So yesterday, Kate, Mackenzie, and I set out on a northern European cruise on the Norwegian Cruise Lines Prima. Jack decided to sit this one out and stay at home. This trip starts in Reykjavik, and we are currently docked in Isafordur for the day. We have shaken off most of our jetlag and finally have a few minutes to start documenting our trip.
The trip started with a flight to Calgary, Canada, and then on to Reykjavik. We arrived just before 9 a.m. local time and bused over to the cruise terminal, where we basically walked right onto the ship—the easiest boarding ever! But it was a long day, and we were spent. We persevered, however, and explored the ship and sampled the cuisine before finally retiring for the night around 9 p.m. Today we all felt a bit more rested and have been getting better acquainted with the ship and learning more about her. It's a pretty large ship, but not anything like some of the mega cruise ships they have running around. I believe that there are somewhere just over three thousand guests on board. Our room is nice and we opted for a balcony to take in the amazing views! As the ship is pretty new, everything feels fresh and modern. The staff is also pretty awesome.
Day 1
So our flight takes off from SFO at 12:50 p.m. We flew WestJet to Calgary and then on to Reykjavik. The first leg of the flight ran almost an hour late, but we had plenty of time to spare so it did not really impact us. After a couple more hours, we were back on board a Westjet 737 for our final leg. The second leg is basically a red eye as we fly overnight and arrive right around 9 a.m. the next day. Reykjavik is about a 45-minute bus ride from the Keflavik airport and NCL had buses to get us from the airport to the ship. Reykjavik is a large town slash small city but it has a nice vibe to it. While we did not really get the opportunity to venture out, we were provided a fantastic view of it from the upper decks of the Prima. There are snow-covered mountains, and it has a coastal Alaskan vibe, which I find very beautiful.
Day 2
Today we are in Isafordur, Iceland. This is a small coastal fishing village and is surrounded by snow-covered mountains. Today, I am told, is typical Iceland weather with low clouds and rain. The temps are hovering in the upper 40's and there is just enough wind to make your umbrella difficult to handle. We decided to venture out into the town after lunch despite the weather and did a bit of shopping. It was a nice walk from the ship and we did not get too wet. We found a book store and Kate found a Harry Potter book written in Icelandic. Afterwards Mac and I hit the ship to try and find a place to hang out. So far, it has proven difficult as the ship is pretty much packed! The Prima has lots of cool spaces to enjoy, but they are all full of people. Finding a place to sit for dinner or have a coffee is not as easy as it should be. Compared to the Disney ships, the Prima feels crowded. So not going to give it high marks for the common spaces, but only because we don't always have the opportunity to enjoy them. Also not a fan of people sleeping in these spaces and occupying them for hours at a time. Maybe when the weather improves, everyone will have a chance to spread out a bit.
Tomorrow is a planned activity and we will be away from the ship for about eight hours. Looking forward to seeing more of Iceland!
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