Cruise ships are a typical sight within the Geirangerfjord of western Norway.
David Nikel
4 million cruise passengers are anticipated to go to Norway throughout 2022 on extra cruise ships than ever earlier than.
Fears that the pandemic would put individuals off touring by cruise ship appear to have disappeared, at the very least in Scandinavia. The figures from Cruise Norway present that 500 extra port calls are registered this 12 months than in 2019, the final full 12 months with no pandemic-related journey restrictions.
A ban on cruise calls was one of many first journey restrictions to be launched by the Norwegian authorities in March 2020. However with all journey restrictions eliminated earlier this 12 months, the cruise season is already effectively underway in Norway.
Demand for Norway is excessive year-round
Norway is a lovely vacation spot for cruise ships 12 months spherical. Whereas the summer season is peak season particularly across the Norwegian fjords, the autumn and winter additionally appeal to extra adventurous vacationers hoping to see the northern lights and luxuriate in shore actions comparable to canine sledding.
There was plenty of hope within the trade for a post-pandemic increase, particularly as Lonely Planet named Norway as one of many best countries to travel to in 2022.
Demand for cruises additionally acquired a lift due to the continuing battle in Ukraine, which noticed many Baltic Sea cruises canceled or rerouted. A few of these ships have been put to make use of in Norway and Scandinavia, rising the obtainable capability.
Bergen hottest port
Many Norwegian ports are already full for the summer season season, so smaller ports are set to obtain a lift.
Norway’s second largest metropolis Bergen is called the “gateway to the fjords” and is about to obtain 290 cruise ships this 12 months, greater than another port. The Anthem of the Seas was a latest customer to Bergen. The world’s nineteenth largest cruise ship was simply sufficiently small to clear the Askøy bridge, which prevents the world’s largest cruise ships from visiting Bergen when in Norway.
Ålesund, Stavanger and Tromsø stay the following hottest ports, earlier than the tiny fjord villages of Olden and Geiranger. All of them are extra fashionable than Norway’s capital metropolis Oslo, which ranks seventh based on the figures from the Norwegian Coastal Administration.
