Norwegian Fjords cruise - P&O or MSC?

[pinkmud80]

Planning a 1 week Norwegian Fjords cruise this summer with our 3 kids. I think P&O looks better option as it seems to have a much better itinerary (going to some really stunning places) whereas DH thinks MSC looks better as there are water slides on board for the DCs! To me MSC looks nice and agree about the waterslides being a big plus, but doesn't have anywhere near as good an itinerary as P&O, not going to any of the really spectacular "wow" locations.

Any tips?

I’d book for the locations rather than the water slides tbh. We’ve just booked the P&O Norwegian Fjords cruise for next year so I’m hoping it will be good as the locations look stunning. We have two children and there is no way I’d prioritise water slides.

You are right, MSC is more focus on the boats, P&O is more focus on the locations!

If it’s the classic 7 day fjords itinerary, you get 4 port days and 2 sea days and on that basis I’d pick the better ports over the better ship. 2 sea days is not actually very long to explore a huge cruise ship and you will fill those days easily.

Also, I wouldn’t be basing a fjords cruise on waterslides! The water won’t be heated and a waterpark in cold water, when the weather is probably 15C, probably won’t provide the hours of entertainment your DH is hoping for!

We did the Fjords on P&O Iona a few years ago in August, and are doing it again this year (the itinerary is slightly different). I’d agree with others not to prioritise the water park - the weather was quite cool for most of our trip, plus we wanted to go and see the places we were visiting so weren’t on the ship at the warmest times of day.

We loved Iona and the Fjords and cannot wait to go back!

I’m a bit surprised by the comments as I’m going on MSC to the fjords this summer and
the itinerary is going to Flam and Geraingerford which are both meant to be brilliant. Perhaps it depends on the sailing? We are going from Copenhagen as well.

MSC heat the pools.

The itineraries have changed from when I went 10 years ago. That was P&O and yes, great scenery. We went to Bergen though and that seems absent from the current itineraries. I like the longer itinerary where you go much further north, so more than Fjords. Lofoten islands and Trondheim are great. It will also depend on shore trips. We did a mix and went on the Flam railway. We are going back this summer on a small ship and really looking forward to it. Norway is very expensive so be careful regarding a coffee or two!

Water slides are not what a Norway cruise is about! However the fjords are long and some itineraries have a lot of fjord sailing! You need to decide if it’s the boat activities you want or the scenery. Could be a bit chilly for water slides.

Watching!

Thanks so much all! We have just booked with P&O!