Cruises to Norway and Scandinavia- I'm overwhelmed.

[teony20]

My husband and I were considering a cruise around Norway - maybe Iceland,  -- fjords, etc.  for June 2024.

At first we said - Viking - as we have sailed on them once before and it was great.

But then we started to look around at other cruise lines - and they all do similar itineraries and prices varying widely.

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a snob as now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity - will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

I know we have to figure out if we want a sophisticated, smaller type ship (Viking)

 or all the bells and whistles of  Norwegian Cruise Line (Celebrity, Holland America, etc.)

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a spolied cruiser now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity . Will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

If anyone can help us narrow down our options - thanks in advance.

 

[ontheweb]

12 minutes ago, teony20 said:

My husband and I were considering a cruise around Norway - maybe Iceland,  -- fjords, etc.  for June 2024.

At first we said - Viking - as we have sailed on them once before and it was great.

But then we started to look around at other cruise lines - and they all do similar itineraries and prices varying widely.

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a snob as now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity - will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

I know we have to figure out if we want a sophisticated, smaller type ship (Viking)

 or all the bells and whistles of  Norwegian Cruise Line (Celebrity, Holland America, etc.)

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a spolied cruiser now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity . Will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

If anyone can help us narrow down our options - thanks in advance.

 

Try this forum. You will find a lot of useful information.

 

Northern Europe & Baltic Sea - Cruise Critic Community

[sanger727]

Norwegian and Celebrity are not significantly different. The biggest difference is that NCL doesn't have a "traditional" seating option for dinner. They are 100% anytime dining throughout the ship. I think the shows on NCL are much better than on Celebrity. The food on Celebrity is marginally better. But with those two, there won't be much difference.

 

 

[hallasm]

Do a good research on Norwegian ports that are visited.
Some itineraries include several less interesting ports. Also consider whether the route should be the iconic deep fjords or arctic with midnight sun in June and July.

Look for the iconic deep fjords: Geiranger, Flåm and Olden. Interesting coastal cities are Bergen, Ålesund and Stavanger.

The Arctic includes Honningsvåg, Tromsø and the Lofoten Islands.

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by hallasm

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

Norwegian and Celebrity are not significantly different. The biggest difference is that NCL doesn't have a "traditional" seating option for dinner. They are 100% anytime dining throughout the ship. I think the shows on NCL are much better than on Celebrity. The food on Celebrity is marginally better. But with those two, there won't be much difference.

 

 

I think NCL is more favorably compared to RCCL as they are direct competitors whose primary demographics is families.  Their ship designs are based on venues and activities that cater to that and are often compared to amusement parks resulting from their kids programs, rock climbing walls, bumper cars, zip lines, water park pools, flow riders, etc.

 

Celebrity is more upscale whose primary demographics is adults without children, the opposite of NCL.  Their ship designs feature none of the venues or activities described as with NCL and RCCL.  Celebrity does feature standard early and late seating in their MDR, but they also have "Anytime" dining for the MDR and all of their other dining options that allows for custom dining time flexibility.

Edited December 11, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[leaveitallbehind]

17 hours ago, teony20 said:

My husband and I were considering a cruise around Norway - maybe Iceland,  -- fjords, etc.  for June 2024.

 

If anyone can help us narrow down our options - thanks in advance.

 

Along with whatever suggestions you receive here, I would suggest talking with a travel agent who specializes in cruises. They would be in a position to help you navigate your cruise line options based on your cruising preferences, itinerary choices, and budget.

[Heidi13]

20 hours ago, teony20 said:

My husband and I were considering a cruise around Norway - maybe Iceland,  -- fjords, etc.  for June 2024.

At first we said - Viking - as we have sailed on them once before and it was great.

But then we started to look around at other cruise lines - and they all do similar itineraries and prices varying widely.

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a snob as now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity - will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

I know we have to figure out if we want a sophisticated, smaller type ship (Viking)

 or all the bells and whistles of  Norwegian Cruise Line (Celebrity, Holland America, etc.)

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a spolied cruiser now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity . Will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

If anyone can help us narrow down our options - thanks in advance.

 

 

When deciding between a premium/luxury line and a mega ship, in addition to comparing the itinerary and time ashore, I suggest prioritising what is important on board the ship.

 

In addition to visiting new places, if you want to also learn about them, I know Viking probably have the best and most extensive lectures and presentations. On board, you also have access to the extensive library, which has many books on the areas the ships cruise. You may also find specialised marine species and wildlife experts with Viking. However, the entertainment in the Theatre is just OK.

 

If your preference is wacky pool games and in the evening glitzy shows, marriage games, various trivias/game shows, etc, then a mega ship is probably a better option.

 

Personally, after having also experienced Viking, it would require a significant lowering of expectations to sail on a mega ship again. I also note that Viking being a Norwegian owned company, they are probably the experts in that region.

 

[Hlitner]

Keep in mind that if your itinerary includes Greenland, their ports are all tender ports with the exception of Nuuk.  Some Greenland ports do not handle more then one tender and it can tak many hour to tender folks ashore from a ship with thousands of passengers.  Since you have already experienced smaller to medium size ships, you might want to consider a ship with no more then 1200 souls.  
 

Hank

[clo]

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

I also note that Viking being a Norwegian owned company, they are probably the experts in that region.

I'm partial to Hurtigruten which was founded in 1893 (had to look it up). We did their Antarctica cruise a few years ago and liked it so much we did their round trip Norwegian coastal cruise.

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

that Viking being a Norwegian owned company, they are probably the experts in that region.

They are not the only Norwegian owned company cruising that area.  Fred Olsen is another, and with smaller/medium size ships, catering primarily, but not exclusively, to Brits.

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, clo said:

I'm partial to Hurtigruten which was founded in 1893 (had to look it up). We did their Antarctica cruise a few years ago and liked it so much we did their round trip Norwegian coastal cruise.

 

Another great choice, as in addition to the small cruise ships, they have a number of Ro/Pax that sail the coast getting into ports the cruise ships may not visit.

[clo]

16 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Another great choice, as in addition to the small cruise ships, they have a number of Ro/Pax that sail the coast getting into ports the cruise ships may not visit.

Talk about small ships! The one for our Norwegian coastal cruise was the Lofoten, the oldest one in their fleet, and now retired. Only 100 pax. And, yes, we had pax who were on and off, perhaps shopping at one port and then going home. They had their own area but it was really nice with boothw and bar right there! Also freight. There was a small crane at the front. IIRC we made 17 stops in each direction, all day and all night. And we never woke up. The staff were terrific and the officers were at breakfast every morning. The food really good. I think there were only two other Americans which we really liked. Some spoke English and some didn't. Regarless super nice. (I could go on and on.)

[BruceMuzz]

On 12/12/2023 at 7:26 AM, sanger727 said:

Norwegian and Celebrity are not significantly different. The biggest difference is that NCL doesn't have a "traditional" seating option for dinner. They are 100% anytime dining throughout the ship. I think the shows on NCL are much better than on Celebrity. The food on Celebrity is marginally better. But with those two, there won't be much difference.

 

 

One of the biggest secrets in the Cruise Industry is the amount of money each cruise line budgets to feed you onboard every day.

The NCL feeding budget is about half of the Celebrity Budget.

Many cruise lines spend more money feeding their crew than NCL spends feeding its passengers.

[CDNPolar]

All I can say is we did Viking Homelands and loved every minute of the cruise from the food to the excursions.  We have sailed Viking about 8 or 9 times now.

[teony20]

THank you all.  We finally decided on Viking " Into the Midnight Sun"  

[cruisemom42]

I'm sure you'll enjoy it. 😃

[teony20]

On 12/11/2023 at 5:43 PM, hallasm said:

Do a good research on Norwegian ports that are visited.
Some itineraries include several less interesting ports. Also consider whether the route should be the iconic deep fjords or arctic with midnight sun in June and July.

Look for the iconic deep fjords: Geiranger, Flåm and Olden. Interesting coastal cities are Bergen, Ålesund and Stavanger.

The Arctic includes Honningsvåg, Tromsø and the Lofoten Islands.

 

There was an itinerary on Windstar which looked great - but we compromised and chose a Viking cruise which will visit Bergen, Geiranger, Lofoten Islands, Tromso, Honnigsvag -- and then to Scotland and finally, London

[hallasm]

7 minutes ago, teony20 said:

but we compromised and chose a Viking cruise which will visit Bergen, Geiranger, Lofoten Islands, Tromso, Honnigsvag

Nice Norwegian ports - St leaset one iconic deep fjord and Nice Coastal cities - assuming June/July with midnight sun at Lofoten Islands, Tromsø, and Honnigsvåg (North Cape).

Edited December 24, 2023 by hallasm

[George C]

On 12/11/2023 at 2:30 PM, teony20 said:

My husband and I were considering a cruise around Norway - maybe Iceland,  -- fjords, etc.  for June 2024.

At first we said - Viking - as we have sailed on them once before and it was great.

But then we started to look around at other cruise lines - and they all do similar itineraries and prices varying widely.

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a snob as now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity - will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

I know we have to figure out if we want a sophisticated, smaller type ship (Viking)

 or all the bells and whistles of  Norwegian Cruise Line (Celebrity, Holland America, etc.)

 

I'm afraid I may have turned into a spolied cruiser now that I've sailed Viking and Oceania and Celebrity . Will I feel like I"m missing something if we go to Norwegian or MSC or ??

 

If anyone can help us narrow down our options - thanks in advance.

 

We cruise suites for last 20 or so cruises on celebrity, rccl and a couple of Hal. Best bang for the dollar is MSC yacht club, butler will definitely spoil you , great suite lounge with live music, outdoor suite area with pool bar and hot tubs , cost is close to 2k less than celebrity suites.  Drink package and WiFi is included they restock fridge daily.