7 nights Norwegian Fjords from Southampton (London) Cruise

Day 1 - Southampton

Arrive: Sat 18 July 2026 / Depart: Sat 18 July 2026 at 16:00

Cruises from Southampton are part of a storied maritime heritage. Famous ships have sailed from Southampton port and, before commercial air travel, it was the gateway to the world with Hollywood celebrities like Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor passing through to board a Southampton cruise. In its atmospheric Old Town, 12th-century churches, cobbled streets, and timber-framed houses like the impressive Tudor House & Garden sit side-by-side, surrounded by one of the most complete Medieval city walls in the UK where the Bargate – the ancient entrance – still stands intact. There are bustling marina-side bars, shiny shopping districts and a vibrant cultural quarter where the Mayflower Theatre puts on West End musicals and the SeaCity Museum catalogues Southampton’s seafaring past. Some of England’s most impressive landmarks are an easy drive away, including the Neolithic wonder Stonehenge, the picturesque spa city Bath or Buckingham Palace, Tate Modern and Tower Bridge in the bustling capital of London. Discover 5,000 years of history and more on a Southampton cruise.

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - Lerwick, Scotland

Arrive: Mon 20 July 2026 at 08:00 / Depart: Mon 20 July 2026 at 17:00

Lerwick, the port where your MSC cruise ship awaits your return, is very much the focus of Shetland’s commercial life. All year, its sheltered harbour is busy with ferries and fishing boats, as well as specialized craft including oil-rig supply, seismic survey and naval vessels from all round the North Sea. In summer, the quayside comes alive with visiting yachts, cruise liners, historic vessels such as the restored Swan and the occasional tall ship. Behind the old harbour is the compact town centre, made up of one long main street, flagstone-clad Commercial Street, whose narrow, winding form, set back one block from the Esplanade, provides shelter from the elements even on the worst days. From here, narrow lanes, known as closses, rise westwards to the late Victorian new town. The northern end of Commercial Street is marked by the towering walls of Fort Charlotte, begun for Charles II in 1665, burnt down by the Dutch fleet in August 1673, and repaired and named in honour of George III’s queen in the 1780s. Exhibits at the Shetland Museum, in a wonderful purpose-built waterfront building, include replicas of a hoard of Pictish silver found locally, the Monks Stone, thought to show the arrival of Christianity in Shetland, and a block of butter, tax payment for the King of Norway, found preserved in a peat bog. MSC Northern Europe cruises also offer excursions to Scalloway, once the capital of Shetland, which however waned in importance throughout the eighteenth century as Lerwick grew. Nowadays, Scalloway is fairly sleepy, though its harbour is busy enough. The town is dominated by the imposing shell of Scalloway Castle, a classic fortified tower house built with forced labour in 1600 by the infamous Earl Patrick Stewart, who held court in the castle and gained a reputation for cruelty and corruption.

Day 4 - Maloy

Arrive: Tue 21 July 2026 at 09:00 / Depart: Tue 21 July 2026 at 17:30

Måløy is one of the most important fishing ports in Norway. In 1997, Måløy was granted town status by the municipality

Day 5 - Flam

Arrive: Wed 22 July 2026 at 07:00 / Depart: Wed 22 July 2026 at 17:00

To reach Flåm, your MSC cruise ship will navigate into the Sognefjord, the longest of the hundreds of Norwegian fjords. Extending over 204 kilometres and 1,308 metres deep, it is a record breaking fjord in which your ship will head southward, to reach the southern end of the Aurlandsfjord. At this point of your MSC cruise of Northern Europe you will see Flåm, amidst mountains of dense forest reaching up to the sky. In this challenging and remote setting you can see how even a modern means of locomotion like the train can blend in with Norway's pectacular natural landscape. Take a train ride from Flåm to Kjosfossen: 20 incredible kilometres inside the green coaches up to the station of Myrdal on the Bergen railway line. The landscapes you will admire are truly unique and will make your journey unforgettable. Nature is revealed in its most beautiful and wild landscape, with rock shaped by rivers that form gorges and rifts and waterfalls that plunge down dizzy heights, and, here and there, mountain farms, perched like mountain climbers, where cattle are raised and excellentcheese is produced. And to think that the current to power the train is actually a gift of nature. It is the imposing Kjosfossen waterfalls, that plunge vertically down almost as if to show off to the tourist’s camera, that move the turbines that produce the electric energy for the railway line. Don’t miss the excursion in rubber dinghies or kayaks in the waters surrounding the small port. You will have the opportunity to see the variety of animals and plants that inhabit these shores. Visit the protected areas of the Aurlandfjord and the Nærøyfjord to admire the majestic beauty produced by the activity of the ice and the sea on this land, from a privileged point of view.

Day 6 - Kristiansand, Norway

Arrive: Thu 23 July 2026 at 14:00 / Depart: Thu 23 July 2026 at 20:00

In Kristiansand the MSC cruise of Northern Europe touches the southernmost part of Norway, the region of Sørlandet, where thousands of islands and rocks dot the coast along the Skagerrak straits. As you step ashore from the ship you find yourself in a lively town offering plenty of opportunities and attractions, such as the Kilden Performing Arts Centre, a striking building for its bold architecture, that hosts exhibitions and concerts all year round. The zoo and the Kristiansand amusement park (12 km from the town) are also an experience for the whole family. There are museums like the Vest-Agder that gives the visitor insight into the local culture and history with impressive models of the town with its most representative buildings. The nature museum with its botanical gardens instead hosts the largest collection of cactus plants in Norway. The Sørlandet museum of art hosts a permanent collection of Norwegian art while the imposing canons museum hosts the second largest cannon in the world and a rich collection of military exhibits. If instead you wish to immerse yourself in Kristiansand’s everyday life, visit the fish market, here you can find restaurants where you can enjoy the freshest fish, while there’s a bustling of boats coming and going. Try an experience into the past with a ride on the steam engine train. You can get to the village of Vennes and then get a ticket for the Setesdal railway, which has since the 19th century connected Kristiansand and the other coastal towns to the once remote region of Setesdal. You should not miss an excursion to the delightful town of Lillesand, known as the jewel of the Sørlandet, with picturesque fishermen’s houses that have been turned into holiday homes in an environment of rare charm with the colourful port and ever-present Norwegian nature.

Day 7 - At Sea

Day 8 - Southampton

Arrive: Sat 25 July 2026 at 07:00 / Depart: Sat 25 July 2026

Cruises from Southampton are part of a storied maritime heritage. Famous ships have sailed from Southampton port and, before commercial air travel, it was the gateway to the world with Hollywood celebrities like Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor passing through to board a Southampton cruise. In its atmospheric Old Town, 12th-century churches, cobbled streets, and timber-framed houses like the impressive Tudor House & Garden sit side-by-side, surrounded by one of the most complete Medieval city walls in the UK where the Bargate – the ancient entrance – still stands intact. There are bustling marina-side bars, shiny shopping districts and a vibrant cultural quarter where the Mayflower Theatre puts on West End musicals and the SeaCity Museum catalogues Southampton’s seafaring past. Some of England’s most impressive landmarks are an easy drive away, including the Neolithic wonder Stonehenge, the picturesque spa city Bath or Buckingham Palace, Tate Modern and Tower Bridge in the bustling capital of London. Discover 5,000 years of history and more on a Southampton cruise.