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[MicheleMaBelle]

I saw that trip Judith 57- looked good. we have friends who are just off Brittania and loved it. They said the Limelight club was worth the extra cover charge. I Quite fancy giving her a try ! Enjoy your trip and hope you are feeling better x

[CLKD]

Go on girl, tell him you've booked one and watch him turn white!

 

[Ju Ju]

This thread reminds me of my wanting to go back to Norway. I worked there in Bergen in the early 70s for a few weeks as a chambermaid while I was a student. What a beautiful country. I loved it, but it was and is very expensive. If you do go to Bergen, go on the 'Norway in a Nutshell' day tour which is still running.

[getting_old]

I wouldn't recommend driving. We did a driving tour of Norway, Sweden and Denmark and only spent one day in Norway because the low speed limit drove us mad. Sweden and Denmark were lovely 

[Evelyn63]

Very interesting thread, as its something we would like to do, and can relate so much to the posters who prefer smaller ships.  My husband refuses to go on the bigger ones so we are definitely interested in those of you who have done the Fijords on smaller ones.  My friend cruises a lot and recommended Seaborne  but they are out of our price range unfortunately.

[MicheleMaBelle]

Hi Evelyn.You could try Azanara.the big ships can also be ok if you choose your line and ship carefully  You'll get a different crowd going on a trip to the Fjords to the crowd on a Carribean cruise!  Seabourn are expensive but half way house would be Azamara, Viking Celebrity or Oceania.P&O can also be a relatively good choice x

[Elizabethrose]

Thanks for your responses ladies, lots of food for though!

Thank you Michelemabelle, (love the name, I start humming that tune every time I read it on here!). You are very clearly a cruising guru and I'll check out the links you suggested. We were away with friends for the past couple of days and the subject of hols came up and I thought I'd seek advice here.

We are rovers when on holiday. We've never booked a package tour or trip of any kind. We tend to drive all over Europe or fly long haul and jump in a car at the airports. I suppose we both view cruising as the very antithesis of our preferred holiday so considering this as an option feels pretty alien!! However, I can see that it may well be the best way to travel the Fjords.

Our problem is that we are both very sociable which has sometimes resulted in us having to then avoid people on holiday. It's easy to disappear in a city but not so easy on a ship!!   

I rather like to escape the dressing up thing when on holiday and just be very relaxed so I think the smaller ships/informality/ with academic lectures sounds more up our street. I suspect if we decide to do this that that will be the best bet.

My skin is seriously reactive to products so I haven't tried the Avon cream you are suggesting: I'll look into it. I can't use the anti-mosi stuff out there, it makes me react terribly. Such a pain! Mosquitoes love me it's bizarre, they will pass a line of people to get to me.

I suppose the big question is is when to go. Ju Ju, from your experience there, is there a best time to go? Or indeed a time not to go? getting_old the way my husband drives I'd be grateful for him being forced to slow down 

So to summarise; we are absolutely not interested in ships entertainment, super formal dining, guided tours etc, eat and drink till you drop, forced jollies. Do you think cruising of any sort would suit us? x

[MicheleMaBelle]

Hi Elizabeth Rose- yes, cruising would suit you. I'd give Azamara a whirl if you can, even something like voyages of antiquity but I've no experience of them so can't comment. Again I can't comment but I'm hearing good things about Viking Ocean cruises. Thing is, is you go for the smaller ships, they do tend to be a bit more expensive. YOu generally can choose fixed time dining or flexible ( or eat in the buffet ) you can ask to share a large table if you feel like being sociable or not as the case may be. You can have a different table every night if you want. Certainly it would be easier to avoid people on a slightly bigger ship or just give them a cheery wave.
On the excursions, you can do you own thing- hire a car, go in a taxi, shared mini van or use public transport. There's a good site " what's in port " that will tell you more about what the options are.You don't need to book a ships excursion but sometimes it's the easiest option depending on where you are.
I know that based on what you've said, you'd probably enjoy river cruising but they don't go the fjords. we went down the Danube from Vienna to Belgrade with a company called Scenic ( absolutely everything was included, it was small, the itinerary, enrichment experiences ( we had dinner in the home of a Bosnian family  , trip to a palace for private recital, bicycle tour in Serbia was outstanding.)
We had GPS devices so we could wander off on our own and know what the group was doing. They also carry electric bikes on board so you can do your own thing. They pack so much in we needed a holiday when we came back. Our compromise on that one, was to go for the cheapest cabin. Small and with a window . We keep looking as I fancy doing another  one on the Rhine but it's looking pretty expensive. Our bill at the end of the Danube trip was £0. So, paying a fair bit up front but no nasty surprise at the end. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Hope you get something to suit and interesting what you say about your hubby. Mine loves adventure travel but he also loves his cruises. We can't always combine both so we need to take turns although there's been more cruises lately😀

[Elizabethrose]

Wow, thanks for that Michelemabelle! You are the cruising guru!!

In a few days hubby is away on a car rally so my task is to sort a holiday. I'll research your suggestions along with some other ideas we've been discussing. It certainly seems that some cruises allow freedom and the potential to stay busy. That would suit us.

I haven't looked at the prices, I've no idea what to expect, how it's worked out etc. From what you've said I'm surmising that there are hidden costs or extras with some cruises.

Thank you so much for the info. I may be back to pick your brains again! x

[Salad]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in the thread 

A question for those with cruising experience - can you get away from people in the day, apart from being on own balcony?
My husband and I don't really enjoy lots of noise and busy people in the daytime - eg we would choose a villa holiday over a hotel holiday, but i am toying with the idea of a cruise.

[Two hoots]

Before my first cruise I expected: crowds, queues and going stir crazy, I was wrong. We usually take family on cruises and have been a group of 9, and believe it or not we always found seats in the bar we wanted to visit or in the buffet.

If you choose a cruise with sea days (not calling in a port that day) there will be organised activities , I don't take part but husband really enjoys the lectures.  I've taken my kindle every time thinking I'll sit on the balcony and read, but never open it, watching the sea drift past is so relaxing.

Ship size, for me it's bigger the better  (and I am not sociable  ). I like having a choice of restaurants and bars. Book what size ship appeals to you, then try try try as many different sizes and companies as you can afford. You can have short 4 day cruises sailing from the uk to give you a taste of cruise ships and cruise lines.

Fjords, we went at the end of August on Celebrity Eclipse, we visited Bergen (drizzly), Stavanger (sunny intervals), Geranger, Flam and Alesund all warm and sunnny. If you visit early in the season you see the waterfalls at their best, when we went they were not so good. All the ports apart from Bergen were docked in the town/village centres where you can walk off the ship and do your own thing. In Bergen you get on a bus outside the ship and it drops you in the city center.

I have read many cruise reviews of cruises I've been on, and the people who submitted them had a totally different holiday to me, you do what you want, if you want to lie next to the pool all day do it, if you want to sit and read do it, if you want to sit in the buffet all day and eat do it, it's your holiday after all.

About bumping into people, a couple of years ago my brother in law bumped into his uncle in Corsica, he was on the same ship as us and he didn't see him on board once on a 14 night cruise 

[Salad]

Thank you Two hoots - I'll start reading some reviews and looking on Internet.
I'm thinking maybe it's a case of try it and see - they say you only live once after all 

[CLKD]

Avon "Skin So Soft" has worked for me against mozzies in Scotland.  DEET is the active ingredient in many other products which really do work.  Mossies nets can be bought as well as those nets that fishermen wear or there are complete over-all bee keepers sets which may be worth researching: I'm not suggesting buying a whole suit but getting an idea what is 'out there' against the wee beasts well B4 your travel is important.  Apparently mossies are attracted by human breath ;-).

[MicheleMaBelle]

Elizabeth Rose- you can pick my brains no problem. I really do believe that there is a cruise line/ ship/ itinerary to suit both you and your hubby. Most have their pros and cons so read the expert reviews on cruise critic and then look at the member reviews. You can get some right whinging nutters on there but overall you'll get a feel for what it's like if you discount the whinging nut jobs ( how dare they- that's our job on MM! )
If you decide it's something you fancy, go with an open mind.Youll either live it or loathe it but as I've said many times before, it just depends what you fancy. Ben Fogle was on a cruise we did back in a October with Celebrity- didn't attend any of his lectures though! On the other hand, James Martin was on another cruise I did a few years back. Dish of the day! X

and Salad- yes you can get away. There's always quiet spots and adult only solariums on the bigger ships...I would rather eat my own hand than join in organised activities but some people love them. You just need to know what areas to avoid. Personally I'd avoid the Italian lines such as MSC and Costa( can be a real bunfight) The British lines can be a bit mixed...My favourite are definitely the American lines but even a few of them tend to be more party/ family oriented e.g. carnival and Norwegian .
There's usually something for everyone but choose carefully after doing some research xxx

[Salad]

Thank you Michelemabelle - my idea of horror would be a floating Benidorm/Butlins type experience with no escape! I know people who adore these types of holidays and I do enjoy an evening show, choice of restaurant/bar but it's the day really, I prefer my own company sunbathing and my husband is even less sociable 

What appeals is the ever changing scenery with minimum effort - definitely lots of research to do