Summertime Fjords

Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambience sets out from London Tilbury for a week that turns almost immediately to Norway’s fjords. The first port is Eidfjord, a small village surrounded by steep cliffs and waterfalls you can often hear from the ship’s deck. From there, the ship cruises the Hardangerfjord, where apple orchards meet rugged hillsides.

Bergen comes next, a city known for its wooden Bryggen wharf and the colourful houses rising above the harbour. It is a useful reminder that Norway’s fjords are not all wilderness. The journey continues to Sandnes, a town near Stavanger, from which the ship cruises the Boknafjord. This wider fjord opens onto the North Sea and the striking Lysefjord, where Pulpit Rock—the flat-topped cliff popular with hikers—stands guard.

The Ambience, a steadily paced vessel, returns to London Tilbury at the end of seven nights. The sailing balances time spent at sea with stretches alongside in towns that give a solid sense of life along Norway’s western coast.