The destination Norway has been on our wish list for a long time. We were all the more pleased that this year we were given the opportunity to tour Norway’s fjords with AIDAsol. 10 packed days, varied destinations, picturesque villages and breathtaking fjord landscapes lay ahead of us 🙂
Table of contents
Arrival & embarkation in Hamburg Steinwerder
For us, it is one of the few holidays that does not go from home to Frankfurt Airport, but to the train station. Quite unusual that we are on holiday, but not flying away at all … because: We travel by train to Hamburg, where our 10-day cruise to Norway should start. Hamburg can be reached very easily within 3.5 hours by ICE from Frankfurt. If you start a cruise in Hamburg, you have to pay attention to where the ship is departing from, because Hamburg has a total of 3 different drop-off points:
– the Cruise Center HafenCity,
– The Hamburg Cruise Center Altona
– and the Cruise Center Steinwerder, from which our journey began today
By the way, we were here for a day almost 2 months ago, because we were invited to the 1st birthday of AIDAperla. At that time we didn’t want to go down again after the one day on board, because after only a few hours we were totally infected by cruise fever again. All the more beautiful to be on another AIDA ship now. From Hamburg Central Station we took a taxi to the Cruise Center Steinwerder, which cost about 27 euros. Around 2.30 p.m. we were at the Cruise Terminal, checked in quickly and had enough time to walk the first round over the ship and discover everything.
Cruise holidays are not entirely new to us either: we have been to the Caribbean in the past with AIDAdiva and Carnival Valor, With A-ROSA Bella on the Danube and with Celestyal Cruises in Greece. We like a holiday on the ship very much, because it brings with it some advantages: No annoying suitcase, no hotel search, many places in a short time, the entertainment offer on board, the culinary variety and much more.
The cruise ship AIDAsol
AIDAsol has been in service since 2011 and has been used in recent years for trips to Norway, but also to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. The ship has 14 decks with 1,097 cabins, which can accommodate 2,686 passengers. About 70 of the cabins are outdoor cabins, the majority with balconies.
At AIDA, every ship in the fleet has a specific design motto. At AIDAsol, this is a Greece or a Mediterranean design that meets one on deck 3 but also especially in the 2,602 m2 wellness and fitness area: white sculptures, tile mosaics, murals and a large olive tree in the wellness oasis. The center of the ship is certainly the theatrium, which extends over several decks. Various events take place during the day in the theatrium, such as art auctions or excursion presentations, and in the evening theatre shows, “Who will become a millionaire?”, the entertainment show “Prime Time” or the singing casting show “Voice of the Ocean”. There is something for every taste. And if you prefer to sit down at a bar in peace, you are spoilt for choice between 11 different bars.
But there is also a great variety of culinary meals on board AIDAsol: the 8 restaurants have not made it easy for us to decide where we are going. But luckily we were on board for a few days, so we could try another restaurant again and again, such as the Buffalo Steak House or the brewery with its own microbrewery.
The cruise ship AIDAsol
All travelogues from our Norwegian Cruise
Die Route Norwegens Fjorde 1 führt uns die Elbe stromabwärts vorbei an den Nordfriesischen Inseln in Richtung Norwegen. Der erste Hafen ist die malerische Stadt Bergen. Die Reise führt uns weiter durch zahlreiche schmale Fjorde mit rauschenden Wasserfällen, wie z.B. der Geirangerfjord mit seinen steilen Felswänden. Der nördlichste Hafen der Reise ist Trondheim, die drittgrößte Stadt Norwegens. Danach geht es wieder gen Süden, nach Ålesund und Eidfjord, bis wir den letzten Hafen der Reise erreichen: Stavanger.
Day 01 Hamburg - 10 days cruise with AIDAsol through Norway’s fjordsDay 02 At Sea
Day 03 Bergen - Tourist Attractions, Things to do & Photo spots (Norway)
Day 04 Hellesylt, Geirangerfjord & Geiranger - Our private tour in Geiranger
Day 05 Åndalsnes - Trolls & the panoramic road Trollstigen
Day 05 Molde - Panoramic Cruise to the Atlantic Coastal Road
Day 06 Trondheim - Tourist Attractions, Things to do & our Kayak Tour
Day 07 Alesund - Aksla Viewpoint & the Strandafjellet Cable Car
Day 08 Eidfjord - Flamsbahn, Bergen Railway & Waterfalls
Day 09 Stavanger - Our hike to the spectacular Preikestolen
Day 10 At Sea
Day 11 Hamburg - Sightseeing
Our balcony cabin on deck 8
Our balcony cabin was located on the port side on deck 8 and was well located, so we didn’t have it so far to the elevators and the stairwell. Directly opposite our cabin was a housekeeping room, but it didn’t get as much volume as we initially thought. The balcony cabins on AIDAsol consist of a double bed, an armchair that can be converted into another bed, a closet with enough space, a shelf and a small desk with chair and TV.
Normally we often live “out of the suitcase” on holiday, i.e. we do not unpack the suitcase at all. Since the cabin is not so big and you have the same accommodation for 10 days anyway, we have unpacked our suitcases so that we have enough space in the cabin and do not stumble over it all the time. The empty suitcases can then be easily pushed under the beds.
On the balcony there are 2 chairs, a small table and of course a great hammock 🙂
The hammock on the balcony cabin
Leaving Hamburg
For us, leaving the ports is always one of the highlights of a cruise. When we left the Cruise Center Steinwerder, we stood on the top deck to enjoy the view. Very slowly AIDAsol pushed itself away from the pier and the first sounds of the run-out music known to AIDA guests were played (“A.I.D.A.” by Solano and “AIDA Sail Away” by Martin Lingnau). As we moved downstream towards Norway, Hamburg slowly passed us, so that we could see the city from a different perspective. Dozens of people waved from the shore and said goodbye to us. How beautiful 😊
In the next posts we will show you the beautiful fjords of Norway and great cities like Bergen or Trondheim 🙂