Oslo for a day

Unless you have mobility issues, I would skip the tour and do something on your own. When I went to Olso last year, I was overwhelmed by the amount of things to see and do. The city center is pretty compact and walkable, and most of the cool stuff further afield is easily accessed by public transportation.

If you are into museums, there are several really great ones in the City Center (I liked the National Museum). There is also the City Hall, which is decorated with beautiful murals (not quite as stunning--I thought--as the ones in Stockholm, but still well worth a visit). The Munch Museum is a little further afield, but still a quick metro ride. I didn't make it to the Ibsen Museum, but one of my friends did and she raved about it. There is also a plethora of interesting museums (Kon-Tiki and the Viking Ship Museum among them) across the harbor in Bygdoy. Bygdoy is also a very pretty place to walk around, especially if the weather is nice. If you're into history, I loved the Akershus Fortress. If you like sculpture (even the slightest bit), the Vigeland installation at Frogner Park is a must. If you just want to find a cafe in which to chill out and people watch, you'll have no shortage of pretty places to choose from along, or just off, the city's main drag, Karl Johans Gate.

If you're planning on covering a lot of ground (site-wise, transportation-wise, or both), I'd look into getting the Oslo card. Oslo is a delightful city, but expensive!

Hope this helps,
Caroline

We were there about a day and a half. The main day we did the Hop-0n Bus. You will get a great overview of the city while taking you to Vigeland Park, The Norsk folk Museum, the Viking Ship Museum and more, just watch your time, they stopped running before we realized it and had to get on a city bus.

Depending on where your ship berths, you might be right beside the Akerhus Fortress complex - interesting but not a "must-see" IMHO. You could do a self-guided walk in Oslo city center (lots to see), however, I would recommend getting transportation/tour to the large Frogner Park (75 acres) where the Gustav Vigeland sculptures (600) are most impressive. Also, if you like "open-air" museums, the Norwegian Folk Museum (35 acres) in the Bygdoy neighbourhood (there is a public ferry from downtown) is worth a visit. The RS Northern European Cruise Ports guidebook is an excellent resource for visiting Oslo and the other Baltic ports. There is a lot to see in Oslo - more than you can visit in one day.

Mardan

Oslo is a pretty compact city with a high English language fluency. Go self-guided.

If you want to maximize the number of sights and activities, the 24 hour Oslo card could be worth the price - museum entry plus transit pass: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activities-and-attractions/oslo-pass/
About $20 USD for seniors (67+) or children, about $40 for regular adults.

Take the Bus 30 from the central city to the Bygdøy peninsula and visit the open air Folk Museum, Viking Ship Museum Kon-
Tiki exhibit and the Fram Polar Museum. The Maritime Museum is next to the Fram but not everyone is interested in ship building, shipping and fishing. Then take the ferry (fare included in Oslo Pass) back to the City Hall ferry dock.

You can also take the T1 T-bane metro to from central city to Vigland Park (sculptures in an outdoor setting) then continue back on the T1 to Holmenkollen and the Ski Museum/Jump tower for a panoramic view of Oslo.

Lot of other museums to see including the Resistance Museum and even art type museums included in the Oslo Pass.

Or you could just stroll along Karl Johansgate, make your way to Aker Brygge complex for a meal or drink outside overlooking the harbor before taking the ferry to Bygdøy. A lot of things to see/do in Oslo

Thank you so much for the very helpful info. I will start doing my homework with all this information.

cslh324 can you tell me a little about Stockholm. We will be there for three days. No, we are not big Museum fans, but we do stop at the very popular ones.

You should get the book Rick Steves Northern Cruise Ports. It has all the information you need to do each port yourself. You can then see if this is what you want, or if you want to take the ship's tour, or if you want to take another tour (you can meet up with others online on Cruise Critic's Roll Calls, to split the cost of a "private" tour).

Here is the Cruise Critic Roll Calls Forum: http://tinyurl.com/ap7h55m

Here is the Cruise Critic Northern Europe and the Baltics Ports Forum: http://tinyurl.com/by57g9z

RE: ...we are not big Museum fans....

While Oslo has ART museums, the fun museums (e.g Viking Ship, Fram Polar, Homenkollen Ski Museums) are cultural history museums. Cultural museums show and tell about the society you are visiting.

At one time Norway's Postal Museum was located in Oslo (since moved Lillihammer) and if recollection is correct, free. We found the postal history fascinating and ended up buying Norwegian souvenir stamps. http://eng.postmuseet.no/

Yes, this is what interests us more.

Thank you for this information

and I will definitely get that book to guide us, thank you?

Even thoigh you are not big art museum fan i suggest that you should take at least half an hour to visit the national gallery https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery_(Norway) in a small room you can find masterpieces by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and also a version of "the scream" by Munch