marys350

You might want to check out Iceland Everywhere Tours website and reviews on Tripadvisor. They have some tours specifically for cruise ship passengers, including one in Grundafjordur. We have booked a Golden Circle tour with them in Reykjavik in June, 2024. Their website clearly describes their cancellation/refund policy, when ships are unable to dock/tender due to weather conditions. They also responded promptly to my email questions before we decided to book our tour. 

https://www.icelandeverywhere.is/tours-for-cruise-ship-passengers/

4 minutes ago, Magnificentmillie1 said:

I received an email from NCL this morning with changes to the itinerary. 

We are on the June 2, 2024 Prima sailing. I haven't received any notification from NCL yet. I hope that they don't change our port stop in Amsterdam.

3 minutes ago, Magnificentmillie1 said:

I noted the changes of arrival port in Holland to Ijmuiden. Does anyone know how to get from the dock to Amsterdam?

Where did you see that there is a change of arrival port to Ijmuiden? Prima is scheduled to dock in Amsterdam.

2 hours ago, helenb said:

Perhaps it's the same thing? It's called the ETA on this website.

 

https://www.etauk.uk/requirements/us-citizens

 

This site also discusses it, but just says 'in 2024' without specific dates.

 

https://uk-eta.com/eta-eligibility/uk-eta-for-american-citizens-everything-travellers-need-to-know/

 

If it has been pushed to 2025, that would be very helpful! 😉

Although the websites that you provided links for have good information about applying for ETA for travel to the United Kingdom (UK) I don't think that they are the official government website.

I believe that this is the official UK government website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta

Currently, US citizens don't have to apply yet, but that could be changing sometime before the end of 2024. You can sign up for email notifications when they update the list of countries that need to apply for ETA.

I am cruising out of Southampton in June, 2024, too and just keep checking the website occasionally.

Hopefully someone from the UK will comment on this thread.

On 3/22/2024 at 8:00 PM, LobsterStalker said:

Hey all . 

I am a frequent RCI cruiser with only 1 NCL cruise , (taken 6 years ago on Breakaway). I am wondering if NCL policy is similar to RCI with regards to price drops ? With RCI if price drops before final payment , all that is needed is a call to customer service and they will match . Is NCL the same or if it is different could you please explain.

 

Thx

Cheers

 

We are frequent RCI and Celebrity cruisers, who have booked our first NCL cruise directly with NCL.  We have gotten 5 price drops totaling $1,560 before final payment by simply calling customer service. Yesterday I noticed another price drop after final payment and called (66 days before cruise). This morning I received email confirmation that our request for $680 FCC was approved. My price watching has paid off big time! Good luck!

On 3/3/2024 at 3:27 PM, MizLizzie said:

Following this topic.  We also hope to visit. Such a beautiful place. They do have a shuttle but at present it picks up only at two inland hotels.  I wonder how available cabs would be?  We have a very short stay in Akureyri, 12-6PM.

We have already purchased our tickets for Forest Lagoon for our cruise in June. The shuttle schedule currently posted on their website is the winter schedule. Their free shuttle bus operates on a more frequent schedule starting May 18th and picks up and drops off at the Hof Center, which is a short 1/3 mile walk from the cruise terminal.

https://www.forestlagoon.is/forestlagoon-bus

The company was also responsive to my email.

Did you check the Holiday Inn Express that's in the same area as Hyatt Place Convention Center and the Renaissance?

Update as of February 12, 2024:

https://www.re.is/seismic-activity-and-volcanic-unrest-on-reykjanes/

On 1/25/2024 at 1:22 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

For the easiest way to book dining (in my opinion) use the "web version" of the app which is available in the cruise personalizer on the very first tab that comes up (summary?)...NOT the dining tab. (Strange, I know. )  scroll down just a bit and look for a VERY small text link that says "Try our web version". If you blink you'll miss it! I don't know why they tend to "hide" it such. I think it's much easier to book your dining on a larger screen such as a desktop/laptop/tablet rather than a small phone screen...but that's just me!

 

Thank you for this suggestion. I am just gold status and was able to make all of my main dining room reservations this morning for my Emerald Princess sailing for February, 2025 using the "web version" of the app. After I submitted my reservation for each day and time, it confirmed the reservations. However, I didn't receive email confirmation and I wasn't able to find a list of my dining reservations anywhere in my cruise personalizer. Any suggestions about where they should be listed? I haven't downloaded the app to my phone yet.

1 hour ago, SunnyNy said:

Thanks.  I neglected to include my dates - Aug. 28-30.  I'm finding nothing suitable under $300 even without breakfast and many of those are pay in full, non cancellable.  Back to the drawing board!

Check out Buswell's Hotel. It's a beautiful hotel, centrally located in Dublin. We booked the hotel on their website for a trip to Ireland in 2020, but unfortunately the trip was cancelled due to Covid shutdowns. Price was reasonable for Dublin. Excellent reviews on Tripadvisor.

https://www.buswells.ie/en/

Here is the official ETIAS website:

https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

25 minutes ago, Slyfox16 said:

Where does the ship dock, when it overnights in Reykjavik?

Skarfabakki Cruise Terminal.

https://www.iceland-highlights.com/cruise-ship-terminals-in-reykjavik-a-guide-for-cruise-passengers/

31 minutes ago, jkrotaru said:

How does one find private tours/excursions?  Just booked our first cruise to Norway via Holland America for end of July.  Most easy and interesting Moderate shore excursions are already full.

 

You might want to check out Norway Excursions website. We booked tours in Geiranger and Alesund for our upcoming cruise in June. You can cancel up to 24 hours before the excursion and they also offer a refund if your ship is unable to make port.

https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/

On 12/27/2023 at 1:45 PM, marys350 said:

Just sent an email inquiry to the tourist information office and will post if/when I receive a response.

I received a reply to my email this morning. Here is part of the response: "... a little bit more dredging is still required for the harbour to be regarded as safe for Norwegian Prima. I spoke with the harbour master this morning and he told me that new information regarding the situation are expected to be issued at the end of January..."

I have my fingers crossed that we will hear good news from the harbour master and that the project will be completed in time for Prima's 2024 cruises to Iceland.

Mary

3 minutes ago, CUTTERSAM said:

Do they notify you or you need to check regularly?

I check the price of my cruise daily either by checking NCL's website or using the website cruiseplum. When I have seen price drops I have called  NCL and they have repriced my reservation. If you booked your cruise through a travel agent you would have to call them if you see a price drop.

Are you flying in on the day of the cruise or a day in advance?

Just sent an email inquiry to the tourist information office and will post if/when I receive a response.

This article sounds like encouraging news. Hopefully Prima will be able to dock for our cruise in June, 2024.

https://www.cruiseeurope.com/news/news-ce-press-1695798699/

NCL's daily service charge is more expensive than Celebrity.

From NCL's website:

How much are the service charges?

For bookings made on or after January 1, 2023:

$25.00 USD per person per day for The Haven and Suites;

$20.00 USD per person per day for Club Balcony Suite and below;

From Celebrity's website:

Inside, Ocean View, and Veranda staterooms:          US$18.00 per guest, per day

Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms:            US$18.50 per Guest, per day

The Retreat:                                                                      US$23.00 per guest, per day

In July, 2023 we booked a Northern European cruise on Prima for June, 2024. Since then we have been successful in getting three price drops totalling approximately $1,100 for 2 people in a balcony cabin. Still watching....

We booked the Leonardo Grand Harbor Hotel in Southampton and plan to take a taxi to the port. My understanding is that they don't offer a shuttle to the port and that none of the hotels in downtown Southampton do.

Thanks for posting all your beautiful pictures from your stop in Ponta Delgada They bring back fond memories of our 7 day land vacation there in September, 2019. Stayed in a hotel in Ponta Delgada and hired a private tour guide for our party of 6 people for  4 days of touring all around the island of Sao Miguel. Fabulous scenery and very reasonable prices for hotels, restaurants, and tours. 

I found the following website helpful in comparing options for doing a transfer from Heathrow to Southampton for our cruise in 2024.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/heathrow_southampton.htm

For our party of four, we decided to book a private transfer with Paragon Taxis, a company based in Southampton.

Is this the information you're looking for? It's from Norwegian's website under FAQ.

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/how-do-you-contact-someone-cruise-ship