IheartNYC

Hello, Princeton123211! We’re very interested in going to the Four Seasons but I’m having a hard time trying to find how to get there from the St. Kitts cruise port. Are the water taxis close by and easily accessible to be charted? About how much is it per person, if you recall at all? Our ship is there on a Friday, 8a-5p. Is that sufficient time to enjoy the place? Any advice would help. Thanks so much! 

1 hour ago, geologyrx said:

Concerning tipping....did you tip in Euros or the Icelandic currency?

I did USD because I didn't bring any ISK (krona) with me. I just used my credit card for most purchases and I even bought some souvenirs using USD which some locals accepted (e.g. lava jewelry in Reykjavik through local street vendor)

23 hours ago, BarbRN said:

This isn’t clear. So is it warmer inside?  What do you recommend?

It is definitely warmer but I noticed that I'm much more comfortable if I use the cashmere wrap I brought. I just wrap it around my shoulders while having dinner and throughout the evening show. Some people were wearing cardigan and others just their tops without jackets/blazers. Safer to bring a cardigan or shawl just in case you need it

We took an outside tour to Dynjandi waterfalls and it was breathtaking! I really wanted to see this waterfall but it was sold out on the Viking website and so I researched and came upon the Arctic shorex website. I was very skeptical at first but I finally booked the tour after a person posted here at CC that they booked a tour through them and loved it.

Shout out to Runar who was our amazing guide! We were the only ones that booked the tour through them and we're so grateful that they didn't cancel on us. It essentially became a private tour for 2. Runar was very patient in answering all our questions and even accompanied us as we trekked up towards the landing closest to the waterfall. Also, he said he wanted to get a headstart so as to avoid the 4 Viking buses going to the same place So we had the waterfalls all to ourselves at least a good 30 minutes before they all came.

Also, this tour cost us ISK15000 which is equivalent to roughly $120. So much cheaper than what Viking was charging. We then went to a farm (birthplace of one of their founding fathers, Jon Sigurdsson) that had a small museum,  a restored turf house and a chapel. Try the home baked goods they sell on the farm. The oatmeal/rhubarb bar and the Skyr pie paired with coffee were amazing!! All in all a perfect way to spend 5 hours at Isafjordur. We started  at 830am and got back to the ship at 140pm. We even had ample time to catch one of the afternoon complimentary Viking tours to Bolungarvik which was also great. I'm glad we were able to support a smaller tour company. Don't hesitate to book with them.

https://arcticshorex.com/tours/isafjordur-dynjandi-westfjords/

3 hours ago, SteelCity Cruiser said:

Does anyone have a screenshot of the Chef's Table menu for the Xaing (spelling?) evening?  I have the Great Britain and Asian Panorama but need  the 3rd for my photo book!  TIA

Ate at Xiang last night and it was great. We overheard a group asking for some tea and we didn't even think about it but it does make the experience a bit more authentic if they offered Chinese tea,  which they didn't. The highlights of the meal were the coconut granita (palate cleanser), wok fried beef tenderloin (so tender) and the chilled mango cream...the others were just okay. 

Viking Sky, July 31st

I need to correct myself. I looked at the Dining schedule for Chef's Table and here is what Is scheduled on TV. We had dinner there last night so it was the British menu for July 31st.

July 31 (Saturday)- Karen Burns/British menu

August 1 (Sunday)- Karen Burns/ British menu 

August 2 (Monday)- Xiang

August 3 (Tuesday)- Xiang 

August 4 (Wednesday)- Xiang 

August 5 (Thursday)- California cuisine

August 6 (Friday)- California cuisine

August 7 (Sat)-Karen Burns/British menu 

Just now, IheartNYC said:

Jayray, my covid antigen home test with video supervision was accepted by Delta. Didn't have any issues with it at all. I just printed the pdf copy of the results. 

I flew JFK-KEF and was asked twice by Delta to present our documents (passports, negative covid test, covid vaccination card and Iceland barcode.) One before we got in line for the baggage drop and the second time was at the actual Delta counter where we dropped off our luggage. After security screening, we only presented our boarding pass at the gate. They made an overhead announcement at the gate that people who were getting on the plane from a connecting flight needs to present all documents for them to check

19 hours ago, jayray said:

Back to the question on PCR vs Antigen tests. Does anyone know whether or not Delta is accepting the antigen test prior to boarding for KEF?

 

Thanks...

Jayray, my covid antigen home test with video supervision was accepted by Delta. Didn't have any issues with it at all. I just printed the pdf copy of the results. 

18 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

I seem to recall a chat feature on the Covid.is site when we registered a few days ago. You could always ask the Icelandic authorities if you can’t get an answer here. 
 

Personally even if somebody on this site suggests it is accepted, if there is any doubt I would prefer to get a definitive response from the Icelandic authorities before commencing my flights. 
 

 

We tried calling them twice to no avail- we were directed to go to the Iceland covid website for guidelines. I did not submit any formal questions by email but we did try to call 2 separate times but couldn't reach anyone. That being said, my fiance was okay because he had time to schedule and get a pcr test from an urgent care facility but I was the one with a problematic schedule because I was working very long hours the last 72 hours prior to our flight. That is why I took the Ellume home test kit and figured, worst case scenario, I would just pay to have it done at the airport if video supervised home test was not acceptable. Didn't have any issues with it and no one questioned it at all so that was a relief.

11 minutes ago, peribit said:

Thanks for posting.  How about entry to Iceland?  Did you encounter any problem at the boarder with the video-supervised antigen test?

Peribit, no issues with Delta at all. They did check it twice as I mentioned before, once before they let us into the line for baggage drop and also on the actual counter where we dropped off our luggage. Covid test wasn't even checked when we arrived in Iceland, only our bar code was scanned and also the passport was checked

49 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Are you on Sky or Jupiter?  Thanks. 

Sky, just boarded July 31st ( I was gonna say today but realized it's 1220am here already)

2 hours ago, Conrmom said:

Hi, long time reader, first time poster here.  Thank you all very much for your helpful posts. I am wondering if you would comment on packing for this trip. Anything you took but didn’t really need? Anything you didn’t take but wish you had? Thanks in advance.

We got here on the 29th and started our cruise today, July 31st. So far we didn't make use of any of our cold gear (hats, gloves and bubble vests) We went to the South Coast and Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon yesterday and even there, I only wore the dri-fit (moisture wicking) long sleeved shirt and hardly wore my Columbia waterproof jacket. It was unusually hot yesterday (felt like 80s although I'm sure it was in the high 60s.) We took a bus tour and the other people were so hot they wanted to strip down to their undies, no kidding! The bus had AC but not cool enough so we all got pretty uncomfortable.  That being said, we did bring a wide range of clothing to layer just in case the weather turns

On 7/29/2021 at 12:09 PM, peribit said:

If the video supervised antigen test is allowed, it will make it much easier.  Please post back if you encounter any problem on July 31.

Peribit, our negative covid test wasn't even checked by Viking.  They just checked our passports and took a credit card to keep on file. They did do a temperature check as soon as we were in the tent and asked us the health questions similar to the health attestation we did and that was it. We were on board in 15 mins.

1 minute ago, IheartNYC said:

We ate at the Chef's table tonight and it was the British menu. From what we were told, British menu is today and tomorrow (July 31 and August 1) then Xiang menu August 2-4, last is  California menu August 5-7. 

On 7/28/2021 at 7:59 PM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Different, trivial question: If anyone on Jupiter is reading this now (week starting July 27) could you please post the names of the Chef's Table menus Viking is serving, and preferably when the last one ends?  I don't know if this information is on the television or if you have to ask the Maitre d.  But if you know or could find out,  my spouse would be very appreciative. He has a few favorites, and if I know what's in the rotation this week it will help me guess what might be in the rotation later!

We ate at the Chef's table tonight and it was the British menu. From what we were told, British menu is today and tomorrow (July 31 and August 1) then Xiang menu August 2-4, last is  California menu August 5-7. 

17 minutes ago, BQEC said:

Iheart. Thank you again for your details on the observed antigen test. Best wishes for you and your fiancé in Iceland. Looking forward to your future posts. 

You're most welcome. I wanted to share my experience with the home test kits + video verification because I know that someone out there will be relieved to know that those tests were actually valid and accepted for entry into Iceland (just print out the pdf to present as proof of negative test.) As much as I wanted to do a PCR prior to flying Iceland, the circumstances just didn't allow for that. I'm glad it all worked out in the end. Here is the copy of the report I presented to Delta 

2 minutes ago, Ellistravels said:

My question is about mask compliance on shore excursion buses.  I have read some posts  that say masks are not being enforced on the buses.  
Has this been your experience?  Your response will help me decide whether or not to cancel our shore ex that involve a bus ride …. at least those that are all day trips.  

We start our cruise this Saturday, July 31st. I'll let you know about the masks on buses when we go on our shore excursion. Just giving some tips on the airport/covid testing stuff that we encountered so far

23 minutes ago, peribit said:

If the video supervised antigen test is allowed, it will make it much easier.  Please post back if you encounter any problem on July 31.

Will do! I owe so much to this group because I learned so many tips so just trying to pay it forward

27 minutes ago, BQEC said:

Many thanks to iheart ny for providing the detailed information regarding the antigen test procedure and acceptance. A question, how long between order and receipt of the kit?Thank you again. 

I ordered 3 kits (1 for myself as my Iceland antigen test and the other 2 for me and my fiance for the return flight back to US.) We were staying 4 days after the cruise so we would've had to arrange our own covid test to fly back to the US. 

Total was $165 ($50 per home kit+ video verification and $15 for 2 day shipping) They sent me one extra complimentary kit (which I ended up using because of the indeterminate results that I got with the first one.) Definitely stick that swab as far as it would go and swab well or it would come out with an error like the first test I did. 

This is the Clear link from the Delta website

https://www.delta.com/us/en/check-in-security/expedited-airport-security/clear

5 minutes ago, Snit13 said:

What is Clear?  How do you subscribe?

We fly mostly on Delta so I am not entirely sure if other airlines have Clear too? It is a paid annual subscription where you enroll and register your biometrics which then expedites the whole process. It is $179/year plus $60 per family member but I got a discount which brought down the cost to $129/year. For the amount of stress you save yourself, it might be worth it especially if you travel a lot.

3 minutes ago, peribit said:

It is good to know that they allow Ellume/Azova test.  The Iceland Covid test rule said "no self-test" are allowed.

Home self tests should have the video verification (like the Ellume-Azova) so that someone can attest that you actually took the test and then they give you the results via email with a pdf attachment for you to print. You could also open the Azova app and the results will be there too

Another thing, we breezed through the security line at the airport because I subscribed to Clear. We only had TSA precheck prior to Clear and with "Clear with TSA precheck" we avoided such a long line people were giving us dirty looks as we were escorted to the front of the line to do security check. Definitely give yourselves time because the lines were super long! 

Also, I did the home covid antigen test and it was accepted. It literally saved my life because I worked long hours the last 3 days (72 hrs) before our flight and that was what stressed me out the most (when and where do I get the test?)  I ordered the Ellume/Azova covid home test kit with video verification for $50 a kit ($35 for kit and $15 for video verification so that you could get pdf result for you to print and present to airline)

I had to do the test twice because the first one came back inconclusive (apparently the code that came out after the test was due to the fact that I didn't scrape or went in far enough with the swab) The second test came back negative 

Viking Sky, July 31

Hi, everyone! We finally made it to Iceland. Just wanted to give a quick rundown of our experience while it's still fresh in my mind. We are at the lobby of our hotel just waiting to check-in .

We flew Delta from JFK-KEF and they checked our documents 2X 

First was when we were about to do baggage drop (we checked in online and opted to print boarding pass at the airport Delta kiosks when we got there.) The lady asked to see boarding pass, negative Covid test, vaccination card and Iceland barcode before she let us into the line. Second time was at the Delta counter where we dropped the luggage. It helps to expedite the line if you have everything in order because so many people ahead of us were so disorganized they were scarmbling and trying to get the documents from deep inside their luggages/bags and I must say, with very few counters open, it definitely slowed down the line.  

At the gate- only boarding pass for us since that was not a connecting flight for us. They made an overhead announcement that passengers from connecting flights should have all documents out for them to check.

When we got to Iceland, first check was to stamp passport. We had all documents out (passport, covid test, covid vaccination card) but lady said it wasn't needed, just the passport for now. Down we went to baggage claim. It is right by duty free so we went in quickly while waiting. After that was customs and you choose a lane if you have anything to declare or nothing to declare. This is where they checked and finally scanned our barcode. After that we were free to go about our day. All in all we were out by 9am (approx an hour for everything including  bathroom break and detour to duty free)