crazycatlady82

I was on the NCL Star last year, a 10 day cruise to Iceland and Greenland, 3 ports at each country. We missed 1 port at each country, so ended up being 4 ports total in 10 days. This was July 2022. And yes, the Greenland cruises are extremely expensive, and for us, it was my bucket list 40th bday cruise. For context, with the free at sea package on NCL, club balcony suite, military discount and 10% off due to cancelled cruise, we paid about $3700 for the two of us. The highest I ever priced out our room category was $11,000 for two people. This is NOT a Carnival problem. There are numerous cruise lines that miss ports in Greenland due to the weather. We had to go extremely slow after leaving Nuuk due to the fog and the icebergs, plus heading into the Artic Circle towards Akeuyri, Iceland, was extremely rocky. We received NO port fees back or any OBC for missing 2 ports. The cruise before us missed Greenland entirely due to the weather and went to Norway instead. I believe they received a 30% FCC, if I remember currently. If you do choose to do Greenland, I encourage everybody to realize that it MAY get canceled, some or if not all the ports. That is something that the cruise lines DO NOT tell you, either Carnival or NCL. Additionally, the Wi-Fi on these cruises are awful. It is sporadic due to the position of the satellites...they also do not tell you that!

We loved it! We cruised for the itinerary, not the ship. The Star is an older ship but was kept up well, and we had good service. Our biggest complaint was that there wasn’t very many bars open later in the evening. (Also, no pool open) Just be aware that due to the weather, there is a high chance of ports being missed. We missed 2 ports out of 6, one from Greenland and one from Iceland. The cruise before us had Greenland canceled altogether and went to Norway. We loved Iceland and would love to go back; we highly recommend going for a few days and spending time there. Also, it will be cold on the ocean…we hardly ever used our balcony. We’re from Minnesota so we’re used to the cold…save some money and get an ocean view (and then bid for cheap balcony, haha). let me know if you have any specific questions!

For the NCL Star, 10 days with 6 ports in Greenland and Iceland, we paid $3800 for a balcony with the perks (drink package, etc). We had 10% off due to a cancelled cruise…we booked the day it came out and over time, it tripled in price. Because of the weather, we missed 2 ports. So Carnival’s pricing is right in line with NCL’s old ship pricing.

We stopped in Nanortalik first. We walked around the town, and there is not much there. If you like hiking, there are a few paths that go up the mountain side. It is definitely rural hiking, so when I say paths, basically just small foot paths and fairly steep. It's beautiful though. We honestly didn't care for the capital, Nuuk. I didn't feel the local were happy to see us and definitely we put a damper in their morning commute with everybody walking around. We searched a lot for excursions and the ones posted by NCL were quickly sold out.

We stopped in greenland last year on a NCL cruise. Both ports, we just got off the ship and walked due to a lot of the excursion companies contracting with NCL and low availability.

No problem! One more thing, get there a little early-ish. By late morning, all the wicker love seats were taken. And people did not move lol.

No, there is not. There is an espresso machine but no ice machine.

Huge range of ages. We had one solo cruiser that recently turned 21, and we had some in their 70s. We had sapphire members, and bronze members...we really had a wide range. We had such a great group on that cruise.

For the sea days, I found a nice wicker love seat by the ping pong tables. You could move them and face the ocean to read. It was shady too, which I preferred. It would get kind of loud due to the ping pong tables but much quieter than poolside. Inside, I found some couches on the same deck as the shops. It was great to be able to just sit, read, and relax by the window. I kind of just walked around one day with my book and glass of wine and found them lol

I will also chime in that I had a great time cruising the Carnival Valor out of San Juan...I've cruised out of there with Celebrity (2015) and recently on NCL Epic in April. Really enjoy the southern caribbean route!

Yes, I was able to choose my room. There is a part where it assigns you the room, but you can click on choose another stateroom. I liked the larger ship. It really didn't seem that large to me!

Our cruise on Carnival is on Aug 21. Everything is paid for, as final payment date was May 23. The other night, with a glass of wine, my husband was playing around on the website, and added the travel insurance. I quickly paid it, as we couldn't figure out how to delete it from the booking, and it said balance due on May 23...I didn't want our room to be cancelled so I paid it. According to our booking details, we now have it. However, now, there is some family drama going on that my husband is thinking of staying home. (If we can get part of our money back, I'll stay home too but if not, then I'll go solo.) What I'm wondering now: if we do use Carnival's cancel for any reason and receive our 75% back in a FCC, will they deny it, as the trip protection was purchased after final payment date? Thanks!

Hello! I can help answer some questions. I cruised solo on the Epic in April from San Juan to New York. I was in cabin 12533. It was a great spot, quiet. I didn't hear anything unless people were talking right outside the cabin. It is on the 2nd floor of the studio area, and there are no specific studio elevators, but there is a stair case that takes you right to the lounge. We had a great solo host for that cruise--Paul. I actually felt bad for the bartender too--he ran...we were a busy and active group. Paul was great and I hope to see him again! We would routinely have anywhere from 4-20 people that would want to eat together and he would help with the arrangements. The spice h20 area is where a lot of the soot would blow, so I didn't really spend anytime there. During the sea days, I found a nice wicker love seat overlooking the ocean, by the ping pong tables. It was fairly quiet and allowed me to read. If I wanted to be closer to the pool and in the sun, I had no problems finding a lounger by the pool. For other quiet areas, there were a couple of nooks that I found I could sit and read. The one problem I found is sometimes trying to find a table for the buffet at lunch on sea days, but other than that, I really, really enjoyed my first solo cruise on NCL. Let me know if you have any specific questions!

We were on the Star last year and tbh, it almost turned us off from NCL. We ate a lot of our meals at O’Sheehans, the Asian restaurant or the specialty restaurants. Cagenys was our disappointment last year…the steakhouse on Carnival was hands above Cagneys food. It sounds like they definitely haven’t fixed anything. Our favorite person was the bartender at the juice bar (which we never drank, just ordered drinks) named Raoul. We still talk about him and how friendly he was. He was the only one that really stood out.

If you’re open to booking separately, try the website parkway parking. We drive and fly out of a bigger airport and use this website frequently.

I’ve had two different notable rough seas. The first was 2015, on the Celebrity Summit, leaving Bermuda for New Jersey. The captain warned us, had barf bags in the stairwell and told people to not take the stairs. I don’t know how big the waves were, as I was sick myself…. Then, in 2022, on the NCL Star, heading from Greenland to Iceland. It was rough that night, but at some point, in the middle of the night, it actually woke us up. Felt like the bed was dropping out from us. We sat in bed, waiting for an announcement, and then figured we were fine, ha.

I was also on the Star voyage that made it to both Greenland and Iceland last year. We've never sailed on the Prima, so it will be Star focused. Regarding cold weather, it was cold. We had a club balcony suite and we could have saved money--it was too cold to use the balcony most days. The pools were closed, and the poor pool bartenders were freezing....We did not have a thermal spa pass. We felt that there was not a lot to do on the ship on the sea days. We did play cards a few times but we preferred to play them by the whiskey bar, and if you didn't get there by lunch, tables were full of other card players. I don't remember having to fight for a table at the buffet. Just be prepared for ports and/or Greenland to be cancelled. We were mentally ready for Greenland to be cancelled, as the previous cruise went to Norway instead. Because it is in the cruise contract, we did not any port fees refunded for missing 2 ports...so it was a great experience, but just be prepared in case Greenland is cancelled.

They’re getting large! We had about 700 for a NCL one in April!

I loved the Epic as a solo. The studio lounge set up was great, and the staff was great. The bathroom set up was fine for a solo cruiser and I didn't notice anything that screamed older. The one thing that I didn't like was the soot coming out from the smoke stack, but I just didn't sit towards the back then. It was honestly one of my favorite cruises!

Thank you for your review. We'll be on the miracle next month, and while we're not bringing the almost 18 yr old (we offered, she declined), it's still informative. 🙂

I love it! And the design of the new ones....I can't wait for them!

This excursion looks great! Was it through carnival or a private company?

My understanding is that this cruise was 8 nights, at least according to the book of face. The video of the fight was rough…but it was interesting, because one of the commenters talked about the worse fight they saw was actually on Disney. I believe if you search the ship life on the ‘tube, there is more information. We’ve been fortunate that we haven’t seen a fight. I don’t think they happen to frequently but it cheapens the brand. We like carnival but it’s sad. I have a goal of cruising on every carnival ship before they retire but there are a few that are at the bottom of the list because of the reputation (like Conquest).

Just fyi, they will ask you for two cards if you get a drink and a water at the same time. In December on the Radiance, I continually ran into the issue of them asking for another card when purchasing a water and a drink-I was traveling solo. They kept saying that I had to wait 5 minutes before purchasing a water. I didn’t have that issue May 2022 on the Paradise though.

Thank you! Appreciate the info.