Norwegian cruise 10 day Iceland and Norway, prima ship

Cruises are a very poor way to visit Iceland. The stops are for less than a day, so you barely get a taste of Iceland.

Take a look at the Cruise Critic website. I don't know about NCL as I don't cruise with them anymore, but I have come across comments on other cruise lines that weather conditions around Iceland has kept various ships from docking in their scheduled ports. Also, the Prima is huge. Check and see if you are docking or tendering ashore. That will affect your real time in port.Read reviews and comments so you won't be disappointed.

For Norway, we cruised with Hurtigruten on the Coastal route in 2023 from Kirkenes to Bergen. But that cruise line and it's ships are the opposite of NCL.

We have done a cruise out of England that stopped in two ports in Norway as well as one day in Iceland, as well as Glasgow, Dublin, Belfast and Liverpool. It was a great cruise, but if you really want to see more of Norway and Iceland, there are other options.

We took a 8 day tour of Iceland, doing the Ring Road as well as Reykjavík. The tour was with Nordic Visitor and a great tour.

Also, we did another trip taking a Royal Caribbean cruise that included 8 ports in Norway all the way to the North Cape.
That trip was amazing, many of the ports we visited had fantastic fjords that we enjoyed as well as the ports and excursions to wonderful mountain scenery.

I am considering this cruise for 2027.

A good way to do research is to go to youtube. There are a lot of videos on this ship and the itinerary.

I do not know if you have taken cruises before but most excursions are just. a "Taste of ......." What you will be seeing is just a spec in the sand.

But for for me, a cruise is the best way to go.

The ports in Iceland are Reykjavik, Isafjordur, and Akureyri.

Isafjordur in particular is a lovely sheltered harbour and the largest fishing harbour in the Westfjords. It is a pretty scenic roughly 50 mile sail in with the town up one of the side fjords- the Skutulsfjordur- views you don't get from the road, if only because there are no real roads along the fjord. It's a town and sail in I liked- personally I just stayed in the town and explored it (as did a surprising number of others), but I know the passengers on my ship who did them really enjoyed their well thought out bus tours. We didn't offer Vigur Island- known for it's puffins, eider ducks and other seabirds.

Akureyri again is another really good sail in down the fjord (in fact the longest fjord in Iceland)- another fjord where you are not going to get the best views if you drive down the road which roughly follows one side of the fjord. As you sail in you briefly cross the arctic circle (Grimsey Island, which some excursions fly to, is the only part of Iceland north of the arctic circle). I decided to stay in town to explore what is a pretty interesting town (the dock is under a mile away from the town centre) and explore the northernmost botanical garden in the world. But there are also whale watching trips and Lake Myvatn is a good excursion to do. It was actually a very tough choice for me- the town. Grimsey or Lake Myvatn.

@Mikliz97. I know you have a lot of experience in Iceland. However, sometimes a “taste” can also meet an individual’s travel goal or style. There may be mobility issues, budget issues, social factors, etc that impact travel mode decisions.

The Prima is a nice ship. It carries 3200 at double occupancy so it is not huge. I have sailed on it and its sister ship Viva. The ship has a few quirks that may or may not be of concern to you, such as some of the venues being on the smaller side. One of its dining venues - Indulge - is a new concept where you order from various food stations by tablet. We enjoyed it on the Prima but never got to it on the Viva.

As to whether cruising Iceland is a good idea, that depends on your preference. At least one cruise Youtuber thinks it is the best way. I had to cancel a previous cruise there but have one scheduled for next year. For many it is the only practical way to visit the north part of the island.

Cruise line excursions are VERY expensive there. Check out local companies that you can book direct. They aren’t cheap, but the ones I am looking at are about $100 less.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/norway/norway-iceland-cruise-in-september

Carol—I always try to look at trips from the perspective of the person asking. If they mention mobility issues etc I always take that into account. I have been in those shoes with two knee replacements so have some experience with this.

Bigtyke

I have been watching a lot of youtube videos.

I usually stick with NCL excursions and I know that they tend to be overpriced. I do take the $50 off amenity and then I get a percentage off because I am platinum.

Japan excursions were shockingly expensive.