Who best to cruise with? Lost at sea here! :-(

Alphamare

We want to cruise from Southampton to Norway all inclusive if its cheaper in early May. What is the best way of doing this?

PnO looking reasonable but I am finding it very hard to navigate the waters. So sorry if this has been asked but I did look at the cruises thread but it didn't help much as none applied to us.

Caz3121

have a read at cruisecritic, it is full of great resources

opinions4u

I'd be quite happy to recommend P&O for the Fjords.

It's not all inclusive though, it's full board - you have to pick up the drinks bill. Bar prices are reasonable.

daveyjp

Having been on P&O, Princess and Celebrity all are very similar. All do some things better than another, but none are head and shoulders above the other two. Even different ships with the same company offer different experiences. Celebrity Eclipse was the best ship we have been on in terms of layout and buffet, Ventura the best restaurant food and speciality restaurant, Princess the best for food outlets over and above the main restaurant.

Princess add an extra 15% to all on board spend, P&O and Celebrity prices include it. Drinks prices are similar across all three, but Princess and Celebrity charge in dollar, P&O pounds.

Whichever company you use the Fjords are stunning, but May is early. There is a chance of lots of snow still lying around and this can affect getting out and about at more remote ports.

Alphamare

Thank you so much for replying

We would be happy to take another rout or area if this would be cost affective too.

How and where would we find good deals and when is it best to book?

We definitely want to go early May as its a milestone anniversary for us. Probably just a week or a little longer.

I am having a look at cruise critics thanks!

We are no big drinkers so full board suits is fine.

opinions4u

The end of May is probably the perfect time to do the Fjords. Great melt. Snow on the tops. Most beautiful.

Goldiegirl

I did a fjords cruise at the start of May a couple of years ago, on P&O Oceana.

We were very lucky with the weather, no rain, and not too cold.

But there was still some snow lying at quite low levels, and some of the excursions were restricted due to the lying snow

kevinyork

We have been on P&O, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. I would agree that Celebrity Eclipse is the best ship weve been on. It also has a large glass solarium which is good for the cooler days. P&O definately have lower drinks prices than the other two. If you were looking for All Inclusive then Fred Olsen have been doing deals to upgrade to AI for £10. However Im not sure they are in the same league as the other lines mentioned and have quite an aged passenger base.

Looking at prices this year, there have been loads of last minute deals to the Fjords. If you waited till about a month before I reckon you would see sub £500 deals for an inside cabin.

A quick check now shows the cheapest inside cabin for May is on P&O Azura for £617. Shes a lovely ship. An 8 night trip on Celebrity Eclipse is £794 however if you pushed the boat out and booked a balcony on the Eclipse you would get the free drinks package thrown in for £1150 pp in total. (We were in the Fjords this year on Eclipse and had a balcony......the views were stunning).

Hope this helps.

opinions4u

Actually, good point on the balcony cabin for the Fjords.

I woke at 6am one morning to find us in our first fjord. Being able to step out onto the balcony and admire the splendour was one of the most memorable moments of my life.

While you could always get up on deck and enjoy it there, I'm not the most sociable creature at that hour!

Steviek_2

Whoever you decide to go with have a fabulous time, we love Cunard and Celebrity please do yourself a favour and DO NOT book through any TA associated with TC which encompasses Co-Operative Travel we are still in litigation with them over 1 of their offshoots for an absolutely horrendous experience we had earlier this year!

getmore4less

when looking check US prices

we got our upcoming silhouette trip £80pp cheaper and more OBC than uk prices.

if you want AI celebrity do drink packages.