Land of Midnight Sun or Iceland and Norway

[wblotner66]

I'm thinking I need to cancel my Baltic Cruise as it's likely St Petersburg will not be happening. Does anyone have a preference to the 2 cruises above. One spends a lot of time on Norway and one hits Norway but also goes to Iceland. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Well, you didn't say when your cruise is scheduled... If it's anytime soon then yeah...I don't think it will happen but I'm not sure that I would want to go even if it did.  With the strict rules in St. Petersburg that had been in place about absolutely not leaving your tour group/guide I can only imagine what the situation might be if an invasion actually takes place.

 

Just yesterday I was speaking with a friend who had done a cruise that included St. Petersburg.  The group was in a museum.  He leaned against a wall to relax for a moment.  The group moved away perhaps 45-50 feet...still in the same room and still "with the group" to any reasonable person.  A "security" person came over to him, told him to not lean on the wall.  My friend obliged and proceeded to move back towards the group.  From that point on, the security guy followed the group for the rest of the tour, keeping a close eye on my friend.  Needless to say...my friend started thinking all sorts of bad scenarios!

[Torfamm]

1 hour ago, wblotner66 said:

I'm thinking I need to cancel my Baltic Cruise as it's likely St Petersburg will not be happening. Does anyone have a preference to the 2 cruises above. One spends a lot of time on Norway and one hits Norway but also goes to Iceland. 

We did a 14 day to Norway and Iceland out of Southampton in 2019 and absolutely loved it. If you haven't been to either place, that would be my pick.

[wblotner66]

It's July 20th but I know Russian Borders are not even open to Americans today and that's before the Ukraine mess.

[wblotner66]

1 minute ago, Torfamm said:

We did a 14 day to Norway and Iceland out of Southampton in 2019 and absolutely loved it. If you haven't been to either place, that would be my pick.

was it mostly scenic or also places to see when you got off the boat?

[seachelt]

1 hour ago, wblotner66 said:

I'm thinking I need to cancel my Baltic Cruise as it's likely St Petersburg will not be happening. Does anyone have a preference to the 2 cruises above. One spends a lot of time on Norway and one hits Norway but also goes to Iceland. 

We are also thinking we need to cancel our Baltic cruise which is booked for May. Final payment coming up soon! For our alternative we have put a hold on the 16 day sailing on the Island Princess for Iceland and Greenland in August.

A lot of uncertainty these days!

Enjoy your cruise wherever you go.

[Torfamm]

1 minute ago, wblotner66 said:

was it mostly scenic or also places to see when you got off the boat?

We spent a lot of time off the ship and felt there was lots to do. I'd recommend any of our choices if you are visiting the same ports.

 

We had a walk through the old town and took the funicular up to the top of Mt. Floyen in Bergen, then hiked up to the top of Mt. Rundemanen from there.  We thought kayaking in the Naeroyfjord in Flam was the highlight of the trip and really enjoyed the "Fjords to Trolls" tour with Norway Excursions out of Alesund. We did just take a ride in a RIB boat in Geiranger, the scenery there is breathtaking.

 

In Iceland, we did that Golden Circle tour from Reykjavik with a company that I understand is no longer in business and took a walking tour through the town and hills above the town in Isafjordur. In Akureyri we took a Snæfellsnes Peninsula tour with Wild Westfjords, and booked a Goðafoss and Lake Mývatn Tour with Taxi No 17 in Akureyri.

[skynight]

Norway Fjords and the North Cape was memorable. Iceland is nice, but in my opinion not as nice as Norway.

[generichandle]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Norway Fjords and the North Cape was memorable. Iceland is nice, but in my opinion not as nice as Norway.

Norway is like Alaska without wildlife. Maybe slightly more beautiful landforms. We absolutely will do LOMS again. I loved Iceland too, but LOMS is stunning. Watch for elves when you pass 80 degree n. Yep, Santa is THAT close.

[marne-c]

3 hours ago, Torfamm said:

(snip)  In Akureyri we took a Snæfellsnes Peninsula tour with Wild Westfjords (snip)

How was your Snæfellsnes Peninsula tour?  We have a port stop in Grundarfjordur, and have an option to take one from there.

 

—Marne 

[Torfamm]

On 1/28/2022 at 3:30 PM, marne-c said:

How was your Snæfellsnes Peninsula tour?  We have a port stop in Grundarfjordur, and have an option to take one from there.

 

—Marne 

We really enjoyed the tour! I would highly recommend it