s definitely doable, but a land-based trip involves a lot of schlepping.
One advantage to traveling via land is that I no longer have the time constraint to fit in travel by summer 2025. In fact, if I waited another year or two, the small towns around the fjords will likely be less crowded due to fewer cruise passengers.
What would you do in this situation? Pony up for a higher-priced cruise, or visit Norway on your own?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Check out https://www.havilavoyages.com/
Any idea why the change? It might be something that would cause other ships to change itinerary as well.
@Christian The letter from MSC states “port congestion”. I noticed that Holland America also has a lot fewer cruises to the fjords in 2024 compared to 2023.
Another option is to go to Chilean Patagonia, in Torres del Paine NP area – a lot of gorgeous lakes with some small boat cruising opportunities there (like Lake Grey and fjord to Balmaceda). The park has day cruises to fjords, glaciers and wildlife. And it’s very remote – not much tourists around. You can set base at Puerto Natales and explore around. Beautiful scenery!!!
Close by is Bernardo O’Higgins National Park:
@Aleks Another area to add to my list!
I’m worried now that my MSC Norway cruise itinerary in June 2024 may be changing as well. Do you mind sharing what the ship and departure port you were booked on?
@Chad MSC Virtuosa June 15 2024
I’m going on a Norway Fjords cruise this August via Holland. I prefer seeing the fjords through a cruise ship than having to trek around Norway. I think a fjords cruise is one of those you just “bite the bullet.”
@Liz I know you will have a great time!
I have a wonderful experience cruising Norway with Holland America. I would recommend a cruise as the travel logistics are much easier. Food cost in Norway will be very high. I appreciated the “free food” on the cruise ship after I bought lunch in Bergen fish market.
@CJH Food costs are definitely a consideration!
I’d suggest looking into the “Norway in a Nutshell” itinerary (google it), it combines rail, boat and bus and could be an option. We did this based out of Bergen, and really enjoyed it.
I should clarify this a bit – there are organized “Norway in a Nutshell” tours from travel agencies, you don’t necessarily need to book those. Instead you can look at some of those itineraries and book the individual tickets with the rail/bus/boat companies and save some money that way. This will also give you flexibility to stay in one area if you’d like.
@Bothofus2 Thank you, I’m definitely considering going this route.