ljandgb

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Inside the Volcano?  I assume you are speaking of the volcano in Grindavik, which has been erupting.  Any tours to that place are now crispy critters.

 

Hank

You assume wrong.  It's on my bucket list.

https://insidethevolcano.com

Or you could do something completely different, like Inside the Volcano from Reykjavik.

I'll admit, though, I've been to Iceland 3 times and have done the full Golden Circle.  I have been to Thingvellir, and snorkeled Silfra, but having been to Yellowstone several times, I'm not that jazzed about more geothermals.

So nice to see pictures of Romania.  We added the extension because my husband REALLY wanted to see the Vlad castle, and I fell in love with the country.  Thank you for the detailed trip report.

Regarding the Black Church in Brasov - our guide told us the turkish carpets were a less ostentatious sign of wealth.  When the congregation switched from Catholic to Protestant, the gold and gilt was frowned upon, so families and guilds traded it for carpets instead to hang around their boxes.  Still is expensive, but doesn't stand out so much, unless you know what you're looking for.

FWIW, 2000 ISK is $143 USD and $196 CD, at least for today's exchange rate.

On 6/11/2024 at 5:10 PM, blackfly said:

We will be there next summer when there will be three ships in port at the same time with a combined passenger capacity of 6000.

Good gravy!  That's insane.  That's quite likely more than the entire population of that region.  There can't be that many tour guides, buses, etc, to handle that.  I worry that the cruise lines are setting themselves up for disappointed guests, and I suppose Iceland had to approve that many people docking.  I wonder if there is ANY plan to scale up their tourist resources in preparation, of if they're just assuming it will happen de novo.

Yes.  Not trying to be unhelpful, but you should not take the advice of random strangers regarding embarkation time.  We're wrong, you miss the ship, and it's still all on you.  All cruise paperwork I've ever received has embarkation time listed.  You can technically show up any time after that, but if sail away is at 7:00pm, you'll want to be on board no later than 1 hour prior, and assuming it will take time to get you checked in at the pier, you'll need to arrive to the pier earlier yet.

Sail away time is ship pulling away from the pier - that means all gangways, etc, have already been removed.  Show up too close to that, and you'll just be waiving at the ship as it leaves you.

The "people stomping on the sun deck/my ceiling" is known issue also.  When the ship is only 2 decks, you don't have a lot of choices.

Sorry you didn't do enough research to know what to expect.  River cruising is very different from ocean cruising.  Housekeeping coming in when you're in the room is a legit complaint for sure.

Some lines do have smaller tables - 2 and 4 tops.  Avalon is one, and we took advantage of them.

Not sure when you disembark, but the airport (which is in Keflavik) needs a good 2.5-3 hours.  Plan your tour accordingly.

Most tours tend to go south/east of Reykjavik, and the airport is 45 minutes west of Rey, which doesn't leave a lot of time.

If you can't find a tour, you might want to consider doing the Blue Lagoon (though it has been open/closed based on lava flow intermittently this spring) or perhaps the Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik.  There is luggage storage at the main bus station (BSI.)

You could also rent a car in town and drop off at the airport, and explore the Reykjanes peninsula on the way to the airport.

On 6/8/2024 at 6:03 PM, lionheart said:

Usually when would you need to

 board  the ship ?

 That is absolutely info you should get from your travel agent or cruise company.  It should be on your cruise paperwork as well.

I did a search on the TA forum and the few posts mentioned that they are the private transfer contractor for Flybus, though their website does offer tours.  I suspect they are more of the driver and car type of service, and do not have a deep pool of true guides.

Sorry you had a bad experience.  For anyone else looking, please go over to TripAdvisor and ask questions.  I agree there is much more experience over there.

Another vote for Avalon, for the reasons listed.  We've done a 2 week Danube cruise, with extensions at either end (making it a 3 week total trip,) and a Mekong cruise with all the possible extensions.  We've been very pleased both times.

The TripAdvisor forum is not cruise-centric, and yes, there is a separate board for Iceland vs Greenland.

You get Icelandic locals that post there.  There's also just a long longer history of travel on the TA forum.  Icelandic cruise ports have not been that popular until the last few years, where land travel has been having a hey day for a decade.

I've admittedly never been to Greenland, but there are plenty of apps/devices that will take a credit card to the seller's phone (Square, etc.)  I've had street vendors in Europe use it.  

Not at all surprised.

Not the standard south coast or originate in Reykjavik tours, but I'd be worried about these small cruise ports with only a small handful of outside tour providers.  Particularly with enough internet savvy cruisers looking for non-ship excursions.

I think this is a real issue with Iceland cruises - the lack of options in these tiny ports.

I found our Baltic cruise to be a bit cool on the interior of the ship.  I was glad I'd brought a sweater.

We encountered several pay toilets on our last trip, particularly around Snaefellsnes.  Most took credit cards, a couple were honor boxes for cash.  None were coin only where inserting a coin opened the door.

There's also the chance that this is a relatively new company, or new to this port.  These small Icelandic cruise ports seem to have gotten busier just in the last few years.  It's possible someone saw a chance to capitalize on that and begin offering tours.

Totally agree to take extra time for your family investigations.  Unlike ocean cruises, where port times and locations are set in stone well ahead, your river ship's schedule will be fluid as to where and when it is.  That would totally stress me out trying to keep track of it.

We've enjoyed Avalon, but regardless, when evaluating an itinerary I'd look for a few things.  How many evenings do you have in port?  I enjoyed being able to go out to dinner or after dinner drinks in town.  When the ship pulls out before dinner, you are at the mercy of whatever is happening on the ship that night for entertainment.  I would also compare excursions.  There really are differences even in the same towns.

KEF needs a good 3 hours, so you’ll need to be there by 2:30. 
 

You could look at half day Golden Circle tours. Troll and Arctic Adventures are two commonly mentioned companies. Or, go into Reykjavik and explore. Rent a car in town and drop it off at the airport. Maybe explore the Reykjanes peninsula on the way to the airport. Try the Sky Lagoon or Blue Lagoon. 

Having been to both, if you’re talking about a cruise, I’d choose the Scandinavia cruise, for the reasons listed above. Iceland is amazingly beautiful, but difficult to explore from the few ports you’ll have. We actually did a 3 day Iceland stopover on the way to our Baltic cruise. 

The very limited options mean they book well in advance.  Iceland is not like other countries where you pull up to the pier and companies are out there recruiting customers for the day.  Booking when you get there works fine for many parts of the world, just not Iceland.

I'd advise against booking thru Viator, as it's just a middle man and if you have any issues with timing or weather you will be unable to communicate with the tour company itself.

I've not heard of that company.  Troll and Arctic Adventures are two of the most commonly mentioned companies over on the TripAdvisor Iceland forum.  I'd highly recommend you look over there for any specific advice.

In general, there is not a lot of tourist infrastructure outside of Reykjavik and Akureyri.  Most other ports are tiny villages, and there are not many (any?) tour choices outside of what the ship offers or just wandering around the village.  There is no usable public transportation for tourists.  Some ports will have nearby waterfalls, etc, you can get to with a short-moderate walk.

TBH, Iceland is best seen with a land tour, but you are not alone.  This question comes up frequently over on TA.

Definitely go over to the TripAdvisor forums, but in general, outside of Reykjavik and to an extent Akureyri, there is limited tourist infrastructure in the small towns, or even public transport to get anywhere. There just isn't enough business to make it viable.  That means you book very early with the very few local providers, take a ship's tour, or just wander around on your own (which will be a short wander - these are VERY small towns.)

Agree that trying to schedule anything in Isafjordur is iffy until ships can show they will reliably dock there.

Agree that trying to book thru Viator or another middle man is not a great idea in general, but particularly when traveling to Iceland.  Weather can impact tours any time of year and communicating thru Viator is next to impossible.  I do like Viator as a way to see what's available, but I always book directly thru the company.