Huntingdon1701

I was there two weeks ago in MSC's Seaside, which is a comparable size. She docked, as did the Epic alongside her. But if there's a third ship there as well, Getaway may well have to tender as there wasn't much space left with the two of them there. I'd go with the confirmation documents for now. Most tour providers will be keeping an eye on ships and know if there are changes that need to be made. (Some of them know before the cruise line tells passengers!)

Yes, I was on that second one, and we were all very nervous after hearing of your experience. We ended up missing two ports but still very pleased I made it there. Worth giving it another go, if you can.

You don't say. I was talking about the port in Iceland, which is the subject of this thread. The Star did two trips to Greenland from Iceland last year, rather than the more usual Iceland to Norway trips.

She's doing both itineraries in 2024. Maybe they haven't uploaded that r/t Capetown one yet, or you could adjust the date a bit to see if it's happening a different month. There was a recent review from the Jade doing one of these itineraries - https://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/editors-corner/south-africa-cruise-review-dave-monk?fbclid=IwAR0FjiXXkyT66aWIvbNOyX19Mbb822OFvm2pwiXDlh_y2u1AUUdBZOzp3ok

Not on the Star's Greenland cruise last year - we docked. It may vary depending on if other ships are in. The dock was big enough to take a larger ship than the Star so I would think Prima would just fit in. My documents for this August say we dock in Isafjordur, as the Star did.

I think Sea Pavillion is an option on some of the Fantasia Class? I seem to recall it on Splendida. Just off Seaside and the other option would be the Pan-Asian/Sushi restaurant as you say.

Just off Seaside's caribbean itinerary. There is not a lot of consistent shade there and I can't see where you could move a lounger to in order to get any. There are small eating areas either side which are shaded but they are upright chairs. The reliable alternative is the cabanas which booked up fast. It could be worth emailing the concierge in advance and seeing what prices are like and laying early claim. I suspect it will be more than $35 though.

The shorter cruises can be booze cruises, and I had a bad experience with that on P&O. However, I did a four-day one on Virtuosa last year in Yacht Club and it was great. The only minor downside was that the staff don't get to know you as well, but they're so attentive it's not really a negative. The fact that you can stay on board longer for disembarkation day also makes it feel a bit longer.

My hotel in Athens was happy to print mine for me. They also arranged for someone to come and test me in the hotel on the way back - it looked like most of the main hotels were bought into that offer. You should be ok. You're right that it's three full days before sailing for testing out of Athens. But I've also been on other cruises where they were fine just seeing an email version (although haven't tried that on NCL).

Thank you! And annmarz.

Thanks for all the useful information. I'm boarding on the 25th July. Was there any kind of priority boarding in Reykjavik for latitudes members? Or was it just based on arrival times at the terminal?

It's sold out, but as Birdtravels says it can open up again. That happened to me - disappeared 12 days ago and then suddenly popped up again. Needless to say I went ahead and booked immediately. Keep checking, and hopefully you'll get lucky. Another option might be to check places like viator and the specialist cruise excursion companies, as they often offer identical excursions, and can be cheaper.

Just got upgraded for Star's Iceland & Greenland Cruise on Monday - inside to Balcony (BA) for lowest possible bid (£125 per person). Good location for the new cabin so very happy. Would have cost about £1200 to pay the difference directly.

Yes, and not looking forward to that. Personally, I'm hoping they rethink the approach. However, that's not currently in place and hasn't been there to shape past history, which is what the question was about.

First and last night, then a few in the middle - often sea days but not always. I tend to look at the MDR menus before making a decision.

Started sailing as a solo guy in mid-30s. Absolutely fine experience - it's what you make of it really. I'm not very sociable, but go to the shows and chat to people on excursions. Other than that, find a quiet lounger with a book. Give it a go. He may get hooked.