Norway (Telemark & Vestland)
14 August - 25 August 2026
Edwards Red Dragon
Richard & Korrie
Edwards Red Dragon
Richard & Korrie
We left Hamburg at a respectable time of 10:00 for a 7 hour drive to the Stena Line terminal at the Hook of Holland, near to Rotterdam. Nothing of note along the way; a few (what have become) standard traffic jams near cities and a couple of stops at half-decent service stations.
We boarded at 18:45 for a 22:00 departure. The Stena terminal is another piece of “what were they thinking” design. It’s about ½ mile from the ship! You reach the ship by a series of travelators (airport style) that take you up and along the (perhaps) first 700 yards, the rest is slightly uphill and on foot. Eventually you arrive on board.
Then our travel-god decided we deserved a little good fortune.
We went to reception to ask for a cabin upgrade. In fairness, Edwards has booked outside double cabins and, apparently we’d been allocated one of the better ones. The agent spent a little time working out how to upgrade a group booking and finally, with the help of a senior colleague, offered us a “Captain’s Class” cabin for €60. It sounded like a good cabin so we took it.
And was it a good cabin? It was so good it could have been a mid-range cruise ship cabin. Complementary items included:
The shower room was bigger than some hotels. There was a TV with all the “free-to-view” UK channels. A large double bed. Two comfortable armchairs. A coffee table.
Was that €60 well spent?!!
We had a very good night’s sleep. The ships wake-up call at 05:30 was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” played over the ship’s tannoy system (made us smile). Disembarkation at 06:30 was a little chaotic, but worked well enough. Overall, we’d recommend Stena (the cabin upgrade had made a massive difference).
UK passport control took a while but we were away by 07:30 to travel to and around London for a stop at Reading West and then home by 13:45.
So much depends on what it is you’re looking for, or hoping to get, out of a holiday. We like “well organised”, “four star” (we’ll pay for upgrades), “well-paced”, “laid-back”. Other people may have different priorities and not mind some inconveniences in exchange for them.
We knew when we booked that this was to be an experience more than our typical holiday agenda. It was, and the scenery and experience of inland Norway was exceptional. However, poor itinerary planning and timings, the inferior quality of “tourist-trap” hotels in Norway with rugby-scrum buffet meals cast a dark shadow. Distances to and from excursion destinations were too great at times. Too far for not enough on occasion. Additionally, the long journeys into and from Norway were tedious. We felt there was more time spent on the coach than actual holidaying.
Sorry to say, this is not a tour we’d consider recommending, even to someone desperate to visit Norway.
