LIVE from "Iceland's Natural Beauty" -- All Sailings, 2021

[Heartgrove]

4 hours ago, Conrmom said:

Hi, long time reader, first time poster here.  Thank you all very much for your helpful posts. I am wondering if you would comment on packing for this trip. Anything you took but didn’t really need? Anything you didn’t take but wish you had? Thanks in advance.

We had taken winter hats and gloves which we never used. We also came prepared with rain pants that also went unused. A rainjacket though is handy. My Patagonia rainjacket actually insulated so well that I didn't use my medium weight jacket. I also brought a fleece vest that never was used. I probably could have saved about 5-6 pounds in my suitcase.

[NeilP57]

4 hours ago, peribit said:

Thanks for posting.  How about entry to Iceland?  Did you encounter any problem at the boarder with the video-supervised antigen test?

No problems at all. We arrived on July 31 with our negative supervised antigen certificate and entry was easy. 

[NeilP57]

4 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Haven't cruised yet.  However, I don't think you'll need anything to block any light leakage at night.  From what I've seen on webcams recently, it is actually getting pitch black at night in Iceland!

Keep an eye on times though. 
 

Sunset tonight is circa 10:30 and sunrise 4:30. So it will get dark (ish) as we move into August but maybe an issue for some  We have a little light seepage at the bottom of the blackout blind but it is no issue at all for us. 

[NeilP57]

Live from Sky. 
 

Dinner in the restaurant last night, just walked in when it suited us. It would have been good of Viking to let people know this was the situation as our MDR reservations were still showing in the calendar on the tv screen. 
 

Food and serving staff was as excellent as we remember from previous VO cruises. 
 

We were seated on a 2 top in between two other 2 top tables. It felt a little uncomfortable but we will probably get use to it. As a result we probably did not engage in as much conversation with our neighbours as normal  Again, that will likely change as the week passes. 
 

The dress code was displayed on the desk and I did see one gentleman being spoken to about wearing jeans. 
 

I have some really good quality smart dark denim jeans that I enjoy wearing with a shirt and jacket but these are left at home.  So when I am seated next a gentleman wearing a baseball cap at dinner I do find it all difficult to accept. This is probably just me being British though. 
 

After dinner went for a walk and walked through the World Cafe and  we said we wished we had dinner in the WC. Which we have never done before, breakfast and lunch yes, but never dinner. Again maybe a British thing but I like my dinner served. 
 

The reason we said we would rather have had dinner in the WC is that it was more spacious and you chose where to sit. On the first night in Reykjavik, you either look out over the car park at the dock or over water to a beautiful vista. We had dinner overlooking the car park whereas we could have chosen a table overlooking the water. We know the food, wine and staff are all excellent so we will likely give it a go during this trip. 
 

I think it may be the seafood buffet that I have heard mentioned on CC tonight, so tonight could be when we try it. 
 

Early start on day 2, a 7:30 meet for an 8:00 departure on the Golden Circle tour. For some reason we were moved from the 8:30 to the 8:00. So early morning breakfast tray ordered for the room and if we have enough time the plan is to visit Mamsens for some wonderful fruit and yoghurt as well as they open early (6:30) as well as the WC. 
 

Really looking forward to the Golden Circle tour, we were in Iceland on a two week self drive trip 13 years ago and obviously did the GC sights but all are worthwhile revisiting after such a time and even better when somebody else does the driving. I wonder how busy the excursion buses will be? 
 

Will let you know later. TTFN
 

 

[Jay23]

17 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

I seem to recall a chat feature on the Covid.is site when we registered a few days ago. You could always ask the Icelandic authorities if you can’t get an answer here. 
 

Personally even if somebody on this site suggests it is accepted, if there is any doubt I would prefer to get a definitive response from the Icelandic authorities before commencing my flights. 
 

 

Did you find and fill out a Registration Form as we discussed a week ago?  If so where was this "form".     We have found out where we can get an Antigen test very close to our home.  J

[peribit]

10 hours ago, IheartNYC said:

Peribit, no issues with Delta at all. They did check it twice as I mentioned before, once before they let us into the line for baggage drop and also on the actual counter where we dropped off our luggage. Covid test wasn't even checked when we arrived in Iceland, only our bar code was scanned and also the passport was checked

This is good to know.  Thanks for the update.

[IheartNYC]

18 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

I seem to recall a chat feature on the Covid.is site when we registered a few days ago. You could always ask the Icelandic authorities if you can’t get an answer here. 
 

Personally even if somebody on this site suggests it is accepted, if there is any doubt I would prefer to get a definitive response from the Icelandic authorities before commencing my flights. 
 

 

We tried calling them twice to no avail- we were directed to go to the Iceland covid website for guidelines. I did not submit any formal questions by email but we did try to call 2 separate times but couldn't reach anyone. That being said, my fiance was okay because he had time to schedule and get a pcr test from an urgent care facility but I was the one with a problematic schedule because I was working very long hours the last 72 hours prior to our flight. That is why I took the Ellume home test kit and figured, worst case scenario, I would just pay to have it done at the airport if video supervised home test was not acceptable. Didn't have any issues with it and no one questioned it at all so that was a relief.

[peribit]

6 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

No problems at all. We arrived on July 31 with our negative supervised antigen certificate and entry was easy. 

Which test did you use in the U.K.?

[IheartNYC]

19 hours ago, jayray said:

Back to the question on PCR vs Antigen tests. Does anyone know whether or not Delta is accepting the antigen test prior to boarding for KEF?

 

Thanks...

Jayray, my covid antigen home test with video supervision was accepted by Delta. Didn't have any issues with it at all. I just printed the pdf copy of the results. 

[IheartNYC]

Just now, IheartNYC said:

Jayray, my covid antigen home test with video supervision was accepted by Delta. Didn't have any issues with it at all. I just printed the pdf copy of the results. 

I flew JFK-KEF and was asked twice by Delta to present our documents (passports, negative covid test, covid vaccination card and Iceland barcode.) One before we got in line for the baggage drop and the second time was at the actual Delta counter where we dropped off our luggage. After security screening, we only presented our boarding pass at the gate. They made an overhead announcement at the gate that people who were getting on the plane from a connecting flight needs to present all documents for them to check

[IheartNYC]

Viking Sky, July 31st

 

I need to correct myself. I looked at the Dining schedule for Chef's Table and here is what Is scheduled on TV. We had dinner there last night so it was the British menu for July 31st.

 

July 31 (Saturday)- Karen Burns/British menu

August 1 (Sunday)- Karen Burns/ British menu 

August 2 (Monday)- Xiang

August 3 (Tuesday)- Xiang 

August 4 (Wednesday)- Xiang 

August 5 (Thursday)- California cuisine

August 6 (Friday)- California cuisine

August 7 (Sat)-Karen Burns/British menu 

[susanlik]

6 hours ago, NeilP57 said:

Live from Sky. 
 

Dinner in the restaurant last night, just walked in when it suited us. It would have been good of Viking to let people know this was the situation as our MDR reservations were still showing in the calendar on the tv screen. 
 

Food and serving staff was as excellent as we remember from previous VO cruises. 
 

We were seated on a 2 top in between two other 2 top tables. It felt a little uncomfortable but we will probably get use to it. As a result we probably did not engage in as much conversation with our neighbours as normal  Again, that will likely change as the week passes. 
 

The dress code was displayed on the desk and I did see one gentleman being spoken to about wearing jeans. 
 

I have some really good quality smart dark denim jeans that I enjoy wearing with a shirt and jacket but these are left at home.  So when I am seated next a gentleman wearing a baseball cap at dinner I do find it all difficult to accept. This is probably just me being British though. 
 

After dinner went for a walk and walked through the World Cafe and  we said we wished we had dinner in the WC. Which we have never done before, breakfast and lunch yes, but never dinner. Again maybe a British thing but I like my dinner served. 
 

The reason we said we would rather have had dinner in the WC is that it was more spacious and you chose where to sit. On the first night in Reykjavik, you either look out over the car park at the dock or over water to a beautiful vista. We had dinner overlooking the car park whereas we could have chosen a table overlooking the water. We know the food, wine and staff are all excellent so we will likely give it a go during this trip. 
 

I think it may be the seafood buffet that I have heard mentioned on CC tonight, so tonight could be when we try it. 
 

Early start on day 2, a 7:30 meet for an 8:00 departure on the Golden Circle tour. For some reason we were moved from the 8:30 to the 8:00. So early morning breakfast tray ordered for the room and if we have enough time the plan is to visit Mamsens for some wonderful fruit and yoghurt as well as they open early (6:30) as well as the WC. 
 

Really looking forward to the Golden Circle tour, we were in Iceland on a two week self drive trip 13 years ago and obviously did the GC sights but all are worthwhile revisiting after such a time and even better when somebody else does the driving. I wonder how busy the excursion buses will be? 
 

Will let you know later. TTFN
 

 

Thanks for great info

Looking to forward to hearing about hoe social distancing is handled t

On your golden circle as we are considering a small tour instead

[bardstowntraveller]

We currently have scheduled the Seydisfjordor on foot and the Heimey on foot excursions and am wondering if we will miss much if we do these ports on our own. Can anyone provide feedback?

[NeilP57]

1 hour ago, peribit said:

Which test did you use in the U.K.?

Breath Assured via the British Airways Covid page

[NeilP57]

2 hours ago, Jay23 said:

Did you find and fill out a Registration Form as we discussed a week ago?  If so where was this "form".     We have found out where we can get an Antigen test very close to our home.  J

Yes it’s the Iceland Pre registration form on the Covid.is website. Perhaps someone will post a link as I am currently away from the ship working from my phone. 

[NeilP57]

1 hour ago, susanlik said:

Thanks for great info

Looking to forward to hearing about hoe social distancing is handled t

On your golden circle as we are considering a small tour instead

Live from Sky (or more accurately 2/3 around the Golden Circle)

 

Coach was about 2/3 full. 100% compliance with mask wearing on the coach. 
 

Off the bus, some carried on wearing masks. However we chose to take ours off unless we were close to others. The new quiet vox had good range and you could easily dawdle at the back and hear the guide. 
 

Lunch tables were organised by Viking and we shared a table for 4 with somebody sitting nearby on the coach. 
 

Will post overall perspective on tour when we get back to Viking Sky. 
 

 

[C-sea]

Good Day,

We are boarding "Jupiter"  August 24th

Looking to make final decision about excursions we have currently booked.

We would love to take these tours in pre covid times but... 

If there is not socially distanced bus seats and people are not masked on buses, this will be problematic for us. 

 Please advice if you've had recent personal experience with any of these Viking sponsored excursions... particularly, if you felt more covid compromised by taking the tour.

Iceland on Horseback

Dynjandi Waterfalls

Northern Iceland"s Natural Treasures

Vok Baths

Beluga Whale Center & Bay by Boat (did you encounter Beluga whales in a natural environment, is there currently a boat portion to this tour?)

Thank you

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

1 hour ago, bardstowntraveller said:

We currently have scheduled the Seydisfjordor on foot and the Heimey on foot excursions and am wondering if we will miss much if we do these ports on our own. Can anyone provide feedback?

I'm thinking the Seydi walking tour is mostly to and through the rainbow street (mybe with time to stop at a few places, or some free time to wander) to the Seydisfjardur (?) church ("Blue Church").  But I'd love to hear more from others.  And I would like to hear if you're taken into the blue church on the excursion.  (I read that it's not always open.)  The walk from the port is a little tiny bit tricky but with a map I'm thinking it will be no problem for me, and that it will take 10-15 minutes top from the pier to  the start of the rainbow street.  And since we're there late, I think I'll have some spare time with little pressure to get back by a certain time.  I love that situation. 

 

And the Heimaey tour I believe spends time in the Eldheimer Museum (equivalent of around $21 admission) which is maybe the same amount of time from the tender spot. I DO know, or at least have read, that the hike up to Eldfell Mountain is fairly easy to find on your own (off Kirkjuvegur, which is a main street on east side of town).

 

Of course the guides always tell you a lot more info but if you're less interested in details, and more into wandering/photographing/exploring, I would think you could see a lot on your own, with a map.  But I haven't been to either place yet, so just take this info as personal opinion based on what I've read. Hopefully others will post more, based on actually taking the excursions.

[Ellistravels]

We sail Aug 24 on Jupiter and being a person who always has a contingency plan in place while traveling … I must ask if anyone knows what happened to passengers who might not have passed the “return home covid test” onboard and were required to remain in Iceland for some period of time before they could return home.  Thank you to all who are taking time to post on this site.  Your info is invaluable!

[jayray]

Does anyone know if you're allowed to go ashore in Reykjavik to see the sights after you first board the ship?

[NeilP57]

4 minutes ago, jayray said:

Does anyone know if you're allowed to go ashore in Reykjavik to see the sights after you first board the ship?

The current situation is that yes you can, although Viking have said they reserve the right to change that in the future. 
 

 Most people check in at the concert hall in Reykjavik and you can also stay in the city and there are shuttles running all day 1 between the city and the ship. The shuttle ran every 30 minutes from noon and the last shuttle bus returned to the ship at 9pm. 

[jayray]

6 minutes ago, NeilP57 said:

The current situation is that yes you can, although Viking have said they reserve the right to change that in the future. 
 

 Most people check in at the concert hall in Reykjavik and you can also stay in the city and there are shuttles running all day 1 between the city and the ship. The shuttle ran every 30 minutes from noon and the last shuttle bus returned to the ship at 9pm. 

Thanks!!!

[Chilicatx]

How are they handling solo travelers in the restaurants? Or in other places? 
I’m traveling solo on the august 28th sailing

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

2 hours ago, Ellistravels said:

We sail Aug 24 on Jupiter and being a person who always has a contingency plan in place while traveling … I must ask if anyone knows what happened to passengers who might not have passed the “return home covid test” onboard and were required to remain in Iceland for some period of time before they could return home.  Thank you to all who are taking time to post on this site.  Your info is invaluable!

Here's what Iceland says about the subject:  https://www.covid.is/categories/how-does-quarantine-work

I've read of a few Viking passengers having to stay in Iceland for brief periods (overnight or one or two days) after testing positive. But I haven't heard of lengthy stays.  

[LindaS272]

14 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Here's what Iceland says about the subject:  https://www.covid.is/categories/how-does-quarantine-work

I've read of a few Viking passengers having to stay in Iceland for brief periods (overnight or one or two days) after testing positive. But I haven't heard of lengthy stays.  

You won’t be able to fly home until you test negative.