Norwegian Fjords Cruise

[WatermelonKiwi]

Contemplating this for the Easter holidays next year with DS5. Has anyone been with a little one of this age and would you recommend it? Not done a cruise before but it seems like an easy option with not having to fly!

Did this a few years ago, not on that occasion with a child but the children's facilities were great. Deck 8 is more or less the children's zone with the pool and the child friendly restaurants there, and lots to do on shore. Some good FB groups where you can find ideas on the best activities at each port. It is incredibly easy compared to flying, your holiday starts as soon as you embark!

Which ship / cruise line? Each one will have pros and cons. You need research what ‘vibe’ you want.
We have done the Fjords, it’s on my to do list but cruises are very easy compared to flying.
Make sure you research the ports, book the right excursions. I’ve heard a lot sell out on the Fjords ones especially. You can book a lot independently or via the cruise line (more expensive but ship guaranteed to wait / sort travel if anything goes wrong).

How can you say which deck is for children given she hasn’t even mentioned which cruise line let alone which ship?

I’m just back from a p&o cruise to Norway! Not with kids through we travelled as 3 adults. I loved it, it was a brilliant trip. It was cold though and while we had great weather the trip the week before couldn’t dock in 2 ports so had extra sea days.

There are lots of kids activities and the majority of the entertainment is kid friendly and what isn’t is clearly marked. I have done a cruise when my kids were that age and it was really good, stuff for everyone to enjoy.

We went last year and did end up watching one of the kids activities which looked really good fun. The kids had to make fluffy animals, then they had visits and songs from a real live version. We went with P&O and there’s tons of stuff for families. You won’t be bored.

Stupid question here - is the ship warmed up so you can use the pool and stuff? I imagine the excursion are all cold?

Cruises are a bit marmite I think but I think they’re great for kids/teens. What ship are you looking at? I’d be a bit apprehensive about Easter being very cold, we went in August and that was mild enough!

May a couple of years ago, we had snow, rain and sunshine all on the same day. Doing an arctic circle cruise this June.

Id go onto cruise critic and take a look at different ships and itineraries.

Also when booking look to see what is and isn’t included.

As @Ca2026 says not all kids clubs are on the same deck it depends on the ship.

We generally sail celebrity and they are more adult based but do have kids club on board.

@MrsTravelBugwe wore a fleece on deck in April. Pools were heated as were jacuzzis. There was indoor pool. It was really pleasant in Norway with a thick fleece and layers. On the ship it’s warm so you can wear light clothing apart from out on deck and that’s mainly the wind that cools things down.

Thank you, That’s really helpful.

lines like Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and P&O have lots of kids’ clubs and activities, but may not sail that way. My young’uns were perfectly happy on Cunard, which has a kids club and teen zone. The pool is always a draw and Queen Anne has a covered one

sailing from Southampton is so easy

just back from a winter sun cruise around Canary Islands, Funchal, Lisbon and didn’t show a passport once apart from embarkation.

Possibly because in a desire to be helpful to the OP I wrote a fast reply and missed that part. I'm sure she'll clarify that with me should she want to.

@Kepler22B

Were we on the same cruise? 😅I was on the Iona in Norway like 3 weeks ago and we missed 2 ports! Thank God for cruise insurance.
I recommend cruising to the Norwegian Fjords to everyone, the kids clubs are brilliant, especially for little ones if you want to have some free time to go to the spa!

We did the Fjords with P and O, not with children but we did on another P and O cruise. They have kids clubs up to age 17 and all the kids we were with really enjoyed them. They also have an early serving of the buffet at dinner time for younger kids, plus plenty of food available all day.

Deck 8?

Deck 8.

Yes I know deck 8 very well.

Very helpful post.

I would look at MSC too as their kids clubs are very good, think they have a partnership with Lego.

Thank you everyone for your replies, I really appreciate it :)

The cruising part with a 5 year old would be great - lots of activities on board. Im not sure how much they would get out of being in the Fjords as it's generally an active, outdoorsy place. We did lots of hiking, RIB trips along the fjords, cycling and glacier trekking. I can't imagine a 5 year would be able to take part in certain activities?

RIB boat starts at 6 if I remember rightly (more for official excursion via P&O)

We went on P&O Iona to Norway last April with our then 4 and 9 year olds and it was a brilliant holiday. V relaxing and the kids loved it. Yes- trips might be a bit restricted if you’re wanting adventure/water/hiking type trips but we found trips that worked- shorter trips (2/3hrs). The best was going on the Loen sky lift. More expensive but booking though the cruise for trips meant the ship wouldn’t leave without us which took the stress away too!