DMP609

4 hours ago, CruisinCadie said:

Just off the Vision and be warned, internet in the cabin stinks.  We were on Deck 7.  The only place we could get wi-fi was in the area between the bathroom and the bed and even then it wasn't reliable.  Not on the sofa, by the desk, or on the balcony.  I didn't pay that much to have to go out to the Centrum to check my email.  People at the VOOM desk said, yes, that happens with the older ships.  There's nothing we can do about it.

FYI, other than that, the cruise was very nice. 

Kathy

Sorry to hear about the internet. But happy the cruise was good otherwise. We're thinking of booking the Vision also with a deck 7 cabin. What cabin did you have and other than the internet, how did you like it?

If we go to Crystal Cave after spending time at Tobacco Bay, is there a place to store our backpacks and towel bags or do we take that with us onto the tour?

Thanks, Bird, for the excellent trip report and information on the Joy. It's very helpful for our planning for when we take this same trip in a few weeks. Safe travels home.

On 4/25/2024 at 1:20 PM, julig22 said:

You can always get cash in the casino, charged to your shipboard account. Since I use the NCL card that gives back 3% on NCL purchases, ultimately there is no actual charge - although I use the points for upgrades so I get back way more in that case.

 

Not always. The points I get by using my NCL card make getting cash in the casino at least a wash, but I can usually use $300 worth of points to upgrade to a balcony, an upgrade sometimes worth over $2K.  If the card you use onboard gives travel points, you might also be able to score there. NCL purchases are considered travel, it pays to check the terms of your card.

 

Note- I pay off my credit card monthly so I'm not paying interest.  If you carry a balance on your card then you'd be paying interest so it's probably not the best deal to charge cash to your onboard account.

How do I get cash in the casino? Do I go to the cashier and ask them to charge my room and they give me cash? 

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

We had a 6 pm departure today. By 5:30, the captain had dropped all lines and at 6:00 we were already heading down the Hudson. 

Do you recall how long it took until you sailed by the Statue?

Thank you for the review. We're going to be on the Joy in June and can't wait!

Where did you get your day pass on your first day in Bermuda? Thanks!

We were on the 6/25 sailing of the Prima (had a fabulous time) and the Captain was part of a Q&A towards the end. He was asked about Isafjordur and said they are waiting for the dock work to be completed. They don't know when that will be. They get updates every week or so from the dock and I think that's why they don't cancel too far in advance because as soon as it's ready, they will be docking there. He also addressed the tender issue. They do not have tenders on the ship. I think he said the size of the tenders didn't work well with a ship that size or something to that effect. He said if they have to tender at a port, the port must be the one to provide the tenders and Isafjordur does not. 

1 hour ago, edspec said:

I really liked the Joy when I sailed on her in June of 2019 but not at all happy about the smaller Observation Lounge.  That was such a great part of the ship and to make it smaller is just greedy.  Yes, I know it was originally smaller but that is not how the North American cruiser was introduced to the ship.

I totally agree with these comments. The observation lounge being reduced in order for them to make more money with more cabins is disappointing. And the more cabins means more people and longer waits for things. The Joy already is bursting at the seams especially during times when families sail. And now there will be less activities for the kids in those families. What email address should one use to send an email of discontent to NCL? I know it won't change anything, but I think it's important to give feedback.

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Understood. My understanding is that so far when boarding, passengers then find out Isafjordur is cancelled, not anytime earlier.

We were on the Prima 6/25 sailing and found out when we boarded. But someone posted while I was on that cruise that they were emailed regarding the next cruise (7/6) letting them know it was cancelled. So I'm guessing if they have solid confirmation that it won't be available, they are letting people know. It might depend how far in advance they find out.

18 hours ago, T BYRD said:

Last day in Bermuda 🫤
 

We got up early and took the first mini-bus to Horseshoe Bay this morning 😴

$7pp both ways. (Sit in the front seat of the bus next to the driver!!

(it is like a scary amusement park ride!)
 We were there before they even started setting up the umbrellas and chairs… maybe less than 20 people walking around. 

Chairs and Umbrellas are $10ea for the day. 
It really is an absolutely beautiful beach!

Very fine, soft, white sand… only pink if you dig down a little
We saw some crazy big Parrot fish way out by the rocks while snorkeling. 
A nice young lady was walking around taking a snack bar food and drink orders!

We had chicken fingers and fries that were delivered hot and delicious 👍

 

We left around noon and it was packed!!

Got to the ship with no lines to get back onboard, showered up and hit the Garden buffet and it was just mildly busy. 
Looking down at the pier now there is an easy half hour line shuffling in while we’re sittin fat and happy on the corner leather sofa up in the Observation Lounge. Sunburnt, tired, and lovin’ it 😎

What time is the first shuttle to Horseshoe Bay? When you left at noon, was the shuttle full?

9 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

We are a few weeks away from the Prima, and I am hoping it is great, but one thing bothers me. They have skipped Isafjordur every cruise waiting for the dock to be extended. NCL seems to allow the Star passengers to tender at that port, but not those sailing on the Prima.

We were on the 6/25 sailing of the Prima (had a fabulous time) and the Captain was part of a Q&A towards the end. He was asked about Isafjordur and said they are waiting for the dock work to be completed. They don't know when that will be. They get updates every week or so from the dock and I think that's why they don't cancel too far in advance because as soon as it's ready, they will be docking there. He also addressed the tender issue. They do not have tenders on the ship. I think he said the size of the tenders didn't work well with a ship that size or something to that effect. He said if they have to tender at a port, the port must be the one to provide the tenders and Isafjordur does not. So if the dock is ready by the time you cruise, you should be able to visit, otherwise the port will be cancelled. 

55 minutes ago, genealogyfan said:

I wonder if sailings have alot of balcony g

I just tried doing a mock booking of that sailing, and gives me specific  balcony rooms for Deck 8 and 9, lots of them. 

Thank you for looking at this. I failed to mention there are 3 of us. That seems to be making the difference. Maybe the rooms that can accommodate 3 people are almost all gone. Still seems really early for that to be the case. And the 2 person cost is also ridiculous.

Hello! We're looking at a British Isles cruise on the Dawn departing 6/26/2024. When I go through a booking, all that is available in the balcony and club balcony categories are guaranteed balconies and the cost is very high compared to similar cruises with Celebrity and Carnival. Do you think this indicates the cruise is partially chartered?

I haven't called NCL since I recall from prior discussions they aren't forthcoming with that kind of information. Thanks!

On 7/13/2023 at 11:18 AM, ontheweb said:

They could have done Isafjordur and used tenders!

 

Yes the cruise starting in the UK and ending in Reykjavik is a day longer, but I think it is because there is an overnight in Reykjavik. I don't believe it is for an extra sea day.

 

I hope it is done also, but every cruise that misses there makes me less and less optimistic about that. We have what looked to us like a really nice private excursion booked there, but I really don't think we will be able to do it.

 

Oh, and I called NCL in late June, and they were still selling excursions to Isafjordur for July 5th and I presume all the other dates after that.

We were on the 6/25 sailing of the Prima (had a fabulous time) and the Captain was part of a Q&A towards the end. He was asked about Isafjordur and said they are waiting for the dock work to be completed. They don't know when that will be. They get updates every week or so from the dock and I think that's why they don't cancel too far in advance because as soon as it's ready, they will be docking there. He also addressed the tender issue. They do not have tenders on the ship. I think he said the size of the tenders didn't work well with a ship that size or something to that effect. He said if they have to tender at a port, the port must be the one to provide the tenders and Isafjordur does not. This seems like a good explanation. It just would have been nice if NCL explained it like this sooner.

We recently got back from a trip that visited Iceland. We used Iceland Everywhere (https://www.icelandeverywhere.is/) for a tour in Akureyri (as well as a South coast tour while we were in Reykjavik) and they were great and very reasonably priced (1/2 to 1/3 what NCL was charging and we had a small group). We visited Godafoss during the tour and it is an amazing waterfall.

Just boarded the Prima and the port has been cancelled again 😢  Ongoing pier maintenance is the reason given. We’re now staying in Akureyri until 4 am the next morning so no time to do anything more there. 

Here is the Geiranger Port schedule: https://www.stranda-hamnevesen.no/cruise-calls/. Position 4B/SW is the Seawalk @UKstages referenced. It looks like the Prima is scheduled to use the seawalk for all but their July 7 visit which says Position 2. I assume that is a tender position, but I don't know for sure. Regardless, to think that NCL's brand new flagship is unable to tender is inconceivable. Plus we know from past passengers that they tendered during the winter for some locations.

I don't have any answers to your question but I saw this post on the Star's current cruise roll call. See Post #481 and 484. Apparently the Star is now tendering in Isafjordur. I appreciate the Prima is not the Star and for whatever unknown reason they may not be able to tender, but an honest explanation to the passengers sure would be nice if they don't tender and instead cancel the port.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2858780-norwegian-star-june-12-to-23-2023-11-day-tromso-norway-to-reykjavik-iceland/page/20/#comments

6 hours ago, cc-riderslc said:

I think most of you forget there are two parties involved in this fiasco in isafjordur, NCL and the port authority. I am sure these port calls are set up at least a couple of years ahead of time. Maybe more. If NCL contracted a dock in 2023 and was given a berth by authorities that is what the cruise line has every right to  expect. The dock wasn't ready. Many other ships contracted to tender (right? NCL PRIMA isn't the only ship there) so who's to say there was no space for them to tender or even anchor in a safe place? It is a small harbor. Maybe it is much more expensive to tender than dock so finances come in to play. Seems to me the port authority is holding a large part of the blame. But.... And I know this from experience when last year the Sun hit an iceberg while I was aboard, NCL has got to be the worst communicators in the cruise business. If they are canceling a port give us the details! Explain what happened and what they expect will happen on future calls at the port. I can live with a change or a we're not sure what will happen on the next call, if I know why. I can't forgive them for knowing but not sharing with their guests. That is just plain rude and uncaring. 

This is exactly what I was thinking. If the dock isn't ready and there are other extenuating circumstances, just let the passengers know. Don't have different "explanations" when asked. I've heard now in this and other threads that it's due to port congestion, not having tender boats (?), weather. Just tell the truth.

Hello! My family of 3 will soon be sailing on the Prima for an 11 night cruise. For anyone who has recently been on an 11 night cruise, was the fill-a-bag special offered once or twice and do you recall which day(s) it was offered? Thank you!

16 hours ago, bobkat11 said:

The entire stop at Isofjordour was cancelled.  (We were told we couldn't stop there because the Prima doesn't have tender boats. Don't all of the life boats double as tender boats?? And other ships continue to stop there, so we Prima passengers were frustrated by no satisfactory reason for the cancellation.)

Sorry to hear of your experiences with the Prima. That must be so disappointing.

Regarding tendering, I read posts when the Prima sailed over the winter to the Caribbean of people tendering, plus as you said, don't the tender boats also serve as life boats? Has anyone tendered while sailing on the Prima? 

13 hours ago, ontheweb said:

From reading the NCL boards, it seems the ship has been skipping the port saying it can not dock. But posters on that board say the Celebrity Apex is docking and they feel that NCL just does not want to tender.

Just to clarify, the Apex did not dock. They tendered. So that is why it seems like NCL is cancelling in order to avoid tendering. Iceland is currently working on extending the dock in order to allow larger ships to dock and it should have been done by now. NCL was expecting to be able to dock. The real question is why can't NCL just tender like ships have had to do in the past and currently are doing (other than NCL) in order to visit Isafjordur.

3 minutes ago, robinium said:

This is very interesting information, I will actually contact NCL corporate again about this info. 
 

They told us day 1 of the cruise (via an announcement and a new itinerary at check in) that it was “not possible to dock” due to the work not being finished as mentioned previously, so they are cancelling the visit. 
 

Sounds now like they just didn’t want to bother to tender. They used the sea walk (avoiding tendering) at Geiranger too. 

Thank you for what you have done for your fellow passengers as well as those yet to come. Here is the post where I saw the Apex tendered. See post 631.

22 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

That is interesting. I've been asking for a while about Isafjordur. NCL lists it as not a tender port, but everything I have read seems to say it is except for very small ships, plus the person in charge of the private tour we have booked for there says to meet "where the tenders come in". What you wrote seems to explain that apparent contradiction.

 

I don't suppose anyone knows when the work is supposed to be completed. Ours is the first cruise in August from London (Southampton) that goes there.

I have no information on when the construction will be done, but I find it interesting that the other cruiselines are still visiting Isafjordur. Celebrity Apex visited yesterday and that ship is larger than the Prima. They did have to tender. I hope NCL isn't cancelling this port just because they have to tender.

9 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Don't ask don't get, in my mind them knowing your schedule should give them a better opportunity to get a cabin done without interruptions or disrupting a guest by being part way through when they returned.  

What would be the best way to let them know our schedule? We have a port intensive cruise so our times away from our room will change each day. Would it be best to call them every morning? If you don't get them are you able to leave a message?