What happens when you send a health reporter on a cruise? He might just become a regular | Canada Voices

As someone who has been writing about infectious diseases for more than four decades, the idea of taking a cruise never really crossed my mind.

In public-health circles, massive cruise ships have long been looked upon derisively as little more than floating petri dishes, a reputation that was magnified at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first large outbreak of the novel coronavirus outside China occurred on the Diamond Princess in February, 2020. In the months that followed, many ports prevented cruise ships from docking, leaving crews stranded at sea. The industry took a beating.

The pandemic, while not quite over, is largely forgotten. Cruising is back and more popular than ever with more new ships launching every year.

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My partner and I boarded the Queen Anne, Cunard’s first new ship in 14 years, in Southampton, England, for a seven-day voyage across the North Sea to Norway and Denmark, and back again. It was a great way to visit my favourite city, Oslo, and some relatively remote communities in Nordic countries.

Cunard’s brand is British formality and elegance and it was evident at every turn, though not oppressively so. The public areas, like the Royal Theatre, were grand, but not grandiose. Staff were deferential. The preboarding material made it clear we needed formal clothes. This was an opportunity to live it up, even be a bit poncy. (You pick up Britishisms quickly when surrounded by Brits.)

But first I had to assuage my germaphobia.

The knock against cruise ships is that they create ideal conditions for spread of pathogens, including airborne viruses, the nasty bugs that linger on surfaces such as norovirus and food-borne illnesses such as salmonella.

First observation: While the Queen Anne is the size of a village, with 3,000 passengers and more than 1,000 crew, it doesn’t feel crowded, nor cramped. It is also equipped with medical-grade HEPA filters, which you don’t always find in other shared spaces such as convention centres, hotels, schools and offices. Hand-sanitizer dispensers are everywhere, including staff doling it out at the entrance to the buffet.

According to the Cruise Lines International Association, fewer than 1 per cent of passengers contract norovirus (nicknamed the “cruise ship virus.”) With more than one million cases a year on terra firma in Canada, those are better odds than in daily life.

In fact, the attention to sanitation and cleanliness is reassuring. The public areas are kept impeccably clean and staterooms are cleaned thoroughly daily.

There’s also ready access to fresh air, with the sea never more than a few metres away.

Relieved that germs were being kept at bay, I set out to enjoy my first cruise. As much of Europe boiled with temperatures up to 40 C, we were on a “coolcation.” The temperature on the ship’s pool decks was usually comfortably in the low- to mid-20s, and it wasn’t much higher in the ports of call.

The array of available on-board activities was dizzying. Everything from bingo to karaoke, shuffleboard to pickleball, 10 kinds of dancing (ballroom, line, disco and more), yoga, nightly movies and even high-level lectures on the history of Vikings and counterterrorism.

The Queen Anne is not exactly a party boat (the clientele is largely older and well-to-do). But, as Cunard states in their promotional material, “a world of drinks awaits you.”

The Sky Bar specializes in spritz, the Cabana in rum, the Commodore Club in martinis, the Chart Room in signature cocktails, Churchill’s Cigar Lounge in whiskies, the Carinthia Lounge in wines, the Golden Lion in craft beers and, of course, you can drink anything poolside.

One of the most British aspects of a Cunard cruise is that the class system is obvious. The more expensive suites – called Queen’s Grill and Princess Grill – have their own dining rooms and restricted pool areas. The plebes in Britannia class (like us) settle for the rest.

Still, if you want to dress up, there are formal venues. Cunard’s “gala nights” mean dressing to the nines, with tails and ball gowns.

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We mostly opted out of the over-the-top gala evenings and nightly entertainment (from music shows such as a big band and eighties rock to comedy shows), because they didn’t appeal to us and many seemed sold out from the get-go.

We enjoyed dining at the Britannia Restaurant – no reservations needed if you’re willing to share a table with strangers. We did that often, and it proved to be surprisingly pleasant. People who take cruises like to travel, and have many travel tales to tell.

As a first-time cruiser, I quickly learned that there are two types of passengers: Those who don’t stray far from the ship, and those who head out to explore at every port of call.

We fit in the latter category.

The ship offers a wide variety of excursions but, for the most part, we planned our own outings prior to boarding.

In Kristiansand, a city in southern Norway, we explored its charming whitewashed wooden houses and waterfront promenade, just a short walk from the ship. So too is the lovely city beach. Another highlight in the old city is the Kunstsilo, an old silo transformed into a contemporary art museum, where the most spectacular work of art is the building itself. We also visited Lindesnes Lighthouse, built in 1655, which offered stunning views of the coastal landscape. There, we booked an excursion through the ship because it was a 90-minute drive away.

Next stop was Oslo, where the ship docked for two days. Thankfully, because there is much to see in Norway’s cozy capital. An eminently walkable city with 1,000 years of history, Oslo is known for its spectacular museums.

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Using public transit, we visited the Nobel Peace Center, the National Museum of Norway (home to The Scream by Edvard Munch) and the ship-shaped Norwegian Maritime Museum.

Both Deichman Bjorvika, the main branch of Oslo’s library, and the spectacular Oslo Opera House are also worth a visit. They will make Canadians envious of Norway’s investment in arts and culture.

We made sure to take an obligatory visit to a sauna. More rustic than the fancy spa aboard the ship, but more fun because you cool off directly in Oslo’s harbour. We also squeezed in a visit to a beach on Bygdoy, a peninsula easily reached by ferry from downtown.

Our final port of call was Skagen, at the northern tip of Denmark, another postcard-perfect town populated by artists and fishers. The highlight here was visiting the wild untamed landscape where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet. And you can’t go to a Danish seaside town without indulging in smorrebrod, an open-faced sandwich overflowing with seafood.

Strangely, while the trip was billed as a “Norwegian fjord” cruise, we didn’t visit the truly spectacular fjords farther up the southwest coast of Norway. An additional stop near Bergen or Alesund would have been ideal.

The good news is the 2026 version of the trip is longer (11 days) and will sail through the more picturesque fjords.

Having had the opportunity to confront and overcome my prejudices about cruise ship hygiene, and loving the otherworldliness of basking in leisurely luxury for a week, this first-time cruiser is even considering doing it all again – as long as there are compelling ports of call.

If you go

On your first day on board, you may be exhausted from long-haul travel but take the time to do a guided tour of the ship to get your bearings and learn about some of the hidden gems, such as the well-appointed library hidden among the bars.

The 11-day Norwegian fjords cruise in April/May 2026 starts at $1,929 (inside stateroom). Only water, tea and coffee are included in your fare (unless you’ve booked a top suite). The daily drinks package is US$80. If you only want soft drinks, the cost is US$15 a day. Queen Anne’s thermal pool complex features a relaxing mix of steam room, Himalayan salt sauna, cold room, traditional sauna and giant hot tub, priced at US$59 for two hours.

The writer was a guest of Cunard. It did not review or approve the story before publication.