Iceland add on

[travelbug246]

Has anyone added Iceland onto the Homelands Viking tour? Apparently you do it first but don't get the itinerary until not long before sailing. I'm wondering what people thought about it. Thank you in anticipation.

[Peregrina651]

Has anyone added Iceland onto the Homelands Viking tour? Apparently you do it first but don't get the itinerary until not long before sailing. I'm wondering what people thought about it. Thank you in anticipation.

 

There has already been some discussion of this in this forum and perhaps on the roll call for this year's "Into the Midnight Sun" sailings on the Viking Star. Using the search function on the Viking Ocean's page (the one that lists all the threads) should help you find those threads and posts. There is a link for the roll call in my signature.

[travelbug246]

Thanks Peregrina651

[molymoo]

We just returned from our Viking Homelands cruise with a post-extension to Iceland (we did the Iceland and the Golden Circle 3 night). Whether you do the extension pre or post is apparently dependent upon your specific itinerary. We were on the Stockholm to Bergen route so ours was a post.

 

We loved our stay in Iceland ... it is a fasciating country! The hotels used by Viking initially seemed to be a bit "sub-standard" from the hotels generally used by Viking for their extensions but later we were told (by Icelanders) that they were the "Ritz Carltons" of Iceland. Tourism is relatively new to Iceland and they are still finding their way. That said the hotels were clean and fairly comfortable ... just devoid of some of the little "nice-ities" we tourists love like air-conditioning, BBC, bottled water, toiletries, etc. The included breakfasts were great but the hotel restaurants very expensive (although the food was pretty good). The Hilton is close to other food options but you will have to walk a bit from the Grand if you want anything other than hotel fare on your "on your own" evenings.

 

The itinerary is busy with two full days of touring. I would recommend doing it all if you are up to it as it is all pretty amazing. The local guides were great and we learned so much as we marveled at the natural wonders. Unlike the rest of Europe the tour will be short on churches and cathedrals, art galleries, and Roman ruins but long on waterfalls, geysers, geothermic spas, and amazing lava fields! I would recommend the trip ... pre or post it is a winner!

Edited August 3, 2016 by molymoo
spelling

[travelbug246]

Thanks heaps Molymoo that is very very helpful and sounds amazing.

Have you any advice as to which paid trips to do on the Homelands Tour?

We are doing it next year.

Oops sorry I see you haven't done it yet but will be keen to hear what you think.

Edited August 3, 2016 by travelbug246

[cmbath]

We just got back from Homelands. We liked the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. A lot of people did the two day tour with Alla Tours in St. Pete and loved it. We did the canal tour and it was very good. If you don't have a real desire for Berlin, you might want to do something else. It was a very long day and the trains came back late.

 

 

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[travelbug246]

Thank you cmbath - it all helps to make decisions. What were the highlights of your trip?

It sounds an amazing itinerary.

[jerseygrl828]

Hi travelbug246-

Here are my thoughts on the paid (optional) excursions I took on my Homelands trip in May (forgive me if I don't get the names exactly correct):

 

Old Town Tallinn and Chocolate Factory-really enjoyed it. Got an overview of the town and then fun making chocolates to keep. Plus, we got to shop at the Kalev factory store--it was so inexpensive!

 

Stutthof Concentration Camp-If this is something that interests you, it will not disappoint. I was on the Stockholm-Bergen direction and this trip takes the entire port time.

 

Lubeck & Wismar-I really wanted to go to Lubeck (for the marzipan). Lunch at the Niederegger Cafe was great and I enjoyed shopping at their store on the ground level. It's a long day, but you are back before the Berlin trips.

 

Copenhagen and the Coast-Very enjoyable trip. The day was gorgeous and the town of Dragor is beautiful. Left us plenty of time for a visit to Tivoli on our own and then we did the jazz canal cruise in the evening. It's nice seeing the city from the canals.

 

Full Day Journey to Voss-the scenery is just beautiful. We had a clear, sunny day...couldn't ask for more. The lunch at the Stalheim Hotel was bountiful, but not my favorite. The view however, totally worth it. Highlight of the trip.

 

I did a private tour with Insider Tours in St. Petersburg. The rest were either the included tour or we did it on our own. A couple of tours we signed up for were cancelled when we arrived, so we made adjustments.

 

Hope this helps!

[travelbug246]

Wow thanks jerseygrl828 - that sounds amazing - did you book these through Viking and if not did you book prior or when you got there?

[molymoo]

Thanks heaps Molymoo that is very very helpful and sounds amazing.

Have you any advice as to which paid trips to do on the Homelands Tour?

We are doing it next year.

Oops sorry I see you haven't done it yet but will be keen to hear what you think.

 

We actually did an optional tour at almost every port. Looking back I would probably go with more of the included tours as most people found them quite nice. We really enjoyed the full day train trip to Voss, Copenhagen and the Coast was a nice excursion, and the Jazz cruise was a great time! I would recommend one of the private tours (Alla was one many talked about here on the boards) in St. Petersburg ... we did the canal tour and the Hermitage Repository. Both were good but had that been our first time in St. Petersburg we would have been very disapointed (we spent four days there in 2012). People made fun of us but we had a fun time in the Beer Lovers Adventure in Aalborg ... it was an early for a beer drinking tour but the guide was quite a comedian and we got an interesting walking tour between pub stops!

 

I wouldn't dismiss the Berlin trip if it is something you would like to do ... we skipped it and loved Rostock but people who went to Berlin seemed to really enjoy it. They are using trains now and the "road time" is much more civilized. They were back at the ship in time for dinner and were welcomed back in typical Viking fashion ... music, dancing and Champange !

Edited August 5, 2016 by molymoo
Addition

[CharTrav]

Has anyone added Iceland onto the Homelands Viking tour? Apparently you do it first but don't get the itinerary until not long before sailing. I'm wondering what people thought about it. Thank you in anticipation.

 

 

What I've heard from those on the current Bergen to Stockholm Viking Homelands and did the Iceland pre-cruise extension is that they loved it. Apparently it was a small group that went and they formed a real bond that has continued.

[travelbug246]

Thank you again molymoo and also chartrav it's great to be able to find out this information in advance.

[jerseygrl828]

Hi. Sorry for the delayed response. All of the excursions mentioned in my post were Viking "optional" tours, so there was an additional cost. Most were booked ahead of time so on board due to cancellation of my original choice (not enough people signed up).

 

The St. Petersburg excursion was booked ahead of time as well, but that was through Insider Tours. It was just my mom and I with a guide and driver. I personalized our tour a bit since my mom had done a Russian river cruise in 2014 and saw everything already!

 

I also booked a Pulpit Rock cruise in Stavanger ahead of time as well. Highly recommend too!

 

We didn't go to Berlin because we were there in December 2014. Loved it and hope to get back for a longer stay.

[travelbug246]

Thanks heaps jerseygrl828

[petrous]

we are booked for the Homelands cruise in 2020--inquiring about the price for the 3 day extension to Iceland

[Heidi13]

we are booked for the Homelands cruise in 2020--inquiring about the price for the 3 day extension to Iceland

 

Can't help with actual numbers, but when visiting Iceland in 2015, we noted the cost of living is high, actually very high. I would expect some fairly significant prices.

 

However, the country is definitely worth visiting, great people and spectacular scenery.

[Parsley Cruises]

We've been to Iceland several times, and can't get enough of it. Personally, we don't find it expensive - to the extent that we'd even love to move there to live.

 

What is really wonderful though is to go either very early or very late in the year, and see if you can do an extended glacier expedition. We did, and we most certainly didn't regret it - superb memories.

[Peregrina651]

we are booked for the Homelands cruise in 2020--inquiring about the price for the 3 day extension to Iceland

 

Prices are available on the Viking website. If I were working from a desktop, I would give you the link but I still haven't mastered cut and paste on my phone.