NCL Prima: Pre-Cruise NYC/Reykjavic, Dining, Solo in Haven - Northern Europe - A cruise in review

[maren91]

Well like many of my shipmates, I'm currently home battling COVID so thought I would use this time to pay it forward with some information about my trip to help others with their planning. A little about me. 40yF from Los Angeles currently going through a mid-life crisis leaving corporate America and went back to school to become a Physician Assistant and currently in my last semester of didactic. Since my break schedule is so wonky I couldn't convince anyone else to go with me on this trip. My parents both talked at length about their retirement plans and both unfortunately died before making it there and I refuse to wait until retirement to have some adventures. I planned this trip about eight months in advance and booked with a TA and got a few price drops along the way so my single supplement in Haven wasn't horrible at all. I recently hit Platinum on NCL and upgraded to P+ which gave me six nights of speciality dining so I'll break down my thoughts on each. I believe that if you're in Haven and enjoy cocktails, you should absolutely spend the monty to upgrade your drinks package as the selection of alcohol at the Haven bar and drink customization options is just incredible. 

 

Saturday, August 12th -> Off to New York

I decided to break up the trip and flew first to JFK from Los Angeles spending the night on Hyatt points at the Park South Hotel. I didn't arrive until close to 10pm and was starving and decided Doordash was my best option and found an Italian spot which was phenomenal! It was not a brick and mortar restaurant. Off to sleep in this very tiny but clean room. Note that the new Delta lounge at LAX is fabulous, highly recommend you arrive a bit early to enjoy the outdoor patio. Since I was flying on points in Delta One, they have their own private check-in area and TSA screening area, make sure you find the right entrance as it's on a different level.

 

 

Sunday, August 13th -> New York to Reykjavik 

Today I booked a food tour in Greenwich Village through Secret Food Tours, we started at 11am and hit six stops and got some great history of the village along the way. While I've been to New York so many times that I've lost count, I truly had a great day on this tour and enjoyed the food. New York I believe has some of the best food in the world! Highlights were:

• Molly's Cupcakes
• Taco Mahal! Can't stress how good this place was. It was Mexican and Indian fusion, so unique and SO good
• Two Boots for the special pizza only served at the Greenwich Village location, amazing but couldn't finish it as I was so full from the other stops.

 

We also stopped by the Friends house and The Stonewall Inn and got a little history lesson which I very much appreciated. 

 

 

I had checked out of the hotel room before the food tour and had some time to kill as the hotel had ordered a car service for me back to JFK at 330pm so I stopped into the rooftop bar at 230 Fifth. The weather was perfect, the DJ was playing some great tunes and the drink while pricey was just a lovely way to close out a day in the city.

 

 

Since my flight wasn't until 1125pm to Reykjavik I decided to get a day room at the TWA Hotel at JFK. Swimming in the infinity pool by the runway has been on my bucket list for awhile now, so glad I was able to. I booked the room from 4pm-9pm and while I was supposed to make a pool reservation in advance, I didn't and had no issues showing up and going in. Note that they restrict pool times for everyone and remove you when your time is over. It's pretty annoying but I only had a limited time I could be at the pool anyways so it wasn't the end of the world for me. The room was great and it was so nice to have a place to put my luggage, take a nap and shower before heading to my flight. Second picture shows the bar you can visit in the plane but I'm so COVID worried I didn't stay (lot of good that did me lol).

 

 

 

Easily caught the Air Train and was to the Delta One lounge in about 25min from walking out the door to the TWA hotel. Highly recommend a day room if you've got time to kill in New York. I don't love the heat and humidity of New York so decided a pool was the best place to spend my afternoon, no regrets!

 

Monday, August 14th -> Iceland, I have arrived! 

I arrived into KEF around 915am and customs was extremely chaotic. It looked like they were very close to opening up automated passport control but it just wasn't completed yet and they didn't have enough staff to handle the volume of people entering. After about 45min I made it through and decided that I would taxi it to my hotel the Canopy by Hilton Reykavik City Centre. Note that there are MUCH cheaper ways to get into town than taking a taxi. I also knew approximately what it should cost and how long it should take so when it was taking much longer than normal, I opened up Google Maps and realized my taxi driver was taking me on a tour of the city to rack up the meter. I promptly asked hi how much longer and that I thought there was a quicker route and we were there in 10min. In hindsight, I should have just pre-booked a car with a set price but I made it there safe. I decided on this hotel primarily because of the excellent walkable location and my was it great. That said, like many places in Iceland, there was no AC and while it wasn't overly hot, the room was very stuffy. There were two small windows that were able to be propped open and a small desk fan. Ultimately, would I look for a place with AC, yes probably but the location of this hotel and the fact I took some Advil PM to help me fall asleep meant I didn't really notice the heat all that much. 

 

My room wasn't ready on arrival but I had some plans so off I went to get a cinnamon roll from Braud & Co after reading so many rave reviews. It was for sure worth the walk, nice and hot and a funky spot. I then got a latte from Sandlot which gave me a good caffeine boost but I was still fading fast. Checked back in on the room but it still wasn't ready and decided I needed a place to sit for a bit so stopped in for a drink and snacks from Bastard Brew & Food.

 

This is the photo that greeted me, which basically looked like I took a selfie:

 

Despite living in Los Angeles, tacos sounded the most interesting and tried a fancy cocktail. Both were good, not amazing but good.

 

Back to the hotel where the room still wasn't ready, I promptly fell asleep in the lobby for about an hour and felt much better and ready for my 2pm walking tour with CityWalk. We met at the famous church. Our guide wasn't from Iceland but he married (and divorced) and Icelandic woman. While he did a decent job at showing us the sites, I knew a lot more about his hatred for his wife, racism issues within Iceland and how he needs to stay because of his children. All and all, it was a great overview of the city and the company gets rave reviews on the internet, I was just not a fan of the guide.

 

 

 

Tonights dinner was at Food Cellar Matarkjallarinn which I thought was absolutely fabulous and I highly recommend. It was like being in a fancy New York City establishment and the food and drinks while expensive were perfect.

 

 

 

In an effort to combat jet lag I had also booked the Reykjavik Beer & Booze Tour through Your Friend In Reykjavik for that night but they didn't have enough participants so it was cancelled. I walked around a bit and then called it a day. 

 

Tuesday, August 15th -> Reykjavik (South Coast Tour)

One of the biggest things I struggled with was what to do on my one full day. I had to choose between Golden Circle and the South Coast Tour. Ultimately through a lot of research I decided that the South Coast Tour would be more magical for me and provide some unique landscapes that I haven't seen and I can with 100% confidence say I think I made the right decision. I booked through Your Day Tours based on good reviews but that company was bought out by Arctic Shore Excursions. I was scheduled to be picked up at 8am at Bus Stop #6 which was about a three minute walk from my hotel. I arrived to the bus stop at 750am and the bus was there by 755am. We circled around picking people up at different stops and a couple didn't get on because the bus had another companies logo on it (Arctic Shore Excursions). We did swing by to grab them later. It was a fabulous day out visiting waterfalls, black sand beaches, puffin searching (and finding) and seeing the beautiful and rugged landscape of Iceland. Our guide was Becks from Italy and she had a great sense of humor. She didn't have as much historical knowledge as I noticed some other guides did but thought she did a great job.

 

Note the rare Icelandic creature I spotted in the third picture.

 

 

 

 

We arrived back in town to Bus Stop #6 around 640pm and I was starving. Dinner tonight was at the very fancy Grillmarkadurinn where I politely declined the first menu item and went for a steak instead. Again expensive meal but FABULOUS!

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner I went for a nightcap at the rooftop cocktail lounge Peterson Svitan and while the view wasn't as epic as I had pictured in my mind, it was a nice place to grab a drink.

 

Back to the hotel in preparation for snorkeling at Silfra tomorrow and my overnight journey at the Blue Lagoon! 

 

PS. Weather thus far in the trip has been great but cold. As others have stated before, bring layers. The one item I'm so glad I packed are my high top waterproof hiking shoes. These were heavy and I almost didn't bring them but SO glad I did and I wore them almost every day.

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by maren91

[Sand and Seas]

Great & interesting start to your review!   Loving the photos

 

Hope you feel better soon

[maren91]

Wednesday, August 16th -> Snorkeling @ Silfra and the Blue Lagoon

Enjoyed the hotels included breakfast and then headed back to bus stop #6 to meet Dive.IS for my snorkeling trip. Silfra is a rift formed in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; the divergent tectonic boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates. I had heard amazing things about this so I was pretty excited. The shuttle arrived at 929am for my 930am pick-up and we stopped a few more times before taking the hour or so long trip. We were told to wear wool socks and underlayers and we changed into our dry suits and received all our snorkeling items. They did a safety briefing which was honestly a little frightening but I figured it was for liability purposes. We then walked towards the entrance and had to wait about 30min for our time to get into the water as there were so many other groups there. Initially I was rather annoyed at this but once in the water WOW! This was such an amazing life experience and hands down one of the neatest things I've ever done. That said, the water was FREEZING and it made it difficult to keep my head on the water for extended periods of time so I had to keep flipping over to get some rest. I ended up paying $20 for the photos but most of them were blurry and/or I was unrecognizable. I don't think I would pay for that again. Stock photo provided below for reference.

 

 

Once out of the water, it was about a five minute trek back to the entrance where we changed and got some hot chocolate. I attempted to buy a sweatshirt but they were out. Overall, great experience and highly recommend. Back on the bus where we were told we'd be back by 230pm but because some of the other folks on the bus were slow to return we didn't make it back until 3pm. 

 

I had a pre-scheduled pick-up waiting for me set up by The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon but apparently I didn't specify which Hilton I was at so by the time we both connected it all worked out. The Retreat is expensive but a place I had seen in photos and decided I would save up the money to stay here for the night and have zero regrets. Such a wonderful experience. It was about a 45min drive from the Hilton and I was greeted with champagne and received a facility tour. My room was spacious, clean and full of technology. 

 

I had access to their private Blue Lagoon off limits to the public and the spa. I had pre-booked a in-water massage for the following morning and they coordinated a changing room for me complete with my own shower and changing area for when I was done. The weather when I arrived was perfect and I enjoyed the seven step spa ritual, but it rained the entire second day even during my in-water massage. I thought it would be cancelled but apparently they do these even in thick snow! It was a very unique experience and they were very good about keeping me warm though there was always a brief chill while they worked to get the blankets wet again. 

 

Dinner that night was at their restaurant Lava which ended up closing me a whopping $200US!! The food was NOT worth this and I would have been better off going into the public portion and eating in their cafe. Breakfast and high tea were included as well as everything in the fully stocked room mini bar.

 

Overall, great experience and if you can save up the money, I do recommend you staying the night. 

I had pre-arranged a vehicle through The Retreat to take me to NCL Prima and he was waiting for me promptly 2pm. Note that both of these pre-arranged rides were cheaper than the taxi I paid going to the hotel on Day #1.

 

I was in room #14304 which was a Haven Penthouse towards the aft of the ship. I have been on many cruises and read all the things about the Prima so knew that this would be a bit different. Since I arrived pretty late, embarkation was a breeze and I was quickly on the ship and in the Haven lounge enjoying my first drink.

 

This was my third time enjoying the Haven and I took tips off another board post about Haven secrets and had a letter prepared for my butler about my likes and dislikes and for the most part, this worked out great.

 

The room.... was frustrating. There were so many light switches all that made no sense. The first night, I couldn't figure out how to turn the lights off and had to call someone to come help me. It also had what I believe was an internet router above the bed that imitated either a blue, green or red light at times that shined down on the bed 24/7 so it never really got dark in the room. That said, the light in the room was also not great because the balcony didn't span the room.

 

I got lost about five times over the course of the 10 day trip on the Prima having to backtrack as you can't walk all the way around floors like you can on most other ships. I started to get the hang of it but even on day #9 I ran into a dead end while walking. 

 

The Haven elevator system though was pretty awesome and the ship was clean and beautiful! 

 

Night #1 dinner was at Hasuki the hibachi restaurant. I always try and book this for the first night and it has now become sort of a cruise ritual for me. I thought the space was beautiful but there were no windows to the outside which I missed.

 

I thought the steak was cooked fabulous but the rice just tasted a bit off from what I've enjoyed on other ships. It wasn't bad, just different. Overall, it was a good meal. I was exhausted from the day though so enjoyed a drink at the wonderful Haven bar and then went straight to bed (after someone came to show me how to turn off the lights).

Tomorrow was supposed to be Isfadour but that was changed to spend an overnight in Akureyri. After looking at the available NCL tours I decided I wanted to visit the Forest Lagoon. NCL Price to get there was $200, I booked directly with Forest Lagoon for $50 which also included transportation. No brainer. More tomorrow.

 

[Ozzieru1e]

What an exciting trip!  Enjoyed pics.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Loving your review!!! This was an overall fantastic trip.  Wish we had an extra day in Reykjavik to do the southern coast tour, but went with the golden circle.  Can't wait to read the rest of your cruise.  Our group all mentioned we would love to do the Haven one time.

[maren91]

Friday, August 18th -> Akureyri, Iceland (Overnight)

 

I was pretty tired at this point and didn't set an alarm today but made it in time for breakfast in the Haven just before closing time. I had the eggs Benedict which was perfectly cooked but they topped it with a truffle that was so strong it made it difficult to eat. I attempted to scrape it off but in the end all I could smell as truffle so it was a bit of a loss. I had requested a cappuccino and it was just alright as well, they try and serve you French press coffee which I normally love but on all the ships I've been on they don't let this sit appropriately and/or their water to coffee ratio is off which turns the coffee into undrinkable mud so passed on this. I took a trip to Starbucks for my oatmilk shaken espresso and then walked around ocean boulevard on deck 8 for a bit of morning exercise though the weather was not the best. I had debated staying on the ship today but how many times would I be in Iceland so needed to do something. Another poster had good things to say about the Forest Lagoon which was newly constructed here. I was easily able to book a 3pm slot online for about $50US. Roundtrip transportation was included with pick-up from the very nice visitor center at the Hof building which was an easy walk from the ship.

 

Since I didn't eat much for breakfast I headed up to Haven for lunch which is my favorite of the menus. I'm not a big fan of the dinner menu in Haven and while I know you can preorder what you like, I can't always get it together to plan that far in advance. Photos of my favorite appetizer and favorite dessert:

 

 

 

The ship docked right in town so it was easy to navigate around once you were off the ship. The Hof building was also new and they had a nice gift shop inside with friendly folks answering questions. I walked around a bit and stopped into a few stores and got a sweater. Around 3pm I spotted the marked shuttle pulling up and it was very obvious there was A LOT of people trying to board this shuttle. The shuttle picks up on the hour and while I was able to easily get on, others were not and one woman expressed her extreme displeasure with the process stating she was waiting in line to get on the shuttle and proceeded to yell at the shuttle driver who was very kind and agreed to come back and get her and her very large group after we were dropped. Very strange and uncomfortable experience and felt bad for the driver. 

 

I bought the package that came with a drink and spent about an hour there and thought that was a good amount of time. It was much smaller than Blue Lagoon of course and the water was very warm. There were pockets of crowding but I just moved away from the crowds without issue. Overall, it was a really nice day and I highly recommend.

 

I had read about a brewery but couldn't locate it and it was a bit chilly so back to the ship. Tonights dinner was at Food Republic which is one of my favorites on NCL. You can pick four items with your dining package which is a TON of food. I had the Kimchi fried rice with chicken, chicken teriyaki skewers, edamame and the spicy chicken. All was fabulous!

 

 

Had a lazy day the rest of the day involving a nap and a few trips to my new favorite spot at the Haven bar. These bartenders are some of the most talented I've ever met and so friendly. Shout out to Rommel and Pedro with the assist going to Jefferson. Yes, this is my name written on an espresso martini! It really is a beautiful space!

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, August 19th -> Akureyri, Iceland (AKA, the attack of the flies)

 

I decided to book a tour through the ship, Jewels of the North which was supposed to be scheduled 730am-330pm. As with all the ship excursions that I scheduled through NCL, all of them had their times changed and it was super annoying. The meeting time for this tour was now 630am in the theatre. I requested room service breakfast to be delivered at 6am which was before room service even started but my butler did deliver. I requested fresh squeezed orange juice and a bowl of Raisin Bran. I received some other cereal and then my butler proceeded to tell me I couldn't get fresh squeezed orange juice but he decided to squeeze them himself to make sure I got it. I found this really weird but left it alone and just thanked him for breakfast. I walked into the theatre at 625am and it was PACKED with almost zero direction of what was going on so I just had a seat. To make a long story short, we sat there until almost 7am when they finally called our tour and most of the theatre got up. They sold about six bus loads of this tour! To sum this up, DISASTER. The guide was very kind but I wouldn't recommend this tour at all. Find something with a small group. All these buses traveled almost in tandem to the stops which made it so crowded. That combined with it being fly season made for legit misery. If you do decide to travel to the outskirts of Akureyri, buy yourself a fly head net before you leave home. If there was a breeze, that kept the flies away but the second the breeze stopped they were surrounding you like you were about to be lunch. While we did see some pretty things and I got some great photos, never again without a fly net or a smaller group. The line to get into the bathrooms was also horrid because there were so many people and we got to some of the stops before the stores or food places opened so those that weren't able to eat breakfast were pretty hungry.

 

 

Imagine the smell of this, woah.

 

 

Back on the ship I was finally able to take advantage of the spa pass that I had purchased pre-cruise. I'm a huge fan of the NCL thermal spas and it's honestly a reason I'll book with NCL versus another line. I find them so relaxing and typically uncrowded. Since I knew the weather would be generally cold and rainy on this trip, purchasing this was a no brainer to me. I was very worried it would be sold out by the time I made it on the cruise so I snatched it up pre-cruise the second I saw it go on sale. I used it about four times out of ten days so I'm not positive I made it worth it and they did do partial passes half way through you could buy. The thermal spa was a lot larger than on other ships and the actual pool was weirdly divided into two. I was told one was a float salt water pool but it felt the exact same as the other pool? There were no towels by the pool so you had to walk to the back to get one before going in and there were no windows by the pool which I greatly missed. The thermal loungers with the nice views were located in another room. I did enjoy all the different sauna experiences and they had this strange "Shower experience" that was pretty neat. Overall, I enjoyed myself and would purchase again.

 

Here's the forward view from my thermal lounger, very rainy exit from the port.

 

Tonight's dinner was in Haven, of course I stopped by the bar for a pre-cruise drink from the worlds best bartenders. I had posted a picture of the Haven bar in an NCL Haven Facebook group and received a ton of drink ideas and I had so much fun with everyones suggestions. Here's muddled strawberry jalapeño margarita. 

 

 

I had the prime rib for dinner and thought it was good but pretty fatty, I had to cut away a large portion of it. Not a fan of the deserts for dinner in Haven and got ice cream at Indulge instead.

 

 

[tde1969]

Loving your review!! It's getting me excited for our September 17th Prima cruise.  

And I will have to order a muddled strawberry jalapeño margarita.

[maren91]

Sunday, August 20th -> At Sea

 

Sea day today, yea! I appreciate sea days much and can never do port intensive itineraries, I come home more tired then when I left. I had a big goal today, to run again. Over Thanksgiving weekend last year I fell skiing and tore my ACL and broke my leg and it's been a VERY long road to recovery. I had successful surgery in March and finished PT and was given a return to running program but haven't been able to start it because... life. Since the gym was spa are all the way forward and I was aft I decided to pack a back and plan a getaway of it and just change into swimming stuff when I was done with the gym. I got lost again, shocking I know. Trying to find on the gym as deck 16 was a challenge since the deck didn't seem to go across (it actually does but you have to go through an unlabeled door). Someone from Haven helped me find my way. Finally at the gym, big space, nice equipment and I followed the signs to changing rooms only to find another dead end. I asked a staff member who pointed me back to the lobby so out I went again and was told there were no lockers for the gym? There's a sign for lockers but that's only for the spa people. Goodness. The signage on this ship is pretty brutal. Since there was no place to put my bag I just chucked it in the corner and did my thing and yes I was able to run again, such a freeing feeling. ACL injuries are just the worst, 10/10 don't recommend. 

 

The spa was lovely and not too crowded and took a great nap.

 

 

 

Dinner tonight was at Indulge as I decided I wanted Indian food. I had read a lot of stories about people having issues finding a place to sit and I did not have this problem throughout the week and ate here quite a few times. The Buffett was more of a crazy situation but I just went outside and there was a heated area and always found seating out there. Highly recommend the butter chicken over top some rice, great dinner! 

 

Monday, August 21st -> Alesund, Norway

I was very excited for today as I had booked an excursion through Norway Excursions AS called "Fjords to Trolls" it was an all day adventure scheduled 1230pm-8pm. I was very easily able to find the bus once off the ship and had great guide showing us the sites of Norway with some food included (and one very large ice cream cone, not included). Highly recommend this. Rather than breaking it down in writing, I'll post a recap in photos.

 

But first, the sail in, so beautiful. Make sure you're out to watch!

 

 

Now some excursion photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The troll obsession here and the stories are just fabulous. Iceland was very pretty but Norway.... Norway was one of the most beautiful countries I've ever stepped foot in. Just wow.

 

Tonight's dinner was back to Indulge since I was back to the ship pretty late. The variety of food is amazing and I picked and choose from some different stops today. These deviled eggs were by far my favorite dish of the night.

 

 

Just as we had a beautiful sail in, the sail out was also gorgeous. Tomorrow was the day I was most looking forward to, Geiranger!

 

 

 

[skatie]

Love the report!  where did you get that yummy ice cream!?

[PhillyTravelBug]

Loving this. You did everything I debated doing. I really debated doing the Trolls tour, but really wanted to make the climb up and see the view of Alesund. I was really happy with how we spent the day since the morning fog lifted. Looks like an enjoyable tour you had!

[cruiseny4life]

Thank you! I'm loving your narratives and photos. It's so lovely to travel along with you. I love that you're treating yourself to all the good things in life, too! 

 

I'll be on Pr1ma, albeit a totally different sailing, in a few months. It's nice to hear that you had no trouble finding a seat. Did you sit at the bars? Or did you find two tops easily? 

[eileeshb]

This is reassuring me about Prima.. my uncle and aunt want me to talk my mum into doing a transatlantic with them and Prima looks to have the best dates/route considering she has reached an age where she hates airports. 

[maren91]

3 hours ago, skatie said:

Love the report!  where did you get that yummy ice cream!?

In a town called Trollveggen, we stopped there on our tour. It's as good as it looks. 

[maren91]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Thank you! I'm loving your narratives and photos. It's so lovely to travel along with you. I love that you're treating yourself to all the good things in life, too! 

 

I'll be on Pr1ma, albeit a totally different sailing, in a few months. It's nice to hear that you had no trouble finding a seat. Did you sit at the bars? Or did you find two tops easily? 

 I sat at the bar once (by choice) so I could watch them make my food in Indulge and found a two-top the second time. I did have to circle for about 3-5 minutes that time but no big deal and I could have easily sat down at the bar again there was plenty of room.

[Sand and Seas]

1 hour ago, maren91 said:

 I sat at the bar once (by choice) so I could watch them make my food in Indulge and found a two-top the second time. I did have to circle for about 3-5 minutes that time but no big deal and I could have easily sat down at the bar again there was plenty of room.

When you sat at the bar, could you only order food from that station?

(When we were on Prima last year those seats were only for that type of food.)

[skatie]

We have a similar tour in Akureyri in a small van (19 people) run by a local company.  I’m worried about the flies ruining the trip.  I’m sure hoping for a breeze.  Your weather looked nice - what type of a coat would you recommend and did you have any hats or gloves?  

[maren91]

3 hours ago, skatie said:

We have a similar tour in Akureyri in a small van (19 people) run by a local company.  I’m worried about the flies ruining the trip.  I’m sure hoping for a breeze.  Your weather looked nice - what type of a coat would you recommend and did you have any hats or gloves?  

First off, buy a fly hat like this one off Amazon before you go. Trust me. It's terrible, like will ruin your day terrible. This will help like 70%: https://www.amazon.com/EVEN-NATURALS-Mosquito-Protection-Chemicals/dp/B01EKFQFDG/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=GKK5R2MLY90U&keywords=fly+hat&qid=1693537574&sprefix=fly+hat%2Caps%2C269&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 

 

I brought a regular hat just to keep the sun off my face, it wasn't cold enough to need a beanie type hat or gloves. It rained almost every day I was on this trip so what I recommend is some rain pants or hiking pants that are waterproof and comfortable and a rain jacket. I have an expensive Arc'teryx jacket that I adore. It packs down super small and it's very warm and water proof. In some spots it would start out freezing and then become almost hot as the day went on so recommended you have a t-shirt on as your base layer unless it's forecasted to be cold and rainy all day.

 

Hope this helps!

[maren91]

3 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

When you sat at the bar, could you only order food from that station?

(When we were on Prima last year those seats were only for that type of food.)

Yes, this was for sure a thing. The first night all I wanted was an Indian feast so this worked out perfectly to sit and watch them cook the food, it was pretty fun. The second dinner I had there I had to walk around a bit before I found a spot but it didn't take more than five minutes. If you showed up at open or towards the end of the night there was always room as well.

[maren91]

Tuesday, August 22nd -> Geiranger, Norway

 

Today was the day I was looking forward to the most. I've seen photos of this town and nothing does it justice. Seeing it in person was a magical experience that I will forever be thankful for. If you're ever thinking about visiting this part of the world, please find an itinerary that includes Geiranger. The sail out was spectacular (as was the sail in I'm sure, but 5am is too early for me!) I had two adventures booked for today. The first was a trip to Mt. Dalsnibba and Eagle Road with Noway Excursions AS and then I had originally booked a RIB boat tour through NCL for 3pm but I randomly found it scheduled for 11am the week before sailing even though I had a 3pm confirmation. NCL says they should have sent me a notification. I promptly cancelled that and booked direct through RIB Geiranger for about $70 cheaper for 2pm. Should have just done that in the first place (I hope you're sensing a theme here).

 

The first tour was a short one 8am-12pm. I was quickly off the ship and was again easily able to find the tour bus. It was on this day I started noticing all the coughing, on the bus and around the ship and I really regretting not bringing an N95 with me for the bus. I was pretty stuck. The tour up Eagle Road was NOT for the faint of heart. I found a space to sit where I could easily see out of the front bus window so I did fine. I'll let the photos tell the story now.

 

 

 

After Eagle Road we heading back down the mountain and up to Mt. Dalsnibba. It's really high up there and it was COLD. That was the only time I wished I had a gloves and beanie. They had a small food and gift shop at the top but it was packed in there so I didn't stay long. That view up there was epic.

 

 

Back down the mountain we said goodbye to our lovely driver and guide. I had originally planned on just going back to the ship for lunch and while it wasn't that long of a walk, the town was just so pretty!

 

I saw quite a few folks lined up to enter a brewery restaurant so to the back of the line I went, no regrets. That said, the beer was better than the burger. The view from the back patio was perfect. Felt bad for the first few folks who sat straight away inside the restaurant, I could tell there was an outside. Be like me.

 

 

 

At this point, I was pretty exhausted so I headed back to the ship to catch a 30 min nap and do a Starbucks break before heading to my RIB boat tour. It was located almost next to the brewery so super easy to find. They equipped us with some warm weather gear and I thought we might get a bit wet but not a drop. The boat was super stable and WOW so much fun!! Cruising past the ship and close to epic waterfalls was a life experience I'll never forget. Put this on your bucket list for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was sad to walk back to the ship after such a perfect day and decided it was obviously espresso martini o'clock. Rommel at the Haven bar decided to do a a portrait. I'll let you judge his work.

 

 

I love the view from the aft of the ship but ultimately decided to save the $2,000 it would have cost me to get an aft room and that was a good call. I enjoyed hanging out on Deck 8 aft, great bartender back there and nice furniture though I was very careful on where I sat as there was a lot of soot on the cushions.

 

 

Tonights dinner was at Los Lobos. It's honestly a specialty restaurant I've avoided all but once and that was only to order some guacamole. Living in Los Angeles I'm blessed with having amazing Mexican food and salsa is by far my favorite food. I'm here to tell you, I have no idea why I waited so long. The outside seating area was opened and it had heaters! This was a candidate for best meal of the trip and the service was phenomenal. I started with guacamole and tortilla soup and a spicy margarita. For dinner I had the carne asada that came with warm tortillas and plantains which I loved.

 

I debated on coming back here a second time during the trip, it was that good.

^^ Dinner with a view! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nycwillie]

Phillip, thanks so much for this! I'm on the Prima next week, same itinerary and your posts will help me a lot.

I'm solo this trip and wanted to ask did you guys stop by any of the LGBTQ get-togethers? If so, how were they and where were they as the Observation deck sounds packed? Also wanted to ask about Covid on board, want to know with rates rising how much i need to mask up, after reading Maren's post of her trip on the Prima in August when it sounds like she and many passengers caught it. Last but not least our sailing is sold out, was your sailing full? Thanks for any response you can provide, would be appreciated.

[maren91]

Wednesday, August 23rd -> Bergen, Norway

 

Today, like most days of this tour was forecasted to be rather rainy. The captain had told us the night before we'd be going under a bridge in the morning around 7am that we'd have very little clearance and the smoke stacks would lower to allow us under. Almost missed it and wanted to be on the highest deck so that was my goal for sail out.

 

Today was an NCL tour called Norway in a Nutshell. Again, the timing when I booked it versus the timing told to me onboard were different. Decided for breakfast I would just run up to 16 and grab some Buffett items and eat them in the room while enjoying a Nespresso, it was a good choice.

 

Me along with 1000 others met in the theatre at 730am and then after a 20-25 minute wait (annoyed face, why tell us to be somewhere if you're not ready for us at that time) we were told we could exit. The line going through the hall way was not moving with people hacking coughing. This is where my COVID was born. My days on NCL tours are done with unless it's a small group excursion doing something fabulous I can't do on own. There were again around five buses all tailing each other on the same tour and I lucked out with the rental bus that had some issues. This tour was a VERY long day and if I would have truly taken the time to understand what that meant, I would have never booked it. We were on the bus for over five hours then on a train for another three hours. The entire thing involved rushing from one place to the next with Flam to be our big stop but because we were running so behind we were almost running to catch the train when we got off the bus. NCL ended up refunding us about $37 for our troubles (eye roll). 

Our first stop was at a huge water fall and it was PACKED with people and pouring rain. It was pretty but by this point in the trip, I had seen a lot of impressive waterfalls and it took us about 80 minutes to reach this spot.

 

 

Next stop was lunch which I didn't even realize was included but again there were about 300+ people in a hostel trying eat with about five total restroom stalls. You can imagine how this went.

 

The view outside was nice though with the clouds!

 

 

After lunch we had fun trying to get the bus started with the driver yelling at it, it did finally start. Another 40 minutes later we arrived in Flam which I was most looking forward to.... as I was running to get on the train. The Flam Railway was just fabulous but it should be done on a trip to Flam when you're ported there or on a land tour or if you time the trains right and get yourself out there which is completely possible.

 

 

 

The train took us through some of the most gorgeous scenery and I loved all of it. Highly recommend this train just not done this way. The station area seemed like it was a lot of fun with shops and restaurants and bars but alas no time for that.

 

The train made one stop to see a waterfall, we got off the train and there was some music playing.

 

 

Train views, spectacular. Norway is so green!

 

 

 

 

The railway leads into the regular train station where we hopped on a passenger train back to Bergen which took almost two full hours! Thankfully I fell asleep most of the time but kept thinking about all the other things I could have chosen for today rather than to live on a bus and train. The Flam railway took about an hour total.

 

 

Once back to Bergen our originally bus picked us up and we quickly hustled back to the ship that was thankfully waiting for us as we were about 30 minutes passed the all aboard time. No time for shopping or a beer on my last stop in Norway, disappointed. 

 

My butler brought me pretzel rolls and cheese for a snack, winning. Note that I did request this in my note at the beginning of the trip.

 

 

The weather cleared up nicely and I enjoyed a dip in the hot tubs and watched us sail under the bridge before dinner.

 

Dinner tonight was at Cagney's which I've had on many ships. I overheard a conversation talking about how good the Prime Rib was and since I always tend to order the filet at Cagney's, I decided to try something new. I used one of my platinum coupons so got a bottle of wine with dinner which was nice. They corked it and I took it back to my room what I didn't finish. Note that the waiter only wanted to allow me to get one side dish which I thought was weird as I'm used to not being limited on sides. I asked him politely for two considering my platinum coupon was a dinner for two and he reluctantly agreed. The Prime Rib was good, better than the Haven one I had a few nights ago for sure and it was cooked to my requested temperature.

 

 

Desert was the cheesecake but it was really rich and I couldn't eat more than a few bites.

 

 

Thursday, August 24th -> At Sea

 

I was very much looking forward to sleeping in today, I badly needed it after these crazy busy and early last few days but alas, that would not be a thing because I was given a letter the night before stating that I had to be present in the observation lounge to meet with UK customs MANDATORY between 730am-830am. Seriously?!? That's so early, I was very annoyed but I made it up there about 820am and I was done pretty quickly. You had to bring your passport with you. They asked my plans and then put a yellow sticker on my key card and then I headed to breakfast at Haven. I ordered the eggs Benedict minus the super strong truffle and it was very good. I enjoy the breakfast potatoes up there. Again, the coffee was really weak so I headed to Starbucks post breakfast.

I had some work to do today and the internet on this ship despite me paying for unlimited streaming was painful. Like AOL dial up painful and I couldn't get some sites to load. Getting text messages and simple emails on my phone worked fairly well but trying to do payroll at sea proved to be a challenge. It just stinks that the internet is still so bad in today's world. I want to live in a world where I can "work from home" on a cruise ship. 😃

 

It is nice doing payroll with a view though!

 

Tonight I had plans to see Price is Right which I was pretty excited for. I started feeling a little blah yesterday evening but figured it was just a cold coming on like everyone else. I should also note that I had was playing in the casino and had a dealer coughing pretty badly, I asked her if she was okay and she went on break about 20 minutes later. I never saw her again and the next day, the entire casino staff was masked up.

 

Since I had so many dinning vouchers and my meal was so good I decided to head back to Food Republic for dinner tonight and try some new items but did get the spicy chicken again because it was just so good.

 

 

 

I was hanging out in the Haven bar and the staff took a giant group of us at once down to the theatre, many of us were slightly intoxicated and it honestly made for a really fun journey to the theatre and we had a blast at Price is Right.

 

Tomorrow I had my own adventure planned (kind of) and got to finally sleep in a bit, thankful for this! Amsterdam here I come!

 

 

 

 

[maren91]

Friday, August 25th -> Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

I hadn't been to Amsterdam since I was 19 years old and I think I was more interested in the drinking culture than anything else but I do remember how beautiful it was and knowing that I'd return here one day. I did take the sober time to go through the Anne Frank house back then and was so glad I did. Since Amsterdam is pretty easy to navigate yourself and the ship docks in town I decided to do one of my favorite activities today, a food tour. While there are many companies that do these I've had great success with Secret Food Tours and booked this during a sale awhile back and it included a free alcoholic drinks updgrade. We met at 11am at the Anne Frank statute. Since I was there a little early, I enjoyed the tiniest cheese shop right near here.

 

 

 

Since I couldn't sleep in the day prior I took my sweet time getting off the ship and realized that if I decided to walk this or take the train I would be late. There was a taxi stand immediately outside of the cruise terminal and got scammed out of 20 Euro to take me into town, but I made it on time so it was well spent. From our first stop to our last, I had a blast!! The food was great, the company of strangers was great and the guide was a blast. All the food was included and Amsterdam has such great snacks! We also got a great overview of the Jordaan neighborhood.

 

We started at the Amsterdam Pancakes Amsterdam for Poffertjes, WOW. Can't recommend this place enough!

 

 

Our next stop was a cheese shop with some great views along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

We had five food stops today, our last stop was at one of the oldest bars in the city for a beer and some apple pie.

 

I had pre-booked a ship tour to do a canal cruise which ended up being free because of the $50 excursion credit. It was scheduled for 245pm but again the time I booked and the time given to me on the ticket was different and the meeting point was way back at the ship. Given that I had to hustle all the way back to the ship and finished around 2pm I decided to be a now show. There were so many beautiful canal cruises that you could easily walk up to and hop on, this was not worth the trek back to the ship. 

 

I hopped on Viator (I usually always book direct with the vendor but needed to book immediately) and booked the #1 canal boat in the city leaving 15min from now. No regrets. Open bar and great commentary. So much fun!

 

 

 

It was so nice planning my own adventure today. I was feeling a bit under the weather at this point and the idea of being shoved back onto a bus with 50 others and sitting in that theater again waiting was awful. I did have another ship tour scheduled for tomorrow and debated on cancelling but didn't have it in me to do the planning with the horrid ship wifi situation.

 

By the time we were finished it was definitely time to get back to the ship, I could have walked back or taken the train but again I would have been cutting it close. I flagged down a taxi and this time was told it was 25 Euro to get back to the ship =/ Well at least I'd be back in plenty of time so I paid. Small price to pay to be back to the ship with minimal effort.

 

I had wanted to stop at Van Stapele for cookies but was pretty full this point.

 

Tonight I was told it would be an awesome sail away so I was ready. I've never been through the Panama Canal (yet) and an imagine this might be similar as we went through the locks. Such a neat experience, don't miss it! There was almost no clearance between the ship and the lock. It felt like you could have stepped right onto the dock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonights dinner was in Haven. Since I don't love the dinner menu I had pre-ordered my meal from the lunch menu during breakfast the day before. I felt like a pasta dish but didn't like the one they offered so I subbed the fish out for chicken I got a chicken pasta along with my prosciutto and cheese that I love so much. 

 

 

 

Saturday, August 26th -> Zeebrugge (Brussels/Bruges)

 

I was so excited for this day, though it was my last and would be receiving an eviction notice in the morning. I booked Bruges in a Day through the ship as I thought it provided the best overview (at the time). I really debated on cancelling this but wouldn't have been able to give enough notice and didn't have time to plan myself. In hindsight, this is a very walkable city and you can absolutely do your own thing once you work out the transportation and I believe there was a shuttle offered for a small fee.

 

Back to the theatre for the great waiting game. Again I was on time and again they were not. At least the wait wasn't as bad as the past few tours. We piled onto buses for the short trip into Bruges where we proceeded to have a 2+ hour walking tour of the city. It was PACKED here. Like PACKED. We were given headsets to hear the information but it was easy to get lost in the crowd and have to catch back up. This tour, while informative for me was way too long on my last day. The city was awesome though just as I imagined though very crowded. The best part of the day was the canal cruise which was obviously set up in advance and the lines for the general public to get on a canal boat were insane! So for this reason, perhaps this tour was worth it.

 

 

 

 

From here we had about 2.5hrs of free time to do whatever we pleased. I hadn't really planned out free time and wasn't feeling 100% nor did I love the extreme crowding. First stop was the old pharmacy that was almost untouched, it was 3 Euro entrance and pretty empty. It was a quick walk through but thought it was pretty neat to be in a pharmacy that was over 300 years old.

 

 

 

I was definitely hungry for lunch. I walked around trying to find a good spot and saw a long line at a sandwich shop that seemed to only have workers and locals in the line so into the line I went. It was a decent sandwich and I ate it sitting on the steps of the church in the shade which was nice. I wish I would have planned out a good lunch spot in advance or had the energy to Google something fabulous as I'm sure it was there. My next goal, obviously, was to have a Belgium beer and a Belgium waffle in Belgium. I tried to get off of the main tourist streets and found a bar off a side street with a nice outdoor seating situation and achieved my goal. The waffle was fabulous! Unfortunately the cigarette smoking here is massive and while I would have loved another beer I had to leave from all the smoking. 

 

 

I walked around a bit more and then met the group back at the meeting spot. Note that I dropped a pin on my maps on my phone originally so I could make it back to the meeting point and was soooo glad I did this as I walked all of the place and would have been so lost getting back there if I didn't do that.

 

We were easily back to the ship for our final night.

 

 

I had one dinner voucher still left and really debated on how to use this. People had said that they had good experiences at Onda but my meal in this spot on my last cruise was pretty bad and I also didn't really want to change into nice clothes. I spoke with the concierge about this and he said why don't you just go to Hasuki. I had already been here but the steak was fabulous so I felt this was a good move. Again the meal was very good, not the best but very good. The rice still tasted a bit off from other Tepenyaki ship experiences. I asked for extra garlic for my steak and that was a great call! We also had a fun group, great last dinner experience.

 

Back up to the Haven bar to say goodbye to the amazing folks who made some of the best drinks of my life. Left them a nice tip and wished them the best. I don't think I really ever made it to any other bars on the ship unless it was a place I was eating at, there was really no reason as it was obvious there would be no better bartenders. I thought about if I really needed to be in the Haven. I'm not one of those folks who say once you go Haven you'll never go back. I think the Haven is nice, but so is the rest of the ship. That said, this bar might be worth paying for Haven alone lol.

 

Tonight my plan was to see the Donna Summer Show at 10pm. I had originally booked this for earlier in the cruise and it was canceled and rebooked to a night I was just too tired to go. Having a show like this at 10pm on the final night of the cruise was a little weird and it wasn't well attended and felt a little bad for the cast. I was easily able to find a seat, fifth row center and enjoyed the show. Very talented singers and good production.

 

I let the casino take the last of my cash (note that it did this every time I went there all cruise).

 

Back to the room to repack =(

 

Sunday, August 27th  -> Eviction notice

 

I started school on the Monday so needed to hightail it back to Los Angeles and had a 1245pm flight on Virgin Atlantic out of LHR. Since I needed to not wait for a train or bus, I pre-booked a car through Blackberry Cars for an 845am pick-up. Since it was a Sunday and I was flying upper class I was confident that I would be at the airport in plenty of time. 

 

I got up for breakfast in the Haven restaurant and had brought all my luggage up with me to make sure I gave my wonderful stateroom attendant as much time to clean my room for the next guests.

 

After breakfast, I told the staff I was ready to go and they took me in a special elevator and I was out of the ship in about 15 minutes. Super easy! Since we had already been through UK customs and I had all my bags with me, there was really no wait. My driver from Blackberry had sent me an email with his contact information and vehicle information. Annoyingly, the security team was only allowing a few cars at a time to do pick-ups but they were just waiting as their passengers weren't there yet. It wasn't a great system. 

 

My driver called and said he was there, just waiting in the giant line to be able to pick me up. I finally got into the car around 915am and was to the airport in the Virgin Atlantic private upper class check-in by 1030am and in the lounge with a mimosa by 1050am.

 

Overall, this was a really great trip. Ultimately the coughing and sickness of the ship became really bad towards the end and I would estimate 50% (no joke) of the passengers were coughing by the end. I was hoping it was just a cold because while I didn't feel great, I also was able to function.

 

Here's my biggest notes for future travelers:

* I should have brought a COVID test. I realize I had COVID now but didn't have a cough, just congestion so I didn't think much of it.

* I should have packed an N95 for the bus tours, shows and casino. For sure it was one of these spots that I caught it.

* I also bring a small medical kit with me with a supply of medicines but didn't bring enough Dayquil with me and rationed it at the end of the trip. Recommend bringing at least a five days supply of cold medication both daytime and nighttime.

* I was so glad I decided to bring my big waterproof hiking boots. I wore them almost everyday in Iceland and Norway.

* I had a full set of rain gear and needed it, don't leave home without it. Carrying an umbrella is not practical given the wind.

* If you're traveling to Akureyi, make sure you bring a fly net

* Condition the crap out of your hair if you're going to a thermal spa like Blue Lagoon and make sure you have a hair tie. My hair was TRASHED for a week. Consider bringing along some special products to deal with this. 

* Have a good packable jacket that's also waterproof. I brought my Arc'teryx which was a great call 

* Try and book with local tour operators at all the ports of call. I didn't really have any good experiences booking direct with NCL on this trip and know there are better options out there.

* I didn't bring ANY foreign currency on this trip as I had read everywhere that credit cards were accepted everywhere. I did run into some issues needing some coins for bathrooms in both Amsterdam and Bruges and I also thought some of my tour guides really deserved a tip and I didn't have the money to be able to do this and felt like an ass. I know that tipping is a personal thing but I regretted not having anything to give because some of them really deserved it.

* I didn't love my cabin. It was so dark in there even with the lights on, I would have seen what other options I could have found that didn't have a wall blocking part of the balcony. Ultimately, I wished I would have had that aft cabin but still don't think it would have been worth the cost as I really didn't spend much time on my balcony.

 

Thanks for following along on my adventure!

 

 

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

I really enjoyed following along on your adventure. I'll be cruising Pr1ma in the Haven, same category as you: HE, although our destination will be different (Barcelona>NYC). I'm a little worried about the view from the balcony given how the ship curves from aft to midship. I'm hoping it won't be dark as your room was. 

 

Your adventure sounds really incredible and you certainly ensured it was an elevated experience! 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Loved your review!! I am still reliving this sailing and desperate for another.

[LauraAnneC]

Thank you for your review. I really enjoyed it!