Can't decide on P&O Aurora or Princess for Norway

[holidaylover10]

Hi All

 

I have spent the last few day deliberating the pros and cons of sailing Norway for 2 weeks with Sky Princess or P&O Aurora. I keep going backwards and forwards and still undecided. As yet not travelled either line as always sail Celebrity, but have upcoming cruise with P&O Iona and Cunard Queen Anne booked. I like the idea of a smaller ship like Aurora but do like the modern comforts of the newer ships, also food is important although neither ship gets good marks in that respect. Anyone done this cruise with both ships and have a preference?

 

[david63]

Personally I prefer Sky Princess as a ship over Aurora.

 

One main difference you will find is that on P&O 90+% of passengers will be British whereas on Sky there will be a significant number of Americans.

 

A downside of Sky is that there is not a lot of space in the bars - that may or may not be an issue for you.

 

Basically there is not a lot of difference with the food on either ships.

 

It is all swings and roundabouts - but if it was me having to choose then it would be Sky

[Josy1953]

I would go on Sky Princess as she is more modern.  I like Aurora but she is showing her age,  We are booked on Aurora later this year because Princess don't sail out out of Southampton in the winter.

[jh1809]

One other point is that, if you're sailing from Southampton, going on a cruise to the Fjords means you'll be spending the better part of two days getting there and two days coming back. So if it's a seven day cruise you'll only get three full days in the region, plus if you're lucky half-days before and after those three.

[holidaylover10]

We are looking at 14 night cruises June 2026, I have seen a Cunard 11 night cruise too but that is in early may and not sure what the weather would be like then.

[david63]

4 minutes ago, holidaylover10 said:

I have seen a Cunard 11 night cruise too but that is in early may and not sure what the weather would be like then.

We were up that way in mid May last year and the weather, on the most part, was pleasant but on the cold side most of the time although we did have the odd hour where we could sit out on deck in the sun.

[Megabear2]

9 hours ago, holidaylover10 said:

We are looking at 14 night cruises June 2026, I have seen a Cunard 11 night cruise too but that is in early may and not sure what the weather would be like then.

Princess 2026 are not on sail yet, though they will be shortly. I understand they are basing two ships in the UK for the season so there will hopefully be increased capacity so maybe more choice.

 

The Aurora cruise is going much further north than the Queen Anne cruise with Lofoten on the itinerary which will add a bit of variety.

 

Regarding weather it's all very much down to luck in that region. It can be clear blue skies and temperatures pleasant in May but foggy with rain and low temperatures in August, it's luck of the draw.  Norway isn't really somewhere you can guarantee the seasons unfortunately.

 

 

[tring]

We would consider Aurora by far the better option compared to Sky Princess.  One other big thing to consider is the number of people being discharged into some small ports up fjords, even Aurora carries a good number of pax, but Sky Princess far more.  

 

We have just disembarked Aurora, having been on her for 84 nights in total over four cruises during the last 18 months.  We have found the food and the freedom dining restaurant on her to be far better than other P&O ships and the public areas good.  The food and service was always good in the MDR for our cruises.  For our recent 19 night cruise the food and service were  excellent apart from one night when we chose to pay for the Signature meal (they charge about £15pp for an allegedly upgraded meal in the MDR now, if you choose to book it).  The main course of the signature meal was a large chunk of steak which was incredibly dry as it had obviously been cooked far too long - our opinion is that the dining room is set up to do what it does well, but the kitchens cannot cope with anything else so that signature menu is best avoided IMO.  Our meals in speciality restaurants were fine though.   

 

We have only been on Sky Princess (a Britannia sized ship) once in October 2022 for a two week Med cruise, but the ship was only about half full because of covid and even then, it was difficult to find somewhere to sit in the evenings when the weather was not good.  The jazz bar was ok if we could find a seat but became very boring over the length of the cruise as little variation.  The music lounge at the back of the ship had volume levels set so high, my ears hurt.  The food and freedom dining on that cruise was also very bad.  We had to book our meals ahead of the cruise to be able to dine on a table for two at a reasonable time and the food was not good.  The service incredibly slow at times.  Also the restaurant we used at the back of the ship vibrated madly (especially in the rear half of the restaurant), and the noise levels from that were really loud.  We also found the public areas over I have to admit that was our only Princess cruise, but an experience we will most definitely not be repeating. 

 

In general the smaller ships, such as Aurora, have better itineraries as well and that is why we choose the vast majority or our cruises.  We booked the Princess cruise for the really good price that we obtained at the time, including the Princess package, so we had no worries about the excessive drink prices and large tip levels expected on Princess.

 

Edited May 16 by tring

[holidaylover10]

Thank you everyone for your indepth replies. Will have to give it a bit more thought and maybe compare itineraries to decide. 

[Megabear2]

The only thing I would add is if you were to choose Queen Anne the 10% introductory reduction ends on 4 June.  Cunard have over 70 cruises sold out through 2024 and 2025 and so as a result I would expect the price to rise from the current level by more than that 10%.

 

Princess go on general sale next week, 23 May 2024.  Presumably their itineraries are now available on good travel agent sites.

 

Good luck whatever you choose, I'm sure it will be great on any of the ships.