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.

Yes, cruising is not for everyone. A real ocean cruise is a Transatlantic or Transpacific crossing. The best known crossing is Cunard's Queen Mary 2 frequent runs between Southampton and New York.

I have done this crossing twice, both times in December. Every day is a sea day. The first time I found there was not enough taking place on the ship to keep me busy, though there were several excellent lectures. The second trip featured Cunard's annual literary festival, which I did enjoy.

Paul, thank you for your observations.

We are going on a 14 night Alaskan cruise and land tour in September on Holland America. Seven nights ship and seven on land. We are going with another couple and they selected the ship. It’s the last cruise of the season. My husband and I took a 7 night cruise in the western Caribbean for our 10th anniversary in 1995. It was fun, but I really prefer spending more time at places. I’ve done 2 short cruises from Long Beach to Ensenada with friends. The destination wasn’t of any importance, the trip was just to hang out with each other.

Our ship leaves from Vancouver, BC and we will spend 3 nights there before the cruise. Of our 7 sea days 3 of them do not involve going to a port. We didn’t get the drink/alcohol package or the wifi package (too expensive) so we will have to find other things to do to amuse ourselves. I’m hoping they will have activities and entertainment. Our land portion ends in Fairbanks and we fly back from there.

We are pretty go go go when we travel so we shall see after this experience if we would entertain going on another cruise in the future.

Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise for what it was, great feedback for anyone considering one for the first time!

Scandinavian area since this area is notoriously expensive.

Norway is quite expensive, but IMO Sweden is still modestly priced for both accommodation & meals outside of the main tourist areas. I regularly have a set lunch (only served M-F) here in Uppsala, an hour north of Stockholm, for about $18. Example - Fish with potatoes & salad, beverage AND dessert! You wouldn't find a decent lunch for that price in the Bay Area of SF. We've also enjoyed smaller cafes in Stockholm for less than $20 pp for lunch, more for dinner of course.

For those traveling to Norway with a port stop in Maloy, the WWII museum is really interesting. Norway was occupied by the Germans from 1939-1944, and this museum talks about 1) a battle in Maloy and 2) the underground network of Norwegian patriots. Good museum, set up in 2018.

The cruising question always generates a wide range of acceptance. For background - we have cruise extensively since the 90s. We have over 240 nights on Holland America plus several weeks total on a number of our cruises lines. Cruising has had different purposes for us over the years. When we first start our two sons were with us and basically the cruise ship was a floating hotel combine with a night train between locations. We found it was the most economical way to see and travel in Europe. And with two extremely picky food eaters, the ship solved a lot of problems when it can to eating. And it solved other problems with activities for the boys without us having to look over their shoulder. In those years we saw a lot of Europe from the sea.

Later on with the girl friends, future wives, and now the grandchildren allow for great family get together without us having to plan every minute. (But it costs a bit more now.)

To address some of the above comments. There is a lot of food available and it is tempting. Fortunately the days of the midnight buffet are gone. We general eat only two meals a day. If we are in a port we will try to have lunch on shore locally. Some schedules will depart late evening so there is time for dinner ashore and if, an overnight, that is even better. Also we try to book a min of ten days with a preference for at least two weeks. A week cruise for us is just too short. With seven days you barely develop a routine and then it is time to get off. I agree that the drink packages are too expensive so avoid unless it is part of an early incentive to book.

The internet is getting cheaper and faster but you can find a lot fee internet access in the port. So unless it is important to be connected every hour we just wait for free or low cost connection.

We often use cruises for that vacation from your vacations. We generally follow a pattern of a week or two of independent travel followed with a cruise for a couple of weeks and then another week or so of independent travel before returning home. We find the mid size ships -- 1800 to 2200 passengers -- works best for us. Over the years we have met dozens of very interest people. We have much better luck meeting and engaging with local Europeans than in a pub or bar on land. A couple have even changed our eating habits.

Cruising is matter of setting expectations. If you expect to be bored -- you will be. It can also be a terrific way to travel. You decide.

We generally follow a pattern of a week or two of independent travel
followed with a cruise for a couple of weeks and then another week or
so of independent travel before returning home.

This or our thought for our upcoming trip except the cruise is in the middle; 1 week near Rome, then a 1-week cruise, then 1 week in Zaragoza and Sitges in Spain.

Even though we don't know if we're going to enjoy cruising again we've already put in on the radar for a possible addition next Spring. The trip planning began as a 2-week trip from London to Bamburgh, but then we realized just across the water in the Netherlands it will be tulip season so we're discussing flying out of Newcastle to spend a few days looking at flowers. Then an email came up with a sale on a cruise out of Rotterdam and now our 2-week England trip may end up being 4 weeks and 5 countries.

I just took a Holland America cruise in the Baltic Sea. Yes, I was prepared for not being able to see everything and having to be on a schedule to get back to the ship on time. I really enjoyed the cruise; I met some new friends, and 4 of us went on to Norway together for a week-long land tour after the cruise.

I am a seasoned independent traveler, but since I was on my own and I wanted to see a lot in 3 weeks, I opted for the cruise and tour in Norway. There are definitely pros and cons to both ways of travel; the biggest con for me is not having enough time in each location to really absorb the area. I do now know of several places I would love to go back to someday and spend more time, and a few I could skip.

Yes, so much food and alcohol on the ship, but if you pace yourself and don't overindulge, you will be fine. There are plenty of healthy choices, but the temptations are all too real.

There is a gym with workout equipment and classes such as yoga and stretching. I walked a mile around the ship several days, and that was a nice way to get some exercise.

The Rotterdam is a little smaller than the cruise ship the OP describes, and I didn't feel like it was too crowded. I was able to find space and quiet time when I needed it, and the staff was incredible.

As far as cost, yes, you could most likely travel independently cheaper, but I think I got a good value for the places I saw and the fun time I experienced aboard the ship.

Happy travels to all!