Norwegian Fjords, Port or Starboard

We are looking to book our cruise for next year. Not done the Fjords or The Britannia yet. So looking at booking on the ship for Fjords. Wonder if there is a preferred side for the views from Balcony. Or doesn’t it matter

Doesn't matter really, as the cliffs rise up both sides of you. If it hadn't been Britannia I'd have suggested an aft cabin though? Love them for the views. We had our first cruise on Britannia this year - amazing!

We did the fjords last summer (first ever cruise) and i would definitely say starboard..!! We were starboard side deck B, so we could see as we approached. The ship always seemed to dock on the starboard side, so we had a fantastic view of the ports we visited (if you go to Olden you'll be in for a BIG surprise when the ship sets sail..!!). And on the way home we had fantastic sunset views as we sailed back down the north sea, looking at all the wind turbines way off on the horizon. Didn't know any of this when we booked, so we just struck lucky.... good luck.!

Nick

I wouldn’t have thought it made any difference as the Fjords are very long cul de sacs and you see one side on the way in and the other side on the way out! If starboard genuinely is the best side then I am pleased as we have a starboard corner wrap suite booked on Arcadia for a Fjords Cruise next year!

Regarding Britannia, I wouldn’t advise having an aft cabin. Having recently had one, the well publicised issues of soot, vibration and (if too low down) noise from the Live Lounge are all true and combine to seriously compromise the experience.

Finally, you should be aware that Britannia has had a lot of Port calls to Flaam and Olden cancelled and swapped for more coastal (less scenic) ports. In fact, this happened 6 times in one year alone. This does not seem to be as much of an issue with the other ships. We enjoyed our last Fjord Cruise (on Britannia) as it was the first time we had been there, but we wouldn’t book a Fjords trip on her again as we had both of these ports cancelled and missed the best of the Fjords as a result - hence the 2nd attempt to get to these two ports (which are at the end of 2 of the longest Fjords) next year on a smaller ship.

Would also recommend starboard side. We did this cruise on Britannia this May and we always seemed to dock on the starboard side, which , if you have a balcony, allows you to sit and watch the town and the dockside goings on. Whichever side you choose you will enjoy it!

Thanks for the comments. I have another question, we are looking at July, Britannia does Two Fjords Cruises in that month. One does Flaam but not Olden, the other does Olden but not Flaam. Any suggestions on what we should choose

I dont really think it matters which one you choose unless you specifically want to go to one of these ports. We were on Aurora last year and visted Olden but we have booked to go on Azura next year when we will visit Flaam. Also we were port side and seemed to get sunshine on balcony every afternoon and evening (if that helps).

Thanks for the comments. I have another question, we are looking at July, Britannia does Two Fjords Cruises in that month. One does Flaam but not Olden, the other does Olden but not Flaam. Any suggestions on what we should choose

At the risk of repeating myself, be very wary of booking a Fjords cruise on Britannia as a result of wanting to do a specific port. Our Britannia cruise was due to visit BOTH Flaam and Olden. We ended up going to NEITHER of them. Britannia is a great ship (aft issues aside) and the fjords are my second favourite cruise destination (after the Baltic), but you could end up very disappointed a few months before departure.

At the risk of repeating myself, be very wary of booking a Fjords cruise on Britannia as a result of wanting to do a specific port. Our Britannia cruise was due to visit BOTH Flaam and Olden. We ended up going to NEITHER of them. Britannia is a great ship (aft issues aside) and the fjords are my second favourite cruise destination (after the Baltic), but you could end up very disappointed a few months before departure.

I did take on board your original comments. Like you my favourite cruise was the Baltic. Done a few Different P&O ships on various destinations, So want to try something different and particularly to try the Britannia. We have little knowledge of the Fjord Ports so don’t have a particular one we most want to visit. I am aware of the risk of port changes, we had two changes on our Oceana cruise this year with the replacements most definitely second best

Did a Fjord cruise the other year on Arcadia. Between Olden & Flam I would personally recommend Flam better. The scenic railway up into the mountains was the highlight of the cruise for me.

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Having done both Flam and Olden in one cruise, when I go again I want one with Olden in as that has the glacier trip and I didn't get to do it on the first visit.

As regards Selbourne's comments re cancelled trips I've noticed in 2018 and 2019 Britannia seems to do Olden or Flam and then Alesund which I would be happy with myself because until recently P&O hardly seemed to visit Alesund which looks very pretty with art deco buildings. Just my opinion anyway. Norway is beautiful, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

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As regards Selbourne's comments re cancelled trips I've noticed in 2018 and 2019 Britannia seems to do Olden or Flam and then Alesund which I would be happy with myself because until recently P&O hardly seemed to visit Alesund which looks very pretty with art deco buildings. Just my opinion anyway. Norway is beautiful, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

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Yes, Alesund is a nice place but it is near the coast and not at the end of 100 mile plus long Fjords, as Flaam and Olden are. My point is that you may well book a Britannia Cruise that says it is going to Flaam or Olden (or both, as ours was advertised) and end up going to neither. The cruise we ended up on felt more like a Norwegian coastal Cruise than a Norwegian Fjords Cruise. We still enjoyed it, as it was our first trip to Norway (other than Oslo) but it was not the proper Fjords Cruise with hour after hour cruising through very long Fjords, that we had booked in good faith. As a point of interest, Carnival Group cancelled Britannia’s port calls to Flaam and Olden 9 months before we were due to visit, yet P&O continued to sell the cruise with the incorrect itinerary for another 6 months. Some may be relaxed about things like that. I am not one of them, as I consider it to be mis-selling.

Yes I remember the upset last time Selbourne, and I understand your anger but it seems to be the latest cruises they are chosing only one of those ports now for Britannia. I'm thinking they're hopefully not going to cancel so many now.

The OP asked which one out of Olden and Flam to choose . Someone said Flam for the railway I was making the case for Olden. The railway was good but once you've done it not much else there really.

As I've been to Olden and Flam before I'm happy to go elsewhere, it seemed to be with 7 night Norway cruises they were only going to the same four ports so when I go again I want at least one new port.

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We are doing the fjords next year for the first time and I was wondering if it is possible to do the Glacier on your own or do you have to do an organised trip?

Michele

We are doing the fjords next year for the first time and I was wondering if it is possible to do the Glacier on your own or do you have to do an organised trip?

 

Michele

You can do it on your own at the port there are black mini buses that go about half way, you then have to walk the rest of the way up hill. There is also a open top red bus that goes part of the way.

Thanks for that Mandylemon.

We prefer to do our own thing at ports and enjoy a good walk.

Michele

I wouldn’t have thought it made any difference as the Fjords are very long cul de sacs and you see one side on the way in and the other side on the way out! If starboard genuinely is the best side then I am pleased as we have a starboard corner wrap suite booked on Arcadia for a Fjords Cruise next year!

 

Regarding Britannia, I wouldn’t advise having an aft cabin. Having recently had one, the well publicised issues of soot, vibration and (if too low down) noise from the Live Lounge are all true and combine to seriously compromise the experience.

 

Finally, you should be aware that Britannia has had a lot of Port calls to Flaam and Olden cancelled and swapped for more coastal (less scenic) ports. In fact, this happened 6 times in one year alone. This does not seem to be as much of an issue with the other ships. We enjoyed our last Fjord Cruise (on Britannia) as it was the first time we had been there, but we wouldn’t book a Fjords trip on her again as we had both of these ports cancelled and missed the best of the Fjords as a result - hence the 2nd attempt to get to these two ports (which are at the end of 2 of the longest Fjords) next year on a smaller ship.

Great advice.

At the risk of repeating myself, be very wary of booking a Fjords cruise on Britannia as a result of wanting to do a specific port. Our Britannia cruise was due to visit BOTH Flaam and Olden. We ended up going to NEITHER of them. Britannia is a great ship (aft issues aside) and the fjords are my second favourite cruise destination (after the Baltic), but you could end up very disappointed a few months before departure.

Did they give you a reason why they didn't go there on Britannia? Thanks.

Yes, Alesund is a nice place but it is near the coast and not at the end of 100 mile plus long Fjords, as Flaam and Olden are. My point is that you may well book a Britannia Cruise that says it is going to Flaam or Olden (or both, as ours was advertised) and end up going to neither. The cruise we ended up on felt more like a Norwegian coastal Cruise than a Norwegian Fjords Cruise. We still enjoyed it, as it was our first trip to Norway (other than Oslo) but it was not the proper Fjords Cruise with hour after hour cruising through very long Fjords, that we had booked in good faith. As a point of interest, Carnival Group cancelled Britannia’s port calls to Flaam and Olden 9 months before we were due to visit, yet P&O continued to sell the cruise with the incorrect itinerary for another 6 months. Some may be relaxed about things like that. I am not one of them, as I consider it to be mis-selling.

We have never sailed the Fjords and your comments are very helpful as the Fjords are on our list of places to visit.

Did they give you a reason why they didn't go there on Britannia? Thanks.

P&O simply said that there were too many ships in the area and implied that the port authorities had cancelled our calls. I didn’t believe that to be a genuine reason for a cancellation, given that itineraries are planned a couple of years in advance, so I contacted the relevant port authorities asking if that was true. I didn’t expect an honest answer, as I thought that they would be frightened of upsetting the cruise lines, but I struck gold as a clearly irate port manager provided me with chapter and verse on what had happened!

He gave me the specific dates that the bookings had originally been made and the dates that they had been cancelled, by whom and for what reasons. In summary, Carnival Group had unilateraly requested that Britannia’s port call was cancelled in lieu of one of the Cunard ships. So we were bumped by Carnival and not the port. He also informed me that he found the whole thing frustrating as Britannia had been cancelled 6 times that year alone!

Then, the icing on the cake was that Carnival had cancelled Britannia’s port calls 9 months before the cruise, yet continued to market the cruise as Flaam and Olden right up until we were notified, which was just 3 months before sailing. I think that’s sharp practice. We really like Britannia (aft issues aside) and love the Fjords, but wouldn’t combine the two again unless we were entirely relaxed about where we ended up and didn’t mind missing the best of the Fjords.

P&O simply said that there were too many ships in the area and implied that the port authorities had cancelled our calls. I didn’t believe that to be a genuine reason for a cancellation, given that itineraries are planned a couple of years in advance, so I contacted the relevant port authorities asking if that was true. I didn’t expect an honest answer, as I thought that they would be frightened of upsetting the cruise lines, but I struck gold as a clearly irate port manager provided me with chapter and verse on what had happened!

 

He gave me the specific dates that the bookings had originally been made and the dates that they had been cancelled, by whom and for what reasons. In summary, Carnival Group had unilateraly requested that Britannia’s port call was cancelled in lieu of one of the Cunard ships. So we were bumped by Carnival and not the port. He also informed me that he found the whole thing frustrating as Britannia had been cancelled 6 times that year alone!

 

Then, the icing on the cake was that Carnival had cancelled Britannia’s port calls 9 months before the cruise, yet continued to market the cruise as Flaam and Olden right up until we were notified, which was just 3 months before sailing. I think that’s sharp practice. We really like Britannia (aft issues aside) and love the Fjords, but wouldn’t combine the two again unless we were entirely relaxed about where we ended up and didn’t mind missing the best of the Fjords.

Thanks for the great reply.

Carnival like what they did with Adonia and Brittania in the Fjords are misleading some of the most loyal cruise passengers in the cruise industry.

When we finally book for the Fjords with P&O i will check the Cunard and Princess sailings to make sure they don't overlap itineraries as they are obviously favouring Cunard and possibly Princess over P&O.

Simple fact is that Britannia is too big for some fjord ports passenger number wise and also berth size. A lot easier for the port harbor master to accept 1 mid sized ship in berth & 1 other at anchor than for a small port to be clogged up by a super ship. Can you just imagine one of the RCI Oasis class ships in Olden with Britannia berthed in the harbor !!!!

These bigger class vessels​ are nice but the smaller ports just can't handle the sizes.

Simple fact is that Britannia is too big for some fjord ports passenger number wise and also berth size. A lot easier for the port harbor master to accept 1 mid sized ship in berth & 1 other at anchor than for a small port to be clogged up by a super ship. Can you just imagine one of the RCI Oasis class ships in Olden with Britannia berthed in the harbor !!!!

These bigger class vessels​ are nice but the smaller ports just can't handle the sizes.

So why does RCI Independence of the seas at 154,407 tons not have a problem?.

Simple fact is that Britannia is too big for some fjord ports passenger number wise and also berth size. A lot easier for the port harbor master to accept 1 mid sized ship in berth & 1 other at anchor than for a small port to be clogged up by a super ship. Can you just imagine one of the RCI Oasis class ships in Olden with Britannia berthed in the harbor !!!!

These bigger class vessels​ are nice but the smaller ports just can't handle the sizes.

There are, of course, capacity limits, not just for the ports but the small towns or villages that they sit in. But that’s not the point being discussed here. The issue is that, with all these factors being known, P&O still market a cruise on Britannia as going to ports that it knew 6 months earlier that it was no longer going to.

There are, of course, capacity limits, not just for the ports but the small towns or villages that they sit in. But that’s not the point being discussed here. The issue is that, with all these factors being known, P&O still market a cruise on Britannia as going to ports that it knew 6 months earlier that it was no longer going to.

I agree,it is blatant misrepresentation and when they know well in advance and only declare the changes when final payments have been made and it is to late to do anything about it is disrespectful at the very least.