imadisneyfan

@Ellis1138 since you're on the Prima, it's a crapshoot. In my case, being on the NCL Star gives me more confidence I'll make the Iceland ports. Also, when many of the tour operators asked me what ship I was on, they were much more likely to work with me. A few operators said they had so many issues with the Prima and the missed ports last year, they are not sure they'll run private tours for Prima passengers this year. Many of them said they decided to offer the same tours through the ship instead for insurance. To each his own however. You decide.

@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. 😊

We did this post cruise tour in November 2022. There was a significant delay in disembarking the ship (which was obviously out of our control), and this led to decreased time at Kennedy Space Center. There were two buses. After receiving our entry tickets on the NCL bus, we bee-lined it to the bus that takes you on the Space Center tour as the lines can be long. In total they gave us only three hours there as we needed to leave at 1:00pm to make it to the airport by 1:45pm. Due to the limited time, you will feel rushed. However, as the bus arrived around 9:30am, we were able to see what we wanted to see in the time given. (The shuttle simulator was a no go for us due to the long wait times.) There was plenty of time for us to get the feel for the place and even browse the gift shop prior to leaving. We found KSC exciting and plan to return on our own so we have more time to explore. As our flight home left at 5:30pm, this tour was ideal so that we didn't have to wait all day in the airport! You will not be disappointed.

I'll be on the Getaway next week and I'm debating whether to warn my boyfriend before he beelines it over to O'Sheehans once we embark. He loves their wings and he will definitely have an opinion if there is any difference from when we sailed in 2021. He is an extremely picky eater, and if he doesn't like something, he'll let you know. The wings are his go to when we return from an excursion or he's looking for a late night snack. There's a little bit of me that is curious to see if he'll notice the difference. At least now I'll be prepared if he notices! ☺️