We chose this cruise for it's itinerary through Scotland, St Kilda, Orkneys, Shetlands though 24 hour daylight cruising in Norway was a fabulous bonus.

For me the hikes, the bird life (they set you down right in middle of thousands of puffins and razor bills and guillemots etc. ) the scenery were the highlights.

They really make an effort to get you ashore even in difficult weather. We were the only ship that arrived in St Kilda, the others cancelled because of the easterly winds, then they manoevred the ship to broadside the weather so we could use the zodiacs on the lee side.They knew how important a landing was to everyone. They have the loading and unloading of the zodiacs down to a science. Even the most unsteady should feel perfectly comfortable. Then when we really could not make the Lofotens Islands due to conditions they hastily organized an interesting visit to Narvik. The on board historian did a great job getting up to speed with the new location, getting the fliers printed etc. So very very accommodating. Another time we had to skip an afternoon visit due to weather, but they were able to replace that with a hike up to a glacier after dinner. So at 10:30 pm all those still sober set off on a hike up to a glacier in the midnight sun. Read more