We have always wanted to cruise the fjords and have been looking forward to this holiday for several months. My partner has problems with his breathing and cannot walk long distances, for this reason we chose Fred Olsen because the ships are smaller than many of the other cruise lines.

Embarkation at Newcastle proved to be a nightmare, we asked whether it would be far to walk and were told that very little walking was involved and that the shuttle bus would talk us straight to the ship. In reality we were faced with approximately a 300-350 metre walk, then a steep gangway. My partner had to stop several times and lean on the rails, there were no seats to take a rest. Had we been told this we would have asked for assistance (which we did for disembarkation).

The ship itself was fine, pretty much as expected. We had booked a superior outside cabin on deck 6 close to the restaurant. The cabin and its location on the ship was fine, however as we were unpacking there were very loud banging noises. We assumed that the maintenance was just because the ship was in port, but no, it continued on and off for the entire duration of the cruise. The cabin had a large window and it would have been great to sit and relax watching the world (well the fjords) go by. Unfortunately this wasn't always possible due to the noise! Very disappointing. Read more