dolly1965 Posted February 27 #1 Share Posted February 27 Good morning everyone. We would love to go on the Norwegian fjords cruise in June this year. We have narrowed it down to P&O or Royal Caribbean. Just wondered if anyone has been on either of these and have recommendations which one to choose. Just my husband and I. Thank you Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas - 14 June 2024 - 7 nights Southampton | At Sea | Haugesund | Flam | Olden | Stavanger | At Sea | Southampton Cruise Line: P&O Cruises Cruise Ship: Iona Departure Date: 15 Jun 2024 Duration: 7 2 guests per cabin GF GRADE BALCONY CABIN FWD NINE FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN Southampton, England At Sea Stavanger, Norway Olden, Norway Innvikfjorden, Norway Cruise Nordfiord Alesund, Norway Haugesund, Norway At Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted February 27 #2 Share Posted February 27 (edited) Hi, Dolly, That's a tough choice. Whilst Alesund (P&O) is on the coast, we booked a very worthwhile & sensibly-priced full-day privately-operated coach tour up to the Trollstigen. If they have seats to spare they accept folk who haven't pre-booked, but on our visit it was fully-booked. They give a full refund if the ship fails to port. https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/tour/alesund-from-fjords-to-trolls/ Innvikfjorden (P&O), which I don't know, is partway up the Nordfjord some 30 miles from Olden (P&O and RCI) at the head of the fjord. Big ships like both Anthem o.t.S and Iona will probably berth in the town, we were tendered at nearby Loen. Options at Olden / Loen include - the very very very high skylift at Loen - or a very pleasant and sensibly-priced excursion mainly by boat up the lake at Lovanet to the glacier at Kjenndalsbreen. We found it being offered on arrival & chose it on-spec. The trip starts with a coach at Olden and one at Loen, they meet at the lake. Sorry, don't remember the name of the operator, this website which gives you an idea of the trip is a booking agency https://www.oldencruise.com/loen-lake-and-kjenndal-glacier/ I don't know Flam (RCI), but folk on Cruise Critic rave about the Flam Railway. I don't quite understand how on a 7-day cruise P&O seems to include one port more than than RCI ????? Probably the krunch is whether you like the look of Alesund or Flam There are of course differences between the ships, altho they're both large. If you've not sailed both you'll find Anthem has more glitz & toys and cosmopolitan passengers, whereas Iona is rather more reserved and very British. On-board costs are lower on Iona - on Anthem a daily charge of about $18 per person per day, and service charge on already-higher drinks prices, so you need to take that into account as well as the base fares. If you're taking teenagers with you Anthem would win hands-down Norway is expensive, but because your bed and keep are included a cruise is an economical way to visit, as well as the views from the ship. Finally it's worth repeating your question on the Northern Europe board https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-baltic-sea/ Have a great cruise, whichever one you choose JB 🙂 . Edited February 27 by John Bull 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 27 #3 Share Posted February 27 (edited) 2 hours ago, John Bull said: I don't quite understand how on a 7-day cruise P&O seems to include one port more than than RCI ????? both cruises have four stops. RCL: Haugesund | Flåm | Olden | Stavanger | P&O Stavanger | Olden | Ålesund | Haugesund | For P&O Innvikfjorden, and Nordfiord is 'cruising only' in/out to Olden. While RCL has two deep fjords (Flåm and Olden), P&O has only one (Olden). I have never sailed with P&O but often with RCL which is my primary choice. Based on the itineary, I would choose RCL because of the two deep fjords. Edited February 27 by hallasm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted February 27 #4 Share Posted February 27 (edited) 39 minutes ago, hallasm said: both cruises have four stops. RCL: Haugesund | Flåm | Olden | Stavanger | P&O Stavanger | Olden | Ålesund | Haugesund | For P&O Innvikfjorden, and Nordfiord is 'cruising only' in/out to Olden. While RCL has two deep fjords (Flåm and Olden), P&O has only one (Olden). I have never sailed with P&O but often with RCL which is my primary choice. Based on the itineary, I would choose RCL because of the two deep fjords. Thanks, @hallasm Dolly mentioned Nordfjord as cruising, and I presumed Innvikfjorden to be a place. I've checked it on Mr Google's map - it shows Innvikfjord as being the innermost part of Nordfjord. I also checked it on Mr Google's translation - it tells me that "innvik" is Norwegian for "concealed", so "Concealed Fjord" If I spoke the Norwegian language I'd probably have realised that. But I don't. So I didn't. And not likely to - words are alljoineduptogether justlikeinGerman 🥴 Not my fault, nothing ever is 😀 JB 🙂 Edited February 27 by John Bull 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepingcat Posted February 27 #5 Share Posted February 27 5 hours ago, John Bull said: Finally it's worth repeating your question on the Northern Europe board https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-baltic-sea/ and btw, if you read down through that thread, there is plenty of advice and discussion about different itinerary and port calls. and especially about Flam, which as JB says, is a must for many people. I have done that rail trip and it is well worth the effort. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolly1965 Posted March 2 Author #6 Share Posted March 2 (edited) Thank you for your help. We decided to go P&O Iona and have booked. Now to research best port excursions Edited March 2 by dolly1965 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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