Any insight as to whether or not PCL will ever go to Longyearbyen again?

[Ken the cruiser]

We’re currently booked on a NCL B2B in 2025 where we stop at Longyearbyen on both legs. However, we would cancel both of those cruises if Princess had plans to cruise there again. However, from my understanding they canceled their 2023 visit, or was it in 2022? 🤔

 

In any event did anyone hear the reason for the cancellation and is there any hope they’ll cruise there again?

Edited September 9, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[dreaminofcruisin]

We were just on the 2023 Norway cruise that was originally scheduled for Longyearbyen, but changed about 9 months ago to a different port. Regardless of the cruise line you book, unless the ship is very small, it might be iffy on whether or not you get to Longyearbyen.....

 

https://www.lifeinnorway.net/svalbard-struggling-with-health-of-cruise-ship-passengers/

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

We were just on the 2023 Norway cruise that was originally scheduled for Longyearbyen, but changed about 9 months ago to a different port. Regardless of the cruise line you book, unless the ship is very small, it might be iffy on whether or not you get to Longyearbyen.....

 

https://www.lifeinnorway.net/svalbard-struggling-with-health-of-cruise-ship-passengers/

 

Here’s a link to the Longyearbyen port schedule through 2025 which includes all of the ships scheduled to port there. I guess we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed and get a health certificate, if it becomes necessary.

 

 https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/longyearbyen-port-897
 

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 9/9/2023 at 7:42 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s a link to the Longyearbyen port schedule through 2025 which includes all of the ships scheduled to port there. I guess we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed and get a health certificate, if it becomes necessary.

 

 https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/longyearbyen-port-897
 

One thing that might help you determine if it's a possibility would be to look at the ships that are scheduled to go and then check the sizes of those ships.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

One thing that might help you determine if it's a possibility would be to look at the ships that are scheduled to go and then check the sizes of those ships.

We’re currently booked on the NCL Star on a B2B which will stop in Longyearbyen twice in June 2025 there. They’re also scheduled to port there in June 2024. Their passenger load has a capacity of 2340 (dual occupancy).

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_Star

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Just now, Ken the cruiser said:

We’re currently booked on the NCL Star on a B2B which will stop in Longyearbyen twice in June 2025 there. They’re also scheduled to port there in June 2024. Their passenger load has a capacity of 2340 (dual occupancy).

That's a fairly small ship by today's standards.  But probably a nice ship to sail on given there probably will not be a lot of long lines or crowding.

[Ken the cruiser]

39 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

That's a fairly small ship by today's standards.  But probably a nice ship to sail on given there probably will not be a lot of long lines or crowding.

That’s what we’re hoping, especially since the Longyearbyen population in 2020 was only 1,753.
 

 

We were also able to book an aft-facing cabin which is another big plus for us. But we would still give it up if Princess started cruising there again. But, at least we’re finally able to go see some polar bears without having to pay a small fortune for an expedition cruise!! 😁

[cruzsnooze]

I sailed to the Artic circle on National Geo booked by Lindblad which does Longyearbyen and other small great ports. Their ships are smaller, around 300 passengers and it's a very immersive experience. Well worth higher price.

[DrSea]

26 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That’s what we’re hoping, especially since the Longyearbyen population in 2020 was only 1,753.
 

 

We were also able to book an aft-facing cabin which is another big plus for us. But we would still give it up if Princess started cruising there again. But, at least we’re finally able to go see some polar bears without having to pay a small fortune for an expedition cruise!! 😁

I did the star in Iceland and Norway. It's very rare to see a polar bear in longyearbyen. And if you do it will be off in the distance (1000+ feet away). 

 

Star had no lines even when at max capacity.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just now, cruzsnooze said:

I sailed to the Artic circle on National Geo booked by Lindblad which does Longyearbyen and other small great ports. Their ships are smaller, around 300 passengers and it's a very immersive experience. Well worth higher price.

I’m sure they are as a lot of folks have had a lot of great things to say about them. But for us as we are just breaking into our 70s now have more fun spending our $$$ cruising 3-5 weeks at a time getting spoiled and traveling to different parts of the world. Longyearbyen is just one of those places that has eluded us so far and hopefully we’ll check that box off in 2025. 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

3 minutes ago, DrSea said:

I did the star in Iceland and Norway. It's very rare to see a polar bear in longyearbyen. And if you do it will be off in the distance (1000+ feet away). 

 

Star had no lines even when at max capacity.

That’s OK, for us it’s more about the journey and the hunt. But if we were able to see a polar bear even a 1000 feet away would be awesome! Just the thought of the potential of seeing a polar bear is cool enough for us. Hopefully you had a great time on your cruise on the Star! 

[DrSea]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That’s OK, for us it’s more about the journey and the hunt. But if we were able to see a polar bear even a 1000 feet away would be awesome! Just the thought of the potential of seeing a polar bear is cool enough for us. Hopefully you had a great time on your cruise on the Star! 

I had an amazing time on the star. The staff and officers are great and really get to know you if that's what you want. Consider the Haven if you want an elevated experience, esp since you cruise with princess a lot more frequently. 

 

Just pack warmly and be prepared to walk 5 miles daily on that itinerary. I averaged 13 miles per day. 

[Ken the cruiser]

45 minutes ago, DrSea said:

I had an amazing time on the star. The staff and officers are great and really get to know you if that's what you want. Consider the Haven if you want an elevated experience, esp since you cruise with princess a lot more frequently. 

 

Just pack warmly and be prepared to walk 5 miles daily on that itinerary. I averaged 13 miles per day. 

Thanks! We really learned to appreciate what NCL had to offer on our 38-day Middle East/Africa cruise last Fall from Athens to Cape Town by way of Dubai on the NCL Jade, especially when we stopped comparing them to X and PCL after the first few days onboard.
 

We tried the Haven a few years back on the Getaway and found that wasn’t our thing. But the aft-facing Club Balcony cabin on the Jade was perfect for us. We also discovered NCL has some pretty awesome itineraries every once in a while that are reasonably priced. But what was also nice was the “double Latitudes points” we earned on that Jade B2B cruise which bumped us all the way to Platinum after that cruise. Then on top of that with the recent addition of the FAS Plus package for $49 pp/day, we are super excited about finding more awesome 3-5 week itineraries neither PCL or HAL have to offer. 😁
 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[DrSea]

50 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! We really learned to appreciate what NCL had to offer on our 38-day Middle East/Africa cruise last Fall from Athens to Cape Town by way of Dubai on the NCL Jade, especially when we stopped comparing them to X and PCL after the first few days onboard.
 

We tried the Haven a few years back on the Getaway and found that wasn’t our thing. But the aft-facing Club Balcony cabin on the Jade was perfect for us. We also discovered NCL has some pretty awesome itineraries every once in a while that are reasonably priced. But what was also nice was the “double Latitudes points” we earned on that Jade B2B cruise which bumped us all the way to Platinum after that cruise. Then on top of that with the recent addition of the FAS Plus package for $49 pp/day, we are super excited about finding more awesome 3-5 week itineraries neither PCL or HAL have to offer. 😁
 

Comparing NCL to PCL, X, or HAL today is a losing proposition. I think they are aiming to break into that market with the prima line, but I haven't sailed on that class of ship yet and can't comment on it tbh. 

 

Also, right now the star doesn't have a Broadway show, if that matters to you. I was very disappointed to not have one on board. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, DrSea said:

Comparing NCL to PCL, X, or HAL today is a losing proposition. I think they are aiming to break into that market with the prima line, but I haven't sailed on that class of ship yet and can't comment on it tbh. 

 

Also, right now the star doesn't have a Broadway show, if that matters to you. I was very disappointed to not have one on board. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks! As long as there is entertainment every night in the theater and the itinerary takes us to places our other favorite lines don't and at a fair price, we're good. In the case of the Prima class, we briefly looked at a TA on the Prima in 2025 in a Club Balcony and they wanted $400+ pp/day and that was before paying for the optional FAS beverage gratuities. We decided to pass and wait for PCL, HAL and X to post their 2025 TAs as we get free laundry with our Loyalty status with them. 

[DrSea]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! As long as there is entertainment every night in the theater and the itinerary takes us to places our other favorite lines don't and at a fair price, we're good. In the case of the Prima class, we briefly looked at a TA on the Prima in 2025 in a Club Balcony and they wanted $400+ pp/day and that was before paying for the optional FAS beverage gratuities. We decided to pass and wait for PCL, HAL and X to post their 2025 TAs as we get free laundry with our Loyalty status with them. 

Those are high prices for the Prima class. Ouch. Especially for a TA. 

[Ken the cruiser]

24 minutes ago, DrSea said:

Those are high prices for the Prima class. Ouch. Especially for a TA. 

I know. They were pretty high. It was almost like they were following X’s lead as of late and trying to deal with paying for their expensive new ships after cruising started back up. Who knows. 

[Woofbite]

21 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 if we were able to see a polar bear even a 1000 feet away would be awesome! Just the thought of the potential of seeing a polar bear is cool enough for us.

You need to consider a few day land tour to Churchill Canada.

[cruzsnooze]

23 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

That’s OK, for us it’s more about the journey and the hunt. But if we were able to see a polar bear even a 1000 feet away would be awesome! Just the thought of the potential of seeing a polar bear is cool enough for us. Hopefully you had a great time on your cruise on the Star! 

We saw dozens of Polar bears on the National geographic cruise. It was an ice breaker and they take you far north. We saw white whales and walked on the tundra.Of course it's more expensive but you get what you pay for.

[Ken the cruiser]

23 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

We saw dozens of Polar bears on the National geographic cruise. It was an ice breaker and they take you far north. We saw white whales and walked on the tundra.Of course it's more expensive but you get what you pay for.

Sounds pretty cool! 

[teenieleek]

On 9/9/2023 at 11:57 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

We’re currently booked on a NCL B2B in 2025 where we stop at Longyearbyen on both legs. However, we would cancel both of those cruises if Princess had plans to cruise there again. However, from my understanding they canceled their 2023 visit, or was it in 2022? 🤔

 

In any event did anyone hear the reason for the cancellation and is there any hope they’ll cruise there again?

I can’t answer your question about Princess but we were there in July.  The glaciers, particularly the blue one, are stunning, the town itself is like a frontier town with almost nothing to see but the history, the rules of the place (e.g. no cats allowed, no dying there allowed!) and what you see on the way there make it well worth the trip.  My feeling is that you’d be best on a cruise line that has expert guest speakers on board and also wildlife experts (maybe that’s NCL, don’t know) in order to “get” the place.