Cruiseguy14

16 hours ago, Broadwayfamily said:

Hi Cruise Guy, While in Isafjordur we went to Dyanjdi Waterfalls, a 7 seven layer waterfall that you can walk up to the top.  It was beautiful.  We had a private driver for 4 and the excursion was 6 hours.  This was booked thru Iceland Backcountry and we paid per couple 2021 $376.

In Akureyri we were on an overnight so we went to Forest Lagoon on the day we docked, next day we did the diamond circle excursion thru the cruise ship since we had OBC.  This took us to the Godafoss falls and to the Botanical Gardens.  It was a 6 hr excursion, on a group bus tour.  We could of used more time at both locations, especially at the gargens, it was beautiful.  Had we known we could have done the gardens on our own the day before because it is located behind the church.  So walkable from the port.  Hope this helps.  Djupivogur was not one of the ports we stopped at.  We were on the Azamara Pursuit, loved the service and food, long port stops and overnights with this cruise.

 

 

 

Thank you this is helpful

On 3/6/2024 at 10:01 AM, Simon-t said:

We visited both of these ports last summer. They are very different to a typical cruise port. Small settlements with very little infrastructure, so don't expect lots of tourist shops. In terms of currency Danish Kroner (the official currency), Euros, and US $ were all accepted.

 

Qaqortoq does have a tourist information shop  next to the tender dock which sells some souvenirs. There is a large shop a short walk from the dock whish is advertised as selling local furs, although we did not visit so I cannot really comment on that. There were a few local craft stalls set up with locals selling hand made souvenirs. It was also possible to book iceberg "safaris" by rib boat from the tourist information (we had an amazing trip seeing icebergs up close).

 

Nanortalik is even smaller, with very few shops, although again, some locals selling craft items. There is also on open air museum which we really enjoed.

 

However, the real enjoyment of these two ports is simply to wander and get a sense of the beauty and remoteness of these places, which are unique. The scenery is stunning, and the locals very friendly.

 

 

I agree with you that remoteness of it is what interest me. Do you have any recommendations on what you would do for excursions ? Is it necessary to even book an excursion or is it better to just walk around the area ? I did see one extrusion relatively cheap where you go to a natives house and they cook for you and they explain their life there which seemed interesting to me. Please let me know your thoughts . 
 

im not afraid to pay for a experience but I hate feeling ripped off and I expect to spend a decent amount bc we will be in Iceland beforehand . Thanks 

3 hours ago, imadisneyfan said:

@Cruiseguy14 I will be on the Star when it sails from New York to Reykjavik in August. I did extensive research on these boards in the Iceland/Greenland forums. (See @mking8288 post #8 for the link.)

A few things to keep in mind when planning private excursions in Iceland. As a smaller ship, the Star can access the ports that the bigger ships (Prima) can't.

1) As we are on the Star, I know we will be tendering in Akureryi. This will affect the start times of the excursion. Tendering ports will need further research.

2) All tour operators require the tour to be paid in full PRIOR to sailing. This can be costly especially if you aren't prepared.

3) Most importantly, you will need to read all terms and conditions of your bookings to completely understand their cancellation policy. This itinerary can have several missed ports due to weather or even too much ice in the sailing area. I checked with the tour operators thoroughly prior to booking to verify their policy on refunds due to a missed port. Some may require contact within 24 hours to notify them that the ship will not be arriving. As ship wifi can be wonky at times, I wasn't comfortable relying on my email for notification. Luckily I was able to find tour operators in Akureryi and Isajfordur that will know ahead of time if the ship is unable to reach port and a refund will be given promptly. 

I found the Iceland forums very informative to completely understand how to book private tours and found the information regarding the terms and conditions very helpful. Planning for Iceland requires a bit more effort and research as I have also sailed many times to the Caribbean and only use private tour companies.

Good luck and let me know if you have any further questions.  😊

 

Thank you so much for your reply.this if good information . I tried to look at that @ and find your post but I am a little confused . I am new here so if there is anyway you could post it here I would love to read it. Thanks again .

14 hours ago, UKstages said:

which ship?

 

the prima never made it to isafjordur the entire 2023 season. the port needed to be dredged, the prima doesn't have tenders, yadda yadda, yadda. there are multiple threads on cruise critic about this. the smaller ships had better success with calling on isafjordur.

 

i used NCL excursions while in iceland for a variety of reasons, so can't really send you in the right direction for tour companies. others will be along shortly to do that, i'm sure. what i do recommend is you google "NCL excursions" and then the city name.  all the tours will pop up. then you can take those tour names and put them in the google machine and see other companies that are offering  similar tours

 

what i will say is that excursions in iceland tend to be quite expensive. there is a very high standard of living in iceland and tours are priced quite high. it is quite common for your bus driver (if taking a coach tour) to actually own the bus he's driving. you rarely see that in other countries. so, booking with other companies might also be pretty expensive in iceland.

 

whichever tour you take out of akureyri, make sure it includes a visit to godafoss.

 

 

Thanks , we will defiantly see godafass

6 hours ago, Kayak25 said:

We did the Greenland and Iceland cruise in 2022, on the Star, that went to Norway instead of Greenland. The best Iceland excursion we did was from Isafjordur to the Bird Island of Vigur. It's a half hour journey to the island on quite a fast, powerful boat. You can sit inside but for seeing the amazing scenery sit outside. Make sure you are wearing plenty of warm clothes!

The island is a haven for Arctic bird life, be prepared to be bombarded by the Arctic terns as they protect their nests. You are given a stick to hold above your head which the birds will attack instead of your head. Plenty of puffins and other birds to see as you walk round the island.

At the end of the visit you'll be given coffee and delicious homemade cake.

Is this dangerous ? I’m a city guy so I’m not use to wildlife , plus I will be with a 3 year old.

2 hours ago, floridafish said:

Last summer I booked excursions thru Viator while in Iceland. Extremely pleased. BTW....I highly recommend the walking foodie tour in Reykjavik.

Lol I think I’ll do this. I have a 3 year old who is a picky eater and would love to see her face when they try to feed her whale. 

10 hours ago, mking8288 said:

OP ... have you look into the Port of Calls tab - and see if there are chats, links & resources posted by others.  Are you on that sailing's CC roll call ?  

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/2705-iceland-and-greenland/

 

Sorry, am I missing something, don't see anything associated with NCL doing a crossing this July to NY from Iceland or with a stop there ... is this a mystery cruise ??   Do share & tell 😉

No I was unaware of that tab. Thank you and I appreciate the advice. 
 Check out the screen shot below and let me know if you need anymore info 

I will be sailing on July 27th from Iceland to New York.  I recently went to the carribean and researched every port and was able to plan my own excursions  which saved me thousands and I didn’t sacrifice any enjoyment.

I am trying to do the same with Iceland and I am having trouble finding the same type of resources for information. If anyone has any resources that would help me plan out my trip I would be very grateful . Below are the ports I am visiting:

Thanks I’m advance. 

On 3/13/2022 at 1:37 PM, pcakes122 said:

Congratulations on reaching Ambassador! 🙌 I honestly think NCL could do MUCH, MUCH better to reward the loyalty (and acknowledge the investment in NCL!) for folks having cruised with them so much/long.

 

The Ambassador reward cruise should be Haven MINIMUM, if not Owner's Suite+.  All perks should be included! Free transport & airfare to the port, etc.! I'm really disappointed in NCL for the the level of Ambassador perks. 

 

In contrast, folks hitting the top level (Elite) in NCL's Casinos at Sea program DO get (in addition to regular free cruises!) free car service to/from the pier, free premium beverages, free internet, free service charges & more!  (I currently get comp Haven cruises from NCL through CAS and I am not spending ANYWHERE NEAR what someone who has reached Ambassador level with them has!)

 

They could truly make the Ambassador rewards SPECTACULAR - especially since there are so few reaching that level!  I truly think NCL has dropped the ball on their Ambassadors.

I have cruises ncl  3 times . Twice for free with casinos at sea and in haven or suites. I agree 100 with OP but I think all the levels don’t really reward loyalty at all. The only level that seems to actually be worth crossing is platinum 

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic

 

As a general rule, please don't bump old and dead threads because the information in the thread contains old, outdated, incorrect information. Just start a new thread with your question. (For example, this thread talks about room classes that no longer exist)

 

On Breakaway/Breakaway Plus class ships, about 1/3 of the Haven rooms are not in the Haven complex (with the exception of the Joy where 2/3 are not in the Haven Complex). And on the Prima and Viva, technically no rooms are on the floors with the Haven Restaurant, Lounge, Sundeck, Facilities. The Courtyard Penthouse is a really small room. But, it is a few steps from the Haven restaurant. Aft Facing are beautiful rooms, but a bit of a hike. 

 

August 2022, we stayed in a 2BR Haven literally 10 steps from the Haven Bar and 15 steps from the Haven Restaurant. It was convenient. In September 2023, we stayed in a Forward Facing Haven, and while [a lot] more steps, we made equal use of the Haven complex and didn't give a second though about running up there for a drink or to sit in the hot tubs. 

Thanks makes sense

As part of CAS I was offered a courtyard penthouse or an aft facing penthouse. I looked at the specs of the room and the balcony in the aft facing penthouse seemed much bigger to me. At the time I took that offer I was under the impression everything was in the haven bc I have never sailed the haven before but after reading this my guess is that it is not. We are both unde 40 so I don’t mind the walk but I’m wondering now if we made the right decision. Either way I am sure we will have a good time for a very reasonable price. 

Depending on what cruise you take it’s not that hard. I got 60 points for one 15 day cruise 

I heard that everyone in your cabin gets the points and they are good for life. If that is true my daughter has 140 points and she is  3. If she keeps on this pace she will be ambassador before 10. As long as ncl stays in business. 🙂

These desserts look great. If you’re staying in the haven and you want one of these will they serve it to you in the haven restaurant without an additional charge if you request it? 

1 hour ago, Dcoy said:

Last year on the Getaway, we had two issues with our aft Haven cabin. The door between our balcony and the next cabin was open and kept slamming as we sailed. I can’t remember the second issue but I mentioned them to our Concierge at breakfast and both were fixed before we got back to the cabin. 

11908? That’s where I am staying on the getaway. 

19 hours ago, complawyer said:

cruiseguy14.

 

maybe i didnt explain it properly. i was talking about the last day of the cruise, and if we're planning to stay in that particular city. the concierge calls ahead for a cab, and the cabbie drives us directly to our designated hotel. we usually discuss this with him/her the day prior to disembarkation.

 

so yes you can probably do it yourself,( but that involves trying to find a cab when most of the other passengers are trying to do the same).  but it's not necessary at every port, merely the last one if you're staying for a few days. 

now dont you think that's something worthwhile, and removes some pressure on the last day of the cruise?

yes it defiantly sounds like a perk I will use. My response to you was ackwardly worded but I just wanted to know if I could do it at every port when I am on the cruise. Traveling with a 3 year old makes it hard to do all these things port to port. Thanks 

By and large are haven customers so wealthy that they are use to not doing regular things for themselves and are ok paying a couple of hundred dollars for minor conviences ? That’s not really my families status 

5 hours ago, complawyer said:

to me, the MOST significant aspects of having the services of a concierge are  twofold(of course there are others, but these 2 are the most significant for my wife and myself)

 

(1) when sailing from foreign ports, we usually like to fly in 2-3 days early, and if disembarking at a different port, stay over for a few days before flying home. i always make arrangements with the concierge, to have a taxi or a shuttle pick us up at the port and drive us to the hotel. ie, rome is about an hour away from the port. this aug we sailed from copenhagen to stockholm and he had a cab waiting for us, as our hotel was about 30 minutes from the port.

the same last summer (2022) when we disembarked in copenhagen and he got us a cabto our hotel.

 

(2) and IMHO, and ive posted this more than once, you arrange with your concierge to meet at a certain time and location to walk you off the ship. i think this beats trying to disembark with 2-3000 of your closest friends, who are blocking all the stairways.  he gets  us off the ship in less than 15 minutes, and directly to our luggage. (note if youre in a suite with concierge service, your luggage is in a separate priority location) to me, this alone is worth the price of admission.

 

i concede that most of the services provided by a concierge can easily be managed by oneself, but try and get a dinner reservation in a specialty restaurant at the time you want, when it's listed as full, and then turn to your  friendly,  neighborhood concierge as see what rabbit he can pull out of is hat.

 

that being said (sorry for the length of this post), if you dont use the concierge, there is no need to tip

Thank you number 1 isn’t a benefit I would have thought of and that seems valuable. I assume this can’t be done during a cruise when you stop at a port ?

Thank you but aren’t those basic customer service things. None of those things seem to be a service that I would deem tip worthy escpeially if you’re paying a premium already. What I heard is you should tip like 10 dollars a day and I don’t see the value. I will tip bc that’s part of the deal of staying there but would like to extract more value. 

I will be taking my 3rd cruise this March and my first in the haven. I only started cruising in Nov 2022 so I am relatively new to it so I would like someone to set me straight.

I fail to see the value of the concierge amenity. My last sailing I was on the Gem while not in a haven suite I did have a butler/concierge and a very nice room. I didn’t understand the value of the butler then but have subsequently learned their value by this forum. Even now that I understand it for my particular situation it is probably not that much of a perk bc I like to get out of the room as often as possible. 
 

but the concierge shows almost a negative value. The only thing that has been articulated to me that they can do is make reservations for you which I can easily do with the app in 2 seconds without having a middle man. What am I missing ? 

I just booked the Iceland Greenland Canada 12 day for ice land to New York. I can’t wait . Also doing a 10 day carribean. 

12 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

There are no prepaid gratuities (other than on some FAS items).  You are talking about the DSC which has nothing to fdo with tups/  The ONLY correct answer to tipping is to ti anyone you want, any time you want, any amount you want.  Trust mne, no one is going to turn down any amount you tip.  Enjoy your cruise!

That’s not what I was told. I was told yesterday by a NCL rep that the only person I had to tip once I got on board was my butler. That I had even prepaid the concierge . Please see below and let me know if I paid something that I shouldn’t have. 

Another question I am wondering about is tipping based on usage. I stayed on the gem and had a butler/concierge. 
 

the butler I think I used twice on a 15 day cruise and they were extremely small favors.

the concierge I don’t think I used at all. I’m not even sure under what situations I would use a concierge considering I can make any schedule in the app in two seconds. Please correct me if I am wrong .

but despite not tipping them I felt I was obligated to leave then a decent tip. My thinking was just bc I don’t really want any additional services it is unfair for me to recur my tip bc those jobs are structured to be compensated mainly by tipping and if I don’t tip what the average person would have tipped then that is not right. Basically my thought process is that if you stay in a room with these butlers/concierges you have to baseline tip them regardless if you never use them. They depend on that for their livelihood and they would of been willing to help you if you wanted.

I see a lot of you saying that you are tipping people like waitresses , bartenders , etc. is this bc in the haven these people are not part of the prepaid gratuities ? I don’t like to have the stress of tipping so I prefer to prepay and get it out of the way . 

Trying to decide between these two options.

transatlantic from New York to Greenland and then Alaska. Take the fact of going from New York out of the equation because I am from here and experience it everyday.

second choice is a Alaskan cruise. 
 

what do you guys think ? Curious to hear the expert opinions :)