Cruises starting / ending in UK

[Steerpike58]

We are regular cruisers from the US, and have sailed with Viking Ocean and Holland America Line a few times, flying into/out of various European ports to join/leave ships (Barcelona, Venice, Istanbul, Rome, Bergen, etc).

 

I'm now trying to recommend a cruise for an elderly family member who lives in the UK, and who does not want to fly.  So that would seem somewhat limiting. I see that there are Viking Ocean cruises that sail from Tilbury (London) but they don't return there. I see also that there are Cunard and P&O cruises that sail from/to Southampton. Both seem to have some decent itineraries (Norway is the current idea), but I'm having a hard time getting realistic pricing from P&O's website as they just show the 'from' pricing (inside cabin) and don't seem to let me view all cabin options.  Cunard seem a bit more helpful.  They would eventually use a travel agent, but for now, I just want to get a good idea of 'what's out there' and a rough price indication.  

 

So - are there lines other than Cunard and P&O to look at?  Is there anything comparable to Viking Ocean (small ships, high quality) sailing from/to UK? Short of reading about all the different ships in the various fleets, is there any clear guidance as to which ships are at least relatively small (2,000 or fewer passengers)? 

[turnip eater]

SAGA for over 50s. They even collect passengers from home and return included in the cost. Not the cheapest but all food and drinks included. 
 

[John Bull]

In no particular order................

 

P&O

Nearest equivalent is Princess.

Arcadia & Aurora are adults-only, mid-size (about 2000 pax) & popular with elderly folk.

Aurora is one of my favourites, she sails 16 nights to the Baltic from Southampton on 6th May.

Their other ships are large, about 5000+ pax.

 

Cunard

The 3 main Queens carry about 2000 pax.. Queen Anne is a much smaller new ship

 

Princess

Most seasons two Princess ships are based in Southampton 

 

Ambassador 

Nearest equiv possibly Azamara

Fairly new cruise line with two mid-size ships, older but well re-furbished & getting good reviews. Sailings from several UK ports but not Southampton

 

Fred Olsen

Nearest equiv probably HAL

Three (I think) ships, older & small-to-midsize, passengers are all retirees & a very loyal crowd. Sailings from several UK ports

 

Marella

Nearest equiv HAL?

Part of the TUI Group. Older ships, mid-size, very British. Sailings out of several UK ports, rarely Southampton. Broad range of British customers.

 

Royal Caribbean

Ships out of Southampton tend to be large

 

NCL

Again, the larger ships in the fleet

 

MSC

Usually one or two ships based in Southampton for the season. Smartest & most-stylish ships in the business but large. Most passengers are British. Low supplement for singletons (in double cabin)

 

Virgin Voyages

Two (I think) stylish mid-size ships sailing out of Portsmouth (England) but I think geared for the "young & beautiful" set.

 

Saga

Mentioned above by the turnip-cruncher.

 

Various other cruise lines have a few cruises out of Southampton or Dover, including Silversea, Oceania, Disney, HAL, Regent 7 Seas. All but Disney are small to mid-size

 

Viking don't appear to use agents, I can't believe that they offer only one-way cruises but the website is poorly laid-out & without laboriously going thro dates I don't know whether two back-to-backs would create a UK to UK cruise.

 

You'll be aware that we can't name agents on Cruise Critic, but can I suggest that to check out their websites you google "UK cruise agents" or similar.

Most at least quote prices for inside / ocean view / balcony.

 

All just MHO as always

 

JB 🙂  

[turnip eater]

56 minutes ago, John Bull said:

In no particular order................

 

P&O

Nearest equivalent is Princess.

Arcadia & Aurora are adults-only, mid-size (about 2000 pax) & popular with elderly folk.

Aurora is one of my favourites, she sails 16 nights to the Baltic from Southampton on 6th May.

Their other ships are large, about 5000+ pax.

 

Cunard

The 3 main Queens carry about 2000 pax.. Queen Anne is a much smaller new ship

 

Princess

Most seasons two Princess ships are based in Southampton 

 

Ambassador 

Nearest equiv possibly Azamara

Fairly new cruise line with two mid-size ships, older but well re-furbished & getting good reviews. Sailings from several UK ports but not Southampton

 

Fred Olsen

Nearest equiv probably HAL

Three (I think) ships, older & small-to-midsize, passengers are all retirees & a very loyal crowd. Sailings from several UK ports

 

Marella

Nearest equiv HAL?

Part of the TUI Group. Older ships, mid-size, very British. Sailings out of several UK ports, rarely Southampton. Broad range of British customers.

 

Royal Caribbean

Ships out of Southampton tend to be large

 

NCL

Again, the larger ships in the fleet

 

MSC

Usually one or two ships based in Southampton for the season. Smartest & most-stylish ships in the business but large. Most passengers are British. Low supplement for singletons (in double cabin)

 

Virgin Voyages

Two (I think) stylish mid-size ships sailing out of Portsmouth (England) but I think geared for the "young & beautiful" set.

 

Saga

Mentioned above by the turnip-cruncher.

 

Various other cruise lines have a few cruises out of Southampton or Dover, including Silversea, Oceania, Disney, HAL, Regent 7 Seas. All but Disney are small to mid-size

 

Viking don't appear to use agents, I can't believe that they offer only one-way cruises but the website is poorly laid-out & without laboriously going thro dates I don't know whether two back-to-backs would create a UK to UK cruise.

 

You'll be aware that we can't name agents on Cruise Critic, but can I suggest that to check out their websites you google "UK cruise agents" or similar.

Most at least quote prices for inside / ocean view / balcony.

 

All just MHO as always

 

JB 🙂  

Cunard’s Queen Anne is the largest of Cunard’s ships just short of 3000 passengers.😳

[SteveH2508]

Another recommendation for Ambassador. Their main port is Tilbury and they do many Norway itineraries. Smaller ships at 1400 and 1200 pax.

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, turnip eater said:

Cunard’s Queen Anne is the largest of Cunard’s ships just short of 3000 passengers.😳

 

 

Ooops.😕

Many thanks for the correction

 

JB 🙂

[bookbabe]

If they’re willing to wait until 2027, Viking has a new UK-only itinerary, although the train/ferry to get back would be a long day home.

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/cruise-destinations/europe/british-isles-and-ireland/index.html?startLocation=london&endLocation=belfast&year=2027

[fruitmachine]

16 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

I'm now trying to recommend a cruise for an elderly family member who lives in the UK, and who does not want to fly. 

Where in the UK?  That might make quite a difference, especially if half-way between a point-to-point cruise.

[edinburgher]

On 11/22/2024 at 1:06 AM, Steerpike58 said:

Norway is the current idea

 Already suggested by JB in a post above, Fred Olsen, a Norwegian family owned line which specialises in Norway and has a wealth of experience there,which caters primarily, but not exclusively, to Brits.

 

As they offer r/t itineraries from a few UK ports (you don't say where in the UK your relative is based) browsing their website could be a decent starting point.

[Steerpike58]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions and info.  Very helpful. 

 

On 11/22/2024 at 12:01 AM, John Bull said:

In no particular order................

 

P&O

Nearest equivalent is Princess.

Arcadia & Aurora are adults-only, mid-size (about 2000 pax) & popular with elderly folk.

Aurora is one of my favourites, she sails 16 nights to the Baltic from Southampton on 6th May.

Their other ships are large, about 5000+ pax.

 

Cunard

The 3 main Queens carry about 2000 pax.. Queen Anne is a much smaller new ship

 

Princess

Most seasons two Princess ships are based in Southampton 

 

Ambassador 

Nearest equiv possibly Azamara

Fairly new cruise line with two mid-size ships, older but well re-furbished & getting good reviews. Sailings from several UK ports but not Southampton

 

Fred Olsen

Nearest equiv probably HAL

Three (I think) ships, older & small-to-midsize, passengers are all retirees & a very loyal crowd. Sailings from several UK ports

 

Marella

Nearest equiv HAL?

Part of the TUI Group. Older ships, mid-size, very British. Sailings out of several UK ports, rarely Southampton. Broad range of British customers.

 

Royal Caribbean

Ships out of Southampton tend to be large

 

NCL

Again, the larger ships in the fleet

 

MSC

Usually one or two ships based in Southampton for the season. Smartest & most-stylish ships in the business but large. Most passengers are British. Low supplement for singletons (in double cabin)

 

Virgin Voyages

Two (I think) stylish mid-size ships sailing out of Portsmouth (England) but I think geared for the "young & beautiful" set.

 

Saga

Mentioned above by the turnip-cruncher.

 

Various other cruise lines have a few cruises out of Southampton or Dover, including Silversea, Oceania, Disney, HAL, Regent 7 Seas. All but Disney are small to mid-size

 

Viking don't appear to use agents, I can't believe that they offer only one-way cruises but the website is poorly laid-out & without laboriously going thro dates I don't know whether two back-to-backs would create a UK to UK cruise.

 

You'll be aware that we can't name agents on Cruise Critic, but can I suggest that to check out their websites you google "UK cruise agents" or similar.

Most at least quote prices for inside / ocean view / balcony.

 

All just MHO as always

 

JB 🙂  

 

Brilliant list, thanks!  Using this list, and cross-referencing info from a site you suggested later on (Inuit Igloo ...) and another site I found myself, and focusing on lines that offer Norwegian Fjord cruises, I have come up with this as a narrower focus to look at (eliminating 'big ships' - anything over 2,000 pax). 

 

Saga - two ships of relevance, 'Spirit of Adventure' and 'Spirit of Discovery'; both 999 pax (perfect size!).  They don't seem to show up on any TA's sites - I was only able to get pricing and itineraries at their own site (similar to Viking in this regard?). Is this me simply not finding them or is that a policy / strategy of theirs, to just sell through their own agents? 

 

P&O - two ships of relevance, 'Aurora' and 'Arcadia' (around 2,000 pax) (rest are bigger). 

 

Cunard - only 'Queen Victoria' is 'small' (circa 2,000) and sails to Norway.

 

Ambassador - two ships of relevance, 'Ambition' and 'Ambience' (1,200 and 1,400 pax). 

 

Fred Olsen - three ships of relevance - 'Borealis', 'Balmoral', and 'Bolette' (1,400 pax range)

 

Marella - look good (3 ships circa 1,800 pax), but don't do Norway. 

 

Seabourn - two ships of relevance - Sojourn and Ovation - 'PERFECT' size, (450-650 pax range), though (obviously) pricey.  If their prices are realistic and not just 'teasers', then they are in the running. 

 

Silversea - one ship of relevance, Silver Dawn. Size 600 range. Obviously pricey with that pax count, but again, if their prices are realistic (by that I mean, not some crappy inside cabin with no food - exaggerating!) then they could be in the running. It looks like they only do one Fjord cruise, though, and it starts in Southampton but ends in Copenhagen ... 

 

Oceania - one ship of relevance, 'Vista'  - about 1,200 pax, so perfect size. Struggling to find a good Fjord itinerary though that starts/ends in UK. 

 

So - plenty to dig into further! 

 

A note about Viking - I seem to recall, in talking to Brits on our previous Viking Ocean cruises, that Viking don't 'operate' in the UK in the same way they operate in the US, and this may account for why they don't show up on UK TA sites.  There were plenty of Brits on the cruise, but they may have had to buy the cruise through the US? Or directly from Viking's site? 

 

And a note about Viking itineraries - we joined a Viking cruise in Bergen and left it in Reykjavik; the ship sailed TO Bergen from UK, and was returning to UK after Reykjavik - so you could construct a 'UK-to-UK' cruise with Viking, but it would have been a 4-6 week round-trip. 

 

 

On 11/21/2024 at 10:23 PM, turnip eater said:

SAGA for over 50s. They even collect passengers from home and return included in the cost. Not the cheapest but all food and drinks included. 
 

 

Saga look very attractive, thanks!   Any thoughts as to why they don't show up on the TA sites? 

 

On 11/22/2024 at 1:45 AM, SteveH2508 said:

Another recommendation for Ambassador. Their main port is Tilbury and they do many Norway itineraries. Smaller ships at 1400 and 1200 pax.

Ambassador look great, thanks! 

On 11/22/2024 at 9:07 AM, fruitmachine said:

Where in the UK?  That might make quite a difference, especially if half-way between a point-to-point cruise.

They are in south Yorks area, but will travel anywhere - Portsmouth, London, Dover, Newcastle - they just won't fly!  I've even thought of constructing an itinerary for them that includes a train ride to Europe or even a ferry ... 

23 hours ago, Harters said:

Our cruises in recent years have been with Oceania, one of which was a Southampton to Southampton one to the Norwegian fjords. We are doing another Southampton round trip next year taking in French & Spanish ports round the Bay of Biscay.  We have not sailed with Viking so can't make a comparison from experience. But we have looked at them for the future as it seems close to Oceania's quality and, in a couple of aspects, may surpass it.  Like Viking, Oceania describes itself as a premium line and has similar pricing - obviously more expensive than the mass market lines operating for the UK market

 

Oceania looks 'perfect' in many ways (and I've heard positive things about them before) but I tried to find something with Oceania going to the Fjords and the best one I could find was starting in Southampton but ending in Copenhagen. 

 

We've only tried Viking and HAL so far. We started with Viking and loved it but it was pricey, so we tried HAL (and got a bigger suite since it was much cheaper) but - we really didn't like the ambience of HAL at all - casinos, photographers, sell, sell, sell, and the buffet was a zoo (their Main Dining Room was actually a pleasant surprise).  There was nowhere on the ship we felt we could relax.  Viking seems to be full of delightful, bright, uncrowded spaces where you can just sit and read a book, or watch the world go by. This is why we are so focused on low passenger counts. 

 

23 hours ago, Harters said:

Whilst the forum does not permit us to name travel agents, Cruise Critic itself has no such qualms and has this very helpful article commenting on the main player in the UK cruise travel agent market

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles/best-cruise-travel-agents

Fantastic list, thanks!  Most helpful! 

 

 

9 hours ago, edinburgher said:

 Already suggested by JB in a post above, Fred Olsen, a Norwegian family owned line which specialises in Norway and has a wealth of experience there,which caters primarily, but not exclusively, to Brits.

 

As they offer r/t itineraries from a few UK ports (you don't say where in the UK your relative is based) browsing their website could be a decent starting point.

Fred Olsen does look like an option, with three ships (at least) catering to Norway.  The pricing was surprisingly low, given the pax counts.  I don't want to pay more than I need to of course, but I'm a bit suspicious when I see a 'balcony' room on a 14-night cruise for only £4,500 pp.  Do Fred Olsen either provide, or coordinate with, shore excursions, etc? Is their dining option considered to be good?   We were 100% opposed to any 'buffet' style dining until we tried the 'World Cafe' (buffet) on Viking; it completely re-defined our perspective on buffets, and we ended up eating there most nights.  By comparison, we found the buffet on HAL to be awful - the food itself was mediocre, and the mad rush for tables was off-putting. 

 

I should probably say - the people I'm targeting for this cruise would want to dine exclusively alone at all times - no shared table experiences (which was always attainable on Viking). 

 

Thanks again to everyone for their help!  I will take another pass through the cruises on one of the 'recommended' sites. 

[turnip eater]

SAGA don’t use many travel agents. They stopped using travel agents in general a couple of years ago. We always book direct. If you book through a travel agent you are not permitted access to your booking eg to book excursions. I suppose to encourage you to book direct.🤷🏼‍♀️

[fruitmachine]

8 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

A note about Viking - I seem to recall, in talking to Brits on our previous Viking Ocean cruises, that Viking don't 'operate' in the UK in the same way they operate in the US, and this may account for why they don't show up on UK TA sites.  There were plenty of Brits on the cruise, but they may have had to buy the cruise through the US? Or directly from Viking's site? 

As I understand it, Viking don't pay travel agents' commission.  They are principally a direct-sales operation.  You can still book through a TA, but within the total cost you pay to the TA, there will be a straight fee for the TA's work.  From what you've found, it looks like Saga will be similar.

 

That's not a definitive reason to book direct.  If you're combining the cruise with other travel elements (rail, hotels, transfers, etc) the TA will both act as a co-ordination point for you working at a distance, and give you the financial protection that a "package" holiday has: https://www.abta.com/tips-and-advice/is-my-money-protected

 

If you do the 'packaging' yourself, even if you get a refund from one supplier (for example because of a cancellation by them) you're potentially out of pocket for any unused components from other suppliers.

[Steerpike58]

After reviewing several cruise lines and 'Norwegian Fjord' itineraries, I noticed that not many cruise lines seem to visit Flam and Geiranger (Norway)  If I search across all lines, there were a few of the BIG ships that would call there (eg Celebrity Apex, Norwegian Prima, etc) but the only small ships with those ports in their itineraries were the Ambassador line's Ambition and Ambience ships and one Fred Olsen cruise. 

 

This seems odd because both Flam and Geiranger were small ports, more suited to smaller ships (we went to both ports on Viking and thought they were absolutely spectacular destinations).  I guess each cruise line has its own itineraries that they develop over time and you just have to go with what's available. I suppose each port gets to call it's own shots in terms of how much a cruise line has to pay to visit it. 

[Harters]

11 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

I tried to find something with Oceania going to the Fjords

Both Vista and the similarly sized Marina have Southampton round trip cruises in 2025 but, unusually, no fjord cruise. Our first cruise with them, in 2017, was a fjord cruise on Marina. These two, along with Riviera, are their larger ships. They also have four smaller ships with only around 700 passengers

[edinburgher]

15 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

Do Fred Olsen either provide, or coordinate with, shore excursions, etc? Is their dining option considered to be good?

a full offering of shorex normally available.

 

Food is always subjective, but we never really had any issues apart from their still traditional two fixed dining sittings in the evenings, although their evening buffet was a good alternative..Some love the fixed dining times, we prefer the flexibility of open dining.

Edited November 24 by edinburgher

[Harters]

34 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

their still traditional two fixed dining sittings

Our first cruises, back in the 80/90s were with P & O. We became disenchanted with the fixed sittings and, indeed, the overall formality of dress codes, etc. Apart from one very casual cruise, we didnt cruise again until we discovered Oceania in 2017. It sort of surprises me that lines still have those traditional meal arrangements. Although I imagine many Brit customers of Olsen and others prefer it that way, otherwise the line would have moved away from them. 

[Steerpike58]

2 hours ago, edinburgher said:

...

Food is always subjective, but we never really had any issues apart from their still traditional two fixed dining sittings in the evenings, although their evening buffet was a good alternative..Some love the fixed dining times, we prefer the flexibility of open dining.

Does this mean you have to pick one of two set times, and stick to it?  And does that mean that everyone is basically ordering at the same time? That seems logistically challenging, from a kitchen perspective!  Our last cruise (in Sept) was with HA on a 2,000 pax ship and the one thing that really impressed us was the operation of the Main Dining Room. We paid extra for 'Club Orange', which meant we got priority seating. We were always seated immediately, always at different random times, and the food was always served quickly. And we always got a table for two. 

1 hour ago, Harters said:

Our first cruises, back in the 80/90s were with P & O. We became disenchanted with the fixed sittings and, indeed, the overall formality of dress codes, etc. Apart from one very casual cruise, we didnt cruise again until we discovered Oceania in 2017. It sort of surprises me that lines still have those traditional meal arrangements. Although I imagine many Brit customers of Olsen and others prefer it that way, otherwise the line would have moved away from them. 

Do some of these lines really enforce strict dress codes?  I make a point of bringing one pair of decent trousers, and a few 'collared' shirts, but that's as far as I'm willing to go for dinner.  No suit, no tie, and no jacket.  Would that keep me out of the dining room on some of these cruise lines? On the above-mentioned HA cruise, there were people who went to town with formal dinner wear - and good for them, if it makes them happy - but the only people I saw actually turned away were those in shorts and / or tee-shirts.  Same goes for our Viking Ocean experience. 

 

One of the main reasons we didn't enjoy our one-and-only Viking River cruise was the fixed dining times and the lack of 'tables for two'. But at least we understood that it was a necessity of sorts, given the very limited space available. 

[Harters]

3 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

Would that keep me out of the dining room on some of these cruise lines?

Some lines certainly have quite formal dress codes. That immediately rules them out for us. 

 

Not Oceania which has a "country club casual" code (which means nothing if you live in a country that doesnt have country clubs). Or "smart casual" as we'd call it in the UK. Chinos and polo shirt are perfectly acceptable in all dining locations every night. Pretty much as I understand Viking Ocean to have. It's a significant reason why we choose Oceania. The other significant reason is the flexibility of dining arrangements The speciality restaurants have to be pre-booked (you can pick times and whether you want a table for two or happy to share. The main restaurant is even more flexible - turn up for dinner whenever you want, say if you want a two-top or sharing  and away you go. In three cruises, we've never had to wait more than a handful of minutes for a two-top and, most evenings, we've been led straight to a table

[edinburgher]

15 hours ago, Steerpike58 said:

Does this mean you have to pick one of two set times, and stick to it?  And does that mean that everyone is basically ordering at the same time?

Yes and Yes unless you can speak with the Maitre D and arrange a switch, space permitting at the other sitting.

 

Same time, same table, same tablemates. The earlier sitting (which used to be around 6pm) is usually fully booked, the later one, (which used to be around 8 or 830pm) is usually available, but these may have changed since we last sailed with them and you should check their website for current info.  Or ask on the Fred Olsen Board.  This one

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/355-fred-olsen-cruise-line/

 

 

Edited November 25 by edinburgher

[John Bull]

On 11/24/2024 at 12:30 AM, Steerpike58 said:

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions and info.  Very helpful. 

 

      (EXPAND YOUR POST TO SEE MY REPLIES)

 

Brilliant list, thanks!  Using this list, and cross-referencing info from a site you suggested later on (Inuit Igloo ...) and another site I found myself, and focusing on lines that offer Norwegian Fjord cruises, I have come up with this as a narrower focus to look at (eliminating 'big ships' - anything over 2,000 pax). 

 

Saga - two ships of relevance, 'Spirit of Adventure' and 'Spirit of Discovery'; both 999 pax (perfect size!).  They don't seem to show up on any TA's sites - I was only able to get pricing and itineraries at their own site (similar to Viking in this regard?). Is this me simply not finding them or is that a policy / strategy of theirs, to just sell through their own agents? 

Saga is a large organisation exclusively for the over-55s & which covers life insurance, financial matters and vacations of every description - they added their own cruise ships a decade or so ago. Yes, I think they only sell direct.

 

P&O - two ships of relevance, 'Aurora' and 'Arcadia' (around 2,000 pax) (rest are bigger). 

Correct. And those two are adults-only

 

Cunard - only 'Queen Victoria' is 'small' (circa 2,000) and sails to Norway.

Significantly more formal than other cruise lines

 

Ambassador - two ships of relevance, 'Ambition' and 'Ambience' (1,200 and 1,400 pax). 

No personal experience, but they do seem to suit

 

Fred Olsen - three ships of relevance - 'Borealis', 'Balmoral', and 'Bolette' (1,400 pax range)

Yes, their fares will be at the lower end because their ships are - car buyer's expression "second-hand", car salesmen's expression "pre-loved" 😉- but well-maintained. No toys, not glitzy,

Very friendly older clientele - if the desire not to share a dinner table is part of a general desire to keep their own company it may not be the cruise line for them.

As @edinburgher has posted, Fred is quite traditional, including meals. Worth checking, cos things do change

Yes, the usual ship-sponsored excursions in ports.

I think that like US ships, daily service charges are added but no service charges on drinks etc.

Greatest respect to Fred, but they're considering spending Viking, Ambassador, Oceania, etc money, they'd perhaps be disappointed with this fleet.

 

Marella - look good (3 ships circa 1,800 pax), but don't do Norway. 

Like Fred Olsen, their fleet is of hand-me-down ships. Some were very tired, but nowadays the fleet is good other than lacking the whistles & bells of newer ships

Much the same as Fred but all sailings are drinks-included which of course raises the fare, and the clientele is a wide mix - families & couples of all ages

 

Seabourn - two ships of relevance - Sojourn and Ovation - 'PERFECT' size, (450-650 pax range), though (obviously) pricey.  If their prices are realistic and not just 'teasers', then they are in the running. 

Sorry, can't help

 

Silversea - one ship of relevance, Silver Dawn. Size 600 range. Obviously pricey with that pax count, but again, if their prices are realistic (by that I mean, not some crappy inside cabin with no food - exaggerating!) then they could be in the running. It looks like they only do one Fjord cruise, though, and it starts in Southampton but ends in Copenhagen ... 

Sorry, can't help

 

Oceania - one ship of relevance, 'Vista'  - about 1,200 pax, so perfect size. Struggling to find a good Fjord itinerary though that starts/ends in UK.

Fare includes a number of things that are extras on other ships, so relatively expensive

Good value if you make use of those extras, but for example for those like us who don't rate organised excursions & prefer to do our own thing in port we're paying for something we don't use.

 

So - plenty to dig into further! 

 

A note about Viking - I seem to recall, in talking to Brits on our previous Viking Ocean cruises, that Viking don't 'operate' in the UK in the same way they operate in the US, and this may account for why they don't show up on UK TA sites.  There were plenty of Brits on the cruise, but they may have had to buy the cruise through the US? Or directly from Viking's site? 

 

And a note about Viking itineraries - we joined a Viking cruise in Bergen and left it in Reykjavik; the ship sailed TO Bergen from UK, and was returning to UK after Reykjavik - so you could construct a 'UK-to-UK' cruise with Viking, but it would have been a 4-6 week round-trip. 

 

 

 

Saga look very attractive, thanks!   Any thoughts as to why they don't show up on the TA sites? 

Probably because they only sell direct

 

Ambassador look great, thanks! 

Yes, well-worth short-listing

 

They are in south Yorks area, but will travel anywhere - Portsmouth, London, Dover, Newcastle - they just won't fly!  I've even thought of constructing an itinerary for them that includes a train ride to Europe

If they want to spend time in a departure port eg Amsterdam or Copenhagen that might well suit. But the time taken for train travel from the UK would add a big complication from Yorkshire & wouldn't gain any time over sea-days

or even a ferry ...

Two thoughts on ferries. ........

Yes, ferries from places like Hull across to the Netherlands would avoid the long hike to England's south coast and both land & sea travel-time

Huritgruten is a highly-respected ferry-line in Norway, and folk use them to cruise along the Norwegian coast. Friends chose Hurtigruten ferry for a first cruise, too late for me to tell them "its a damned ferry" - but they loved it !! They're now offering cruises from UK ports.  Well worth researching. 

 

Oceania looks 'perfect' in many ways (and I've heard positive things about them before) but I tried to find something with Oceania going to the Fjords and the best one I could find was starting in Southampton but ending in Copenhagen. 

 

We've only tried Viking and HAL so far. We started with Viking and loved it but it was pricey, so we tried HAL (and got a bigger suite since it was much cheaper) but - we really didn't like the ambience of HAL at all - casinos, photographers, sell, sell, sell, and the buffet was a zoo (their Main Dining Room was actually a pleasant surprise).  There was nowhere on the ship we felt we could relax.  Viking seems to be full of delightful, bright, uncrowded spaces where you can just sit and read a book, or watch the world go by. This is why we are so focused on low passenger counts. 

 

Fantastic list, thanks!  Most helpful! 

 

 

Fred Olsen does look like an option, with three ships (at least) catering to Norway.  The pricing was surprisingly low, given the pax counts.  I don't want to pay more than I need to of course, but I'm a bit suspicious when I see a 'balcony' room on a 14-night cruise for only £4,500 pp.  Do Fred Olsen either provide, or coordinate with, shore excursions, etc? Is their dining option considered to be good?   We were 100% opposed to any 'buffet' style dining until we tried the 'World Cafe' (buffet) on Viking; it completely re-defined our perspective on buffets, and we ended up eating there most nights.  By comparison, we found the buffet on HAL to be awful - the food itself was mediocre, and the mad rush for tables was off-putting. 

 

I should probably say - the people I'm targeting for this cruise would want to dine exclusively alone at all times - no shared table experiences (which was always attainable on Viking). 

 

One last note, which I was reminded of in another thread, ships are going very techy - on some of the latest & techiest, meal bookings. menus, bookings for shows, bookings for excursions etc are all done by the passenger on their smart-phones. 

Your relatives are elderly - if like me they're technodummies, and especially if they don't even own a smart-phone, they'll struggle. They'll get by, but will need help each time they need to book something  - one ship we sailed didn't even have printed menus until part-way thro the cruise.

(the app. works without the need to buy an internet package)

 

Thanks again to everyone for their help!  I will take another pass through the cruises on one of the 'recommended' sites. 

 

JB 🙂

[showingdiva]

Just to mention that Ambassador also sail from Dundee and Newcastle and Fred Olsen sail from Rosyth (Edinburgh) and Newcastle.

 

The only thing Ambassador and Azamara have in common is that they both own ships.   Otherwise, couldn't be further apart in terms of size and customer base.

 

 

[edinburgher]

On 11/25/2024 at 2:07 PM, John Bull said:

Do Fred Olsen either provide, or coordinate with, shore excursions, etc?

Of course they do, as selling shorex is a big income stream for all cruiselines.

[John Bull]

34 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

Of course they do, as selling shorex is a big income stream for all cruiselines.

 On account of me being lazy and using the OP's post to reply, what the OP said   came out as "John Bull said".

No worries - I've now learned a new way to pass the buck 😉

 

JB 🙂