Arcadia or Aurora or Britannia

We are very lucky to have a child free holiday and are looking at Norway next August.

We have 3 ships to choose from as in the title, but not sure which to choose. Prices are the same we are going inside.

I like the sound of all 3 just having a hard time deciding.

We are a couple in our early 40's .

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Hi, everyone will have their own favourite [emoji3] I think I'd opt for Britannia or Arcadia just simply because they have hydro pools and I do enjoy those. Also since the refit Arcadia is lovely and of course Britannia is new. It is likely that Arcadia will have an older demographic as she's child free, but in school hols I'm guessing Britannia will have younger people with families. To be honest they are all lovely.

Hi, everyone will have their own favourite [emoji3] I think I'd opt for Britannia or Arcadia just simply because they have hydro pools and I do enjoy those. Also since the refit Arcadia is lovely and of course Britannia is new. It is likely that Arcadia will have an older demographic as she's child free, but in school hols I'm guessing Britannia will have younger people with families. To be honest they are all lovely.

Thank you ☺

Are the itinerarys the same? You may find that Aurora is a slightly better bet as it is a bit smaller and may be able to go into ports the others ( especially Britannia) can't get in to.

I haven't been on Aurora yet but Arcadia is a lovely ship - but as already mentioned is Adults only. As you are going in August you need to think whether you want child free, or child rampant ( only joking ).

Norway is beautiful though - whichever ship you chose. Shame you can't run to an outside or balcony though - well worth it for Norway as a lot of the best scenery is in the early morning.

Are the itinerarys the same? You may find that Aurora is a slightly better bet as it is a bit smaller and may be able to go into ports the others ( especially Britannia) can't get in to.

I haven't been on Aurora yet but Arcadia is a lovely ship - but as already mentioned is Adults only. As you are going in August you need to think whether you want child free, or child rampant ( only joking ).

Norway is beautiful though - whichever ship you chose. Shame you can't run to an outside or balcony though - well worth it for Norway as a lot of the best scenery is in the early morning.

Thank you ☺ yes the itinary is very very similar I'm just wondering if there would be enough to on arcadia? Aurora may be winning

We are very lucky to have a child free holiday and are looking at Norway next August.

 

We have 3 ships to choose from as in the title' date=' but not sure which to choose. Prices are the same we are going inside.

 

I like the sound of all 3 just having a hard time deciding.

 

We are a couple in our early 40's .

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.[/quote']

 

 

You need to go on all three as only you know what you like.

 

No good asking me as I would be stuck as well.

I've only been on Aurora out of those three, before her refit and I liked her very much.

Re the early morning scenery though, I was always up out on the deck at the key moments as I wanted to see the views from all angles rather than from the one side. I was always afraid of missing something! The Captain always tells you when you are passing the best points so you can get out there if you wish.

You'll have a wonderful time in Norway.

I've only been on Aurora out of those three, before her refit and I liked her very much.

 

Re the early morning scenery though, I was always up out on the deck at the key moments as I wanted to see the views from all angles rather than from the one side. I was always afraid of missing something! The Captain always tells you when you are passing the best points so you can get out there if you wish.

 

You'll have a wonderful time in Norway.

Thank you ☺ I will grab an inside 600 cheaper also

Hi I have been on 2 out of the 3. Aurora and Arcadia. Both of those have Crows Nest up the top and forward. If the weather is not brilliant that is a wonderful place to be as the whole vista is in front of you.

Does Britannia have anything similar?

Even though both Britannia and Aurora are child friendly I don't think you will have too many ,as families tend to head south, not north.

Would Britannia have more on in the evenings?

Whichever one you decide I am sure you will have a lovely time and will want to sail again, and again and again.........

Hi I have been on 2 out of the 3. Aurora and Arcadia. Both of those have Crows Nest up the top and forward. If the weather is not brilliant that is a wonderful place to be as the whole vista is in front of you.

Does Britannia have anything similar?

Even though both Britannia and Aurora are child friendly I don't think you will have too many ,as families tend to head south, not north.

Would Britannia have more on in the evenings?

Whichever one you decide I am sure you will have a lovely time and will want to sail again, and again and again.........

Thank you very much ☺ I sometimes wish I only had one choice of ship ..

I also want to be able to walk around the ship outside as much as I can. .

Aurora has the most beautiful prom deck with lovely steamer chairs. Haven't been on Arcadia but pretty sure she has the same. Britannia doesn't have a prom deck so all your outside viewing would have to be up on the roof which if the weather is a bit inclement (and let's face it, it can be in Norway) then you are going to get wet. For me, a real feature of the ships is the prom deck, we love to take a turn around it after breakfast and after dinner. It's a real shame that they didn't put one on Britannia.

Aurora has the most beautiful prom deck with lovely steamer chairs. Haven't been on Arcadia but pretty sure she has the same. Britannia doesn't have a prom deck so all your outside viewing would have to be up on the roof which if the weather is a bit inclement (and let's face it, it can be in Norway) then you are going to get wet. For me, a real feature of the ships is the prom deck, we love to take a turn around it after breakfast and after dinner. It's a real shame that they didn't put one on Britannia.

Thank you this was a big help ☺ we also love walking after breakfast and dinner and I didn't realise Britannia didn't have a prominent deck..

Since her last refit, Aurora has a Glass House - it seems to have replaced Cafe Bordeaux. Arcadia doesn't have a Glasshouse. For us, that would be a significant factor between these ships. (I also recognise that some Aurora veterans mourn the passing of Cafe Bordeaux!)

Just to complicate things, Britannia has a Glasshouse and a Crows Nest, but not a Prom deck (as others have said).

What was cafe bordeaux?

We did Norway on Aurora a couple of years ago in August with older children and thought she was fantastic - that was before her refit. The elegant tiered stern, the promenade deck... There were some children but not masses and mostly 5/6 up, if I recall correctly. The only thing we found was that the evening entertainment was rather boring and we ended up reading or playing cards a lot of the time. We're fairly easily pleased - a show, a good singer or comedian and we're happy - but we might just have been unlucky on that particular cruise. As Neil Turnbull is supposed to be returning to captaining Aurora, she will be a very happy ship. He is a fantastic captain, very visible, very friendly and an all-round good egg. His family was on our cruise and they were lovely too, as our children ended up making friends.

Thank you ☺

I've only been on Aurora out of those three, before her refit and I liked her very much....

Same here. Brittania would not be for me: too big. That would apply particularly for a cruise to Norway, where many of the destinations aren't that large and could be rather swamped by tourists from the ship. (Of course there's always the risk of another cruise ship being in port at the same time, which can;'t be helped.) I believe Arcadia is much the same size as Aurora, but is adults-only.

I don't know if you want to avoid children altogether. As it's the school holidays, there will be some on-board either Aurora or Brittania, but I'd guess that for a cruise to Norway there probably wouldn't be that many.

Same here. Brittania would not be for me: too big. That would apply particularly for a cruise to Norway, where many of the destinations aren't that large and could be rather swamped by tourists from the ship. (Of course there's always the risk of another cruise ship being in port at the same time, which can;'t be helped.) I believe Arcadia is much the same size as Aurora, but is adults-only.

 

I don't know if you want to avoid children altogether. As it's the school holidays, there will be some on-board either Aurora or Brittania, but I'd guess that for a cruise to Norway there probably wouldn't be that many.

The children aspect isn't an issue it's just I've got the choice of 3 ships which I've now narrowed down to 2 ..thank you all ...

It's between aurora and Arcadia ☺ just got to check out deck plans and what's on board ..

The children aspect isn't an issue it's just I've got the choice of 3 ships which I've now narrowed down to 2 ..thank you all ...

 

It's between aurora and Arcadia ☺ just got to check out deck plans and what's on board ..

OOH what a choice.....

I am not sure which one I would pick out of the 2.

Could you stretch to a mini cruise on each-which would not be like a longer cruise at all, but may help you decide.

I'd certainly agree with others here about the Crow's Nest and prom deck, which both Arcadia and Aurora have. I haven't been on Aurora so if I was in your position I'd probably go for that, just to try a different ship, but I'm guessing from the fact you're asking this question here that you've never been on any of them?

One thing that might swing it in favour of Arcadia for me is that she has the East restaurant right up the top (which will be Sindhu by the time you want to sail), which gives you the most amazing views for a scenic passage. I was so glad I booked it for the evening we saild out of Stockholm through the archipelago on our recent Baltic cruise that I booked it again for the penultimate evening, when we sailed out of Oslo through the fjord. I don't think Aurora has a top-deck restaurant such as this, so do consider when and where you'd want to dine because you wouldn't want to miss that beautiful scenery.

Have a great time, whatever you finally decide on!

I did my first P&O cruise on Aurora, we did the fjords and up to the Arctic Circle. It was spectacular. I will have a lasting memory of being on-deck (Aurora has lots of open deck at the back) it was 12pm and still daylight, I looked up and there was a puffin flying in circles around us, amazing. To be honest I struggle to remember much about Aurora, Cafe Bordeaux did lovely hot chocolate before bed. I also did the Fjords on Arcadia going on to Iceland. We did both of these in inside cabins, I would echo that if you could stretch to a balcony it would be worth it. Sometimes a few months before a cruise they offer balconies at the same cost as an inside, but it's always a gamble knowing when yo book.

After a very cold cruise to Norway, we decided that we wouldn't do another one in Northern Europe which didn't have an indoor pool, so Britannia wouldn't suit us for that reason.

Aurora has the most beautiful prom deck with lovely steamer chairs. Haven't been on Arcadia but pretty sure she has the same. Britannia doesn't have a prom deck so all your outside viewing would have to be up on the roof which if the weather is a bit inclement (and let's face it, it can be in Norway) then you are going to get wet. For me, a real feature of the ships is the prom deck, we love to take a turn around it after breakfast and after dinner. It's a real shame that they didn't put one on Britannia.

Just back from Aurora. Yes lovely wide wrap around prom deck but sadly no steamer chairs now. Just boring fawn plastic recliner chairs.

We are very lucky to have a child free holiday and are looking at Norway next August.

 

We have 3 ships to choose from as in the title' date=' but not sure which to choose. Prices are the same we are going inside.

 

I like the sound of all 3 just having a hard time deciding.

 

We are a couple in our early 40's .

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.[/quote']

 

If you can hang on until after next August I can give you the answer ,as I'm going on Britannia this December and Arcadia next August ;)

Haven't been on Arcadia yet; booked on her for Iceland next summer. Aurora I love so much! I'm going to the Med on her in about 6 weeks and so excited.

I saw Britannia in Southampton the day before her naming, which i watched on board Oceana 2 days later.Hated the huge size and feel no desire whatsoever to sail on her. I suppose i might change my mind if the itinerary were right. Personally i love the medium sized ships so Aurora would always win for me.