Iceland Pro Cruises

[Chennai]

Here is the information you requested:

1. the ship is pretty stable. We had rather dreadful weather as far as cold and wind -- and one evening it was really rolling, people were worried about rolling out of bed. Creaking and banging, but no real worries. My husband is prone to seasickness, and wears the wrist bands, and didn't feel sick. though at times he was not 100%. But this was minor.

2. We did all the promised zodiac rides. They were shorter than I would have liked, but totally adequate (I love being on zodiacs). Everyone who wanted to go did so. One of the rides, out to the island, was pretty wild b/c of rough seas and people got wet, those who are less zodiac-oriented were not happy, but I loved it. One ride was canceled (the whale watching), because it wasn't safe, but the ship instead went out to the area and circled, and we saw whales -- in fact, it was superior to being at sea level for observing. There were a number of sight seeing boats out, and a few very small ones, and I was happy we were on the ship -- it makes it easier to see when you can be up higher, and then can run from side to side when there are sightings.

3. I found most meals fine, pedestrian for the most part. there was one excellent meal -- the lamb chops were great. The fish was fine. Every dinner there is a choice of a) low salt 2) vegetarian 3) fish/shellfish 4) meat. Our friends liked the fish better than I did. The meat entrees were better I thought. The soups are all delicious. Lunch and dinner. More the cream/puree variety, but very tasty!

4. Drinks were reasonable. about $7-8 per drink. we didn't order any. We had a bottle of wine at dinner, about $39, but we didn't like it. We are used to great wines, so I am pickier than some people might be. We packed a liter of vodka in our luggage, and had a drink in our cabin every night while getting ready for dinner. The ship had a wonderful surprise one night, with a huge array of desserts and special coffees with liqueurs and champagne freely pouring for several hours. It was a surprise presentation -- hope they do it again for you, and that it doesn't ruin the surprise they were excited to put on. They don't xray luggage or check bags so bringing in liquor is not a problem, and since mixers/sodas are free, it is easy to do. I was pleased and surprised.

5. They had programs many nights. We went to a few of them, but often just went up to the crow's nest to watch the scenery. As the cruise went on, people became friendly and it was fun to talk to people from all over.

6. Dress code is really casual. I brought a slightly dressier top and wool pants and shoes (not a bad change if your sneakers get wet) and wished I hadn't bothered. Not a big deal, but the very casual. Don't bother to dress up. But it could change with different sailings, but no one seems to care. Crew was dressed in same clothes as in day.

 

Hope this helps. If you need any other information, let me know. Have a great time, and let me know your thoughts when you get back. Pam

[igneous]

I'm going in July, did you have any type of internet connection on board? If so how was it?

Thanks

[Chennai]

I'm going in July, did you have any type of internet connection on board? If so how was it?

Thanks

I think there was internet available, but on one I knew used it. Very pricy and slow, they told us (the ship people!). But in each of the ports there is free internet at the cafes and some free wifi in the port itself. There is not often a lot of time to use it, b/c of tours etc., but generally we did check in every other day. The cafes provide wifi free, even w/o purchase, but we always had a good cup of coffee.

[igneous]

ugh ok thanks!

 

Did everyone do the excursions or did some people do their own things? We're thinking about renting a car in Akureyri instead of doing one of their bus tour excursions, but weren't sure how feasible it is yet.

[Chennai]

ugh ok thanks!

 

Did everyone do the excursions or did some people do their own things? We're thinking about renting a car in Akureyri instead of doing one of their bus tour excursions, but weren't sure how feasible it is yet.

 

 

We took all the offered excursions -- we have never taken excursions from other ships, but wanted to see as much as possible and knew it would be difficult to do it by ourselves. Did not see any car rental places in any ports, although Akureyri man have one, or taxis, but distances are pretty vast and time limited. Not sure you would save money by renting. The only people who didn't go on excursions seemed to just wander around town, or at least as far as I was aware. There is a herring museum excursions which I would skip (we did, but our friends went on) as it just walks you over to it and pays your admission, you do all the exploring on your own), and it is apparent where the museum is -- just a short walk.

[Seanster]

Here is the information you requested:

1. the ship is pretty stable. We had rather dreadful weather as far as cold and wind -- and one evening it was really rolling, people were worried about rolling out of bed. Creaking and banging, but no real worries. My husband is prone to seasickness, and wears the wrist bands, and didn't feel sick. though at times he was not 100%. But this was minor.

2. We did all the promised zodiac rides. They were shorter than I would have liked, but totally adequate (I love being on zodiacs). Everyone who wanted to go did so. One of the rides, out to the island, was pretty wild b/c of rough seas and people got wet, those who are less zodiac-oriented were not happy, but I loved it. One ride was canceled (the whale watching), because it wasn't safe, but the ship instead went out to the area and circled, and we saw whales -- in fact, it was superior to being at sea level for observing. There were a number of sight seeing boats out, and a few very small ones, and I was happy we were on the ship -- it makes it easier to see when you can be up higher, and then can run from side to side when there are sightings.

3. I found most meals fine, pedestrian for the most part. there was one excellent meal -- the lamb chops were great. The fish was fine. Every dinner there is a choice of a) low salt 2) vegetarian 3) fish/shellfish 4) meat. Our friends liked the fish better than I did. The meat entrees were better I thought. The soups are all delicious. Lunch and dinner. More the cream/puree variety, but very tasty!

4. Drinks were reasonable. about $7-8 per drink. we didn't order any. We had a bottle of wine at dinner, about $39, but we didn't like it. We are used to great wines, so I am pickier than some people might be. We packed a liter of vodka in our luggage, and had a drink in our cabin every night while getting ready for dinner. The ship had a wonderful surprise one night, with a huge array of desserts and special coffees with liqueurs and champagne freely pouring for several hours. It was a surprise presentation -- hope they do it again for you, and that it doesn't ruin the surprise they were excited to put on. They don't xray luggage or check bags so bringing in liquor is not a problem, and since mixers/sodas are free, it is easy to do. I was pleased and surprised.

5. They had programs many nights. We went to a few of them, but often just went up to the crow's nest to watch the scenery. As the cruise went on, people became friendly and it was fun to talk to people from all over.

6. Dress code is really casual. I brought a slightly dressier top and wool pants and shoes (not a bad change if your sneakers get wet) and wished I hadn't bothered. Not a big deal, but the very casual. Don't bother to dress up. But it could change with different sailings, but no one seems to care. Crew was dressed in same clothes as in day.

 

Hope this helps. If you need any other information, let me know. Have a great time, and let me know your thoughts when you get back. Pam

 

Hi Chennai, thanks so much for the very thorough responses. My wife and son will be very happy to hear that the ship is relatively stable. Of course, I guess it depends on the weather!

[cirman52]

Hi chennai,

I debating between IPC & Windstar, they both have pros & cons.

My question to you, is did you feel cramped in other than the dinning room ? We both are 6'4 & from oictures I have seen on IPC's Facebook page, there seems to be low ceilings in different public areas, is this true ?

[Chennai]

Can't say that the ceilings were short -- they seemed to be normal as in the other smaller ships we have been on. The dining room is cramped to me, b/c I like open open open spaces -- especially since there is 23 hours of daylight. (Feels like a church basement/VA hall type thing, NOT my thing! :)

 

Have never been on Windstar. I think it is smaller, more expensive, and more refined?? Someday ... :)

[I-Cruiser]

Hi chennai,

I debating between IPC & Windstar, they both have pros & cons.

My question to you, is did you feel cramped in other than the dinning room ? We both are 6'4 & from oictures I have seen on IPC's Facebook page, there seems to be low ceilings in different public areas, is this true ?

 

You should also look into the yachts of Ponant Cruises.

 

****

 

I was really interested in the 10 days with IPC but have changed my mind when reading what is said here.

 

Now the options I am exploring are Windstar and Ponant Cruises. These itineraries are 7 days.

We are booked on the Oceania Insignia from Reykjavik to Stockholm with 2-4 days in Iceland. This might be the best options for us.

[passiontotravel]

We are back from our circumnavigation cruise of Iceland. Lots of feedback from it is being provided. Some negative, but mostly positive.

Understand that the trip we were on was the first sailing of this company in Iceland. They had done a practice run with some travel agents and others, but not a commercial run per se. So, there were a number of issues that they were working on that had not fully been fixed. A work in progress, so to speak, so by the time you sail many of the problems may have been rectified. For example, the swimming pool was not in use (it was cold outside, but they don't heat it at all, so will always be cold, if they can use it at all), and no sauna available. the exercise room is minimal (but you will get enough exercise on the land tours). Since it is so new, there was a problem with the organization of things: often there was lots of confusion. But even so, they were very anxious to get it right, and were really helpful and desirous of making it right.

 

Will start with the positives: we all thought that this is the only way to see Iceland, especially if you are elderly, like the 4 of us are. no unpacking and tedious driving through vast wildernesses and fending for ourselves. And the beauty of the coastline and islands and fiords is always visible. We docked in the ports right in the heart of the towns, and took the optional tours in each port. We had rented a car at the airport and spent 3 days around Reykjavik before boarding the ship. One of those days was driving the Golden Circle. Although the driving was easy, it was nice to be able to be a passenger in a van or bus that had big windows so I could gawk at the scenery without worrying about the road. However, being in a bus for 10 days as the only way to see the country would have been awful, so the ship was a perfect compromise. We would recommend this trip to anyone without hesitation.

 

Now for the negatives. There are a lot of minor negatives but if you are aware of them before you travel, it will lower your expectations enough so you will actually have a better trip.

 

Ocean Diamond is an old ship, recently purchased by a new company. It is not at all luxurious. In fact, it is badly in need of an overhaul. To start with: the rooms are clean but dowdy. The mattresses are awful, and I have a bad back, and the beds made it very uncomfortable to sleep. They are very narrow and poor support and lumpy. Cheap pillows too. BTW: I am a bed nut, having a great bed and expensive pillows, down comforters etc at home, so am probably overly critical. There is lots of storage space in the rooms. Carpet is gross -- seams are coming apart and there were some loose screws along the edges, but seemed to be clean enough. Just wear slippers! Bathroom is fine, small and sufficient but again, minimally comfortable.There is a hair dryer, but it is the old wall unit kind that barely blows air, so it is inefficient. Heating is a problem -- the thermostat doesn't work properly. It was first freezing cold where the ceiling unit poured cold air, but the wall side was too warm. Poor circulation. Otherwise the rooms were okay: didn't spend much time in them anyway. They are re-doing the rooms, one at a time, so maybe by the time you sail your room may be better. Also, the PA system did not work in our room -- it did in some other rooms. The PA system was a problem throughout the ship, and they were working on it to try to fix it.

 

Food: occasionally very good, often mediocre or just fine. No complaints. Just don't expect too much. The wait staff was still learning the ropes and inefficiency was common, but it would be hard to say anything but positives about them as they were eager to serve, make things perfect, accommodate your needs. So very friendly and pleasant -- made up for any problems.

 

Dining rooms: The main dining room on the 3rd floor is dark and unpleasant. Breakfast and lunch are served there, (buffet style but with made to order eggs in the morning, and they do serve you drinks, soup, and will fetch anything you want, so not entirely cafeteria like). Dinner is also there, but it is a la carte (menu). I found the room to be too tightly packed (and we only had 130 passengers out of a possible 240), and the windows are tiny, can't see out, and no natural light in it. I really disliked the dining room. However, for dinner, there is another dining option: on the 4th floor is a small, light filled room with large windows that we ate at almost every night. Takes a bit longer as the food has to come from downstairs, but it is worth it if you want a more pleasant dining environment. Since it is so small (holds maybe 36 people) it is necessary to get there just before it opens to assure you get a table. Many of the passengers do not know it is available -- I thought it was only for groups the first day, but asked and it is open to all (or was on our voyage.)

 

Tours: all of the tours we took were great. There were variations necessary b/c of weather (it was exceptionally cold on this trip) but there was good value for all of them.)

 

On board lectures: this was a problem that they must resolve. It is promised there will be naturalists on board. Maybe our expectations were too high, but most of the passengers were disappointed with the quality of and scarcity of lectures. The last 2 days, Pieter gave 2 lectures about birds and geology, but even though they were pretty good, they were not sufficiently informative and they were very late -- it would have been more useful if they were done early on. On another point: each evening there was a 'recap'. This was basically useless and annoying. the proportion of English to German speakers was 30% (at most) English. The 45-60 minute recaps were done in German, then English, with the German about 2/3 longer, and it is irritating to sit through it. We requested numerous times that they run two separate talks, one for each language, but that did not happen. Hopefully it will in subsequent trips. On the positive, though, the bus tours had separate English and German buses, so this was not a factor on the tours.

 

Can't think of any more to add. Hope this is helpful. Our overall impression is that we are very very glad we took this trip, so even though it seems like a lot of nattering, it is truly a good experience. It is quite a costly trip, though, and thus we expected a higher degree of professionalism, but I think it will evolve over the summer and become a better trip in the future. Go with a lot of patience and good humor, only middling expectations, and you will enjoy it. The best part is Iceland itself!

 

Thank you for your awesome review. We hope to take this cruise in 2016. We are trying to decide between a driving vacation or this cruise. You have answered a lot of my questions. We guessed it would have some teething problems being a new venture. I am pleased that Iceland has this tour in the offering. We have only been on the larger cruise ships so were uncertain of going on a smaller one. We guessed it may not be too luxurious but we are there to see Iceland. Hopefully we will see more reviews from other travelers. Thanks again.

[Chennai]

You are most welcome. Any other questions let me know and I may be able to help. I think it is an awesome way of seeing the country. We, too, were going to drive, but the logistics are large as we are not campers and don't want to rough it too much. Read the book COD before you go -- really is helpful to understanding the Icelandic world.

[cirman52]

Chennai, you say to read the book COD before going, what book is that ?

[Chennai]

Sorry not to make it clear. The book is Cod (cod, all small letters) by Mark Kurlansky. History of cod and the importance of it to Iceland's economy, historically. When you see the replica fishing village it will be even more meaningful having read the book. Tour books (DK travel) and others can give some history too, all helpful to understand the geology and history. hope this clears things up.

[cirman52]

Sorry not to make it clear. The book is Cod (cod, all small letters) by Mark Kurlansky. History of cod and the importance of it to Iceland's economy, historically. When you see the replica fishing village it will be even more meaningful having read the book. Tour books (DK travel) and others can give some history too, all helpful to understand the geology and history. hope this clears things up.

 

Thanks, I'll look for it

[Kennykoala]

Many thanks to "Chennai" for their very complete report. We were on the verge of booking Pro Cruise as we liked the itinerary to see Greenland and Iceland. But not at the expense of basic comforts. Shame there is not a higher standard of ship doing this itinerary. There are very limited cruises to these areas , we're now choosing for 2016 between Princess and Cunard who both include Iceland without going across to the USA. Thank god for Cruise Critic otherwise we would have been really disappointed !

[Chennai]

Despite the negatives of my letter, I would certainly still recommend the trip, as it really does an excellent job of enabling one to see the country, and there are plenty of positives -- and probably it will improve with each sailing. the crew was eager to get it right, and I would hope that it would be so much better by next year. I don't want to discourage anyone from taking the Procruises, just not to have too high an expectation. The actual journey is not the most important part, and seeing Iceland in its 'entirety' (i.e. the circumnavigation part) makes most of the minor complaints and problems of less importance. Hope you find a trip that will suit you, but still allows you to see most of the fascinating countryside. We were 'tailed' by another ship, also rather smallish -- I think it was Pegasus or some such name, it started with P and the jackets they gave were red. It may also do Greenland at the same time? I know we looked at another cruise line, but it was a fair amount more expensive. What ever you decide, have a wonderful journey!

[HDS]

Kennykoala,

 

Have you considered Fred Olsen?

 

We're just starting our Iceland research, considering a cruise or self-drive. Fred Olsen circumnavigates but the formal nights are a pain when travelling from Australia and not needing tux and tiara for the rest of the (extensive) trip.

[Floridiana]

 

Now the options I am exploring are Windstar and Ponant Cruises. These itineraries are 7 days.

We are booked on the Oceania Insignia from Reykjavik to Stockholm with 2-4 days in Iceland. This might be the best options for us.

 

I haven't been on Windstar. Oceania ships are my favorites. This said: We recently took a b2b Ponant cruise on the Austral. Their advantage is the small size of the ship and that it is built for Arctic and Antarctic waters with double hull, also they use fuel permitted in sensitive waters. The Austral even does the North West passage.

 

Austral cabins are comfortable with balconies, an upscale expedition ship with good food, baguettes, French cheese and desserts.

 

2-4 days in Iceland is not the same as cruising around Iceland and to Greenland. On the other hand, the Insignia is totally geared towards Anglophone passengers with their ideas of what constitutes an upscale cruise experience.

[gnld]

Just reading over Chennai's review and comments on Ocean Diamond's circumnavigation cruise of Iceland. Yuk!! Old ship in need of repairs, crummy cabin, so-so food, etc, etc. It goes on & on.

 

We were on the Star Legend in May for her inaugural cruise with Windstar, after a multi-million dollar refurbishment. It was great; ship in fantastic condition; crew wonderful. This ship is doing 4 week-long circumnavigations of Iceland in July 2016. Do it on Windstar - a near-luxury cruise line!

[Chennai]

sounds wonderful (and expensive!). Glad you had a nice trip

[I-Cruiser]

I haven't been on Windstar. Oceania ships are my favorites. This said: We recently took a b2b Ponant cruise on the Austral. Their advantage is the small size of the ship and that it is built for Arctic and Antarctic waters with double hull, also they use fuel permitted in sensitive waters. The Austral even does the North West passage.

 

Austral cabins are comfortable with balconies, an upscale expedition ship with good food, baguettes, French cheese and desserts.

 

2-4 days in Iceland is not the same as cruising around Iceland and to Greenland. On the other hand, the Insignia is totally geared towards Anglophone passengers with their ideas of what constitutes an upscale cruise experience.

 

Thank you for the input.

A few days in Iceland are by far not enough to explore the country.

[Seanster]

Thank you for the input.

A few days in Iceland are by far not enough to explore the country.

 

Yes, you really need a minimum of 10 to 15 days to take in a good part of Iceland, based on my family's prior two trips there.

 

My wife and I have traveled on Windstar before (Costa Rica and Nicaragua in 2006), and we'll be on IPC's Ocean Diamond with our son later this summer. So, we'll report back on what we find.

 

I would not consider the Windstar cruise of Iceland because it's too short. For us, there's a big difference between a 7-day cruise (Windstar) and a 10/11-day cruise (IPC). We find that 7 days leaves us wanting more days, that 10/11 days is just about enough.

 

We anticipated when we booked that IPC would be 'less frills.' We have found virtually all of the accommodations in Iceland (particularly outside Reykjavik), while expensive by U.S. standards, to be 'less frills.' We did the Celebrity Reflection in February for the ship; the IPC cruise for us will be about the destination, which includes both Iceland and Greenland.

 

The same IPC ship (Ocean Diamond) sails Antarctica for Quark during the opposite season. I see that their fares are $10,000 - $15,000 pp, at a minimum. So, if people are willing to pay that kind of money to sail the same ship with good reviews, I'm hoping that we can't go too wrong. Like them, we are largely focused on the destination.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Seanster

[igneous]

super excited for my IPC cruise that we leave for a week from today. I'm not the type for cruises anyway, so the lack of frills means nothing to me(although free wifi would be killer, I'll have an iceland SIM regardless). It'll be high end compared to my trip to Tibet a few weeks ago anyway lol

[Chennai]

Have a great time. Hope the weather is good.

[tobyscruff]

Hi

I leave in less than a week for the circumnavigation cruise also.... Did you get any travel documents from IPC?