Looking for help/recommendations for 3-4 week trip fall 2024

Just a crazy idea: Did you ever think of a little Scandinavia trip?

You can fly into Copenhagen and explore the Danish culture and museums. After a few days you could fly on to Bergen in Norway and make a Hurtigruten cruise along the magical Norwegian coast up to Kirkenes including interesting excursions. Flight back to Oslo which also provides great museum experiences. Trollfjord is a special experience: at good weather conditions the ships drive into that very narrow fjord and turn on plate after a few hundred meters. There is also no dress code on board.

It is not a typical cruise because you are guest on a luxury transport ship which serves the sea route Bergen - Kirkenes (30 ports) the whole year with ships that are smaller than cruise ships; therefore you will also be less in a bubble than with over thousands of other large cruise ship tourists exploring the same place as you do.

From September on you can be lucky and see Northern Lights. During months end of May, June and July you will experience midnight sun - the sun will not disappear behind the horizon during night.

Optional you can also use the night ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo and head on after this by a very nice train connection to Bergen with stop-over in Myrdal or Flåm (search for Norway in a Nutshell). Taking the last mile down to Flåm the train will stop for a few minutes at a huge waterfall. In Flåm a fjord cruise through world famous Nærøyfjord is an absolute highlight.

Not cheap but a memory you will surely never forget. I did a round-trip through Norway in May / June with my 81 year old mother and she ist still full of wonderful memories.

I second the suggestion of Scandinavia. Is your sister wheelchair dependent? If not, consider a river cruise. We have enjoyed several and add days before and after in the start and end points.

Has anyone taken a transatlantic voyage one way?

Hi, VT girl. it is certainly possible to take a transatlantic voyage one way. Some good friends of mine took one on the Queen Mary 2 last year and loved it. It leaves from New York and docks in Southampton in the UK. They used it to get to France for 3+ weeks. At the end of their stay, they flew back from Paris to the states but you could certainly take the ship back. The Man in Seat 61 explains it a bit in this article, which is worth a read, but it sounds like it might be what you are looking for. It is definitely a crossing and not a cruise.

https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cruise-ships/queen-mary-2/

The only ships going eastbound that time of year are the Cunards; probably QM2 (which of course do the reverse trips to NYC) However they have an enforced dress code in the evenings, which the OP said they don't want. There will be a few repositioning cruises on the mass market lines leaving from the Med and going back to the US for the winter. Most of those would have a much more relaxed dress code. I found a selection of repositioning cruises on Cruise Critic: https://www.cruisecritic.com/smart-deals/destination-105/startdate-2024-09/?suppressTabs=1

OP mentioned London, Paris, and Venice as places she was considering. That could easily fill 2 weeks. Add in a few days outside London in the south of England, and a few days outside Paris (perhaps in Normandy or the Loire) and you are up to 3 weeks. Then fly or train to their embarkation port for the cruise back to the US.

Thanks for the responses. My sister is not wheelchair dependent but has orthopedic issues and neuroma which make it diffiucult for her to walk great distances.

I hadn't thought of Scandanavia esp for a fall trip but will start reading up of the countries and hit the Scandanavia links here. I understand the scenery is fantastic.

I had thought of a river cruise in France. I definitely have some work/research to do. So many choices :).