Had to make the move

[upwarduk]

5 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

Wow. Snow even in July? Did you have any warm days on the trip? And were the seas rough both ways? Was it indeed because of a storm as you mentioned or are the waters there always rough?

The northern Atlantic can be unpredictable, often suffering from storms which are the tail end of hurricanes brought north by the Jet Stream. 
We didn’t have any sunbathing days, but were not expecting them. However, most days were dry and the snow storm had occurred the day before we arrived. It made some good pictures.

[cantstopingcruising]

2 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Even if not on a cruise, if you and your husband ever have the chance to go to Nova Scotia, in Halifax there is a little gift from heaven called Peggy's Cove on St. Margaret's Bay.  OMG it is SO beautiful and perfect place to find a B&B and spend a night.

And Lunenberg. We had the best lobster sandwich there that I have ever tasted in my life. . On focaccio bread.

 

We stayed at a delightful b and b. I think the owners were actually Americans.

 

Nova Scotia is lovely and the people are the nicest you will meet anywhere.

Edited December 24, 2020 by cantstopingcruising

[Turtles06]

On 12/22/2020 at 7:52 PM, WonderMan3 said:

Any feedback or advice that anyone has on the Iceland/Ireland itinerary or the Norwegian Fjords itinerary would be great.

 

Iceland is stunningly beautiful.  (Haven't done the Norwegian Fjords.) In terms of Iceland, it looks as though your port times in Reykjavik will be a 10am arrival on the first day, with a 2pm departure on the second.  It's a shame about that short second day, as there are two fabulous full-day tours out of Reykjavik, the Golden Circle and the South Coast.  We've done both.  If you can only do one, I'd strongly recommend the South Coast, which was one of the most spectacular days we've ever spent.  It's a very long day (longer than the Golden Circle tour), and you'd probably only be able to do it with your mid-morning arrival because you will still have so much daylight at night.   (And you may well have time for some of the Golden Circle on the second day, assuming a very early start. Maybe that's the one time for a Celebrity tour, if one is offered on that day.) 

 

For your first day in Akureyri, I would highly recommend one of the Lake Myvatn tours that takes you well out of town to a number of absolutely beautiful and fascinating places.  We did not find Akureyri itself all that interesting (the towns are not why you visit Iceland); it was good for a walkaround.  (The ships dock right in town, or you might have a short tender over.)

 

I haven't included details about the tour routes as they are easily found on line.  I'd recommend finding a reputable private tour operator.  In Iceland, it's common for the private tour operators to use 16-18 person mini-buses.  They are fine.  I'd recommend GeoIceland, but they were Saga's partner and, as others have noted above, it appears that they went into bankruptcy after the pandemic began.  It's a shame, as they were fabulous.   There is of course the Northern Europe port of call board here on CC, where you can ask for recommendations for private tour operators.   

 

Again, it's too bad about the 10am arrivals in both Reykjavik and Akureyri (and it could of course be a bit later by the time you disembark); you will lose some of those days.   Thankfully, you have daylight on the other end.

 

Enjoy!

[WonderMan3]

13 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Iceland is stunningly beautiful.  (Haven't done the Norwegian Fjords.) In terms of Iceland, it looks as though your port times in Reykjavik will be a 10am arrival on the first day, with a 2pm departure on the second.  It's a shame about that short second day, as there are two fabulous full-day tours out of Reykjavik, the Golden Circle and the South Coast.  We've done both.  If you can only do one, I'd strongly recommend the South Coast, which was one of the most spectacular days we've ever spent.  It's a very long day (longer than the Golden Circle tour), and you'd probably only be able to do it with your mid-morning arrival because you will still have so much daylight at night.   (And you may well have time for some of the Golden Circle on the second day, assuming a very early start. Maybe that's the one time for a Celebrity tour, if one is offered on that day.) 

 

For your first day in Akureyri, I would highly recommend one of the Lake Myvatn tours that takes you well out of town to a number of absolutely beautiful and fascinating places.  We did not find Akureyri itself all that interesting (the towns are not why you visit Iceland); it was good for a walkaround.  (The ships dock right in town, or you might have a short tender over.)

 

I haven't included details about the tour routes as they are easily found on line.  I'd recommend finding a reputable private tour operator.  In Iceland, it's common for the private tour operators to use 16-18 person mini-buses.  They are fine.  I'd recommend GeoIceland, but they were Saga's partner and, as others have noted above, it appears that they went into bankruptcy after the pandemic began.  It's a shame, as they were fabulous.   There is of course the Northern Europe port of call board here on CC, where you can ask for recommendations for private tour operators.   

 

Again, it's too bad about the 10am arrivals in both Reykjavik and Akureyri (and it could of course be a bit later by the time you disembark); you will lose some of those days.   Thankfully, you have daylight on the other end.

 

Enjoy!

Thanks! I was looking online and saw that there are some combined Golden Circle and South Coast tours that run for about 12 hours. Some of these companies also offer Midnight Sun tours which go into the evening which will still be sunny at that time of year. I’m hoping I can find a combined tour that might do a 10am to 10pm or noon to midnight so we can get it all in. If not possible then I might do a private tour to South Coast on the first day and then a Celebrity Golden Circle tour (if they offer one) the second day to avoid the risk of being late back to the ship. Will just have to see what happens. I’m not really going to look too deep into tour operators just yet as more could go belly up before the pandemic is over but I will start to compile a list of things I want to see and places I want to visit.

[Carnevale]

15 hours ago, jmfdr said:

Probably a stupid question-----but what is the blue Chip Club?  Assuming it has something to do with the casino?

I am also interested in finding out what this is.  Can anyone fill us in?

[LGW59]

6 minutes ago, Carnevale said:

I am also interested in finding out what this is.  Can anyone fill us in?

When you play at the casino and use your seapass card, it rewards you points on your play.  I've not done it, but seems it can be rewarding to ward future cruises.  And while I do not know for sure, I don't believe it is necessarily how much $ you gamble but rather how much you play.  

[WonderMan3]

Just now, LGW59 said:

When you play at the casino and use your seapass card, it rewards you points on your play.  I've not done it, but seems it can be rewarding to ward future cruises.  And while I do not know for sure, I don't believe it is necessarily how much $ you gamble but rather how much you play.  

It’s a combination of the two. Average bet and amount of time you play. The points you earn from playing will determine your tier level and that level will come with a series of perks like drink package, wifi, free casino credit, etc. Your play (if it’s enough) will also earn you an incentive to put towards your next cruise. You can also be eligible for % off discounts when you reserve your cabin through Blue Chip. And you can get free cruise offers through the mail or email. Those will vary based on your tier level. The higher your level the more offers you’ll get with a better selection of cruises and higher category of cabin. When you book one of those free cruise offers though there are lots of restrictions like not getting your tier benefits, no perks included, sometimes not even allowing paid upgrades to higher categories. So far we’ve never booked one of the free cruise offers as we have never gotten one for a suite and we only cruise in suites and the cost to upgrade to one often winds up being similar to the % off discount except no perks or tier benefits are included. That has been my experience at least. The program changes constantly though with perks being added and removed on an almost yearly basis and cruisers getting different results when they book. I think sometimes it depends on who you get on the phone and what deals happen to be available at the time you call. 

[Turtles06]

9 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

I’m hoping I can find a combined tour that might do a 10am to 10pm or noon to midnight so we can get it all in. If not possible then I might do a private tour to South Coast on the first day and then a Celebrity Golden Circle tour (if they offer one) the second day to avoid the risk of being late back to the ship.

 

Our South Coast tour alone was about 10 hours.  Done right, it is a very long (wonderful) day.  It's hard to see that being combined with the Golden Circle, so it would be interesting to know the itinerary.  Perhaps a private tour operator will be able to work out something that makes sense.   We try to avoid ship-sponsored tours, except in certain instances, including the exact ones you would have on that second day:  going on a tour that takes us a long way from the ship, and the difficulties in getting to the next port if we missed the ship.  (Indeed, for those reasons, we used a ship's tour for the Golden Circle on our second day in Reykjavik (we were on HAL). )   

 

To whet your appetite, here are a few photos from the South Coast:

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

 

[WonderMan3]

8 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Our South Coast tour alone was about 10 hours.  Done right, it is a very long (wonderful) day.  It's hard to see that being combined with the Golden Circle, so it would be interesting to know the itinerary. 

 

 

Here’s an example of one. I don’t know if any key spots are missed from either itinerary with this combo.

https://www.viator.com/tours/Reykjavik/Golden-Circle-and-South-Coast-of-Iceland-Private-Day-Tour-from-Reykjavik-by-Jeep/d905-19155P8

 

[LGW59]

10 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

Here’s an example of one. I don’t know if any key spots are missed from either itinerary with this combo.

https://www.viator.com/tours/Reykjavik/Golden-Circle-and-South-Coast-of-Iceland-Private-Day-Tour-from-Reykjavik-by-Jeep/d905-19155P8

 

Have used Viator Tours in Italy and France, they did a wonderful job!  

[Carnevale]

Thx LGW59 and Wonderman3 for the Blue Chip program info!

[poffles]

On 12/23/2020 at 5:41 PM, LGW59 said:

Even if not on a cruise, if you and your husband ever have the chance to go to Nova Scotia, in Halifax there is a little gift from heaven called Peggy's Cove on St. Margaret's Bay.  OMG it is SO beautiful and perfect place to find a B&B and spend a night.

 

My home town Halifax!  I can attest to this, Peggy's Cove is a popular spot and a place us Maritimers frequently visit on a sunny day road trip.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, poffles said:

 

My home town Halifax!  I can attest to this, Peggy's Cove is a popular spot and a place us Maritimers frequently visit on a sunny day road trip.

With a stop at the Sou'Wester for a slice of their wonderful homemade gingerbread! 

[Turtles06]

18 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

Here’s an example of one. I don’t know if any key spots are missed from either itinerary with this combo.

https://www.viator.com/tours/Reykjavik/Golden-Circle-and-South-Coast-of-Iceland-Private-Day-Tour-from-Reykjavik-by-Jeep/d905-19155P8

 

 

It hits what are considered the three "highlights" of the Golden Circle tour  -- Thingvellir National Park, the Geysir geothermal area (which, if you've been to Yellowstone, pales in comparison), and Gullfoss.  On the South Coast, it looks like it doesn't visit Sólheimajökull (the glacier in my photo above).  

 

The web site says the tour would be 12-13 hours, in a 4x4 jeep. (And of course there are set times for every site visited, some only 30 minutes.)  Speaking only for myself, I think I would find that so incredibly exhausting I don't know how much I would really appreciate after awhile.  It might be taking on too much; you might be better off spending more quality time on one tour than trying to do them both at once.  And perhaps your decision will be influenced by finding out your options for your second day in port.

 

Another suggestion: also ask your questions over on the Northern Europe board, where Iceland is regularly discussed.

 

Enjoy whatever you decide!