Norwegian cruise... any advice / experience welcome

[letsplanaholiday]

DH and I are thinking of booking a Norwegian fjords cruise next summer.

Neither of us have done any cruises before. Please can anyone offer advice on what we should consider when booking.

For example, it's more money for a room with a window, is it worth paying the extra for that? I'm assuming don't spend that much time in the room.

Which company to use (not P&O on principle). I've been looking at Cunard, are they good?

Basically I'm a cruising novice who want to see the fjords! Please tell me everything 😁

Blackberrycreampie I went on Oriana in 2001 from Southampton round the Canary Islands, it was the only holiday I never wanted to come home from. P & O cruises are brilliant, there are a good range of ships to choose from, the older ones are smaller & the new ones are like a small town. Look on YouTube for videos of cruises, there are some good ones, I follow Cruising with Ben & David.

P and O, RCI or Princess for me. Wonderful holidays and people are much younger on them these days. People still enjoy dressing up on formal nights, even the kids!

Some great tips thank you! So far the main thing I'm hearing is get a balcony room!

or go with MSC and book the Yacht Club.

I went on a Norwegian fjords cruise with Celebrity Cruise. I've been on another with P&O, and if I'd gone on the latter one first I probably would never go on another cruise.
First, autumn in Norway starts in August. We went late August and much of the fantastic views were shrouded in fog, and the weather was cold and wet much of the time. So go early summer.
Celebrity was fabulous. The food was AMAZING. Staff were fantastic. The shore excursions were enjoyable and my two young teens were entertained. We didn't bother with any shows on board - too much hassle to get there around dinner. If you are just adults there is a nice cocktail scene and casino. We tended to eat dinner then go back to our cabin and watch a movie. Our excursions started early so we didn't stay up late.
P&O - they really blew it on the food front. The middle of the day buffet was really poor (you come back from excursions at odd times so miss the restaurant lunch times). Breakfast was restaurant rather than the fantastic buffet of Celebrity, limiting our choices severely. Staff were lovely but the food really was not up to standard. There was also some sort of access issue so our friend had to walk the long way round to the exit to get on shore, even though they were actually just a few rooms away. Cleanliness was also an issue with P&O. The decks often had rubbish scattered about.
We weren't particularly interested in onboard activities, but both had a variety, though the pools were crowded and not very welcoming. Book your shore trips early as they do get sold out.
I've booked another short cruise with Celebrity this August.

My parents went with Hurtigruten a couple of years ago.

I'd never fancied the idea of a cruise and their experience confirmed it.

• We like to visit sights a quieter times. When they got off the ship to visit somewhere, a few hundred others got off too, and headed in the same direction!

• Apparently the food was good, but unless you book 3 years in advance you are allocated a specific table (for the whole voyage), with another couple. Enforced awkward conversation for 10 days. In the end my parents abandoned it and went for the self service buffet.

Might not be the same on all cruises but it definitely wouldn't suit us.

You’re correct. It’s not the same on all cruises. But I suspect your parents would probably found things to complain about regardless of which company they went with. I mean - did they really think from when they booked the cruise they’d be the only ones going ashore? Where did they think everyone else woukd be on the day?

Going ashore? It’s quite possible to use the shore day as a means to get to other places in a country/city that takes your fancy. You don’t have to do tours organized by the cruise company and I think the only time I’ve ever used one in all the cruises I’ve been on was to book the tour then once we got off the bus 40 minutes later I then made my way to Florence by train where I spent the whole day with an art historian before getting back on the train to the ship later that night.

Booking for dinner? There’s so many ways to organize yourself meal wise and I’ve never yet booked a day ahead, yet alone booked a meal 3 years ahead. There are so many dining options you can usually take your pic on the day if your willing to be even a little bit flexible. So, you can’t get into one place? Then go to another. It’s part of the fun. Just pleasing yourself. Or failing that there’s always the likes of the MSC Yacht Club that’s rather nice.

For me, cruising is a just a means to get from A to B in comfort with things to do on board along the way if that’s what I fancy. And I think it’s important to remember that when you board a cruise ship no one is robbing you of your imagination or free will and its possible to be as independent of thought and movement as you want to be.

Op you’ll love it! Sounds the perfect holiday for you.
if prices are higher than you’d ideally like to spend then go for an interior cabin. You can watch a clear view of the scenery on the tv from the ship’s webcam and the rooms are extremely well designed to make the most of the space. You never get treated any differently from the guests who have paid hundreds more for a balcony cabin. If it’s not too much more to have a balcony then it’s a no-brainer. However I wouldn’t bother if it was massively more expensive as the overall cruise experience is the same.
Don't bother taking cash to Norway, lots of places don’t accept it anymore. It really is an attractive and friendly country. Most port stops in the fjords area walkable so you don’t have to do expensive tours if you don’t want to.
Princess have nice ships, smart and luxurious but not stuffy. Royal Caribbean or Disney great if you are taking kids.

We’ve had a few cruises with Celebrity, including the fjords, each one has been excellent.
My top tip is to list all the stops that the ship is making and book the excursions directly with the local companies, excursions booked on the ship can be quite expensive.
Research each stop before you go so that you can find out if the centre of the town is near the port or if you need to book a coach/bus ticket.
If one of your stops is Stavanger I would highly recommend a tour out to Flor Og Fjaere, I think it translates to island of flowers. A boat takes you to the island and one of the owners takes you for a tour around it, then you have time to yourselves followed by coffee and cake. It’s a beautiful island full to the brim of gorgeous gardens, a proper oasis, we have lots of great photos and loved every minute of it.
Norway is a lovely country, most people speak English and are very welcoming.
The Celebrity ships are all excellent and I would definitely book a balcony room even though it’s more expensive. The food is great on board and room service Is fabulous.
Enjoy every minute of it.

We did the Norwegian Fjords with Royal Caribbean from Southampton. We were offered a deal on cabins with balconies which was amazing. Also got 50% off the drinks package which was also amazing.
Really enjoyed it, was hassle free compared to flying. There was plenty to do in board such as golf, escape room, shows, swimming etc

Interesting .....
After our mayhalf term holiday going poof and a refusal to take another risk with the airline industry this year we were tempted by a nordic cruise on msc virtuosa at end of August.
Its cheaper than a week self catering in spain too with the premium drinks packagefor 2 adults 2 children and figured that the ship looks great for kids even if the fjords themselves might not be of interest to them.

Just saw comment about weather at end of August which is interesting.

So, have put it to DH and he's on board with the idea (see what I did there?! 😆) he agrees it sounds like it's worth splashing out on a balcony based on your wonderful helpful suggestions.
I'm noting all of the advice about booking trips direct, love the sound of the flower island!

DH is a teacher but we're childless. So we have to go in school hols, but would prefer a ship that is less likely to have loads of kids on board... suggestions please!!

There are a few lines that are more suited to adults. And some are adult only ships.

Cunard
P&O (they have adult only ships)
Virgin (adult only, but a but of a party line)

Avoid Royal Caribbean, Disney and some MSC ships if you don't want lots of kids.

Princess don't have loads of kids on board but there are some. They are just not the ships that have loads of kids play stuff like other lines.

Ooh watching with interest as I fancy this for big birthday next year

I will need an outside cabin. I can’t even cope with an inside on a cross channel ferry overnight so definitely couldn’t do longer.

I was on P&O Iona recently around the fjords. We were lucky as we had fantastic weather all week. Beautiful weather, lovely ship. Food was good, P&O drinks package is crap as very restrictive but it is what it is and we made it work.

When booking a cabin I never tie myself to one type, I go by price vs itinerary. On this latest cruise we had a balcony as there was a deal where 3rd guest sailed for £99. When we went a few years ago on Ventura we had an inside cabin as I couldn't justify the price difference for a balcony and that was absolutely fine- we just spent more time on open decks and in bars etc.

We've been on quite a few with P&O - I'll go with them again but I prefer Princess. Princess do fjords cruises in the summer months and they are worth checking out.

We are going to the Fjords on P&O in a few weeks. First holiday for 7yrs + and first cruise!

P&O Ferries is a completely different company from P&O Cruises. Look it up.

Enjoy! And remember to post a full update on here when you return please!

@BanjoVio carry on reading the thread, we established that a long way back thank you!

OP I’m excited for you. I loved my Norwegian cruise from Southampton, you literally start your holiday as soon as you se foot on the ship.

Good-oh ☺️ Also, P&O ships Arcadia and Aurora are adults only and I believe both go to the fjords.

My friend has done the Hurtigruten cruise twice and has had absolutely amazing holidays! She looked at the other cruises but didn’t want all the ‘cruise ‘ type entertainment!!

@BanjoVio fab thank you I will look out for them 😊

The universe must want me to go on this trip as I randomly got a cruise travel brochure through the post yesterday and I've not subscribed to anything!

Have a look at the Baltic cruises. They will be two weeks as opposed to one but what you see is much more varied. Or maybe you'll progress to that when you realise how fab cruising is. 🙂

We did a Baltic cruise a few years back, St. Petersburg was our favourite stop, but for obvious reasons it’s of the agenda. Estonia was lovely and we also like Copenhagen. One of the highlights was standing on the top deck about midnight and sailing under the Oresund bridge that joins Denmark with Sweden, fabulous experience.

Oops, good point. I forgot about Russia there. So definitely off the agenda in the near future! But eep it in mind, op, it's one of my favourite cruises. I love the Adriatic too.