Anyone done a fjords cruise and able to help?

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DP and I have never been away together and would like to book a nice holiday for next August. We really would love to do a Fjords cruise but neither of us have never been on a cruise before and have no clue what is a good deal and who are the best companies. Has anyone been on a similar trip and care to advise? Just us, no kids, would like a balcony cabin and looking to go for 7-10 days. Budget pref no more than 1300 each...
Any recommendations gratefully received!

I'd do P&O from Southampton on Iona but what PP said about Britannia is interesting and it is a newish ship.

P&O I've done twice and is distinctly British mid range cruising

RCI and NCL are American orientated "resort" cruise lines (my favourite cruise ever was NCL for many reasons)

Princess and Celebrity are "premium" American orientated cruise lines.

Hurtigruten are more niche specialty cruising

Princess and NCL offer princess plus or free at see so drinks are all inclusive and always look for this now.

I've done all but Hurtigruten and celebrity.

But never done the fjords as a cruise (have travels round them independently)

Do you need school holidays and do you want drinks included?

I have taken Hurtigruten many times. If you want a trip that gets you in touch with Norwegian coastal culture and you just want to see the scenery, then it is great. Hurtigruten is used by Norwegians for commuting (which is what I use it for) and for goods transport to small places. There aren’t on board entertainment options like on cruise slips that are aimed specifically at holiday makers.

One tip - it is usually cheaper to go south on Hurtigruten than to go north.

Went with P&O destination was Fab the Ship was grubby with Poor service
I feel its worth the extra to go with Celebrity, Holland America etc

I’ve recently returned from P&O Iona Norwegian Fjord cruise. Cost was £599pp for a week. The ship was beautiful but massive, which meant it stuck to mainly towns along the coast & only visited what I would consider actual fjords for 1 day.

Would still really recommend it though for value for money & for onboard activities. We paid an extra £40pppd for the drinks package that worked out overall good value for us.

Why?

Yes what’s wrong with Disney? I’ve been on 14 cruises and my Disney cruise was in a different league to all the others (hence the price of them).

It surely depends what you want. I’ve cruised and I would not go on a big ship ever again. If you love Disney so be it. You can see Norway from Hurtigruten and I’d do that. Why go with Micky Mouse? Giant ships with limited itineraries. My last trip to Alaska was on a boat with 11 others and 5 crew. That’s the best but it’s way more money than a giant ship. We saw wonderful wildlife and little bays where big ships cannot go. I also go to see the country, not the ship.

You didn't say I hope not on a big ship you said I hope not on Disney!

So which is it you object to, Mickey Mouse or the big ship?

For families with children who love Disney this would be way better than the small ships.

The kids clubs are phenomenal and it is possible to dock at a port then take a smaller boat to travel further into the fjords. I think there are excursions that you can do that on.

Being anti large cruise ships is one thing but you have come across as disproportionally biased against the Disney aspect. My in laws are like that they turn their noses up at all things Disney. Comes across a bit snobbish.

Pick what sort of a ship you want first. A big fun unlimited cruise ship or a more formal smaller cruising experience? I think it’s best to “go big” and then refine that for future cruises. I recommend looking at Emma Cruises on her website as she has done a sheet comparing all the lines.
You’ll pay extra to choose your cabin on all the lines. Best bet is not above or below service areas like the pool or restaurants ( be surrounded by cabins in other words).

Pick an itinerary you like. Less sea days more ports is better for first time cruisers. It’s a great first visit as the Nordic countries are so expensive to do as a holiday normally. This way you can use the shops and visit places but get cheaper drinks and free food when you get back on the boat every night.

You’ll end up paying for add ones so ships that factor in tips, drinks Wi-Fi etc will be more expensive but may save you in the long run. ( WiFi is rubbish unusually. Just use it when you go ashore and forget it otherwise).

Do Disney do fjord cruises along the Norwegian coast? I have never seen one of their ships here.

Just looked them up. I see that they do a brief stop on the coast of Norway but further south than I would see ships. So they do offer a chance to see some fjords, but if seeing the Norwegian fjords and coastline is your thing, then I would suggest a different trip.

@Dahliasrule We are on the verge of booking a Fred Olsen cruise to Norway from Newcastle. Do you have any tips re cabins/drinks package (neither Dh or I are big drinkers) money for tips and I are they really full of the older generation? 😄 Not that it would really bother us and we are mid 50’s! TIA

I’d love to do this but DSis went and all of their group were horrendously seasick. They’d all been on various cruises before and been fine but they said the weather was really bad and they wouldn’t do that route again. Some of them ended up being given an injection by the doctor.

It’s really put me off although nobody else has mentioned the weather on this thread. Perhaps it was unusually bad when they went.

FeltCarrot, when we went, the drinks package was £10 a night, I see it is approx. £25 now. If you are not drinkers it is probably not worth it, though it does include soft drinks and mocktails. We don’t drink a lot but found it worth it at £10. DH does like a wine with his meal and brandy after. I notice some Fjord trips with Fred Olsen include it for free as a deal.
We always get a highish deck with a large window as I don’t like the lower decks as I feel a bit claustrophobic. I would avoid a cabin above or below the entertainment area or any bars.
Tipping is added to the bill at the end though we left a little extra in the cabin.
Age wise, we last when in our mid sixties, and there were older and younger than us. I certainly didn’t feel it was full of old crocks!
I hope if you go you enjoy it as much as we did. We loved the Fjords and went twice, once on the Balmoral and once with Cruise Maritime on the Magellan. Much preferred the Balmoral.
Hope this helps.

@Dahliasrule Thank you so much for replying, you have been very helpful and spurring me on to make a booking! 😃

Cruise critic forum is useful, plan your port trips, you can save a fortune if you do your own trips as the ship charge a lot more