Iceland and Norway - July 2019 Sapphire Seeking Information

[63 Super Sport]

We are considering the Iceland and Norway cruise on the Sapphire. I welcome any information anyone has on this cruise and facts about the Sapphire. I understand the ship was chartered in Asia for 3 years. Is the cruise worth the cost?

Thanks.

[wheezedr]

We are considering the Iceland and Norway cruise on the Sapphire. I welcome any information anyone has on this cruise and facts about the Sapphire. I understand the ship was chartered in Asia for 3 years. Is the cruise worth the cost?

Thanks.

Whether any cruise is “worth the cost” is whatever the value is that someone wants to do something. DW and I are doing this cruise in June of this year. No one is forcing us to take the cruise, so we have to decide how much we can or are willing to pay to do it. Some members of our Roll Call wanted to do it but found it relatively pricey, so they compromised by taking an inside room at less cost. Others booked the cabins they desired. I’m on a guarantee so I couldn’t even tell you where I’ll be, except outside. Is this the least expensive, on a pp per day, cruise I have ever taken, no. Is it the most expensive, also no. Is it worth the cost? Me and 2700 of my new best friends will let you know in a couple of months.

[63 Super Sport]

I will be looking forward to your feedback in June. A trip to Iceland is on my bucket list. It looked like this cruise would work better than a land only package. We cruised Princess to Norway a couple of years ago and very much enjoyed the trip.

We will figure out which cabin after we hear from you and hopefully input from your other 2700 friends.

Thanks.

[Thrak]

We're booked on a Search for the Northern Lights cruise late next year. It's certainly more expensive per day than many other cruises we've booked and any excursions or purchases in Norway will certainly be more expensive than in many other parts of the world but we really want to do the cruise so, for us, it's worth it.

[Micahs Grandad]

We are considering the Iceland and Norway cruise on the Sapphire. I welcome any information anyone has on this cruise and facts about the Sapphire. I understand the ship was chartered in Asia for 3 years. Is the cruise worth the cost?

Thanks.

 

We booked it and thought it was worth the cost. What info on the cruise are you looking for?

[skynight]

We have been to the ports in Norway. The fjords are spectacular. We have also been to Reykjvik which is a very nice port. Have not been to the other Icelandic ports. We were on the Sapphire in 2008, it was a nice layout. Can't comment on it's current condition, but believe from reading these boards that lots of work was done after leaving the charter years.

One tip, dress in layers, it can get cool to cold. This is not a sun around the pool itinerary. Also, it basically never gets dark in July, about 22+ hours of daylight.

[BarbinMich]

We've been to and very much enjoyed several of these Norway ports and most of these Iceland ports several times as part of WB TA cruises on Princess. Iceland, especially, offers rugged landscapes and magnificent waterfalls. Also, not far from Akureyri is an very geologically active area, much like what one sees in Yellowstone. Actually, all of Iceland is a geologically active area and they harness all that steam to provide electricity throughout the island.

[63 Super Sport]

We booked it and thought it was worth the cost. What info on the cruise are you looking for?

 

How does the Sapphire compare to other Princess ships? We are excited about the ports and most likely book this cruise in the next thirty days.

[63 Super Sport]

We've been to and very much enjoyed several of these Norway ports and most of these Iceland ports several times as part of WB TA cruises on Princess. Iceland, especially, offers rugged landscapes and magnificent waterfalls. Also, not far from Akureyri is an very geologically active area, much like what one sees in Yellowstone. Actually, all of Iceland is a geologically active area and they harness all that steam to provide electricity throughout the island.

Thanks for your comments! Did you use any private guides at the ports?

[63 Super Sport]

We have been to the ports in Norway. The fjords are spectacular. We have also been to Reykjvik which is a very nice port. Have not been to the other Icelandic ports. We were on the Sapphire in 2008, it was a nice layout. Can't comment on it's current condition, but believe from reading these boards that lots of work was done after leaving the charter years.

One tip, dress in layers, it can get cool to cold. This is not a sun around the pool itinerary. Also, it basically never gets dark in July, about 22+ hours of daylight.

Thanks for the tip on how to dress. I appreciate your feedback on the layout of the ship.

[RFMW]

We are booked on the 2019 cruise and looking forward to it immensely. If there had been a similar itinerary in July or August at any time over the past few years we would have gone for that. We did a similar cruise some years ago (our favorite cruise in over twenty years of cruising) and the itinerary was absolutely excellent. Have been looking for a suitable cruise ever since and settled for "second best" elsewhere, albeit have enjoyed the ships and the cruises. The previous cruise we had an overnight in Iceland, but this time have two additional ports of call. If you have not been to Iceland and not seen the Fjiords then IMHO not to be missed.

[shepp]

Thanks for your comments! Did you use any private guides at the ports?

 

We used an outfit called Wild Westfjords for our tours out of Akureyki, Isafjodur, and Reykyavik (Golden Circle). They were excellent tours, and on one tour we traveled on roads too tight for big Princess buses to some really beautiful territory.

 

That being said, Iceland has really grown as a tourist destination and the "wilderness experience" was often a lot like Yosemite Valley on Labor Day.

[srpilo]

We did this cruise on the Crown from Southampton in 2010. Princess used do it every year in July and always called this itinerary "Fire & Ice", the only difference on our sailing was that we went to Olden Norway instead of Flam ... Iceland in July is magical .

 

Yeah it's expensive, but a unforgettable itinerary .. You'll love it :)

Srpilo

[oskidunker]

There recently was a new offer with quite a bit of onboard credit. My travel agent recently rebooked me to get this. Same price.

[Coral]

I have been on the Sapphire 9x I think and will be on it this June. I like the ship, better than the other Princess Grand Class ships. It also was recently refurbed so should be in good shape.

 

I think the part that surprised me about the costs was the excursions. More expensive than any other place I have been. My cruise is only Norwegian ports. Though, I am guessing the Iceland ports are just as expensive, if not more.

[Renmar]

As for excursions in Iceland we rented a car in all 3 cities in 2014. We shared with an other couple from our roll call.

The driving in Iceland was very easy, the roads were good and it was not busy at all. We found that with driving ourself we had way more freedom than with any tourgroup. Also, the cost of renting a car beats the heck out of doing organized tours (at least that was the case in 2014).

 

Theo

[Desert Cruizers]

We cruised on the Serenade this past August out of Copenhagen back to Boston and visited both Rehjkavic and Akureyri, the temperatures were mid 50's and I was comfortable with levies sweatshirt and a jacket. Fabulous trip. the trip included the Ports of Oslo & Kristainsand but noticed the 2018 itineraries have changed.

[coldell]

Thanks to all contributors. I found this forum very informative. Have booked today on 2019 cruise also.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums