skatie

We will be in Amsterdam on the Prima on Sept 15.  I’m not a museum enthusiast but the Van Gogh paintings and his story intrigues me.  I know I would need to purchase tickets in advance as they sell out so I’m wondering if, for a “casual observer”, would it be worth it to spend just an hour in the museum and then carrying on to tour the rest of Amsterdam?  With limited time I want to make sure I see as much as I can.   If we visit museum my plan would be to take taxi from ship directly to museum and be there around opening and then work our way back on foot and see the canals, and different neighborhoods and experience Amsterdam culture.  

We are in Geiranger on NCL Prima Sept 12.  I don’t think I can do the popular viewing points on Eagle's Road as I get motion sick and I know the drop offs would make me tense (had experience in Europe!).  I see a beautiful looking waterfall Fossevandring where the base of it is walking distance from the port.  Ideally I’d like to get transportation to the top at Hotel Union and walk down.  Is there taxi or bus transportation at the port to get to hotel?  We also saw the two seater electric cars that could be rented   Are they safe to drive and whereabouts could you explore and be back within the hour limit?  Thanks 

8 hours ago, Ladybug18 said:

@sunfan03 we got off the ship as early as we could and took a taxi to Bruges. We asked the driver to pick us up at 3pm and he returned at the agreed upon meeting spot at 3pm and took us back to the ship. We shared the taxi with another family so we split the cost of the round trip taxi (we each rounded the fare up to 50 Euros). One family paid going to Bruges and the other paid from Bruges to the ship. I was super nervous the taxi driver wouldn't come back for us but he did. It was a wonderful day and I am so glad we did Bruges on our own. The town is beautiful, make sure to do a canal cruise! The waffles, fries, chocolate and beer were excellent!

@Ladybug18Good to hear a recent update on taxi to Bruges.  Can you tell me what time you left the ship and when you got to taxi stand were there many taxis waiting?  Also were you able to pay with credit cards or needed euros?   I plan on leaving ship at 7:45am to catch taxi and hope that’s early enough.   Thanks

Maybe take a look at the trainline.com website as on Sept 17 I’m seeing some cheap tickets depending on departure time. I purchased my tickets through them for Southampton to Waterloo on that day as we disembark from ship and paid $22 Canadian per tickets but it did fluctuate over a number of days and when I saw that price I jumped on the booking

I have recently started some medication that advises not to drink alcohol.  Its just my husband and myself in the cabin -  Is it possible to have my husband remain on the drink package and take me off.  We sail in September, so is it possible to just get OBC for my portion of what I've paid for the gratuities for the free at sea beverage package?  I don't drink pop so wouldn't even be beneficial to move to the soda package.  Thanks

12 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I had the same thought. With a full day, I would not hang around Reykjavik, jet lag or not. The spectacular beauty of Iceland is outside the cities/towns. 
 

@skatie the Golden Circle tour is shorter than the South Coast tour (which is a really full day but well worth it), so perhaps that might work better for you. 

Enjoy your trip! 

 

We have done the Golden Circle tour when we were in Iceland in 2018, so feel our only other good option is South tour which is a 10 hour day. I’d just hate to waste all that money if I’m dozing half the tour away as it’s a lot of driving.  I’ll check out those tour options tho as maybe we can join one last minute if we shake the jet lag quickly!

we have a tour booked from Akuryeri to see Godafiss waterfall and Myvatn Lake and baths so will get a good look  at Icelandic nature that day

1 hour ago, WisRiver said:

We liked the Radisson Blu;  central location, nice staff, good (not great) breakfast, clean quiet rooms.  It is a good business class hotel, without a lot of charm.   On our next trip to Iceland in October, we will be staying at the nearby Center Plaza Hotel.  

Thanks for your input!   Did you catch the shuttle to the cruise port.  It looks like it’s only about five minute walk from hotel at Harpa building.  

@WisRiver we are staying at Radison Blu in September - did you like it?   We are also planning to head to Sky Lagoon and may do as you did - just drop luggage and head over there.   The last time I was in Iceland (2016 I think), we rented a car and did the Golden Circle tour on our own.  However, the jet lag really hit us about half way through and I had to pull over for a bit - I know Iceland is extremely expensive but I think this time we will rely on walking, taxi and buses

2 hours ago, PLee said:

Correct, I did confuse the two.  Thanks for clarifying.  South Coast tour was exceptional.

I was thinking of a south coast tour on the second day but I’m worried that it’s a 10 hour day and jet lag hits me hard - don’t want to be sleeping half the tour!

Our plane arrives at KEF on September 5 at 6:20am - our cruise departs on Sept 7.  We were just planning on hanging around Reykjavík and doing the sky Lagoon prior to cruise.  We were not planning on renting a car and just getting Flybus from airport to hotel.   With such an early arrival I’m wondering what we can do and if we will even be able to drop bags at hotel.  Any thoughts on what to do on first day with such early arrival?

On 6/29/2023 at 2:45 AM, Dutch_Travelgirl said:

There seems to be some confusion here about the various shuttle busses at the port of Zeebrugge. The port of Zeebrugge where the cruise ships dock is a working port where large container ships etc also dock. It’s not a dedicated cruise port. For safety reasons it’s not allowed for cruise ship passengers to make their own way from the ship’s berth to the cruise terminal building. With containers stacked high, trucks etc etc, it’s too dangerous to walk around the port.
Therefore the port of Zeebrugge offers free shuttle busses from the location where the ship is docked to the cruise terminal building. This is the same principle as when your flight arrives at a remote stand without an airbridge. In many airports, you aren’t allowed to walk from this remote stand to the terminal building, but you’re bussed there.

 

So in Zeebrugge you’re bussed to the cruise terminal building. Once there, there are several options to get to Brugge; take a paid shuttle bus or make your way to the train station of Blankenberge and train to Brugge. 

@Dutch_Travelgirl is the cruise terminal the same place we could catch a taxi or do we still need to venture out somewhere  past the terminal to find a taxi?

On our roll call it was mentioned that this port is behind in dredging but Prima would start making the port as of June 25.  No idea if this will hold true but this is what she was told.  

On 5/15/2023 at 7:30 PM, Ellis1138 said:

Was crossing 12th avenue hard, with all the traffic?

No it was quite easy but there were lots of taxi drivers on that corner trying to get business from passengers coming off ship so it might take a couple of lights to get through the crowds depending on time of day but it’s an easy crossing.  

Its a very quick and easy walk from the Holiday Inn express to Pier 88.  We just pulled our roller bags and once we crossed the street the luggage handlers were right there and then we took elevator up to check in.  

We did get an awesome deal for air for our NCL cruise in Sept from Toronto to Reykjavik and then home from London to Toronto (2 day deviation on both ends).  I know there are lots of pros and cons with booking with cruise line, but we locked into it!  Just wondering if anyone else has confirmed flights yet to or from these destinations with NCL bookings?  Did you get direct flights?  Flight times? Which airlines did they use?  Which airport in London did they book you to fly out of (or into)?  Also for anyone who has booked a 2 day deviation, do you truly get two full days prior to your cruise to be in the city or is it just a guarantee that you would arrive sometime on day 1 of that deviation?    Thanks!

extra sunscreen!  So expensive on ship or in Hawaii.  

58 minutes ago, uneamie said:

So you were in line 40 minutes.....or 10 minutes before the doors opened??? I'm confused. 

We were in line 40 minutes prior to the start of the first night's show.  The doors open 30 minutes prior to the start of the show.  So we stood in line for 10 minutes outside and then sat 30 minutes inside with drinks prior to start of show.  The night of the Rumors show we stood in line for 30 minutes before doors opened and then sat inside for 30 minutes before show started.  They were very prompt in opening doors 30 minutes prior to start of show and show always started exactly on time.

We were recently on the April 16 Prima and attended all 5 Syd Norman shows - I knew of the show from my Breakaway cruise in 2020 and was blown away by the energy and vibe and fun so I knew we had to go when on Prima.  I had read in advance of the long lines and frustration so on the first night we were in line about 40 minutes prior to show start (10 minutes before doors opened) and we got seats right near stage.  As the cruise progressed and word spread of how good the show was, the lines got longer earlier.  I think anyone who wanted to get in and see the show could - but they probably would have to stand if they were there after doors opened.  Each night we got seats - our philosophy was we either stand in line before the show or during the show.  On two different occasions we got to talk to Emma and Debra (the female leads) and learned that this cast is on the ship until sometime in July.   I asked why they continued to hold the show in such a small venue when its so popular.  They are well aware of the complaints and she said that they are probably moving the Prom show to the Theatre so more people can easily attend and she thought some other ships had already started this and hoped Prima would move to that soon.   Also they said the Rumors Fleetwood Mac Show can't be moved to Theatre due to some copyright laws when doing an album from start to finish that limits the size of venue it can be performed in.   She also said they had built that space specifically for the Syd Norman show so NCL (?) were reluctant to move everything out to large venue.  I mean this type of performance and audience interaction really does work well in the small venue, but for sure there are lots of issues with long lines or people not able to see/enjoy these shows.   We had a blast and I'd wait in line again for all shows!

We are staying at Holiday Inn Express Midtown West 538 West 48th Street, New York, NY 10036.  I suspect I'll win the discussion and take an Uber/Lyft, but would like to be armed with options like walking (if its safe to do so).  Our boarding time is 11am on Prima

We are staying at a hotel that, according to google, is a 15 minute walk to the pier.   I don't relish pulling our bags along the sidewalks to get there, but if its a nice day we might take that option vs Uber.   Has anyone walked into the NYC Manhatten (NCL Prima Departure) port - is it easy to navigate getting to the correct terminal?  Thanks

Enjoy embarkation day!   Please keep us posted on how the weather is on the crossing ... windy/choppy seas or sunny and pleasant to sit up on deck?  Swimming in pools?  Fingers crossed for smooth sailing - Have fun!

How did you find being in a small solo cabin during the rocking and rolling of the storm.  I am prone to motion sickness but since this is just a girls trip, my friend and I chose to try out the solo cabins. Maybe if we get rough seas I’ll just down the gravol and hopefully sleep through it!?    We are also on 13 floor. Is it easy to slip down to lounge on 12?  Thanks

@Broons77 thanks so much for the reports - we are on that cruise on April 16.   Looks like its more pants/long sleeve cruise and sweatshirts vs shorts and t-shirts cruise.   Were you wearing shorts in Bermuda?  More importantly, will there be a place on the ship that will show Bruins games!!!???? 🙂 

Does anyone know if the Canadian Starbucks cards will work on ships that have Starbucks?  If so, do their systems just do the exchange rate conversion to deduct from the card?  Thanks

I’ve seen some videos where people have to walk up and down a hill to get to the beach. Is this only if you take the local bus to get there?  Do taxis and minibus and cruise excursion vehicles all drop you right at the beach?  Thx