sharonann24

I would like to start booking a couple of the NCL tours for our trip to Iceland and Norway this summer. My question is when will I be charged for them? I would like to reserve the slot but don't know if my credit card will get charged automatically, or whether the card is charged once we are on board. It has been a long time since I have booked a ship tour other than the one I did last minute when we were actually on board (it was for a post cruise tour in Ft. Lauderdale).

Prima does not have Taste or Savor. It has Hudson's and the Commodore room, along with the buffet and Local Grill. My presence at this point is Hudson's. We never do the buffet for dinner. How was Hudson's for breakfast? And I am actually thinking of Hudson's for embarkation day.

I plan on making reservations for the MDR for our July trip on the Prima. Although there will only be three of us my father likes the comfort of knowing we have a reservation. We prefer a later seating so hopefully that will help. We just got off a Celebrity cruise where we also had a set seating for the MDR and there were nights in which a preferred restaurant had long lines. To this point--is there one MDR that is preferable? I think they both have the same menus.

I am also considering the NCL tour for this port in July. We have done the Hop On Hop Off buses in other ports and they are fun too. Does the one in Bergen include the headphones so you get the "mini tour" experience?

We always dress for dinner, in that I prefer to wear a dress or skirt for dinner after a full day of travel/sightseeing or just pool time. On our last NCL cruise people tended to dress a bit more "formally" (long pants for men, smart casual for ladies) in the specialty restaurants and MDR. On our last cruise with Celebrity there were two dressier nights and we did see that some took it up a notch with glitter, sparkle and even a few men in tuxes. All in good fun and all about what you are comfortable with!

Warm is fine with us! We absolutely froze in early December with the wind. We did the museum then and it was gorgeous. There are a couple of NCL excursions that actually look pretty reasonable in cost in comparison to those they offer in Iceland and Norway. It is the last port so last in my planning schedule.

Thanks for all of the port information. I am just starting to plan our excursions for our July 27 sailing. The distance to the Anne Frank house is about right. We did a very long walking tour of Amsterdam when we got off our Viking River Cruise in December and I logged over 25,000 steps that day as we walked back and forth! I also know that ticket sales only open on the first of the month so we have time. The locks are amazing. We didn't see them in Amsterdam but I will make it a point to watch as we sail in. We also just got back from our Panama Cruise canal and saw those in action which was fantastic! What a way to launch (no pun intended!) my first year of retirement! We may never top it!

That also goes for the pools and hot tubs. We were in the Haven where teens and tweens were in the small pools with nary an adult in sight.

If we are at the city port, it is all good. We stayed at the Movenpick which was in a walking distance to the center. I know we can walk to Anne Frank's house which we missed. Frankly it was so COLD in December with the wind we are looking forward to strolling and enjoying the sites outdoors!

We are on the NCL Prima.

Where is the cruise port location in Amsterdam? I am reading that it is about 45 minutes from the city. When we were on Viking in November we were in walking distance of the center, albeit freezing! I don't see a shuttle listed or even an Amsterdam on your own excursion as there is for Bruges and Brussels. I would prefer not to do a tour since we are going to focus on the Iceland and Norway stops for those organized excursions.

Is there a walking or jogging track on the Prima?

Good to know! Thanks.

Thank you!

We are on the Prima in July and have the regular beverage package included. We upgraded to a premium package when we were on Celebrity last month because our traveling companions had definite preferences with certain alcohol (read: vodka!) choices and we could only go to 10.00/beverage, plus it did include specialty coffees. I see the regular package goes up to 15.00 a drink which might satisfy us, but does not include coffees. Not sure if we want to go for the full Premium upgrade. Is there an option just to add coffees? We have not been on NCL since before the pandemic. Princess used to have a coffee card but not sure about NCL. I am trying to price it out to justify the premium package...

That is my question as well. We are traveling with my father and have two specialty dinners. I have been put in charge of all of those reservations. I am hoping with a smaller party of three and with a later dining time (730-8pm) we might stand a better chance.

I think you also should consider some of the additional perks you get with the Haven, such as the bar, restaurant, concierge service, private sun deck, priority check in, etc. We bid on the Haven when we were going to Bermuda, not even really knowing what it was all about. I think we put in $500 bids pp and we got it. Boy were we delighted because it was in July and the main pool deck was loaded with children and "spring breakers". We love a party just as much as the next person, but the Haven was definitely a welcome respite. We had the spa room and it was great. We are going non Haven on the Prima this July because we are traveling with my father who would not go that route. I dream of going to the Haven again.....Bid what you are comfortable with and see what happens! Happy Anniversary.

I am also going to add that pre pandemic my husband and I were aboard the Pearl when it had mechanical issues, forcing us to miss our Italian ports. We had to fly home from Barcelona. While people were panicking, we felt confident that we would be taken care of, since we had the NCL included airfare. We were able to get home fairly easily, even when there was a last minute switch at the airport.

Our departure city will probably be Boston--fingers crossed.

We are in the process of booking the Prima July 27 trip to Iceland and the air is included. We are traveling with my father (who will be 94) and I really am leaning towards coming in the day before. We just returned from a Celebrity cruise where we arrived on embarcation day in Ft. Lauderdale and had no problem, but we had a very early morning flight. We also did a Viking River cruise in which air and transport was included. I am being cautious however.

Ok pardon my ignorance but what exactly is the difference between the S and M class ships? We just got off the Edge last week and had a great time. Now we are considering the Silhoutte. What really is the difference? We will probably have the balcony/verandah option and no specialty restaurants.

There were only about 5-6 children on the Edge February 13-24. That week is traditionally prior to the winter school breaks. To be honest, we rarely saw them, even around the pool. Never in the MDR even at breakfast or lunch. I wish I could have said the same for the flight back to NY on February 24! I love kids, but it seemed as if every family had three-four kids, all with their own carry ons, etc. I had a flash back to traveling with my own three! I think the itinerary would have something to do with the number of families traveling as well.

We just got off the Edge and although since this was our first Celebrity cruise and I have no basis for comparison I would definitely agree with all of the positive comments about the Edge. I like some sun but my husband definitely needs the shade so it was challenging at times to find loungers close together that fit the bill. We did sit in both of those shadier areas near the Oceanview and the Solarium. Many times my husband would just retreat to the Solarium, which was restful. I would sail Celebrity again, but I am not sure which ship would be the best follow up. You did have some nice ocean views from Cafe al Bacio and we tried to get a window seat whenever possible. I agree that the Martini Bar is rather dark and it would have been nice to have windows there, but then, I did not design the ship! LOL.

I just read your review and it was so thorough and the pictures were great. We were your "neighbors" on deck 7 in 7162 so I am sure we passed along the way. We probably will not be cruising again until next year as we are settling into a retirement rhythm. This was my retirement trip and a bucket list item as well. I am eyeing Australia and New Zealand...but perhaps the British Isles.

Yes it does, and it was impressive and a little startling on the same time!