We were in an Uber in Southampton, just one mile away from the cruise pier, but with only thirteen minutes left until check-in closed. Seems easy but bad traffic in the port area was testing my deodorant and patience. Our flight from Madrid to London Heathrow was smooth and on time. But the National Express bus to Southampton picked us up late and had me anxious. 

Thankfully we had a great driver who understood the assignment: Get us from the bus station to the cruise terminal before check in closed. Success! I was more stressed than Corey. If we didn’t sail to Norway then we’d be left standing at the pier in Southampton. Hardly ideal. But we were not the last ones to check-in, and at that late time the process went as swiftly as it can.

Last time we were in Las Vegas, we received a Princess cruise certificate, and so we booked a ship sailing from the United Kingdom to four Norwegian ports. Seven days on a ship go about as quick as you can blink. So we unpacked and settled into our new “home” the first night. The Sky Princess seemed quite beat up for a ship with less than five years of service time. But we really liked our room. It felt spacious with a nice, open closet space. 

We were really on board for the stops in Norway! This itinerary had four ports in four days, bookended with a sea day on each side. 

The Ports

Haugesund 

We walked off the ship with rain gear on and a hope that the showers would stop soon. 

We crossed over a bridge and arrived in town after about 25 minutes of walking. As we passed the shipyard we could hear the song “Walking on Sunshine” playing loudly for the workers. It was funny since we were being rained on. Luckily I was wearing multiple layers and had an umbrella. 

First stop was to Our Savior’s Church, built in 1901 with a brick exterior and beautiful wood-framed interior.

We passed by a grocery store and decided to pop in for some snacks. Norway is quite an expensive country, and the restaurants are not cheap. We planned to hike in each port so having snacks would be great. Additionally, we love browsing the aisles of supermarkets. 

Just outside the market we walked by a bakery and we were wowed by the cinnamon rolls in the display case. It was even better in real life. We split an espresso and a caramel cinnamon roll and it was amazing! 

We kept heading north through town, and then out of town on the trail known as Kyststien, or the coastal path. This section was very easy to follow and was mostly flat.

Highlights of the walk include:

• King Harald statue (just before the trail starts)
• Haraldshaugen national monument
• “The Rising Tide” sculptures
• Walking through sheep and goat pastures

We made a loop of it by walking through residential areas back to town, where we rewarded ourselves at the colorful Cupcake House, aka Jåblom Bakery or the Cupcakehuset.

The pastries we bought were between $4-6 USD. Espresso was $3-5 USD. Groceries were more reasonably priced.

Overall we walked 8.7 miles, mostly flat. The trail was a little busy but not intolerably so. The further we walked away from the ship, the less people we saw around us.

Next time we would take a Kolumbus Fast Ferry to one of the nearby islands, likely for more seclusion from other cruise passengers and a more rustic hike.

Skjolden

Before arrival Corey woke early to see the Sognefjord. The king of fjords. The longest one in Norway. The ship had entered at around midnight, and with the sun never really setting this time of year, there was scenic cruising until the ship docked at 8 AM. I have sailed on this fjord before so I was not as eager to wake up early, and blissfully “slept in” until around 6 AM then joined Corey on the outside decks for coffee and views.

Once in port, we went on a hiking adventure. There’s not much to do in town anyway as only 200 people live there!

We started with a great tourist map that we also saw available in town. There are many trails available and we decided on the “medium” hike to the Sengaberget viewpoint. It was mostly paved roads through towns with only like a half mile on a dirt path with rocks. Then there’s a clearing in the trees and a gorgeous view of the fjord and town is available. 

From there we extended the hike with a loop down to the lake. While not on the tourist map, the trail was marked on Organic Maps as well as blazed. There were other trails blazed and enterprising hikers could easily make a day out of traipsing around the mountain. As usual, the further away from the ship, the less passengers you will experience.

The walk back was pretty but the trail was mostly slick slate-like rocks, which made for a slow descent. 

After the hike we stopped by the Skjolden Cidery and purchased a couple of bottles of cider.

We saw the Cidery on the tourist map, and it is basically on the route that we were hiking. Great! Who doesn’t want a nice cider after hiking? And we always like to support local businesses while traveling.

Corey looked up the cidery and found contact information for the owner, Erik Bolstad. Please reach out to him first if you are looking to visit, as he is also busy running an orchard and does not have set hours at the moment. He started making cider for his home use, and obtained a license around five years ago. The cider production is in his garage, and he is in the process of building a tasting room that will have great views of the fjord.

Google Maps has the wrong address: it will get you close but not quite to the right house. Instead put in Høgemovegen 8, 6876 Skjolden and follow the road to the end. We found Erik in his barn and he was happy to chat about his cider process. Takeaway 750 ml bottles of cider were $17.50 USD each.

Our plan was to dine at the bar of the Skjolden Hotel. But while our notes indicated that they started serving food at 1 PM, their chalkboard said that on this day they opened at 4 PM. This is right after everyone was due back on the ship. Coincidence? Maybe: it’s an active hotel and perhaps they do not want their lobby overrun by cruise passengers. So instead we ate back on board.

We walked 6.6 miles, almost half of it uphill.

Olden

This was the coldest day on our cruise, as the wind chill made it feel like 39 degrees F. We were wearing all our warm weather gear, and I was using items I bought for Antarctica like glove liners and electronic pocket warmers. 

Olden is double the size of Skjolden and there are more organized activities. Many people visit the glaciers and national parks in the area. There is also a cable car, which is not our thing.

The Briksdal Glacier is south of the city. But while it is an easy hike to the glacier from the trailhead, the shuttle buses to the trailhead are about $60 USD per person. We decided to stick to the sights in town. As we walked through the town, we found some great Scandinavian weather clothes on sale!

In town, we visited the Old Church (white church), a wooden building without heat, built in 1759. Then we started walking south.

Just south of the city are a series of lakes and streams, fed by the runoff of the glacier. The scenery was fantastic even if it was cloudy and rainy. Waterfalls everywhere!

We followed the highway and some trails to the New Church (red church), which replaced the Old Church in 1934.

We then continued on a trail out of town that led to a the beautiful, shallow Laukifossen waterfall, and then the first of multiple lakes. 

Then we walked back and treated ourselves to a local pear juice from the Vikings store. 

The route south of town basically follows the water as far as the glacier, with some roadside and some trail walking, and multiple opportunities to cross the river over wooden bridges. Our walk was 7.6 miles, mostly flat, but it continues for as long as you can safely hike while still making it back to the ship in time!

Next time we would go the north route to the Huaren viewpoint. The trailhead is about 2.5 miles north of the pier, and the trail is around 1.5 hours each way.

The last stop in town was to load up on local snacks. We found some items in the clearance section, like reindeer sausage.

Guided scenic cruising followed as the ship slowly made its way back out of the fjords. It was cold, wet, and windy but we did our best to enjoy the stellar views. Here’s a short YouTube video of one of the many waterfalls flowing into the fjord. (And please subscribe to our channel there if you haven’t already!)

Stavanger

Back to the southern part of Norway, we had a 10 AM arrival, and some warmer weather. The highs hovered around 60 degrees. Stavanger is the fourth largest city in Norway, meaning there are things to do in the town, museums to see, and multiple neighborhoods to walk through.

We walked through the cute area and cut across town, looking at a few churches and other sights along the way. After walking across a few bridges, we reached the area called Buoy (and I have no idea how that is pronounced in Norwegian!).

We had pre-booked a private sauna experience. The sauna was on a floating platform, attached to the end of a dock, next to a small marina. The area was a bit industrial, with marine industry and some cute, quiet homes. It reminded me of the Ballard waterfront in Seattle, which has a strong Nordic heritage and similar seafaring history. 

The sauna was perfect after so many miles of walking. Just a nice treat to end the cruise. For two hours and two people, it was about $60 USD. Norway is spendy but this was a great splurge.

The nice part about our walk was the views of the city (especially from the bridge crossings) and its large-scale street art, and passing through different neighborhoods outside of the tourist core. 

On the way back to the ship we walked through the city center. We walked by the Petroleum Museum (and the odd industrial play area next to it), walked down the lively Fargegata (a colorful segment of Øvre Holmgate known as Color Street), and then stopped to enjoy local beer and some fries at Happy Burger. Two beers and an order of fries was $34 USD. Assume you’ll pay around $13 USD for a beer in Norway.

Stavenger is a cute city with some colorful streets. We were there on a holiday, meaning a lot of establishments were closed, and so there is more we can explore in the CBD on another visit. We covered 8.2 miles which brings our four day total to nearly 32 miles. 

We had a sea day to relax while heading back to Southampton. It’s so nice ending a cruise with a sea day so we could sleep in and get organized and packed for our disembarkation. 

The Ship

Honestly, we found many faults with the crew and the ship on this voyage. We’ve sailed on similar-class Princess vessels, really enjoying our time on Discovery and Regal. We were surprised to see how dirty and run-down Sky Princess was. It was a full ship with a lot of kids but certain details were missed consistently, such as failing to stock the silverware on the buffet tables. Worse yet, the crew slouched around like zombies. They avoided eye contact and even when I greeted several crew with a cheery “good morning,” I would get nothing in response. 

The ship and crew were clearly not prepared for scenic cruising in Scandinavia. Even though the early morning fjord cruising is listed in the program, certain outside decks were closed for maintenance. The aft deck was open but the coffee machine was turned off (on Discovery, the same on-demand coffee machine was always on). When brewed coffee was finally delivered, Corey spoke to a staff member who said he was surprised that there were people awake and looking for hot beverages. Norway is a different destination than a Caribbean booze cruise, and the programming and dining/beverage should reflect that.

Our cabin steward was a bright exception: she was friendly and efficient. The room had an electric kettle and she kept us always stocked with tea, instant coffee, and packets of milk (so British!). Unlike other Princess ships, there were no washcloths. Here is a quick cabin tour.

There were 3,907 guests onboard and the listed max capacity is 3,660 persons. After some quick math that equals to 107% capacity which makes Sky Princess the most crowded boat we’ve been on in years! (Cruise ship capacity is measured two-passengers-per-room, meaning greater than 100% is possible, especially on ships with a lot of children.) The ship was packed to the gills with large family holiday groups, and there were even multiple weddings that took place during the cruise.

So overall, it was not our favorite ship experience. But we mostly travel for the ports, and Norway was a great destination. In an expensive country like Norway, having a room and transportation becomes an even better value.

It was a great week overall. Now we have a month to spend in England before our next cruise: around the British Isles on Emerald Princess.