When in May 2023 Paul and Carole announced their first group cruise, on Sky Princess, from Southampton to Norway, Denmark and back, my interest was aroused. Copenhagen was the first non-UK place I ever visited by myself, back in 1985. I’d always meant to go back but never got round to it. And although Southampton is a long way from Melbourne, I could combine this cruise with seeing friends and family. So in August 2023 I signed up. To qualify as a group cruise Paul and Carole needed 30 people to sign up; in the end they got 170!

Twenty-one months later, May 16 2025, I’m in Southampton for the eve-of-cruise get-together. Then after a good night’s sleep it was off to the ship, check-in and once on board off to the Vista lounge for group registration and a chance to meet more fellow travellers. Each day we had exclusive use of this lounge from 1.30-3.30, with excellent service from the staffed bar, with a different activity each day, e.g. a ‘How well do you know Paul and Carole?’ quiz to see who’d been paying attention to their videos.

By default our group was assigned a dining time of 5.30p.m. with a section of the Soleil dining room being assigned to us. This was great: we were effectively on a cruise for 170, not 3,660 (the ship rated capacity). No one was obligated to eat here; if you wanted to eat later, in the buffet or at a speciality restaurant you were of course free to do so. Those of us who are P&C Patreons (financial supporters) were each invited to dine with Paul or Carole on one night of the cruise.

The cruise was meant to include four port stops: Kristiansand and Oslo in Norway, and Copenhagen and Skagen in Denmark, with sea days at the beginning and end of the cruise. For weather reasons we had to skip Skagen so got an extra sea day. Here’s a quick summary of our three port visits; lots of other websites cover them in more detail:

Kristiansand

This was my first visit to Norway. Kristiansand, Norway’s fifth largest city, was an easy walk from the ship. I got to see the city centre, 1885 cathedral and railway station. The brightly painted buildings near where the ship was docked are a credit to those who commissioned and designed them.

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Oslo

Oslo is the capital of Norway. I could have done better here. I’d booked a ticket for the hop on/hop off bus, intending to do two circuits, the first to get an overview of the sights, noting those to stop off on the second circuit. The full circuit takes ninety minutes. Having made a rather leisurely start to the day I realised once on the bus that I’d only manage one circuit if I was to be sure of being back on board by the stated time (3.30). By alighting at one stop and walking to the next I did get to see the Opera House, Parliament, University and National Theatre, plus lots more from the bus. Next time, if ever …

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Copenhagen

Here members of our group cruise had the option of taking a coach for an extended visit to the Tivoli Gardens; all aboard time wasn’t until 8.30p.m. I chose to do my own thing. Cruise ships dock a fair way from the city with a free shuttle bus running to and from the Orientkaj metro station, opened in 2020. From here I got a train to the city centre (24DKK, A$5.72, £2.75). 27,000 steps later I’d visited the National Gallery, the Royal palace and after a quick visit to the Tivoli Gardens walked along Strøget, to the historic Nyhavn. From there I walked to the Vor Krelsers Kirke (Church of our Saviour) to see its famed 400-step spire built in 1752. The last 150 steps go round the outside of the spire and, no, I didn’t climb them!

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Then back to the ship for two full days at sea with plenty of onboard activities and entertainment. A great trip! Many thanks to Paul and Carole for being such good hosts, to Dan, their travel agent, who did all the admin, and, as ever, the first class Princess crew.

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Map from thecruiseglobe.com. Distance travelled by ship 1,922 Nm, 3,560km