suggestions for Fjords/North Cape cruise

[cruise_bunnies]

There may be another option for you, cruise bunnies.

 

Thomson are running a series of 7 -14 day cruises to Norway during the coming Summer on their ship the Spirit.

 

That ship started out life with Holland America as the Nieuw Amsterdam and has a very traditional feel to it. The cruises are from Newcastle which is not on your list of preferred ports but is easily reached by train from London, by flying to its own airport or by ferry from Holland.

 

Pricewise Thomson is considerably cheaper than Holland America and much the same as Cruise and Maritime. We have been on the Spirit before and thought it was better than the more expensive P and O cruise. The clientele are predominantly British, as they would be on Cruise and Maritime. Costa and MSC will be much more of a European mix. We have been with Costa but find the constant stream of announcements in 5 or 6 languages to be more than a little obtrusive.

 

Many many thanks for this post Eboracum_d. I didn't see Thomson because our TA apparently doesn't sell those trips. Newcastle is indeed easily reached by ferry. The itinerary is very interesting on the Spirit and my partner certainly looked happy with that option. I would have missed it without you!

 

I don't think Costa/MSC would ever be our preferred cruise line if the reviews are accurate, but sadly pricing is important to us as well. If I can sail 14 days opposite to 7 days, low cost cruising becomes an option that is very tempting.

 

Do you know the age demographic of the Thomson public? There have been some problems with the British on the ferry lines and I really really hate drunkards. I know cruising attracts an older demographic and that most cruise lines will cut you off, so it shouldn't be a problem, but still, that would ruin my holiday for me.

[Eboracum_d]

Hi Cruise_Bunnies

 

Until five or six years ago I could say with some confidence that most UK cruisers were at the older end if the population range and that those on Thomson perhaps included slightly more younger people. Since then we have seen many Mega ships sailing from UK aimed at a much younger clientele who want the ice rink, climbing walls etc.

 

Thomson Spirit not one of them although it does usually have a Kids programme. I say usually because it's Norway cruises in June 2014 are Adults only. I am not sure about July-- by the end of the month UK schools are on holiday and I suspect Thomson do not want to pass up the market opportunities that allows.

 

There was certainly no drunkenness or loutish behaviour on my previous cruise with them. My wife has also done two cruises on Spirit with her sister and also says this was not a problem there.

 

Incidentally Thomson, at least in the UK say they will match any price quoted by an independent TA. They have done that with me so I have been able to get a suite from them for slightly less than the price Thomson would normally charge for an early booking of an ordinary outside cabin.

 

As has already been noted one drawback to the Spirit is that there are no balcony cabins. That may be less of a problem in Norway than other parts. Although we did sometimes use our balcony on the Ryndam we often popped out onto the deck itself in order to see either side of the particular Fjords.

 

David

[cruise_bunnies]

Hi Cruise_Bunnies

 

Thomson Spirit not one of them although it does usually have a Kids programme. I say usually because it's Norway cruises in June 2014 are Adults only. I am not sure about July-- by the end of the month UK schools are on holiday and I suspect Thomson do not want to pass up the market opportunities that allows.

 

There was certainly no drunkenness or loutish behaviour on my previous cruise with them. My wife has also done two cruises on Spirit with her sister and also says this was not a problem there.

 

As has already been noted one drawback to the Spirit is that there are no balcony cabins. That may be less of a problem in Norway than other parts. Although we did sometimes use our balcony on the Ryndam we often popped out onto the deck itself in order to see either side of the particular Fjords.

 

David

 

David,

 

Thank you for replying so thoroughly. It looks like Spirit is a good option for us, if HAL doesn't come through with some nice price drops. I'm not sure if we would really want a balcony or not. We are almost leaving for our first cruise, so I have to wait and see what I like. :rolleyes:

 

Cruise_bunnies

[Eboracum_d]

Have a good cruise for now.

[cruise_bunnies]

Have a good cruise for now.

 

Thank you. Didn't see your message before we left, due to some last minute rushing. We had a wonderful cruise and I am spoilt for life. We did a last minute upsell to a suite. Oh my, how spoilt you are then.

 

I just checked the prices and many cruises have dropped already. Yay. Sadly, Cunard is the only one that went up in price, significantly even. I thought the QM2 was a beautiful ship from the pictures.

 

Let's hope for more drops so I can cruise for 14 days instead of 7 haha. My parents want to join us after the great review we gave them.

[Eboracum_d]

Thank you. Didn't see your message before we left, due to some last minute rushing. We had a wonderful cruise and I am spoilt for life. We did a last minute upsell to a suite. Oh my, how spoilt you are then.

 

 

 

I just checked the prices and many cruises have dropped already. Yay. Sadly, Cunard is the only one that went up in price, significantly even. I thought the QM2 was a beautiful ship from the pictures.

 

 

 

Let's hope for more drops so I can cruise for 14 days instead of 7 haha. My parents want to join us after the great review we gave them.

 

 

If you started with a suite for your first cruise anything else is likely to be a disappointment. What ship were you on?

[cruise_bunnies]

If you started with a suite for your first cruise anything else is likely to be a disappointment. What ship were you on?

 

I don't think anything else would be a disappointment, because we both agreed that this was a possibility only because this one was last minute AND only 2/3's full after numerous ads. We received a great upsell offer, so we are well aware that we need to be extremely lucky to have that happen again.

 

We had a Neptune Suite at Holland America Line on the ms Rotterdam.

[starsanai]

Hi all, read all the posts with great interest and were very informative. We are planning a family reunion (30 people) in June and are opting for a norway cruise because of the scenery.

The 7th or 8th June 7 night departures suit us best and we are veering towards Ryndam. I am not too sure about their itinerary though- Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger & Ulvik. It seems like the itinersry does not take you to the firds-at least the better ones, isnt it? Would you suggest a better itinerary? Better ship? We've been on RCI (to Alaska & Baltics & loved them), and on Carnival (Magic-mixed feeling because it seemed like there were no windows on the ship so no views from inside). This is our first cruise to the Fiords and we may not head there again.

Thanks for any suggestions/advice

[cruise_bunnies]

Hi all, read all the posts with great interest and were very informative. We are planning a family reunion (30 people) in June and are opting for a norway cruise because of the scenery.

The 7th or 8th June 7 night departures suit us best and we are veering towards Ryndam. I am not too sure about their itinerary though- Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger & Ulvik. It seems like the itinersry does not take you to the firds-at least the better ones, isnt it? Would you suggest a better itinerary? Better ship? We've been on RCI (to Alaska & Baltics & loved them), and on Carnival (Magic-mixed feeling because it seemed like there were no windows on the ship so no views from inside). This is our first cruise to the Fiords and we may not head there again.

Thanks for any suggestions/advice

 

I personally, wouldn't like that itinary that much, because you are right, you are not getting the two Fjords everybody raves about. Also, it's really split towards Northern Europe as well, as Oslo normally isn't much in itineraries to the Fjords.

 

If this is the only Fjord trip you are likely to make in the next couple of years, and you want to specifically see the Fjords, I wouldn't book this trip. If you just want a taste of Fjords and Norway and you specifically like HAL, then maybe. If you book 7 days you are bound to have to make choices (not much days, loads of special places) and you can't reach the North Cape.

 

The 21th of June trip on the ms Rotterdam does have Geirangerfjord, plus 2 others Fjords, but misses Flam, which is also a much loved town.

 

I'm researching too, but we are focusing on July/August so not sure which other trips might be better for you.

[Aussie Gal]

We did the "Land of the Midnight Sun" on the Ocean Princess last year in June and it was a fabulous cruise. We saw so much of Northern Norway and had great weather, sunshine every day even though it was cold.

 

The Ocean Princess is only a small ship and could be booked out as it only holds just over 600 people, but for a wonderful experience with great food and a lovely ship, then I would look no further. Last year we cruised on Celebrity, HAL and Princess and our cruise on Princess stood out for excellent food, ambience and a wonderful staff.

 

Jennie

[jolgro]

We booked a cruise to the Nordcape with NCL. New in their program. Only one cruise in 2015 going to the Midnight sun.

[lettienets]

I just booked the North Cape on NCL Star for 14 nights June 12-26, 2015 because it goes right up to the top of Norway and all the major ports. Haven't been to Norway sibce 1971! At that time I only got to Flam and Bergen from Oslo so this cruise really sounds great. Really exciting.

 

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[S&B]

We are also looking at the NCL Norway cruise on June 12. We were on the Sun when they went to South America and were very happy. The steak and salmon was better than when we were on the Princess.

 

We had booked a balcony and one month before sailing an aft cabin became available at the same price so we jumped at it. If I am looking at the HAL cruise to Norway they do not go to Leknes in 2015. We have not made up our minds yet so we will also look at Princess and Celebrity.

 

Whatever we choose it will be a beautiful trip!!