Norwegian Jade to Iceland - Sort of live report

[KeithJenner]

We set off around the Golden Circle. It isn't signposted, so make sure you have an idea where you are heading. It's easy to find Pingvelir, Geyser and Gulfoss by following signs for those, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to complete the southern part of the circle without knowing the route beforehand.

 

The stops are spectacular. We have been to Yellowstone before and Geyser is something of a one trick pony in comparison, with the reliably active Geyser (Stokkur) going every few minutes. There are also a number of others bubbling away.

 

Gulfoss is a quite spectacular waterfall, probably the best that I have seen. It really needs to be seen to be appreciated.

[KeithJenner]

My wife then threw a bit of a spanner in the works by deciding that she wanted to visit the Black Beach, on the south coast. This meant a round trip detour of about 150miles from the golden circle. This is where having your own car comes into its own, and we set off that way. The weather, which had been holding out until then turned quite showery, but was ok when we were at the beach. We also shopped at one of the waterfalls (of which there were a few) on the way, and also at a glacier on the way back. It was raining harder at the glacier, so we didn't spend much time there or get as near as we may have otherwise, but it was a nice unexpected treat.

 

I thought the black beach was well worth the trip. There are various lava formations and sea arches and stacks. A really unusual place to visit.

 

We got back to the ship at around 8.30, having been ashore for almost 12 hours. We saw far more than we were expecting, which has taken the pressure off today. It had been our intention to drive around a bit after the whale watching today, but I think we will probably head back to the ship fairly soon, maybe after having a quick stroll around Reykjavik. We sail away at 4pm, so there are only a few hours left anyway.

[KeithJenner]

One other thing I forgot to mention. There is a car parking charge of 500ISK at the Pingvelir visitor centre. It is payable at the machine be credit card (chipped or contactless). If you want to pay by cash you have to go to the visitor centre, which could be a bit of a pain).

 

We grabbed some lunch at the Geyser visitor centre. By Icelandic standards it was fairly reasonably priced (only about 2-3 times more than I'd expect to pay at home for the same thing).

 

Prices here are crazy. As a rule of thumb, expect things to be about 3-4 times more expensive that you'd expect.

[NMLady]

Are people able to view the photos ok? I don't think I've shared Instagram folders on here before, so I'm not sure how they show up.

 

:)

 

I can see them fine. They load quickly for me.

[littlelulu01]

We switched our car reservation to europecar in port. It's twice the price of thrifty but no thrifty in port and want to get a easy start on the day.

 

Did you use google for driving instructions or have a plan mapped out in advance? I've printed up some instructions but am hoping that we can just turn on maps on phone to guide us.

 

Pictures link for instagram works great. Kim

[KeithJenner]

We switched our car reservation to europecar in port. It's twice the price of thrifty but no thrifty in port and want to get a easy start on the day.

 

 

 

Did you use google for driving instructions or have a plan mapped out in advance? I've printed up some instructions but am hoping that we can just turn on maps on phone to guide us.

 

 

 

Pictures link for instagram works great. Kim

 

 

We just had some notes which we followed. It's fairly easy, but I suspect that some people may expect to just be able to follow golden circle signposts or something like that.

 

All you really need to know is:

 

Turn left out of the port onto route 41 and then left onto route 49. Continue straight on when it becomes route 1 and continue on until you turn right onto 36. This is signposted towards Pingvelir. Make sure you don't miss the visitor centre. Then continue onwards towards Geyser and Gulfoss (again, both signposted. Turn back from Gulfoss and look for signs towards Selfoss where you rejoin route 1 and head back towards Reykjavik.

[KeithJenner]

I've just posted a picture from the ship of the port area to show how easy everything is if you use Europcar (or Hertz I assume) at the port.

 

 

The cabin towards the front is where you walk through to get to or from the ship.

 

To the right is the port shop with the car hire huts next to it.

 

Behind the shop you can see some parked cars. This is where we parked overnight. When you collect the cars they will be either near the huts or at the parking area.

 

All really easy

[littlelulu01]

Thanks! Very helpful.

[Luckynana]

Following along, Keith! Beautiful pictures, great posts! 😊

 

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[fabnfortysomething]

been a bit busy over last few days to catch up with your review as Ian was giving away his daughter

for clarification this was not a dodgy connection but a genuine marriage after 7 years together

and we have sailed a few cruises with Keith and recommend you meet up with him and his lovely wife and son if you are on same sailing

[KeithJenner]

been a bit busy over last few days to catch up with your review as Ian was giving away his daughter

 

for clarification this was not a dodgy connection but a genuine marriage after 7 years together

 

and we have sailed a few cruises with Keith and recommend you meet up with him and his lovely wife and son if you are on same sailing

 

 

 

I've been keeping an eye on your weekend on Facebook. Looks like it all went well.

 

Hope you've put your feet up now.

[KeithJenner]

It's been very rough all day today. Probably the roughest seas that I've ever experienced (although I've generally been quite lucky on that front). I'm typing this whilst holding my glass of wine, as it keeps moving around when I put it down.

 

It's been fun, but I'm looking forward to hitting firm ground again tomorrow.

 

Internet (which has been slow all cruise) has pretty well ground to a halt now, so ill have to wait to do an update on Akureyri.

[Aimee192]

Thanks for this :) Will be sailing same itinerary in less than 2 weeks! So excited! Super glad I bought motion sickness pills in advance though.

Quick question, is there a specific time you have to be on board during the overnight in Reykjavik?

 

Thanks :D looking forward to reading about the rest of the days.

[KeithJenner]

 

Quick question, is there a specific time you have to be on board during the overnight in Reykjavik?

 

 

 

 

 

There are no restrictions at all. You can come and go as you please, day or night. Just be back for 3.30pm on the second day.

[KeithJenner]

Time for a quick catch up.

 

Back to Akureyri to start. We had booked a car again from Europcar as they also have a depot at the port in Akureyri. The hut is slightly further outside of the port than Reykjavik, but it's easy to find. The cars generally seemed to be better quality than in Reykjavik, certainly ours (a Prius) was much nicer.

 

We drove out to Godafoss to start with. You can access the falls from either side, and we stopped on the western side (before you cross the bridge). It is a shorter walk from the car park and also you can get very close to the falls from that side. The falls aren't as impressive as Gulfoss, but the access to them make it a very fun stop.

 

If you get chance then carry on along the road past the falls to get a view back at them from above. A really unusual view of the falls.

 

We then carried on to Lake Myvatn. The lava fields are very impressive, and there are some impressive hot springs there as well. It's a really interesting place to visit, and well worth spending some time there.

[KeithJenner]

Overall, the three days in Iceland were exceptional stops. The weather wasn't good, with rain on all three days, but there is so much to see that it didn't effect our enjoyment.

 

The trip out and back can cause some issues, given the likely sea conditions, but don't let that put you off. It's well worth the effort, and you won't regret it if you visit.

[KeithJenner]

Today, we were in Kirkwall. This was perhaps the port that I was most looking forward to. I have wanted to visit Skara Brae for many years, and wasn't sure that I would ever get there, as the Orkney Isles are not easily accessible without a lot of driving and even then you need a ferry to complete the journey.

 

We had a car hired again from the local Ford dealership. The ship docks just under 2 miles from the town centre and there is a free shuttle bus that drops off at the tourist information across the road.

 

We were delayed in getting off the ship. The official reason was that there was a medical emergency (we were told by another passenger that someone had a stroke yesterday), but another report suggests that they were late in getting the gangways in place anyway.

 

The result was that we were about 30 minutes late in getting off the ship. Due to the crowds we decided to walk into town instead. We were running behind a bit, so had to rearrange our schedule a bit.

 

We started by visiting the Italian Chapel before heading to Maeshowe, which is an ancient burial mound. Access is only by guided tour, of which there is just one an hour. We had prebooked. You can probably get on one if you just turn up, but it isn't guaranteed. I don't believe that any NCL tours include going inside Maeshowe, and it may be tricky to access even with a private tour unless you make specific arrangements. It's a unique thing to see, and I'd recommend it if you can.

 

Finally to Skara Brae. This is a 5,000 year old village which was discovered in the 1800's when a storm exposed the huts. It really has to be seen to be appreciated. One off the bucket list for sure. There is a walkway which takes you around the site letting you see into the various huts.

 

Go there. You really won't regret it, I promise.

[KeithJenner]

Some pictures from today:

 

 

[KeithJenner]

I think I forgot to post the pictures from Akureyri. Here they are:

 

 

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thank you, Keith. Really enjoying this. :D

[Single Cruiser]

Well looks like they've made some good progress on the Edinburgh Newhaven tendering issue. They started earlier at 07:30 and was open tender by just after 10:00. Probably helped that quite a few brits still onboard

 

 

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[littlelulu01]

Thanks again Keith. Your posts have been an immense help.

 

Have you used phone for driving directions in various ports and is coverage ok?

Edited August 31, 2017 by littlelulu01

[KeithJenner]

Thanks again Keith. Your posts have been an immense help.

 

Have you used phone for driving directions in various ports and is coverage ok?

 

 

 

We had a sat nav in Alesund, but other than that we were using Apple Maps. The phone coverage was good for us most of the time (we get roaming included with out plans).

 

The worst place for internet reception was Orkney, where we even found that some areas of Kirkwall didn't have any. Overall it was pretty good.

[KeithJenner]

I will do an update on Invergordon tomorrow. We have decided to stay onboard for the last three days, as we can visit these ports quite easily and we didn't fancy the tender ride to Edinburgh today. I'll try to finish this off with some overall thoughts on the ship and itinerary in the coming days.

[fabnfortysomething]

I've been keeping an eye on your weekend on Facebook. Looks like it all went well.

 

Hope you've put your feet up now.

 

it was great-shattered now!