Hellesylt to Geiranger

Up until Thursday our land excursions were independently set up by Jan using resources she researched online through Cruise Critic and other resources.  Our experiences in 10 cruises are that this approach not only saves money, but you get a better quality tour.  In Hellesylt there was no option for that.  It’s very small and the only way you can get off the ship is if you book an excursion through Princess.  In fact, Hellesylt is merely a drop off.  The ship drops anchor and discharges passengers.  Then it immediately sails to Geiranger where the tours meet it.  In Geiranger passengers can set up independent tours, but not in Hellesylt.

Based on information Jan received from other Cruise Critic passengers who previously sailed to our ports, in Hellesylt the Princess tour was thumbs up and not to be missed.  We can report that is true.  The sights you get to see are unlike anything else.  It was a long tour.  Departure at 8:15 AM and we joined the ship at 5:00 PM, but the time passed quickly.  The bus never drove more than 20 minutes before stopping.  This was not a shopping tour.  It is primarily a sightseeing tour.

If you sight see spectacular sights it helps if you earn spectacular weather and that was easily true of Thursday starting with sunrise in the fjord. 

 

Hundreds of other passengers also decided to do what we did, but it was well organized.  Within a few minutes of gathering in the ship’s theater our group made its way to our bus and we left Hellesylt.  I cannot show you everything we saw Thursday.  You will have to wait for the video for that.  Even with communications restored this morning there isn’t enough bandwidth to upload all the images.  There isn’t even enough bandwidth to tell you all the stories, but we started seeing beauty immediately upon departure.

 

 

As the tour winds on, and it definitely winds across many hairpin turns, the bus climbs.  The roads are narrow and the skill of the driver is an asset especially when we see another vehicle headed towards you, but eventually you are 4,900 feet above sea level at Mount Dalsnibba.  Yes, it is chilly.  It is crowded with other buses from our own ship and others, but still worth the view.

 

Even as the bus descends to Geiranger the views are still unmatched.

 

When the ship finally departs the Geirgangerfjord there are still things you will never see elsewhere.  This is called the Seven Sisters.  For those who are very precise you will only count six waterfall.  Either one sister had an argument with the others and moved away or during the summer, even in a land with millions of waterfalls (literally) one of them ran dry. 

 

There is still more to see.  This afternoon the ship arrives in Stravanger where it is already clear to us the weather will not be as beautiful as Geiranger.  No matter what sky conditions await we are certain to see things we haven’t seen elsewhere.