Cruising on Norwegian Prima: Helicopter tourism works out a treat

Thingvellir National Park in Iceland. Photo /Estelle Sarney

Cruise holidays are sometimes criticised for allowing only a short time to see a place. But you've got to start somewhere and for the Norwegian Prima's eight-day christening cruise (and other upcoming voyages) that was in Reykjavik, Iceland, a true wish-list destination. You can get there for as long as you like before embarking.

While we just had two days, we covered a lot of ground and loved the place and the people. From what we saw, it felt like New Zealand's volcanism and natural features on steroids.

Two days south, our first port visit was Cobh, Ireland. Once known as Queenstown, Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork. It was the last port of call for the Titanic and there's a Titanic Experience, billed as a one-hour event. We took a bus tour to Blarney Castle where Estelle enjoyed the wonderful gardens and I queued up with masses of other tourists and kissed the Blarney Stone at the top of the magnificent turret.

A gimmick? Yes. Fun? Certainly.

Once known as Queenstown, Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork. Photo / Estelle Sarney

Our next stop, Portland, on England's southwest coast, was a revelation. We did our own thing, catching a shuttle bus to a fort built by Henry VIII, and then a local bus to the town's small museum.

The area is on the Jurassic Coast and the place has an astonishing array of dinosaur bones and fossils on display, some you can handle. And casually lying around the lovely garden was a 2000-year-old Roman coffin hewn from Portland Stone, which has been used in landmark buildings throughout Britain, including the Tower of London.

Prima sailed next to Le Havre in Normandy, France. Estelle took a coach to lunch on the Seine in Paris (for US$170) ($292) while I visited the D-Day beaches and US war cemetery (US$130). Each excursion meant long hours on buses, but we wouldn't have missed either experience for the world. As in Cork we had great guides and learned a lot about the country and its culture along the way.

Cruising into Amsterdam high up on a ship is a great way to see the city. Photo / Estelle Sarney

Our destination port, Amsterdam, was another fabulous experience.

From the North Sea you enter the main canals through a lock system and from 17-storeys up get a drone-like view of city's petrochemical and industrial heartland. The scenery transitions into parks and suburbs before you arrive in the buzzing centre of Amsterdam, accompanied by a flotilla of pleasure boats. It's a wonderful way to end or begin any cruise.

CHECKLIST: NORWEGIAN PRIMA

DETAILS
For itineraries, pricing and more information, go to ncl.com/nz/en/cruise-ship/prima