Looking for more awesome NCL cruises. Any ideas will be appreciated.

[Ken the cruiser]

We just finished an awesome 38-day cruise on the Jade and are looking for more unique, one-of-a-kind NCL itineraries to book in the future. Since cruising started back up, we have mostly cruised with Celebrity and Princess. But when my DW booked this NCL cruise over 2 years out, we couldn't wait to go on it. Who knew NCL offered itineraries it such unique locations and with virtually no kids onboard! For the longest time we thought NCL catered to the younger family crowd with their huge ships. But once we were finally able to go on this cruise, we're now wondering if there are other hidden gems NCL has to offer on their smaller Jewel-class or similar ships. Ideally, we very much enjoy going on 3-4+ week cruises. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. 

 

For those interested, here is a link the Live From thread of the awesome cruise we just finished. 

 

 

 

 

[YVRteacher]

Have you been to Iceland?

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Have you been to Iceland?

Yes, we went this past August on a Celebrity cruise along with visiting Greenland and Canada and had a great time, especially cruising through the Prins Christian Sund on the southern tip of Greenland. However, we would very much enjoy visiting Longyearbyen the next time either NCL or Princess goes there in July, as we have other “farming” commitments in June when they both usually have itineraries that include it.

[LauraAnneC]

I’ve seen itineraries that sail from Alaska to Japan. Thought that looked very interesting. 

[bluesea777]

First of all, I gingerly followed your live thread on your Middle East, Indian Ocean & South Africa cruises - it was excellent and I loved your photos (though you should have upgraded to iPhone 13 or 14 😎) and the way you treated the cruise as a regular cruiser/traveller - very much like us. We went on the Europe (Rome) to Dubai portion on the Spirit in Feb 2020 and truly loved it. I loved reading what you two did - brought back memories!

 

when we started cruising with NCL back in Dec 2006 our son was 12, and the bug stuck with us. We did the usual Caribbean milk runs while son went thru his teens. Then when he left to go to college etc we started cruising without him and went to “exotic” places or on TAs. Found that one way repositioning cruises fitted our budgets and pockets better, and I have been lucky in grabbing great airfares - we do not and will not use NCL air.

 

So … we’ve been on the 17 day Singapore to Sydney, visiting Indonesia and several Australian ports including the Great Barrier Reef. And last summer we went on Star Iceland & Greenland (but sadly it was switched to Norway due to weather and very rough seas).

 

I keep on seeing new “exotic” cruises for the next 2-3 years … Hawaii & French Polynesia on the Spirit (our new fave NCL ship) …. One way Iceland to Tromso Norway via Greenland & Svalbard ( and back) on Star …. One way New York to Iceland via Greenland on Star in 2024 … and so on ….

 

in my signature there is a link to my “live” thread on new Spirit in Feb 2020 just as she came out of the dry dock. 
 

Enjoy!

 

[Andi Land]

I know you didn’t mention Holland America (not sure if you sail with them) but they have a really unique Alaska itinerary coming in 2024 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, Andi Land said:

I know you didn’t mention Holland America (not sure if you sail with them) but they have a really unique Alaska itinerary coming in 2024 

Thanks! That is a pretty cool itinerary and we are actually 4 star Mariners. However, we lost interest in HAL back in 2018 when they switched to their Music Walk entertainment strategy. It just wasn’t for us. But we would book that itinerary in an heartbeat if NCL, Celebrity or Princess offered it.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, bluesea777 said:

First of all, I gingerly followed your live thread on your Middle East, Indian Ocean & South Africa cruises - it was excellent and I loved your photos (though you should have upgraded to iPhone 13 or 14 😎) and the way you treated the cruise as a regular cruiser/traveller - very much like us. We went on the Europe (Rome) to Dubai portion on the Spirit in Feb 2020 and truly loved it. I loved reading what you two did - brought back memories!

 

when we started cruising with NCL back in Dec 2006 our son was 12, and the bug stuck with us. We did the usual Caribbean milk runs while son went thru his teens. Then when he left to go to college etc we started cruising without him and went to “exotic” places or on TAs. Found that one way repositioning cruises fitted our budgets and pockets better, and I have been lucky in grabbing great airfares - we do not and will not use NCL air.

 

So … we’ve been on the 17 day Singapore to Sydney, visiting Indonesia and several Australian ports including the Great Barrier Reef. And last summer we went on Star Iceland & Greenland (but sadly it was switched to Norway due to weather and very rough seas).

 

I keep on seeing new “exotic” cruises for the next 2-3 years … Hawaii & French Polynesia on the Spirit (our new fave NCL ship) …. One way Iceland to Tromso Norway via Greenland & Svalbard ( and back) on Star …. One way New York to Iceland via Greenland on Star in 2024 … and so on ….

 

in my signature there is a link to my “live” thread on new Spirit in Feb 2020 just as she came out of the dry dock. 
 

Enjoy!

 

Thanks, and hopefully one day soon my iPhone SE, or more likely it’s battery, will finally reach its end days, and I’ll update it. 😂  And we totally agree with you regarding NCL Air, never again. But we might try their full service Premium Air if the need arrives again.

 

Those itineraries that go above the Arctic Circle have definitely caught our eye and doing a B2B between Iceland and Reykjavik definitely has possibilities. One thing about the weather up there, it continually changes so visiting the same ports on both legs will probably provide a totally different experience like our Celebrity Iceland/Greenland cruise this past August. We even saw the northern lights on our return trip between Iceland and Greenland.

 

I’ll definitely check out your live thread in your Signature tomorrow morning. 😁

 

[FLAHAM]

I have booked the New York to Reykjavik cruise in August 2024.  It stops at Halifax, St. John’s, St. Pierre & Miquelon, plus three stops in Greenland and two additional stops in Iceland.

[Sailing12Away]

This is the one I had mentioned to you in your live thread - head up the other coast of Africa to say you've seen nearly the entire coast which is quite a feat.

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/21-day-africa-from-cape-town-to-barcelona-namibia-cape-verde-angola-ivory-coast?itineraryCode=DAWN21CPTWVBLUATMSABJBJLDKRSMCSCTACEAGACASBCN

 

Japan is on our list for 2024, I've been price watching a few itineraries that stop in Okinawa. Not sure if you've done that trip yet, but I'd love to live vicariously through you on that journey.

 

South Pacific is always a good option for unique and once in a lifetime adventures. This one is dirt cheap considering the number of days. https://www.ncl.com/cruises/15-day-south-pacific-from-sydney-to-papeete-fiji-moorea-and-samoa-SPIRIT15SYDLIFMYSLTKDRAAPWPPGRAIMOZPPT?destinations=4294960641&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=SPIRIT15SYDLIFMYSLTKDRAAPWPPGRAIMOZPPT

 

Antarctica is another dream cruise: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/14-day-antarctica-and-south-america-from-buenos-aires-argentina-falkland-islands-and-uruguay-STAR14BUEMVDPMYPUQUSHPSYBUE?destinations=4294936385&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=STAR14BUEMVDPMYPUQUSHPSYBUE

 

Here's a July Greenland journey: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-iceland-and-greenland-from-reykjavik-to-tromso-STAR12REYISAAKUITTLYBHVGALTHSTSVOTOS?destinations=4294936385&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=STAR12REYISAAKUITTLYBHVGALTHSTSVOTOS

 

I could sit here all night cruise shopping when someone else is paying the bill 😛

[Ken the cruiser]

21 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

This is the one I had mentioned to you in your live thread - head up the other coast of Africa to say you've seen nearly the entire coast which is quite a feat.

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/21-day-africa-from-cape-town-to-barcelona-namibia-cape-verde-angola-ivory-coast?itineraryCode=DAWN21CPTWVBLUATMSABJBJLDKRSMCSCTACEAGACASBCN

 

Japan is on our list for 2024, I've been price watching a few itineraries that stop in Okinawa. Not sure if you've done that trip yet, but I'd love to live vicariously through you on that journey.

 

South Pacific is always a good option for unique and once in a lifetime adventures. This one is dirt cheap considering the number of days. https://www.ncl.com/cruises/15-day-south-pacific-from-sydney-to-papeete-fiji-moorea-and-samoa-SPIRIT15SYDLIFMYSLTKDRAAPWPPGRAIMOZPPT?destinations=4294960641&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=SPIRIT15SYDLIFMYSLTKDRAAPWPPGRAIMOZPPT

 

Antarctica is another dream cruise: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/14-day-antarctica-and-south-america-from-buenos-aires-argentina-falkland-islands-and-uruguay-STAR14BUEMVDPMYPUQUSHPSYBUE?destinations=4294936385&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=STAR14BUEMVDPMYPUQUSHPSYBUE

 

Here's a July Greenland journey: https://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-iceland-and-greenland-from-reykjavik-to-tromso-STAR12REYISAAKUITTLYBHVGALTHSTSVOTOS?destinations=4294936385&numberOfGuests=4294953449&sortBy=featured&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=STAR12REYISAAKUITTLYBHVGALTHSTSVOTOS

 

I could sit here all night cruise shopping when someone else is paying the bill 😛

I remember! That cruise from Cape Town still looks awesome, and we definitely appear to have similar tastes in itineraries! Hopefully it’s still available in 2026/27 when we can get excited again about going to Africa again. 😂

 

As far as Tahiti and the South Pacific goes, we have a similar Celebrity B3B cruise booked in late April 2023 from Sydney to Vancouver by way of Tahiti and Hawaii before we wind up 30 days later in Vancouver.

 
https://www.celebritycruises.com/itinerary-details/18-night-tahiti-moorea-and-new-zealand-from-sydney-australia'?packageID=EC18T034

 

We’re also currently have a B2B on the Diamond Princess booked to cruise around Japan and Korea in July 2023, and I’ll definitely be doing a Live From on that cruise! 😁

 
https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=M326

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=M327

 

We’re also booked on an Antarctica B2B in Jan/Feb 2024. We looked at both the NCL and Celebrity 14-day itineraries, but settled on the 16-day Sapphire Princess Antarctica cruise from Santiago to BA as it spends 4 days rather than 2 cruising around the Peninsula. Then we booked the follow-on from BA back to Santiago through the fjords. We’re definitely going to be seeing more penguins and seals on that cruise! 😂
 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=H403

 

The Longyearbyen cruise you posted is definitely the one we want to book! Hopefully it will be available again in July 2026 or 2027 as it’s going in June in 2025, and our summers are all booked up before then.

 

Did I mention we are cruiseaholics! 😂

 

Like I also said, we definitely have similar tastes and hopefully I’ll be able to do Live From threads on all of those cruises!! 

 

[brngckn]

We really enjoyed the Buenos Aires to Santiago itinerary.

[Travelling2Some]

I'm always on the hunt for exotic itineraries so a big thank you for starting/contributing to this thread!

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

I'm always on the hunt for exotic itineraries so a big thank you for starting/contributing to this thread!

If you like animals, we're also booked on a 10-day Celebrity cruise in Dec 2023 to the Galapagos via Quito. They're a little expensive, but everything including 2 excursions per day is included, even $500 pp towards airfare. Here are some of the various itineraries available then. But they also offer itineraries year-round. We went there on their Xpedition ship back in Dec 2015 and can't wait to go back. 

 

Celebrity Cruises

 

[Sailing12Away]

Galapagos is in my top 3 places to go. I'm trying to gather a group of friends to join us on one of those smaller Celebrity ships. It's almost like a private charter yacht at that point.

 

Were the typical perks included in those smaller ships like the drinks and such? I know there's obviously no broadway type shows, but other than lectures and scenic viewing was there much to see/do at night on board, or just rest up for double wildlife viewing the next day?