11 Things I've learnt from my first cruise

On Tuesday I returned from the trip of a lifetime to Norway. I've always wanted to visit somewhere in Scandinavia and this certainly ticked all the right boxes.

I went with my parents, 3 sisters, my Grandma and Jared on a 16 night Land of the Northern Lights cruise aboard the Marco Polo with Cruise Maritime Voyages. Apart from my Grandma who has been on a few cruises, none of us had ever considered setting foot on board a cruise ship. It seems such an old lady past time and its certainly expensive.

So why did we go? First off we were really excited by the itinerary with 8 ports of call along the West coast of Norway with amazing excursions being offered, and of course the opportunity to glimpse the Northern Lights. Second, the dates fell over my Dad's 50th birthday so it was pretty perfect for us to all be together and celebrate such a big milestone. Finally, it was something different. Like a lot of people on a budget our holidays tend to be about relaxing on a nice hot beach somewhere in Spain so this seemed like a totally new experience.

So first off a couple of reasons why you might not enjoy a cruise:

1. Being at sea is not that exciting on a ship that is adult only and definitely aimed at older people.  The couple of days we had at sea were ok because I quite like just reading and watching TV on my laptop but a lot of the onboard activities were definitely planned with an older audience in mind (eg. bridge, knitting, line dancing etc). In fact my youngest sister at 17 was the youngest person to have ever been on board the Marco Polo! So if crafting and card playing are things you enjoy then there certainly is a lot going on, but otherwise think ahead and plan your own things to do

2. Our room was basic because we opted for the cheapest room which meant we had no porthole or window. This was absolutely fine because you get what you pay for and everything was clean, functional and comfortable but it can feel a little claustrophobic.

3. I was quite sea sick on a few occasions (the North Sea is ROUGH) which I was not expecting as I have been on some scary ferry crossings and done some seriously choppy boat work on our uni's research ship but I was not prepared for this. We had swells of 14 feet which isn't that big but it was enough! Crawling to the bathroom on my hands and kneed was definitely a low point. Turns out I'm ok with the ship going side to side but not good with us rising up and dropping down. It feels like you're on a rollercoaster 24 hours a day and there's no way to get away from it. Hats off the crew who carry on performing/cooking/serving drinks like nothing is happening!

However, there are also some excellent reasons to consider going on a cruise:

4. It's very relaxing not having to worry about cooking or organising anything as once you've picked the excursions you wanted its all organised for you. As I am normally tasked with organising everything having someone else work out all the logistics for our group of 8 people was lovely.

5. There's no internet on board so it forces you to actually switch off and relax. I've read more books on board then I have in the past 6 months! Its a slower pace of life and I didn't feel that frantic rush to get stuff done all the time like I do when I'm at home.

6. Our fellow passengers were all very friendly and keen to chat to us, even though we were some of the youngest people on the ship and the crew were all exceptionally helpful and friendly.

7. As we were out at sea with very little light pollution and crew up on the bridge all night they were able to keep a close eye out for any Aurora's developing and make announcements so that you could go out and watch. This was great as you could relax and enjoy drinking in the lounge knowing that if there was something worth seeing outside, they would let you know. Otherwise you could have been sat inside oblivious because its pretty cold outside!

8. Going on holiday with anyone can be stressful and tensions can flare. We're a big family already but with Jared and my Grandma added to the mix we were a pretty large group. Conflict is almost inevitable if people spend enough time together. But being on a ship meant we could spend as much or as little time together as people wanted to. Everyone can choose how to spend their leisure time and how they want to spend their day. As a result we didn't have any arguments which is virtually unheard of for us.

9. Day drinking is absolutely a thing. You don't have to drive anywhere, you don't have to go to work. So if you want a glass of wine, or a predinner cocktail go right ahead. The drinks on board were not as expensive as I had feared (£2.40 for a medium glass of white wine, £3-4 for a really nice cocktail). Although we didn't opt for the all inclusive drinks package we did get a couple of cocktail packages which were good value. After uni I didn't think I'd ever be surrounded by people as keen on drinking all the time!

10. Like all Scandinavian countries Norway is pricey. Like £9 just for a McDonalds kind of pricey. A main meal in a restaurant can easily be £30 per person without any starters, puddings or drinks. Everything seems to be twice the price it is here in the UK so actually as it turned out our cruise was really good value for money and even with excursions worked out to be around £100 per day which is what you could spend just on a hotel.When you consider your bed, food, travel between destinations and all activities (and we did A LOT) are paid for with that money its actually one of the cheapest ways of visiting lots of places within Norway.

11. However, the best thing was waking up everyday, going up for breakfast and we would be somewhere brand new with spectacular scenery to go with it. It really seemed like a massive adventure and it was really exciting to head ashore to somewhere different each day.

Overall I would definitely consider going on another cruise, especially if I wanted to go back to Norway as I do think it was the best way to travel around. Its a particularly excellent way to visit the fjords (as you can sail up them and really appreciate them) and to travel to the far north of the country as its a long way to drive. As a young person if the itinerary grabs you and it works out cheaper than flying and staying in a hotel then absolutely go for it!