McGarrett5oh

Likewise. Thank you for everything you've shared on this wonderful thread. I plan to reciprocate with helpful input once we're done. We're 14 days in the Prima Haven, so it should be interesting to see how essentially double a typical 7-day cruise is different. Meaning, what with the same daily menu in the Haven restaurant, spending 2 weeks with your butler, concierge, restaurant and other staff, not to mention your Haven guest neighbors, etc. (I'll let you know if I get tired of the almond croissant 😁) I'm really not concerned about the Haven Restaurant menu as we are interspersing specialty dining, in port dining and gosh, I think there might be a few other dining options somewhere on that ship. Cheers!

Just got off the phone with Haven Pre-Cruise Concierge. Man, they are ALL so GREAT! Really looking forward to our Haven experience next month. Forgot to ask if there is any rush to check in 21 days out if we want to get on board as early as possible. For example, is there any need to check in just past midnight on the 21st day out or as Haven guests there is no rush, just go on line the morning of the 21st day before departure, when the check-in opens?

We have an Alaska cruise booked for next summer using a Travel Agent for the first time. When flights opened up last week, I asked her to compare the Holland America flight options to what I could book directly with an airline. The prices came back exactly the same as what I saw online. When I asked the TA what the advantage was to booking through the cruise line, she said "NONE". Even the included "transfers" only apply if you arrive same day, not if you arrive the day before, which is what we will do via our own airline bookings. We get what we want, when we want, seats we want etc. by doing it ourselves.

If you need more proof, read this: https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/state-regional/norwegian-cruise-line-jewel-denies-refund-to-family-that-missed-ships-departure/article_6c0623e9-4cef-5d43-8612-a70f57ed7959.html

@PhillyTravelBug Thanks that helps a lot We’re there next month and expect a dip in temperature as we climb and praying for similar sunny weather that you enjoyed. Thanks for a great live report!

@PhillyTravelBug Fabulous pictures with fabulous weather. Good for you all! Question: How much of a temperature drop do you think you experienced from the port up to Eagle Road and/or the Dalsnibba Skywalk??

Was this trying to get a menu item from one of the Specialty restaurants prepared and served in the Haven restaurant? TIA

Where was this stop? TIA

Do you remember the name of the bakery? TIA

Prima was scheduled to be in Isafjordur today (8/18/23) and appears to be planning to spend an overnight in Akureyri instead. In looking at the size and weight of the ships that did make it into Isafjordur this summer, Prima is the largest by Gross Volume Weight (GVW): 143,500 Gross Tons. As a comparison, Celebrity Apex weighs 129,500 Gross Tons and tendered last Sunday (8/13/23). Most of the ships that did dock this summer with closer or below 100,000 GTs. As an example, the Holland America Rotterdam, which is also 2 years old an can hold a slightly smaller but similar number of passengers, only weights 99,800 GTs. On September 6, when the 139,072 Gross Ton MSC Preziosa is scheduled for Isafjordur and is the largest ship, besides the Prima, to come to port in the past 2 months. It is the only cruise ship scheduled in port that day. If it tenders, I would say we can count on what @imstewart says above, that Prima will be skipping Isafordur on its remaining schedule port calls this year (last one is 9/24/23)

@PhillyTravelBug Did the crater have a name and/or where was it located on the tour? TIA

Excellent resource! Thanks

Looking forward to photos from the Golden Circle. Have fun!

Thank you for the detailed review. It appears you were in the Haven, however you didn’t comment on the Haven Restaurant or anything else about the Haven other than the elevators and your suite. We’d be real interested to hear more about the Haven on the Prima as we will be on board for a Norway/Iceland itinerary next month also in one of the 2 bedroom Haven suites. Thanks in advance

Thanks for the live report. Found your comments on the Haven and vegetarian life on board very helpful.

My Windy app monitoring the coast of Norway showed some incredible swells and 30+ mph winds. How big did the swells and wind eventually get for you ? Thanks for the live report.

That’s what I saw at first too! 🥴

I was born in NY too, have lived in Atlanta and Charlotte and now Florida (which may be south but is not “THE South”) for the past 30 years. Don’t know why I didn’t get your handle pronunciation until now! 🤪

@Sthrngary Having followed this forum for over a year, I’ve wondered how to pronounce your handle. I’d be interested to know how you say it (phonetically) as well as how your “friend”, the “Haven Expert” pronounced it with you sitting there? 😁

Two photos of the port at Isajfordur taken from the Viking Saturn on 7/29/23. Didn't see any dredging equipment, just earthmoving on shore.

We are doing just this with our adult children in September in a 2 bedroom H6 Haven suite. Comparatively, it was quite a good value.

I just finished a phone call with the Haven Pre-Cruise Concierge, Yvonne. Very professonal and helpful. I had a few questions that she was able to answer without fail. The one takeaway that I didn't completely understand, from previous research, was that the Pre-Cruise Concierge requests you can make for your suite are just for "Embarkation Day" In other words, if there are any requests related to later in the cruise, those should be directed to your Butler or the on-board Concierge. Of course, pre-cruise we can also pick from the pillow menu, empty the refrigerator & ask for extra hangers, which has been covered thoroughly in this thread. But to illustrate what I didn't know, I was told that we can choose up to 2 different drinks to be available in the suite upon arrival: Drinks: Orange, Cranberry, Apple, Lemonade or Iced Tea Snacks: Assorted Nuts, M&Ms, and/or gummy bears (didn't catch if we are limited to 2 of these) If we want anything different (that may be available) or to change things up after Embarkation Day, I was told to take care of that on board. We will use our Butler letter along with conversation with our Butler upon meeting him or her to make those requests. Our needs are relatively simple (e.g. no CPAP, or important medical or mobility requests that may be needed by other guests), so I thought I'd share this primarily to help reinforce the importance of the Butler letters provided by @Sthrngary and others, to focus on requests beyond the pre-cruise set up for Embarkation Day. Hope this is helpful.

Indeed! In our motorhome days we always had contingencies and backup plans depending on circumstances. In Le Havre we won’t know the weather, the ship being delayed etc so thinking large to begin and having the car reserved gives us the flexibility to make game time and in game decisions. I’ll let u know how it turns out. Thanks again.

We’re 14 days on the Prima in September plus 2 days early arrival. We’re budgeting for Haven laundry so we can pack less and save room for the layers we’ll need in Iceland and Norway.

Thanks for your input @Hlitner Good detail & thoughts to consider.