First Cruise - Advice Needed

I am grateful for all the advice that you're giving me.

 

Is it worth paying to have portrait photos? if so how many have you purchased before 2,5 or 10?

 

Portrait Package - Each night there are portrait opportunities in locations throughout the ship and there’s no charge for sittings. Before the end of your holiday, pick your favourite two, five or ten to take home.

 

 

Thanks again everyone :)

There is no charge for having the photos taken. The ship's photographers are there taking photos from the moment you board, every time you disembark, up on deck during the sailaway parties and of course on formal nights, when they either pose you in front of a backdrop or a feature of the ship's design, such as the Atrium on Britannia. In our experience they are generally not very good - we have far better "snaps" we have taken ourselves or has been taken for us by fellow passengers. There was one cruise, on Aurora to the fjords, when the photographer was good and consequently we bought several photos. Last year on Britannia and the cruise before that on Azura we didn't. They can take as many photos as they like but you are under no obligation to buy them. You could also book a "private" portrait session, as we did one time for our children, for which there was no charge. Don't know if this is still possible.

Stavanger is very easy to visit yourself. You just walk off the ship and you are right in the town. Likewise Bergen. In Olden, unless you take a ship's tour further afield, the main attraction is the Briksdal Glacier. You can either take a ship's excursion or organise it yourself.

I hope you have a wonderful time.

Hi there,

To give my two penny's worth here goes:

Now a couple of questions:

1 - Do I go for a room with a balcony or suite ?

I always tell people to get at least a balcony cabin when going to the fjords. We entered the fjord about 5 o'clock in in the morning and it was magical to put on our dressing gowns and walk out onto the balcony. The majority of our neighbours were doing the same. We ordered room service for breakfast and it was so peaceful and relaxing to do it at our own pace. If we had an inside we would have had to be up, dressed and up on top deck at the crack of dawn. (By the way I am not against inside cabins and have used them for various cruises). As far as Britannia goes, I have not sailed on her. My mum went to the Fjords in May on her (she has been on all of the fleet) and she said that although Britannia was lovely the balconies were much smaller that some of the others.

2 - Which month is best to experience the Fjords - May or September?

We went in May and most of our friends go around that time. In April you get more snow/ice melting and the waterfalls are much fuller.

3 - Any advice for a first time cruiser?

Take an extension cord as there are limited plugs in your room. The walls are magnetic so some fridge magnets are good as you can stick your excursion tickets and itinerary to the walls so they don't get lost.

4 - Any advice for excursions around Norway?

The Flam railway is a good one, you can book with P&O or do it online direct. If you do go on the railway sit on the right hand side of the train going up. If you don't want to come back down on it you can cycle back to the ship.

When you get off the ship in Flam before you get to the station on the right hand side a little set back is a round building, it is a little pub with a fire in the middle, it is a lovely little place to have a quick beer.

I hope you enjoy your first cruise, be careful though it can become addictive!!

Thank you to everyone that has commented, the information given is better than what I expected :)

I am sorry, but I do have some more questions, I hope you all don't mind:

1. I am not trying to decide that I would like a Cabins with a Balcony - do Suites have bigger balcony's or are they the same size as the normal cabins?

2. I have read a lot on this forum, in regards to the Britannia and soot on the balconies and also noise. Does anyone have a particular deck or cabin they enjoyed that they would recommend?

3. Can we bring a crate of wine on board? (I am looking at going for my birthday)

4. Black tie evenings - what do P&O like ladies to wear? and are there facilities to have hair and make up done for you on board?

5. Do they tell you what times you are due to be entering the Fjords ? I would hate to miss the entrance part.

6. What do you recommend I need to book before hand?

Thanks again for the great advice, I can't wait for my cruise addiction to start

Thank you to everyone that has commented, the information given is better than what I expected :)

 

I am sorry, but I do have some more questions, I hope you all don't mind:

 

1. I am not trying to decide that I would like a Cabins with a Balcony - do Suites have bigger balcony's or are they the same size as the normal cabins?

2. I have read a lot on this forum, in regards to the Britannia and soot on the balconies and also noise. Does anyone have a particular deck or cabin they enjoyed that they would recommend?

3. Can we bring a crate of wine on board? (I am looking at going for my birthday)

4. Black tie evenings - what do P&O like ladies to wear? and are there facilities to have hair and make up done for you on board?

5. Do they tell you what times you are due to be entering the Fjords ? I would hate to miss the entrance part.

6. What do you recommend I need to book before hand?

 

Thanks again for the great advice, I can't wait for my cruise addiction to start

Afraid I can't help with the cabin/balcony advice as we've only ever had an inside and once an outside.

I think P&O might baulk at a crate of wine. They don't have a problem with a couple of bottles pp, or a bottle of spirits, a bottle of wine and mixers, but really don't know about a crate. You are allowed to top up your alcohol for personal consumption throughout the cruise, by bringing bottles on board from ports, so if your birthday is halfway through the cruise and you have lots of ports you could have amassed a crate full by your birthday. :D

Black tie evenings - ladies wear everything from smart trousers and sparkly/floaty tops, to smart dresses, cocktail dresses and full-length gowns. The majority of people go with the dress code and really make an effort and fabulous they look too. I almost never get the chance to go full-on glam at home, so I really enjoy it.

There is a hairdresser and beauticians in the spa on board but I have heard they are very expensive, the end product is not always so good, they do a very hard upsell on products, and the headline price they give you for a cut and blow dry, for example, is misleading, in that they will quote you the price for "short hair", without making this clear, and then charge you extra because your hair is mid-length, so it is advisable to be very clear about what you are getting before you go ahead.

The captain usually mentions in one of his announcements what time you are going to be sailing into a fjord, otherwise it is likely to be listed in the daily "Horizon" news sheet, which lists all the activities, details for ports, spa offers, etc. etc.

If you are not confident about planning and organising excursions yourself, book any P&O excursions you really want to do, as the most popular book up quickly. They will sometimes, but not always, arrange extra capacity, but you might not find out until you are on board whether or not you have got a place on that tour you really wanted to do.

I would get a balcony , definitely, for Norway. You don't want to miss a second of that breathtaking scenery - there is nothing like it when you get up from your bed and walk out straight onto your balcony and literally gasp at the fjords towering all around. And yes, the suites do have bigger balconies. It all just depends how much you want to spend. The view will be the same !!

Try not to buy anything ashore! Last time we went to Norway, five or six years ago, we went on a trip and bought six postcards, six stamps for the UK and a small bottle of water. It came to £19.

I'm only just getting over the shock now.

We had cabin C708 and it was perfect for the stairs up to the Beach house and Horizon buffet. We also walked down to the Oriental Restaurant for evening meals.

Despite being near to the lifts we heard nothing from the machinery or people in the vicinity.

Even walking down to deck 7 and along to the atrium was a pleasant stroll.

The laundrette was nearby too.

Hello

The first cruise DH and I went on (to see if we liked it) was to the fjords...we have just had our 3rd cruise, looking forward to the 4th, and are choosing the 5th......so prepare to spend money on wonderful holidays in the future!

You have been given sound advice on the cabin situation.

Regarding photos....I would not bother committing to a package as deals will often be available on board. To be honest, the quality of photo taken depends on the photographer, you would not wish to commit yourself to purchasing an album of photographs if you did not like any of the portraits taken. By the way, an 8 by 10 inch formal print was £17.95 a couple of weeks ago!

We have purchased one formal portrait per cruise up til now but as DH says....

"the suit's the same, it's only the hair loss that is changing, so we'll call it a day from now on!!" :D

Enjoy the experience!

I'm just back from my first cruise - on P&O to the Fjords.

Chose Aurora & did enjoy one of the smaller ships.

Only had a window; a balcony would have been nice, but even so, waking up at first light to look out at the views was a great experience. A couple of mornings I had to run up on deck quickly with my camera, & for best views in all directions you'd still want to do that, even with a balcony.

Sailaways are in the afternoon & being up on deck gave me the best views, luckily the weather was superb, a wonderful couple of hours leaving ports especially Olden.

Bergen & Stavanger are lovely towns, very easy to walk around, take the funicular in Bergen, so no excursions required. A lot of excursions can be arranged individually, for a good saving, if you like to investigate online before you travel.

Thank you to everyone that has commented, the information given is better than what I expected :)

 

I am sorry, but I do have some more questions, I hope you all don't mind:

 

1. I am not trying to decide that I would like a Cabins with a Balcony - do Suites have bigger balcony's or are they the same size as the normal cabins?

2. I have read a lot on this forum, in regards to the Britannia and soot on the balconies and also noise. Does anyone have a particular deck or cabin they enjoyed that they would recommend?

3. Can we bring a crate of wine on board? (I am looking at going for my birthday)

4. Black tie evenings - what do P&O like ladies to wear? and are there facilities to have hair and make up done for you on board?

5. Do they tell you what times you are due to be entering the Fjords ? I would hate to miss the entrance part.

6. What do you recommend I need to book before hand?

 

Thanks again for the great advice, I can't wait for my cruise addiction to start

Note that any alcohol you bring on board yourself can only be drunk in your cabin or at dinner (with a corkage fee)

I would say do your homework and this site is brilliant for lots of hints and tips. We personally like a balcony for the views and the fresh air. I would think about your budget before deciding which sort of cabin. Check out the deck plans and avoid those with lounges, pools, theatres, gyms, dining etc.. above and below as they could be noisy. Those near launderettes and stairs/lifts may have more people traffic passing as well. The select fares are more pricey but they will offer free parking at Southampton which is excellent or coach travel down plus some on board spend. I check the prices like a hawk which are constantly changing. Weve had two aft cabins on Britannia which were compact but very nice. The one on c deck had problems with soot and the suite people having breakfast above us woke us up every morning with the butler moving the tables etc.. With the one on E deck we took a risk and booked a known grade of cabin, GD I think and we were lucky to be allocated the back of the ship. We thought Xmas had arrived early. You may want to consider if you suffer from sea sickness as to where you may like a cabin. On Ventura in May I was glad we opted for a mid ships as the weather was awful. You also have to factor in the gratuities which I wont go into as they are controversial to say the least but we always pay them. We sail on Tuesday on the Britannia in a suite which is a new experience for us and I'm so excited.