Cruising the Fjords
As our holiday draws to a close; we have our last leg of the journey back to Southampton, I thought I put a few thoughts together.
tl;dr Cruising is definitely the way to go, especially to see the Norwegian Fjords.
Given their remote location, travelling to see them any other way would be a lengthy, and costly, journey.
Having said that, there were a lot of motorhomes at the various places we stopped and this could certainly be a viable and fun option.
However, I digress. Here are my thoughts about our cruising holiday.
Cost
Going on a cruise isn’t cheap; but I’ll caveat that with “everything is included”. Almost.
We didn’t pay for the drinks package. At roughly £44 per day, each, we’re not big drinkers, so we’ve been paying as we go, and some of the food options were also extra. More on that later.
As for the shore excursions. We booked them independently of the cruise line. In all cases, the prices were 50% LESS than booking through P&O for exactly the same thing. In fact, we even did a couple of things that were not available via the cruise company.
It’s been many, many years since I last went on a cruise so, whilst I had some expectations, I was really pleased with our experience.
Accommodation
We decided to choose an inside cabin. That is, one without a view of the outside world. We figured that in bad weather we (a) wouldn’t be sitting on a balcony and (b) was it worth an extra £600!?
We also selected a cabin on a lower deck, midship. This reduced any effect of pitching and rolling if the sea was rough. Thankfully, the North Sea remained calm, so no issue there.
The cabin is small, but was actually perfectly sized. There is an abundance of storage (shelves, no drawers) and the bathroom is also a great size.
There is a huge flat-screen TV, which we used to see the bow camera each morning; to get an idea of the weather and also a first look at where we were.
No complaints from us here, either.
Food
The food is plentiful. On our ship there are 4 main dining rooms; each with their own vibe but serving the same menu. This is fine dining and it is done beautifully.
At the other end of the scale there is Horizon. The ‘not quite’ 24 hour buffet. Again, the quality of the food is top-notch, but the ambiance is quite different. We had breakfast and lunch here, but went to the main dining for dinner.
There are also dining options that require an additional payment. It’s entirely up to you whether to spend more.
We did pay for a dining/entertainment evening; with Matt Cardle, but otherwise we stayed within the boundaries of what was included.
There are also plenty of bars throughout the ship, and other food options too.
Entertainment
There is a plethora of entertainment, something to suit everyone. From lounge music, shows and comedians; we were never at a loss for what to do in the evening.
We didn’t bother with the casino. We did look around the art gallery and shops; but our money stayed in our pockets.
A ship of this size, when you first look at it, is quite daunting, but we found our way around quite easily. There’s lots of sign-posting to set you in the right direction.
All the staff, without exception, were friendly and smiley and always pleased to help.
Finally
I am really pleased with our choice of cruise. Not least because my wife has been quite nervous before booking, due to very bad experience 20+ years ago.
We’ve discussed it quite a bit and there isn’t one complaint, that affected our enjoyment of the cruise.
In fact, if you forced me to make a negative comment, I’d say that the Sky Dome swimming pool resembled a public swimming baths - more because it was indoors and had the chlorine smell and echoes.
I heard other passengers complain about the lifts being too busy! I mean, come on! There are 24 lifts in total - 8 at forward, mid and aft (back) of the ship. At times they were busy. But not so bad to complain!
Looking back at the cost, we spent an extra £117 in food/drink that were not included. That does include alcoholic beverages too - we weren't skimping; we just don't drink a lot.
The final word has to come from my wife who, when I asked if she would cruise again, said “where next?”