Fjord Cruise - Which Cruise Line offers the best experience?

Hello we are thinking about a cruise to the Fjords this summer but are wondering about which Cruise Line provides the best overall experience and what should not be missed.

Any help/advice out there?

Hello we are thinking about a cruise to the Fjords this summer but are wondering about which Cruise Line provides the best overall experience and what should not be missed.

 

Any help/advice out there?

It really depends on which cruise line you enjoy. It depends on the itinerary you are most interested in.

If you'd like to experience a nice balance of bigger cities like Bergen and perhaps Stockhom along with classic stops like Stavanger and Flam with its great train ride.

I would suggest looking at Cunard Line, Celebrity, Holland America Line.

Here's a great article on Fjords cruises from Cruise Critic:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1576

Jonathan

Which Fjords (and which "summer")? Norway, Chile,.....?

In any case, it really depends in large part on your normal travel expectations, including food and service quality as well as amenities. In addition, don't make the mistake of comparing only "cabin price" cost comparisons. Some lines include airfare/air credit and many other items that are extra cost on other lines (e.g., internet, beverages, specialty restaurants, et al.). Ship size makes a difference as well with approx 1200 passengers being the absolute max.

Our preference for best overall quality, experience and value: Oceania.

Thank You.. I am in the UK and looking at Northern European Fjords. We have cruised before and do enjoy sailing from the UK

There is no one "BEST" at anything, because everyone's values and opinions are different. Plus I am not sure how you would determine a comparative best...by sailing each of the cruise lines that sail the area? While many would volunteer for this assignment, not sure how many have actually completed it.

I would suggest you first look to the cruise line(s) you have positive experiences with. See what they offer.

Read some of the reviews of other cruise lines serving the areas you are interested in. Look at the Ports board for frequently mentioned pluses and minuses.

depends on what BEST means to you

Pick the line that goes to the ports you want to see & suits your budget

Love Norway

we are doing our 3rd trip in a few weeks

We did Windstar on the Star Legend (200 pax) two summers ago and it was great. They have a round trip Copenhagen-Copenhagen still this summer on a sister ship, if its not sold out. Its a beautiful place, particularly Geiranger. Look for a cruise that includes that stop.

Not sure where you are in the UK but Princess does a RT from Southampton. We are doing the 14 day version next week. Covers the mainstays. They slightly vary the itinerary on different departures so you should check out what is a must see for you.

Though I think it may already be sold out, here's a great August/September 2019 Oceania itinerary: London (i.e., Southampton) to the Fjords/Norway to Iceland and then down the east coast of North America - ending in NYC. Cross all sorts of stops off the "bucket list."

I've written about our 2 cruises to Norway on the UK page, but in a nutshell: we found Independence OTS too big to visit some of the smaller sights, and the number of passengers descending on some of the tiny villages was overwhelming.

Fred Olsen's old ship went to some of the smaller ports, and with 1/4 of the passengers, the disembarkation was easy, as was strolling round the villages. Plus, leaving from Newcastle meant that you are into the fjords the next day.

However, if you choose a ship for day time activities, then you might want to go for a larger ship- although not a lot happened on Indy because we caught poor weather and many activities should have happened on deck.

If we were going from Southampton again, it would be on a ship the size of Aurora or the smaller Queens.

Hurtigruten along the Norwegian Coast from Bergen to Kirkenes (6 days) and 11 days if return to Bergen - not a 'main stream' cruise line - more expedition type of ships - you need to fly into Bergen.

Great during midsummer (midnight sun) - my review

That is my dream way to go Hallasm.