Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[Twitchly]

We got some local currency when we went to Iceland, and we never used it. Credit cards everywhere.

 

We did need to know our credit card’s PIN to use it in some cases. Since we never use a PIN in the US, we had to do some research to figure out what it was. 

[Clay Clayton]

Agree with MikeB.
 

We intend to get some Krona via one of the airport ATMs to have a little walking around money as my mother called it. We will use it to tip guides. Based on three of us doing eight excursions and tipping an average of $5 per person per excursion, I am figuring I will get kr$15.000 for all of us to use (or about $125). If we need anymore I can always get it along the way. 
 

FYI- the kr500 bill is worth about $4 which I suspect will be the easiest way to tip.  Maybe I need to revise my calculations based on $4 per person per excursion 😉

Edited June 10, 2021 by Clay Clayton

[Peregrina651]

4 hours ago, robinhood1 said:

but knowing how to reverse the incorrect charges!

 

They will turn it over to the account department so that it is done correctly.

 

1 hour ago, Tarheel1952 said:

We will be on the Aug 31st cruise.  From what I am reading, we can use US Dollars for tips on shore.  Otherwise, credit cards are prevalent.  Has anyone else checked into this?

 

55 minutes ago, tupperny said:

I also have seen that tipping is not expected, but what are people usually tipping for guides on our cruise excursions?

 

How many Krona are you planning to exchange/use?

 

BIll

 

Bill, I plan to get local currency at the ATM in the airport when we land; it is much cheaper there than at my local bank, where I will pay a $10 fee plus a really bad exchange rate. I'll get enough to cover tips on our excursions and some mad money for our post cruise stay (what I don't spend will buy breakfast in the airport on the way home).

 

Viking suggests $2 pp (242 ISK) for the guide and $1 pp (121 ISK) for the driver, in local currency, and that is my starting point.  I increase  this for full day tours.

 

Coin denominations are: 1 króna; 5, 10, 50, and 100 krónur. Banknotes are: 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10000 krónur. 

 

The fun part will be breaking the large bills that are dispensed from the ATM. I know that the Explorer's Desk has been able to make change for euros but I have to find out if they will be doing the same for ISK. Otherwise, there is a bank in the airport and I will have to try to break bills there.

 

2 hours ago, id4elizabeth said:

I've read that tipping is unusual and not expected in Iceland.  Having never been I cannot verify this for sure, but that's what all my guidebooks say.  They also say credit cards are very widely accepted even in taxis.

 

I wish Viking would give definitive guidance on this. All I have seen about tips on shorex is the standard answer I see for all sailings.

 

I'm also about to e-mail the company we have booked with for our post-cruise tours and ask about tipping.

[FoggyEthan]

18 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

I wish Viking would give definitive guidance on this. All I have seen about tips on shorex is the standard answer I see for all sailings.

 

https://www.tripsavvy.com/tipping-in-iceland-1626207

 

[id4elizabeth]

Re Tipping

 

Sorry for any confusion - I was not suggesting we don't tip the Viking guides and drivers.  I thought the original question was about tipping in Iceland in general pre and post cruise, but I may have made an assumption there that was incorrect.  I'm talking about restaurants, taxis, bellman at hotels, porters, coffee shops etc. 

For our Viking ShoreX tips, I've always gone by Viking's guidelines of $2 and $1 for half days or less and have used USD.

 

We will probably get around $50 to $100 worth of ISK at the airport ATM as we will have 3 days in Iceland on our own and we'd feel better with a bit of local currency for things like buying hotdogs in Reykjavík at hotdog stands, which I've read are really good. 

[NeilP57]

We are remaining in the Viking Bubble from landing on the Viking arranged flights to departing a week later. 
 

No plans to get any local currency, even though we live in the UK I keep a stash of small dollar bills that I will use to provide the customary tip to ShoreX drivers & guides. 
 

I spent a couple of weeks doing a self drive tour around the western half of Iceland and then a fabulous drive across the centre and I never tipped once. It’s just not part of their culture. 

[bardstowntraveller]

Is it a problem to tip in dollars onboard ship?  In addition to our daily gratuities, we usually bring $1 bills to tip for room service and bar service. 

[Clay Clayton]

1 hour ago, bardstowntraveller said:

Is it a problem to tip in dollars onboard ship?  In addition to our daily gratuities, we usually bring $1 bills to tip for room service and bar service. 

No, dollars are the onboard currency. 

[Dave W 10]

For UK passengers I just had a message from Viking (missed the phone call).

UK excursion prices are wrong, correct prices will be uploaded equivalent to US prices.

You're in for a hefty refund Neil 🤩

[NeilP57]

1 hour ago, Dave W 10 said:

You're in for a hefty refund Neil 🤩

Happy Days! 
 

I am getting a good feeling about this trip. I think we will all enjoy it more than we think. 
 

 

[Bejay219]

For tipping purposes...Is there one Room Attendant per suite/stateroom? Is is typical to tip the waitstaff in The Restaurant and specialty restaurants and bars?  Trying to figure out how much money to bring. 

Thanks! 

[TayanaLorna]

13 hours ago, Tarheel1952 said:

We will be on the Aug 31st cruise.  From what I am reading, we can use US Dollars for tips on shore.  Otherwise, credit cards are prevalent.  Has anyone else checked into this?

We were accidentally in Iceland overnight due to a missed connection.  We tipped our taxi driver in US dollars even though she said tips are not expected.  We used used credit cards otherwise even for small purchases.  Just use a cc with no foreign transaction fees.

[ShropshireCritic]

17 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

Thanks Dave that is reassuring (i think).

 

I am sure that Viking will get there in the end. I have also sent them a message tonight via a contact form on the website and will follow up with a call on Friday if I have not heard anything tomorrow.

 

 

 

Neil.

Same problem last Friday when I booked the excursions in £ - I was initially informed it was a commercial pricing differential between US & UK customers that at the time I challenged. But as the Viking website was rapidly falling over with the "anticipated" demand surge, I was solely focusing on getting the bookings made ......and then at a latter date resolving the agreed classic schoolboy error of converting $>>£ credit due which like you is almost £1,200 overcharged.

We are on the Jupiter 27th July Iceland cruise on the the early LHR flight.

 

Have you been able to book any excursions yet for the final day - Mon 2nd Aug yet - still nothing uploaded yet to MVJ.

[TayanaLorna]

3 hours ago, bardstowntraveller said:

Is it a problem to tip in dollars onboard ship?  In addition to our daily gratuities, we usually bring $1 bills to tip for room service and bar service. 

15% gratuity is included in every drink you purchase and the Silver Spirits Package.  US dollars are the only currency used on board on any Viking cruise we have taken.  Yes we tip room service.

[MikeyB]

My only other comment about tipping-

On this Icelandic cruise-  Employees are paid a "living wage".  That is part of the reason everything is more expensive.  No need to act foolish or feel bad about not tipping.

I am willing to place a $1 bet in the Viking casino, that at sometime during a cruise presentation, they will announce tipping protocol and also state that if you wish to tip you can do it in any currency.

 

 

[robinhood1]

2 hours ago, Dave W 10 said:

For UK passengers I just had a message from Viking (missed the phone call).

UK excursion prices are wrong, correct prices will be uploaded equivalent to US prices.

You're in for a hefty refund Neil 🤩

That is good to hear - shame that it happened in the first place given that it was a known problem. We too are about £1200 out of pocket - you would think they might communicate to all those affected by email and then follow up. I realise that it is a difficult time but that is really basic. 

[SkystheLimit]

Can you book Viking transfers if not using Viking Air?

 

[robinhood1]

1 hour ago, Bejay219 said:

For tipping purposes...Is there one Room Attendant per suite/stateroom? Is is typical to tip the waitstaff in The Restaurant and specialty restaurants and bars?  Trying to figure out how much money to bring. 

Thanks! 

Usually the room attendants work in teams of two - one is more senior. Tips are shared on board but we usually tip both our room stewards a little extra at the end and any waiters who have served us regularly. 

[Dukefan]

39 minutes ago, MikeyB said:

My only other comment about tipping-

On this Icelandic cruise-  Employees are paid a "living wage".  That is part of the reason everything is more expensive.  No need to act foolish or feel bad about not tipping.

I am willing to place a $1 bet in the Viking casino, that at sometime during a cruise presentation, they will announce tipping protocol and also state that if you wish to tip you can do it in any currency.

 

 

Viking Casino?????

[vabeachlady]

1 hour ago, Bejay219 said:

For tipping purposes...Is there one Room Attendant per suite/stateroom? Is is typical to tip the waitstaff in The Restaurant and specialty restaurants and bars?  Trying to figure out how much money to bring. 

Thanks! 

From my previous Ocean cruises, there are 2 Room Attendants.  They work as a team.  I've never tipped in the restaurants, but if there is one waiter that really looks after you, I don't see that it would be an issue.  

[vabeachlady]

20 minutes ago, SkystheLimit said:

Can you book Viking transfers if not using Viking Air?

 

On a previous Ocean cruise, when we got to the baggage area of the airport, we found the Viking rep and asked about paying for the transfer.  They took our names and added us in.  No charge. (Hey, they want to get you to the ship!)  Going back to the airport from the ship, I believe you could easily add that in onboard at the Customer Service desk.   I also know that somewhere, I have seen a place online at the Viking site to add just the transfers.

[Clay Clayton]

27 minutes ago, robinhood1 said:

Usually the room attendants work in teams of two - one is more senior. Tips are shared on board but we usually tip both our room stewards a little extra at the end and any waiters who have served us regularly. 

We do the same except do it at the beginning along with our short note about lots of ice, taking the “one size does not fit all robes” away, and extra pillows. 

[Cruiser1854]

20 minutes ago, vabeachlady said:

On a previous Ocean cruise, when we got to the baggage area of the airport, we found the Viking rep and asked about paying for the transfer.  They took our names and added us in.  No charge. (Hey, they want to get you to the ship!)  Going back to the airport from the ship, I believe you could easily add that in onboard at the Customer Service desk.   I also know that somewhere, I have seen a place online at the Viking site to add just the transfers.

Just a note about my experience requesting a Viking transfer (independent air), prior to sailing.

It is possible request and pre-pay transfers but, in my case, my TA was advised that the cost of a prearranged transfer (about $49 pp) would be added to my Viking travel insurance coverage limit.  This would increase the travel insurance premium tier by nearly the cost of the transfer. Effectively it would doubling my cost.  Ridiculous! Needless to say I did not book the transfers with Viking.

 

[NeilP57]

55 minutes ago, robinhood1 said:

That is good to hear - shame that it happened in the first place given that it was a known problem. We too are about £1200 out of pocket - you would think they might communicate to all those affected by email and then follow up. I realise that it is a difficult time but that is really basic. 

I plan to wait a few days to see if they get in touch. The longer I wait the more I feel they “owe” me for the inconvenience. 

We are all owed significant sums. As I said before the least they can do is comp’ us the beverage package! 

 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, Bejay219 said:

For tipping purposes...Is there one Room Attendant per suite/stateroom? Is is typical to tip the waitstaff in The Restaurant and specialty restaurants and bars?  Trying to figure out how much money to bring. 

Thanks! 

 

 

Except for UK guests whose fare is "gratuities included" and those who have pre-paid the gratuity,  Viking will add gratuities to your on board account at the rate of $15 per day per person.  You may ask them to remove the charge, to increase it or decrease it. (Even if you keep this charge in place, you are welcome to give addition gratuities to any crew member you wish).

 

Viking has chosen to add it to our account automatically rather than an opt in because they find that more people want to add the gratuity than want to have it removed. In other words, there are fewer people coming to the desk just to deal with this.

 

Viking has also chosen this method of handling gratuities because the tip pool is spread among more then the few crew members that we interface with. 

 

Bar prices and spa price include a 15% gratuity. There is however a line item on the tab for gratuity; it is for the convenience of those who wish to add to the gratuity. It is not a hint that you should be adding to the gratuity.

 

This is what it says on the Viking FAQ:

 

What is the tipping policy?

Our onboard staff is dedicated to providing you with the best cruise experience possible, and it is customary to give gratuities in recognition of their service. How much you choose to tip is a personal matter and completely at your discretion. To save you worry over whom to tip and how much, we automatically add a discretionary hotel and dining charge of $15.00 per guest per day to your shipboard account, which appears on your final invoice at the end of your cruise. This charge will be shared among the onboard staff who helped support and provide your cruise experience, including the waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, galley staff, laundry staff and others. Please note this charge excludes bar gratuity; a 15% gratuity is automatically added to bar, beverage, wine and deck service tabs. Should you wish to make changes to the gratuity amounts or pay in cash, stop by Guest Services at any time. You may also wish to tip your local excursion guides and/or drivers; we suggest doing so in cash at the end of each tour. For your convenience, you can pre-purchase our standard recommended gratuity here.  This charge will be shared among the onboard staff who helped support and provide for your cruise experience, including your Program Director, waitstaff, stateroom stewards, galley staff, nautical staff and others.

Learn more about Pre-Paid Gratuities.