Iceland's Natural Beauty General - 2022

[bobchico]

2 hours ago, USI said:

Wondering if this will have any implications for contract tracing and the related quarantining requirements? 

Restrictions lifted not tomorrow but July 1.  That's how I read it

[vslparis]

14 minutes ago, DaveSJ711 said:

Here’s a picture to make you remember why you’re coming to Iceland. The ship will travel down this fjord en route to Akureyri.

Lovely photo !  I meant to ask our guide today what those flowers are.  They seem to be everywhere across large batches of the landscape.

[DaveSJ711]

11 minutes ago, vslparis said:

Lovely photo !  I meant to ask our guide today what those flowers are.  They seem to be everywhere across large batches of the landscape.

Alaska lupines. They’ve proliferated in Iceland, to the joy of many and the consternation of others. (The plant is an invasive species.)

[vslparis]

13 minutes ago, DaveSJ711 said:

Alaska lupines. They’ve proliferated in Iceland, to the joy of many and the consternation of others. (The plant is an invasive species.)

Ok, that is why they look like bluebonnets ( which is also a lupine ) . I can see why they are known to be invasive. They seem to be everywhere. 

[Peregrina651]

44 minutes ago, bobchico said:

Restrictions lifted not tomorrow but July 1.  That's how I read it

 

Agreed. Domestic restrictions lifted tomorrow -- no masks, no limits on gatherings, etc.  Changes to the entry requirements on July 1 for those who are vaccinated or who have had Covid.

 

https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society/2021/06/25/domestic_restrictions_in_iceland_to_be_lifted_tomor/

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

6 hours ago, Doc who loves to travel said:

For Global Entry you need to update your passport information at the Trusted Traveler Website.  It is super easy.  https://ttp.cbp.dhs.gov

Thank you.  That WAS super easy, with great instructions.  Got my and my spouse's information updated, and also updated my driver's license info in case it was needed for anything.  

 

And Florida Flounder, thanks for the info on the situation with TSA Pre-check.  

 

I guess I'm all set now until I need to pre-register with Iceland, which comes later!  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

5 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

I had trouble getting the website to accept my new information. It said I had to make an appointment to come in to have it done. As the closest office was three hours away, I called and a great CBP agent at the Charlotte airport told me to email her the new information and within an hour my new passport information was updated. 
 

Hope you won’t have the same issue but I know someone else on our rollcall did and was also able to resolve it over the phone rather than via an appointment. 

Wow.  No trouble for me, but thanks for the heads up.

[Queenie1603]

5 hours ago, jeremybe said:

 

We're on the July 17 cruise, our own air - We have received absolutely nothing from Viking, other than the initial email confirmation from our booking- Are we missing something? Should we have received something?

 

Thanks!

Hi Jeremybe -  I would be guided by our fellow posters across the pond. I live in the UK and booked directly with Viking -  so things may be different depending on where you live and how you booked the cruise.  I hope you have a fab cruise.  We will be looking forward to hearing from the experience of all those who get to Iceland before us.  Bon Voyage. And, as they say in Iceland, Bless 

[AKexplorer]

8 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I'll try to contact the official U.S. government agency about this question, and/or post in another section of Cruise Critic.  But just in case  someone knows the answer to this question here,  I'll give it a shot.  We recently renewed our U.S. passports.  I was wondering if Global Entry and TSA pre-check information electronically transfers to the new passports or if we have to do something to make that happen.  Would anybody happen to know?  Thanks.

It does not magically happen. You have to login into your account and update the passport information. My wife's passport stop scanning electronically which was a pain. We got here a new passport - but then had to update the information in order for things to work correctly.

[bardstowntraveller]

7 hours ago, jeremybe said:

 

We're on the July 17 cruise, our own air - We have received absolutely nothing from Viking, other than the initial email confirmation from our booking- Are we missing something? Should we have received something?

 

Thanks!

If you booked with a TA you might want to check with them. We are on the 8/3 sailing and received our luggage tags and transfer stickers today

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

This post is for adventurous people.  If you're looking for a way to get to center city Reykjavik from the cruise port, there may be shuttles, but I certainly wouldn't count on it on an embarkation/disembarkation day.  There also may be taxis. If there turns out to be othing, and you haven't pre-arranged something, you could try the local Straeto bus (straeto.is).   However, I've been told the #16 doesn't run on weekends, which is apparently when Sky is in Reykjavik, so check schedules and dates.  We board Jupiter on a week day, so the bus is an option for us.  The bus stop is a 5-10 minute walk from where the ship will be moored for the "Welcome Back" cruises.  Make sure you're on the correct side of the street (going west to Hlemmur bus station) & that you either have Icelandic kroner (around equivalent of US $4) or have loaded the Straeto app and purchased (credit card)/activated a ticket.  It's about 15-20 minutes from the port to Hlemmur, including the walk to the bus. Once at Hlemmer, you'll need to either transfer to another bus or walk to where you want to go (Hallgrimskirkja? Old Harbour? Harpa?)  Most things seem to be a 15 minute or less walk from there.

 

Once you're near either the Old Harbour (boat tours, hotdogs, etc.) or Harpa concert hall, you could take the little Elding ferry back to the port, or take it to the port, and then over/back to Videy Island, which is about a 5 minute trip by ferry from the port.  There's not a lot to see on Videy,  plus we'll see it from the ship and on the way out of the port, but it does look like a pretty place to visit.  Service starts around 10, and the ferry runs daily.  However, I don't know for sure:

1) If you can purchase a ticket if you board at Harpa or Old Harbour (but assume so!)

2) If you can walk easily between the ferry pier at Skarfabakki to Jupiter or Sky.  It doesn't look like a big deal, and Elding's website specifically says you can get off there, so you would certainly think so.  However, when I asked for directions by foot, I got a weird route.  It IS a commercial port after all, so who knows? Command Click or Control Click this link to Elding: Viðey Ferry from Skarfabakki | Elding - Whale watching

 

 

 

Edited June 25, 2021 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[Mitina]

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

... you could try the local Straeto bus (straeto.is).   However, I've been told the #16 doesn't run on weekends, which is apparently when Sky is in Reykjavik, so check schedules and dates. 

It's a longer walk to the another bus stop (15 minutes), but I think bus #12 could be an option for Saturday.

[FoggyEthan]

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

This post is for adventurous people. 

For the less adventurous 8-)... you can call a taxi. There are several city taxi companies that you can call for. A little advance research to find the phone number. But I'd be very surprised if there are no shuttles and no taxis and no one who can arrange one. But I guess you never know!

[jtwind]

9 hours ago, Dukefan said:

Domestic Restrictions in Iceland to Be Lifted Tomorrow  July 25, 2021

Vala Hafstað
 

All domestic COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted in Iceland, starting tomorrow, mbl.is reports. This was announced by the government of Iceland at a press conference, held at 11 am this morning. This will be the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that no domestic restrictions apply.

At the press conference, it was furthermore announced that beginning July 1, travelers who arrive in Iceland and are able to present valid certificates of prior COVID-19 infection or of COVID-19 vaccination with vaccines approved by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency and/or by the World Health Organization, will no longer be tested for the coronavirus at the border. Starting July 1, children born 2005 or later will no longer be tested for COVID-19 at the border.

Travelers who cannot present certificates of vaccination or prior infection will have to present negative results of a PCR test, be tested at the border, spend five days in quarantine, and then be tested a second time.

The new rules at the border will be in effect until August 15.

At present, about 87 percent of Icelanders, aged 16 and older, have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 60 percent are fully vaccinated.

At the press conference, Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir stated that Iceland is the first among Nordic countries to lift domestic restrictions, and possibly the first European state to do so. “Enjoy the summer, and thank you for this joint fight,” she added.

This means there will be no more mandatory use of masks, no social distancing rule, and no limits on the number of people allowed to gather. Fitness centers, swimming pools, stores, restaurants, night clubs and bars will be able to operate without restrictions.

Who put the date July 25, 2021 on this article?

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

25 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Who put the date July 25, 2021 on this article?

Yikes!! Didn't even notice that! Good catch!

[NeilP57]

3 hours ago, jtwind said:

Who put the date July 25, 2021 on this article?

Probably the same sub editor who put this thread title as “Iceland - 2022”

 

Some people can see into the future, others just let it happen.  

[philw1776]

Anyone else have this happen?
Making Restaurant reservations for 3 July sail, I filled out the form presented identifying daughters cabin as guests accompanying us.
Received the 50 page or so document from Viking and it only lists us as party of 2 each night.
Now apparently daughter has no dinner reservations for cruise.

[TayanaLorna]

20 hours ago, vslparis said:

Lovely photo !  I meant to ask our guide today what those flowers are.  They seem to be everywhere across large batches of the landscape.

I asked when we were there in 2018.  I seem to recall they were a kind of lupine.

[TayanaLorna]

11 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

Probably the same sub editor who put this thread title as “Iceland - 2022”

 

Some people can see into the future, others just let it happen.  

2022 was a typo that i missed proof reading - my bad.  I have asked CC to change it to no avail.

[DaveSJ711]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

I asked when we were there in 2018.  I seem to recall they were a kind of lupine.

See #2253.

[temerarious]

Can anyone tell me if Viking Ocean has bar soap or liquid hand soap in the cabin bathroom?  (I typically pack liquid soap because I can't stand the bar soap, but last time I was on Celebrity, they changed to a liquid soap dispenser -  I'm hoping Viking offers it as well...)  Thanks in advance for your reply.

[FLORIDA FLOUNDER]

9 minutes ago, temerarious said:

Can anyone tell me if Viking Ocean has bar soap or liquid hand soap in the cabin bathroom?  (I typically pack liquid soap because I can't stand the bar soap, but last time I was on Celebrity, they changed to a liquid soap dispenser -  I'm hoping Viking offers it as well...)  Thanks in advance for your reply.

They provide Freyja products and yup, liquid body wash.😊

Smells fabulous!!!!

[temerarious]

31 minutes ago, FLORIDA FLOUNDER said:

They provide Freyja products and yup, liquid body wash.😊

 

Thank you for your reply.  Sorry for additional post, but I just want to make sure I'm clear.  There is a liquid hand soap dispenser next to the bathroom SINK containing the body wash, correct?  (I just want to clarify that is not found solely in the shower.)

[minka34]

14 minutes ago, temerarious said:

liquid hand soap dispenser next to the bathroom SINK

We remember bar soap next to the sink and for the shower along with the body wash (in little bottle).

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, temerarious said:

Thank you for your reply.  Sorry for additional post, but I just want to make sure I'm clear.  There is a liquid hand soap dispenser next to the bathroom SINK containing the body wash, correct?  (I just want to clarify that is not found solely in the shower.)

There is a liquid soap called Body Wash but it is not in a pump dispenser on the counter or the wall.  It is in a tube you open.  You can get as many as you need.  Also shampoo, cream rinse and lotion in the same type tube bottle.