Option 1: Black Prince 13-days to Baltic and Fjords. This cruise has a fantastic itinerary, but I am unsure about the ship.

Option 2: Boudicca 10-days to Northern Europe. Good itinerary, but no fjords.

Option 3: Orianna 7-days to Norway; seems like maybe the best ship, but I don't know.

Option 4: A hurtingruten ship; however, my travel partner is really not interested in this as he is a picky eater and probably won't enjoy the food on these ships.

Any comments about what each ship has to offer and what cruising on British ships is like will be most aprreciated. What are the differences between "American" cruises and British cruises, if any? I enjoy experiencing different things.

Thanks for any help and any other suggestions.

Seatrial

[ 06-23-2005: Message edited by: seatrial ]

Black Prince is very popular here in UK but getting on and very small.

Boudicca should be lovely - major refit and a lovely size of ship.

Oriana is simply fantastic - one of my two fave modern liners - beautiful, traditional, friendly, good cabins, great deckspace....

Differences you will notice.... Bad salads, not much ice in drinks, strong coffee, decent tea, non-crispy bacon, British comedians, no Americans, less regimented entertainment, much smaller and lower profile casinos.

Thanks for your reply. I'm really not sure how to ask this but are Americans welcomed on British ships or do you think that on the whole the British wish that Americans would stay off their ships? This sounds just terrible.

To Mec's list add cheaper drinks, & only Art Auctions on Oriana.

Pam

[ 06-24-2005: Message edited by: PamM ]

The Huritgurten this time of year, especially mid July, one gets to see the midnight sun which is just incredible.

In the winter North Norway has a month of darkness.

There are many students, locals and Bohemians using it as a ferry too. Some sleep on deck, but are far more interesting in conversation the cruise passengers.

As far as port stays, the ship is a ferry, if you want to stay in a port an extra day you can catch another one.

IMO None of the Norwegian Cities other than Oslo and Bergen need more than a day.

Narvik has a beautiful Cathedral. The rail trip form Oslo to bergen is fantastic.

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Originally posted by Ernst:
Just forget the Hurtigruten at this time of the year. The ship will be full and the short time it stays in port only allows overland shore excursions.

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To an extent there is a contradiction between older ships and high standards. For example let’s take ‘Cars’ as an analogy. A new car has higher standards of just about everything than an old car, apart from warmth and charm.

Ships like ‘Black Watch’ and ‘Boudiccia’ are wonderful ‘classic’ vessels which are almost the perfect size, not too big or too small. However, you cannot expect many of the cabin grades or onboard facilities to match a new ship. That of course does not mean that the overall experience is a bad one. They feel more nautical and they are of course more friendly and intimate.

Oriana will offer you a ‘big ship’ experience with all the pluses and minuses.

Food

When I cruise on American style ships I embrace the differences, in fact that why I go on them. I do not get disappointed if I can’t find Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or Cod and Chips or the Menu. I eat Prime Rib, Lobster Tails, even the Crispy Bacon and am immune to the excessive use of ice. If you are open minded and flexible, truly looking for a new ‘refreshing’ experience, you will love the British way.

Unfortunately some American’s seem to think if food is not prepared in the same as in the States and the menu items are sometimes unfamiliar, it MUST be inferior. Now although I would be the first to admit that we are not gastronomic world leaders, we do have at least some good food on offer onboard our ships.

Itineraries

It always seems impossible for me to match appealing ships and appealing itineraries. Ex-UK itineraries basically come in three main types; the Med (sunshine and fascinating cites), the Baltic (more fascinating cites) the Fjord’s (unspoilt scenery). You will not find a cruise which successfully incorporates both the latter.

I’m sure that you will be very welcome on British ships.

[ 06-24-2005: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by seatrial:
I'm really not sure how to ask this but are Americans welcomed on British ships ............

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I have sailed on both P.& O. and Cunard cruises from Southampton, being one of only a handful of Americans on board, and I've loved it. I am more of an Anglophile than most Americans, but it can prove to be a delightful, educational, and entertaining experience, which to my mind is the whole reason for travelling in the first place!

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It always seems impossible for me to match appealing ships and appealing itineraries. Ex-UK itineraries basically come in three main types; the Med (sunshine and fascinating cites), the Baltic (more fascinating cites) the Fjord’s (unspoilt scenery). You will not find a cruise which successfully incorporates both the latter.

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Actually there's what looks like a great cruise on Black Watch in August that comes as close as anything I've seen - a combination of the (more southerly) fjords + some Baltic cities - eg, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen.

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This August is no good for seatrial, of course, but Boudicca is doing a somewhat similar cruise next May - her first visit to Norway, in fact. That would be a good one.

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:

Actually there's what looks like a great cruise on Black Watch in August that comes as close as anything I've seen - a combination of the (more southerly) fjords + some Baltic cities - eg, Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen.

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