Greenland

[Level six]

53 minutes ago, DRS/NC said:

CP is almost identical to other PCL ships (Star, Sapphire, Emerald, etc.)

 

They added an extra deck on CB and added more passengers without adding any public space, that is why we had to get to the theater an hour early to get a seat. 

 

Per wikipedia 

MS Caribbean Princess is a modified Grand Class cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises, with a capacity of over 3,600 passengers, the largest carrying capacity in the Princess fleet until June 2013 when the new Royal Princess, another Princess ship superseded its record. Wikipedia

 

I don't know where 3600 comes from, I think it is more like 3200.  Maybe that is if every single berth is filled.  But, it is definitely more crowded than the Star, Sapphire or Emerald, all of which I have sailed on. 

 

Also, almost every single review mentions how crowded it is.  

Edited October 8, 2019 by Level six

[SandyR5]

All your posts are really getting us excited.  Thanks to all. 

[Level six]

1 minute ago, SandyR5 said:

All your posts are really getting us excited.  Thanks to all. 

 

You will have a great time!!  

[SandyR5]

☺️👍

[SeaDog-46]

Be aware of the Polar Code - summer 2021 will be the last chance to see Greenland on a mass market cruise ship.

 

Also be aware that Greenland has a bad pollution problem with all human waste in black plastic bags & other rubbish placed on the beaches to be washed into the sea.

[SandyR5]

Yuck! 

[Hlitner]

We recently returned from the Caribbean Princess's 16 day cruise to Greenland.  It was our third trip (our other cruise stopped at Greenland on its way to and from Europe) to Greenland.  We are Princess fans, been Elite for far more then a decade, and will be on another (longer) Princess cruise in a few weeks.  We recently booked another long (28) Princess cruise for next year :).  I tell you this to establish some credentials.  

 

All that being said, I STRONGLY recommend that folks DO NOT BOOK next years CB cruise to Greenland!  If you want to visit Greenland on a cruise book with another cruise line that does a similar trip with a much smaller vessel.  The Greenland ports (with the exception of Nuuk) are not able to properly handle the tender operations of a 3000+ person vessel.  On this year's cruise there were actually folks that gave up going ashore in Nanortalik after waiting over 2 1/2 hours to get a tender ashore!  In that port the shoreside tender pier can only handle one tender and it takes about 15 minutes to offload a Princess tender and get it ready to leave the pier.  Do the math.  4-5 tenders an hour with a little over 100 per tender. It means it would take over 5 hours to get everyone ashore!  The other tender port was a little better, but folks told us they waited hours to get ashore.  And in Nanortalik it became a bad situation later I the day when hundreds tried to get on tenders back to the ship and had to wait a very long time.

 

Is this the fault of Princess?  Absolutely!  They had no business scheduling a ship the size of the CB on a trip to Greenland.  It was a total fiasco!  And now, they have it scheduled to happen again next year.  Perhaps Princess can send a work crew to Nanortalik to build a real tender pier!  Otherwise, forget about it!  And you might also consider that on this year's cruise we had very good weather (and perfect sea conditions) at those Greenland ports.  I cannot even imagine what would have happened if there had been a stiff wind or fresh seas.

 

Hank

P.S.  Those of you who have booked or will book next year's Greenland cruise should print-out my post and take it on your cruise.  Then you can say you received fair warning.

[SandyR5]

Hank - I wish I knew this before we booked, especially because we have no status with Princess that would get us priority tender tickets. Oceania does go there, but at more than double the price. 

Edited October 8, 2019 by SandyR5

[Level six]

55 minutes ago, SandyR5 said:

Hank - I wish I knew this before we booked, especially because we have no status with Princess that would get us priority tender tickets. Oceania does go there, but at more than double the price. 

 

We are platinum, but we were always on the first tender.  If you just go early to get your tender ticket(6-7am), it is fine.  We were always up to see sail in and sunrise anyway, which I highly recommend.  Even go before the stated time of giving out tender tickets and you will be first ashore. 

 

As for getting back on board, we only had to wait in Nanortalik about 45 minutes maybe.  But, it was sunny and they had a few chairs for people to sit on, but not enough for the older passengers(there were many, many older passengers)  But, we were shocked when we got back on board at 2 pm and they were still calling tender tickets!!  Eek.  It really was a mess.  I can't believe that some people say the cruise wasn't crowded!  I am totally on Hanks side with this one, as I stated before....this ship is crowded, which leads to many other problems like tendering problems, venue seating problems, dining problems, etc.  

 

BUT, if you go with this knowledge and plan ahead (like not waiting until 9am to get your tender ticket) you can see Greenland!  So, you are doing the right thing by asking these questions and finding out how to make the best of it on the CB.  

[SandyR5]

Thanks Hank. We have plenty of time to make a decision. If we wind up cancelling, we’d lose our $200 deposit...part of the promotion, but save the cost of the trip which will exceed $8000. There are many sea days on this trip, and the thought of lots of crowded space, since most people won’t be headed to the pool, is also disheartening . It’s a lot to think about, but no rush. 

[brooklynphil]

Hi. Thinking about this trip. If anyone knows the answers to my few questions.

1) How is the internet service and how much does it cost?

2) Are there any indoor pools?

3) How much would a Spa pass cost?

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

[Level six]

1 hour ago, brooklynphil said:

Hi. Thinking about this trip. If anyone knows the answers to my few questions.

1) How is the internet service and how much does it cost?

2) Are there any indoor pools?

3) How much would a Spa pass cost?

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

 

Internet was actually not bad and even though they warned us about not having it near Greenland, we had it everyday.  I don't know how much it cost as my husband and I have the free minutes.

No indoor pools.

Don't know about spa pass

[Hlitner]

14 hours ago, SandyR5 said:

Thanks Hank. We have plenty of time to make a decision. If we wind up cancelling, we’d lose our $200 deposit...part of the promotion, but save the cost of the trip which will exceed $8000. There are many sea days on this trip, and the thought of lots of crowded space, since most people won’t be headed to the pool, is also disheartening . It’s a lot to think about, but no rush. 

I do not like delivering bad news, especially when I am aware that some who read my post will have booked that cruise.  If you go you should plan accordingly...at the ports of Nanortalik and Qaqortoq.  Now that you are aware, you might want to plan on getting in line early so you can get a low tender number.  We did get ashore in both those ports without too much trouble (it was our 2nd visit to both small ports).  In Qaqortoq we decided to wait until after lunch (figuring we would miss the morning rush) since we knew that 2 hours in that port is enough (for us).  Since we are Elite we do get priority and we only had to wait about 25 min to get our tender.  Even that late, the wait for non-priority was about 1 1/2 hours (or so we were told).  But Nanortalik is the biggest problem (because of only being able to handle 1 tender at a time).  Knowing the problems in that port, and with the weather very good in the morning, we decided to try and get an early tender.  Our wait was about 45 min and when we reached the village our tender had to sit and wait about 15 min before we could get to the dock (while another tender unloaded)  At that point I told DW there was going to be a big mess aboard.  We decided to head back to the ship about 1pm when the return tender line was only about 30 min long....but we heard of others who waited around 2 hours later in the afternoon.

 

So plan well.  Either get those early tender tickets or book an excursion (even the excursions were delayed....but they did get ashore).   Also keep in mind that the other ports are not a problem.  Another big issue on the Caribbean Princess is that the main theater is much too small (it holds a little over 700 persons) for a ship with more than 3000 souls.  Going to a Production show meant heading to the theater at least 40 min (an hour by the last Production show) before showtime.  The theater was usually closed about 20 minutes before show-time with a sign ("The Theater is Full").  This is actually an issue on all the Grand Class vessels, so if you want to see Production shows...go early....and bring a Kindle or book :).

 

Hank

[SandyR5]

Hank - No worries. I appreciate knowing the cons, along with the pros. ☺️

[cruizergal70]

Silly question but has anyone cruised in June or any of the US summer months? I know to expect cooler weather but is it coat, hat, glove, scarf weather in June?

 

We are departing from NYC.  It should make packing interesting. LOL

[cruisemom42]

For those who were in Greenland on the Caribbean Princess (or other ships) recently, can anyone talk to whether any of the ports offered an opportunity to focus on the Viking history in Greenland -- either Viking homestead/settlement sites (e.g., Brattahlid or any kind of museum with Viking history or artifacts?

 

Thanks -- this is my primary interest in Greenland; can't decide whether a cruise there is worth it or should just focus on a land trip at some point.

 

 

[Hlitner]

26 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

For those who were in Greenland on the Caribbean Princess (or other ships) recently, can anyone talk to whether any of the ports offered an opportunity to focus on the Viking history in Greenland -- either Viking homestead/settlement sites (e.g., Brattahlid or any kind of museum with Viking history or artifacts?

 

Thanks -- this is my primary interest in Greenland; can't decide whether a cruise there is worth it or should just focus on a land trip at some point.

 

 

I read your post to DW and her quick answer was no!  Her next comment was that the Vikings did not do a lot in Greenland because they had enough sense to go to Iceland (where it is Green) :).  We did walk through the tiny museum in Nanortalik but it focused on the history of that small village.  I guess you might be able to find a Viking hat in Nuuk....but it would likely have been made in China :).  

 

There were no excursions to Gardar (where there are still some Viking ruins) and I am not even sure if there are any roads.  I should also mention that Princess, it its infinite wisdom, did not provide any kind of lecturer, on our cruise, who had any knowledge of Greenland.  We actually heard some passengers complaining to the CD about the lack of a port lecturer or even a historian.    Since DW and I had previously been to Greenland we probably knew more then anyone on the ship's staff.  Even our Captain was making his first trip to those waters.  We were the first Princess ship to ever go to Greenland and the largest ship to ever dock in Nuuk.   One Senior Officer surmised that Princess was probably unable to find anyone with the knowledge to be a port lecturer.  Since we had two Ice Pilots aboard our ship (these guys are generally retired Danish Captains who used to take supply shops to Greenland) the CD was able to get some info from those two guys.   But we did not hear anyone talking about the Vikings.  When we did the HAL cruise we did have a lecturer but I recall he focused mainly on Iceland where there is a lot of Viking history (and many Viking helmets made in China).

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

45 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I read your post to DW and her quick answer was no!  Her next comment was that the Vikings did not do a lot in Greenland because they had enough sense to go to Iceland (where it is Green) :).  We did walk through the tiny museum in Nanortalik but it focused on the history of that small village.  I guess you might be able to find a Viking hat in Nuuk....but it would likely have been made in China :).  

 

There were no excursions to Gardar (where there are still some Viking ruins) and I am not even sure if there are any roads.  I should also mention that Princess, it its infinite wisdom, did not provide any kind of lecturer, on our cruise, who had any knowledge of Greenland.  We actually heard some passengers complaining to the CD about the lack of a port lecturer or even a historian.    

 

Hank

 

Thanks Hank. There was actually quite a long period of Viking settlement on Greenland, in very difficult conditions for most of it. (When they originally settled there it was during a climatic 'warm period' that made it liveable -- almost -- but then things went downhill.)  The very tenacity of the settlers, hanging in there for so many years (about 500), has always sparked my interest....

 

One of the small ex-Renaissance Princess ships used to make 2-3 calls in Greenland once a year in late August or early September I think, on a TA that followed a circumnavigation of the British Isles. I always swore I'd do that cruise once I retired (it was longer than I can take off now), but I have no huge desire to do it on the Caribbean Princess!

 

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

For those who were in Greenland on the Caribbean Princess (or other ships) recently, can anyone talk to whether any of the ports offered an opportunity to focus on the Viking history in Greenland -- either Viking homestead/settlement sites (e.g., Brattahlid or any kind of museum with Viking history or artifacts?

 

Thanks -- this is my primary interest in Greenland; can't decide whether a cruise there is worth it or should just focus on a land trip at some point.

 

There are local companies that do tours to the ruins :

Qassiarsuk Viking Ruins

Day Tours

Hvalsey

 

Personally I would take an expedition cruise to Greenland if for no other reason than they are really good at educating you about places they visit. 

[Hlitner]

6 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Thanks Hank. There was actually quite a long period of Viking settlement on Greenland, in very difficult conditions for most of it. (When they originally settled there it was during a climatic 'warm period' that made it liveable -- almost -- but then things went downhill.)  The very tenacity of the settlers, hanging in there for so many years (about 500), has always sparked my interest....

 

One of the small ex-Renaissance Princess ships used to make 2-3 calls in Greenland once a year in late August or early September I think, on a TA that followed a circumnavigation of the British Isles. I always swore I'd do that cruise once I retired (it was longer than I can take off now), but I have no huge desire to do it on the Caribbean Princess!

 

We hear ya :).  That CB booking (for us) was a last minute thing which was very convenient (we just drove to Brooklyn) and had a good price.  DW's comment, when I mentioned the cruise itinerary was, "we have never been to Nuuk"  so we booked.  Like most Princess cruises we had a good time (but really disliked the CB).  We knew, when we booked, that the tender ports would be a big mess but were not worried since we had already been to those two ports and also knew we could take advantage of our Elite priority.  What was somewhat shocking is that the planners at Princess apparently had no clue about the tender dock facilities in Nanortalik (they should have talked to the HAL folks).  IMHO no ship with more then 1500 passengers should ever go to Nanortalik..unless the dock facilities are expanded.  In over forty years of extensive cruising I have never heard of folks that simply could not get ashore after waiting hours.  Yes, they finally went to Open Tender but it was already after 2pm (we arrived at the port at 7am).   Folks gave up...because they were smart enough to not want to get caught in the last minute lines for the return tenders.

 

Having done the CB cruise I just cannot recommend the cruise.  Besides the tender problems, we think one of the real highlights of Greenland is cruising through Prince Christian Sound.  In fact, HAL does it twice on their annual Voyage of the Vikings Cruise.  The CB itinerary does not include Prince Christian Sound which is kind of like cruising to Norway and never seeing a Fjord.   The CB cruise does certainly give folks a reasonable cost opportunity to say "I have been to Greenland."  Otherwise, find another cruise that goes to a couple of ports plus does a full transit of Prince Christian Sound.  That part of Greenland rivals (or exceeds) cruising into Glacier Bay in AK..

 

Hank

[Bizmark'sMom]

Greenland is one of the places where the expedition lines really do a much better job.  There are lectures on the plant and animal life. Lectures on the people who live their, and their history. You do get to ruins, and areas where mummies have been found. You sail into different fjords and really get to experience them.

 

I cruised with Lindblad / Nat Geo. Hurtigruten also does a fantastic job in this area.  I simply cannot imagine going to Greenland on a huge ship. There's no infrastructure for that.

[scubacruiserx2]

On 10/7/2019 at 6:43 AM, pompeii said:

We, too, were just on the CB cruise from August and absolutely loved the unspoiled uniqueness of the Greenland ports.  We were able to line up private tours in each of the ports, two were to the ice cap (wow!) and Nuuk was to Qoornoq Island.  Saw tons of icebergs and unforgettable scenery on each.  The tours were in the morning so we still had plenty of time to wander around each town afterwards.  I also hiked all over Qaqortoq and up the hill to the big antenna - the view was spectacular!  My advice is to get in contact with the tour operators early; there aren't many of them and they will fill up fast, if they haven't already.  Get on the roll call for your cruise; your fellow passengers are lining up tours already (I'm making the assumption that you are considering next August.)

 

I wasn't bothered by the ship itself as much as others were.  As a cruise there were some shortfalls, but for the most part we overlooked them and just were happy to be able to sail out of NYC instead of figuring out the logistics of flying or getting there some other way.  Ours was the first time Princess did that itinerary out of New York, and hopefully they will tweak a few things for next year.  The most puzzling thing for me was that more than a few fellow passengers didn't really seem to understand what going to Greenland meant...for example, some didn't bring warm clothes, and others complained that the towns didn't "have much to do" or "have much shopping."  Made me wonder exactly why they booked that itinerary.

Hello Pompeii,

Would you please e-mail us information on the private tours you took? scubacruiserx2@gmail.com

(scubacruiserx2 at gmail dot com) Thank you.

[cruisemom42]

On 10/8/2019 at 7:18 PM, Hlitner said:

 

Having done the CB cruise I just cannot recommend the cruise.  Besides the tender problems, we think one of the real highlights of Greenland is cruising through Prince Christian Sound.  In fact, HAL does it twice on their annual Voyage of the Vikings Cruise.  The CB itinerary does not include Prince Christian Sound which is kind of like cruising to Norway and never seeing a Fjord.   

 

Hank

 

I am still somewhat obsessing over what to do about Greenland. I was taking a second look at the CB itinerary, just because it fits with my timing and is about half the cost of other options (I am looking at 2021). But having re-read what you said about not cruising Prince Christian Sound has just taken this cruise out of my reckoning. I'll wait and see what HAL might offer once they get their 2021 itineraries fully sorted, but for now I've got a spot reserved on Oceania Sirena.

 

 

[crystalspin]

HAL is going to Greenland (3 ports, none of which are Nuuk) in 2021, on 26 July, 12 August, and 29 August (17-day cruise). There are also SEVEN Canadian ports and Bar Harbor Maine. The ship is the Rotterdam (1404-1685 passengers) sailing R/T Boston. 

It's the 17-Day Greenland, Newfoundland & New England Discovery.

 

For this year, there is the 19-day Viking Passage/Europe Trans-Atlantic from Copenhagen to Boston, sailing 19 August, and visiting Norway, Iceland, two ports Greenland, three Canadian. Ship is Zuiderdam (1970-2364 passengers). We're booked and will need to add 2-3 days pre-cruise to get to Copenhagen. It's more expensive, but for me it's like three cruises in one. Getting at least a taste of Norway/Iceland/Greenland before the Polar Code.

[SandyR5]

We cancelled the Princess Cruise months ago after reading posts and doing lots of research. Booked with Oceania for 8/15/20. MUCH more money, but fabulous itinerary and such a smaller ship.