Southampton to Reykjavik, port or starboard?

[potatopotato]

Considering the 11 night trip on the Prima from Southampton to Reykjavik next year. Definitely want a balcony, but not sure if it's better to be on the port or starboard side (or if it doesn't matter). Looking at the map view of the itinerary, it seems like both sides have their advantages depending on where the stop is. Any advice?

[dexddd]

We just did the TA. Not sure of your stops but Iceland didn't matter.  It was an industrial port where you had to walk five minutes or take a shuttle to meeting point.  Few taxis.  First day we walked to church as a group and taxi back.  Second day was private excursion.

[Turtles06]

10 hours ago, potatopotato said:

Considering the 11 night trip on the Prima from Southampton to Reykjavik next year. Definitely want a balcony, but not sure if it's better to be on the port or starboard side (or if it doesn't matter). Looking at the map view of the itinerary, it seems like both sides have their advantages depending on where the stop is. Any advice?

 

If you're asking which side of the ship is better when you are in a particular port, it's generally the case that a ship does not always dock the same way in the same port each time.  (While you're in port, the crew may be doing drills on one side of the ship, and next time it may be on the other.  Etc.)     Also, I don't know your itinerary.  Some of your ports may be tender ports. 

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

   Also, I don't know your itinerary.  Some of your ports may be tender ports. 

Since we are on an 11 day Prima cruise from England to Iceland this summer, I assume this is the itinerary.

 

London (Southampton), Brussels (Brugges), Amsterdam, 3 in Norway, Maloy, Geiranger, Alesund, and finally 3 in Iceland, Akureyi, Isafjordur, and Reykjavik (an overnight before disembarkation.)

[ontheweb]

6 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Since we are on an 11 day Prima cruise from England to Iceland this summer, I assume this is the itinerary.

 

London (Southampton), Brussels (Brugges), Amsterdam, 3 in Norway, Maloy, Geiranger, Alesund, and finally 3 in Iceland, Akureyi, Isafjordur, and Reykjavik (an overnight before disembarkation.)

Hmm. I copied those from the NCL site. I did not remember Maloy and looked at the brochure from which we first saw the cruise and then booked it with our TA. It had Bergen, not Maloy as the first stop in Norway.

[TrumpyNor]

We did an NCL cruise from Copenhagen to Iceland (incl stops in Norway and Scotland along the way9 a few years ago, and honestly - it did NOT matter if your cabin was located on the starboard or portside of the ship. When "out at sea" there is "nothing to see but sea". And sailing in/out of ports, then the views were the same level of interesting and/or nice on boths sides of the ship - and when not, then you would have the "nice side" either when arriving at a port or when leaving the same port.

Edited December 24, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We did this trip in August and it doesn’t matter which side of the ship you are on.  But we certainly enjoyed having a balcony.  We saw beautiful rainbows every day.

[jingle5616]

If it is one way to Iceland, the starboard side will give you a better chance at seeing the northern lights to the north.  Otherwise, I concur with the above.  I took this journey a few years ago in the fall and we had one night where we say the lights for a couple of hours.  

 

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, jingle5616 said:

If it is one way to Iceland, the starboard side will give you a better chance at seeing the northern lights to the north.  Otherwise, I concur with the above.  I took this journey a few years ago in the fall and we had one night where we say the lights for a couple of hours.  

 

The cruises doing this itinerary on the Prima are in August. I do not think seeing the Northern Lights in that timeframe is realistic.

[nannie312]

Do you get to see the Fjords on this cruise?  

[ontheweb]

32 minutes ago, nannie312 said:

Do you get to see the Fjords on this cruise?  

The ports in Norway on this cruise are Bergen, Alesund, and Geiranger.

[complawyer]

dear potatopotato. in the long run it doesnt matter. for a long time i used to insist on the port side, as i was convinced that when the ship docks, that side will be the one with the view, while starboard lets you see the water.  in some ports, the only things you see are the industrial ports. 

 

even if  youre on the port side with a view of the city(ies) as the ship turns around to leave, you'll probably see the same thing from starboard. so now, after25 ncl cruises, im more concerned about the cabin itself, as opposed to which side of the ship its on. 

 

also, you can always go onto the upper decks for view. i often do just that to take pictures.

 

hope this helped your decision

[YVRteacher]

We saw minke whales off the Starboard side😉

 

(both sides are great!)

[TrumpyNor]

On 12/25/2022 at 4:01 AM, jingle5616 said:

If it is one way to Iceland, the starboard side will give you a better chance at seeing the northern lights to the north.  Otherwise, I concur with the above.  I took this journey a few years ago in the fall and we had one night where we say the lights for a couple of hours.  

 

I live in the Arctic (above the Arctic Circle) where we do see the northern lights rather often (mainly between September and April because the nights are darker at that period) and I have never ever heard that you must look to the north to see the northern lights. You simply just look UP....

My living room windows faces towards the west (not north at all), and I have countless photos of the northern lights that I have taken from them.

Edited May 22, 2023 by TrumpyNor
Adding information.

[ollienbertsmum]

13 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

I live in the Arctic (above the Arctic Circle) where we do see the northern lights rather often (mainly between September and April because the nights are darker at that period) and I have never ever heard that you must look to the north to see the northern lights. You simply just look UP....

My living room windows faces towards the west (not north at all), and I have countless photos of the northern lights that I have taken from them.

Oh so lucky you.  I went to Tromso with my youngest daughter in February.  We saw some wonderful lights, the best being at the top of the cable car.  I had always said that in my next life I would be Swiss due to their efficiency  Since visiting Norway I want to come back into a country where I could see Northern Lights on a regular basis.  

[schmoopie17]

The only time I can recall port vs. starboard making a difference was on our November TA when we arrived in New York after several long sea days. Being on the port side allowed us to roll out of bed, go on the balcony and see Lady Liberty welcoming us back home. Quite an impressive sight.

[complawyer]

lady liberty is an impressive sight, regardless of where you're seeing her. what's most astonishing is being on liberty island and seeing just how massive this statue is.