Taking an ocean cruise

We're doing our first ocean cruise since 2017 this Fall and we're curious if we'll enjoy it as much as we once did. The secret for us has always been to treat it for what it is; a short sampling to help you determine if it's a port you'd like to revisit for a longer time.

You mentioned that it felt crowded, that's how I felt on our river cruise last year even though there were only 180 passengers. The river ships are so small that there always seemed to be people everywhere. Maybe it's been so long since I've ocean cruised that I've forgotten, but I don't remember feeling crowded (except for breakfast).

That $300/p/d ( per person per day?) doesn't seem bad considering that it included the drink package. If my math is correct, the drink package on our cruise this Fall would be about $40/day raising our daily cost to about $390/day per person. There no way in heck we'd drink that much per day even if drinks are $10 each, so we'll just pay as we go. *my prices are in $CA

You didn't mention if you still enjoyed the trip. I hope you did.

Thanks for your honest impressions.

A cruise is always “a sampler.” You get a taste of different locations, but never the full meal of a location. Even so, a sampler can be more satisfying than staying at home.

If you could travel through Norway for $140 pp on land, (meals, transportation, lodging), I would be quite surprised. The type of cabin you sign up for impacts price quite a bit as does including the drink package.

When you feel like you are willing to try a cruise again, there are some choices you can make that will impact some of the negatives you experienced. First, choose your cruise line and size of ship carefully. A smaller ship makes a difference. Next, do watch the pricing carefully. There are good bargains to be had. I’ll be doing a 16 day transit of the Panama Canal, Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles, for $149 a day as a solo traveler this fall. Usually very far out, 2 years, or very soon, 3 months or less, bring the best prices.

Food. Really, you are going to complain there are too many options for food? I can always find plenty of healthy choices on a cruise. No one is required to overeat……

I also can find sea days a little challenging and try to avoid having too many of them.

Did I enjoy the cruise? Yes, it was very comfortable. I've been having some muscle issues, and the walking was not difficult. I did get in 5000 steps/day due to the ship size. We enjoyed the food, which was uniformly excellent - we had scallops for lunch as a starter and most asked the staff if we could have a second helping.

So, we did enjoy it. As Carol noted, Norway is pretty expensive. We are now going to Oslo and then Copenhagen. We'll see about the costs. We are staying in a cheap hotel, at $180/n - pretty much the most we have ever paid in Europe.

Do you mind sharing the cruise line and ship name?

I'm taking my first cruise next year—the 7-Day Norwegian Fjords & Nordfjord with Holland America. I had originally booked a longer cruise but decided to start with something shorter.

I don't necessarily expect to fall in love with cruising, but as an often-solo traveler who doesn't want to drive or take long guided tours, I'm starting to experiment with different ways to travel.

On the sea days, I plan to wander around the ship, relax, and take some pictures.

Cruises are not for everyone.

I have done 10 and will do my 11th next year when I sail Iceland, Norway, Amsterdam and Bruges.

I am an old woman who travels solo. Have mobility issues and am challenged with maps and directions so a cruise works well for me.

I have only sailed Norwegian because they were the only cruise line welcoming the solo passenger when I first began cruising. There have been disappointments with Norwegian but not enough for me to try another cruise line. Because of age, budget and health issues, I do not believe I have many cruises left so think I will stick with Norwegian.

There have been some cruises where we overnighted at ports. And I always spend a few days pre cruising and sometimes post cruising.

Most of my cruises are what is known as port heavy so I really enjoy the sea days. Sometimes I need them to rest. If I had a lot of sea days, I would buy the spa package with the several pools and saunas.

I do not take. a cruise just for the ports. I also take it for the ship.

What line did you sail on?

I would love to read another trip report since I will be visiting three Norwegian ports next year, my first time in Norway as well as Iceland.

We took a 14 night Hollande American cruise around Norway a few years ago. It left from Rotterdam.
Our cruise was mostly Dutch people, older Dutch people. They say in the lounges and cafes and didn’t seem to move till the next meal.
The activities were boring except for the pickleball play every day. Ours was a a very low key cruise.
We are booked on 2 more cruises
September 2026 on Celebrity from Ravenna to Athens. 12 nights. Some ports are new. We will be with 4 other couples
September 2027 on Oceania, a smaller cruise line, going from Lisbon to Trieste with 2 other couples. Many new ports.
For us it’s a way to travel with a group without worrying about who had dietary needs or mobile issues or expensive hotels requirements. We can all go at our own pace and meet up for dinner.
And yes, we get to visit out of the way places without packing and unpacking.

We were on the MSC line, on the ship Presidio. Our cruise was with Daughters of Norway, so many of the women had Norwegian roots (as does my wife). So many discussion of who came to the US and when.

We did decide to take this cruise in the Scandinavian area since this area is notoriously expensive. Alcohol is not affordable, so I will be on the wagon until Germany in a week. Other things are somewhat more expensive. We can't get to a big supermarket, but the local convenience mart is high-priced. If we had spent 10 days driving around, we would have spent a lot of money in Norway.

Paul of the Frozen North

I am in Texas and sure wish that I were in the Frozen North right now.

What ports did you go to? And what excursions did you take or did you do your own thing

In Norway, I am going to go to Alesund, Flam and Maloy.

We were supposed to port in Bergen but Bergen no longer allows large ships so NCL substituted Maloy instead. Some guests are very unhappy with the change.

Enjoy your German Beer.