Cruise ship traffic: How big of a hassle? AND travel with tweens?

I can't imagine how horrible places like Flam and Geiranger would be with a huge cruise ship in port. We used cruisemapper to avoid large cruise ships when we were in Norway in 2022 and earlier this year.

When I visited Norway in June 2022 (admittedly, not everyone had resumed traveling then), I didn't find cruise crowds an issue in Flam, though there was a good-sized ship in port. Apparently the folks off the ship mostly took out-of town excursions.

There were a lot of folks walking around the harbor area in Bergen during my 3 days there. I have no idea how many cruise ships, if any, were in port. But I went to the KODE art museums and wandered around other areas of the city, mostly seeing only people who looked local.

I cannot comment on Geiranger because I took the Hurtigruten ship into and out of the fjord without disembarking there.

I observed no cruise crowds in Alesund and Trondheim, but I don't know that there were any cruise ships in those towns during my visits.

Norway is a great place to rent a car if you're comfortable doing so.

I observed no cruise crowds in Alesund and Trondheim, but I don't know that there were any cruise ships in those towns during my visits.

We met two elderly women from Southhampton halfway up the walking path to the Aksla viewpoint in Alesund in 2022. They were off a very large cruise ship.

Oh, those horrible people on cruise ships ruining everything for people who travel the “right way”.. Give me a break!

I’ve gone on two cruises to Norway which I really enjoyed. One was along the coast up to North Cape and the other focused on the Norwegian fjords. Yes, tourists of any type impact a small community and a few thousand people arriving “at once” does make a difference. Here are my observations. A large number of cruise passengers sign up for ship excursions. They end up getting on a bus and exploring further afield than the port itself. A small percentage just stay on the ship. The rest come and go from the ship over the course of the day. Do they add to the number of people visiting? Yes. Does a ship with 2,000 passengers add 2,000 people to the crowds? No.

There was just one cruise ship at each port call most of the time. In Geiranger, I walked up the hill to visit the fjord museum, ate lunch, and walked back down on the waterfall trail. It didn’t feel crowded at any point even with a cruise ship in port. In Bergen, cruise ships must dock outside the core downtown area. It is about a twenty minute walk to the funicular which was very popular early in the day but no crowds by afternoon. I went on a walking tour with a local guide where some of the people were from the ship and others had arrived by car or train. Which ones of us were guilty about adding to tourist crowds? Only the ones from the ship?

I can understand the OP wanting to plan a trip with less crowds. I would look for days with fewer people as well. However, it is possible to enjoy these locations even with many people present. Don’t let people scare you away from visiting if there is a ship in port.

PS starting in 2026 only ships with zero emissions will be allowed in UNESCO designated fjords according to current legislation. If that deadline holds firm and you are truly wanting to avoid crowds, perhaps that is the year for your trip. I am suspicious that it won’t hold since the ferries are not yet zero emissions.

On our trip in September of 2023, there were cruise ships when we visited Alesund, Stavanger, Geiranger and Flam.

In Geiranger we stayed at Hole Hytteutleige (cute cabin with a magnificent view of the fjord) which is high above the water. We hiked in that area (where the views are much better than down by the water) and we didn't have any issues with crowds. We went down the hill when most cruisers were back on the ships for dinner. We drove up to Ørnesvingen and it was still busy, but doable.

In Alesund we walked the downtown and went up the steps to Aksla. Crowds weren't an issue in Alesund, although only one of the two days had a cruise ship.

We stayed at Vangsgaarden (great place) in a cabin on the edge of the water in Aurland near Flam. We watched as the cruise ship went by in the dark all lite up after its time in Flam. Stegastein was busy, but doable. The next day we went to Flam, briefly, and there was another cruise ship. The area around the port was crowded. I went in a couple stores, but they were packed, so I left without buying anything. As I saw the lines for the train, I was happy we had cancelled our reservations for that journey.

For Stavanger we stayed in Jorpeland and took the bus into town. There were lots of people, but not overwhelming. We spent our other days hiking around Jorpeland.

@Mark- I travel a variety of ways. I am happy for people to travel in the manner that meets their needs for their particular trip. I totally support you on the idea that we all should be open and non-judgemental about the travel choices of others.

I’ll throw in a totaly different opinion - Norway, with the exception of Oslo, is boring. there, I wrote it, boring. We were just there in late May on a two week cruise. Ugh, thank goodness we stayed 4 nights afterwards in Rotterdam. But, the people were lovely.

We just came home from Norway. We stayed in Oslo, Flam, Bergen, Alesund, Loen, Geiranger, Andalsnes. I think the cruise ship traffic only makes a big difference in Flam and Geirganger...and maybe Alesund. For us it wasn't as much the people getting off the ship as the ship itself. Our first 2 days in Flam we didn't have any cruise ships. The morning we were leaving, two big ships pulled into Flam. Instead of looking at the fjord from the deck of our room, we were looking at a giant cruise ship. When we went into town to catch our ferry, it was bustling. Many many more people than previous days. We could have lived with it, but I was glad we had a quieter town the previous couple of days.

In Geiranger, we had a day with no ships and the next day there were 3 ships in port. One of them, a huge Costa, did a 3 point turn to leave the town. It was interesting, yet scary to watch. He really looked like he was going to hit the shoreline.

Keep in mind that along with cruise ships, there are lots of day tripper busses in Flam and Geiranger. The crowds aren't just from the ships. Late afternoons and evenings are much quieter.

I agree that we all have different travel "tastes." We did one night on the Hurtigruten from Bergen to Alesund. It was pleasant, but we were ready to get off. It just wasn't for us. In fact, when I read Barbara's comment about Norway being "boring" I thought, "Well, that's because you were on a cruise ship." LOL! But I have many friends who love cruises. To each his own.

And sometimes schedules for work, etc. necessitate arriving (like us!) in Flam on the day there will be cruise ships. I've traveled off-season and much prefer it, but if I only traveled to see the world when I preferred, I'd have never gone many places. We are picking up a car in Flam that day and staying in Aurland and then off to the other side of the fjord, so we will enjoy what there is and how it is, knowing we are so very fortunate still to be able to travel. I hope you have a great trip regardless!

After rereading my short post I should clarify why I think Norway is boring and it has nothing to do with being on a ship. We were 8 older adults who are all city folks, all having grown up in Brooklyn. No sailing on the Narrows and no kayaking on the lake in Prospect Park. The only hiking we did was up to the avenue to go to school. Norway is an outdoorsman’s dream place. But alas, we are not outdoorsmen.

Still boring to me. I can see animals and birds at the zoo. Granted, not their natural habit but good enough. That’s what is great about this forum, we each see places through different lenses and take away different experiences. Some places just better than others.
PS, we’ve been to Berlin, great city, lots to do and see. Not boring.

I know there is a website that lists how many cruise ships and how many people will be in the various ports on specific days. I am searching now for the links for you. Here is one. https://www.flamport.no/arrival-list I know there are more sites like this, but this is the only one that I bookmarked.

I am not a fan of cruises, so was checking this with our trip, and it is not looking good for us. Oh well. We were there in mid October of 2015, so everything was quiet and peaceful. I already know that will not be the case this time.

If you go to Bergen, take the funicular and do some hiking up there. The trolls in the woods there are fun to spot and there are some great signs. Our college age son was with us on that trip and we all enjoyed that.

For those who don't know him, Youtube offered up this cruise guy and I like his take on things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pi1UrOdE4

It actually is the Norwegian people through their national government who
have decided that the pollution produced by the cruise ships is damaging the fragile ecosystem of the country’s fjords and it’s the cruise ships themselves that will have to change if they want to continue traveling to the two fjords listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO— the Naerofjord and Geirangerfjord.
To mitigate the environmental damage, beginning in January of 2026, only cruise ships that are powered by clean energy ( such as electricity ) will be permitted to travel into the fjords of Norway. This is so the fjords will be protected in the future from the petrochemical pollution cruise ships discharge into the water.
Since there currently are no such ships in operation, the new law will have a huge impact starting in 2026. Both the passenger capacity of each ship (cruise ships powered by clean energy will be much smaller than today’s largest ships carrying 6,600 passengers) and the total number of passengers in the fjord ports each year will dramatically decrease.
The tiny village of Geiranger, with its year-round population of 300 residents, will no longer be overrun by 8,000 visitors during a busy day.
This is a win-win outcome all around.
www.Cruisemapper.com shows what days ships will be in a specific port along with the number of passengers the ship carries.

One caveat to the cruise ship restrictions is that the ships only need to be zero emissions for the time they are in UNESCO designated fjords. I just looked up some of the Norway Cruise itineraries for 2026. They show going to Skjolden/Sognefjord, Norway instead of Geiranger. Did they solve the problem or simply move it?

While the shift to eco-friendly cruise ships targets the two fjords listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the impact will extend far beyond the Geirangerfjord and the Naeroyfjord. This is because a huge percentage of cruise passengers visit Geiranger. Depending on the statistics referenced, about 1.5 million cruise ship passengers visited Norway’s fjords during 2023. This was the highest number ever seen. Geiranger received about 500,000 of those passengers— or about 35% of all cruise ship passengers visiting Norway. Add the 240,000 cruise ship passengers visiting Gudvangen in the Naeroyfjord and you have more than 50% of all cruise ship passengers in Norway visiting just these two ports.
So, while there are 1700 fjords throughout Norway, just the two World Heritage Site fjords—the Geirangerfjord and the Naeroyfjord— is where the vast majority of cruise ship passengers dock during their visit.
It’s this high concentration of massive ships burning diesel fuel and discharging diesel oil into the fjords and particulate matter into the air that makes it necessary to go Green if the beauty of the fjords is to preserved for future generations.

It actually isn't a win win situation for Geiranger.

There are those who drive the excursion buses who will be out of a job. Also the people who run the souvenir shops and run the cafes etc who will not have the work.

Let's say none of those cruise passengers travel there by other means. There will be less facilities for those who want their peace and quiet. Perhaps some will drive instead, increasing pollution levels from their internal combustion levels, and traffic levels.

This is a far more complex, non binary question than often presented.

The ships don't just dock without permission now. They have to have permission from the relevant port authorities. The fact that that permission is granted means that the town's see the benefits, not least from the port fees.

Even now they could just refuse docking rights, which includes anchoring for tendering.

Havila provide zero economic benefits as they do not dock - just sail in and straight back out again.