Greenland

[jeanine]

If you have visited Greenland, would like your opinion. We are looking at a cruise that spends 3 days there. What about Iceland? Thank you in advance.

 

Jeanine

[JDincalif]

We took an Oceania cruise that included  Greenland, with two stops scheduled in Tasiilaq and Qaqortoq and one day transiting Prince Christian Sound. Fog can be a real concern, responsible for cancelling the Tasiilaq visit, and the Sound transit was iffy almost up to the last minute until the fog lifted. We enjoyed the stark beauty of the sound. In Qaqortoq we hiked and explored the town on our own, enjoying firsthand experience of the local people and culture. There were tours available for exploration, fishing, and other sports if one has specialized interests or a higher need for excitement.

 

That same cruise included the Iceland ports of Reykjavik and Akureyri. Absolutely astonishing scenery throughout and only wish we'd had more time to go further afield. Highly recommended.

Edited June 28, 2020 by JDincalif

[Paulchili]

If you like nature you will love this itinerary.

Greenland is the poor man's Antarctica with beautiful glaciers, giant floating icebergs.

Iceland is all about nature as well.

[Flatbush Flyer]

54 minutes ago, jeanine said:

If you have visited Greenland, would like your opinion. We are looking at a cruise that spends 3 days there. What about Iceland? Thank you in advance.

 

Jeanine

Plus: natural beauty.

Minus: nothing else of significance.

[pinotlover]

Last summer, on the Nautica,  two days of our cruise to the western ports of Greenland were canceled due to high winds in the sound. We got one day in a small Greenland town totally unprepared for a cruise ship. Still enjoyed the visit.

 

Iceland was spectacular all the way around. We visited three ports there.

[cruisemom42]

I have wanted to get to Greenland for years. I am not convinced that doing it by ship is the absolute best method, particularly by cruise ship (as opposed to an expedition-style ship).

 

If you do want a taste of Iceland and Greenland, Sirena has an itinerary in August 2021 that I currently have a deposit on. As you've heard -- and as I've read many times on Cruise Critic -- weather is always an issue and you may not get the full "Greenland" experience. 

 

I am also considering a Hurtigruten itinerary on Fram, that starts in Halifax and ends in Reykjavik. I suspect there's a greater likelihood of making the ports with this ship.

 

However, neither one really has what I am after, which is an itinerary focused more on the Viking history of Greenland than the natural beauty or Inuit culture. So I am also looking at potential land trips.

 

[clo]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

If you like nature you will love this itinerary.

Greenland is the poor man's Antarctica with beautiful glaciers, giant floating icebergs.

Iceland is all about nature as well.

When we were in Iceland a few years ago in December, it was warmer there than Seattle where we'd flown from. Fair warning 🙂 It was beautiful, great (expensive!) food but for us anyway it was kinda "been there, done that." Although we would go back to the Blue Lagoon - that was fun.

[clo]

59 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I am not convinced that doing it by ship is the absolute best method,

We did Iceland on an escorted land trip and saw a lot. And we LOVE Hurtigruten.

[1985rz1]

2 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Plus: natural beauty.

Minus: nothing else of significance.

Actually, the food was excellent, if outrageously expensive.

[clo]

50 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Actually, the food was excellent, if outrageously expensive.

Must be like Iceland. We had a single main and the cheapest bottle of wine and it was $100.

[Glenndale]

We visited Greenland in early July on Nautica, one port was cancelled due to fog but we managed to berth in Qaqortok.

We hadn't booked an excursion as we were planning to hike around the lake.

Alarm bells began to sound when we noticed that many of the locals sported net face coverings.

After a quarter of the way round we were driven back by the evil mosquitoes who plagued us incessantly.

We visited a little museum dedicated to Charles Lindberg and that was about it.

Iceland is a favourite destination and we found lots to see and do.

[bitob]

Iceland is amazing.  I cannot say enough good things.  You could spend 10 days there.

 

Greenland not so much

IMO 3 days is 2 too many

[clo]

5 hours ago, Glenndale said:

Iceland is a favourite destination and we found lots to see and do.

You mean you return there? I was glad we did it but wouldn't return. Too much else to see. We did IcelandAir and did that as a stopover to Copenhagen where we would definitely return.

[Andee]

We spent 24 days in Iceland and wish we had planned for a couple more. The beauty and variety of landscape was incredible.

[Glenndale]

50 minutes ago, clo said:

You mean you return there? I was glad we did it but wouldn't return. Too much else to see. We did IcelandAir and did that as a stopover to Copenhagen where we would definitely return.

Yes, absolutely we have.

No desire at all to revisit Greenland though.

[KirkNC]

1 hour ago, Andee said:

We spent 24 days in Iceland and wish we had planned for a couple more. The beauty and variety of landscape was incredible.

We spent 18 days there two years ago and are hoping to get back in July assuming we can past the CV test.  This time six weeks.  At least for us it is one of the top five places we have ever been.  Having said that I think it is far better to visit on its own versus a cruise.  It is expensive but right now cheaper then it used to be.  The natural beauty is astonishing.

[Andee]

I agree that a land trip us better than a cruise for Iceland.

We did not find it terribly expensive.

We stayed in apartments or cottages for reasonable rates; for example, our beautiful, well located apartment in Reykjavik was $108 per night. We ate breakfast in and often picnicked for lunch.

We bought alcohol in the duty free shop when we landed and drank at home, rather than in restaurants.

I researched restaurants and found lots of good ones that were reasonably priced. Given that tax is included and there's no tipping, a $30 meal in Iceland is equivalent to a $23 meal in NYC.

So much if what we did was free or inexpensive that we spent very little on activities.

[jeanine]

The stops in Greenland and Iceland are part of a 22 day cruise with Oceania that we are considering. London to New York in 2021. Thanks for your opinions everyone! 
 

[mandys mommy]

21 hours ago, jeanine said:

If you have visited Greenland, would like your opinion. We are looking at a cruise that spends 3 days there. What about Iceland? Thank you in advance.

 

Jeanine

We took the Oceania Riveria cruise last year starting on Sept 10th in Reykjavik, Iceland, then to Isafjordor, Iceland, Denmark Strait, Prince Christian Sound in Greenland, Qaqortoq, Greenland, Paamuit, Greenland and Nuk, Greenland.  We had beautiful weather except for one day in Iceland.  We really enjoyed Greenland, its people and the beautiful scenery.  The scenery was exceptional when we cruised through Prince Christian Sound. I am sure that you will have a great time.

[clo]

7 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Having said that I think it is far better to visit on its own versus a cruise.

I'll definitely agree with that. And their airport is so cool.

 

6 hours ago, Andee said:

lunch

Did you have one of their famous hot dogs? We did at the place where Bill Clinton had one. It really was good.

http://www.bbp.is/information-in-english

[Andee]

No, DH doesn't eat pork and all the hot dogs at the famous place in Reykjavik were pork. We were disappointed.

[clo]

51 minutes ago, Andee said:

No, DH doesn't eat pork and all the hot dogs at the famous place in Reykjavik were pork. We were disappointed.

That's the only excuse 🙂 

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, clo said:

I'll definitely agree with that. And their airport is so cool.

 

Did you have one of their famous hot dogs? We did at the place where Bill Clinton had one. It really was good.

http://www.bbp.is/information-in-english

 

I remember it from Anthony Bourdain's Iceland episode of No Reservations -- a great show.

[clo]

15 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I remember it from Anthony Bourdain's Iceland episode of No Reservations -- a great show.

We might have missed that one. I'll see if I can find it. Hard to believe he died two years ago.

 

Speaking of travel and food 🙂 he claimed that this was the best soup in the world. We agree. In Hue Vietnam. Bon bo hue.

 

 

[KirkNC]

I thought the hot dogs were good but nothing special.  They are popular because they are only $5 (or something like that) which is cheap in Iceland.