We visited the Norwegian Fjords, staying as a couple in Cabin 5602 (balcony), with 4 other adult family members in adjacent cabins. We have cruised before but with different cruise lines.

Itinerary: we were happy with the ports visited and with the 3 shore excursions which we took.

Food: two of us are vegetarians and two have severe allergies so cruise food can be tricky. There was always a good selection at the main restaurants and meals in these were beautifully presented though rather sparse. In the buffet there were a couple of veggie options, but if you wanted vegetables to accompany them you had to go to the main carvery area and hope that no-one had used the spoon from the meat dishes in the vegetables. In fact, vegetables were a problem in general: tiny portions in the main restaurants (a listing of "asparagus" for example could refer to as little as 1/2 a spear), and only ever one vegetable dish in the buffet. Labelling for vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and low salt were good in the main restaurants but somewhat haphazard in the buffet, for example you could eat a dessert labelled as vegetarian in the main restaurant one day and see the same thing in the buffet the next without any indication of it being vegetarian. Accompanying vegetables were never labelled so you had to take your chances as to whether the cauliflower cheese used vegetarian cheddar or the potatoes had been roasted with animal fat. We were unable to try most of the speciality restaurants due to a shortage of tables for larger groups, the few they had were booked up very quickly (couples had less problems). We were also disappointed to find that the Epicurean restaurant was closed, which meant that the promised Norwegian speciality meal didn't materialise. The buffet had less variety than most cruise lines, with a carvery forming the main option every day. Read more