Longyearbyen, have you ever cruised there with NCL?

[Ken the cruiser]

We’re planning our 2024 summer cruising schedule and have always wanted to cruise to Longyearbyen because it’s as far north as we can imagine cruising to. Has anyone cruised there before with NCL and, if so, what did you think? Is it a part of the world worth visiting?
 

BTW we’re not interested in an Expedition cruise, but rather a cruise with either NCL, HAL or PCL.

[Sea saw 56]

We cruised to Honningsvag one year and found that to be an amazing place.  I have viewed Longyearbyen on a webcam numerous times, didn’t imagine that a cruise ship might visit there.  If so, that would be a treat.  Somehow, viewing it, I imagined it to be a military site.

[TrumpyNor]

I live in north of Norway myself, and I  honestly believe that summer 2023 will be the first time NCL visits Longyearbyen. So I don't think you will receive any "productive" answers here in the NCL forum. Some friends of us did a Norway and Iceland cruise with P&O cruiseline a few years ago, and they loved it. Only complaint was that because of the size of the ship, they could not sail close to land around Spitsbergen except when docking in the small town of Longyearbyen, and therefore viewed most sights from a far distance. (I have done an expedition cruise there myself in 2019, and because of a small ship with only 110 passengers, we could sail "up close" almost everywhere - and used the "life boats/RIB" to get ashore in even the smallest of places). 

So to SEE more of the Spitsbergen/Longyearbyen region, then an expedition cruise is the only way to go when it comes to crusing. If you just want to "HAVE BEEN THERE" - then a "normal" cruise ship is sufficient....

These photos I have taken myself, when doing the expedition type cruise around Spitsbergen (the arctic island where Longyearbyen is the "capital) that you are NOT interested in doing... 😉

(But yes, I must admit that I missed the "luxury" that I am used to from a "normal" cruise ship)... But well, I guess this comes to wanting to have the cake and eat it too.... 😁

 

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, TrumpyNor said:

I live in north of Norway myself, and I  honestly believe that summer 2023 will be the first time NCL visits Longyearbyen. So I don't think you will receive any "productive" answers here in the NCL forum. Some friends of us did a Norway and Iceland cruise with P&O cruiseline a few years ago, and they loved it. Only complaint was that because of the size of the ship, they could not sail close to land around Spitsbergen except when docking in the small town of Longyearbyen, and therefore viewed most sights from a far distance. (I have done an expedition cruise there myself in 2019, and because of a small ship with only 110 passengers, we could sail "up close" almost everywhere - and used the "life boats/RIB" to get ashore in even the smallest of places). 

So to SEE more of the Spitsbergen/Longyearbyen region, then an expedition cruise is the only way to go when it comes to crusing. If you just want to "HAVE BEEN THERE" - then a "normal" cruise ship is sufficient....

These photos I have taken myself, when doing the expedition type cruise around Spitsbergen (the arctic island where Longyearbyen is the "capital) that you are NOT interested in doing... 😉

(But yes, I must admit that I missed the "luxury" that I am used to from a "normal" cruise ship)... But well, I guess this comes to wanting to have the cake and eat it too.... 😁

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your insight! Very cool pictures!! We were looking at the July 2023 NCL itinerary as an example. Princess also has one in 2023.  It will be interesting to see what itineraries, if any, will be offered in July 2024. We saw the Oceania Marina has a pretty cool 2024 itinerary, but we’ve had some bad experiences with O, so we’re waiting to see what NCL and/or Princess has to offer. 

 

[Cruise Wonderland]

I believe NCL goes to Greenland for the first time in 2022, and to Longyearbyen for the first time in 2023. All these itineraries are on NCL Star.

 

So it is unlikely that you can find any reviews from the NCL forum at this stage. But you can try to search from the reviews of other mainstream cruise lines such as Princess, Holland America, MSC as they have sailed to there before.

[casofilia]

@Ken the cruiser

 

I agree with the earlier comments about next year being the first NCL visit to Longyearbyen.   We are on the 23rd July 2023 cruise from Reykjavik-Tromsø and looking forward to the visit there.

 

I presume you have looked at https://www.ncl.com/nz/en/port-of-call/cruises-to-Longyearbyen-Spitzbergen

Not a lot there so far but I am sure there will be more as time goes on.

[AryMay]

Here is a great YouTube channel to get a feel for what life in Longyearbyen is like:  Cecilia Blomdahl Videos. 
 

Cecilia and her boyfriend live on Svalbard and her interesting videos show what daily life is like on the island. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Thanks everyone for your feedback! When we contacted NCL a few weeks ago asking when the Star's possible summer 2024 Artic itineraries might be posted, the person we talked with suggested around August. If anyone is interested, here's the 2023/2024 port schedule I'm currently checking every so often. Right now, only the Oceania Mariana has actually booked port dates.

 

Longyearbyen Cruise Ship Schedule 2023 | Longyearbyen Cruise Port Schedule 2023 (cruisetimetables.com)

 

[TrumpyNor]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks everyone for your feedback! When we contacted NCL a few weeks ago asking when the Star's possible summer 2024 Artic itineraries might be posted, the person we talked with suggested around August. If anyone is interested, here's the 2023/2024 port schedule I'm currently checking every so often. Right now, only the Oceania Mariana has actually booked port dates.

 

Longyearbyen Cruise Ship Schedule 2023 | Longyearbyen Cruise Port Schedule 2023 (cruisetimetables.com)

 

This is the OFFICIAL port website for Longyearbyen, with all scheduled arrivals listed. However only for the current year at the time, it seems. 

https://portlongyear.no/arrivals/

 

For your information: Cruiseskip means cruise ship, and Passasjerbåt means "smaller boat with passengers". 😉

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

This is the OFFICIAL port website for Longyearbyen, with all scheduled arrivals listed. However only for the current year at the time, it seems. 

https://portlongyear.no/arrivals/

 

For your information: Cruiseskip means cruise ship, and Passasjerbåt means "smaller boat with passengers". 😉

I saw that one, but as you noted it was only for 2022. I like the one I posted as I have found cruise ships in most cases seem to have to reserve their arrival "slot" before they actually post an applicable itinerary. Not sure how true that is, but I've seen the same occurrences in the out years at other ports around the world.

[FLBeachwalker]

If you do go to Longyearbyen please look at excursions to Pyramiden.  It is a1&1/2 hr boat trip north to an abandoned Soviet mining settlement.  It is a virtual ghost town as though people fled and left all behind.  Schools, musical instruments, apartments, equipped kitchens.   More than I can describe fully here.  Utterly amazing!  It is a beautifully preserved “community” and the residents loved their lives there.

I don’t know how to upload photos but I have so many.   We went in July and it was freezing!!

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, FLBeachwalker said:

If you do go to Longyearbyen please look at excursions to Pyramiden.  It is a1&1/2 hr boat trip north to an abandoned Soviet mining settlement.  It is a virtual ghost town as though people fled and left all behind.  Schools, musical instruments, apartments, equipped kitchens.   More than I can describe fully here.  Utterly amazing!  It is a beautifully preserved “community” and the residents loved their lives there.

I don’t know how to upload photos but I have so many.   We went in July and it was freezing!!

Here’s how to upload some of the pictures that are currently in your device’s Photo Gallery.

 

1. Open a new post in the thread you’re interested in posting to, like this one. Add the text you would like to add.

 

2. Then click on “choose files”, then “photo library”, at the bottom of your new post . Then select the photos you want to upload.
 

3. Now, once they’re uploaded to the bottom of your new thread, here’s what you do. Put the cursor anywhere in the new posting you want to Insert a particular picture, then click on the Insert link present in that particular picture. It’s pretty easy. If you want to remove a picture from the pool of pictures you loaded, just click on the X.

 

Hope this helps.

[TrumpyNor]

6 hours ago, FLBeachwalker said:

If you do go to Longyearbyen please look at excursions to Pyramiden.  It is a1&1/2 hr boat trip north to an abandoned Soviet mining settlement.  It is a virtual ghost town as though people fled and left all behind.  Schools, musical instruments, apartments, equipped kitchens.   More than I can describe fully here.  Utterly amazing!  It is a beautifully preserved “community” and the residents loved their lives there.

I don’t know how to upload photos but I have so many.   We went in July and it was freezing!!

Or to Barentsburg - another Russian mining town in Svalbard that is actually still "open" with people living/working  there.

(Excursions to Barentsburg or Pyramiden would of course only be possible after Russia has stopped their war acts in Ukraine and all sanctions has been lifted).

These photos from Barentsburg I took in 2019:

 

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[Ken the cruiser]

Fast forward to today and I noticed on June 18, the Star visited Longyearbyen. Just curious if there is anyone on the Star that would be able to share some of their experiences while they visited the area? 😁

[linaka625]

Does anyone know why Princess and HAL have removed this port from their itineraries?