Live from the NCL Star July 23-August 15, 2023. Will I survive 23 days without the beverage package?

[YVRteacher]

13 hours ago, vacation44 said:

I also missed the comment about incorrect grammar.   I think your trip reports are the best on Cruise Critic and we are all fortunate that you take the time to share your experiences with and without your dad.     My husband and I would not be on the Jewel next month if it was not for you and your reports.   As a thank you, I would love to somehow buy you a chocolate martini.

 

Again, have a wonderful time and looking forward to reading all about it.

 

I hope we get to cruise and have chocolate martinis together so we can raise a glass to cruising and to friendship! 

[YVRteacher]

4 hours ago, TheGuys16 said:

Excited to tag along on another adventure!  Ignore the comments from the grammar police / armchair quarterbacks.  I will miss your dad and his beer 🙂

Just know that he’s having a beer every day out in the sunshine on his balcony after his afternoon walk around the duck pond.

 

When I woke up this morning (at 4:00am😲) there was an email from my dad saying he hopes I am enjoying Norway.

 

I’m currently in Iceland.

[YVRteacher]

@Happy fool

I picked up one of those tourist brochure magazines to read at lunch yesterday while I ate my Scandinavian waffle with blackberry jam.

Saw this and thought of you!

[YVRteacher]

I wrote this last night but wasn’t using my phone so am posting today. Have a wonderful Saturday, everybody!

 

Great flight!

I am so impressed with Icelandair.  I would get on a trip to nowhere just to have the experience of flying with them.  

For anyone worried about my lack of drink plan on NCL, I had a glass of Prosecco and an espresso martini on the flight. I also had a lot of Icelandic chocolate because they didn’t have a vegetarian meal. This is not a bad thing. Yes, this is a chocolate praline work of art.

 

Too bad the pilot didn’t detour over the erupting volcano (I know, I know!)

We arrived 15 minute early so here I am on the FlyBus at 6:38am. If you aren’t renting a car the easy way to get to downtown from the airport is to take the FlyBus. You can purchase tickets in advance, at the airport at a kiosk near baggage claim or right on the bus. FlyBus takes you to the central bus stop then local colour-coded shuttles take people and their luggage to drop off points (that are SUPPOSED to be) near their hotels. The shuttles are included in the price. My drop off point for the shuttle was NOT near the hotel and the driver gave me incorrect instructions so I wandered around for 45 minutes trying not to cry before finding the hotel.

This is me, telling myself crying won’t help!

 

In contrast to the bus drivers in Alaska who tell you about themselves, their wives, their ex wives, the weather, the salmon, the bears and the house their neighbour built our FlyBus driver said good morning and fasten your seatbelts.  He also said no eating on the bus then it was 45 minutes of silence.

Everything was going fine on the bus until we came to the depot. The driver opened up the luggage compartments then each passenger had to crawl inside to get their own luggage. Mine was waaaaaay at the back and I would not use the word “nimble” to describe my bus underbelly crawling skills.

 

The elevator in the airport has self disinfecting buttons.  Cruise ships need this technology for all the sneezers who then touch buttons. Sadly, this is me. I have a cold and my face hurts. Someone on the Spirit coughed on me!

 

The weather in Reykjavik today is volcanic with a sizeable portion of whipping wind. People are wearing hats not because it is cold but rather to keep hair out of their eyes. On the walking tour I learned that Iceland experiences pollution one hour per year on New Year’s Eve. In the six days leading up to NYE Icelanders can purchase fireworks. There is no city or government organized fireworks show so 250000 citizens all set off their own fireworks for an hour. Our guide said to search Reykjavik New Year’s Eve fireworks on You Tube.

 

Today in Reykjavik I did a self guided walking graffiti tour,

walked up and back along Laugavegur, had a Scandinavian waffle with blackberry jam and a hit-the-spot cup of coffee in a broken teacup at Tost,

 

walked up and down Skólavördustigur

to Hallgrímskirkja,

walked around the lake to see the ducks,

then did a two hour historical walking tour with City Walks (highly recommend!) Our guide has 28 letters in his first name but he said to call him Eirik. Eirik is doing his master’s degree in history at the University of Reykjavik and he thinks he will be a teacher or a professor. Iceland has both an elected Parliament with a Prime Minister and an elected President. Eirik’s history professor is now the president of Iceland and he still has his phone number. He did suggest we give him a prank call when we were outside the President’s house.

 

After the guided walking tour I walked to and along the old harbour to see The Sun Voyager

and Harpa. 

 All of a sudden my legs felt a little weary so I sat and admired (?) this volcanically-interrupted view

before walking back to the hotel and pretty much falling into bed.

 

Today (Saturday) is a museum, art gallery and Kolaportid Market day. Guess which museum is top of the list??

[bluesea777]

If you can, go up to top of Hallgrimskirkja tomorrow morning to enjoy the bird’s eye views and the Star. Make sure you are at the top when the hour strikes (like at 9 or 10am). 🤭

 

 

[Fruitpunch76]

The Icelandic Phallological Museum?!👍😄

 

Very cool! And it was a teacher who collected all the stuff inside the museum... he said "Someone just had to do it."

 

👍😉

[YVRteacher]

6 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

If you can, go up to top of Hallgrimskirkja tomorrow morning to enjoy the bird’s eye views and the Star. Make sure you are at the top when the hour strikes (like at 9 or 10am). 🤭

 

 

Unfortunately the volcanic ash has obscured views over the city. The last time I was here the viewing opportunity was closed and this time there’s a volcano erupting. I guess I’ll have to return to Reykjavik one day! 

[Happy fool]

I’m enjoying reading about this Iceland trip. Have you tried the rye bread ice cream?  Delicious!  When we were there we ate happy marriage cake since it was our anniversary. It is a rhubarb cake and since we both like rhubarb we had to try it. It was very good. Guess you can tell that I have a sweet tooth. 

[Grimix]

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

If it helps, there are two closets in the two bedroom suites. Maybe don’t tell her that, though!

Thanks! We'll keep it our little secret! I won't have to worry so much (except for the Ubers to hotel/airport) and she'll think she needs to pack 'light'. Love your reviews!

[Grimix]

Wanted to say that Iceland is on my want to go list. Not sure if I want to cruise or land it, but I guess we'll find out!

[purpleally]

On 7/21/2023 at 9:33 AM, LauraAnneC said:

It’s my goal to use cabin baggage only for my next cruise. Don’t know if I’ll make it though! 

You can, we just did three weeks with winter clothing (Arctic circle). It was liberating 

[purpleally]

Yvonne, I missed you by one day. We had a day of sunshine and then partly cloudy day doing the Golden Circle tour. 
we walked downtown to get the famous hotdog

[TfromBC]

On 7/19/2023 at 8:40 PM, YVRteacher said:

Knowing that weather, a hangnail or a rogue feather on the bow could cause NCL to change course at any moment, this represents Plan A.  

 

This is a brilliant idea - thank you!! I just booked a last-minute cruise on NCL Spirit for B2B Alaska cruises Aug 2-16 and trying to figure out what excursions to book has been daunting! This is my first vacation in 13 years - my first cruise since 1987! Cannot wait!!! 

 

Terry

Edited July 22, 2023 by TfromBC

[YVRteacher]

Hi @TfromBC

i just wrote a live report from the Spirit in Alaska and @Happycrafter123 also has a great live from the Sun.  I’ll tag you in both.

I recommend the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour in Ketchikan, doing whale watching and Mendenhall glacier in Juneau, book a tour through Sitka Wildlife tours in Sitka (ask for Steven as your guide) then do the White Pass and Yukon railroad in Skagway and walk around town or do the Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour. In Seward, book a tour into Kenai Fjord through Major Marine or Kenai Fjords tours. The biggest gift you can give yourself on your upcoming cruise is to book the Hubbard Glacier small boat excursion. That made our cruise so special.

[YVRteacher]

8 hours ago, Happy fool said:

I’m enjoying reading about this Iceland trip. Have you tried the rye bread ice cream?  Delicious!  When we were there we ate happy marriage cake since it was our anniversary. It is a rhubarb cake and since we both like rhubarb we had to try it. It was very good. Guess you can tell that I have a sweet tooth. 

One of the excursions I have booked on the Star includes rhubarb marriage cake!

 

I didn’t try the rye bread ice cream.  Next time. I’m really not feeling feel.

 

I have a sweet tooth too!

[TfromBC]

55 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

Hi @TfromBC

i just wrote a live report from the Spirit in Alaska and @Happycrafter123 also has a great live from the Sun.  I’ll tag you in both.

I recommend the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour in Ketchikan, doing whale watching and Mendenhall glacier in Juneau, book a tour through Sitka Wildlife tours in Sitka (ask for Steven as your guide) then do the White Pass and Yukon railroad in Skagway and walk around town or do the Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour. In Seward, book a tour into Kenai Fjord through Major Marine or Kenai Fjords tours. The biggest gift you can give yourself on your upcoming cruise is to book the Hubbard Glacier small boat excursion. That made our cruise so special.

@YVRteacher - Great tips - thank you! I'm just looking at excursions now and trying to figure out which ones to book. So many choices! 

[Seas2mountains]

@YVRteacher  

Thank you again for posting another excellent live review. Where are you staying in Reykjavik and do you recommend it?

When you were on the Star in the past, did they have Spice H2O or will that area be new to you?  I know it does not look as nice as the Spirit H2O area but may be a nice place to watch scenery since there isn't a Spinnaker lounge.  I do not like how that observation area does not exist on the Star or Dawn.

Did you get a thermal spa pass?  Have a wonderful cruise! 

[YVRteacher]

I booked this quaint hotel for the included Icelandic breakfast and it did not disappoint.  
 

 

At one point a man barged in front me and tried to take cucumber at the same time I was getting my cucumber.  He said “excuse me!” with attitude. I said I was here first and he could wait his turn. He does not know I have ninja-like cruise ship buffet-line experience!

My first stop on today’s Reykjavik adventure was the Phallological Museum of Iceland. It was…

 

uplifting?

 

I’m not sure CC would sanction any of the photos I took so you can google it.  There are more than 200 specimens. The cafe looked amazing but I had already eaten breakfast. My advice for anyone wanting to visit is to plan to eat here.

 

 

While at the museum I started feeling very sick so googled a pharmacy.

It was 90 steps from the Phallological Museum.  They don’t sell all in one cold medicine here so the pharmacist tried to sell me cough drops, cough syrup, pain medication and sinus medication. I have cough drops and I have Tylenol nighttime cold tablets but I used all my Advil yesterday. I ended up buying a sinus nose spray and paracetamol.  That nose spray is wicked: it felt like I was blowing a herd of fire ants into my nasal cavity. Usually I am well-prepared when traveling but had given my dad the daytime cold tablets on a previous cruise and had forgotten to refill my little kit. 

The weekend flea market is across the unpronounceable-to-me street from the Phallological Museum. It’s an interesting place to explore with a quirky assortment of both vendors and wares. This is a small selection of items I didn’t buy:

 

Most tourists here are dressed as though they are going into the depths of an ice cave and have backpacks filled with backup sweaters, toques and waterproof pants. I am wearing a sleeveless tunic and capri pants.  However, I do have a fever so that is keeping me warm.  I have never been whacked in the shoulder by backpacks as much as I have here. Chill out people, and leave your tundra clothes and excessively stuffed backpacks at the hotel.

 

This morning I asked the wonderful front desk person, Alma, where to find a grocery store where locals shop. She asked me what I needed and I told her one of my friends, who is Icelandic, asked me to bring back some Omnom Icelandic chocolate. She gave me the name of the store, Bónus, then told me that this chocolate is the best gift I could bring home for family and friends.  I now have a big bag of Omnom chocolate bars in the following flavours:

chocolate liquorice

sea salted toffee

sea salt 

cookies and cream (recommended by Alma)

black n’ burnt barley

superchocoberry

caramel

salted almonds 

 

I had seen the chocolate bars in some tourist shops yesterday for 990ISK but paid 660ISK for the same product at the grocery store. I am looking forward to the return of my taste buds before sampling.  I think I will try cookies and cream first but the chocolate liquorice sounds good too.

 

Look at the yoghurt selection in the grocery store!

 

 

My walk to the grocery store took me to the Lighthouse District which is wonderful. I loved the art galleries and the artisan shops.  A highlight was a visit to the Handknitting Association.

 

 

Wow.  I don’t know what the sheep are eating here but it must be a combination of tree branches and thorns because this wool is itchy. I keep thinking about the episode of The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon seeks retribution and makes Leonard wear the itchy red sweater and Penny asks Leonard if the sweater is made of bees!

 

I have been in Iceland for 39 hours and have yet to spot a sheep but I did see this shop cat which has sheep-like fur!

 

 

Walking up a little hill, I paused to take some photos of colourful homes

 

then headed back to the rainbow street to get a better photo of the street and church. 

 

 

Tip: there are free washrooms in the basement of the Food Hall.

 

Continuing my walk, I went back to the lake to see the ducks again. When I arrived so did a hoard of clumsy flying insects that stick together like a flock of grade 8 girls.  I can’t breathe through my nose so my mouth is kind of hanging open and an open mouth and millions of insects just don’t mix. That ended the lake portion of my walk. There are new ducklings today! You aren’t allowed to feed the ducklings and you aren’t allowed to feed the ducks bread but you can feed them frozen peas and barley. There was a surprising lack of frozen peas in my travel bag today.

 

There was a concert in the park at city hall and the singer was awesome. I will always stop for free concerts. One time I was in New York and I took the little ferry to Governor’s Island and Judy Collins was performing in the park. Judy Collins! This person wasn’t Judy Collins but she was an excellent singer.

 

More fire ant spray was sent up the nose then I walked back to the hotel seen in the photo 

 

to shower and take a nap. I had packed some cup of noodles just in case so ate that for dinner. 
 

I think that I would have done more adventurous activities if I had been feeling better and if the skies weren’t so grey. There is an evening whale watch cruise billed as a midnight sun whale watch but the volcanic ash has completely obscured the sky so there is no sun, midnight or otherwise. Maybe I should have gone to the Sky Lagoon but I have two geothermal days planned in the upcoming weeks and I didn’t want to be sneezing and dripping where people are bathing. 
 

My hope is for a good sleep tonight in this very comfortable bed and to wake up tomorrow feeling much better. Note that I am wearing a mask and am washing and sanitizing my hands often. I may remove my mask tomorrow morning if budging guy is at the breakfast buffet.  He might get sneeze tomatoes!

[YVRteacher]

31 minutes ago, Seas2mountains said:

@YVRteacher  

Thank you again for posting another excellent live review. Where are you staying in Reykjavik and do you recommend it?

When you were on the Star in the past, did they have Spice H2O or will that area be new to you?  I know it does not look as nice as the Spirit H2O area but may be a nice place to watch scenery since there isn't a Spinnaker lounge.  I do not like how that observation area does not exist on the Star or Dawn.

Did you get a thermal spa pass?  Have a wonderful cruise! 

Hi!

I am staying at Hotel Local 101.  (There is another hotel called the Local.  Different place.)

The pros are:

wonderful location (I have been able to walk everywhere)

truly wonderful reception staff

super comfortable bed

excellent breakfast

very clean

very quirky (very me!)

they had a room ready for me early in the morning and let me check in and use the room after that overnight flight and early morning arrival. That helped so much!

 

The cons are:

-the room is small and doesn’t come with what a traveller needs (hand towels, a phone to contact the front desk, tissues)

-poor lighting

-there is nowhere (literally nowhere) to put a suitcase so I slept with it on the bed next to me

-it is impossible to use the sink without getting water on the floor. Very bizarre.

-the room is fine for sleeping but not for spending time in

-the photos on the website make the rooms look bigger and better and more practical than what I am experiencing

-the curtains are see through and don’t block out light so the room doesn’t get dark in the summer with so many hours of daylight

 

I booked this hotel when I booked the flight because a good deal popped up on the Icelandair website. I had been researching hotels and liked the more local feel of this place vs. a larger name brand hotel. The oldest (and therefore first) elevator in Iceland is in this hotel! If you like those rides at amusement parks called something like Drop Zone or Death Drop you will like this elevator😬

 

The only time I sailed on the Star was March 2019. I don’t recall if there was Spice H2O but I do remember a great hot tub that not everyone knew about, maybe near the bow?

 

We have long port hours and few sea days so I’m not worried about not having the Observation Lounge.  Isn’t Spinnaker great on the Spirit? So perfect for Alaska!

 

After I cancelled the beverage package I tried to purchase the spa pass but it was too close to sailing date so I will check it out once on board.  I think I will likely buy the thermal spa pass. My plan is to use down time to read and write rather than do the onboard entertainment. The problem with this plan is I will have less fodder for sarcastic critiques!

 

Where did you cruise when you were on the Star?

[Ottawa Lynne]

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Wow.  I don’t know what the sheep are eating here but it must be a combination of tree branches and thorns because this wool is itchy. I keep thinking about the episode of The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon seeks retribution and makes Leonard wear the itchy red sweater and Penny asks Leonard if the sweater is made of bees!

LOL! We made the same joke here!! My husband didn't know he was allergic to wool until I brought him here. WIthin seconds of being in the building he started sneezing and getting all stuffed up. I'm allergic to wool but so wanted to look at all the amazing things here!

 

Sorry that you have a cold. I hope it's better tomorrow.

[WickedRed]

When I did Iceland and Norway on the Star a year ago actually, the thermal pass was well worth the money.  It was chilly outside and it gave my friend and I a quiet place to sit, read, and watch the scenery go by.  Plus having a hot tub, indoor pool, and other spa fixtures nearby was nice too.  Pretty sure the Spice H2O is a new addition to the Star.  Maybe something they did during covid or around that time??  Hope you enjoy your time on the Star and feel better soon.  I'm looking forward to following along.

[GALSews]

Yvonne, there was a musician on the street with the rainbow colors. We were not expecting to hear someone play Hava Nagilah in Reykjavik. Similarly, we were surprised to see a place selling Greek donuts called Loukamades. We visited 5 places in Greece and only in Athens were we able to find loukamades, yet there was a snack shop in Reykjavik, Go figure. 

[mimmy52]

I’m new to your reviews (just finished reading about Alaska with your dad) and really enjoy your comments. I’m your dad’s age and feel for you both regarding his dementia. 

[www3traveler]

Hi Sweetie,

As you board in a few hours, I pray that this will be a wonderful adventure for you.

I also pray that you getting feeling better.

BIG BIG BIG BIG HUG

Love and prayers

[TrumpyNor]

@YVRteacher Just wanted to wish you a great cruise from Reykjavik to Tromsø, and sincerely hope that you will be feeling better very soon! Looking forward to meeting you in person in a couple of weeks!