11 Night Northern Europe vs 10 Night Iceland Norway? Verandah or not?

[rainythursdays]

Just got off my first Disney cruise on the Magic (Mediterranean) and I have to say I am officially a DCL fan! Already booked my placeholder and looking into booking my next one.

We felt like we did not spend enough time on the ship for this cruise as we were on many full day port adventures, and are hoping to spend more time on the ship on the next cruise and are therefore considering the 11 night Northern Europe and 10 night Iceland and Norway on the Dream next year. We live in mainland Europe, so the countries are relatively accessible to us and we don’t feel the need to see EVERYTHING each port has to offer in depth which leaves us the option of staying on board some port days. We have visited parts of Iceland before, but would be excited to see it again. We are also quite excited to see the Norwegian fjords, as we think it would be otherwise be hard to plan if we went on our own without a cruise. On the other hand, NE would give Us the convenience of seeing many different cities at once. Northern europe itinerary is also about $2000 cheaper than Iceland.

My husband and I (mid to late 20s) got an IGT for this first cruise, because we thought we were just trying out our first cruise to see if we like it and would be too busy out and about doing activities that we will spend very little time in our staterooms and we were right. We loved our stateroom and did not spend enough time in there to truly miss the verandah/porthole window. However we thought we might splurge for a verandah for our second cruise for the views and especially when I tend to get a little seasick and the seas up north might be rougher. The Mediterranean was really calm for our first cruise and I felt fine on most days in our inside stateroom though. Verandah is about an extra $2000 more than an inside.

Would really appreciate if anyone has any thoughts on the above based on the considerations above? TIA!!

 

[JulieODC]

We did the Iceland-Norway cruise in 2019. It was the most amazing vacation we’ve taken to date!!

We had an ocean view room, and never once missed the verandah. I would save the $ and use it on excursions!

 

[bcwife76]

We are booked on the 11 night NE for next year and opted for one of the "oversized" porthole rooms instead of a verandah. While I love a verandah, for a longer cruise I feel like I'd rather have a larger inside space and can go up on deck for the fresh air.

 

[DCLMP]

The cost difference isn’t as extreme on the dream as it is on the Magic, I’d still
save the 2k. Remember you’ll have a virtual window on the Dream. It makes the inside room a little nicer than the older ships.
How are the ocean views priced? I would take an ocean view with a large window over a verandah. You can sit in It and look out. Iceland cruise was on the chilly side I would never have used the verandah. I spent sea days sitting in the windows on deck three.

 

[rainythursdays]

We did the Iceland-Norway cruise in 2019. It was the most amazing vacation we’ve taken to date!!

We had an ocean view room, and never once missed the verandah. I would save the $ and use it on excursions!

Thanks for your response!! Did you go on excursion at every port? And how did you find visiting Iceland and Norway in the summer?

 

[JulieODC]

Thanks for your response!! Did you go on excursion at every port? And how did you find visiting Iceland and Norway in the summer?

We planned almost all of our own excursions in each port. Iceland and Norway were spectacular in the summer - we had wonderful weather too.

Happy to share more details about what we did in various ports - just wasn’t sure how closely the ports currently align with ours?

 

[BadPinkTink]

We planned almost all of our own excursions in each port. Iceland and Norway were spectacular in the summer - we had wonderful weather too.

Happy to share more details about what we did in various ports - just wasn’t sure how closely the ports currently align with ours?

Im on the September 2022 Norwegian Fjords, ports are

1. Alesund
2. Nordfjordeid
3. Eidfjord
4. Stavanger

I am doing DIY in all ports and would be interested to know if any of these were on your cruise and if so what you did DIY

 

[JulieODC]

Im on the September 2022 Norwegian Fjords, ports are

1. Alesund
2. Nordfjordeid
3. Eidfjord
4. Stavanger

I am doing DIY in all ports and would be interested to know if any of these were on your cruise and if so what you did DIY

Sure - for context, we traveled with our 2 daughters, who were 4 and 7 at the time of the trip.

In Alesund, we were only in port from 10am - 4:30pm. Our top choice - a trip to Trollstigen, was not possible - so if you are in port longer, that might be an option!

Instead we did a DCL excursion - Alesund Highlights - which brought us to Sunnmore, which was pretty cool, and then to Mount Aksla - amazing views, don't miss this! Overall, the excursion was fine - really just transport to these locations, so could easily be done on one's own.

We also explored Alesund a bit - and with young kids, hit up the Alesun Bypark playground a few blocks from the port.. We had hoped to stop into Molo Brew as well, but they were closed!

In Stavanger, our family split up.

My husband took a guided hiking tour that I arranged with some other adult passengers from our cruise group. This was one of his favorite activities - not an easy hike, but the views and photos are just amazing. We used "Outdoor Norway" - and it was the half-day Lyseford hike (at the top of the fjords that we boated through.

My daughters and I joined a huge group from our cruise on a Lyseford cruise. It was a huge charter, or 3 boats, arranged by a fellow passenger - though this same tour can be booked on your own or through DCL. We took a boat into the fjords - also amazing views, and scenery. The boat stopped at a small area, where we had waffles.

After, we had enough time to explore Stavanger on our own - don't miss rambling through old Stavanger. The houses are so cute, gorgeous flowers, little shops (I found this cool little stained glass shop!). Also, if you have kids, there was a little playground tucked in there with a view of the ship. If we'd had a bit more time, we should have walked to the Geopark, which is a larger playground made of repurposed oil industry materials.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Sure - for context, we traveled with our 2 daughters, who were 4 and 7 at the time of the trip.

In Alesund, we were only in port from 10am - 4:30pm. Our top choice - a trip to Trollstigen, was not possible - so if you are in port longer, that might be an option!

Instead we did a DCL excursion - Alesund Highlights - which brought us to Sunnmore, which was pretty cool, and then to Mount Aksla - amazing views, don't miss this! Overall, the excursion was fine - really just transport to these locations, so could easily be done on one's own.

We also explored Alesund a bit - and with young kids, hit up the Alesun Bypark playground a few blocks from the port.. We had hoped to stop into Molo Brew as well, but they were closed!

In Stavanger, our family split up.

My husband took a guided hiking tour that I arranged with some other adult passengers from our cruise group. This was one of his favorite activities - not an easy hike, but the views and photos are just amazing. We used "Outdoor Norway" - and it was the half-day Lyseford hike (at the top of the fjords that we boated through.

My daughters and I joined a huge group from our cruise on a Lyseford cruise. It was a huge charter, or 3 boats, arranged by a fellow passenger - though this same tour can be booked on your own or through DCL. We took a boat into the fjords - also amazing views, and scenery. The boat stopped at a small area, where we had waffles.

After, we had enough time to explore Stavanger on our own - don't miss rambling through old Stavanger. The houses are so cute, gorgeous flowers, little shops (I found this cool little stained glass shop!). Also, if you have kids, there was a little playground tucked in there with a view of the ship. If we'd had a bit more time, we should have walked to the Geopark, which is a larger playground made of repurposed oil industry materials.

Thanks for all that, really helpful.

 

[Intr3pid]

We are on the 11-nighter to Iceland/Scotland this summer. Look for a trip report to go up in August.

We did the 10-night Baltic and 7-night Norway cruises on the Magic in 2019. The Baltic cruise has been our kids' favorite. So far. This year's Iceland cruise will give it a run for money. And they have been on the 14-night WBPC too.

A verandah on the Northern European cruises doesn't add as much value as it might, say, in the Caribbeans. The air is chilly, and the ship has too much going on to spend a lot of time on the balcony. The one exception is the Norway cruises, where you sail in protected waters and there is a ton to see. Still, you can do it all from the top deck if you want and save your money for excursions instead.

We haven rarely done Disney's excursions, and it's easy to DIY most of the ports.

 

[rainythursdays]

We are on the 11-nighter to Iceland/Scotland this summer. Look for a trip report to go up in August.

We did the 10-night Baltic and 7-night Norway cruises on the Magic in 2019. The Baltic cruise has been our kids' favorite. So far. This year's Iceland cruise will give it a run for money. And they have been on the 14-night WBPC too.

A verandah on the Northern European cruises doesn't add as much value as it might, say, in the Caribbeans. The air is chilly, and the ship has too much going on to spend a lot of time on the balcony. The one exception is the Norway cruises, where you sail in protected waters and there is a ton to see. Still, you can do it all from the top deck if you want and save your money for excursions instead.

We haven rarely done Disney's excursions, and it's easy to DIY most of the ports.

Thank you so much for the insight! I think reading the posts here have convinced me that a verandah is not necessary, especially considering it’s nearly $200 extra per night just for the verandah.

I have not had the best experiences with Disney’s excursions in my Med cruise, so definitely looking into private excursions.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Not sure if you have finalized your decision but just adding some details to consider. Let me preface this by saying we started our cruising career much like you but we have decided that we do like the veranda space and book that at minimum.

Even though having a veranda is not for everyone, and I respect that decision, you can only make an informed decision if you try. Much like your initial cruise, you didn’t know you liked it until you gave it a shot. With that thought in mind… …the Iceland/Norway would be a great opportunity for you to trial a balcony. We have done that one and Iceland/Norway, secondly Alaska and then maybe the Panama Canal are places I would say having a veranda is a huge bonus.

Those trips can have literally multiple hours of scenery going past the ship. In the Caribbean you will commonly pull into port from open ocean but one those itineraries you will be traveling up fjords to get into port (Or transiting the canal). Yes, you could make a case that you can go to the public decks to view, but sometimes it’s nice just to roll out of bed and step onto the veranda and sight see.

I’m happy to share other details or specifics about those experiences. If you haven’t tried a veranda stateroom and are trying to “justify“ doing so any of those cruises would be a great opportunity. Good luck with your planning.