This was our 3rd cruise as a couple, and our second cruise as a family with 2 children (aged 7 and 5). Our two previous cruises were with Royal Caribbean to Alaska and the Baltics respectively.

We chose Norway and the Fjords for 3 main reasons. The embarkation port was Southampton so we could avoid the scrum, exhaustion and baggage weight anxiety of airports. The cruise was to a temperate part of the world- whilst warm, sunny weather is always pleasant we have no real interest in baking ourselves in the sun whilst drinking cocktails alongside others doing the same thing in limited open space. The wilds of nature also hold real fascination for both of us. Princess delivered on the vast majority of our expectations- whilst we didn't quite return home 'new' as the brochure suggested we would (thanks to the traffic hampering our 200 mile journey from the port), it is safe to say that we all enjoyed both the inside and outside aspects of out cruise.

It was initially quite strange being aboard a different ship with staff trained differently and employed with a focus on different competencies. The RCI staff are very much 'in your face' from the moment you arrive, whereas Princess staff as much more stand-off-ish and discrete in their behaviour. In the end, this approach definitely 'sold' Princess to us. It was nice to be able to walk around the ship with a 'just got out of bed, don't talk to me until I've had coffee' look on your face without having to high-5 anyone, or grimace for a photo next to a staff member wearing a sub-standard costume vaguely resembling a Viking. Basically, if you sit down anywhere, even for 5 minutes, a member of staff will offer you some service of some description. They do this in a way that is unobtrusive and sincere (i.e. without 'please tip me' puppy dog eyes). Read more