I have never been on a cruise before but knew that I would not be interested in a large ship with lots of nightlife/entertainment. I wanted to enjoy the scenery and to be on a ship small enough to be able to walk off in as many ports as possible. I travelled on a package which included a charter flight from Manchester. The visit had been booked in 2020 for travel in 2021 but postponed due to COVID until 2022.

The cruise exceeded my expectations in so many ways. The cabin was very comfortable and very well appointed. We were in Cabin 354 - which was 3 up from the bottom of the ship. It was also in the middle of the ship. The booking agent advised that this would be a good cabin as it was 12sqm and the position would mean less movement during stormy weather. Proved to be excellent advice. The cabin could have slept 3 but I felt that three people in this cabin would be rather problematic.

There was almost a whole day at Alesund which allowed for a great deal of exploration. We did not do any excursions here. It is very easy to climb the steps to Mt Aksla and also to tour the Art Nouveau city itself. We also enjoyed the visit to the North Cape, the visit to the Russian border and the tour of Vesteralen - despite the terrible weather in the latter case. The tour of Trondheim with an included tour of the Cathedral was also very good. It was also lovely to explore several smaller towns using some self-guided tours available on the Internet. Read more