Would you rather...

[jeffalley]

I have been pouring over reviews, making spreadsheets, making budgets, pros and cons.. the works.. I would love some help about ships, the area, or itinerary. 

 

The two cruises we are looking at are both Norwegian Fjords summer 2020. One is the Carnival Legend that leaves from Dover and the other Independence of the Seas and leaves from Southampton in July. 

 

Both cruises Visit Alesund, Stavanger, Bergen, and Olden. Carnival also goes to Molde and Trondheim whereas Indy goes to Flam. 

 

The Carnival cruise would be 2,000 - 2,500 cheaper, but the boat seems almost boring compared to the bells and whistles of Indy. 

 

We have two little girls who will be 4 and 7. (This is for our 10th anniversary and Norway is my wife's dream spot. We take our kids on all of our adventures, they both capable of 10+ mile hikes.) With your experiences I would love to know your opinion on the matter. Would you rather take the Legend or the Indy? 

[jocap]

We've been with Indy to Norway, but never been on a Carnival ship, so I can't help with the comparison... but certainly there was plenty for children to do on her- we have friends and relatives who go on her whatever the itinerary, because of children's  facilities.

Be aware that schools in England and Wales finish for their 6 week break in the middle of July; Scotland and Northern Ireland a couple of weeks earlier, so the ship will be very full of small people, because we cannot take them out of school for a cruise. This means that the 6 weeks does book up very early... I'm not sure whether RCI has a limit for children, which happens on some lines (safety, lifeboats, children's clubs etc).

If you enjoy walking, then there will be a number of others who will come with full walking gear- some people walked to the glacier at Olden, which is a long stretch, but there's also transport there to take you part way. 

Norway is a safe, wealthy country, with plenty of walking opportunities.