Fjord cruises.

I hate being a passenger on anything. Being a passenger on a thing that goes up and down for a week would be hell on earth.
Mrs Zip would love to do a fjord cruise.It would be an ideal 60th birthday present.
I went from Italy to Greece overnight on a boat and that was fine.
How much does a modern boat in the north sea move? Would I be seasick on day one and then get better or just endless days of misery?
I’m also not fond of casinos or cabaret but I do like a nice view.

For want of a better way of putting it – do some research. If the North Sea is doing what it’s famous for then any ship will move. You can help yourself by making sure do you don’t get on a cruise that has full days at sea (would imagine that’s easily done on a fjord cruise) then look at how much of the trip will actually be on the open sea.

FWIW, I’ve done one cruise, for my Mum’s 60th. Was doubtful but it was a great trip, helped by someone in the know choosing the right cruise line for us. Really nice ship with interesting start, port visit and finishing points. No sea days either

How much does a modern boat in the north sea move?

It depends on the weather and if they can use their stabilisers etc – certainly enough to make people sick.   Some people get used to it after 2-3 days, but some never do.  Tiredness and dehydration contribute to sea-sickness so it can be a vicious cycle.

There are sea sickness patches (like a mini nicotine patch) worn behind the ear which make a huge difference.

Alongside deciding if a cruise is for you in terms of sea sickness and being kettled, decide if you want to be part of the pollution problem of cruise ships in fjords.

My only other contribution is that whilst I found Norway lovely (though not as remote as I’d been expecting unless you go a long long way north), my only negative experiences were around cruise ship crowds when we ended up near cruise ports around disembarking time. Think of it like Snowdon – basically a great place. But you’ve seen pictures of people queuing to have their 5 mins on the peak. In their minds eye they were expecting solitude and a rugged feeling of something special about being at Wales’ highest point. Instead they got a queue and a feeling of being part of a sausage factory. Walking up Snowdon at peak tourist time seems to me to be a great preparation for the cruise experience. Going to places that should be amazing if it wasn’t for all the cruise passengers….just like you.

I did one years ago, although it was a very old boat not a swanky new one. It was not smooth 😂 I was sick the first night then mercifully got used to it & was ok after that – could feel the boat swaying up and down as I lay in bed at night, kind of like a hammock, was quite soothing actually 🤣 Some people on board didn’t get used to it though, there was always someone at the shop buying seasickness tablets!

Partner and her friend went, through a force 8 storm*, the smaller the boat the worse the consequences, I’m so glad I decided not go too. The rest of the holiday was apparently excellent.

*her WW2 merchant navy grandfather was unimpressed

Thanks, all I shall think of another present, stay tuned for a scenic alps by train thread.

My parents did one and enjoyed it.  They flew to norway and the boat went up and down the coast so not much time in open sea.  Dad gets seasick but not on that trip.  they were in their 80s tho

Have a look at Hurtigruten cruises. It’s a long established ‘bus’/cargo service that goes up and down the Norwegian coast, but is now popular as a fjord-hopper and they also do swankier cruises around the world. I also get seasick thinking about boats but I did one leg on the Hurtigruten a couple of months ago between ski weeks. I think I was on board for 20 hours and it was fun with five stops in between so I didn’t even bother with a cabin, but I don’t think I’d cope with several days on a ship although they do lectures and other stuff during the voyage as well.

Scenery is gob-smacking, was flat calm, good food, longer stops at places like Tromsø so you get to see somewhere too.

My only issue after being on a boat is that I felt the ground swaying for weeks afterwards.  Seems that after I acquired my sea legs it took a long time to get my land legs back. 🐦

I had to go on a cruise once to help look after my disabled mother in law.

It was awful, like being trapped in a floating cross between Butlins and a shopping mall, while being forced to take part in an eating competition.

That was a Royal Caribbean massive thing that barely moved, other than in the direction intended.

I suggest you reconsider, taking the environment into account also.

Weekend in Margate perhaps?

I worked on cruise ships for 9 years.

Most of the time out of the UK.

Norway was some of the best cruising. The views are amazing.

A modern ship on the North Sea in summer, will barely move, proper blows in June, July, August are pretty rare.

Also, the ship will spend a lot of time in the Fjords which are very sheltered.

Norway is very expensive and it’s a fairly cost effective way to get to see it.

Partner and her friend went, through a force 8 storm*

*her WW2 merchant navy grandfather was unimpressed

I’m not surprised. Shirley any fule nose that force 10 is Storm.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale#:~:text=where%20v%20is%20the%20equivalent,be%2023%20in%20the%20scale.

iirc it was one sea day to travel Southampton to Bergen in Aug 2008, similar from southern Iceland to a very wet Belfast. No issues with ship stability on our 11-day cruise.

I’m not surprised. Shirley any fule nose that force 10 is Storm.

TBH I didn’t know that, and her grandfather*, wasn’t one to be phased by a little inclemental weather. Even so. I had made my peace with the world on a ferry to Ireland, in the lee of a gale, and have no plans to ever go back to sea again.

* was on two boats that were sunk, and received a wound to his face that need plastic surgery.

Cruises are pretty toxic in many ways but Hurtigruten looks OK, plus I know a couple of guides.  I’d skip the southern bit and go north.

The weather can be pretty choppy in the summer too, but the number of days with >4m waves is a lot lower than the winter.

Just come back from a cruise to the Fjords.

You will only really feel the ship move if you’re high up and at either end.  And then only whilst in the North Sea.   Ask for a cabin midships and low down and you won’t feel any movement

Did one last August and the sea was like a mill pond most of the way up and whilst we were up there. The weather was great, got a good sun tan most days.
Wife and youngest went a couple of weeks ago and stayed in inside berth. The North sea was a touch rough at times. I don’t think she will do that again. We normally have a balcony as a minimum as we spend a fair bit of time in the cabin.
( we’re not alcoholics so not taking the “drinks” package means we can afford to go for a nicer grade of cabin 😉 )
Its nice to sit on your balcony whilst watching the scenery as you go through the Fjords.
Going again end of August so hope it’s like last year.

It was awful, like being trapped in a floating cross between Butlins and a shopping mall, while being forced to take part in an eating competition.

That was a Royal Caribbean massive thing that barely moved, other than in the direction intended.

Truly horrid things, but Hurtigruten cruises are for a completely different client, they’re smaller ships and are much more inclined towards the environmentally conscious.
I’ve never seen the point of cruises, although my folks did a European river cruise and loved it, but I’ve come across to the idea of doing an Arctic cruise, either Alaska or Norway/Scandinavia, purely because of the scenery and wildlife.
There might be extra expense involved, though, ‘cos an actual camera with a decent zoom lens might be worth adding to my phone camera… 😁

Got dragged on one by my parents a few years to celebrate their anniversary. It didn’t go that well, they’re now divorced.

Experience for me wasn’t too bad. It rained in Norway for pretty much the whole time but Geiranger was stunning. It was a Cunard ship which was basically a standard car ferry design expanded to add a bingo hall and take more passengers. Food was good. Annoying amount of time spent trying to flog their own stuff and tours.

No issues in rough seas; the ship didn’t roll but did adopt an impressive list in the wind. At times the pitch and heave was very noticeable so you’d want a cabin in the middle rather than the bow if you’re prone to getting motion sick.

It’s a relatively cheap way of seeing a lot of Norway in a short space of time. Once you get away from the crowds around the ports it’s fine.

was basically a standard car ferry design

Hate to be pedantic but a car ferry is so far away from a cruise ship, they are completely different things in so many ways.

Cruises…. a form of modern slavery…

We did hurtigruten one way up Norway coast, much better than I thought. (My first cruise ever)

Constantly changing excellent scenery, smallish boat that wasn’t heaving with people and crap tourist facilities (had lounge, cafe, lecture theatre,  bar, SMALL gym, etc, it was no las blackpool) could get off for a walk/local coffee most days at port stops, expeditions, lectures, great food, very good staff, cabin smallish but perfectly comfy and functional.

*review and book (esp limited numbers) expeditions/trips when you book the trip, esp exciting ones as they fill up.
* buy beers in supermarkets and smuggle on , then they are only eye wateringly expensive.

for me 7 ? 8 days was enough and the return is pretty much the same backwards for what I can see but I’d have to say I enjoyed it.

I’ve done the Newcastle > Stavanger > Bergen ferry a few times (such a shame they stopped the route) and it can be very, very rough. I don’t get at all seasick so it isn’t an issue (I quite like it), however, I found that everything ‘moves’ for days after getting off.

I have never been on a ‘proper’ cruise ship though so I have no idea what they are like in comparison.

A modern cruise ship will be a lot more comfortable than a ferry.

Ferry’s tend to be pretty wobbly due to their design.

The most dangerous form of mass transport is the ro-ro ferry. If things go wrong it tends to be a disaster.

Hate to be pedantic but a car ferry is so far away from a cruise ship, they are completely different things in so many ways.

I didn’t expect someone to take that slightly sarcastic comment seriously – this isn’t a forum on the intricacy of cruise ship design. It was intended to reflect on the generic and boring layout inside.

We did  an 18 hour leg on a Hurtigruten boat tbis March – as others have said, it was just fantastic. 🙂

Also did the Glacier Express on the same trip, which was aldo amazeballs, but I think the boat was better, YMMV. 🙂