The ultimate guide to Norwegian fjord cruises
The likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights is far greater at sea than on land, and in Norway’s high Arctic the aurora can be seen day and night during the polar winter. No wonder, then, that Norway is on most cruisers’ wish lists. At 62,705 miles it has one of the longest coastlines in the world and the drama is right there, in front of you, all the time.
Head up on deck after dinner to watch the sun set behind mountain peaks, or stay up to witness the midnight sun. Do your weights or yoga poses overlooking a shimmering fjord, sail into impossibly beautiful port towns and ditch Spotify for the sound of seabirds and frothing waterfalls.
Distances are shorter on the water – no mountains to contend with – which means you’ll see far more in a week than you would on land. Norway is a year-round destination. As the sun casts its late-summer rays, winter fun begins.
So, what’s it to be? Hungry for activities? Fancy a rail and sail trip? Maybe wildlife is a priority, or a cruise that suits the whole family? Make your holiday planning easier with our ultimate guide to cruising in Norway.
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Five of the best cruises to book
Where to go
Fjord itineraries call at coastal cities including Bergen, Stavanger, Ålesund and Trondheim, and some ships visit the Lofoten Islands. Further north, above the Arctic Circle, are Bodø, Tromsø, Hammerfest, Honningsvåg – the gateway to the North Cape – and Kirkenes, near the Russian border.
Expedition vessels visit the Svalbard archipelago, around 500 miles north of the Norwegian mainland. Don’t overlook the cities and towns, which offer fascinating museums, fishing heritage, historic centres and cosy cafés and waterfront restaurants.
How to get there
Good news: the holiday can begin in the UK. Princess Cruises, MSC Cruises, Fred Olsen, Norwegian Cruise Line, Cunard, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Disney Cruise Line all sail from Southampton to ports in Norway during the summer. Seabourn and Saga sail from Dover, and Fred Olsen has sailings from Portsmouth and Newcastle. Viking has three sailings from London Greenwich to Bergen, including Midnight Sun and Northern Lights itineraries.
There are flights to Oslo and Bergen, and domestic connections to destinations including Kristiansand, Stavanger, Bodø, Tromsø and Trondheim. Between October and April, Hurtigruten operates charter flights to the Fjordland hub of Bergen from Manchester, Gatwick, Bristol, Bournemouth, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and Leeds.
Reaching Svalbard, which is situated between Norway and the North Pole, takes more effort. Some operators use charter flights – most of Quark Expeditions’ itineraries depart from Helsinki in Finland. Norwegian and SAS offer connections from Oslo and Tromsø to the capital Longyearbyen. Another alternative is to choose a longer cruise that combines mainland Norway with Svalbard.
Remote though it is, it’s also possible to cruise to Svalbard from the UK with bonus calls at some truly remote islands. Quark has a sailing from Aberdeen via the Faroe Islands and HX has one sailing from Glasgow, via Iceland.
When to go
Summer Fjordland cruises, midnight-sun sailings and Northern Lights itineraries are the most popular, but wildlife, spectacular scenery and natural phenomena can be seen all year. Statistically, spring (March and April) and autumn (September and October) see the highest level of aurora activity. Being at sea, far from artificial light, will increase your chances of seeing the lights. Svalbard has three key seasons: Polar summer, winter Northern Lights and “sunny winter” (March 1 to mid May).
The further north you travel, the more rewarding the experience is likely to be. The midnight sun lingers longest in Svalbard, where the sun doesn’t set between mid April and mid August; however, the regions of Finnmark, Troms and Nordland also sit above the Arctic Circle (66 degrees 33 minutes north).
When to book
As cruises to Norway are often bucket-list holidays, higher-grade cabins and balcony cabins tend to sell quickly. Northern Lights cruises get booked a year or more in advance, and sailings with astronomers and wildlife experts are popular. Expedition vessels and yacht cruises carry far fewer passengers. SeaDream’s 2025 cruises went on sale in 2023 and are sold out.
How much does it cost?
The most affordable cruises are “no-fly” cruises to the fjords, the majority sailing from Dover and Southampton. Expect to pay from around £700 per person per week on a larger ship. Head deeper into Norway on a Northern Lights cruise and you’re looking at upwards of £1,200 per person.
Expedition trips to far-flung Svalbard cost from £7,000 per person. If sipping champagne in the high Arctic is more your style, Scenic’s 16-day Fjords and Arctic Circle itinerary costs just shy of £17,000. The operator’s luxury yachts carry a helicopter and a submarine; a 40-minute submersible experience costs $795 (£606) per person. A more affordable yachting experience is offered by SeaDream Yacht Club, which has a week’s cruise in the fjords from £6,839 per person.
In terms of distance covered and ports visited, it’s hard to beat the hop-on, hop-off “coastal express” from Kirkenes to Bergen (and vice versa) operated by Hurtigruten and Havila. First operated by Hurtigruten as a mail, goods and passenger service in 1893, this route is still used by coastal communities today. Havila’s six-day “voyage south” calls at 33 ports and costs from £730 per person. Before you book a coastal express voyage, check what’s included, as excursions and alcohol might bump up the fare.
What are excursions like in Norway?
From sea-eagle safaris by rib boat to waterfall hikes, ice fishing and snowshoeing, Norway offers some of cruising’s most thrilling excursion opportunities. Foodies, families, adventure seekers and the culturally inclined are catered for with quirky museums, visits to Sami communities, architectural tours, concerts at Tromsø’s striking Arctic Cathedral, and trips to farms to try brown cheese (brunost) and cloudberry jam.
Think teenagers might get bored? Created by former SAS personnel and led by survival guides, P&O Cruises’ Special Forces Adventure in the fjords includes a rib ride from Hellesylt to Ljøkaia, a paddle along Geirangerfjord by kayak and a “wilderness barbecue lunch”, in preparation for a five-hour mountain hike.
Can I combine a cruise with a land tour?
It’s not just city breaks in Oslo, Bergen or Tromsø that tempt cruisers to extend their trips. Cruises combined with scenic rail routes are increasingly popular. A spokesperson for Discover the World said: “After taking our fjords by rail holiday from London to Stavanger, guests often continue their journey north on a cruise to Kirkenes, before travelling home by rail or plane.”
Hurtigruten’s rail and sail packages including an epic 16-day journey that couples a 12-day Coastal Express voyage with a trip on the Flåm Railway to Bergen, and Viking’s pre-cruise extensions include a two-night city stay in Oslo paired with a trip on the 1909-built Bergen Railway, one of the highest in northern Europe.
And if you want to linger in the Lofotens, Havila offers a hop-on, hop-off option that combines a cruise with a stay in a rorbu (fisherman’s cottage) in the Lofoten Archipelago.
Five of the best Norway cruises
Tartan to tundra
This expedition cruise from Aberdeen to Svalbard promises dramatic Arctic scenery and extraordinary wildlife sightings. After a call at Scotland’s remote Fair Isle, home to Atlantic puffins, the 140-passenger Ultramarine sails across the North Atlantic to the Faroe Islands, where the ship will navigate the outer islands (there are 18 in total) and visit the capital, Tórshavn. The island of Jan Mayen, north of Iceland, promises sightings of northern fulmars, little auks, glaucous gulls, kittiwakes, and black and Brünnich’s guillemots (thick-billed murres). The trip finishes with three days in glacier-choked Spitsbergen.
How to book: a 14-day Arctic Saga Exploring Spitsbergen via the Faroes and Jan Mayen costs from £9,950 per person, including one hotel night in Aberdeen, transfers in Aberdeen and Longyearbyen in Svalbard and a charter flight from Longyearbyen to Helsinki. Excludes return flight from Helsinki to the UK. Departs April 29 2025. (0808 134 6000; quarkexpeditions.com)
Lights, camera, action
According to the Norwegian Space Agency, aurora borealis activity is expected to reach its highest levels in 11 years this winter. What better way to witness it than with an aurora chaser? As well as onboard guided tours of the night sky, aurora expert Tom Kerss will bring the galaxy’s stars, planets and meteors into focus via storytelling and lectures. The cruise also includes a visit to the Northern Lights Planetarium in Tromsø with Hurtigruten’s astronomy experts.
How to book: a 12-day Astronomy Voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes (and back) costs from £1,969 per person excluding flights. Kerss will join seven departures between September 2025 and March 2026. (020 3603 7112; hurtigruten.com)
Yes, chef!
Decorated chef Michel Roux will join two of Cunard’s ships in the Norwegian fjords next year for a series of Le Gavroche at Sea residencies. Queen Mary 2 will host the first five-night takeover, Le Gavroche at The Veranda, in April. Roux will then host a residency aboard Queen Anne – Le Gavroche at Sir Samuels, in May. The final two sailings are in August. During these voyages, Oysters at the Champagne Bar (QM2) and Oysters at Carinthia Lounge (Queen Anne) will be serving Norwegian seafood on a walk-in basis. Roux will also host a live cooking demonstration and appear as an insight speaker, revealing stories from his 40-plus-year career.
How to book: a seven-night Norwegian Fjords cruise calling at Stavanger, Ålesund, Olden, Innvikfjorden, Nordfjord and Bergen costs from £1,249 per person departing round trip from Southampton on April 6 2025. Dining at the residencies costs extra. (0344 338 8641; cunard.com)
Family fun
P&O Cruises is a popular choice for families as there are no flights involved (just pile all that luggage into the car) and several departures tie in with school holidays. This seven-night cruise on Iona offers some exciting off-ship excursions, including a Special Forces Adventure in Hellesylt, yoga with a view of the Briksdal Glacier in Olden and a rib tour in Ålesund harbour. Iona has several pools, eight dining venues, an indoor and open-air cinema, a sports arena and a complimentary children’s club and night nursery.
How to book: A seven-night Norwegian Fjords cruise round trip from Southampton costs from £699 per person, departing in April 2025 (0344 338 8003; pocruises.com)
Munch moments
Viking offers passengers behind-the-scenes tours with curators at the Munch Museum in Oslo. Guests will see the museum’s private collection of printing plates that showcase Munch’s pioneering woodcuts. Back onboard, as part of their Munch Moments experience, guests have access to the entire digital collection of Munch artwork. The cruise starts in Amsterdam and visits Skagen in Denmark before calling at five Norwegian ports.
How to book: An eight-day Viking Shores and Fjords itinerary costs from £4,540 per person including flights from London and selected regional airports. Departs August 2025. (0800 458 6900; vikingcruises.co.uk)
