Need help deciding on cruise to Iceland & norway

[happygrammy100]

First timer. We are Hoping to see beautiful scenery in both Iceland & Norway in 2023. Princess has great itineraries to Iceland but I am afraid the ports in Norway (Bergen, flam, olden, alesund)do not include enough fjords. Thinking perhaps a Norway only cruise,then land tour in Iceland though this would likely break the bank. Thanks for your input. Also is it really worth it to spend more to go in June rather than May.

 

 

[hallasm]

While Bergen and Ålesund are coastal cities Flåm and Olden are located in the deep scenic fjords.

[kaisatsu]

Even on Norway-only cruises, more than two fjords isn’t terribly common. Cruises tend to prioritize the coastal cities because they are larger and have more variety, infrastructure, and attractions.

 

I would consider Flåm, Olden, Bergen, and Ålesund to be among my top picks for southern Norwegian ports. I do love Geiranger, but I wouldn’t hesitate at all to recommend that lineup.

[Capt_BJ]

 

NEW! Iceland & Norway’s Arctic Explorer

 

Edited October 1, 2022 by Capt_BJ

[CCJack]

11 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

Even on Norway-only cruises, more than two fjords isn’t terribly common. Cruises tend to prioritize the coastal cities because they are larger and have more variety, infrastructure, and attractions.

 

I would consider Flåm, Olden, Bergen, and Ålesund to be among my top picks for southern Norwegian ports. I do love Geiranger, but I wouldn’t hesitate at all to recommend that lineup.

I agree.   Fjords in Norway are very beautiful, but a couple of  Fjords is likely enough, if you are on a cruise.   The coastal cities like Bergen are very interesting in there own right for different reasons.  

 

I think your situation comes down to if you want to do 2 countries with one trip and and thus have fewer stops at each, or you want to just concentrate on one country.   I really enjoyed our Norway only cruise .    Also enjoyed our Iceland / Ireland cruise a couple years later.   I would give Norway the edge, however.  

[styme123]

1 hour ago, CCJack said:

I agree.   Fjords in Norway are very beautiful, but a couple of  Fjords is likely enough, if you are on a cruise.   The coastal cities like Bergen are very interesting in there own right for different reasons.  

 

I think your situation comes down to if you want to do 2 countries with one trip and and thus have fewer stops at each, or you want to just concentrate on one country.   I really enjoyed our Norway only cruise .    Also enjoyed our Iceland / Ireland cruise a couple years later.   I would give Norway the edge, however.  

Following along, I'm in the same boat as OP. I don't know much about Norway or Iceland and am a bit of a researcher so I'm not sure if this summer is too soon to get it figured out. I'm probably overthinking things. Did British Isles this summer with Princess and that was a lot of ports and planning.

[thehowlingroad]

Princess is one of the very few lines that will do 4 Iceland ports, instead of an overnight in Reykjavik. Flam and Olden are deep fjord ports, and that’s honestly more than you’ll get with most other itineraries. Quite frankly, the fjord ports are very small and there isn’t much to do, so you do need to balance it out with the coastal ports for a good mix of activities.

 

If you’re looking at the June 3rd Sky Princess sailing, I’d say go for it. We went on the 2022 edition this summer and did not regret a single moment.

 

Edited October 2, 2022 by thehowlingroad

[milolii]

.I have a deposit on this one.  Island Princess,  July 12, 2023.  I think it has one less sea day than the Sky Princess cruise. It visits Alesund  and Haugesund.   It also embarks in Copenhagen and disembarks in Southampton. That is a plus as you only pay the air fuel surcharge once when departing from London.  This may not be important to all folks but is to us as we are using miles one way.  Also plus to visit Copenhagen. 
 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=2312

 

Interested in thoughts. 

[Nitemare]

If I was recommending the best way to do Norway and Iceland to a friend I'd tell them to DRIVE Iceland.  10 days is an Awesome trip around the mainland, and to do a cruise to Norway up to the North Cape (and beyond if possible).  Iceland from a ship is not the real Iceland.  You don't get into the 'middle parts' and you are going to be sharing all the quiet places with a busload or even a minibusload of other folks. 

 

Iceland is so easy to drive and you have lots of opportunities to just be alone with your loved one(s) in complete solitude with nature.  You won't get that on a cruise unless you do a day car rental and you still won't see as much that way

[styme123]

10 hours ago, Nitemare said:

If I was recommending the best way to do Norway and Iceland to a friend I'd tell them to DRIVE Iceland.  10 days is an Awesome trip around the mainland, and to do a cruise to Norway up to the North Cape (and beyond if possible).  Iceland from a ship is not the real Iceland.  You don't get into the 'middle parts' and you are going to be sharing all the quiet places with a busload or even a minibusload of other folks. 

 

Iceland is so easy to drive and you have lots of opportunities to just be alone with your loved one(s) in complete solitude with nature.  You won't get that on a cruise unless you do a day car rental and you still won't see as much that way

If I were to do a land tour what's the best way to get started in the planning process?

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, styme123 said:

If I were to do a land tour what's the best way to get started in the planning process?

Planning depends on what and how.  How many days?  
A few days based in Reykjavik, a little longer with a few more nights in the north of Iceland or a week-long tour with overnight stays in cities along the route.

 It is possible with organized excursions from Reykjavik, but the best is to rent a car.  Book hotels and plan your days - lots of information on the internet.  Navigating Iceland is easy.  However, there are roads where not all rental cars are allowed to drive (Due to the accessibility of the road).  

When planning, it is also important to check accessibility of the roads.  Most roads are very fine, but on smaller roads you can only drive very slowly (or need a 4x4 wheel drive)  It is also quite expensive to rent cars in Iceland.
I have visited Iceland several times and have mostly only stayed at hotels in Reykjavik - a few times combined with a few days overnight stays in the north of Iceland.

As Norway in general Iceland is very expensive.

[kaisatsu]

13 hours ago, styme123 said:

If I were to do a land tour what's the best way to get started in the planning process?

Plan a route and find places to stay. We booked accommodations too late and ended up having to plan our route around where we stayed. Luckily there are a lot of small farms that offer AirBnB style lodging, but it’s better to book early.

 

The south coast is the most visited, and has a lot to see/do. We did plan a few days around activities (Into the Volcano, a glacier walk near Eyjafjallajökull, and a zodiac boat ride on Jökulsárlón). Then we drove part of the ring road and returned via the Kjölur route (our 4WD rental contract allowed this), ending with the Golden Circle and snorkeling at Silfra. The Blue Lagoon was our last stop to relax before flying out.

 

There are so many great places to visit, and the Golden Circle is well worth visiting (though much busier than the rest of the country). My favorite spot was Jökulsárlón (especially with the RIB boat tour), because it reminded me so much of Antarctica. Probably second for me was Hverir in the north, because I love volcanoes and it’s been years since I’ve visited someplace like Yellowstone with hot springs and boiling mud pits.

[Nitemare]

15 hours ago, styme123 said:

If I were to do a land tour what's the best way to get started in the planning process?

Above recommendations are great!  I'd go to the Iceland forum at TripAdvisor and check out topics with "Ring Road" in the title.

 

10 days is GREAT to do a circumnavigation of the country.  Most roads are good, it is easy to avoid the really bad ones.  Signs are in English, there aren't many roads, so it is hard to get lost.  Booking lodging 6-10 months in advance is advised as there aren't many options and things fill up.

 

Travel during May-September to (mostly) avoid winter weather issues.  There was a storm about a week ago that closed major roads for more than 24 hours, but those are rare outside of October-April

[styme123]

6 hours ago, Nitemare said:

Above recommendations are great!  I'd go to the Iceland forum at TripAdvisor and check out topics with "Ring Road" in the title.

 

I started looking on TripAdisor and watching YouTube videos also. Not sure how I feel about renting a car to get around though. I would maybe think about doing that if I was very familiar with everything. I would probably spend the extra money and do a multi day/week tour where you have a guide/driver.

 

 

[styme123]

8 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

Plan a route and find places to stay. We booked accommodations too late and ended up having to plan our route around where we stayed. Luckily there are a lot of small farms that offer AirBnB style lodging, but it’s better to book early.

 

The south coast is the most visited, and has a lot to see/do. We did plan a few days around activities (Into the Volcano, a glacier walk near Eyjafjallajökull, and a zodiac boat ride on Jökulsárlón). Then we drove part of the ring road and returned via the Kjölur route (our 4WD rental contract allowed this), ending with the Golden Circle and snorkeling at Silfra. The Blue Lagoon was our last stop to relax before flying out.

 

There are so many great places to visit, and the Golden Circle is well worth visiting (though much busier than the rest of the country). My favorite spot was Jökulsárlón (especially with the RIB boat tour), because it reminded me so much of Antarctica. Probably second for me was Hverir in the north, because I love volcanoes and it’s been years since I’ve visited someplace like Yellowstone with hot springs and boiling mud pits.

It sounds like once I start looking it'll be hard to pick which stops to go to.

[Nitemare]

On 10/4/2022 at 5:55 PM, styme123 said:

 

Private guides run about $1000/day and up in Iceland.  It really is easy to drive there.

[styme123]

8 hours ago, Nitemare said:

Private guides run about $1000/day and up in Iceland.  It really is easy to drive there.

Wow! That's pretty pricey!

[hallasm]

3 hours ago, styme123 said:

Wow! That's pretty pricey!

Welcome to Iceland - and it  will be ISK 145,000 in 'Islandsk króna'

[Nitemare]

13 hours ago, styme123 said:

Wow! That's pretty pricey!

As Hallasm said, other than drinking water and fresh air, everything is expensive in Iceland.   There are ways to save money on food.  We have spent over 30 days there and have never eaten lunch in a restaurant.  But guides are well trained and have solid vehicles and there is a cost to that.  And the price I quoted was pre-pandemic.  Could be more now.

 

You can get lots of help arranging a land trip on TripAdvisor.  Recommended itineraries are discussed daily over there.