Ports: Lerwick, Alesund, Hellesylt and Haugesund
MSC Virtuosa
MSC Virtuosa was launched in 2021, it has 16 decks and 5 pools. I’ve been on four MSC Boats and I think Virtuosa might be my least favourite, this is not to say we didn’t have a great time and its a lovely boat but I think some attention to detail is missing and in my personal opinion I prefer smaller boats with less people!
If this was a warm cruise my opinion would differ however, we really struggled to find places to sit in the evening. It feels very enclosed compared to Europa which was so open. I can’t complain though we had a lovely time and we found our spots, especially at the back of the boat!
The food in the restaurant was good, our room was lovely and the staff as always were absolutely incredible.
Itinerary:
Lerwick
Unfortunately, Laurence was unwell so we were unable to disembark. However, I obviously still did my research! Lerwick is a tender port, the tenders took around 10 minutes to get to port, I would definitely recommend going later in the day to avoid queues. Lerwick is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, it is where the filming of the BBC series ‘Shetland’ took place, they were actually filming the new series when we were there!
Things to do:
- Coastal Walk
- Seal Watching on the beach
- Visit St Ninian’s Aisle, a beautiful beach about a 20 min drive
- Visit Jarlshof, 30 min drive
Alesund
Nothing prepares you for the view of the Fjords as you’re sailing through, it really is magical.
Alesund is a town at the entrance of Geirangerfjord, it burnt down in 1904 and was rebuilt. The nouveau architecture paints the town beautiful colours.
The weather when we arrived wasn’t great, rain and wind and about 11 degrees! There are 400 incline steps you can walk up to get to an amazing viewpoint however, we fancied the dry option this time so opted for the train.
The train cost £25 which was pricey (so is everything in Norway) but it kept us warm and dry! The train ride was 70 minutes, we booked it right outside the port. You have headphones so you can listen to interesting facts about Alesund and a very catchy song!
It takes you to the top of the viewpoint where you stop for 15 mins for photo opps and then back down through the town.
We fancied a Norwegian pastry after all our exploring so we went to Martin Walderhaug and had a pistachio bun, it was delicious!
Other things to do:
- Visit the aquarium (£20)
- Outdoor swimming (free if you’re brave)
- Saunas (£10pp unless you go private which is like £200!!)
- Kayaking through the Fjords (£80)
Hellesylt / Geirangerfjord
This was by far my favourite port, stepping off the views are incredible. We booked a ferry tour which took us to Geirangerfjord, it costs around £40 each for a return but it’s worth it for the boat ride alone!!
We booked the 08:30 ferry leaving from Hellesylt (5 min walk from the port, just over the bridge) and it takes 1 1/2 hours of sailing through the Fjords. Look out for the trolls face and the Seven Sisters Waterfall! It has both inside and outside seats with a cafe onboard.
Once we arrived at Geirangerfjord, we grabbed a mocha at CafeOle and then decided to go on the waterfall walk. You basically follow the footpath and signs, it’s really easy and takes around 30/40 minutes with some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen!!!
There is a viewpoint called Flydalsjuvet which looked amazing, you can access this by taxi, Uber or the hop-on-hop-off bus, I really wish we did this! Our return ferry was booked for 1:20pm however, we were actually able to get the earlier one as there was enough space.
Once we arrived back, we went back onboard for lunch and then we got off again to explore Hellesylt. There isn’t much to do here, except admire the beautiful scenery. We explored some souvenir shops and walked to the waterfall. Some people were hiking the mountains which I bet was really cool!
Other things to do:
Haugesund:
Haugesund surprised me the most, I was researching for days trying to find what to do, in the end I just left it till the day but I’m so glad I did! It’s definitely the most built up and busiest port we went to.
We went straight to the tourist office and picked up a brochure with what to do, we saw a lake called Eivindsvatnet that looked beautiful so we decided to walk to it.
The walk is around 30 mins on a steady incline through the town, it’s not the prettiest of walks mostly just houses and roads but trust me its worth it.
The lake is beautiful surrounded by nature, it’s around 3.5k the whole way around. I found it so peaceful and I’m so glad we did this!
When we walked back we looked around the small town at some of the shops and cafes and then headed back to the boat.
Other things to do:
- Rent a car and drive 1 hour 50 to Langfoss Waterfall with scenery along the way
- Get a 1 hour bus to Himakana Hike
- Kystsien Coastal Walk
Overall, I loved Norway I have never seen views like it. Sailing through the fjords is one of the most beautiful things I have seen. I think a cruise is a great way to travel Norway I just wish I could’ve seen more ports and had more time!!
Travel with Dali 
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