We have only cruised once before, to Alaska on Sapphire Princess.
This cruise sailed from Southampton so no flying involved. Embarkation was made very easy and painless, and when we entered our state cabin we were suitably impressed with the size of the room and the balcony.
We went on a Princess excursion at the following ports of call; Bergen, Hellesylt, Olden, and Flaam. We did our own thing in Stavanger, the last port of call. We were glad we did as the Town is lovely and we enjoyed doing a bit of shopping and site seeing by ourselves.