Semi-LIVE Review — NCL Star — Southampton to Reykjavík, 5/18/2024

[Betsynh]

[Betsynh]

Tuesday — Akureyri, Iceland

 

This was the port where we splurged and booked the NCL excursion “Polar Flight to Grimsey” to the Arctic Circle. It was worth every penny and more. Eighteen of us boarded a small Twin Otter plane after catching a shuttle at the pier (4 minute drive to the airport) and took a 25-minute flight to the remote island of Grimsey. It is home to 20 residents (only one school-aged child) and several hundred puffins. The photo opps were incredible. The residents’ philosophy is to all take care of each other, which has worked well for them for years. We had about two hours to explore the island which also boasted a small house containing a gift shop, a tiny kitchen and honor system coffee set up, as well as a Disc Golf Course installed by the local Kiwanis Club not realizing that bad shots would send the flying discs off the cliffs into the sea below. Meeting the people and seeing the puffins was magical.

[Betsynh]

Wednesday — Isafjordur, Iceland

 

Today we arrived bright and early to yet another day full of sunshine in the high 40’s/low 50’s. We booked an NCL excursion to an abandoned village, Hesteyri, which involved a 60-minute boat ride to a nearby fjord. The scenery was stunning and our guide lead a walk to various places explaining the history as to why the previous inhabitants all left in the early 1950’s. There are a now couple of small private homes by the water that are inhabited in summer, and the former “doctor’s house” has been converted into a bed and breakfast, although it’s unclear how many rooms they actually have. The town previously had no plumbing or electricity but in recent years have been able to pump water in/out of the fjord and have a seasonal hydroelectric set up to provide electricity to the B&B. It’s actually staffed in summer by a renown accordionist, Hrolfur Vagnsson,who did an impromptu performance for us. It was mind-blowing to see the remnants and imagine their remote lifestyle. With two ships in port today — NCL Star and the Ambassador Ambiance, we were glad to leave the port by boat rather than tour with crowds.

 

We need to pack up tonight to disembark in the morning… will share some closing thoughts after our Perlan Museum/Airport Drop Off excursion tomorrow.

 

[Betsynh]

While waiting to disembark —

 

Overall, despite the little bumps I described earlier, this trip was amazing! The ports were so varied and interesting from elegant castles to brogh ruins to thunderous waterfalls and remote Icelandic villages. We saw so many sea birds; people on our flight to Grimsey spotted a whale! We thoroughly enjoyed our Thermal Suite pass, using the stone loungers almost daily, and hiding out together in the Relaxation Room to read and enjoy the view when we wanted quiet. The staff were incredibly friendly from the adorable omelet chef at the Garden Cafe’s station #5 who would bow every time he handed me the “best omelet of my life” on it, to the fantastic Mark and Lea in the Atrium Cafe. I completely felt appreciated everywhere we went.

 

For gluten-free cruisers, I didn’t have any issues although am not diagnosed Celiac. I was able to order sandwiches in O’Sheehans with GF bread although they ran out of corn tortillas for nachos and had to revert to flour...oh well! As a raving chocoholic, Mark, the dietary restriction coordinator, made sure I had something GF and chocolate every night for dessert — one was a chocolate/orange mousse that apparently no one else on the ship had that night. Interesting! The Atrium Cafe’s macarons should be GF as well as the truffle-like candies (the staff checked for me, but you may want to double check).

 

This 12-night trip was the longest I’ve taken thus far, and today it feels like time flew. I was completely able to disconnect from work and life back home, and the issues with the WiFi were probably a blessing. It doesn’t appear to be fully resolved at this point, though. I did get daily voicemails in the cabin promoting Future Cruise Credits, but declined since I’m not loyal to any specific cruise line. I forgot to mention that we decided to blow the last of our nonrefundable credit in the casino and came up $8.00 ahead, so heading home with about $38 for the effort. I’d call that a win!

[cruiseny4life]

That waterfall is freaking epic! 

 

And puffins! They are a dream for me to see someday! 

 

 

[Betsynh]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

That waterfall is freaking epic! 

 

And puffins! They are a dream for me to see someday! 

It truly was a dream trip. Friends took even more beautiful waterfall pics—so many to choose from! There’s apparently a place off the coast of Maine where puffins nest, too, so you may not need to travel too far. 

[Betsynh]

We booked a morning tour with airport drop off that included some views of Reykjavík and a trip to the Perlan Museum. We were slated to meet in the Starlight Theater at 8:30am and were dropped off at the airport by 12:30/1-ish. Unfortunately, our flight wasn’t until 8:05pm, so we had several hours before we were allowed to check our bags, and then a couple more hours to wait after we passed security. We tried to do a day pass at the Saga Lounge, but they don’t offer day rates. I was worried the airport would be so small and lack food options, but we were able to find something reasonable for lunch and a mini-dinner. I didn’t notice any outlets (US, European or USBs), so be sure your phone/iPad is fully charged before heading to the airport.

 

We took advantage of the discounted airfare with NCL booking our flights. We tried to switch to the 5:10pm flight to our final destination (the agent said they had 96 empty seats), but they couldn’t help us and the telephone agent indicated there was a $250 per person change fee plus any differential in price. We gave up and hunkered down with books and cribbage to pass the time. Smooth flight home!! Happy travels everyone!

[TYTY]

On 5/31/2024 at 8:51 PM, Betsynh said:

We booked a morning tour with airport drop off that included some views of Reykjavík and a trip to the Perlan Museum. We were slated to meet in the Starlight Theater at 8:30am and were dropped off at the airport by 12:30/1-ish. Unfortunately, our flight wasn’t until 8:05pm, so we had several hours before we were allowed to check our bags, and then a couple more hours to wait after we passed security. We tried to do a day pass at the Saga Lounge, but they don’t offer day rates. I was worried the airport would be so small and lack food options, but we were able to find something reasonable for lunch and a mini-dinner. I didn’t notice any outlets (US, European or USBs), so be sure your phone/iPad is fully charged before heading to the airport.

 

We took advantage of the discounted airfare with NCL booking our flights. We tried to switch to the 5:10pm flight to our final destination (the agent said they had 96 empty seats), but they couldn’t help us and the telephone agent indicated there was a $250 per person change fee plus any differential in price. We gave up and hunkered down with books and cribbage to pass the time. Smooth flight home!! Happy travels everyone!

We also tried to change our NCL flight home, a couple of weeks ago, to an earlier flight and the agent said that because it's a restricted cheap flight no changes are allowed. 

[MarkieMarkNYC]

On 5/31/2024 at 8:51 PM, Betsynh said:

We booked a morning tour with airport drop off that included some views of Reykjavík and a trip to the Perlan Museum. 

Do you recall if there were other airport transfer options with other sites included? We are hoping that there might be one with a stop at the Blue Lagoon.

[ekallina]

2 hours ago, MarkieMarkNYC said:

Do you recall if there were other airport transfer options with other sites included? We are hoping that there might be one with a stop at the Blue Lagoon.

Hello I was also on the cruise and this was the other Airport transfer tour that I know was offered https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/REY_13/Geothermal-Landscape-Viking-History-Ending-At-The-Airport ?destination=Northern+Europe+Cruises&port=REY&sort=searchWeight&sortOrder=asc&perPage=12