Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[Doc who loves to travel]

We have considered canceling many times, but IMO, I still want to go to Iceland now

 

1. before the flood gates open fully to international travel - I mean that I don't think it will be as crowded yet because people around the world don't aren't traveling fully yet for many reasons

2. the price seemed really good

3. I want to try Viking Ocean (we're Princess people)

4. We're going two days early and I can knock out one or two sites then. 

 

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

22 hours ago, gskimmel said:

Did you book after excursions already opened?  We booked the July 27th a few days ago and are still waiting for excursions to open. I would be pissed to spend close to $10k just to sit on a ship. 

Yes, we booked May 14th and it's not looking too promising. 😏

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

18 hours ago, FLGators#1 said:

No luck here either.  We will probably decide whether to cancel 15 days before.  I wish they’d have a tour to the volcano too.  Read somewhere they put in a path to viewing sites and now it’s only a 50 minute hike.  May just wait till Iceland and their relationship with cruise ships opens up so we can hike to volcano, go to Blue Lagoon, see the puffins and black beaches etc. ... now after I written that I see we also are spending thousands of dollars to NOT do anything we want to do in Iceland. Food for thought. 
 

 

 

Exactly! Those are all the sites I want to see as well! We're going to Iceland to see Iceland not to sit on a ship.

If I wanted to be on a ship and not get off for days I'd take a repositioning cruise. Right?! 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Porcupine 52]

Kind of a fun news report on the volcano 

 

[Clay Clayton]

14 hours ago, Donaghadee said:

I was thinking about tying it to a bootlace to learn how durable it is...

The lace or the dongle?😂

[Donaghadee]

11 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

The lace or the dongle?😂

They say you have to have the dongle on your person at all tiles.  That doesn't bother me much, it's just something else to forget and have to retrieve.  Since it probably doesn't have a belt clip and I steadfastly refuse to wear a lanyard, might as well wear it ankle monitor style.  I have yet to forget my shoes.

 

I will also address the cruise director as "Warden".

[BQEC]

21 hours ago, id4elizabeth said:

General question - if Viking decides to cancel a cruise (not in an emergency, but just generally, let's say they don't get enough bookings, or they find they are unable to put together shore excursions) how soon ahead of sail date do they usually cancel?  Asking those who've had cruises canceled by Viking in the past?

Generally, cruise cancellation notifications will be issued in advance of Viking's usual air ticketing date, which is 75 days ahead of the cruise date. Now it is 55 days temporarily. So Viking cancelled cruise notifications will probably be issued closer to their ticketing requirements of 55 days. I doubt that excursion availability would factor into a cancellation by Viking. They might offer a choice, go with whatever excursions can be arranged or cancellation by the guest, with Viking retaining payment as a future cruise credit. Once a cruise credit is created, no refund would be possible until after 24 months had elapsed. Also had been allowing transfer of cruise credit. I also doubt that that a cancellation for light bookings will occur as most lines are sailing light to allow for social distancing and having available cabins for quarantine guest, or crew quarter considerations. 

Wondering if others have encountered the same ....

[Dukefan]

1 hour ago, Donaghadee said:

They say you have to have the dongle on your person at all tiles.  That doesn't bother me much, it's just something else to forget and have to retrieve.  Since it probably doesn't have a belt clip and I steadfastly refuse to wear a lanyard, might as well wear it ankle monitor style.  I have yet to forget my shoes.

 

I will also address the cruise director as "Warden".

Use something little this it you want to hook it to your belt 

[Clay Clayton]

Somehow a discussion over on the Viking newbie thread ended up being about duty free at KEF.  @FlyerTalkerwho is the go-to guy at CruiseCritic regarding all things flight related informed us that prices for liquor are much cheaper at the airport and you can purchase upon arrival not just departure. 
 

I went looking and found out that the shop has their products (with pricing) available online. Link is below.  I believe there will be some rhubarb liquor or gin in my future! 🍸😊

https://www.dutyfree.is/en/category/liquor/spirits

[LindaS272]

8 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Somehow a discussion over on the Viking newbie thread ended up being about duty free at KEF.  @FlyerTalkerwho is the go-to guy at CruiseCritic regarding all things flight related informed us that prices for liquor are much cheaper at the airport and you can purchase upon arrival not just departure. 
 

I went looking and found out that the shop has their products (with pricing) available online. Link is below.  I believe there will be some rhubarb liquor or gin in my future! 🍸😊

https://www.dutyfree.is/en/category/liquor/spirits

Oops—I just posted this over there:

I’m pretty sure when we were in Iceland on the TA in Sept. 2019 that Viking offered up a cocktail in the MDR with the Icelandic rhubarb liqueur. Someone posted a link either in this thread or on one of the Iceland roll calls on what to buy at KEF duty free and there it was—along with Amarula from So. Africa.

[id4elizabeth]

2 hours ago, BQEC said:

Generally, cruise cancellation notifications will be issued in advance of Viking's usual air ticketing date, which is 75 days ahead of the cruise date. Now it is 55 days temporarily. So Viking cancelled cruise notifications will probably be issued closer to their ticketing requirements of 55 days. I doubt that excursion availability would factor into a cancellation by Viking. They might offer a choice, go with whatever excursions can be arranged or cancellation by the guest, with Viking retaining payment as a future cruise credit. Once a cruise credit is created, no refund would be possible until after 24 months had elapsed. Also had been allowing transfer of cruise credit. I also doubt that that a cancellation for light bookings will occur as most lines are sailing light to allow for social distancing and having available cabins for quarantine guest, or crew quarter considerations. 

Wondering if others have encountered the same ....

Thanks BQEC - that answers my question! 

[FlyerTalker]

Here's the rhubarb spirit:

 

https://www.dutyfree.is/en/product/104-2160

 

The 64 Degrees distillery makes some really good stuff, including Crowberry.  You can filter for their products on the left hand side of the main page posted above.

 

And here is my other post:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2777795-new-viking-ocean-cruiser-advice/?do=findComment&comment=61152533

 

[Doc who loves to travel]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

Somehow a discussion over on the Viking newbie thread ended up being about duty free at KEF.  @FlyerTalkerwho is the go-to guy at CruiseCritic regarding all things flight related informed us that prices for liquor are much cheaper at the airport and you can purchase upon arrival not just departure. 
 

I went looking and found out that the shop has their products (with pricing) available online. Link is below.  I believe there will be some rhubarb liquor or gin in my future! 🍸😊

https://www.dutyfree.is/en/category/liquor/spirits

This post really made my day!  Gin drinkers too!!!!

 

[FlyerTalker]

And as a further note on DF at KEF:  If you really find something you like in Iceland, you can legally bring into the USA more than just one liter per person.  What you must do is declare this on your customs declaration at the kiosk -- the duty amount is small, and depending on the CBP officer working, they will often just wave you through since the amount collected isn't really worth their time.  Of course, your mileage my vary, and if you are bringing in a dozen bottles that may change the equation.

[SantaFe1]

I noticed this morning that Iceland has already made a couple of changes to its entrance requirements, even ahead of the June 1 change.  It now lists countries by risk, and USA is on list 1, the lower risk level.  It appears to be done week by week.  I don’t think it changes anything for vaccinated pax yet, but here is the link.  Maybe someone else can glean a bit more than I did:

https://www.covid.is/categories/travel-to-and-within-iceland

[Donaghadee]

3 hours ago, Dukefan said:

Use something little this it you want to hook it to your belt 

I was thinking along these lines:

It has a little pouch for the gizmo and is secured with snaps. Put it on in the morning and forget about it until bedtime.  No brick in your pocket and nothing flapping about around your neck or belt.

 

 

[DJVKN]

21 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

I was thinking along these lines:

It has a little pouch for the gizmo and is secured with snaps. Put it on in the morning and forget about it until bedtime.  No brick in your pocket and nothing flapping about around your neck or belt.

 

 

I have this little round silicone thing that fits on my watchband that  I use for my medallion when I sail Princess. I am hoping it will work for this tracer gadget as well. I really dislike lanyards. I got it a few years ago from Amazon and it comes in many colors.

https://www.amazon.com/Luke3DP-Adapter-Holding-Carnival-Medallion/dp/B07RC2B9BY/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=medallion+holder+for+cruiser&qid=1621801199&sr=8-1

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by DJVKN

[Donaghadee]

1 minute ago, DJVKN said:

I have this little round silicone thing that fits on my watchband that  I use for my medallion when I sail Princess. I am hoping it will work for this tracer gadget as well. I really dislike lanyards. I got it a few years ago from Amazon and it comes in many colors.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R6VM499/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

And the odds of the tracer thing fitting in that are...

[alohadave]

5 hours ago, Donaghadee said:

the dongle on your person at all tiles.

Can I find my DW on the Viking app?

[Donaghadee]

5 minutes ago, alohadave said:

Can I find my DW on the Viking app?

Unless they've changed something, the Viking app will only do shipboard things  like schedules, menus, weather.  I never found any 2-way features.  What's App works.  I'm sure there are others.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Donaghadee

[DJVKN]

49 minutes ago, Donaghadee said:

And the odds of the tracer thing fitting in that are...

I think they are pretty good. I am following one of the groups that is on another site that has something to do with faces and books. It is a Viking group for the British Isle seacation that sailed yesterday. Lots of great information on protocols etc and he say the device is pretty small. The medallions on Princess are a little larger than a quarter so I think I'll see if it works since I already own it.

 

[TayanaLorna]

38 minutes ago, alohadave said:

Can I find my DW on the Viking app?

That's a good one.  LOL.  But seriously, if you are traveling with friends, or DW of course, we found either WhatsApp or FB Messenger the best way to communicate who is where or doing what on the ship.  Was even great for which side in the WC someone was sitting for breakfast or lunch.

[Donaghadee]

1 hour ago, DJVKN said:

I think they are pretty good. I am following one of the groups that is on another site that has something to do with faces and books. It is a Viking group for the British Isle seacation that sailed yesterday. Lots of great information on protocols etc and he say the device is pretty small. The medallions on Princess are a little larger than a quarter so I think I'll see if it works since I already own it.

 

Photos.  We need photos of the thing with a scale either next to or beneath it.  Otherwise we're chasing UFOs.

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, alohadave said:

Can I find my DW on the Viking app?

 

No. You need a dating app for that.

 

2 hours ago, Donaghadee said:

What's App works.  I'm sure there are others.

 

We use WhatsApp -- not just for trying to find one another on board (provided I remember to turn on the sound) but also for phoning home (which thank goodness, we have never needed to do). I suppose we could also use Google Hangouts as well.

[PeabodyMa]

Fagradalsfjall volcano update: 

(Reykjanes Peninsula)

 

Lava overflows dam, enters valley towards southern Ring Road now in danger being cut.

 

After the lava overtook the artificial dam that had been quickly built in a (failed) attempt to prevent the lava from entering the Natthagi valley, it entered the valley which is leading towards the southern ring road. As it descended the northern headwall of the valley, it created a beautiful lava fall, then formed a new flow along the bottom of the valley and actually following and covering the hiking path leading from the parking at the ring road northwards to the eruption area.

Its front is now very close to the road, probably less than 2 km away and if the eruption continues at its steady (in fact gradually increasing) lava output rate, which is likely, it is only a question of time when and where exactly it will cut it. Small topographic hills and new artificial dams might only be gaining some valuable time, though.

 

Watch the following videos of the lava fall and the new lava flow:

https://youtu.be/kdFAeTcYt34