WisRiver

For some of the excursions you will board at one stop and meet the ship one or two stops later.  This is especially true for the North Cape excursions.

You can do the Holland America Voyage of the Vikings.  I am not sure about the 2023 itinerary, but in 2019 we left from Boston, visited the Maritimes, Iceland and Norway, and ended in Rotterdam.  After a day in Rotterdam, we reversed the itinerary and ended in Boston.  Otherwise you could leave from FLL on Holland America in the spring,, spend the summer in Europe and come back in the fall.  There are worse ways of spending the summer.  

We have done six transatlantic in the past ten years.  We have to fly one way ( Icelandair seems to have the best one way fares).  

We have sailed twice with a group of ten.  We had anytime dining and gathered at 8 PM.  Absolutely no problem.  The first night staff seated us at a large table, and that was our table for the rest of the cruises (7 day cruises to Alaska). We got to know our wait staff and they got to know us.  It might be a problem if your group wants to eat earlier, but you can ask.  Late dining seems to always be less crowded than the earlier times. 

There is a reason why aquarium class cabins are less expensive than upper deck cabins, the upper deck cabins offer a better experience.  The lower deck cabins can be darker because of the smaller windows.  There is more noise.  Even if you are tall enough to look out of the windows, you are looking at the water surface.  I personally think the better experience is worth the added cost.

We have taken two Viking River Cruises, Bucharest to Amsterdam (21 days in 2019) and Basel to Amsterdam (7 days in 2021).  On both boats we used the laundry service.  We had no problems or complaints.  In the morning we would stuff the bag with dirty clothes, fill out the form and leave for the cabin attendant.  Laundry would be back that evening or the next day.  We do a lot of cruising, so we do not take anything delicate, shrinkable or not colorfast.  We take clothes that we have run though our washing machine at home.   

If your schedule permits, I would try to arrive in Europe a week early.  In October, 2022 we did Basel to Amsterdam on Viking River.  We flew into Paris 10 days before departure.  Our experience is that the first two or three days after a US-Europe flight time for recovering from jet lag.  In 2022 we took a train from Paris to Basel, overnighted in Basel and then got on the boat.  There were several people who flew into Zurich, and started the cruise immediately.  It seemed they were not fully in the swing of things for a couple of days.

I would also add that you should be prepared for rain.  Viking has umbrella's available, but waterproof walking shoes and a rain jacket are helpful.    

When we were in Husavik we did not go whale watching.  We did not see puffins in Husavik, although we did not go looking for them.  We saw puffins on our excursions from Patreksfjördor, Bakkagerdi, and Heimaey.   

In October, 2022 we took the Viking River cruise from Basel to Amsterdam.  We chose to fly into Paris, spend a week in an AirBNB, and then took a nonstop train from Paris to Basel.  We took a 25 Euro taxi from the train station to the Hotel Basel (which we highly recommend).    We spent three nights in Basel before boarding the ship.  Basel is a great city.  Interesting museums, good food and great walking.   The week in Paris allowed us to recover from jet lag.  

We have sailed twice with a family group of ten.  We had anytime dining.  In 2015  we were on the Noordam and 2019 the Eurodam.  On both ships there were tables for ten.   Look at HALfacts for sketches of the dining rooms.  We had a Neptune suite, so the concierge was able to book one of tables for ten at 8 PM.  I think it is easier if you book a later time.  I had all the cabin numbers for our group.    We. had the same table for the entire trip.  

Yes, there are scary stories about car rentals in Iceland.  On the other hand we rented a car from Enterprise for 20 days in August, 2021 and Cars Iceland/Blue Rental for two days in June, 2022.  While expensive (especially the two day rental) we had no issues with our experience or problems with damage to the car.  We did not drive on F roads, but several roads in the West Fjords and North Iceland were gravel.  We avoided the dirt tracks, and felt we missed nothing.   We picked up and dropped the cars in the city of Reykjavik did not have to return the cars at the airport.  We did stop to wash the cars before returning the vehicles at an outdoor car wash next to the gas station where we did the final fill-up.  

Sea conditions were not bad.  On the day we missed Grimsey Island, the strong winds were from the south and east, so the waves were not high.  Our veranda cabin was on the starboard side.  At night (?) the sun did not shine in.

Our experience is with repositioning cruises.  We were on the Rotterdam in October, 2021.  There was an ACBL director on board who offered lessons in the morning and duplicate in the afternoon on sea days.  On pte-Covid cruises without a lot of sea days, there was “party” bridge in one of the small meeting rooms.  HAL would provide cards, cookies and coffee.  There were similar arrangements for American style mah jongg players.  There were several mah jongg sets on board.

Three years ago we did a Hurtigruten Antarctic cruise.  We flew in and out of Ushuaia.   The flights used the domestic airport near the city center, Jorge Newbery, which was a considerable distance from the international airport.  We decided to spend two nights in Buenos Aires which were a lot of fun.  We ate good food, took in a tango show, and saw the sights.  

We visited Sky Lagoon last week.  I think taking the bus would be difficult and time consuming.  We took a taxi from our downtown hotel at a cost of about $30 for four persons.  When we were done, the staff at Sky Lagoon called a cab for us, and we had about a ten minute wait.  If you are traveling with another person do the full couples package.  The snack with a beer after a couple of hours in the spa is a perfect end to a great visit.

We have traveled with Viking several times.  We book our own travel and usually arrive several days early to spend time in and around the departure city.  It is not hard to make your own transfer arrangements often at considerable savings.   While we speak some foreign languages, most transfer services in major cities can book in English.  For example we had a departure from Athens.  We made arrangements for a six day tour to islands where the Viking Ocean was not going to stop.  At the end of the tour we made our way to the hotel where the Viking Cruise started. 

We were on the Zuiderdam for the 2019 Voyage of the Vikings and did an overnight stop in Reykjavik.  We did a private  Golden Circle tour that included a stop at the Fontana Geothermal Spa at Laugervatn.  On Day 2 we started with the Hop on Hop off bus tour.  However, once we got into the center of the city, there was so much to see, we caught a taxi back to the ship.  My suggestion would be to take a taxi into the center of the city, stroll, shop and eat and take a taxi back to ship.  Hopefully, you will have nice weather.   

We made the following stops:

1)  Stykkishólmur

2)  Patreksfjördor

3)  Akureyri

4)  We were supposed to stop on Grimsey Island, but bad weather prevented a stop.  We stopped in        Husavik instead.

5)  Bakkagerdi

6)  Heimaey

We used the Old Harbor in the center of the city near the Harpa.

We just returned home from an 8 day Hurtigruten Expedition circumnavigation of Iceland on the Fridtjof Nansen.  We started and finished in Reykjavik and made 6 stops.  We were on the first cruise on the Nansen since late 2019.  The ship had been in dry dock since its last cruise.  As a result the ship was sparkling clean, and interiors  appeared to be freshly refurbished.  The crew, especially the dining room staff were still working out the kinks.  We were in an Expedition Suite on the 8th deck.  There are three restaurants Aune (the buffet), Lindstøm (upscale dining for suite guests and Fredheim (a sit-down restaurant with varied menu).  We ate most of our meals in the Lindstøm since we had an 8th deck cabin/suite.  

The food was fairly good.  The buffet had good variety, but I liked the service of the Lindstøm.  Dinner hours were from 6 PM to 9 PM and The menus were changed every two days, with a choice of meat, fish and plant based.  If you had the halibut on Tuesday, you could have lamb on Wednesday.  If you liked the lamb you could have it two nights in a row.   

Our cabin was excellent, one of the best cabins we have been in.  We are 4* Holland American Mariners, and the cabin was comparable to a HAL signature suite.  We had a large balcony, nice bathroom with a heated floor, and lots of storage space.  Our cabin attendant was excellent.  She provided  twice daily room service.

The crew is divided into four groups.  The officers are Norwegian, the hotel and food service management was European, the expedition staff was multinational, but primarily Northern European and the support staff (waiters, room attendants, deck crew and cooks were Filipino.   The cruise was multilingual, all announcements were in English, German and French.  I would estimate of the 400 passenger on board,  1/3 of the guests were Anglophones (US and UK), ¼ German and ¼ French and the remainder Northern Europeans.

The excursions are the reasons to sail with Hurtigruten.  We made six stops in our eight days, and there were no "sea days".  All of stops had a "free"  excursion, usually  a walk into the port town although one excursion was a zodiac (small boat) tour in a fjord.  There were also paid excursions in each port.  You could also take hikes with expedition staff that were usually described as strenuous or demanding, or difficult.  The Germans were most of the hikers.

We have sailed with Hurtigruten before, and given the right itinerary (e.g. Galapagos) we would sail with them again.  

We are on a Holland America cruise from San Diego to Sydney in October, 2022.  We have stops in French Polynesia, Tonga and the Cook Islands.  I understand that French Polynesia is allowing cruise ships to dock, but I find little information about Tonga or the Cook Islands.  Holland America says nothing about this itinerary.

The Comfort Inn Central is not under the Central Station.  The hotel is part of the remodeled original station.  We have stayed there.  Rooms were small and comfortable with no noise issues.  The principal advantage to the Comfort Inn Central is that it is a convenient indoor walk to the train tracks and reasonably priced for Oslo.  The Thon Opera is a more upscale, expensive hotel also attached to the train station, but in a new building.   We stayed at the Comfort Inn in September, 2019.  There were several nice restaurants in the original station, but I am not sure what survived Covid times.  

We received our travel documents for the June 1 cruise.  You have to go to the Fosshotel Reykjavik to start the boarding process.  You must be Covid tested at the hotel before boarding.  Passengers are charged for the cost of testing (65 Euros).   Testing starts at 1 PM with the highest number cabins first.  Testing is finished by 4 PM.  After testing Hurtigruten transfers passengers to the ship.   With this procedure it  does not make any difference where the ship docks.  We have to find a car rental agency close to the Fosshotel.

Several years ago we did a cruise from Santiago, Chile to Boston via the Panama Canal.  One of the HAL tours had passengers getting off the ship, doing a two night excursion to Machu Picchu and rejoining the ship at the last shop in Peru.  Overnighting off the ship can be done.

• We were on the Fram to the Antarctic in pre-Covid times.  After we departed South America, the was a boot fitting afternoon.  As you probably know, passengers are divided into groups to spread out the landings.  Each group is called to boot fitting area on the deck where the small boats are launched.  Some people were worried that there would not be boots in their size, but everyone got fitted.  

Arlanda airport is about 40 km north of the old town (Gamla Stan).  The Arlanda Express is about a 20 minute train ride to the Central Train Station.  It would be a short cab ride to Gamla Stan.  You will have to find out from Viking where they dock.  

We are booked on the MS Fridtjof Nansen departing from Reykjavik on June 1.  There appear to be two docks that the Nansen could dock.  Miðbakki is in the old harbor near the center of Reykjavik.  According to the   Scarfabakki Harbor is the new cruise terminal about 3 km from the center of the city.  In 2019 when we were on a Holland America cruise, our ship docked at Scargabakki.  According to the Icelandic port calendar, the Nansen is shown as docking at Miðbakki.  However, I remember hearing that  Miðbakki is no longer used.  Any insights or information on where the Nansen would dock.  It would be helpful to know, since it may effect our choice of rental cars for our pre cruise touring.