Increase In Cruise Traffic For Norway

I read a interesting article this week on Norway and the increase in the cruising sector, which has risen 6.5% since 2011.  You would think that the only cruises to Norway are the ones to the Fjords and the northern areas which is very popular for the “midnight sun” and northern lights. However,  did you know the South of Norway is referred to as the “Mediterranean” with the sea, sun and picturesque villages?  Not surprising to note that this area is very popular with the German market.

The popular cruises are still the shorter durations, 7 nights or less. Whilst 70% of the cruise market is still based in the Fjords. There is a growing trend though for more smaller duration cruises, particularly from Hamburg, which is interesting.  For example, Costa Cruises has a itinerary of 8 dates from Hamburg going to the north, also calling at some ports in Southern Norway.

It is also nice to see that the new Viking Star is to make Bergen it’s home port for the summer.  A beautiful city.

As much as “we” Brits do love sailing to Norway, the German market is still by far the largest, they also tend to spend more then any other country. One last interesting point is that out of all tourists who visit Norway, cruise passengers are the happiest! Two out of three people are first time cruisers and say they would more then likely return.

If you have not visited Norway before, I would recommend it, the scenery is stunning, people are so friendly and the weather is very similar to ours! It is expensive though, perhaps keep to bottles of water, as a pint of beer can cost you upwards of £7.00!  I would also recommend you to look at the smaller cruise ships such as Fred Olsen, Cruise & Maritime and Hurtigruten as they can access some of the smaller fjords which the “big boys” cant get to.

Let me know your stories of sailing to Norway.