Two very different cruise options. Which would you want to on on?

[FLCruZar]

Options NCL Prima Norway/Iceland or Princess Sky Baltic.  Will definitely read  through this thread for insights.  Would love to get some opinions.  Cruise style love smaller ports or access to less traveled places.  Own our own vs group touring.  
 

thanks!

[kaisatsu]

If you prefer smaller ports, choose the Norway/Iceland cruise. Some of those ports are towns with only a few hundred residents.

 

Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki (and especially Berlin, if you choose to make the trip from Warnemünde) are all sizeable cities. While the Baltic ports are fantastic cruise destinations, “small” and “less traveled” they are certainly not!

 

Setting aside the port size criteria, choose the first if you are interested in nature and scenery. Choose the second if you prefer museums and culture.

[MeHeartCruising]

Kaisatsu sums it up nicely.  These 2 cruises are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum.  Choose the one that is in your half of the spectrum.

[CruiserBruce]

As St Petersburg isn't available on the Baltic, that would tilt us heavy towards Iceland.

[Crewbie]

You may want to keep tabs on the Prima stops at Isafjordur: it sounds from a number of threads this season that the Prima seldom, if ever, made the call at Isafjordur despite what the itineraries said.

 

Isafjordur has reportedly been in the process of completing its pier extension since 2021 and was supposed to be complete this year; if you do opt for the Prima itinerary, I would recommend keeping an eye out for some indicators either way leading up to your cruise.

[Spudd]

Geirangerfjord will be closed to cruise ships except for zero emission ships after 2025. So I would do the Iceland and Norway one if you haven't been there before as it may be the last chance to see the fjord.

[nini]

These are two very different itineraries. We did the first one on the Sky Princess last June and really enjoyed the ship and the itinerary.

We are doing the Baltic on the Sky this June.

[ontheweb]

17 hours ago, Crewbie said:

You may want to keep tabs on the Prima stops at Isafjordur: it sounds from a number of threads this season that the Prima seldom, if ever, made the call at Isafjordur despite what the itineraries said.

 

Isafjordur has reportedly been in the process of completing its pier extension since 2021 and was supposed to be complete this year; if you do opt for the Prima itinerary, I would recommend keeping an eye out for some indicators either way leading up to your cruise.

As we were among the Prima passengers who never made it to Isafjordur, I can second that. They cancelled it every cruise. 

 

I started a topic in this forum asking about whether it was finished. The answer seems to be progress is being made. But that was what was said this past summer as NCL would not cancel each time until a few days before the cruise.🤦‍♂️

 

 

[nini]

For what it is worth, we made every port last June on the Sky. And that includes Isafjordur.

[onyx007]

Agree with above, that the Norway/Iceland Itinerary is better for your benefits; as Stockholm, Helsinki and Kobenhavn are big cities with probably already many land-based tourists around...

 

...with Isafjordur, we stopped there in June'23 with the Norvegian Star (Tender as the pier was occupied) and the town was tiny and not really much to see and do, so better to have a tour organised to bring you out beforehand (also not that many options when you arrive) - while in Akureyri there are dozens tour companies waiting for you at the pier if you like to go into the countryside instead of staying in the town...(which is small an can be seen within an hour)