Iceland/Faroes and Norwegian Fjords

We have recently returned from a fourteen day cruise sailing out of Southampton. As expected from Celebrity Cruise line, everything from boarding to disembarking again a fortnight later was slick, efficient and friendly. We couldn’t fault any services given by the staff of the ship. The food on the whole was very good. We ate in the Moonlight Senata restaurant most of the time but on the odd occasions when going to the other inclusive restaurants and bars around the ship, things weren’t quite as good. Some of the food on offer in the Ocean View restaurant was not as hot as it should be.

The only real irritation was being asked to leave the Sky Observation Lounge (a public area) at 16.30 hrs. on a number of days to make way for a ‘private function’ . In our view a private function should not take place in such a high profile area where passengers were relaxing , having a drink and enjoying the outlook. In fact on one occasion, we were asked to leave this area where we had been sitting watching ‘sail away’ from a very pretty port – sail away on this occasion was 16.00hrs. It wasn’t just us, the area was quite busy with people watching sail away and the view coming again into open sea. What a pity. If private functions are a must, a less passenger orientated venue should be adopted. Very bad public relations. This happens on other Celebrity ships, we understand from other disgruntled cruisers.

The theatre held some lovely shows. We would make a habit of going to the Theatre immediately after dinner and were very rarely disappointed. The entertainments director was lovely and made herself always available any time around the ship. Without doubt the ship’s staff and crew were faultless and deserve much praise.

The destinations on this cruise were very interesting no matter what the weather. In fact we had better weather in Iceland and most of the visit to the Faroe Islands than we had in the Fjords! The information given on the ship was comprehensive regarding the ports of call and excursions. However, we had already booked The Golden Circle online privately and also in Gerianger we had booked the Viking boat 1 hour trip online as well and had absolutely no trouble at all with the services of either Company. In fact when we arrived, dripping wet, at the Viking boat, we were told that the ‘water’ falling on us was not rain, but liquid sun! Despite this we were given an hour of very wet but enjoyable fun onboard. We had been to two of the destinations in the Fjords but found by exploring in a different direction but not on an excursion this time, it was a joy just to enjoy the magnificent scenery.

Gratuities we found to be the usual mild irritation but we notified Guest Relations desk on the second day onboard that we wanted to deal with gratuities privately and not through the Ship’s and this proved to be no problem at all. We like to reward the staff who have dealt personally with us while on the cruise.

Certainly a lovely itinerary and well worth a visit.