Prima Iceland / Norway August 2023

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Canal tour. Everyone does it and it’s worth it! We had a guide speaking in English, German, and French.

 

We have to get there someday. Way back 20 or so years ago we had a river cruise roundtrip Amsterdam that was chartered out after we made final payment. And this month it was cancelled from our cruise because NCL said the low tide was only 1 foot! We really had that port planned out. We have been talking about maybe just doing it as a land vacation.

 

Before the port was cancelled, I had worried that museums would be closed as we were going to be there on a Monday, a day that European museums often close. But I found enough open to make DW happy, plus a French Fry Museum. The concept of a museum devoted to french fries definitely intrigued me.

 

Thanks for the pictures.

[PhillyTravelBug]

54 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

We have to get there someday. Way back 20 or so years ago we had a river cruise roundtrip Amsterdam that was chartered out after we made final payment. And this month it was cancelled from our cruise because NCL said the low tide was only 1 foot! We really had that port planned out. We have been talking about maybe just doing it as a land vacation.

 

Before the port was cancelled, I had worried that museums would be closed as we were going to be there on a Monday, a day that European museums often close. But I found enough open to make DW happy, plus a French Fry Museum. The concept of a museum devoted to french fries definitely intrigued me.

 

Thanks for the pictures.

I would come here for a land vacation and combine it with Brussels in a heartbeat!

[PhillyTravelBug]

The last of our Brugge photos. We had lunch just off the beaten path on the canal and it was really lovely and relaxing. Then we hit the town center. The architecture just gets better and better.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Our last evening on this fabulous vacation is here. This cruise was just the right amount of time. We do have a transfer via train for tomorrow in London before we fly out Monday.  I must say, I absolutely loved our balcony cabin. The cabins are perfect. From the deck with the comfy chairs, design, lighting, function of the bathroom, closet space, and more than enough charging outlets.  
 

Simon has been the best and most memorable captain we have experienced. Great style and just the right amount of cheer! Jaharmine at Starbucks has been my stand out employee. Not only did she remember my order and name daily, I noticed she remembered so many others. Love that touch. 
 

Thermal spa was an absolute delight. I don’t feel like I took advantage of it like I did in the bliss, and would put this one below the spa on the bliss and getaway. Like the design a bit better.

 

I really wish our sea days were not so rainy so we could utilize deck 8 more. We did get to enjoy indulge food hall out there one night and loved walking around on it.

 

the specialty restaurants Onda, Hasuki, and Los Lobos were all on point! Our best meals. Did one dinner in the MDR and that was more than enough. This was the best Local so far, indulge was a big hit and only had trouble finding seats once or twice.
 

overall, Prima is a fantastic ship and can’t wait to see how the changes progress as this class of ship develops.  The modern design and colors impressed me every time I left my room. However, the smaller public space has big drawbacks. Just be warned if booking a future cruise. 
 

Can’t wait to explore London tomorrow!

[schmoopie17]

3 minutes ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

  

Simon has been the best and most memorable captain we have experienced. Great style and just the right amount of cheer!

Simon probably appreciates the promotion...😁

 

But I agree...he's far and away the best cruise director we've had.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Final sunset…reality coming closer and vacation fading.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Disembarking may have been the best yet. It was a breeze. Of course elevator crowding is expected.  Taking  the train to London and its standing room only. Last day of our getaway.

[PhillyTravelBug]

Lovely day so far jn London. Lots and lots of walking. The crowds are a bit stressful to deal with.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Lovely day so far jn London. Lots and lots of walking. The crowds are a bit stressful to deal with.

We had a totally rainy day in London on our pre-cruise day. It didn't really matter that much as we basically spent the whole time in the British Museum. DW who taught art for 40 years or so before retiring does not understand how people cannot spend so much time in museums. We have been in London a few times, both pre-cruise and land trips, so we have seen much of the city. (Though of course you can never see it all.) And come to think of it, it was rainy our last pre-cruise day there, in fact we were told it was the remnants of a hurricane.

[Markj]

6 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Disembarking may have been the best yet. It was a breeze. Of course elevator crowding is expected.  Taking  the train to London and its standing room only. Last day of our getaway.

With regards to disembarking -

What time did you get off the ship?

How did you get to the train station?

What time was your train to London?

 

Thank you

[PhillyTravelBug]

9 minutes ago, Markj said:

With regards to disembarking -

What time did you get off the ship?

How did you get to the train station?

What time was your train to London?

 

Thank you

we had a quick bite to each and did self assist regarding our luggage. We left around 7:45 am, took a cab ride over to the train station and only took 5 minutes. We could have walked I’d we wanted to. Our train tickets were for 9:25. It would have been cutting it very close, but we had about 5 minutes until the 8:25 train. We could have made that one, but it would have cost us 80 more pounds. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

Lots and lots of walking today, trying to view as much as possible.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I also noticed a lot of architecture that reminds me of walking the high line in NYC

[2bc cruisers]

Very nice review all the way through.  Thank you.  I really enjoyed your pictures. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

1 minute ago, 2bc cruisers said:

Very nice review all the way through.  Thank you.  I really enjoyed your pictures. 

I really appreciate it and really enjoyed sharing myself.

[debenson0723]

Wow...you really saw a lot in London today. Loved your whole review...very fair and balanced, I thought. And your pictures were fantastic. Even though I have so many other places on my list to go, you are making me want to do this cruise (and I have been to London and Iceland multiple times). Have a safe flight home. 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Philly, did you do a tour in Bruges, or do it on your own.  We are doing the BI with our kids and grandkids, all Brit Ish Isles rookies.  We have been to all our ports except Bruges and wondering how to best see the sites.  The grandkids are 14 and 18 and very academically minded kids.  Not your average teenagers and very interested in architecture.  Any insights are appreciated.  Thank you for all your marvelous photos.

[Silgpez1]

Thank you for posting all the information and pictures . My husband and I are taking the cruise arriving September 5th in Reykjavik with two days in Reykjavik and two days after cruise in London. We are watching the weather before starting our packing. For the most part we plan to follow your suggestions with fall clothing as well. How long did you stay at the Blue Lagoon and did you have lunch there? 

[lazydayz]

Great review.  Thank you for doing it.  We just did 12 nights in the Carnival Pride with four Icelandic ports.  We did a whale watching tour in the RIB speedboat.  It was incredible and we saw eight whales, and at our last stop, we saw puffins.  My hubby is ready to go back to Iceland.  I can wait a while. The Southern Caribbean is calling my name.  

[PhillyTravelBug]

9 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Philly, did you do a tour in Bruges, or do it on your own.  We are doing the BI with our kids and grandkids, all Brit Ish Isles rookies.  We have been to all our ports except Bruges and wondering how to best see the sites.  The grandkids are 14 and 18 and very academically minded kids.  Not your average teenagers and very interested in architecture.  Any insights are appreciated.  Thank you for all your marvelous photos.

Just to know if you haven’t read, there is a complimentary bus from where you get off the ship to a terminal just outside the port. It only takes a few minutes and everyone has to take it since they don’t allow you to walk around. Once there, there are ticket counters for a bus transfer to Bruges. We purchased ours in advance, but I’m not quite sure it’s necessary.  We had to wait about ten minutes for the bus. Once in its abkut a 25 minute ride to town. The bus lets you off outside and there’s a short walk. Just follow the masses. You will get your steps in, but there’s so much to see. There are multiple areas to walk up and do a canal tour. It’s a little bit of a line by afternoon, so recommend in the morning.

it was 12 pounds.

 

I highly recommend getting off the ship first thing. We got lots of pictures early in the morning with uncrowned streets. By afternoon, it’s extremely crowded, but still very enjoyable.

 

good luck!

[PhillyTravelBug]

9 hours ago, Silgpez1 said:

Thank you for posting all the information and pictures . My husband and I are taking the cruise arriving September 5th in Reykjavik with two days in Reykjavik and two days after cruise in London. We are watching the weather before starting our packing. For the most part we plan to follow your suggestions with fall clothing as well. How long did you stay at the Blue Lagoon and did you have lunch there? 

Unfortunately, since we did a tour, we only had 2 hours there from 5pm (17:00) until 7pm (19:00). We were so starved though we just grabbed a grab and go sandwich. $25 for that!

[chillyw]

On 8/26/2023 at 4:58 PM, PhillyTravelBug said:

Our last evening on this fabulous vacation is here. This cruise was just the right amount of time. We do have a transfer via train for tomorrow in London before we fly out Monday.  I must say, I absolutely loved our balcony cabin. The cabins are perfect. From the deck with the comfy chairs, design, lighting, function of the bathroom, closet space, and more than enough charging outlets.  
 

Simon has been the best and most memorable captain we have experienced. Great style and just the right amount of cheer! Jaharmine at Starbucks has been my stand out employee. Not only did she remember my order and name daily, I noticed she remembered so many others. Love that touch. 
 

Thermal spa was an absolute delight. I don’t feel like I took advantage of it like I did in the bliss, and would put this one below the spa on the bliss and getaway. Like the design a bit better.

 

I really wish our sea days were not so rainy so we could utilize deck 8 more. We did get to enjoy indulge food hall out there one night and loved walking around on it.

 

the specialty restaurants Onda, Hasuki, and Los Lobos were all on point! Our best meals. Did one dinner in the MDR and that was more than enough. This was the best Local so far, indulge was a big hit and only had trouble finding seats once or twice.
 

overall, Prima is a fantastic ship and can’t wait to see how the changes progress as this class of ship develops.  The modern design and colors impressed me every time I left my room. However, the smaller public space has big drawbacks. Just be warned if booking a future cruise. 
 

Can’t wait to explore London tomorrow!

 

Hello from LHR 🙂 I suspect you might be here too 😂

 

Agree with a lot of this. Ship is beautiful, Simon was energetic, Canal tour in Bruges was great.

 

We did Stonehenge yesterday and that was awesome. Definitely a must do if you get back to London! You did an awesome London tour though from the photos.

 

I will say though I did notice the cuts. While I love the potential of the ship, the entertainment was mostly boring to us. Ex: using the Improv to do lame trivia games instead of comedy. I don't buy the excuse about comedians, I watch European comments from the Edinburgh fringe every BA flight and they are funny to a US audience too!

 

We spent more time in our room on this cruise then I ever have on a port-intensive one. We did like price is right live though.

 

Specialty dining was hit and miss, and ranged from decent to great to me. Agree with your Los Lobos and Onda, both great, and I live in Austin and get good Mexican food from the Mom and Pop taco stand across the street 😂. Palomar was really good, but not quite great, and Food Republic remains one of our favorites, but you have to order the right stuff there or it can be medicore.

 

Hasuki I don't think was as good as in the past, I noticed the steak quality cut and the fried rice wasn't as good for some reason the past two times I've been.

 

Loved following along with you, and sad I didn't run into you on the ship to say hi. We did a lot of the same excursions!

 

Staff was overall great.

 

I'd definitely sail NCL again but I'm looking for something a little different after the changes, so I'm going to branch out personally. Virgin time next. Plus, I avoided the next certificate successfully.😂

 

Think the Prima in the Caribbean will be fun, and a ship people really like there, it just feels different from old NCL for me in a few ways and I want something new.

 

Last comment on Prima: my least favorite slot machine selection in the fleet.

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

Just to know if you haven’t read, there is a complimentary bus from where you get off the ship to a terminal just outside the port. It only takes a few minutes and everyone has to take it since they don’t allow you to walk around. Once there, there are ticket counters for a bus transfer to Bruges. We purchased ours in advance, but I’m not quite sure it’s necessary.  We had to wait about ten minutes for the bus. Once in its abkut a 25 minute ride to town. The bus lets you off outside and there’s a short walk. Just follow the masses. You will get your steps in, but there’s so much to see. There are multiple areas to walk up and do a canal tour. It’s a little bit of a line by afternoon, so recommend in the morning.

it was 12 pounds.

 

I highly recommend getting off the ship first thing. We got lots of pictures early in the morning with uncrowned streets. By afternoon, it’s extremely crowded, but still very enjoyable.

 

good luck!

We did not get to Brugge as there were extremely low tides that caused the cancellation of the Zeebrugge's port. We had booked Brugge on Your Own. I know it started off seeming expensive as opposed to just going there, but after my $50 off for BOGO and both of our 10% off for our Latitudes status, it was competitive. We figured it was worth it to avoid having to figure out transportation back and forth plus there was supposed to be someone on the bus who could help you plan.

 

We really, really want to get there someday!

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Thank you for that information.  I had read bits and pieces of that but a first hand recent perspective is always helpful.  I think the canal tour would be special to the family, I know we have loved them everywhere we’ve been in the past.  
MB

[cruiseny4life]

4 hours ago, chillyw said:

Palomar was really good, but not quite great, and Food Republic remains one of our favorites, but you have to order the right stuff there or it can be medicore.

You can't leave us hanging! What's the right stuff? We're planning two meals at Food Republic to use up our Free at Sea/2 dining package. Thanks 🙂