Other options beside X

[odysee]

After 15 years sailing happily exclusively on X, mostly Aqua, we are now looking at alternatives.  Main reasons :

1. Celebrity does not have good options to see Norway Fjords and harbors, Nordkap etc. 

2. After Covid we found that our 2 cruises with X in 2022, although enjoyable, went down in quality and did not give us the feeling of being still so much better than what we could get elsewhere and we are now ready to try something else.

 

We looked around for Spring/early Summer 2023 Norwegian fjords cruises and are probably a bit late for good choices.  Oceania dates don t work for us due to earlier commitments. Postships Havilla and Hürtigrüten have very short port times, sometimes only 3 hours. Not sure if we want to try big ships of MSC, Norwegian as from these blogs might compare unfavorable with X.  So it seems  „Mein Schiff“ with various ships and possible routings seems to be left.

As I can not find this cruise line in these forums, I am looking for some feedback, opinions here and comparison with X.

Anybody can help ?

 

 

[Crazy planning mom]

Have you also looked into Princess and HAL?

Mein Schiff is a German line.  Do you speak German?

[emmas gran]

Maybe buy a reference book like Berlitz guide to cruising and cruise ships published every year around October 

[basenji56]

Viking Ocean.

 

[odysee]

37 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Have you also looked into Princess and HAL?

Mein Schiff is a German line.  Do you speak German?

Yes, I speak German and am aware it is a German line.  Just have not found any meaningful experiences here and wanted to find out how they compare.

[ymncruise]

At our beach ports, we met people on Virgin Atlantic.  They raved about it, so may want to check them out. 

[Azulann]

Having sailed Celebrity  for many years. I now sail Viking Ocean. Check out " Into the Midnight Sun" cruise or" Viking Homeland "cruises.  They do know how to sail Norway.

The company is owned by  Norwegian  family. 

Viking  does not have casino and no children under 18 . They include  wine and beer at lunch and dinner,  one excursion in every port, free internet. All staterooms have balconies. their ships are beautiful modern Scandinavian design. Food great and service outstanding. 

 

[39august]

What is Viking's smoking policy, please? 

[read2learn]

I sailed in Europe with Azamara this summer and had a wonderful experience. Since it is all inclusive I didn't show my card for anything. It doesn't have casinos or the big shows but excellent food and service.Due to its small size it can visit ports the others can't . It depends on what you like but I am also leaving X and looking for alternatives. 

[MamaFej]

15 minutes ago, 39august said:

What is Viking's smoking policy, please? 

From the FAQs: Viking vessels are generally nonsmoking. In order to accommodate guests who choose to smoke, there is a designated outdoor smoking area on the starboard side of Deck 8. All other areas of the ship, including your stateroom and veranda, are designated nonsmoking areas. Smoking restrictions also apply to e-cigarettes.

 

--------

We did not notice smoking when we were onboard last August. 

[dani negreanu]

Friends of mine are booked on this itinerary, upon my recommendation --

 

7 Days Scandinavia & Fjords

Holland America Line • Nieuw Statendam

Copenhagen, Eidfjord, Hardangerfjord, Alesund, Geiranger, Geirangerfjord, Bergen, Copenhagen

1 departure dates: Jul 26 2023

 

There is also an Apex cruise out of Southampton on July 31st, 2023 with an excellent itinerary, but, as for now, it's completely sold out....

 

[dani negreanu]

Found another one --

 

7 Days Scandinavia & Fjords

Holland America Line • Rotterdam

Amsterdam, Eidfjord, Hardangerfjord, Alesund, Geiranger, Geirangerfjord, Bergen, Amsterdam

1 departure dates: Jul 15 2023

 

and there are some nice and comprehensive itineraries of 14 days with HAL.

 

[odysee]

Thanks a lot for info and tips !

[mnocket]

6 hours ago, odysee said:

Celebrity does not have good options to see Norway Fjords and harbors, Nordkap etc. 

I've been eying Oceana for a Norwegian fjords cruise in 2024.  They have some really nice itineraries. 

[KikisDad]

Since you are an Aqua Class guest, I don’t think Princess or Holland will work well for you. The next step up, Azamara, Oceania, Viking, Windstar, etc. may work better, but make sure you check them out thoroughly.

Good luck

[bebe08]

We sail mainly with X but venture out from time to time to other lines. We have done a few cruises on HAL and are booked on a 14 day Norway cruise on the Rotterdam for Sep 2023.  It checked all the boxes for us re ports. Might be worth checking out.  

[67Miner]

After 20 years with Celebrity, I, too have moved on to other cruise lines.  I can recommend Seabourn.  Their ships are much smaller (largest about 750 passengers) and all staterooms are suites (somewhat larger than Celebrity SkySuite).  There are NO up charges.  Gratuities and alcohol always included.  Entertainment is a step up -- cabaret style.  Additionally there are a couple of piano bars and venues with dance bands.  Prices are comparable to a Celebrity SySuite.  I see a beautiful 14-day itinerary of the fjords this summer from Copenhagen.  I have sailed the Greek islands and Central America on Seabourn Ovation and was very pleased.  Oh, and the cruise directors are amazing entertainers in their own right.

Expand Map

THE SUITE LIFE EVENT 

 

14-Day North Cape & Majestic Fjords

SHIP: Seabourn Ovation

DEPARTS: 

Copenhagen, Denmark

ARRIVES: 

Copenhagen, Denmark

JUN 11, 2023

 

JUN 25, 2023

MORE DATES & FARES- 14-DAY NORTH CAPE & MAJESTIC FJORDS

 

 

[Baron Barracuda]

We started with X 30 years ago but now favor Viking for both ocean and river cruises.  Prices  a bit more than X verandahs but you get a lot more.  Cheaper than X suites.

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, odysee said:

After 15 years sailing happily exclusively on X, mostly Aqua, we are now looking at alternatives.  Main reasons :

1. Celebrity does not have good options to see Norway Fjords and harbors, Nordkap etc. 

2. After Covid we found that our 2 cruises with X in 2022, although enjoyable, went down in quality and did not give us the feeling of being still so much better than what we could get elsewhere and we are now ready to try something else.

 

We looked around for Spring/early Summer 2023 Norwegian fjords cruises and are probably a bit late for good choices.  Oceania dates don t work for us due to earlier commitments. Postships Havilla and Hürtigrüten have very short port times, sometimes only 3 hours. Not sure if we want to try big ships of MSC, Norwegian as from these blogs might compare unfavorable with X.  So it seems  „Mein Schiff“ with various ships and possible routings seems to be left.

As I can not find this cruise line in these forums, I am looking for some feedback, opinions here and comparison with X.

Anybody can help ?

 

 

We enjoy Celebrity, Princess and NCL, but it all depends on the itinerary. If you’re looking for cruises that go to Norway and optionally maybe on to Iceland, both Princess and NCL have some interesting itineraries at a fair price. 

 

If you’re curious about life on an NCL cruise on one of their smaller ships, we’re currently on an 11-day Caribbean cruise on the Dawn and posting to the following thread. I also have recent NCL and Princess threads in my below signature area if you’re curious to see how fun it is on some of their ships we’ve been on lately. 
 

 

 

[gkm]

We've sailed Azamara through the Fjords and it's wonderful.  The captain stopped the ship in a small village and took the tender in to get fresh fish which we had for dinner.  Another time we stopped and got cheeses and fresh fruit.  The staff are the best and the crew will bend over backwards to fill any request from the passengers.

 

Garry

[gkbiiii]

What about Cunard or Silversea? 

[bdrcole]

Check out Azamara's 16 night Norway Intensive Cruise departing on 1 August 2023.

[miched]

Stay at home and enjoy and explore and the area you live in.   Go out every day trying different restaurants,  museums,  churches, parks, aquariums, zoos and historic landmarks and etc.  

 

I live in the Detroit area.   There are many different places and restaurants that I have never been to. Being retired we now try to visit many of those places.   In the overall picture it cost us less per day pp to dine in a nice restaurant and pay admission to a attraction than it does to cruise and we don’t have any restrictions or have to pack, be here or be there, and etc.    i am sure that many people pay dearly to travel to you area to do stuff that you take for granted and never done.

 

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[phoenix_dream]

19 hours ago, 67Miner said:

After 20 years with Celebrity, I, too have moved on to other cruise lines.  I can recommend Seabourn.  Their ships are much smaller (largest about 750 passengers) and all staterooms are suites (somewhat larger than Celebrity SkySuite).  There are NO up charges.  Gratuities and alcohol always included.  Entertainment is a step up -- cabaret style.  Additionally there are a couple of piano bars and venues with dance bands.  Prices are comparable to a Celebrity SySuite.  I see a beautiful 14-day itinerary of the fjords this summer from Copenhagen.  I have sailed the Greek islands and Central America on Seabourn Ovation and was very pleased.  Oh, and the cruise directors are amazing entertainers in their own right.

Expand Map

THE SUITE LIFE EVENT 

 

14-Day North Cape & Majestic Fjords

SHIP: Seabourn Ovation

DEPARTS: 

Copenhagen, Denmark

ARRIVES: 

Copenhagen, Denmark

JUN 11, 2023

 

JUN 25, 2023

MORE DATES & FARES- 14-DAY NORTH CAPE & MAJESTIC FJORDS

 

 

Curious how you find the motion on these smaller ships? I get seasick fairly easily and remember how much worse it was on smaller Celebrity ships like Horizon. My only hesitation in trying the smaller lines.

[mahdnc]

https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/flying-on-modern-airship-1234797717/

 

https://oceanskycruises.com/

 

Watch out for the IV cabins though.....