Fjords - Sky Princess Balcony or Celebrity Apex interior

[DeclanDiamond]

Hi, we are thinking of doing a 7 day Norwegian Fjords cruise next summer and have shortlisted the following 2 cruises for about the same price:

 

Sky Princess Balcony sailing on 4th June.

 

Celebrity Apex interior sailing in mid August.

 

I am a novice in the Fjords area but it looks to me like the Apex doesn't actually sail in any of the fjords, but stops at the coastal towns. Can anyone confirm that please?

 

Is anyone more wary of sailing in an interior cabin in these COVID times? I'm wondering if a balcony cabin might be safer. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Ray66]

I just checked out those cruises and I would definitely go for the 4th June itinerary. Going to Olden would enable you to take an excursion to the Briksdal glacier which is well worth seeing. We did the Troll Car excusion from the ship.

 

I note that the Apex cruise involves flying to and from Amsterdam which seems to complicate things when you can just sail from Southampton on Sky Princess.

 

I think the waterfalls would be more impressive in June and I would much prefer a balcony over an inside.  Basically, I would never book an inside and I wouldn't fly.

 

Other cruise lines that go to the Fjords from Southampton are P&O and Cunard.

[DeclanDiamond]

9 minutes ago, Ray66 said:

I just checked out those cruises and I would definitely go for the 4th June itinerary. Going to Olden would enable you to take an excursion to the Briksdal glacier which is well worth seeing. We did the Troll Car excusion from the ship.

 

I note that the Apex cruise involves flying to and from Amsterdam which seems to complicate things when you can just sail from Southampton on Sky Princess.

 

I think the waterfalls would be more impressive in June and I would much prefer a balcony over an inside.  Basically, I would never book an inside and I wouldn't fly.

 

Other cruise lines that go to the Fjords from Southampton are P&O and Cunard.

Your reply and effort is much appreciated. Thank you. 

 

We live in Northern Ireland, so I will have to fly no matter. If we want to fly on the same day as the cruise then we will have to go from Dublin anyway. As you say, Apex goes from Amsterdam and Sky Princess from Southampton. The flights from Dublin to Southampton are on those little planes, which scare the hell out of me and probably take longer than a regular plane to Amsterdam.

 

Another consideration for us is the weather. We dislike the cold and whilst we would make the most of it of course, we imagine that August would be milder. However, as you say, the scenery would be better in June. 

 

Having only been on 2 Med cruises a few years ago with NCL and RC, we would now like to try either Princess or Celebrity as we think it would suit us better being in our early 60's but not overly fussed on formality.

[Thejuggler]

Much prefer Celebrity over Princess, but the Celebrity cruise is Norwegian Coastal and not a fjords cruise. As cruising in and out of fjords is the highlight of a Norwegian trip it looks a pointless trip to me.

 

Norway are limiting large cruise ship visits to fjord ports and this may be a sign of that new policy.

[DeclanDiamond]

2 hours ago, Thejuggler said:

Much prefer Celebrity over Princess, but the Celebrity cruise is Norwegian Coastal and not a fjords cruise. As cruising in and out of fjords is the highlight of a Norwegian trip it looks a pointless trip to me.

 

Norway are limiting large cruise ship visits to fjord ports and this may be a sign of that new policy.

Thanks very much for taking the time to comment. I was wondering if that was the case.

 

We were going through it for most of the day yesterday and had decided on Sky Princess (despite the small plane experience between Dublin and Southampton).

 

I contacted my local travel agent last night with my requirements and she is going to get back with a price today. TBH, It's probably going to be cheaper for me to book the cruise directly with Princess and the flights and hotel myself (with some flexibility/cancellation built in).

 

Thanks again.

 

 

[DeclanDiamond]

Well, our local travel agent didn't bother her butt to get back to me. 

 

So, bearing in mind that our only flight options between Dublin and Southampton are with a small regional airline (Blue Islands) for which we will fly to Southampton the day before and will book one night in a hotel, I am assuming that Princess themselves will not put a package together for us. 

 

I am keen to go the package route because I am worried about cancellations, refusal to board ship on COVID19 grounds etc. I am very cup half full at the best of time, but for my own peace of mind would prefer some protection.

 

Anyhow, as it stands, I will book flights and hotel independently, factoring in any flexibility on flights and cancellation for hotel. However, it's unclear at this stage whether Princess will further ettend their COVID19 Protection Programme, which currently runs up until the end of April 2022. My main fear is about getting to the port and failing the COVID19 test. I understand that the situation is fluid and may well look very different in 7 months time, but am concerned that I wouldn't lose my money. I'm presuming that if that was the case, I would have to sort myself out for getting home. Additionally, if tested onboard, how will I be dealt with?

 

That brings me on to insurance. I got a quote for the single trip for both of us (in our 60's) but I have a couple of pre-existing medical conditions. I had a couple of stents put in about 7 years ago and mentioned that as well as having spinal stenosis, which causes varying degrees of pain in my legs and arms and limits my mobility, also to varying degrees. Anyhow, the quote that I got back was just under £300. However, I am unsure whether to book the insurance now, before I book the cruise, or later on closer to final payment, or just before the cruise.

 

Sorry for the long winded post, but as a relative novice and natural pessimist, I have all this stuff to consider and it's doing my head in.

 

Thanks for reading, and double thanks if you got to the end!

[Thejuggler]

Whilst this far out your only risk is losing the deposit, you should purchase insurance as soon as you book the trip.

 

Certainly don't wait until you have paid in full.