Using the search feature, I saw a couple of posts here/there on road trips through Norway, but I didn't see anything about Norwegian cruises in and about the Fjords.
Mrs. Ramjet's family background has a good bit of Norwegian in the lineage, so an expedition has been in the plans for some time now. We're getting serious about something in the summer of 2025, but there are a bunch of options to consider. Cruise line, ship size, whether the ship can get into the scenic areas, costs of shore excursions, number of stops, etc. I'm seeing that while some of the smaller ships do get you "more stops", those stops are often passenger/cargo stops for 15 minutes at 4:00am as the drop off transit/cargo and move on quickly. I'm not sure if that's something that will constantly interrupt sleep at 4 in the morning or if it's so quiet you'll never know it.
Anyway - does anyone have any experience or recommendations they'd like to share about Norwegian cruises in July?
There are the obvious "big boys" of Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Royal Caribbean, but we're not all that interested in the "big Cruise ship" experience and overhead. There seem to be several smaller lines that keep coming up - Hurtigruten and Havila being two of the more popular/well-reviewed ones.
Our goals are as much "oh my God" scenery/photo opportunities as possible, interactions with smaller villages/sites, and things perhaps off the tourist-trap paths. We're not that interested in big cities or overly-touristy places.
Lots of constraints, I get it ... but any help/advice/things to look for or avoid would be greatly appreciated.