Oslo - what would you think?

[Megabear2]

I have just had disappointing news from Cunard regarding a cruise on QM2 which was calling overnight in Oslo that I had a booking for next year.  The complete itinerary has been rewritten and is now a "normal"  fjords cruise and unfortunately we do not wish to do that as Oslo was the reason we booked. I have therefore moved to an alternative non Norway cruise.

 

As a result I have looked to see if P&O are able to offer me an alternative and it would appear there are two options but not until 2025.  I have Aurora (R512) departing 10 July 2025 or Britannia (B521) departing 29 August 2025.  On this occasion I will be sailing with my husband - it's him who wishes to see Oslo - so it will be a balcony cabin for 2.  

 

Obviously I know Britannia very well, Aurora not at all.  The Britannia cruise has appeal as it will take in what will be our 45th wedding anniversary but would it be a risk being later that fog and goodness knows what other weather might seriously impact the pleasure.  Also as I've mentioned we like to swim every day.  I understand Aurora has some sort of covered swimming pool which would help in that regard, am I correct?

 

The itineraries seem very similar with Aurora being slightly longer.  Any opinions on these destinations all of which will be new to us ?  I am very adverse to cold weather due to my husband's health conditions which come with strict instructions to not get cold or hungry, but I'm realistic enough to know anything can happen.  My one foray many years ago to Norway on Queen VIctoria on July 1st brought glorious sunshine, waterfalls and a flurry of rain in Bergen.  If I can repeat that, tremendous!

 

It has been indicated QM2 may have been "bumped" from Oslo for reasons in this article.  That raises a concern for me about age of the ship, my much loved queen going into the more elderly bracket and therefore assumedly Aurora would as well.  I assume that being some time away the port situation will have been considered and sorted - opinions please? 

 

https://www.newsinenglish.no/2023/07/03/cruise-crackdown-gets-underway/

 

So which one do you think will be most likely to suit us and definitely go ahead?  If Aurora is chosen, any advice on a good cabin please, particularly for viewing sail ins etc., indeed for Britannia too.

 

Thank you.

 

 

[Angel57]

The one comment I would make is that both are in school holidays (altho Britannia at the very end) so Aurora may well be the better option being Adults only.

Aurora does indeed have a retractable roof which would be closed in inclement weather.

Cabin wise I would opt for mid ship B deck (better balcony) on Aurora or failing that C deck. A deck is fine, but check what is above you for noise.

I have never sailed on Britannia so cannot comment on her.

Both look great cruises tho.

[Megabear2]

15 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

The one comment I would make is that both are in school holidays (altho Britannia at the very end) so Aurora may well be the better option being Adults only.

Aurora does indeed have a retractable roof which would be closed in inclement weather.

Cabin wise I would opt for mid ship B deck (better balcony) on Aurora or failing that C deck. A deck is fine, but check what is above you for noise.

I have never sailed on Britannia so cannot comment on her.

Both look great cruises tho.

Thank you.  B deck has no standard balcony cabins left.  I can have C, A or the Lido deck in a standard or go deluxe for a B.  Are the deluxe very much worth it?  What is a "better balcon", please?

 

With deluxe I can have B deck or one of four cabins starboard side aft 197 to 205?  

Edited October 27, 2023 by Megabear2

[Angel57]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

Thank you.  B deck has no standard balcony cabins left.  I can have C, A or the Lido deck in a standard or go deluxe for a B.  Are the deluxe very much worth it?  What is a "better balcon", please?

The better balconies are on B deck and those deluxe ones are very nice but are costly by comparison. If you use the balcony a lot I would certainly go for those, but the C deck ones are very acceptable. Photo attached of my C deck balcony a few months ago.

[Megabear2]

3 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

The better balconies are on B deck and those deluxe ones are very nice but are costly by comparison. If you use the balcony a lot I would certainly go for those, but the C deck ones are very acceptable. Photo attached of my C deck balcony a few months ago.

Thank you.  Yes I saw the deluxe ones are expensive- I could have an aft corner suite on the Britannia one for more or less the same price.  

 

There is a considerable price difference for Aurora but it is longer with an extra port.  Its a hard decision.

[Selbourne]

I would agree with @Angel57 comments.
 

Pros and cons with both ships. Aurora scores for two reasons. Firstly the adult only aspects. Secondly, there are two berths used in Oslo. They are both walkable to the main sights, but the one by the Opera house is a lot closer. When we went to Oslo on Aurora (and Oriana) we berthed in the closer terminal. When we went there on Britannia last year we were berthed in the terminal that is further out (as often happens with the larger ships). Britannia on the other hand has more modern cabins (the ones on Aurora are quite dated now) and there is a far better choice of specialty restaurants (which may be important if it’s a wedding anniversary, as Britannia has an Epicurean restaurant). 

 

If you go for Aurora, be aware that the B deck balconies offer a slightly better outlook than those on A and C deck. As you can see on the photo posted earlier, the A and C deck balconies are cut out of the hull, so have metal wrap arounds that slightly restrict the aperture. B deck are like balcony cabins on other ships. 
 

The deluxe balcony cabins on Aurora seem to carry a hefty price premium for essentially just the addition of an uncomfortable sofa. Ironically we have always had a sofa in our standard balcony cabins on Aurora, but that might be because we have adapted cabins, which are considerably bigger than the non-adapted standard balcony cabins. 
 

If swimming is important to you, Aurora will probably be better, certainly better than Britannia in school holidays. Age profile wise the two ships are massively different. Average age profile on Aurora is usually around 75 whereas, depending on the time of year, Britannia can be considerably younger (circa 45). 
 

In all honesty, we like both ships. They are our two favourites in the P&O fleet and we have enjoyed multiple cruises on both, but they are both very different. Hope that helps rather than confuses 😂 

[showingdiva]

MSC Virtuosa is doing a 7 night ex-Southampton to 

Skagen 9am - 5pm, Oslo 7am - 5pm, Copenhagen 10am - 7pm and Bruges 9am - 6pm

 

15th June 2024

[Son of Bare]

We spent 30 nights in a standard balcony portside on Aurora on Lido deck on a recent trip to US and Canada.

Excellent views, sailing into and out of NY for example. Also very good for access to the riviera and cystal (coveted) pools. My wife swam every day in the riviera, prefering it, while I kept a watching brief from a jacuzzi. 

Access into and out of the front stairwell area and where the cabins are situated from the open deck is interesting. It is on starboard side and the vast majority of px use it, but there is also an emergency exit on portside which tends to be used by bridge officers, the odd smoker (one of the two areas where smoking is allowed is portside riviera bar, this is not a problem if sat on a portside balcony cabin as the riviera bar area is surrounded by perspex preventing forward movement of smoke), and the odd px in portside a cabin.

Generally, if you've not experienced Aurora before, our main grip was sound insulation or lack of it between cabins. She's an older ship and allowance needs to be made for that.

[Megabear2]

52 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

As you can see on the photo posted earlier, the A and C deck balconies are cut out of the hull, so have metal wrap arounds that slightly restrict the aperture. B deck are like balcony cabins on other ships. 

Are these like QM2's sheltered balconies or totally different, ie the picture shows sun on the balcony and you appear to be able to see sitting down which you cannot do in a QM2 sheltered balcony.

 

We use the balcony a great deal in normal circumstances although we do have a sheltered balcony on QM2 for our 35 night Caribbean in 2025 for cost reasons and also 12 seadays in the Atlantic.

[Selbourne]

16 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Are these like QM2's sheltered balconies or totally different, ie the picture shows sun on the balcony and you appear to be able to see sitting down which you cannot do in a QM2 sheltered balcony.

 

We use the balcony a great deal in normal circumstances although we do have a sheltered balcony on QM2 for our 35 night Caribbean in 2025 for cost reasons and also 12 seadays in the Atlantic.

I’m afraid that I’ve not used a sheltered balcony on QM2 so can’t really answer, but I think I’ve seen a photo of those and I don’t believe that the Aurora ones are as enclosed. Here’s a photo showing most of the full width of one we had on Aurora, but keep in mind that accessible balconies (which this one is) are almost twice the width of standard balcony cabins. 
 

I would also echo the comment that sound insulation between cabins on Aurora is poor. Britannia is better in that regard, although we were still disturbed by two kids in the next cabin who stomped around continuously. As we know, you can get this issue on any ship if you have inconsiderate neighbours (as we seem to have on the majority of cruises 🙄😂)
 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Selbourne

[jh1809]

In July and August the climate in Oslo is very similar to that in England, so cold weather shouldn't be a major concern (though of course if you are unlucky you could get a wet day). 

[happy v]

I think I would choose Britannia. Simply because it is newer and has less chance of being cancelled. It is the very end of the school holidays. I don't think there would be many children on board. 

The hoho bus stops at the port so transport is not a problem 

[Gettingwarmer]

Deck B cabins on Aurora are more open than A or C. The balconies on Britannia are very narrow which is why we never travel on her so have no more experience of her. 

[FangedRose]

I would choose Aurora. It is smaller so a better chance of being allowed into Oslo for reasons cited above and elsewhere. It is the most stable ship in the fleet, better able to withstand ths vagaries of the North Sea. During school holidays there will be a number of younger people on board, those who work with children and wish to avoid them on holiday (teachers and others who work in school), and that will reduce the average age of passengers.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Some really great feedback above which really  shows the value of this forum

 

Still a tough decision for MB though I think

 

 

[tring]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Thank you.  B deck has no standard balcony cabins left.  I can have C, A or the Lido deck in a standard or go deluxe for a B.  Are the deluxe very much worth it?  What is a "better balcon", please?

 

With deluxe I can have B deck or one of four cabins starboard side aft 197 to 205?  

 

There are no standard balconies on Deck B - they are all deluxe.  It is not just the balconies that are different though, they are also bigger, better cabins, with better storage space as well (which is very limited in the standard balconies).  Well worth considering those if you can afford one, but for a special occasion, I would definitely "push out the boat".  Deck B on Aurora also have the advantage of having cabins above and below, whilst the standard balconies are either below pool deck, or above a public deck and the lifeboats. We had loads of early morning noise (after 8am) in our deck C cabin in September as they were working on he lifeboat area immediately below our cabin and reception/deck officer were really not bothered until I really lost my rag with them one day - we were loosing an hour most nights as returning across the Atlantic by that stage!!  It was not as noisy after that, but not silent either, they were still working there. We would never book above lifeboats again.

 

We were on a Norway and Baltic cruise in June and the weather was brilliant, even warm evening when we were not happy to loose our sunbeds when they collected them at 8pm.  The summers in Norway can be very good, especially if sheltered up a fjord (including sailing out of Oslofjord), because of the long sunlight hours, though it can rain - more so in the western fjords though.  If it is one of those 16 night cruises, they are very good.

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by tring

[Ardennais]

I prefer Aurora, but it is more expensive!

 

Oslo is lovely. Two photos from a sunny Oslo in June 2022:

 

Viegland Sculpture Park

 

 

Leaving Oslo. I was mesmerised by the shimmering waters.

 

 

 

 

[yorkshirephil]

Do you zig or do you zag? Oslo is sooo nice but obviously the weather can make or break your enjoyment. We have had 2 visits with sunny warm weather and one with thick fog where we didn't get off. We are not big fans of Britannia but wouldn't be put off if the itinerary was good. We were on our first Aurora cruise last week and had A204, as it was the first time we had a balcony we can't compare however the cabin was fine and midships, I was surprised that there wasn't more movement during the rough weather we had up the coast of Portugal and Spain. Aurora needs a bit of tlc which I think is scheduled next year.

I would chose Aurora as we thought the size and friendliness beats Britannia, Aurora adult only, Britannia end of summer holidays probably not too many kids on? it is a poser, I hope you don't regret asking😁

[Megabear2]

I've moved on now.  OH likes Aurora for the itinerary (extra port) and time of year - we usually holiday in Greece in July but after the food poisoning fiasco this year will be giving that a rest for a while!

 

So more daft questions I'm afraid.  

 

I've priced both deluxe deck B and ordinary balcony.  Reading the comments these deluxe balconies are the preferred option of most.  The situation of the cabin bears consideration as the prices rise quite a lot.  

 

Select Fares deck B

Fwd or rear is £6198, Mid fwd £6598, mid £6898, mid aft £6498, aft £6498

These all have £450 OBC

 

There are 5 deluxe cabins D197 thru D205 on D deck all at £6198.

 

Saver fare deluxe

Fwd/aft £5458, mid fwd £5658, mid £5798

No OBC

 

Question: are all these deluxe cabins same size, do balconies differ, apart from the 5 on deck D aft are there any others elsewhere?  

 

If there is little difference I was thinking of booking save mid which is £1,100 cheaper than the select fare.  I don't know these ports but assume I'm not likely to spend £650 on transfers!  Does anyone know if any of the ports are miles out from the centre - I'm conscious the article I posted states no ships are going to be allowed in the main area of Oslo anymore regardless of size.   How do the other ports stake up, are they easily accessible or miles out.

 

Re speciality dining, I note Selbourne mentions fewer options.  What will be the choices?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

[tring]

19 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I've moved on now.  OH likes Aurora for the itinerary (extra port) and time of year - we usually holiday in Greece in July but after the food poisoning fiasco this year will be giving that a rest for a while!

 

So more daft questions I'm afraid.  

 

I've priced both deluxe deck B and ordinary balcony.  Reading the comments these deluxe balconies are the preferred option of most.  The situation of the cabin bears consideration as the prices rise quite a lot.  

 

Select Fares deck B

Fwd or rear is £6198, Mid fwd £6598, mid £6898, mid aft £6498, aft £6498

These all have £450 OBC

 

There are 5 deluxe cabins D197 thru D205 on D deck all at £6198.

 

Saver fare deluxe

Fwd/aft £5458, mid fwd £5658, mid £5798

No OBC

 

Question: are all these deluxe cabins same size, do balconies differ, apart from the 5 on deck D aft are there any others elsewhere?  

 

If there is little difference I was thinking of booking save mid which is £1,100 cheaper than the select fare.  I don't know these ports but assume I'm not likely to spend £650 on transfers!  Does anyone know if any of the ports are miles out from the centre - I'm conscious the article I posted states no ships are going to be allowed in the main area of Oslo anymore regardless of size.   How do the other ports stake up, are they easily accessible or miles out.

 

Re speciality dining, I note Selbourne mentions fewer options.  What will be the choices?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

 

Be aware the deck D cabins are over the show lounge, Carmens, which can be quite noisy until about 11.15pm or so, so always a risk with a saver.  Someone has said it was not a problem, but it is something I would think hard about - perhaps others can feed back on that.  Those cabins are new since they got rid of the kids club, which was in that area, but afaik they are all the same and look the same on the deckplans and on pics of the ship.  Perhaps worth trying to find out more about them and any noise issue or paying a bit more for for a mid or mid/fore deluxe cabin.

 

Dining options only Glass House, Beach House or Sindu.

 

Sorry no time to look at your itinerary.  If you dock in Riviera Quay in Oslo, it is still fairly central - just the other side of the fort and is where we have always docked, but have never been on a big ship.  You can hop on a bus in Oslo as well, though think you have to buy tickets before you get on, so need to look into outlets for that.  The TA forums will help.

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by tring

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, tring said:

 

Be aware the deck D cabins are over the show lounge, Carmens, which can be quite noisy until about 11.15pm or so, so always a risk with a saver.  Someone has said it was not a problem, but it is something I would think hard about - perhaps others can feed back on that.  Those cabins are new since they got rid of the kids club, which was in that area, but afaik they are all the same and look the same on the deckplans and on pics of the ship.  Perhaps worth trying to find out more about them and any noise issue or paying a bit more for for a mid or mid/fore deluxe cabin.

 

Dining options only Glass House, Beach House or Sindu.

 

Sorry no time to look at your itinerary.  If you dock in Riviera Quay in Oslo, it is still fairly central - just the other side of the fort and is where we have always docked, but have never been on a big ship. 

 

Thank you.  I was going to book the mid as I assumed that would avoid the deck D cabins which show as rear.  I will have a look for a better deck plan, the only ones I've seen are the cabin allocation ones.

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I've moved on now.  OH likes Aurora for the itinerary (extra port) and time of year - we usually holiday in Greece in July but after the food poisoning fiasco this year will be giving that a rest for a while!

 

So more daft questions I'm afraid.  

 

I've priced both deluxe deck B and ordinary balcony.  Reading the comments these deluxe balconies are the preferred option of most.  The situation of the cabin bears consideration as the prices rise quite a lot.  

 

Select Fares deck B

Fwd or rear is £6198, Mid fwd £6598, mid £6898, mid aft £6498, aft £6498

These all have £450 OBC

 

There are 5 deluxe cabins D197 thru D205 on D deck all at £6198.

 

Saver fare deluxe

Fwd/aft £5458, mid fwd £5658, mid £5798

No OBC

 

Question: are all these deluxe cabins same size, do balconies differ, apart from the 5 on deck D aft are there any others elsewhere?  

 

If there is little difference I was thinking of booking save mid which is £1,100 cheaper than the select fare.  I don't know these ports but assume I'm not likely to spend £650 on transfers!  Does anyone know if any of the ports are miles out from the centre - I'm conscious the article I posted states no ships are going to be allowed in the main area of Oslo anymore regardless of size.   How do the other ports stake up, are they easily accessible or miles out.

 

Re speciality dining, I note Selbourne mentions fewer options.  What will be the choices?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

I think you will like Aurora. You really feel that you are on a cruise ship (rather than a floating hotel), she handles rough seas well, the passenger demographic is older and more traditional cruisers (which we like), it’s a friendly ship and, to the best of my knowledge, doesn’t have some of the dining issues that Freedom dining / app can have on some of the larger ships. 
 

As for speciality dining you just have 3 options. Beach House (very good - not as noisy or crowded as on the bigger ships), Sindhu (we don’t particularly like Sindhu on Aurora as it’s adjacent to the coffee shop, isn’t themed as well as on some ships, and doesn’t feel like an intimate / dedicated space - but at least it’s there) and Glass House (which is excellent as it’s in a low flow area and doesn’t suffer from the noise and hustle and bustle of those that are adjacent to atriums). Sindhu sometimes does Tiffin lunches, which are very good. 
 

As for your ports;

 

Stavanger - 5 mins walk from the ship along an attractive harbour side and you are in the centre. The old town is in fact immediately adjacent to where the ship berths. 
 

Olden - As with all fjord ports, tiny but beautiful. No shuttle needed!

 

Alesund - the berth is 5 min walk from centre. There’s an old half and a new half. Not much to see in the old half and it’s quite hilly, but the new half affords good views of it and IMHO is nicer. 
 

Oslo - already covered. No shuttles but a short walk from the Opera House berth and a 15 minute fiat walk from the further out berth. Tram to the sculpture park is convenient. 
 

Skagen - A shuttle is provided but not really necessary. It’s a 15 min walk through a boring dock area to a nice little town (the architecture reminds me a bit of a designer shopping village 😂 )

 

Gydinia - Can’t recall the berth or port as we got a transfer to Gdańsk, which was lovely. 
 

Copenhagen - in the past, we always berthed at Langeline cruise terminal on Aurora and Oriana, which is a nice 20 minute walk along the waterfront to the centre, but they now seem to use the main Oceankaj cruise terminal which is a 20 minute shuttle journey (we got a cab back).

 

Hamburg - As you probably know, a 20 minute shuttle ride to the centre. 
 

 

 

 

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I think you will like Aurora. You really feel that you are on a cruise ship (rather than a floating hotel), she handles rough seas well, the passenger demographic is older and more traditional cruisers (which we like), it’s a friendly ship and, to the best of my knowledge, doesn’t have some of the dining issues that Freedom dining / app can have on some of the larger ships. 
 

As for speciality dining you just have 3 options. Beach House (very good - not as noisy or crowded as on the bigger ships), Sindhu (we don’t particularly like Sindhu on Aurora as it’s adjacent to the coffee shop, isn’t themed as well as on some ships, and doesn’t feel like an intimate / dedicated space - but at least it’s there) and Glass House (which is excellent as it’s in a low flow area and doesn’t suffer from the noise and hustle and bustle of those that are adjacent to atriums). Sindhu sometimes does Tiffin lunches, which are very good. 
 

As for your ports;

 

Stavanger - 5 mins walk from the ship along an attractive harbour side and you are in the centre. The old town is in fact immediately adjacent to where the ship berths. 
 

Olden - As with all fjord ports, tiny but beautiful. No shuttle needed!

 

Alesund - the berth is 5 min walk from centre. There’s an old half and a new half. Not much to see in the old half and it’s quite hilly, but the new half affords good views of it and IMHO is nicer. 
 

Oslo - already covered. No shuttles but a short walk from the Opera House berth and a 15 minute fiat walk from the further out berth. Tram to the sculpture park is convenient. 
 

Skagen - A shuttle is provided but not really necessary. It’s a 15 min walk through a boring dock area to a nice little town (the architecture reminds me a bit of a designer shopping village 😂 )

 

Gydinia - Can’t recall the berth or port as we got a transfer to Gdańsk, which was lovely. 
 

Copenhagen - in the past, we always berthed at Langeline cruise terminal on Aurora and Oriana, which is a nice 20 minute walk along the waterfront to the centre, but they now seem to use the main Oceankaj cruise terminal which is a 20 minute shuttle journey (we got a cab back).

 

Hamburg - As you probably know, a 20 minute shuttle ride to the centre. 
 

 

 

 

Thank you, that's very helpful.  Do you have any views on cabin position or whether my cunning plan to book a deluxe mid rather than select is a good idea?

 

 

 

[Gettingwarmer]

Just now, Megabear2 said:

Thank you, that's very helpful.  Do you have any views on cabin position or whether my cunning plan to book a deluxe mid rather than select is a good idea?

 

 

 

I think this is a good idea. I don’t particularly like being forward on Aurora and it avoids those D deck deluxe balconies above showroom. 

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Thank you, that's very helpful.  Do you have any views on cabin position or whether my cunning plan to book a deluxe mid rather than select is a good idea?

 

 

 

Notwithstanding what Tring has said, personally I wouldn’t pay the large extra premium for a deluxe cabin on Aurora. I’d maybe pay £500 more for one if it was a longer cruise, but not the substantial extra cost that is often asked. If you Google ‘Aurora deck plan’ you’ll get the P&O deck plan and you will see that there are plenty of standard balcony cabins that are not above or below potential sources of noise.
 

We have had quite a few noise issues on Aurora, but it’s always been from other cabins (above or to the side of us) as the sound insulation is poor. I don’t believe that the deluxe cabins are significantly bigger, but if you call P&O they can tell you the exact square footage of every cabin. If you look at where the accessible balcony cabins are on Aurora (A and C deck mid-forward) we have stayed in most of them and never noticed any more movement than elsewhere and, as I say, we’ve never had noise other than from other cabins. 

Edited October 27, 2023 by Selbourne