Hellesylt cruise port, Norway
A waterfall runs straight through the middle of the village and into the fjord. Akerneset, the mountain a few kilometres up the fjord, has a crevice that widens a few centimetres a year and is watched around the clock, because when it finally goes it will put a wave down this fjord.
Worth knowing. That is not a theory here. In 1934 a slide into the next fjord along sent up a wave over 60 metres high and killed forty people, and everybody in these villages knows the date.
What to do in Hellesylt for free
There are two bridges to stand on and watch the water come down, and a path climbs the side of it, so you go up as far as your knees are willing. Everything here is a few minutes from the water.
What costs money
The ship's own excursions usually cost more than booking the same trip yourself. Two things come with the price. The ship waits for its own excursions and does not wait for you. And if the port is missed, P&O refunds its own without you asking. A trip you booked yourself is a claim on your travel insurance, so check what your policy covers. The ship sells its own trips to all of these, and the desk is open on board if you would rather do it that way.
The ferry down to Geiranger. An hour through the fjord past the Seven Sisters and the Suitor. If you buy your own rather than going with the ship, make certain the crossing you are on brings you back in time.
Mount Dalsnibba. A road that climbs to about 1,500 metres above Geiranger, with the fjord a very long way below you at the top. It is a coach the whole way up and there is snow beside the road most of the summer.
Which ship calls at Hellesylt, and when
Every call here between 15 August and 28 November 2026, with the hours ashore P&O published. These times are a guide, not a promise: the captain gives the real ones the day before.
| Ship | Sails | Day | Ashore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iona | 15 August 2026, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 22 May 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 5 June 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 19 June 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 3 July 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 17 July 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 31 July 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 14 August 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 28 August 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Arvia | 29 August 2027, 7 nights | Day 5 | 09:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 20 May 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 3 June 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 17 June 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 1 July 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 15 July 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 29 July 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Arvia | 30 July 2028, 14 nights | Day 12 | 07:00 to 16:00 |
| Arvia | 6 August 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:00 |
| Arvia | 6 August 2028, 14 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:00 |
| Iona | 12 August 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
| Iona | 26 August 2028, 7 nights | Day 5 | 07:00 to 16:30 |
How long you get ashore in Hellesylt
The published times give you between about 7.5 and 9.5 hours alongside, depending on the sailing. Take off the time it takes a few thousand people to get off, and the time you need to be back on board before the ship leaves, and that is your day. P&O give the real hours the day before, and the all-aboard time is earlier than the departure time.
The other stops on these cruises
Every one of these is on at least one of the sailings that calls at Hellesylt.
- CherbourgTitanic's last call on mainland Europe, on the evening of 10 April 1912, and she never came alongside: tenders carried the passengers out to her.
- Getxo (tours to Bilbao)Basque country, at the mouth of the river up to Bilbao.
- HaugesundNorway calls this its birthplace: Harald Fairhair, who pulled the country into one kingdom in the 870s, had his seat at Avaldsnes, just down the coast.
- La CorunaThe Spanish Armada sailed from this harbour in 1588, and it is still guarded by the Tower of Hercules, a Roman lighthouse from about the year 100 which has never stopped working: the oldest one on earth still doing its job.
- Le HavreFour fifths of the town was destroyed in September 1944 and Auguste Perret rebuilt the centre in reinforced concrete on a grid, which is now a World Heritage site, listed for the planning rather than for anything old.
- Le Verdon (for Bordeaux)The mouth of the Gironde, where the estuary meets the Atlantic, and a deep water quay built for cargo rather than for a town.
- OldenA village of a few hundred people at the head of Nordfjord, 100 km in from the open sea.
- SkjoldenThe innermost point of the Sognefjord, about 200 kilometres from open water.
- StavangerA herring and sardine-canning town that struck North Sea oil in 1969 and became Norway's richest city.
- VigoEurope's biggest fishing port by weight landed, and it smells honestly of it near the market.
Money and language in Norway
Norwegian krone (NOK, kr). Norway is close to cashless. A card works everywhere, including small kiosks and buses, and you can sail without touching a krone. Onboard is always charged in sterling, so this only matters ashore.
Almost everyone speaks excellent English, so these are a courtesy rather than a need.
| English | Norwegian | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Hei | hey |
| Goodbye | Ha det | hah deh |
| How much? | Hvor mye koster det? | voor MEE-uh KOSS-ter deh |
| Thank you | Takk | tahk |
| Please | Vær så snill | vair soh snil |
Free, and it works with no internet. Give it the dates you sail and it works out your own stops and saves the street map for each one. It shows you round the ship too.
All the ports written up so far, the things to do before you sail, or the ship pages for Iona and Arvia.