Modern cruise ships are destinations all on their own - with more to do than most could ever imagine. Cruise ships are virtually floating cities with resort-style amenities that cater to a wide demographic. From relaxing pool decks to adrenaline-pumping onboard thrills, there is something for everyone aboard most mega cruise ships.
In fact, the biggest cruise ship in the world, Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, can sail with upwards of 10,000 people onboard when you include crew members. The size of this engineering marvel surpasses the population of many small towns!
With so much to offer, cruising inherently attracts a wide variety of travelers. For instance, some people are perfectly content spending most of their time onboard the cruise ship itself. These cruisers are usually indifferent to the ports of call on their itinerary because the cruise ship is the destination. When you’re sailing on some of the newest and biggest ships in the world, some people see little reason to disembark.
Others, like myself, see cruising as a convenient way to visit diverse and unique destinations around the world. These cruisers are specifically booking itineraries because of their ports of call. I would consider myself a destination-focused cruiser looking to see exotic places from the comforts and convenience of a cruise ship.
When cruising, you can visit multiple destinations without needing to budget separately for accommodations, transportation, and food. In this way, cruising is also one of the most affordable ways to travel. The cost-effectiveness of cruising is one of its biggest appeals, especially compared to the cost of taking a trip on land.
While you might not have as much time in a specific country, you get to see different places each day of your cruise. You can also visit destinations that are hard to reach by land, expanding your horizons even more! There are fewer logistics involved when cruising too. This provides you with more time to actually relax, as you should feel rested on a vacation.
With all this in mind, my husband and I were torn between taking a land-based trip to Norway and booking a cruise through the fjords. While we were tempted to take a land trip to Norway, we ultimately decided against it due to the high cost. Here’s why I decided to plan a luxury cruise to Norway this summer instead of taking a land trip, including how much money we saved.
I have traveled to more than 60 countries in the last two decades, mostly by cruise ship
With over 45 cruises under my belt, I’ve sailed to unique destinations all over the world onboard cruise ships. I’ve been fortunate to visit diverse, culturally rich countries around the globe.
Some of these are destinations that most people would never consider cruising to, such as South Africa, Madagascar, Israel, China, Russia, Senegal, Morocco, and Brazil. I even had a cruise scheduled to visit Egypt this summer; unfortunately, this itinerary was canceled due to the conflict in the region.
For me, the comforts of a cruise ship are unparalleled when visiting places off-the-beaten path. I cannot tell you how nice it was to return to my cozy cabin with clean water and a real toilet when sailing around Africa. My cruise ship staterooms become a home away from home, transporting me from one country to the next.
Above all else, I’ve found that cruising is one of the cheapest ways to travel to multiple countries in one journey. I love to see the world on a budget, and the convenience of cruising simply cannot be beaten. With transportation, accommodations, and food included in the cost of your cruise, there is little else that you need to budget for.
For example, my husband and I took a 7-night cruise to Thailand and Malaysia for only $470 each with Royal Caribbean when we were in college. Considering we were on a tight budget as broke college students, this was more feasible than booking a land-based trip to these destinations.
Last summer, my husband and I started planning a trip to visit the fjords of Norway
Norway has been at the top of my travel list for a few years, as my husband and I both have Norwegian heritage. In fact, Norway was the first country I ever visited in Europe with my grandparents back in 2007. Naturally, I have special memories of the country, as it opened my eyes to the thrills of international travel. After visiting again more than 10 years ago with my parents, I’ve been looking for the right time to return to Norway.
Furthermore, my husband and I love to escape to cooler climates. We live in Florida, where it is uncomfortably hot and humid in the summer! While I had always known that Norway was expensive, I didn’t realize just how pricey it was to visit the Scandinavian country.
After we started looking at the price of flights, hotels, and rental cars, the cost quickly started to add up. For one week in Norway, the cost of hotels added up to be more than $2,000. These were modestly priced hotels - that cost does not even include 5-star hotels!
In addition, we would need to rent a car to explore the region and visit the fjords. With so much natural beauty in Norway, we wanted to see more than the city of Oslo. According to my calculations, renting a car for the week was close to $500. This didn’t even include the cost of fuel, which was around $6.50 per gallon when we visited. As you can imagine, the cost of fuel could easily blow your budget.
Even more, the cost of food in Norway is astronomical compared to other places in Europe. Based on our research, the average meal for two in Norway is around $130 USD. My husband and I are foodies when we travel, so we don’t like to be stingy when it comes to dining on vacation. For instance, you won’t find us buying sandwiches at the gas station!
Even lunches are expensive in Norway, costing around $70 for two people at a typical restaurant. Eating multiple meals at a restaurant each day in Norway would be pricey on a land trip, costing more than $200 daily (based on our calculations). For 7 nights, we planned to budget for $1,400 on food alone.
Overall, we were already looking at spending more than $4,000 just on hotels, a rental car, fuel, and food for one week in Norway. This did not even include any tours or excursions, which we were wanting to do as well. Airfare to Norway was also expensive, costing around $2,200 per person for the dates we wanted to visit.
Read more: How to save money on a cruise: 23 money-saving tips
Based on our preliminary research, we decided to look at the cost of cruising instead
Shifting away from the land-based trip, we started to look at cruises to the fjords of Norway. To my surprise, a budget of around $4,000 would allow us to cruise on a more luxurious cruise line like Celebrity Cruises. Normally, we book cruises on Royal Caribbean because that is the most affordable option. We could even book a balcony cabin instead of squeezing into a tiny interior stateroom.
One of the biggest perks of cruising to Norway would be the ability to actually sail through the fjords. On a land-based trip, we would be driving around the fjords instead, venturing from town to town. If we wanted to sail through the fjord itself, we would need to book independent excursions.
As anticipated, these day tours are also expensive. It would be more convenient to travel on a cruise, so we could enjoy the scenery right from the ship. I also learned that cruises to the fjords of Norway will be essentially banned in the future because of climate laws. So, there was no time like the present!
For $4,200, my husband and I could book a deluxe porthole balcony cabin on one of Celebrity Cruises’ newest ships. It didn’t take long for my husband or me to be convinced that booking a cruise to the Norwegian fjords was a better choice than a land-based trip. Having a balcony would allow us to take in the natural beauty of the fjords right from our cabin!
We pulled the trigger and booked the 7-night cruise on Celebrity Apex, visiting ports of call like Bergen, Flam, and Olden in Norway. We also had one stop in Brugge, Belgium - a country we had never visited before and one we were excited to explore.
Additionally, the cruise we booked departed from Southampton, England, which is the closest major cruise port to London. Since this is one of our favorite cities in Europe, we decided to fly to London a few days early. We couldn't resist a few days of vacationing in London!
The icing on the cake, surprisingly, was the cost of airfare. The airfare to visit London was about $300 cheaper per person, saving us around $600 for both of us. It was also less complicated for us to travel to London, as it would only require one layover. All of the itineraries to Norway had multiple layovers from our small airport in Florida. We were saving both money and time with this decision!
Read more: The costly cruising mistake newbies make planning their first cruise
Overall, we had a fantastic vacation to Norway and never regretted booking the cruise
After jetting off to Europe, we boarded our ship in Southhampton, England for our highly-awaited cruise. We visited Belgium for our first port of call and had a lovely day exploring the historic town of Brugge. After spending the day in this country, we sailed north to Norway for our three ports of call in the fjords.
The first morning in Norway, we woke up early to grab a coffee and take in the scenery of the fjord as the ship sailed to Flam. Being able to see the fjord from the sea was breathtaking. I have only visited Norway on land before, so I had never seen the fjords from this perspective.
Even better, we sailed out of the incredible Sognefjord fjord at sunset, and our captain did a 360-degree turn at the waterfall. My husband and I sipped on cocktails for two hours while our ship slowly made its way out of the fjord. It was one of the most beautiful sail aways I had ever seen! This was something we would have not experienced on a land-based trip.
We traveled on the Flam Railway for our first day in Norway, which is considered one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. Other ports of call included Bergen and Olden. We hiked up to the unbelievable Briksdal glacier in Olden, one of the prettiest sights I've ever seen. Of course, sailing to and from Olden was another stunning sail away.
Additionally, the coastal landscapes of Bergen also blew us away. The captain told us this was his favorite sail away during our itinerary and it did not disappoint. We appreciated taking in the breathtaking, panoramic views from the comfort of our cruise ship.
During our time exploring the ports of call, we agreed it was the right choice to book a cruise to Norway instead of taking a land-based trip. Our time in Norway was unforgettable. Our money was better spent on a cruise that allowed us to both relax and explore simultaneously,
Even more, we appreciated the convenience of cruising to Norway
Perhaps the most worthwhile aspect of booking a cruise to Norway was the efficiency compared to a land-based vacation. We were able to see more of Norway by sailing on a cruise than if we had decided to drive around the region. Instead of spending hours in the car trying to visit the fjords, our cruise ship transported us between ports while we slept each evening.
According to my calculations, we would have spent 20 hours in the car driving from the capital city of Oslo to our itinerary’s ports of call. Although road-tripping can be fun, 20 hours in a small car isn’t exactly my idea of a relaxing vacation. Why spend hours on the road when you could be on a luxurious cruise ship decompressing instead?
Being able to wake up in a new port of call each day provided the ultimate convenience for this trip. We didn’t need to pack and unpack our suitcases constantly while making our way from one city to the next. Without spending time struggling with navigation and logistics, we had more time to actually relax together onboard.
Between the restaurants, spa, and entertainment, Celebrity Apex had so much to offer in terms of relaxation. Each evening, we enjoyed delicious meals together, reminiscing about the day's adventures over craft cocktails. We also booked a couple’s massage one evening, which was rejuvenating for both of us. Finally, Celebrity Apex had a variety of entertainment daily which included extremely talented acrobatics, aerialists, and vocalists.
I would not hesitate to book another cruise to the Norwegian fjords, as I am convinced it’s the most beautiful place in the world. The picturesque villages coupled with the natural beauty of the fjords is unbeatable. Being able to see these destinations from the comforts of our cruise ship was the best choice for me and my husband. Saving money made the decision even better!
Overall, it was cheaper to book a luxury cruise with Celebrity Cruises to Norway compared to a land-based vacation. Although our vacation was not necessarily cheap in the end, our time and money was better spent on a cruise.
Allie Hubers
Allie Hubers has been cruising since she was a tiny toddler. What started as a yearly vacation with family quickly turned into a passion for travel, cruising and adventure. Allie's been on over 45 cruises all over the world. She even studied abroad on Semester at Sea, sailing the world on a ship while taking courses for college and visiting 4 continents.
