Since my review of my summer 2023 cruise on the Norwegian Prima  is by far my travel diary with the most questions, I wanted to compile all the questions into a blog post in case anyone else has the same questions and is googling to find answers! In Ålesund, Norway, with the Prima in the background

When my husband saw that one of Norwegian Cruise Line's newest ships had a summer Iceland and Norway itinerary, we knew we wanted to be on it. I have wanted to visit Norway and Iceland for  years . But for some reason, Iceland just never worked out, and figuring out where to go in Norway felt intimidating. So a cruise seemed ideal! We made our reservation in August 2022 and spent the next year counting down to our 10-day cruise in late July/early August on the Norwegian Prima   around northern Europe... and the cruise was just as stunning as I'd imagined it would be. With so many different ports, this review is a long one... so let's dive in! Note: This post contains affiliate links. That means that if you make a purchase after clicking on a link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Lagos was the last stop on my Portugal trip with my girlfriends! After visiting Porto and then Lisbon , we took the train to Lagos on a Thursday morning, where we stayed until Friday afternoon.  We had left the U.S. on a Friday, landed in Portugal on Saturday, and left Portugal the following Friday -- so we managed to hit 3 cities in Portugal in 7 days on the ground!

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and its largest city, and it was the second stop on my Portugal trip, after Porto and before Lagos .  Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, and we spent a lot  of time just walking the city, taking it all in. If I'm being perfectly honest, I did prefer Porto and Lagos to Lisbon, although I still loved the city. As I said in my Porto travel diary , I think the reason was because Lisbon had that familiar feeling of being in a city. But it was still a stunning city, with historical sites throughout, and a day trip to Sintra just a short train ride away. As a side note, it's funny that Portugal was my first European trip because my first trip to South America was Brazil in 2016 with my friend Amy... so we kept joking that we just really loved the Portuguese language! As an FYI, "hello" in Portuguese is "olá "; "sorry" is "desculpe"; and "thanks" is "obrigado" (male speaker) or ...

Portugal -- the place that started it all for me! Portugal was the very first country in Europe I ever visited and the first international trip I planned that wasn't an all-inclusive or through a study abroad program. After visiting Portugal, I was hooked on travel -- the history, the food, and the general excitement of exploring somewhere new and learning about other cultures.

At the end of August 2021, I had the opportunity to visit one of my best friends in Washington state. I've said it before in other travel diaries, but a fter visiting  New Zealand in 2020 , I knew I wanted to see more of the beauty of the United States. This was my first time visiting the state of Washington --  before 2021, the farthest west I'd been in the U.S. was L.A., Las Vegas, and Denver --  and it did not disappoint! You can see Mt. Rainier rising up in the distance in the top left of the photo!

After my honeymoon in New Zealand in 2020, I realized I wanted to see more of the beauty within my own country; then, like millions of other Americans, the COVID pandemic further increased my desire to get outdoors . So when I scheduled a Labor Day trip to visit one of my best friends in Washington state, I was hoping we'd get to do a hike with stunning views -- and I lucked out with a thru-hike of the Enchantments! 

In 2017, I visited Europe for the very first time. Because it was my first time in Europe and I didn't know the next time I'd be back, I decided to make the most of it by staying for 2 weeks:  1 week in Portugal with two of my girlfriends, then meeting up with my then-boyfriend (now husband!) for a 2nd week in London, Rome, and Paris.  I joke that the 2nd week was such a stereotypical basic girl Eurotrip itinerary -- but I thought they'd be a good intro for my first time to Europe, and I'm so glad I visited all of them!  Seeing the Eiffel Tower was a magical experience, and I loved all of the food -- escargots, bread, champagne, cheese, chocolate. I also appreciated the opportunity to take day trips, especially to Normandy. And my boyfriend loved Paris so much that less than a year later, he proposed in front of the Eiffel Tower. :-)