Cruises to Iceland and Greenland

[Nanpat]

What is the best month to go to Iceland and Greenland? What cruises are recommended?

[Host Kat]

5 hours ago, Nanpat said:

What is the best month to go to Iceland and Greenland? What cruises are recommended?

 

 Howdy @Nanpat and welcome to Cruise Critic! 

 

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[ljandgb]

Daylight advances at something like 13 min/day, until you get to the "midnight sun" end of June (which is more like a very prolonged dusk) and then it decreases by the same amount. Depending on how much light vs dark you want, that's something to consider.  The weather will be predictably unpredictable (sun, rain, sleet, frequently alternating every 30 minutes) no matter when you go, though it will be a bit warmer July/August.  The actual cruising season is probably not long, given that both countries are on the Arctic circle.

 

The ports in Iceland are very small with no real tourist infrastructure, with the exception of Reykjavik and to a certain extent Akureyri. You will be limited to the ship's excursions in most places.   A cruise is not the best way to see Iceland, though I do understand why some people prefer it.

[Nanpat]

Thank you for your help.

[TheOldBear]

22 hours ago, Nanpat said:

What is the best month to go to Iceland and Greenland? What cruises are recommended?

 

Take a look at Holland America's "Voyage of the Vikings". (transatlantic round trip, typically from Boston).

 

Check their web site, and discussions here on the Holland America forum.

[Nanpat]

I will look at it. Thank you very much.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, TheOldBear said:

 

Take a look at Holland America's "Voyage of the Vikings". (transatlantic round trip, typically from Boston).

 

Check their web site, and discussions here on the Holland America forum.

Additionally, Holland America does one way cruises from Europe to the US that make some stops in Iceland and Greenland. Not as comprehensive as the Voyage of the Vikings, but also much cheaper. Voyage of the Vikings is a very special cruise, and they price it accordingly. We are considering the one way for 2022. The version scheduled for July of 2021 looks very good.

[Nanpat]

Thanks for your suggestions. I appreciate it.

[scubacruiserx2]

This is the one we have booked on the HAL Zuiderdam .

 

 

We have an overnight in Reykjavik and have rented a car to drive to and spend the night at the Glacier Lagoon .

[Turtles06]

We had a fabulous adventure on HAL's "Viking Passage" in August/September 2018 aboard the Zuiderdam.  Copenhagen to NY by way of Norway (Alesund), Iceland (almost a circumnavigation, with four ports around the country [would have been five but for weather], including an overnight with two full days in Reykjavik), Greenland (two ports [would have been three but for weather] as well as the spectacular Prins Christian Sund), and the Canadian Maritimes.

 

HAL has changed the itinerary a bit since then; I believe it's the cruise referenced in comment 9 above, that now ends in Boston.

 

Here's the review with photos that I posted on the HAL board:

 

 

[Nitemare]

22 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

This is the one we have booked on the HAL Zuiderdam .

 

 

 

We have an overnight in Reykjavik and have rented a car to drive to and spend the night at the Glacier Lagoon .

That's a solid 6 hour drive each way, plus whatever stops, so be prepared!

[scubacruiserx2]

21 minutes ago, Nitemare said:

That's a solid 6 hour drive each way, plus whatever stops, so be prepared!

 

Google has it at 5 and we did make it to Vik the last time which is about half way . We are early risers and with all the extra sunlight we expect to have joy in the journey .

 

 

[ljandgb]

To be honest, I don't think an all day drive to see the glacier lagoon is worth it, but there are tours that do it, so obviously enough people are interested in it.  The second half of the drive is particularly boring, as the landscape does not change much.  There is a chance there will be no ice on the beach and little to no ice in the lagoon, so be prepared for that just in case.

 

Most locals advise you to add 20% to any Google maps estimate.

 

With a long port stay, I'd consider a jeep tour to the highlands, or Snafellsnes, or practically any other location that did not involve 12+ hours of driving.  Just my opinion, feel free to ignore it. 🙂

[shudie]

18 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

We had a fabulous adventure on HAL's "Viking Passage" in August/September 2018 aboard the Zuiderdam.  Copenhagen to NY by way of Norway (Alesund), Iceland (almost a circumnavigation, with four ports around the country [would have been five but for weather], including an overnight with two full days in Reykjavik), Greenland (two ports [would have been three but for weather] as well as the spectacular Prins Christian Sund), and the Canadian Maritimes.

 

HAL has changed the itinerary a bit since then; I believe it's the cruise referenced in comment 9 above, that now ends in Boston.

 

Here's the review with photos that I posted on the HAL board:

 

 

We are doing the same cruise this year - just out of interest, and to perhaps lower expectations, what ports did you miss?

[shudie]

On 2/19/2020 at 12:29 AM, scubacruiserx2 said:

This is the one we have booked on the HAL Zuiderdam .

 

 

We have an overnight in Reykjavik and have rented a car to drive to and spend the night at the Glacier Lagoon .

 

 We are a family of 4 and I guess not typical HAL clientele for a TA but we are very much looking forward to the same cruise as scubacruiserx2

 

We chose it because of the ports and the stops in Norway, Iceland and Greenland - we have also added the Baltic to the beginning. I like that the HAL cruise stops overnight in Reykjavik (many others do also). Originally this cruise was to end in NY but the destination was changed to Boston. We have hired a car in Reykjavik for the 2 days and in Akureyri. Isafjordur we are doing a HAL tour. 

[Turtles06]

6 minutes ago, shudie said:

We are doing the same cruise this year - just out of interest, and to perhaps lower expectations, what ports did you miss?

 

Seydisfjordur, Iceland because of weather (disappointing, of course, but we had plenty of time on land in Iceland), Paamiut, Greenland (not because of weather there, but because a huge storm blowing across Iceland kept us in Akureyri an extra day), and St. John's, Newfoundland (because a few hours before we were scheduled to arrive, the Canadian Coast Guard sent us back the other way to help search for a passenger who had "gone overboard" off the AIDA Luna.  Never found.  A terribly sad day at sea).

 

This is a long cruise, with many ports, some of them in places where weather, wind, and/or ice can cause a port to be missed. 

 

We had a fabulous time.

[shudie]

6 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Seydisfjordur, Iceland because of weather (disappointing, of course, but we had plenty of time on land in Iceland), Paamiut, Greenland (not because of weather there, but because a huge storm blowing across Iceland kept us in Akureyri an extra day), and St. John's, Newfoundland (because a few hours before we were scheduled to arrive, the Canadian Coast Guard sent us back the other way to help search for a passenger who had "gone overboard" off the AIDA Luna.  Never found.  A terribly sad day at sea).

 

This is a long cruise, with many ports, some of them in places where weather, wind, and/or ice can cause a port to be missed. 

 

We had a fabulous time.

 

Thank you! 

[gerelmx]

Celebrity Summit August 15, 2021

[Nanpat]

My original pick was this cruise 2 weeks earlier. That one ends in NJ which was perfect. However, a number of people in the group didn't like having 6 days at sea.

[Nitemare]

Such a tiny taste of Iceland and Greenland on that itinerary.  Iceland is easy to get back to on your own.  Greenland, notsomuch.

 

I'd want more time in Greenland if I was making this choice.  And likely on a smaller ship so as to not be the majority in those little towns.