ljandgb

Aside from the differences like what is included or not (alcohol, excursions, chef's table, etc.) a few things I did not know to look for until I'd done our first river cruise were:

- Dining options (is it a set menu or do you have choices?, if set, can you at least get a chicken breast, etc?, and is there an option of lighter meal that doesn't require the lengthy time the table service meals require?)  Some lines set up a small plates version in the lounge of what's being served in the main dining room.   You can grab what you want quickly and without fuss.

-Where are you in the evenings?  Some ships pull away from the dock before dinner and don't put back in again until after breakfast.  That leaves you with limited options at night, and for me, limited time to explore a new city.  I don't mind missing a provided meal if that means I can go out in town and try something there, or at least get an after dinner drink in a fun new location.

-Assuming good water levels and no extra busing required, how long is the bus ride to the provided excursions, and/or is the ship generally docked within walking distance of the town.

As docking positions and times are much more fluid than ocean cruising, it is very difficult to pre-arrange scheduled DIY tours in cities.  The flip side, though, is that if you are docked in the middle of town, it can be very easy to just go out on your own to explore.

As that daughter is now 24, I’d say that ship sailed a looong time ago!

If you are flying in from the US or Canada I wouldn’t plan on going much further than Reykjavik the first day. The jet lag from that short flight is usually pretty brutal. 
 

You could get an early start the next day and go down the south coast, spend the night around Vik. 
 

Day 3 make your way back up to Rey, maybe swing by some of the golden circle. 
 

Day 4 consider an early Into the Volcano tour if it fits your times or one of the hot spring spas. 
 

I’m not sure what glacier lake you are talking about? 

Brilliant, got it!  Thanks so much.  My husband does all the bookings so I hadn't even looked at those documents (and he apparently didn't remember that info was there.)

We are scheduled for the Viking Sky, October 31, 2024, Venice to Istanbul.  I can't find the actual port times for our itinerary anywhere, which would be good to know so I can start planning some DIY tours.  Am I missing something on their website?  On other lines we've sailed, I'm pretty sure the arrival/departure times were already published by this time.

My other option is to go thru each port's schedule independently, but surely Viking has this info somewhere??

I really enjoyed Copenhagen.  We came in 2 nights early before embarking there for our Baltic cruise.  I quite liked our hotel, the Scandic Palace.  It was next to city hall, right around the corner from the beginning of the Stroget (the main pedestrian street), and across from Tivoli.  The main train station, which has a line directly to the airport, was on the opposite side of Tivoli from us, and an easy walk.

Agree.  I really liked Bratislava, but not sure it would be worth a 2 hour bus ride.  We were docked city center.  There is soooo much to see in Vienna that I think your time would be better spent there, regardless of what you see in the city.

FWIW, Iceland is really best seen as a land trip.  If there's a Norway only itinerary that goes where you'd like, you can just add a quick stopover in Iceland, and honestly you'd see more of Iceland.

I love Smartwool products.  I have several shirts in light to mid-weight, socks, a neck gaiter, and a hat.  Waterproof outer layers really just depend what you want.  I hike, so looked for ones that I can zip on over my boots so I don't have to take my boots off in a sudden downpour.  I also wanted light weight, as the ounces add up in a back pack.  My rain jacket is breathable, with vents under the arms.

My husband, on the other hand, golfs, and his rain gear is bulky and heavy, but he's fine with it as mostly it rides in his cart (he drags it out for trips also.)

REI and Moosejaw are two companies I like for outdoor gear and technical fabric items.  They have good online stores, and Moosejaw has free returns.

The sides of the Mekong are not developed the way that most European rivers are.  It is a combination of wild swamp, small floating fish hatcheries, and small farm plots.  There would be nowhere to bike, unlike along the Danube for instance.

We went with Avalon and did all the extensions - 2 nights Hanoi, 1 night Halong bay, 2 nights HCMC, 2 nights Siem Reap, 2 nights Bangkok.  It was totally worth it.  Great vacation.  

There are bike opportunities in Siem Reap, as renting bikes to see the temples is a thing.  Be warned, though, that we saw several folks by the side of the road with their bikes looking completely deflated.  I suspect they were not prepared for the heat.  We were there end of November and it was still so very hot and humid.

We flew Hanoi to HCMC, Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, and Siem Reap to Bangkok. My husband and I both had regular sized carry on luggage and a small backpack as our personal item.  We didn't have any problems on any of the flights.  In fact, my husband's carry on had been fully expanded which made it pretty fat and no one seemed to care.

There was a lady on our cruise that dressed nicer than everyone else.  She looked quite nice, with long shift dresses and light jackets and gauzey over-dresses, with a different pair of fancy heels, usually 2 different outfits a day.  She was the one everyone talked about.  LOL.  Mostly of the "how many suitcases did all THAT take??" 

Very casual.  I brought a pair of Tevas and a pair of tennis shoes (princess and pea feet with orthotics here too!)  Honestly, you can also buy some elephant pants once you get there.  Touristy yes, but seriously light weight and cool.  My friend, who resisted until almost the very end said "it's like air conditioning for your legs!"

One of those trip reports are mine.  I don't remember if I mentioned the one thing I needed more of was deodorant.  I travel very light, carry on only, and I brought enough deodorant to last for a few weeks longer than I needed BUT did not factor in that I was showering 3-4 times a day, so was applying 3-4x more than I planned. Same would go for any toiletry you have limited amounts of. You can get more there, but something to consider.

As I get old, I don't function for long without a nap that first day.  Because the flight is short to Iceland, you won't get much sleep on the plane.

 When possible, I try to get the hotel for the night before, and let them know I'm coming in early the next morning.  I chalk it up to travel expense and it lets me dump luggage, shower, then power nap before heading out for the afternoon.

We embarked in Copenhagen, and had arrived a couple days early.  If the ship is leaving at 4:00, I agree you may not have time to do Tivoli for any length of time and still see some of Copenhagen.  We took a taxi to the port, which seemed to not be near anything interesting and in an industrial part of town.

I'd think the ship would offer shuttles to some point of tourist interest.

My kids really liked Tivoli.  It is just across the square from the beginning of the pedestrian zone, so you could explore a bit from the park, if you can tear the kids away.

No way would I want to arrive at 6:00am then, sit around with my kids for 8+ hours before getting on the ship.  Even just walking around Reykjavik for that long would be torture.  Don't forget that you will most likely be extra jet lagged as the time difference is the same as the rest of Europe but with a much shorter flight.  I never get any good sleep on that flight.

With 4 people, a private tour will not be much more expensive than joining a group.  Your luggage can either stay with you (it will be perfectly safe in the car there) or the company can hold it for you.  I'd definitely try to go out and see at least something.  With someone else driving, you can nap between stops.

If you really want to do it up big, check out Inside the Volcano.  That would take up a big chunk of the day and I guarantee the kids would be wowed.

Oh totally.  My kids would not have done well on a river cruise until 10-12.  They would have needed more room to move and be loud, let loose some night time energy.  But international travel, in general, is good at almost any age of kid.

4 hours ago, Canal archive said:

make sure there of an age that ensures it means something.

Meaning "old enough" to... what exactly?  While probably a toddler has no clue where you take them, even younger kids can develop a better idea of the wider world.  My youngest was 6 when we started to really travel internationally.  We live in a very small, rural town.  Many people here never leave the state.  What he saw when we traveled - the vast array of different types of towns, houses, transportation, cafes, stores. Museums, old castles, different foods.  All accompanied by experiences with locals that by and large went very well.  I'd like to believe he grew up absolutely knowing there is so much more to the world than his small country town.  That just because someone does something one way, that's not the only way to do it.  That being different from what you're used to is not bad, just...different.  I think more people could do with understanding this this.

He's 18 now and has a deep passion for history and geography.

Honestly, I think most teens would be just fine with touring Europe in any form or fashion.  Yes, they can be moody (mom of 4 here, youngest just now 18) but overall even when cranky, they generally appreciate the trip afterwards.  All in all, our kids have really enjoyed traveling.  The one trip where one 16yo kid was especially prickly (a national parks trip to the Pacific NW) she told me a year later how much she enjoyed it and wanted to see more parks. LOL  

And truly, these kids are WAY closer to world history classes than I am.  I learned all about the Hanseatic League from my 16 yos on our Baltic cruise.

Yes, that is the correct airport (Keflavik.) The airport in Reykjavik is for domestic travel only.  There are several options to get from the airport to town.  Flybus and taxi are the most common, though I'm not sure what Oceania will (if anything) provide.  Best to ask them directly.  Flybus brings you to the bus station.  You can choose to take another, smaller bus to a bus stop near your hotel, or take a taxi directly to your hotel.

Any hotel in the 101 code is a good location for down town, FWIW.

If you wish, you can stop at the Blue Lagoon on the way to your hotel.  There is an easy luggage storage option there, and as the BL is close to the airport it's more time efficient to do it that way as opposed to a dedicated trip back out that direction.

This will all be influenced by the current volcanic eruption in that area which has the BL closed.  Presumptively your cruise is not until spring/summer when this will all likely be a non-issue.

Try the TripAdvisor forum for info on Iceland.  Lots of activity there.

I’m going to quibble that ABD caters only to younger kids. I personally know families of teens, even older teens, that have done ABD’s.  You can call ABD and they’ll tell you the ages of the kids booked on any specific trip if you wish. 

Tauck Bridges are family trips, and there is Adventure by Disney, which is family centered and not TOO Disney-fied.  They travel on AMA ships I believe, chartering out the entire ship for their trips.

One of my kids always brings their Switch when we travel.  Setting that up in the lounge after dinner has made them many friends over the years.  Even when they didn't share a language, they all understood Nintendo.  

Not Iceland, but a quick Viator story:  We recently did a river cruise thru SE Asia with friends.  My friend likes to book thru Viator and convinced me, against my better judgement, to book one of our tours thru it.  We met some folks on the cruise we wanted to include on our tours.  The Viator booking was literally impossible to add participants to, and I could get no one to answer my emails.  The booking I did directly with another company for a different tour was easy peasy.  I messaged the owner thru WhatsApp, got the ok to show up with 2 extra people, and had them bring cash to pay.

Never using Viator again.

I don't recommend booking thru Viator, as it is difficult to speak with a human if plans change, weather is bad, etc.  You can use Viator to see what's available, but then reach out to the companies directly to book.

Troll and Arctic Adventures are frequently mentioned as reputable tour companies.  There is a very good food walking tour that will take you around Reykjavik, though I think it's afternoon based.  It's a small city, and the main areas are easy to see on foot.  I heart Reykjavik is a popular blog that may also give you some ideas.  I believe the writer used to do tours, and may still do them occasionally.