Norwegian Fjords – from Trolls to Giants?

Anyone who has cruised to or visited the Norwegian Fjords will be very familiar with Trolls, they are everywhere in Norway. I came across several on my recent visit. Not so familiar is the sight of Giants in Norway, however, in less than two years there will be a Giant that will become very familiar in Norway, the brand new P&O Iona.

At just under 184,000 tonnes, she will be one of the biggest ships to sail the Norwegian Fjords, where she will spend her inaugural season in 2020. Iona is due to be launched in May 2020 and is due to go on sale to the public next month.

Iona will carry 5,200 passengers and has some groundbreaking new features for P&O, see earlier post.

Now, having recently cruised to the Fjords with Fred Olsen on their 34,000 tonne Balmoral, I may have mentioned this, this has got me thinking. Being a small ship, Balmoral can dock alongside in all the Norwegian ports, 1700 passengers can be catered for by all the reasonably small ports, and then, of course, there is the quirky little party piece that all the Fred Olsen ships do, turning 360 degree’s while in a Fjord, which is quite good fun to experience! Iona won’t be doing that, that’s for sure, she will be far too long!

I am curious as to P&O’s train of thought, introducing a fabulous new ship and spending her entire maiden season just sailing to the Fjords, why not spread her wings a bit? Whilst I loved the Fjords, it seems really limiting don’t you agree?

Secondly, this is a giant of a ship for these small ports. I doubt she will be able to dock alongside in many of the ports of call so all passengers will be required to get on a tender to get ashore, and 5,200 passengers is a huge amount of people for the ports to cater for, in addition to any other ships that may be in port on any particular day. That said, local businesses will probably be rubbing their hands in glee as it will mean higher income from visitors!

I love P&O, they are a fantastic, traditional British cruise line, offering fantastic facilities and service on board but attracting mainly British passengers are they going to be able to fill this giant lady with 5,200 passengers weekly throughout her first season, roughly 26 weeks if she is still sailing to the Fjords into October, that’s over 135,000 passengers?

Only time will tell but I will be watching with interest! Above is my dear Balmoral, docked alongside in Eidfjord, the joys of a small ship, no tenders!

For now, happy cruising folks! To discuss any cruises call me on  0330 303 8184 and I will be happy to help you, or email me at [email protected]