Ilulissat and Disko Bay, Greenland + Iceland?

[GeezerCouple]

We are very eager to get to Ilulissat and Disko Bay, Greenland, and would love to include Iceland.

We just saw a Hurtigruten cruise, the first I've noticed for a major cruise ship to get that far north (although I admit, I haven't been looking much since TheBeforeTimes).  Previously, what I had found were very small, basic people ferries, where most of the accommodations were large bunk rooms... not quite what we are looking for.  Also, food service looked very limited.  It obviously wasn't intended for "cruising", but for "transportation.  (Hurtigruten manages a nice combo, and we loved our Norwegian Coastal round trip, so we were delighted to see a Hurtigruten ship heading to Ilulissat... until we looked more carefully at the precise route.)

 

Unfortunately, although it departs and returns to Iceland, it spends the 2+ weeks with lots of stops along Greenland, before and after Ilulissat.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions, probably for 2024 or 2025, for a cruise that gets to Ilulissat and Disko Bay but also spends much/most of its time around Iceland?  Or even not much time there, but a shorter trip to Ilulissat, and we could do some land travel in Iceland.  What we don't want is 2 weeks up and down the Greenland coast, stopping very frequently.  With the Hurtigruten coastal cruises, they were also also genuine "transportation" ferries, so that was understandable.  But that's not the case with the Hurtigruten cruise that we saw; there were something like 3 or 4 in each of the summers, hardly a reliable transportation service!

 

Many thanks!

 

GC

[Doh15]

Not exactly what you are looking for but Viking has a Bergen to Reykjavik cruise where you can add on three nights in Illulissat (they fly you RT from Reykjavik, so you could add more time there if you wanted) 

[GeezerCouple]

On 3/7/2023 at 7:30 AM, Doh15 said:

Not exactly what you are looking for but Viking has a Bergen to Reykjavik cruise where you can add on three nights in Illulissat (they fly you RT from Reykjavik, so you could add more time there if you wanted) 

 

Thanks very much.

This is interesting.   Do you know what size plane they use to Ilulissat?

 

And this idea could probably work with any cruise that either begins or ends in Iceland (or RT, obviously).

Or is that only a charter for the cruise?  Given you mentioned adding more time if one wishes, it seems like it's not just a charter.

That opens up a lot of choices 🙂  depending upon the plane size, ahem. 😞 

And allowing an extra day or two, etc., would be nice in case of really bad weather or some other "happening" the one day one is in port.  (That's obviously a concern at most port stops, but this one is more out of the way than many.)

Thanks again!

GC

 

[Doh15]

Sorry I don’t know anything more about it— could maybe ask on the roll call for those cruises but I think they are new this year so May will be the first time anyone’s tried it.
 

A quick look on kayak shows Icelandair sells the route beginning at about $1000 rt (flying a dash-8 prop plane seating at least 40 or so)
 

When I mentioned adding more time “there” I meant Reykjavik— I think the Greenland extension is fixed but instead of flying right home you could stay in Iceland longer if you wanted. 

[bearette]

Doing a MSC for three weeks this summer to both places, you can check what they offer for 2024.

[GeezerCouple]

On 3/11/2023 at 12:08 AM, bearette said:

Doing a MSC for three weeks this summer to both places, you can check what they offer for 2024.

 

Thanks very much!

We'll look into that.

 

Other cruise suggestions are welcome; there's plenty of time for us to be considering this.

I looked into that small "people ferry" again, and we decided that if we could get one of the private cabins, it would be fine.  However... I then noticed:  NO internet.  DH still does some work on vacations, so that could be a problem for several days.  (I don't mind his working at all.  We agreed some years ago:  Better that he should do some work on vacations than not take vacations at all!  And I wonder how I would "do" with "no internet for days.  We've obviously gotten much too accustomed to the "modern" instant news/contact. 🤔 )

 

In case it matters, one of our key goals is to see the icebergs in Disko Bay.  We'll check with the authorities in Ilulissat about what the best month is likely to be, but any suggestions or experiences with the icebergs specifically would be helpful.

 

And all of the scenery should be terrific.  IF "iceberg season" happens *not* to be during the most daylight, that would be a bonus with a chance of Northern Lights.

(We "saw" them during a Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal cruise, but they were very faint, and they are especially faint to human eyes.  More chances would be great.)

 

Many thanks!

 

GC

[Doh15]

I think Quark does some expedition cruise to Greenland too

[willoL]

@GeezerCouple I'm headed to Greenland with Quark this July (first time doing an expedition cruise.) Their 15-day Essential Greenland itinerary (for 23/24 and 24/25 seasons) gets as far north as Disko Bay, and Ultramarine is supposed to be quite luxurious for an expedition vessel. I won't be able to say anything from personal experience until later this summer.

https://www.quarkexpeditions.com/expeditions/essential-greenland-southern-coasts-and-disko-bay

 

My booked Quark itinerary has us fly to/from Greenland on a charter flight from Iceland.

 

To get as far north as Disko Bay, I doubt you will find many trips that also spend significant time around Iceland, though. Expedition ships are geared toward letting the passengers off the ship to go ashore more often, so maybe Quark isn't what you seek?

 

The big cruise ships are certainly visiting Greenland more often, but down at the southern tip. Last August, we stopped in Qaqortoq and Nanortalik on a HAL ship after doing a complete circumnavigation of Iceland. It was definitely a good way to see MANY more parts of Iceland, however, than the usual tourist hot spots close to the capital and the major international airport.

 

Are you wanting to see something in particular that far north (Disko Bay), or just want to see some icebergs? Because, for me, I felt an instant need to return to Greenland because of even the ice I could see even at Qaqortoq and Nanortalik in the south! I woke up, saw ice through the gap in the curtains, and ran out in my robe the first day there. 😀 And, that was in August, so probably least ice of the year?

 

I can say, regarding connectivity, that my T-mobile phone provided some coverage--but not perfect--in both ports in Greenland when I was ashore. (Not every text went through immediately, but I could contact my teens.) In Iceland, cell phone data is no problem (anywhere I've been on several visits.) On our entire multi-week HAL voyage, round-trip from Boston, really the only weak internet area (again, with HAL offering their own onboard service) was cruising Prins Christian Sund. It was memorable as my eldest was required to enroll in college classes that day during a specific window of time! Mildly frustrating, but the student did complete the process on that sea day. My husband worked every day, though not in a "constantly online" way.

 

I also hope to reach Disko Bay someday because of a wonderful non-fiction book I read about a geology expedition there, so I get the impulse. But, from your initial question, it seems like *maybe* you would enjoy a trip that stayed further south and focused on Iceland? There are many more of those, I think, and they are somewhat less expensive.

The book is A Wilder Time by William E. Glassley, by the way. (His website: https://weglassley.com/)

 

My plan, at this point, is to take a land journey to Greenland someday to reach all the places I'm now keen about from my research for this upcoming trip. It's a compelling destination.

 

--willo

[GeezerCouple]

On 3/16/2023 at 1:49 PM, willoL said:

@GeezerCouple I'm headed to Greenland with Quark this July (first time doing an expedition cruise.) Their 15-day Essential Greenland itinerary (for 23/24 and 24/25 seasons) gets as far north as Disko Bay, and Ultramarine is supposed to be quite luxurious for an expedition vessel. I won't be able to say anything from personal experience until later this summer.

https://www.quarkexpeditions.com/expeditions/essential-greenland-southern-coasts-and-disko-bay

 

My booked Quark itinerary has us fly to/from Greenland on a charter flight from Iceland.

 

To get as far north as Disko Bay, I doubt you will find many trips that also spend significant time around Iceland, though. Expedition ships are geared toward letting the passengers off the ship to go ashore more often, so maybe Quark isn't what you seek?

 

The big cruise ships are certainly visiting Greenland more often, but down at the southern tip. Last August, we stopped in Qaqortoq and Nanortalik on a HAL ship after doing a complete circumnavigation of Iceland. It was definitely a good way to see MANY more parts of Iceland, however, than the usual tourist hot spots close to the capital and the major international airport.

 

Are you wanting to see something in particular that far north (Disko Bay), or just want to see some icebergs? Because, for me, I felt an instant need to return to Greenland because of even the ice I could see even at Qaqortoq and Nanortalik in the south! I woke up, saw ice through the gap in the curtains, and ran out in my robe the first day there. 😀 And, that was in August, so probably least ice of the year?

 

I can say, regarding connectivity, that my T-mobile phone provided some coverage--but not perfect--in both ports in Greenland when I was ashore. (Not every text went through immediately, but I could contact my teens.) In Iceland, cell phone data is no problem (anywhere I've been on several visits.) On our entire multi-week HAL voyage, round-trip from Boston, really the only weak internet area (again, with HAL offering their own onboard service) was cruising Prins Christian Sund. It was memorable as my eldest was required to enroll in college classes that day during a specific window of time! Mildly frustrating, but the student did complete the process on that sea day. My husband worked every day, though not in a "constantly online" way.

 

I also hope to reach Disko Bay someday because of a wonderful non-fiction book I read about a geology expedition there, so I get the impulse. But, from your initial question, it seems like *maybe* you would enjoy a trip that stayed further south and focused on Iceland? There are many more of those, I think, and they are somewhat less expensive.

The book is A Wilder Time by William E. Glassley, by the way. (His website: https://weglassley.com/)

 

My plan, at this point, is to take a land journey to Greenland someday to reach all the places I'm now keen about from my research for this upcoming trip. It's a compelling destination.

 

--willo

 

Thanks so much for your post.

And thanks for the book recommendation.  I'll take a look at it!

 

Yes, we want to see ICEBERGS! 🙂

Flying might make sense as we could stay for a couple of days, but... I'm not a fan of small planes.

 

And I'm not sure that the Quark cruises are a good match for us these days, or certainly not for me anymore.  (Life happens...)

 

Yes, we'd love to see Iceland, too, but "The Icebergs" appeal to us totally separately.

 

Please do report back after your cruise!  Many thanks in advance!

(or post a nice iceberg photo while there? 😉 )

 

GC

[Nitemare]

So you know, there are icebergs at Jokulsarlon in Iceberg.  Easily reached on a 2 day tour from Reykjavik (it's about a 7 hour drive, one way) if you ever chose a land vacation in Iceland.

[GeezerCouple]

16 minutes ago, Nitemare said:

So you know, there are icebergs at Jokulsarlon in Iceberg.  Easily reached on a 2 day tour from Reykjavik (it's about a 7 hour drive, one way) if you ever chose a land vacation in Iceland.

 

Thanks.  Didn't know about those.

 

But are they of the same size as those in Disko Bay?
The photos that I found (without a detailed search) didn't seem to show similar massive icebergs.  But that could just be the photography.

 

GC

[Nitemare]

1 minute ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Thanks.  Didn't know about those.

 

But are they of the same size as those in Disko Bay?
The photos that I found (without a detailed search) didn't seem to show similar massive icebergs.  But that could just be the photography.

 

GC

They are not.  More "house sized" than "city block" sized.  But you can get right up close to them in a kayak or zodiac or amphibious boat, and there is a black sand beach (look up Diamond Beach) across the street (5 minute walk) where they get beached so you can get incredible pictures of them

 

 

[hbbae]

You might also wish to look at the Air Greenland website (I don’t think its fleet is only small planes).  A decade ago I added on (separately) a brief trip to Illulissat after completing a land tour in Iceland.  The Air Greenland website has information about Disko Bay tour options that can be arranged through them.  So you could break up this tour planning into two separate parts - an Iceland cruise of whatever type that appeals, and then afterwards fly to Illulissat and pursue a Disko Bay experience of whatever length you wish.  A TA can help with this.  I really enjoyed Illulissat, especially the all-day cruise to Eqi Glacier - and all of the “structure” around that experience was provided through Air Greenland, I was happy with how all this worked out, it was seamless.

[donaldsc]

Quark..https://www.quarkexpeditions.com/expeditions/gems-of-west-greenland-fjords-icebergs-and-culture#departures.

 

DON