Ozmodiar

I like NCL and have cruised with them for years now, but as someone who does like to go on cruises mainly for the ports, and have watched as NCL cruises initially promoted as having interesting and unique itineraries get changed very late in the process, I find this to be a troubling trend for NCL. Especially when it is for ports that are not commonly visited and are part of cruises getting a premium because of the unique itinerary. The tide schedule, the distance between ports and the related fuel consumption, etc., - all of those should have been accounted for during the planning of the itinerary so are not valid rationales, same with the port feedback. I feel they are flouting the very real need to let cruise lines change itineraries for weather, security, etc. so they feel no financial pressure to risk passenger safety, and are now applying that clause solely to their benefit. That was not the intention of the language in the contract about missing ports, to let the cruise line entice people with one itinerary and then remove ports after final payment for non-emergency reasons.

I was thinking you were sailing from the city itself (Manhattan Cruise Terminal) like the OP, no need to go into NYC for a Bayonne departure.

Thanks for this, I may try this next time I sail from the MCT. Always wanted to try the ferry.

If you are comfortable with public transportation, the train from EWR into Manhattan is pretty easy to navigate. You can even switch from NJ Transit to the PATH system at Newark Penn Station (different than the airport station) and take the PATH to Exchange Place in Jersey City, where there is a very nice Hyatt on the waterfront. However, if you're not dealing with a car, I would just head into NYC direct from EWR.

One thing to consider is staying north a bit - there is a large Marriott in Teaneck close to both I-95 or I-80. You'd enter Manhattan via the George Washington Bridge and take the Hudson Parkway south to the cruise terminal. Probably 30 minutes or less and for the city a fairly easy drive.

Do you need to leave your car at the hotel or will you then drive into the city and park at the pier?

I'd go with #1, especially if you have a day or two you can add to the start and end - both Istanbul and Venice are worth a couple of days, and Venice in particular is not a great single-day port stop now in my opinion (based on how it was handled last year, maybe Ravenna is better). From Trieste after you disembark you can easily take the train into Venice (or stay in Mestre on the mainland for less and daytrip in) - it is a few hours and a nice ride from Trieste. If you think you will be heading back another time, Athens is on many more itineraries as an embarkation/disembarkation port than Olympia and Kotor are as regular port stops. But none are bad. And I have done Med cruises in Nov twice now and it was very mild and comfortable - not beach weather, but also not 100 degrees, and less crowded. I think it is a great time to be there for sightseeing.

I can always remember where I've been and what I saw there, I usually need to lookup which ship I was on what hotel I stayed at. So itinerary for me every time, because the ship is what it is - your transportation and accommodations, not the destination. I know people go for balconies on Alaska cruise, and I certainly get why for parts of it, but you really want to be on deck when in places like Glacier Bay so you can move from one side of the ship to another, and experience that wider view, see more sky, feel more out in the open.

No reason to think that Turkey, Cyprus, Malta or other spots will be impacted by this. About 10 or more years ago I was on a cruise that was supposed to overnight in Israel than go to Alexandira. There was, compared to this event, a minor flare-up that canceled Israel, so went to Rhodes and Antalya instead, then on the way to Egypt the situation in Israel lead to some protests so that was scrapped and went to Malta. Not the cruise I had wanted, but interesting, nonetheless. They can avoid the area easily - 100's of miles away - and provide a great cruise, no need to fully cancel.

You will see Black Friday sales though in those ports, which I find amusing every time as it makes no sense.... Honestly, I've found flying to and from Europe around Thanksgiving to be cheaper than normal - I think travel is crazy inside the US, but less people seem to head overseas - Thanksgiving week is one of my favorite times to cruise Europe for that reason.

This will be a bit of a challenge for NCL as they were using Haifa as the disembarkation/embarkation port, so not as easy as adding a new port mid-itinerary. From Cyprus, I think the best option might be back to Athens. Not sure if Antalya, Turkey or Alexandria, Egypt could do the turnaround.

10 years from now you'll probably need to look up the name of the ship (I know I do at least), but you'll have clear memories of Iceland. If the itinerary is what you are going for, go with the better itinerary... For a cruise where you are going primarily for the itinerary, to less touristy spots and smaller ports, I would almost always recommend the smaller ship anyway - less people competing for excursions and restaurants and so on, just less people invading the town. Ísafjörður's population is less than the Prima's capacity for instance...

Some additional info: For the April Star cruise, those on tours through NCL got last minute meeting time changes that were much earlier - just a day after the initial tickets were distributed. I believe they were redirected at the last minute from having the tenders dock at St Marks (as that was the original plan from 2022) to the cruise terminal, which added at least 30 minutes of transit time each way. So instead of one tender maybe doing 3 round trips in say a 9 hour period to St Marks, it could only complete 2 round trips to the cruise terminal in that time. Meaning that in the future they'd need to hire additional tenders for what was probably already a very expensive process to provide what became a less-than-optimal experience for many. They have a lot more flexibility to get people to Venice from Ravenna or Trieste and can do so in almost the same amount of time (once you factor in loading the tender vs a bus, and the time needied to get from the cruise terminal to the transportation hub where the buses can go directly) with less cost and risk of weather issues and so on.

If they stick to the published itinerary, then they will anchor outside of Venice and tender folks in. If they substitute Trieste for Venice that day, then any tours to Venice will get there by bus. Unfortunately, this is why it is very confusing in terms of planning as it is unclear what might happen, if they will do the tendering from Venice or if they will rework the itinerary and dock in Trieste. It doesn't help that NCL refers to Trieste as Venice (Trieste) as if is interchangeable planning-wise.

Not sure if you are being literal with "ferries" but from Trieste they will bus people to Venice, and individuals can take the train. Way too far for tendering - 60+ nautical miles. I agree with others that Trieste itself is worth a day exploring - either get there a day early and explore and take tours to Venice, or do Venice pre-cruise and spend the day in Trieste if they stay overnight.