Norwegian Prima - Iceland & Norwegian Fjords to Southampton

Where this cruise calls, day by day

9 ports and 2 sea days over 10 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Reykjavik

   IcelandDepart

   Most ships berth at Skarfabakki, a plain working pier about 4km northeast of the centre with nothing around it, so it is a shuttle or a taxi in - only smaller ships get Midbakki in the Old Harbour. Reykjavik itself is compact and low-rise and takes a couple of hours. The point of the day is usually outside it: the Golden Circle fills a whole one, the lagoons half.

   • The Golden Circle - Thingvellir's rift valley, the Strokkur geyser at Geysir, and Gullfoss
   • Hallgrimskirkja's tower for the view over the coloured rooftops
   • Harpa concert hall, and the whale and puffin boats from the Old Harbour
   • The Blue Lagoon out on the Reykjanes peninsula, or the Sky Lagoon much closer to town

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Skarfabakki, roughly 4km out, with a paid shuttle or taxi into town; small ships get Midbakki in the Old Harbour, half a kilometre from downtown.

   Best months

   Jun-Aug (midnight sun); May and Sep quieter

2. Day 2

   Isafjordur

   IcelandPort

   Isafjordur is the main town of the Westfjords - about 2,700 people on a sand spit inside a steep fjord, with mountains rising straight off the end of the runway. It is Iceland's third-busiest cruise port, and the town takes twenty minutes to walk. What justifies the call is up the valleys behind it, above all Dynjandi, a tiered waterfall ninety minutes away over a pass.

   • Dynjandi, a broad tiered waterfall in the next fjord system, about 90 minutes each way
   • The Westfjords Heritage Museum at Nedsti, in merchant buildings from the 1750s that are among Iceland's oldest
   • Osvor, a reconstructed turf-and-stone fishing station about 15 minutes away at Bolungarvik
   • The boat to Vigur island, where thousands of eider ducks nest alongside puffins and Arctic terns

   Getting ashore

   Most ships come alongside the town quays, 0.8km from the centre; vessels over about 270m anchor and tender instead.

   Best months

   Jun-Aug

3. Day 3

   Akureyri

   IcelandPort

   Akureyri sits at the head of Iceland's longest fjord and is the closest thing the north has to a city, at around 19,000 people. Ships tie up on the town's own waterfront, so the centre, the stepped church and the botanical garden are all on foot. Most passengers leave anyway - Godafoss is 45 minutes east and Lake Myvatn's craters and steam vents an hour beyond that.

   • Godafoss, the horseshoe waterfall on the Skjalfandafljot, about 45 minutes out
   • Lake Myvatn - the Dimmuborgir lava formations, the Namaskard mud pots and the Nature Baths
   • Akureyrarkirkja on its steps above the town, and the botanical garden, one of the world's most northerly
   • Whale watching in Eyjafjordur, or the drive over to Husavik for the better-known boats

   Getting ashore

   Docked on the town waterfront; the centre is a five-minute walk and every major sight is a coach ride east.

   Best months

   Jun-Aug

4. Day 4 · At sea

5. Day 5

   Ålesund

   NorwayPort
   Ålesund port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
6. Day 6

   Maloy

   NorwayPort

   An island town of about 3,000 at the mouth of Nordfjord, connected to the mainland by a long bridge and built on herring and pelagic fishing. It is one of the more exposed spots on the Norwegian coast - the Stad sea outside has a bad reputation among sailors - and the town's other claim is the 1941 Commando raid on Vågsøy.

   • Kannesteinen, the wave-carved mushroom rock at Oppedal, 20 minutes away
   • Måløy Raid Centre on the 1941 Operation Archery raid
   • Refviksanden, a long white-sand Atlantic beach
   • Kråkenes lighthouse on the cliff edge facing the Stad sea

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at Garpeskjærkaia next to the centre, a 5-10 minute walk in; taxis are scarce, so pre-book anything outside town.

   Best months

   May-Sep

7. Day 7

   Bergen

   NorwayPort

   The usual start or finish of a Norwegian fjord itinerary, wedged between seven mountains and a deep harbour. Rain is the default - locals hand out umbrellas without comment. The draw is Bryggen, the row of leaning wooden Hanseatic trading houses on the north side of the Vågen inlet, and the funicular that climbs straight out of the old town to a mountain plateau.

   • Bryggen wharf and the alleys behind its facades
   • Fløibanen funicular up Mount Fløyen, 8 minutes from the centre
   • The fish market at the head of Vågen
   • Troldhaugen, Edvard Grieg's lakeside villa and composing hut

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock at Skolten, a 10-minute walk from Bryggen, or at Dokken/Jekteviken further south, which is 25-30 minutes on foot and usually shuttled.

   Best months

   May-Sep

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Amsterdam

   NetherlandsPort
   Amsterdam port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
10. Day 10

    Bruges (Zeebrugge)

    BelgiumPort
    Bruges (Zeebrugge) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
11. Day 11

    Southampton

    United KingdomArrive
    Southampton port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore