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We have cruised this coast 3 times and loved all of them (UP and BACK
on a Norwegian coastal steamer) and one-way down from Spitsbergen to Sweden
on a Swedish liner. If you go, do it in midsummer when the sun never sets--a
glorious experience. We went on one of the older, smaller coastal steamers,
the LOFOTEN and liked it a lot better than the big newer ones designed
specifically for the tourist trade. Yes, our cabin was small with bunk
beds and a porthole but the lounges were lovely, the food superb, the
ship full of beautiful wood and brass, and only an occasional very small
tour group. When we got off in Bergen, after 12 days up and down, we were
ready to stay on the ship and do it all over again! One caveat: this coastline
can be foggy; we were lucky on the coastal steamer to have mostly sun
and lots of blue sky (wore everying on deck from shorts to jackets with
blankets wrapped around us for extra warmth); on the trip down on the
Swedish liner there was a lot of fog and we were glad that we had had
the magnificent views before and felt sorry for passengers who were making
the run for the first time. However, it cleared and we had a wonderful
day in the gorgeous Geiranger Fjord. Bergen is worth a couple days of
sightseeing also. And the train from Oslo to Bergen goes through stunning
scenery of hills, mountains, snow, lakes. All in all, a trip we would
do again! Cheers, Pat
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