iceland cruise 7/15/16

Hello,

This is my first post .. so excited! It will also be our first visit to Iceland.

We've taken 1 other Windstar cruise (Ireland/Scotland). Loved that cruise but not so much the excursions. We took a few but, basically, were not so pleased with the options and/or the costs. We arranged a few private tours and, for pretty much the same cost, we customized our itinerary and saw EXACTLY what we wanted to see. We'd like to do the same fort Iceland.

I've been researching some private or small group options and haven't made any decisions yet. We want to see some of the well-known sights but even more so, are interested in the local off_the_beaten track experiences.

So, this is the perfect time to ask if anyone has any thoughts and recommendations. Looking forward to hearing from you and meeting you on board. THANK YOU.

We have done multiple WS cruises but not Iceland however, we are really not group tour people. I research what I want to do and see and then contact Tours By Locals and have had great luck. They will always delivere on tours I have designed and if they think of something I also would enjoy will accommodate me. We have had great tours with them. We have done them alone and with a group of friends. The only tours we have done with WS were in Tahiti and they were outstanding with the exception of Bora Bora Islsnd tour, my fault I should have known better I just so do not need to see places where famous people ate, visited ect. The swimming tours and the history tours were great. I would recommend Tours By Locals in a minute. Happy Sailing Susanne

Thank you so much for your suggestion. Do they provide transportation .. a private car/driver. I'll contact that group.

Yes they provide drivers, you can get walking tours, drivers, when you have a lot people vans etc. It serms their recommended guides also work for others companies so I think they are all independent guides. Have fun.

My husband and I have visited Iceland twice (loved it), and are considering booking one of Windstar's 2017 circumnavigation cruises because they offer an opportunity to visit some of the more remote regions, which we weren't able to see on our previous land-based visits.

I echo the previous suggestion re checking Tours By Locals. We had good experiences with them on a cruise in South America. We were able to locate guides who were happy to meet us at the port, take us on a personalized tour, and return us to the ship in ample time.

TripAdvisor can also be a good source of info about independent tour operators in remote locations. You can post a question in one of TA's Iceland forums.

When you return from your voyage, I hope you'll share comments on this board.

Bon voyage!

Hello DC Traveler,

Thanks for your suggestions. I did contact Tours with Locals and I am very interested in one of their tours. Unfortunately, for 2 people, it's too expensive for us (about $500 per person).

So, we're asked and hoped to receive replies from fellow travelers on our cruise who might be interested in joining us or have other option and we might join them. We'll see.

Glad you loved Iceland .. we are so excited and, in fact, have not heard anything but glorious experiences from others, whether summer or winter.

Would love to hear more about the upcoming return trip to Iceland. Do you mean the one we're taking or is there another.

Looking forward to staying in touch !!

Lenore

Lenore, I'm sorry to have taken so long to respond to your message. We're not going to be on your voyage -- we're looking at one in 2017.

I understand your concerns about the pp costs you mentioned. You could do two things: post on the CruiseCritic "roll call" for your voyage and ask if another couple is interested in splitting the cost with you, or tell the guide you're considering to let you know if he/she is approached by another couple who'll be on your voyage. Both courses pose a risk: you may not enjoy sharing your tour with strangers who have different priorities than yours (but the same is true re shore excursions booked through a cruise line, which will involve a lot more people and a lot less control over how your time is spent).

That said, $500 pp does sound high, even for Iceland (which is expensive in general -- hotels, food, guides, etc). Also, the peak tourist season is pretty short --there are likely supply/demand issues

Good luck!

Lenore, I'm sorry to have taken so long to respond to your message. We're not going to be on your voyage -- we're looking at one in 2017.

 

I understand your concerns about the pp costs you mentioned. You could do two things: post on the CruiseCritic "roll call" for your voyage and ask if another couple is interested in splitting the cost with you, or tell the guide you're considering to let you know if he/she is approached by another couple who'll be on your voyage. Both courses pose a risk: you may not enjoy sharing your tour with strangers who have different priorities than yours (but the same is true re shore excursions booked through a cruise line, which will involve a lot more people and a lot less control over how your time is spent).

 

That said, $500 pp does sound high, even for Iceland (which is expensive in general -- hotels, food, guides, etc). Also, the peak tourist season is pretty short --there are likely supply/demand issues

 

 

Good luck!

We're already booked for July 2017.

The problem I have with trying to comment on the roll calls is that to get together one of you needs to reveal contact information on a public website. Something I'm not willing to do - I don't have anything to hide, but I will not, ever, post an email or phone number on an open site. Now, if CC only enabled private messaging...

I'm in a similar situation with Tours by Locals, they sound great but the prices just blow me away.