Fjords - P&O or Cunard?

[Surprise50th]

I'm looking at booking a week's Fjord cruise in June 2026 for my husbands 50th. I've looked at P&O and Cunard, more edging towards Cunard as the ships are smaller and think hubby would really like to go on a Cunard ship as well as it being more geared to adults than a mix. We'd also be adding the drinks package to whatever else book so not too concerned about drink prices (have read Cunard drinks can be pricey). 

 

Any thoughts / suggestions / advice etc? We are well travelled but new to cruising. 

 

Thanks 

[Host Hattie]

Is this the itinerary you are considering?

 

Queen Anne Norway and North Cape

 

Queen Anne is a brand new ship, currently on her second cruise. I'm booked on a similar itinerary next June but I guess you want an answer before then !

[Ray66]

If that is the same cruise, then the OP needs to know that it's 14 nights, not a week as mentioned.

[Host Hattie]

22 minutes ago, Ray66 said:

If that is the same cruise, then the OP needs to know that it's 14 nights, not a week as mentioned.

Good point but that was only cruise I could find to Norway that month !

Guess it will be P&O in that case.

[john watson]

Seven days Fjords is a bit short in my experience.

Regards John

[Windsurfboy]

It's  an impossible question to answer without knowing  what budget and how formal they want. 

 

P&O start off cheaper , but have only Fjord cruises in mega ship Iona. Which during school holidays is full of kids , otherwise much less so. Iona has a wider range of included  dining than Cunard. But  reading CC MDR in Cunard is better than P&O

 

Cunard offer 7 days as well as longer, are dearer like for like cabin  and then have the grills at a price.

 

To me timing and itinerary would be number 1.

[Surprise50th]

53 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Good point but that was only cruise I could find to Norway that month !

Guess it will be P&O in that case.

Thank you. I have contacted Cunard to see if they have released their full schedule for 2026 as there were more cruises in 2024 and 2025 for Norway in June than there seems to be in 2026. We would be flexible and do the July 2026 if needed but would only want a week as it isn't our main holiday

[Surprise50th]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

Is this the itinerary you are considering?

 

Queen Anne Norway and North Cape

 

Queen Anne is a brand new ship, currently on her second cruise. I'm booked on a similar itinerary next June but I guess you want an answer before then !

Yes! Sorry, hope you have a great time! 

[Surprise50th]

58 minutes ago, john watson said:

Seven days Fjords is a bit short in my experience.

Regards John

Thanks John. We do several holidays each year and are restricted by annual leave and I'll only be telling hubby about this just before so we'll be on limited time. Maybe we will go again and for longer when we retire! 

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, Surprise50th said:

Thanks John. We do several holidays each year and are restricted by annual leave and I'll only be telling hubby about this just before so we'll be on limited time. Maybe we will go again and for longer when we retire! 

Queen Anne has 7 nights 29 May 2026, would that do?

[Host Hattie]

So this one ?

Queen Anne Fjords

[Surprise50th]

25 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

It's  an impossible question to answer without knowing  what budget and how formal they want. 

 

P&O start off cheaper , but have only Fjord cruises in mega ship Iona. Which during school holidays is full of kids , otherwise much less so. Iona has a wider range of included  dining than Cunard. But  reading CC MDR in Cunard is better than P&O

 

Cunard offer 7 days as well as longer, are dearer like for like cabin  and then have the grills at a price.

 

To me timing and itinerary would be number 1.

Thanks. Although I have said June, I am flexible on that. I've priced up the beginning July 2026 Fjords cruise and budget wise with Cunard that would be OK. We would be happy with some formal and some not as formal nights and are happy to dress smart for dinner. 

[Surprise50th]

2 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

So this one ?

Queen Anne Fjords

Yes that is a potential and one that I priced up and was OK budget wise. 

[Surprise50th]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Queen Anne has 7 nights 29 May 2026, would that do?

Yes we could do that one or the July one. I wasn't sure whether they were releasing any dates for June 2026 as there was a gap. We are flexible and if we aren't there for his birthday it's not the end of the world 

[Megabear2]

13 minutes ago, Surprise50th said:

Yes we could do that one or the July one. I wasn't sure whether they were releasing any dates for June 2026 as there was a gap. We are flexible and if we aren't there for his birthday it's not the end of the world 

Regarding P&O (I note you are on that thread too), Iona doesn't really do the fjords due to her size and is more coastal. They do have Britannia on 7 night fjords and there is a departure on 26 June 2026. Both Britannia and Iona are family ships although Britannia is smaller carrying around 3,000 passengers.  She does have more Fjord calls.

 

As Host Hattie says Queen Anne is brand new - I am due to sail on her on 24 May but around the UK rather than Norway - and will happily provide my opinions/comparison between her and Britannia who I know extremely well.

 

 

[Surprise50th]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Regarding P&O (I note you are on that thread too), Iona doesn't really do the fjords due to her size and is more coastal. They do have Britannia on 7 night fjords and there is a departure on 26 June 2026. Both Britannia and Iona are family ships although Britannia is smaller carrying around 3,000 passengers.  She does have more Fjord calls.

 

As Host Hattie says Queen Anne is brand new - I am due to sail on her on 24 May but around the UK rather than Norway - and will happily provide my opinions/comparison between her and Britannia who I know extremely well.

 

 

Thank you! I think we would definitely prefer a ship which wasn't as geared up to families, purely because we don't have a need for that and wouldn't holiday in a family orientated hotel.so doubt we would do a cruise that was more aimed at families. I was about 70% edging towards Cunard before but with the help of this group it has made me realise that Cunard is 100% the right one for us! Thank you all! 

[Megabear2]

Just now, Surprise50th said:

Thank you! I think we would definitely prefer a ship which wasn't as geared up to families, purely because we don't have a need for that and wouldn't holiday in a family orientated hotel.so doubt we would do a cruise that was more aimed at families. I was about 70% edging towards Cunard before but with the help of this group it has made me realise that Cunard is 100% the right one for us! Thank you all! 

Just so you are under no illusions Queen Anne will also have families onboard and has 3,000 passengers when full.  The only one of the three ships under discussion which will have large numbers of families will be Iona.  P&O do have adult only smaller ships but they do longer cruises.  

[Winifred 22]

I have done the fjords on QM2 Iona and Britannia. The itineraries were  very similar. I prefer the ambience of Cunard but had an equally lovely time on all 3 ships. 

[rakkor]

Re: The drinks package, here's a fairly recent Chart Room drinks menu from QV to give you an idea of the prices (all are +15% gratuity) - I've toyed with the idea of a drinks package, but I would really struggle to make it pay - I could easily drink enough on a given day, but not every day, each to their own though. For our 14 night cruise the drinks package is $2016 for the two of us

 

 

Chart Room Menu.pdf

[buchanan101]

14 hours ago, Surprise50th said:

I'm looking at booking a week's Fjord cruise in June 2026 for my husbands 50th. I've looked at P&O and Cunard, more edging towards Cunard as the ships are smaller and think hubby would really like to go on a Cunard ship as well as it being more geared to adults than a mix. We'd also be adding the drinks package to whatever else book so not too concerned about drink prices (have read Cunard drinks can be pricey). 

 

Any thoughts / suggestions / advice etc? We are well travelled but new to cruising. 

 

Thanks 

Drinks packages - you have to both be fairly heavy consumers of drinks to get the value from a Cunard drinks packages. Others have done the sums, but too much for me and OH!

 

Some of the fjords will in theory be out of bounds to any cruise ship after this year  - that's why we bought forward our planned trip to this year, but seems that it's 2026 - UNESCO World Heritage.  Not sure if the locals at Flam etc will be too happy.

 

Of course this doesn't affect your choice of P&O or Cunard as no one has eligible ships though there now seems to be some sort of offsetting possible  https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/latest-updates-on-proposed-rules-for-zero-emissions-in-Norways-World-Heritage-fjords/

[naturelovergirl]

Cunard is wonderful for the Fjords!!!

We loved our experience!

Highly recommend!!!

 

[Surprise50th]

5 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Drinks packages - you have to both be fairly heavy consumers of drinks to get the value from a Cunard drinks packages. Others have done the sums, but too much for me and OH!

 

Some of the fjords will in theory be out of bounds to any cruise ship after this year  - that's why we bought forward our planned trip to this year, but seems that it's 2026 - UNESCO World Heritage.  Not sure if the locals at Flam etc will be too happy.

 

Of course this doesn't affect your choice of P&O or Cunard as no one has eligible ships though there now seems to be some sort of offsetting possible  https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/latest-updates-on-proposed-rules-for-zero-emissions-in-Norways-World-Heritage-fjords/

Thank you. We aren't huge drinkers but when we are on holiday we like a drink and they tend to be pricier drinks and a glass of wine with dinner. 

 

Thanks for the other info. 

[buchanan101]

12 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Just so you are under no illusions Queen Anne will also have families onboard and has 3,000 passengers when full.  The only one of the three ships under discussion which will have large numbers of families will be Iona.  P&O do have adult only smaller ships but they do longer cruises.  

We are off at end of June this year on QA, so be interesting to see how many children on board. I'm sure @Surprise50th there will be plenty of comments on here about how many children there are on a Cunard QA June cruise

 

The 3000 has concerned me, but no one yet seems to have said that the QA seems crowded, and there is loads of topside deck space and a lot of lounges etc. I wish they'd get rid of all 3rd party shops though - they are a waste of space.

 

3000 is still fewer than most P&Os. Iona currently in fjords: 5206+. Britannia 3647+. Ventura and Azura have marginally more passengers than QA, but i couldn't go on them as they have to be amongst the ugliest cruise ships at sea...

[buchanan101]

Just now, Surprise50th said:

Thank you. We aren't huge drinkers but when we are on holiday we like a drink and they tend to be pricier drinks and a glass of wine with dinner. 

 

Thanks for the other info. 

You'd still need to do the maths - some of the pricier drinks I don't think are included (cocktails above a certain value). Still that's not the main decision you have to make!!

[Surprise50th]

1 hour ago, rakkor said:

Re: The drinks package, here's a fairly recent Chart Room drinks menu from QV to give you an idea of the prices (all are +15% gratuity) - I've toyed with the idea of a drinks package, but I would really struggle to make it pay - I could easily drink enough on a given day, but not every day, each to their own though. For our 14 night cruise the drinks package is $2016 for the two of us

 

 

Chart Room Menu.pdf 2.46 MB · 6 downloads

Thanks, I reckon for a week we would get our moneys worth and at least it would be paid in advance as well. We love to have a drink and people watch, we don't drink much at home but we work hard and having a drink to relax on holiday is perfect for us!