Norway - Fjords, Viking Folklore & Flåm Reviews

Firstly, dealing with Global Journeys was excellent. A big thank you to Juliet & Jodie for organising our group of 8. This was our first Albatross tour after studying their brochures for years. I had liked the sound of the smaller group size, relaxed starts, longer stays at each destination, no optional tours and tips included. Also the fact that many read more meals were included helped with budgeting. Normally they offer a drink with dinner, but that doesn’t apply on the Scandinavian tour. After seeing the price of drinks we could understand why. Expect to pay anywhere from $14 - $20 for a beer & $20 - $25 for a glass of wine!

This was a new tour for Albatross and I think with a bit of tweaking it would be fantastic. Not that we didn’t have a great time, because we did. Our fellow travellers were the best I’ve ever had on any group tour. So much fun & laughter. 24 Aussies & 3 Kiwis! We weren’t blessed with the best weather which was a bit disappointing. Scenic cruises & train rides aren’t quite the same in pouring rain! However, we did get to see some amazing waterfalls so it wasn’t all bad. The sun did come out in the Lofoten Islands which were breathtakingly beautiful. The scenery was amazing and some of the group even managed to glimpse the northern lights. The accommodation was generally good as was the food, although most meals were a set menu. It would be nice to be given a choice and it’s hard to understand why there’s not. For example, one dinner we were given roast beef & sauce so the gluten free lady in our group was given a beautiful piece of grilled salmon & veges. You would think they should be able to offer everyone the choice of beef or salmon. But that’s just a minor quibble. A couple of hotels had buffet dinners though which was nice. One thing we did miss was tea and coffee in our rooms. Some hotels provided it, others didn’t. Also some bathrooms had the shower over really high baths which some of the group found difficult to get into.

Our Spanish tour director was lovely and though she seemed a little unsure of the Aussie sense of humour at the start, by tour end she was joining in the banter as well! She went out of her way to ensure we all had a great time. It wasn’t made easy with the changeable weather or the fact many things were closed for the season. I would advise going earlier in the season if possible as some things on our itinerary were changed due to that fact. There was probably a few too many museums for my liking, but that’s just my opinion. Tips for Norway - bring a good quality raincoat and waterproof shoes and be prepared to pay a lot for food and drinks! All in all we had a wonderful, relaxing holiday and would be happy to travel with Albatross again.

While we were unlucky with the changeable weather, we were certainly not let down by the breathtaking scenery in Norway, and towns like Stavanger and Bergen were a delight. Among the highlights of Norway were the Lofoten Islands. The hotels were all very good, although the views from several allocated rooms were not.

This was our first Albatross. We felt qualified to make a fair judgement as we have done 10 tours with a variety of tour companies before. Please do not recommend this tour until at least 2021- this might give the company time to review and change many aspects to make this a good tour.

Our guide Annette had a stutter which made her difficult to read more listen to and obviously shortened her explanations. The tour offered one glass of wine on arrival and nothing after - not even on the last night. A glass of wine here and there and some aperitifs helps to develop the social side of the touring group. This group struggled to gel as there were few opportunities and no encouragement. There was also too much 'My Time' without any support or guidance.

The Hurtigurten day was up at 5 am for a flight, 2 hours in a shopping mall of no interest to anyone, followed by 2 hours waiting for the cruise to start, followed by 4 hours of cruising which was pleasant, followed by 1.5 hours to get to the accommodation. A really long day which wasn’t seen as worthwhile by our group. Lofoten islands were good but cabins varied in quality and views.

There were several in our group who had done other Albatross tours and we all felt this tour was not up to the standard it should have been. Very disappointing. Norway is a beautiful country but tour operator did not offer value in that market. I will advise against using Albatross for Scandinavia.

In contrast, our second Albatross trip - Italian Grande, taken straight after this trip was excellent. Our guide Antonia was outstanding. The trip could be seen to value the group and offered value for money. Alcohol appropriately offered and 'My Time' was well guided and supported. A fabulous trip and agreed by all in the group.