Norway/Iceland/Scotland vs. Just Norway?

[Momof2inCT]

I would love some opinions and advice re: which cruise we should book for next summer (I know, it's late, but getting my husband to vacation plan is very difficult). We have 2 kids - (6 and 4) and we're bringing my awesome MIL. We have 2 weeks give or take to travel for my husband's 40th birthday!!

1. Weekend in Copenhagen plus 12 night Norway/Iceland/Scotland on Deck 1 (small 2 porthole room) and back home (or maybe a day in London).
2. Weekend in Copenhagen (maybe longer) plus 7 night Norway Fjordland Cruise on Deck 5 with a bigger window, then a stopover in Iceland on the way back using Icelandic Air.

While we LOVE cruising with Disney (we have allergies and special needs and Disney is so great with that), I'm a little worried about being on a cruise for 12 nights. That's a long time. Also, I do love just driving around Europe and getting to know a particular city/area. However, we have that allergy thing, plus my oldest just hates change and moving around is hard for her.

And unfortunately, we can't afford that 15-20k price tag for a more expensive room on the cruises...

Please help! Thank you, kind Disboarders.

 

[Quellman]

I'll say it, you have a lot of variables in play and only you know how you will feel with that kind of itinerary. Port intensive itineraries can really make for a rough week and long days. If Europe is a once or twice in a lifetime, you may want to consider what you get out of it. Since the itineraries are largely port intensive, I think you can survive quite well with a 2 porthole cabin, putting 5 people in there is another manner....

What particularly concerns you about 12 nights? Lack of things to do? You'll see that you still have different menus each night and different shows, plus the usual tons of daily activities. You also have a lot of ports, not all of which you need to do an excursion on, since that too can really add $$$.

Figure out what it is you want to see and what memories you want to create and go with that option.

 

[Momof2inCT]

Thanks. We'll be getting two rooms! I am a little worried about getting bored. I was a little bored on our 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruise a few years ago, but maybe that's more me having a hard time relaxing than anything else. My kids had a great time.

We have family in Europe, so this is not a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We looked at cruising Europe with DCL but we went with Celebrity because the price difference paid for some really nice shore excursions. Beautiful ship, and better food. And yes, they were wonderful about dealing with food allergies. As mentioned above, Europe is very port-intensive. We welcomed the sea days to relax and unwind between ports.

My DMIL was wonderful too, but 5 people in one tiny stateroom would have been way too cozy.

 

[Momof2inCT]

We looked at cruising Europe with DCL but we went with Celebrity because the price difference paid for some really nice shore excursions. Beautiful ship, and better food. And yes, they were wonderful about dealing with food allergies. As mentioned above, Europe is very port-intensive. We welcomed the sea days to relax and unwind between ports.

My DMIL was wonderful too, but 5 people in one tiny stateroom would have been way too cozy.

How was the Celebrity kids' club?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I would love some opinions and advice re: which cruise we should book for next summer (I know, it's late, but getting my husband to vacation plan is very difficult). We have 2 kids - (6 and 4) and we're bringing my awesome MIL. We have 2 weeks give or take to travel for my husband's 40th birthday!!

1. Weekend in Copenhagen plus 12 night Norway/Iceland/Scotland on Deck 1 (small 2 porthole room) and back home (or maybe a day in London).
2. Weekend in Copenhagen (maybe longer) plus 7 night Norway Fjordland Cruise on Deck 5 with a bigger window, then a stopover in Iceland on the way back using Icelandic Air.

While we LOVE cruising with Disney (we have allergies and special needs and Disney is so great with that), I'm a little worried about being on a cruise for 12 nights. That's a long time. Also, I do love just driving around Europe and getting to know a particular city/area. However, we have that allergy thing, plus my oldest just hates change and moving around is hard for her.

And unfortunately, we can't afford that 15-20k price tag for a more expensive room on the cruises...

Please help! Thank you, kind Disboarders.

Join the fantastic cruisers on our 7/13/16 Copenhagen to Dover cruise, Iceland is fantastic, 12 nights go in a flash, they lay on extra entertainment, guest performers, more menus on a 12 night cruise, the kids will love it, you really relax, all my cruises recently have been 12 nights or back to backs where possible, seven nights is far too short. Look at this blog.
http://torussiawithmickeybars.blogspot.co.uk/
It's this summer from Dover to Dover to the Baltic but gives you the idea. Do join us.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Clearly I'm partial to this since we did the 11 night Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise this past summer with DCL I'd choose the 12 night cruise and yes indeed add Copenhagen to the beginning. We did 2.5 days in CPH and loved it - a top highlight of the trip and also added London after the cruise and then went to Paris for a full day as well. I realize not everyone gets a lot of vacation so I'm fortunate in that regard. Iceland was absolutely amazing and I never felt the cruise was too port intensive as a couple days we didn't arrive until later or at least we arrived at reasonable times. I agree, the time goes by so fast but we really loved it. We were gone for a little over 3 weeks total and it flew by. We also flew on Iceland Air and enjoyed our experiences. In addition we had a 9C cabin on deck 2 and no issues at all (we actually really like deck 2 when we "need" to stay there) and the price difference on our sailing to upgrade to verandah was INSANE and I booked opening day.

So I vote for #1!

Heather

 

[lucky1]

You have to ask yourself what ports do you want to see and base it on that.. The stateroom for us is just a room, Since we knew we were going to be spending time in the room on our 9 night Norweign Fjord cruise, we didn't pick an expense cabin. Similar to Alaska, we knew we would be out and about, so we opted to spend the money on the Excursions. One thing we did prior to our 9 night cruise was the Adventures by Disney (ABD) pre Curise in Copenhagen. Which was about 3 days and it was Fantastic and also they can help watch out for Special needs and Allergies. I really thought about doing the 11 night Norway, Scotland and Iceland cruise, given if we flew all that way, we wanted to see more, but the propose of this trip was to spend more time in Norway ports.

 

[Pens Fan]

Well, I'm basically going to tell you exactly what Heather did . We were also on that 6/29 cruise and it was amazing in every way. We spent three nights in Copenhagen before the cruise and honestly would have enjoyed at least one more day there. Whatever option you decide on, plan some time there - just an all around beautiful city. Our cruise was 11 nights, and I found it to be the perfect mix of land and sea. We were never bored while at sea, and never felt that the ports overwhelmed us. Iceland was magical. It's the only word I can think to describe it. We loved everything about the time we spent there, so much so we definitely want to return for a week or even longer for land based vacation. Norway was great. We enjoyed the museums in Oslo and took the Lysefjord cruise in Stavenger - gorgeous! Kristiansand was a nice little stopover, but nothing all that special IMHO. We also were completely taken in by Kirkwall, Orkney Islands. We were fortunate enough to book a private guide (some book up a year or so in advance!) and spent the most fascinating day touring archeological digs, numerous neolithic sights - even a chance to go inside Maeshowe a neolithic chamber over 5000 years old.

Having run out of vacation time at that point, we only were able to overnight in London before returning home. Counting travel time, we were away 17 days and the time just flew. None of us were ready for the trip to end. I would have to vote for #1 - obviously I'm partial - but it will give you nice mix of ports while leaving the transportation up to the Magic.

 

[DISGRL13]

Well, I'm basically going to tell you exactly what Heather did . We were also on that 6/29 cruise and it was amazing in every way. We spent three nights in Copenhagen before the cruise and honestly would have enjoyed at least one more day there. Whatever option you decide on, plan some time there - just an all around beautiful city. Our cruise was 11 nights, and I found it to be the perfect mix of land and sea. We were never bored while at sea, and never felt that the ports overwhelmed us. Iceland was magical. It's the only word I can think to describe it. We loved everything about the time we spent there, so much so we definitely want to return for a week or even longer for land based vacation. Norway was great. We enjoyed the museums in Oslo and took the Lysefjord cruise in Stavenger - gorgeous! Kristiansand was a nice little stopover, but nothing all that special IMHO. We also were completely taken in by Kirkwall, Orkney Islands. We were fortunate enough to book a private guide (some book up a year or so in advance!) and spent the most fascinating day touring archeological digs, numerous neolithic sights - even a chance to go inside Maeshowe a neolithic chamber over 5000 years old.

Having run out of vacation time at that point, we only were able to overnight in London before returning home. Counting travel time, we were away 17 days and the time just flew. None of us were ready for the trip to end. I would have to vote for #1 - obviously I'm partial - but it will give you nice mix of ports while leaving the transportation up to the Magic.

We are doing the 12 night similar cruise next summer. What are the must does in Oslo and can you do them on your own? Also in Iceland or on your way to and from Iceland did you see any whales? Must does in Reykjavik? Thanks so much!

 

[DISGRL13]

Clearly I'm partial to this since we did the 11 night Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise this past summer with DCL I'd choose the 12 night cruise and yes indeed add Copenhagen to the beginning. We did 2.5 days in CPH and loved it - a top highlight of the trip and also added London after the cruise and then went to Paris for a full day as well. I realize not everyone gets a lot of vacation so I'm fortunate in that regard. Iceland was absolutely amazing and I never felt the cruise was too port intensive as a couple days we didn't arrive until later or at least we arrived at reasonable times. I agree, the time goes by so fast but we really loved it. We were gone for a little over 3 weeks total and it flew by. We also flew on Iceland Air and enjoyed our experiences. In addition we had a 9C cabin on deck 2 and no issues at all (we actually really like deck 2 when we "need" to stay there) and the price difference on our sailing to upgrade to verandah was INSANE and I booked opening day.

So I vote for #1!

Heather

Would love to hear about your favorite things to see in Oslo and Iceland!!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Well, I'm basically going to tell you exactly what Heather did . We were also on that 6/29 cruise and it was amazing in every way. We spent three nights in Copenhagen before the cruise and honestly would have enjoyed at least one more day there. Whatever option you decide on, plan some time there - just an all around beautiful city. Our cruise was 11 nights, and I found it to be the perfect mix of land and sea. We were never bored while at sea, and never felt that the ports overwhelmed us. Iceland was magical. It's the only word I can think to describe it. We loved everything about the time we spent there, so much so we definitely want to return for a week or even longer for land based vacation. Norway was great. We enjoyed the museums in Oslo and took the Lysefjord cruise in Stavenger - gorgeous! Kristiansand was a nice little stopover, but nothing all that special IMHO. We also were completely taken in by Kirkwall, Orkney Islands. We were fortunate enough to book a private guide (some book up a year or so in advance!) and spent the most fascinating day touring archeological digs, numerous neolithic sights - even a chance to go inside Maeshowe a neolithic chamber over 5000 years old.

Having run out of vacation time at that point, we only were able to overnight in London before returning home. Counting travel time, we were away 17 days and the time just flew. None of us were ready for the trip to end. I would have to vote for #1 - obviously I'm partial - but it will give you nice mix of ports while leaving the transportation up to the Magic.

I even get excited hearing about your adventures every time!

Heather

 

[Pens Fan]

We are doing the 12 night similar cruise next summer. What are the must does in Oslo and can you do them on your own? Also in Iceland or on your way to and from Iceland did you see any whales? Must does in Reykjavik? Thanks so much!

In Oslo, we booked a private guide to meet us at the ship. We still used public transportation ( and our feet!) to get around, but it was very nice to have the guide. You could easily do it on your own, but having never been there before we decided to go with the guide. I highly recommend Rick Steves guide to Northern European Cruise Ports as a reference. Our favorites were the Viking ship museum, the Folk museum and the Norwegian resistance museum. My son is a history buff and he was in heaven at the latter. He bought a huge stack of books at the bookstore there, as well.

In Reykjavik we used Discover Iceland (discover.is) both days for touring in "super jeeps". On the first day we did South Peninsula and Blue Lagoon tour . We did not take the time to soak in the Blue Lagoon, but just stopped there for a while to look around. That saved us some time to walk around downtown afterwards. The second day we did the Golden Circle Glacier tour. Amazing!! We saw all the sights on the Golden Circle, but also went jeeping out on the glacier. It was a day we will never forget. My son (17) has a picture of the jeep as his wallpaper on his phone. It was definitely the highlight of the trip for him. Both guides were wonderful, as well.

In Akureyri, we used Inspiration Iceland and did the Lake Myvatn - volcanoes and spa tour. We had a shorter day there, as we didn't arrive until mid day, so we couldn't take a soak in the hot springs, but saw incredible scenery - waterfalls that will take your breath away, thermal areas (very similar to Yellowstone), the break between the two continental plates, just another all around great day.

In Kirkwall we used Orkney Aspects and as I noted in my earlier post - it was amazing!

We did see some whales on the ship, but I can't recall where we were at the time.

Ahh, memories! To all of you taking this journey next summer, soak it all in! You are in for not only incredible scenery, but just delightful hospitality. We felt so welcome everywhere we went. Have a great cruise!

 

[aggiedog]

I'll be the voice of dissent. Do the 7 night cruise and spend the rest of the time/money on land portions of the trip. You will see so much more of Iceland than what you can on a port day. We did 2 days in Iceland then 3 in Copenhagen prior to our 7 day Baltic cruise. I loved our cruise, but I also loved our stays before. In fact, I loved Iceland so much I'm going back in March with a friend for 5 more days. You can also do overnight tours in Iceland that will drive you to the far side of the island with the glacier bay. We did a very long, amazing southern coast tour. Copenhagen was great, and would be easy with little kids. It's super flat, easy to walk around, and your kids will most likely love Tivoli. You can also take the train to a large open air viking museum about 30 minutes out of town.

 

[Momof2inCT]

Thanks for the advice! It's for my husband's 40th birthday and so he made the executive decision to do the 12 nighter. (From a man who hates both vacations and spending money, he sure loves his Disney cruises...)

I noticed a lot of people were booking private excursions vs. waiting for the 120 day window to come out and booking DCL excursions. What are the pros and cons for booking private? Thanks!

 

[aggiedog]

Go private all the way. We did several private excursions and two DCL excursions on our trip. Hands down the private tours were better. Fewer people, more flexibility, we could tailor what we wanted to see, at the pace we wanted to see it. The cost was somewhere between way less to comparable to DCL prices. Get on trip advisor and look around. Contact companies and see how responsive they are.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Would love to hear about your favorite things to see in Oslo and Iceland!!

Hi! In Oslo we paired up with another family that we are friends with and went exploring together. I had previously been to Oslo so I was familiar with it and the excursions. We bought the Oslo City Pass that gave us free entry into numerous museums as well as free transportation to the places we wanted to visit. We used the mobile app and then once connected to wifi (right outside where we docked there was a store with free wifi) we activated our city pass since it was valid for 24 hours. We made a list and agreed we wanted to visit the Holmenkollen Ski Jump so walked around Oslo for a bit, then found the subway to the Holmenkollen area and explored that area. Everyone loved it and they weren't expecting too (although again I had been there and my friend was pushing for it too). We took the train back into town and then went to the Sculpture Park (the name is escaping me now) and then to the Viking Ship Museum and then lastly the Folk Museum and Stave Church. We took public transportation back to the ship area and thoroughly enjoyed it all. It was very easy to get around and it was a great way for our DS and their DD to experience true Oslo.

In Iceland we booked with Reykjavik Excursions (www.re.is) and highly recommend them. They were very reasonable and offered departures at several times. Several in our cruise thread also used them and we became friends with another couple and we went together. We arrived around 12noon to Reykjavik and knew we wanted to do the Golden Circle tour and they had a departure leaving around 430pm and I want to say we returned around 930pm. Remember it doesn't really get dark there at the time of the year so that was amazing. The next day we used them for a trip to the Blue Lagoon and we got off on the return trip back to the port, downtown so we could explore more and eat some of the "famous hotdogs". After that we returned to the ship. We all thoroughly enjoyed the excursions and children under a certain were free which kept it very reasonable and lots cheaper than DCL. The mini bus and busses used by www.re.is had free wifi as well.

For Akureyri we booked with Saga Travel and they created a tour based on what we wanted to do. We went with both families mentioned above and went to Godafoss waterfall and then also went to the Christmas House (Christmas Village) then after we were dropped off in tour we did more exploring on our own.

Hope this helps,
Heather

 

[DISGRL13]

In Oslo, we booked a private guide to meet us at the ship. We still used public transportation ( and our feet!) to get around, but it was very nice to have the guide. You could easily do it on your own, but having never been there before we decided to go with the guide. I highly recommend Rick Steves guide to Northern European Cruise Ports as a reference. Our favorites were the Viking ship museum, the Folk museum and the Norwegian resistance museum. My son is a history buff and he was in heaven at the latter. He bought a huge stack of books at the bookstore there, as well.

In Reykjavik we used Discover Iceland (discover.is) both days for touring in "super jeeps". On the first day we did South Peninsula and Blue Lagoon tour . We did not take the time to soak in the Blue Lagoon, but just stopped there for a while to look around. That saved us some time to walk around downtown afterwards. The second day we did the Golden Circle Glacier tour. Amazing!! We saw all the sights on the Golden Circle, but also went jeeping out on the glacier. It was a day we will never forget. My son (17) has a picture of the jeep as his wallpaper on his phone. It was definitely the highlight of the trip for him. Both guides were wonderful, as well.

In Akureyri, we used Inspiration Iceland and did the Lake Myvatn - volcanoes and spa tour. We had a shorter day there, as we didn't arrive until mid day, so we couldn't take a soak in the hot springs, but saw incredible scenery - waterfalls that will take your breath away, thermal areas (very similar to Yellowstone), the break between the two continental plates, just another all around great day.

In Kirkwall we used Orkney Aspects and as I noted in my earlier post - it was amazing!

We did see some whales on the ship, but I can't recall where we were at the time.

Ahh, memories! To all of you taking this journey next summer, soak it all in! You are in for not only incredible scenery, but just delightful hospitality. We felt so welcome everywhere we went. Have a great cruise!

Thank you Pens Fan!! Great information! I have written it all down and now to make some plans! Thanks again! I am so looking forward to this trip!

 

[DISGRL13]

Hi! In Oslo we paired up with another family that we are friends with and went exploring together. I had previously been to Oslo so I was familiar with it and the excursions. We bought the Oslo City Pass that gave us free entry into numerous museums as well as free transportation to the places we wanted to visit. We used the mobile app and then once connected to wifi (right outside where we docked there was a store with free wifi) we activated our city pass since it was valid for 24 hours. We made a list and agreed we wanted to visit the Holmenkollen Ski Jump so walked around Oslo for a bit, then found the subway to the Holmenkollen area and explored that area. Everyone loved it and they weren't expecting too (although again I had been there and my friend was pushing for it too). We took the train back into town and then went to the Sculpture Park (the name is escaping me now) and then to the Viking Ship Museum and then lastly the Folk Museum and Stave Church. We took public transportation back to the ship area and thoroughly enjoyed it all. It was very easy to get around and it was a great way for our DS and their DD to experience true Oslo.

In Iceland we booked with Reykjavik Excursions (www.re.is) and highly recommend them. They were very reasonable and offered departures at several times. Several in our cruise thread also used them and we became friends with another couple and we went together. We arrived around 12noon to Reykjavik and knew we wanted to do the Golden Circle tour and they had a departure leaving around 430pm and I want to say we returned around 930pm. Remember it doesn't really get dark there at the time of the year so that was amazing. The next day we used them for a trip to the Blue Lagoon and we got off on the return trip back to the port, downtown so we could explore more and eat some of the "famous hotdogs". After that we returned to the ship. We all thoroughly enjoyed the excursions and children under a certain were free which kept it very reasonable and lots cheaper than DCL. The mini bus and busses used by www.re.is had free wifi as well.

For Akureyri we booked with Saga Travel and they created a tour based on what we wanted to do. We went with both families mentioned above and went to Godafoss waterfall and then also went to the Christmas House (Christmas Village) then after we were dropped off in tour we did more exploring on our own.

Hope this helps,
Heather

Once again thank you Heather!! You are a wealth of information! I am very excited for our trip next summer!! Thanks so much!