Trixie21

Trying to work out whether to go for the free at sea or not. For the 10 day sailing I am looking at thats £199 each. - Beverage package- I can see what it includes. I would usually have 3 or 4 alcoholic drinks per day and maybe a couple of sodas. My wife can't drink alcohol and would maybe have 1 or 2 sodas per day. Without the package how much is a glass of basic wine , a cocktail, a soda ? - WiFi- 150 minutes each isn't really that much - 15 minutes each per day. How much would booking a WiFi package cost and can you book one device and log in and out of another device - in other words share a WiFi package (I'm assuming it would be unlimited?) -Speciality dining- my wife wouldn't use , I would , but could do just as well without it - looks like 2 meals for a 10 day cruise. Do you book these onboard or can you pre reserve in the cruise planner ? -Shore excursion credits - we would probably use some of them although we like to take a relaxed attitude to shore excursions and not preplan too much . Without going to the final booking page I can't see how much gratuities are per person per day for a balcony ? And is it compulsory that you pay them (we always have in the past and have extra tipped as well but depends a bit on how much they are as this is not a cheap cruise by any means.)

Thanks everyone for all the replies - some useful information . Pros and cons for both ships (as is usually the case anyway ). Are there any movies available in your room on the Star or Prima ? My wife sometimes likes a bit of down time on a sea day and relaxing in the room with a good movie would be great , if its an option . We will definitely be booking a balcony at the very least as I cannot cope without one lol. On our last alaska cruise I spent the early mornings outmon the balcony with a big blanket taking in the scenery as the ship sailed into ports.

We have been looking at Norwegian Prima for an Iceland/Norway cruise in June 2024. I have just come across an even better itinerary which is on Norwegian Star to Iceland/Greenland June 024. Anyone any thoughts on which ship would be better for a cold weather itinerary? I was reading some reviews of Prima and a number of people felt it wasn't well suited to a cold weather cruise. Is the Star any better suited ? For some context, We have cruised Royal Caribbean quite a lot and enjoy their smaller ships just as much as the larger ones , so the fact the Star is an older , smaller ship than Prima isn't an issue for us at all. We like somewhere quiet on the ship where we can go read or just relax. Also enjoy some music at nights and usually try to catch the theater shows if they appeal. So which ship do you recommend ? If anyone has been on the Star to Iceland this year that would be very helpful - I've already read some reviews from passengers on Prima to Iceland .

Royal Caribbean are currently in the development phase of a new smaller class of ship called project discovery . It will replace their aging smaller classes of ships. You are spot on in saying that the larger ships are limited in the ports they can go to - there is a definite need for smaller types of ship to maintain variety of itinerary and although we have been cruising exclusively with RCL with the past 10 years we are looking at other lines now (actually about to book a Prima cruise) because they offer better itineraries. The bigger ships like RC oasis class and the new Icon are more about the ship than the destination.

We are also looking at A June sailing next year - Southampton to Reykjavik. We have now tried 5 times to get on a cruise to Iceland lol. Combination of Covid and illness on my wife's part has scuppered each and every one!!

Thanks for the review. We are hoping to book the reverse cruise for next year. I like the look of the Prima. How did you find your balcony cabin?

Sorry can you explain please. understand the concept of upgrading rather than actually getting a price reduction - I've done that with RCL in the past. When does an "upgrade program" kick in? And another question if you don't mind- when I was doing a ock booking for next year the system was automatically assigning me a room. When I clicked the choose a different stateroom option only one deck and one other room option appeared - am I doing something wrong ?

I've checked out the flights and they are no problem for me.

Wasn't aware of this - any idea what the fee is , or how many times you can do it ?

We haven't cruised NCL since 2014 so totally out of touch with how things work with them. People on these boards have been kind enough to answer some other questions i have had so here goes another lol! We are looking at an Iceland cruise on prima from Southampton for next year. If I look at the exact same cruise for this year on the exact same ship the cost is almost exactly half for the same category of room. In fact I could get into the haven this year for less than a balcony next year (And we can't go this year , unfortunately). My question is is it normal for them to so heavily discount cruises close to sailing date to fill the remaining cabins ? We are from the UK so can't avail of price drops.

Thanks for your information - much appreciated. My wife also has crohns disease and due to multiple operations she now can only eat basically snacks throughout the day - her digestive system is unable to cope with even moderate quantities of food. This is why I am asking about more casual food venues as she basically grazes throughout the day and quite often is not hungry at all . In the MDR (if she even goes ) a starter or a dessert will probably be all she takes. She hooks up an IV line at night to administer liquid feed intravenously and that is where she gets most of her nutrients. The eating is more about comfort and the act of eating than anything else. We are in contact with NCL currently to confirm they can accommodate storing her liquid feed in a refrigerator somewhere - hopefully they can or its all academic ! A small medical fridge for medications would not be big enough.

Thank you - much appreciated.

The cabin actually looks great - very bright and spacious. I looked at a couple of YouTube videos and was quite impressed.

Thank you so much - thats exactly what I was looking for and we could certainly work with that. I have seen very large steps in the past on some ships and something like that could have been a problem.

Yep I did the same thing and I do not like the look of it at all. Kind of defeats the purpose of a balcony . Also looks very dark.

Has anyone who follows a gluten free (Celiac) diet been on the Prima ? How was your experience? We are considering booking a cruise on Prima for next year. Havent been on NCL since my wife was diagnosed as celiac , so not sure how its handled. Specifically can you go to the buffet or other casual venues and find something basic such as fries or pizza which is gluten free. I'm guessing the MDR is preorder the night before and they will modify dishes to make them gluten free?

I think you misunderstand me - the accessible balcony cabins are midship but the balcony is at a strange angle so that when youngo out on it you are looking towards the back of the ship and have a narrow view of not very much at all.. A proper rear facing balcony is fantastic - this is nothing like that.

Hi All We have seen the perfect itinerary we have been looking for on the Norwegian Prima from Southampton to Iceland next year. We want a balcony cabin of some sort. My question is- Can anyone tell me how big the step is from the cabin into the bathroom in a regular balcony cabin? For context , My wife doesn't need a mobility scooter but has minor mobility issues , especially at night. I've looked at the accessible balcony cabins on YouTube and they are great except for the balcony which basically faces towards the back of the ship - very strange and I don't like it - its also a weird shape. If the step wasn't too big into the bathroom a regular balcony cabin would be fine .

Did Indy do similar itineraries to Anthem when it last sailed from Southampton? Or were they more varied?

Yep I'm with you there - loved our Dubai cruise on Jewel just 2 weeks before the covid debacle!!

Voyager in Eastern med year round !! Now that I could get interested in - great opportunity for a nice January/February cruise to escape the UK winter !!

Agreed. Only 2 cruises I think offered by Royal in 2024 to Iceland , and they are a fortune. We are looking at other cruise lines for 2024 because of the lack of choice in this region. But maybe as you say there is some type of "carve up" between the 2 lines , as celebrity is one of the lines we are looking at. We have already booked with princess for the Norwegian fjords for 2024 from Southampton as they had the exact itinerary we wanted- Anthem calls at Bruges on their Norwegian Fjords cruises which seems a bit odd and a waste - but maybe it appeals to some. Have to say the Princess cruise was a pretty good price and princess plus at £50 per day adds in WiFi, drinks and gratuities. Royal is still, our cruise line of choice , but we won't pay over the odds and itinerary has to be right.

Thanks for the advice. That all sounds very similar to the process on Royal Caribbean. The first night in the MDR was always the most challenging- we always went to the MDR on boarding to check they had a note on our reservation that my wife was celiac. We will do the same when we board Sky Princess.

Likely not , but could include some of the ports on future regular itineraries.

Actually did Arctic circle cruise on jewel last year , although geiranger wasn't one of our ports and I really want to go there. That cruise was one of our best ever - Norway is a beautiful country . And we actually did the North Cape tour with Blue puffin from Honningsvag also!! We had amazing weather on that cruise - t shirts most days!