First cruise on celebrity, narrowed it down to 2 choices

[Thisguylikestocruise]

I’m trying to decide my first cruise on Celebrity.

 

#1 Apex out of Southampton, Norwegian Fjords 8 nights. Never been to London, so this would allow us to do that pre cruise. May 2026. 

 

#2 Eclipse out of Amsterdam, British Isles 12 nights. This includes Scotland which I really want to see, but skips London. May 2026.
 

Which should I choose? Any help appreciated. Done several Royal Caribbean cruises in the Caribbean and Greek Isles previously. 

[Random Cruizer]

Norwegian Fjords are AMAZING! I'd take that based on itinerary then rent a car and tour Scotland.

Edited Monday at 06:40 PM by Random Cruizer

[MyriamS]

What are the stops? 

[DarrenM]

54 minutes ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

 

I’m trying to decide my first cruise on Celebrity.

 

#1 Apex out of Southampton, Norwegian Fjords 8 nights. Never been to London, so this would allow us to do that pre cruise. May 2026. 

 

#2 Eclipse out of Amsterdam, British Isles 12 nights. This includes Scotland which I really want to see, but skips London. May 2026.
 

Which should I choose? Any help appreciated. Done several Royal Caribbean cruises in the Caribbean and Greek Isles previously. 

Being from the UK I find it amazing that anyone would want to cruise around it.

 

I haven't done the fjords but really want to as it looks incredible.

 

Amsterdam is a beautiful and crazy place too. Much much better than London.

 

I think you know what my choice would be.

 

Also the edge class celebrity ships are stunning.

[DarrenM]

Just to further explain, other than Belfast and Liverpool, there aren't many cities that you want to visit that are close to the sea.

 

And the most interesting places in the UK are not by the sea.

 

And when a ship says its docking in Edinburgh. It really isn't.

 

Mind you, nowhere in the UK is that far from the sea, so there's that.

 

I think somewhere in Derbyshire is the furthest from the sea and that's under 100 miles. Probably 2.5 hours drive.

 

[DarrenM]

28 minutes ago, Random Cruizer said:

Norwegian Fjords are AMAZING! I'd take that based on itinerary then rent a car and tour Scotland.

This.

[Ken the cruiser]

Both sound pretty cool! But I would lean towards booking an aft-facing veranda on the Apex, as the views cruising through the various fjords would be awesome from your real balcony! 

[phoenix_dream]

54 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

Being from the UK I find it amazing that anyone would want to cruise around it.

 

I haven't done the fjords but really want to as it looks incredible.

 

Amsterdam is a beautiful and crazy place too. Much much better than London.

 

I think you know what my choice would be.

 

Also the edge class celebrity ships are stunning.

IMHO you are way underestimating how enticing London is to those of us who had never been there.  We did a Norway cruise out of Southampton a few years ago, with a 3 night stay in London beforehand.  We absolutely LOVED everything about London and promised ourselves we would go back there someday.  I would agree that the fjords are absolutely incredible as well.  Haven't been to Amsterdam but would love to cruise out of there as well

[Thejuggler]

Call Celebrity and ask them to swap the ships!

 

Scenic fjords cruising is all about the views.  Apex is severely limited in options for viewing the fjords in all their glory.

[Tom and Ingrid]

A "new" ship (E-class) vs a middle-aged ship (S-class) is a discussion in and of itself.

 

We did the Norwegian Fjords out of Rotterdam this year and really enjoyed it. X goes to several different Norwegian ports, so your experience may be slightly different.  We were also on the Silhouette (S-class) and that's our "sweet spot" so far for ships (never having been on the Edge-class ships yet!).

 

Decades ago, my wife and my first trip together overseas was to the UK and London plus driving around to places like Wales, the Cotswolds, and Bath.  I really liked that as a "starter" adventure for us, but I can't say London is calling me back - even all these years later. The Netherlands does.

 

But your options give you a nice chance for a great vacation no matter which you choose.  But maybe read up a little on the pros/cons of the ship classes.  I personally would not decide based solely on ship, but I think the bang-for-your-buck will be bigger on an S-class vs the newer E-class ships. But some folks really love the direction X has taken things with these new ships.

 

 

[KKB]

2 hours ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

 

I’m trying to decide my first cruise on Celebrity.

 

#1 Apex out of Southampton, Norwegian Fjords 8 nights. Never been to London, so this would allow us to do that pre cruise. May 2026. 

 

#2 Eclipse out of Amsterdam, British Isles 12 nights. This includes Scotland which I really want to see, but skips London. May 2026.
 

Which should I choose? Any help appreciated. Done several Royal Caribbean cruises in the Caribbean and Greek Isles previously. 

TOUGH choice.

I didn't love Norway, but we didn't do the fjords, which I've heard are amazing.

Apex is one of my fav ships & LOVE London.

 

LOVE British Isles (esp Scotland) & Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam is much easier to get from airport to cruise terminal than London.

And 12 days is always better than 8!

 

The people in the British Isles are so warm & friendly (even in London in our experience)--definitely not like that in Norway (it's a cultural thing; they are just more guarded, especially with strangers).

 

I'd take the Eclipse & do the high speed train from Amsterdam to London (4hrs). 

Edited Monday at 08:10 PM by KKB

[KKB]

1 minute ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

A "new" ship (E-class) vs a middle-aged ship (S-class) is a discussion in and of itself.

VERY true. 

But with port-intensive cruises as these, we find the ship not quite as important as when you have more sea days.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

 

I’m trying to decide my first cruise on Celebrity.

 

#1 Apex out of Southampton, Norwegian Fjords 8 nights. Never been to London, so this would allow us to do that pre cruise. May 2026. 

 

#2 Eclipse out of Amsterdam, British Isles 12 nights. This includes Scotland which I really want to see, but skips London. May 2026.
 

Which should I choose? Any help appreciated. Done several Royal Caribbean cruises in the Caribbean and Greek Isles previously. 

we had the same choices for 2025 - easy decision UK and Iceland from Amsterdam won hands down. E class has no appeal and it's just a one hour flight to Amsterdam from London City Airport to board the Eclipse.

X's cruises to Norway include very little scenic cruising and if you really want to experience the Fjords I would suggest you look at Hurtigruten's Classic 12 night  roundtrip from Bergen.

 

[mrgabriel]

I don't think you could go wrong with either. The Norwegian Fjords are beautiful and it's a very scenic place to cruise. But I find the British Isles absolutely magical. We've had cruise stops in Dorset and Cork (Ireland) and would definitely go back. And Edinburgh has SO much to offer.  

 

If you decide on the Norwegian cruise and really want to see London you could always fly into London then take the Eurostar to Amsterdam. 

[Thisguylikestocruise]

These are the specific cruises I’m considering.  

[Thisguylikestocruise]

I was also considering the Iceland/Scotland itinerary. I’m not very knowledgeable about what Iceland has to offer. I’m leaning towards Amsterdam for embarking due to the ease of getting to the ship from the city. We did Rome to Civitavecchia 4 weeks ago and had a great cruise but it was a hassle having the port so far from Rome. 

Edited Monday at 11:09 PM by Thisguylikestocruise

[Lena11033]

A lot of European ports aren't right in the city, example 'Inverness' typically docks in Invergordon which is about a 30 minute drive (if no issues) into Inverness and even further from Loch Ness.

I think for Glasgow it's a 40 minute drive from the port into the city (I've not done this one I just know its not near the city centre, Invergordon I'm familiar with as my family live there)

[SbbquilterUT]

5 hours ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

 

I’m trying to decide my first cruise on Celebrity.

 

#1 Apex out of Southampton, Norwegian Fjords 8 nights. Never been to London, so this would allow us to do that pre cruise. May 2026. 

 

#2 Eclipse out of Amsterdam, British Isles 12 nights. This includes Scotland which I really want to see, but skips London. May 2026.
 

Which should I choose? Any help appreciated. Done several Royal Caribbean cruises in the Caribbean and Greek Isles previously. 

I always want the longest cruise.  You can fly in to London for a visit on your own (easy city to navigate).  Then board your ship for the sailing.

[DarrenM]

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

IMHO you are way underestimating how enticing London is to those of us who had never been there.  We did a Norway cruise out of Southampton a few years ago, with a 3 night stay in London beforehand.  We absolutely LOVED everything about London and promised ourselves we would go back there someday.  I would agree that the fjords are absolutely incredible as well.  Haven't been to Amsterdam but would love to cruise out of there as well

I wasnt thinking of Amsterdam for the cruising.😉

[kaysha2004]

I've sailed 18 times on Celebrity on all three classes of ships.  The Eclipse is part of the Solstice class and was built in 2010 and not refurbished since 2015.  It's an old ship now, so keep that in mind.  The Apex is in the Edge series built in 2020.  The balcony rooms are quite different on both ships.  The balcony rooms on all the Edge ships have 23% more living space than the other series of ships due to the infinite veranda.  The Apex will have new technology and innovation both in the cabin and throughout the ship.  Celebrity has been rolling out Starlink for their wifi, but I don't know if Eclipse has it.  Starlink is far superior to the old wifi systems.

 

A tip for the Apex:  Get your room on the opposite side of the ship from the Magic Carpet.  If your balcony is on the Magic Carpet side, you lose your privacy on your balcony.  If anyone is on the Magic Carpet at a level above your room, they can look right down onto your balcony.

 

For the itineraries, May is colder in the northern European countries and could be rainy and foggy.  I went to Norway on the Apex in August 2022 and it was a great cruise with wonderful weather.  It was round trip from Amsterdam.  I see that they've substituted a Norway port with Belgium.  Zeebrugge is an industrial port, and to get to Bruges, you will take a shuttle from the ship to a bus stop, then take a 30-minute bus ride to Bruges.

 

The Netherlands has been pushing back on cruise ships coming to Amsterdam, so a lot of cruise lines are now going from Southampton.  IMO, this is not a good choice for the passenger.  Amsterdam is much easier to get to than Southampton.  Flying into London Heathrow then transiting to Southampton is a PITA.  There's not much to do precruise in Southampton, but Amsterdam is worth a precruise stay of a couple of days with lots to do and see.  You could arrive early and explore London before the cruise.  Norway has been talking about limiting the size of cruise ships that can cruise in the fjords, so, IMO, it's a good idea to get to Norway while you can.

 

I haven't been on a British Isles cruise, but I have been to Ireland in May and it was rainy and cold.

 

Happy travels!!

[MyriamS]

It's a bit strange that the British Isles cruise start in Amsterdam and the Norway cruise in Southampton... Would make more sense to me the other way around. 🙂

 

Anyway I've been to most of those places (except Holyhead, Inverness, Bergen and Flam) and I would pick the Norway itinerary because the Norwegian ports are more scenic and I prefer London to Amsterdam (I'm French, so I don't have any skin in the game).

 

Weather is a big factor though, it would be great if you could go late rather than early May. It can be cold and rainy all year in Norway but you maximise your chance of good weather in June and July.

 

[villauk]

We love Norway and have been a few times, wouldn’t hesitate to return. However, I’d skip London and would much prefer sailing from Amsterdam - pity it’s not the opposite itineraries from the embarkation points. E class doesn’t interest us but if it was a good ‘deal’, we’d try it.

[C4HCG]

13 hours ago, DarrenM said:

Being from the UK I find it amazing that anyone would want to cruise around it.

Couldn’t agree more, but wouldn’t rush to Belfast or Liverpool though either. I get though whilst non Brits would like to visit the UK.

 

Have a similar view on Mediterranean cruises having visited these places in the past often. They hold little interest for us. But I know the Americans view the Caribbean in the same way which is our chosen destination always.

[Thejuggler]

If as stated above its an early May cruise to the fjords the weather can have an impact on what you can experience depending on ports visited.  Some inland ports are seasonal and don't open until the snow has been cleared from approach roads.

 

Belfast is a great place, but like all ports not somewhere you can fully appreciate in a few hours.  Our visit earlier this year was for three nights which was about right, but I'd happily visit again.

[villauk]

22 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

 

Have a similar view on Mediterranean cruises having visited these places in the past often. They hold little interest for us. But I know the Americans view the Caribbean in the same way which is our chosen destination always.

 

I think it’s personal choice. I’d much rather go to the Med than the Caribbean, but we’re not beach or sun lovers. The Canaries are more like the Caribbean is to the American cruisers. All that being said, London is a place we only visit to fly out from 😂.