jimbo 1 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 The tiny village of Flaam is nestled in the innermost part of Sognefjord. Here you’ll find the extraordinary Flaam Railway, which rises more than 865 metres above sea level, in just 12 miles. The views are just as dramatic as the journey. Then sail through Sognefjord, the longest navigable fjord in the world. Beautiful snow-capped mountains, cascading waterfalls, and lush forests will fight for your attention. The above has just been cut and pasted from the P&O site for the Azura cruise to Norway leaving 3/7/16. If you are thinking of booking as we already have because of Flam ... Do not do it! Our holiday is ruined as apparently P&O step aside when other lines want to go there, or perhaps they hadn't booked it. Holiday now ruined and P&O still selling with the above blurb on their website. Interestingly they removed Flam from the itinerary but not the attraction of Flam that is conveyed in the above. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ahoy 170 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 The tiny village of Flaam is nestled in the innermost part of Sognefjord. Here you’ll find the extraordinary Flaam Railway, which rises more than 865 metres above sea level, in just 12 miles. The views are just as dramatic as the journey. Then sail through Sognefjord, the longest navigable fjord in the world. Beautiful snow-capped mountains, cascading waterfalls, and lush forests will fight for your attention. The above has just been cut and pasted from the P&O site for the Azura cruise to Norway leaving 3/7/16. If you are thinking of booking as we already have because of Flam ... Do not do it! Our holiday is ruined as apparently P&O step aside when other lines want to go there, or perhaps they hadn't booked it. Holiday now ruined and P&O still selling with the above blurb on their website. Interestingly they removed Flam from the itinerary but not the attraction of Flam that is conveyed in the above. can you not transfer your booking to a cruise that visits Flam? hturtle 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cruise chef 866 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Another possible solution to avoid your disappointment would be to book the Norway in a Nutshell tour which still incorporates a trip on the Flaam Railway, port chages for a variety of reasons are common but dont let this spoil your holiday dancefloordemon, Popsicle and hturtle 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falmouthgirl 195 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 There has to be an explanation for this surely I can't see PO stepping aside to let other ships in have you asked them? We did the Arctic Circle [no consolation to you I know] on the Oriana 14 days taking in Flam a wonderful cruise just as it says in the brochure surely if their decision doesn't hold water you must ask to be transferred to one of the their ships which is going there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hturtle 326 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Jimbo sorry to read about your port being changed but unfortunately this is a common occurrence, you will find in your booking conditions that they don't even have to give you a reason to change a port unless it an integral part of that itinerary, ie the cruise was called "Cruise to Flam". I am not saying it is right but they will say that changing it for another port (which again they are not obliged to do) is perfectly fair. As the brochures come out earlier and earlier, over 2 years in advance in some cases, then what they plan when putting together a brochure can often not be possible when it comes to final arrangements. It is only one port at the end of the day, as Cruise Chef says, don't let it spoil your holiday. I hear Olden is a beautiful port. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dancefloordemon 140 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 I am also on that cruise, although disappointed, it cant be helped!1 the main reason for my booking on this was Gieranger !! I am so excited and cannot wait oldbiddy1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Kidd II 798 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Jimbo - if they have cancelled Flaam do you know where you are going instead? I hope there is another port and that P&O are just slowing the ship down. I am sure you will enjoy the cruise anyway. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
angel 121 Posted February 15, 2016 Report Share Posted February 15, 2016 Sorry to hear that your planned trip to Flaam has been cancelled but please do not let this spoil your holiday. I did the Fjords last August and visted both Flaam and Olden and although I enjoyed Flaam the scenery is just as stunning in Olden. I suggest a trip to the Galcier on one of the troll cards to see this stunning sight. I can still see this ship is visting Geiranger which will be the best port of call for you I think. Went there a few years a go and this is definitely my favourite destination in the Fjords. Captain Kidd II 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobBar 204 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 I stand to be corrected but a lot as in Alaska ports has to do with arranging docking times with port authorities almost a year or more in advance, So if dock can only handle so many ships then first in and booked gets it . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawitch 291 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 We had an odd experience when on the Arcadia we arrived at Dubrovnik to find a Carnival ship had taken the Berth where we should have docked. It was too windy for the tenders and we had to spend half of the day waiting for the wind to die down before we could get ashore.There have been other instances where we have been told we are in a certain area to find another ship there and we have had to go to a different dock. You would think that berths would be arranged well in advance before brochures are printed but it seems that is not always the case and in some cases it is just like a car park where the first ship in gets the parking spot. RobBar and hturtle 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sinbad10 757 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 We had an odd experience when on the Arcadia we arrived at Dubrovnik to find a Carnival ship had taken the Berth where we should have docked. It was too windy for the tenders and we had to spend half of the day waiting for the wind to die down before we could get ashore.There have been other instances where we have been told we are in a certain area to find another ship there and we have had to go to a different dock. You would think that berths would be arranged well in advance before brochures are printed but it seems that is not always the case and in some cases it is just like a car park where the first ship in gets the parking spot. Think this might be just an "excuse" as reason put about by P&O. Ships just dont turn up at ports and berth where they want they are told where to dock by port authorities and I dont believe if that berth was booked for Arcadia that the port authority let Carnival berth there just because they arrived first. Surely berths were available for both Carnival and Arcadia and if Carnival were booked to tender then it should have been them left waiting for the sea to calm. Hearing a lot of port cancellations on forums recently and know that these can be due to weather and out of cruise companies control but hearing of many ports being changed at last minute prior to start of cruise, especially Norwegian Fjords, so cannot be for weather purposes and very commonly always seem to involve P&O. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rum+Sun 96 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Im also on this cruise and gutted about missing Flam, but at least we have found out now and can make other arrangments and look into Olden rather than them just telling us when we are on board. But yes i agree that they shouldnt still be advertising it as Flam! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oldworldtraveller 2225 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Berths are booked sometimes several years in advance. They have to be simply due to different size ships require different size berths. RobBar 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobBar 204 Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Locally we have 4 berths to come alongside and all have extended buoys to handle the newer ships plus we dredged deeper. Last year we had six ships come in the same day but the timing was only 30 minutes approx. for as one pulled out the other could pull in. Sometimes due to the tides and wind , no one could dock so they would stay off the breakwater for part of the evening and then proceed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iknowlescourier 207 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Been on many cruises with different lines and strangely it is always P&O when we miss a port of call. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cruzwithkidz 41 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 If it's any consolation, I much prefer Olden to Flaam and whilst the Flaam railway is lovely, the experiences we've had in Olden were even better (in my opinion). iknowlescourier 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dancefloordemon 140 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Cruzwithkidz, what did you do in Olden, I can see we are there nearly all day and I am stuggling for ideas. Looked at the glacier by troll car? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cruzwithkidz 41 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 dancefloordemon, we've visited Olden 3 times so far, with 2 ship-organised excursions and one DIY. The first excursion was a cruise on Lovatnet lake followed by a fairly gentle trek up close to Kjennendalen Glacier (with a waffle stop) - it was one of our best trips ever and I'd highly recommend it. The second excursion was to the Briksdal glacier - we were blessed with the weather (26 degrees!), and it was quite a tough walk (wish we'd taken the troll car!), but it was well worth it. Our DIY excursion was simple - we took the RIB independently with a guy called Frodo, one of the most exhilarating experiences ever! Can't wait to get back there in May dancefloordemon 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cruise chef 866 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 The glacier is quite a walk, its a shame it is disappearing at such an alarming rate, I recently found a postcard my uncle sent home to us some years ago & compared this with my recent photo the difference was quite staggering Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Kidd II 798 Posted February 25, 2016 Report Share Posted February 25, 2016 Do you mean it is a longer walk to the glacier each year, cruise chef? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iknowlescourier 207 Posted February 26, 2016 Report Share Posted February 26, 2016 Briksdal depends on your age and fitness to walk up to. I am in my eary 50s and of reasonable health and found it easy to walk up to the glacier. Unless you are in ill health, disabled or "getting on a bit" l would recommend the walk. The troll cars didn't stop all the way up if I recall correctly so you would miss out on the amazing photo stops. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Little Mermaid 50 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Sorry to contradict Kite63. I have also been to the glacier, it was in August and thankfully we had booked the troll cars. It was the only day on our cruise that we had mist and rain and it definately didn't spoil it but we passed the walkers and was so glad we only had the walk from the cars to the Glacier and im late thirties, with the wetaher not being at its best it did seem to be far enough to walk. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
iknowlescourier 207 Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 I guess I am fitter than I thought, then. Found it easy. We had sunshine and temperatures in the high twenties, so that probably made the walk more enjoyable as well. Little Mermaid 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cruise chef 866 Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Definitely Captain Kidd, they will soon need a new buggy stop further up the hill for those struggling to walk!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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