The main reason we selected this cruise was for the itinerary which was only offered by Princess twice in 2018 and is rarely offered by other cruise lines. We sailed from Southampton to Stavanger, through amazing fjords, and all the way to the northernmost point in Europe at the North Cape. There were 10 different ports of call all of which provided amazingly beautiful scenery, wildlife including herds of reindeer, and unique cities and villages. The ship itself was lovely having just been refurbished in the Spring of 2018. The entertainment in the evening was mediocre until the end of the cruise when two fabulous headliners presented outstanding shows. There were 2800 passengers from 38 different countries onboard, and the ship did a wonderful job of providing activities and meals for such a diversity of guests. And the embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly in spite of having to process so many people. We loved this cruise and would go back to these phenomenally beautiful ports in a heartbeat.
The bed in our interior cabin was great, closet space was good, and additional storage space was also good. The room was very quiet, but we did feel the rocking motion of the sea in our bed as we traveled in some rough waters on a couple of the nights even though we were on the 11th floor. The room had a small refrigerator and a pot to warm hot water for coffee or tea. The best part about the location was that the Laundromat was only a few doors down the hall, and just steps beyond that was the elevator up to the Horizon Court Restaurant and the Deck 16 exit to go out to the hot tubs and aft pool area.
We rented a car from Avis in Leknes and had it delivered to the port which made it very convenient. We drove to the fishing village of A at the end of the E10 highway, had lunch at Anita’s (highly recommended!), saw the great views at Reine and Sakrisoy, walked along the white-sand beach at Ramberg, saw the Flakstad Church, and visited the UNESCO HERITAGE fishing village of Nusfjord. We were there at the end of August, and shops like the bakery were already closing for the season. Everywhere we went there were fabulous views! It is definitely a photographer’s delight!