July 9, 2026, 8:18 am | Read time: 7 minutes

“Would you ever go on a cruise?” my husband asks me innocently–and is immediately met with the litany of a cruise skeptic, which he probably didn’t expect at this point. I despise cruises with a passion I usually reserve for topics I view positively. Something about the cruise concept triggers me.

Reasons Against a Cruise

Environmental pollution, the clientele I imagine on such a ship, the long time I’d have to spend with many people in a very confined space. The overcrowded pools, presumably poor performances, and the general summer camp feeling I mentally construct. The various impacts on everyone not on the cruise ship but near it. There are countless reasons why I never want to go on a cruise. Many of them are admittedly a mental construct rather than real, fact-based knowledge. Except for the environmental pollution. As well as the flood of people who spill out of cruise ships and suddenly clog entire streets. Or the landscape that the massive ships ruin. Apparently, I do have a few real, because personally experienced, reasons.

I list them all to my husband when he casually asks if a cruise would interest me. Because, as he rightly points out, shouldn’t a cruise be something for me, given that I not only love the sea but yearn for it whenever I’m not near an ocean? A cruise would give me the chance to be not just by the water but on it for many hours, days, or weeks. Good argument. My answer is still clear: “Only over my dead body.” Dramatically underscored with corresponding hand gestures and wide eyes. “Just look at how these ugly blocks ruin these pretty streets here,” I say, continuing to gesture wildly at the honestly ugly boat block at the end of the charmingly winding wooden house street in Bergen, Norway. Pretty is different.

More on the topic

TRAVELBOOK Editor Reports Things That Surprised Me on My First Cruise

Editor on the Road in a Camper “Traveling through Norway in a VW bus? Never again!”

Despite Cruise Aversion on Board a Mini-Cruise

A week later: On deck of a slightly less ugly boat block, beaming across my face, already taking in the view of the Oslofjord deeply. How in the world did I, a cruise non-fan, end up here? And how in the world can it be that I like it? Quite simply.

By Ship from Norway to Germany

Just a few days after my cruise sermon, we decided it was time to plan the rest of our Norway trip–or at least consider how and from where we wanted to return to Germany. We had planned three weeks in Norway, and we had been here for two weeks by then. The first affordable options we found didn’t really appeal to us: From Bergen, there’s a ferry to Hirtshals in Denmark. It takes about 18 hours. The cheapest option is a reclining seat. Overnight with our nearly five-year-old daughter–not an ideal plan. For an additional fee, you can book a cabin with or without a window.

The second option: back to Kristiansand and from there with the same ferry we came on: 2.5 hours, also to Hirtshals. We initially decided to take this and spend a little more time in southwestern Norway. That was okay, but also somewhat boring. Not because of the Norwegian, but because of the Danish part of this trip, which we found unexciting from the start.

I clicked through the various options for a few more minutes and finally discovered this: From Oslo to Copenhagen, about 17 hours, in a cabin. I liked that better. We had skipped the Danish capital on the way there, as we had taken the water route instead of the originally planned land route. Also, all three of us had fallen in love with Norway’s charming, relaxed capital–and could hardly wait to spend a few more days there. Not least, none of us had ever spent the night in a boat cabin–for our child and us, it sounded like the best option. So I booked–and finally looked into my husband’s laughing eyes: “You do realize you just booked a cruise?” Shame on me. Yes, I did. And I was looking forward to it.

Reality on Board the Nordic Pearl by Go Nordic Cruiseline

Even though it wasn’t a large, entertainment-laden cruise ship, the experience on board the mini-cruise by Go Nordic confirmed many of the ideas I had beforehand. My first glance at the ship immediately landed on a round-bellied, sunburned man holding a beer bottle in one hand and generously applying sunscreen to his red-burned belly with the other. Later, I saw him again at dinner, where he strutted through the room, red-faced and barely sober.

Except for this one encounter, the clientele cliché club was kept in check. Rather, the guests of the mini-cruise from Oslo to Copenhagen seemed like a cross-section of society in this region: blonde moms with their children, Indian extended families, elegantly dressed older folks, German families on their way back, and Norwegians heading on vacation. Couples in loungewear, strongly scented groups of friends in their twenties stocking up on the various sale offers in the ship’s shop, solo female travelers in their youth and men in middle age.

People, Party Atmosphere, Food, and Sea

Almost no trace of the previously proclaimed party atmosphere was found. Yes, the pool on deck was crowded. Yes, at night, loud basses from the nightclub drummed in my ears, which I wished away. And of course, there was a bit of a crowd at the buffet. And yet, the joy prevailed the whole time. Not only because my child was almost beside herself with fun at the pool, children’s area, life-sized blue monster, and fold-out bunk bed in our honestly cozy cabin. Also not just because my husband and I were delighted to stand before a buffet with plenty of seafood.

For me, it was–of course–above all the water. The endless view into the distance, which I simply couldn’t get enough of. From the deck, from the restaurant, and–because I luckily invested the roughly 90 euros more for a cabin with a window–directly from our cabin. No matter where I looked: water. Thanks to the midnight sun, even then, when my child was already sleeping soundly above me. That view alone was worth it.

Conclusion

Will I now become a cruise-goer? Probably not. Because even though I honestly enjoyed this mini-cruise and can well imagine doing such a short tour instead of a ferry again, I still dread spending a longer time with so many people on a ship. I still don’t want to be part of the masses that flow from ships into streets and push places to their limits. I also don’t want to be part of the unsightly picture that cruise ships paint at the most beautiful places in the world. And above all, I don’t want to be part of the problem that cruise ships pose for the environment. Even though there are efforts to make them more climate-friendly piece by piece (TRAVELBOOK reported), they are still environmentally harmful. This was shown, among other things, by last year’s NABU ranking of shipping companies.