Iceland cruise on Viking

[rmalbers]

7 hours ago, BRWolf said:

We missed Heimaey today.  Seas were too rough to tender in. So keep in mind that tender ports may be missed. Captain is heading directly to Reykjavik. We will berth whenever we can, but we should be there well before those with early flights need to disembark for the airport and start home.

 

Until today we had wonderful weather and great experiences each day.  Everyone is taking the sea day very well.  The cruise director and crew did a good job.

 

BTW, there were many birds at Vigur Island and a couple seals in the water. Very nice experience.

That's to bad. That is fairly protected there so the wind must of been just wrong for it.  Great excuse for a do over.

[BluebonnetTexan]

14 hours ago, rmalbers said:

That's to bad. That is fairly protected there so the wind must of been just wrong for it.  Great excuse for a do over.

Except it isn’t protected where the ship has to station itself and the tenders operate in open water. Once the tenders get into the harbor, yes, it’s more protected, but big ships can’t get in. 

[rmalbers]

25 minutes ago, BluebonnetTexan said:

Except it isn’t protected where the ship has to station itself and the tenders operate in open water. Once the tenders get into the harbor, yes, it’s more protected, but big ships can’t get in. 

Where we anchored and tendered from it was very well protected from all sides except one but that's all it takes if that's the direction the wind is from.  I was on VO Saturn.

[rmalbers]

Anchor position  from the top of the volcano.  I really like this picture.  I got lucky on the weather.  The view is great in all directions.

Edited July 13 by rmalbers

[CCWineLover]

3 hours ago, rmalbers said:

Anchor position  from the top of the volcano.  I really like this picture.  I got lucky on the weather.  The view is great in all directions.

Fantastic shot!

I remember that cave near the ship's anchor point, which was only accessible by smaller boat.  Beautiful place for sure!

[JeffElizabeth]

We were in Iceland last year in both July and August.  Most of the popular destinations were horribly overcrowded.  Loved that we had lots of smaller ports on our tour. 

[miami mama]

Was also on the cruise with BRWolf. Sorry to have missed Heimaey but after such an active cruise schedule, it really was nice to relax most of the day. We did both Vigur and Skalanes and they are somewhat repetitive. All the lupines on the way out to Skalanes (and there also) were really nice but we did four days of driving the south coast before the cruise and saw an incredible number of fields of lupines. The arctic tern area was larger (and therefore more exicting) at Vigur and there more puffins that could easily be seen. The presentation at Vigur was very comprehensive. If you can only do one, I would recommend Vigur. Of course at Skalanes you will hear a little bit about the research there and the bird observation area is nice with the cliffs. I would definitely make sure to sign up for at least one of these excursions. Almost anything you may do in Iceland will be incredible. 

[Pete B]

On 7/11/2024 at 7:27 PM, duquephart said:

 

Go to Messinn for dinner one night. Get the wolffish pan. You can thank me later.

I`ll second that. It`s a great restaurant.

[hh11302]

Was also on th 7/6 cruise.  We did one day on our own before the cruise in Reykjavik and 2 after on the South Coast.  We have cruised many times but this was our first time on Viking.   We thought it was wonderful and found the scenery to be amazing at every stop.  I think if the itinerary wasn't so jam packed, we would have missed some of the entertainment options they have on the larger cruise lines.

 

We often took two tours per day, the included one and another.  We had two independent tours booked and neither worked out.  The tour we booked in Seydisfjordur didn't get enough people signed up and was cancelled a week before the cruise.  The tour we booked in Heimay was missed as we skipped that port.  So far, no luck on getting a refund on that one.  

 

Favorite tours:

Eystri's Scenic Beauty tour.  This was the best tour for puffins.  There are so many and they are very close.  We also enjoyed Vigur island. Vigur was sold out on the day I could first sign up for excursions, but I kept checking and eventually got in.   Northern Iceland's Natural Treasures tour was amazing as well.  I was worried about the all day tours with long bus rides, but the days went quick and the scenery was amazing.

 

The other tours we did were pretty good.  The only one I didn't like very much was an included tour, Cultural sights of Djupivogur.  There isn't much to see and the walking was a bit more strenous than expected.  There also wasn't much to see on the Nature of Djupivogur tour but a former mayor was our guide and he was interesting, probably not worth $119 each though.

 

The glacier lagoon tour seems to be very popular and was sold out before we could sign up for excursions (I was in the last group to get to sign up).  

 

Have a great time!  It is a wonderful itinerary.

 

 

 

[Twitchly]

I wonder why Viking doesn’t include the southern shore in their itinerary? We drove it a few years ago, and it was spectacular. Maybe the seas are too rough there? They were a bit wild during our visit.

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

50 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

I wonder why Viking doesn’t include the southern shore in their itinerary? We drove it a few years ago, and it was spectacular. Maybe the seas are too rough there? They were a bit wild during our visit.

 

They actually do. When we booked Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes, we found out from the Viking rep that our first choice of Bergen to Reykjavik was going the southern route and this was not reflected on the web page. The map only shows the Northern route, but if you drill down to the itinerary for each sailing, you’ll see there are two different routes. We decided to take the northern route sailing that leaves Reykjavik the same day as the southern one leaves Bergen.

 

Southern Route: 

Edited July 18 by OneSixtyToOne

[Twitchly]

12 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

They actually do. When we booked Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes, we found out from the Viking rep that our first choice of Bergen to Reykjavik was going the southern route and this was not reflected on the web page. The map only shows the Northern route, but if you drill down to the itinerary for each sailing, you’ll see there are two different routes.

Thanks for posting that. It’s interesting that they stop a couple of places on the east coast and at an island off the southern coast, but nowhere else along the south. Maybe they offer excursions from those spots that would take you to the glacier lagoon or black beach, both very worth seeing.

[OneSixtyToOne]

11 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

Thanks for posting that. It’s interesting that they stop a couple of places on the east coast and at an island off the southern coast, but nowhere else along the south. Maybe they offer excursions from those spots that would take you to the glacier lagoon or black beach, both very worth seeing.

We are doing a Viking southern coast excursion from Reykjavik. It’s an all day trip.

From MVJ:

 

Rugged Landscapes, Waterfalls and Geologic Museum

Discover the majestic beauty of Iceland’s remote south coast.

Embark your motor coach for a scenic ride along the rugged coastline, passing a panorama of looming mountains, glaciers and lava fields. Head along the Hellisheidi mountain road and through the charming villages that dot Iceland’s rich farmland region. Stop and marvel at Seljalandsfoss, a towering waterfall fed by the famous glacier-capped Eyjafjallajökull volcano. Enjoy lunch, then continue to the Skógafoss waterfall; depending on the weather, you may be able to see a single or double rainbow encircling the cascade. At Reynisfjara, explore and photograph the mesmerizing black-sand beach and basalt sea stacks that tower above the waves offshore. At the Lava Center, examine exhibits on Iceland’s geology and geothermic activity before returning to your ship.

 

Edited July 18 by OneSixtyToOne

[FoggyEthan]

When I sailed to Iceland in 2021, we booked a private tour with Arctic Shorex / Wild Westfjords. From Seyðisfjörður we went up to the big long lake in the highlands Lagarfljót. It was nice, with a few stops along the way. If you're interested in a custom plan, you might try working with them. There's also a hot spring up there as well that people enjoyed, available as a Viking tour.

 

 

[deec]

Edited July 19 by deec

[deec]

We do the whole island of Island next year

[janetcbl]

16 minutes ago, deec said:

We did this trip recently and it was excellent! We missed four ports (got a voucher as compensation and the captain added an extra stop) and it is one of our favorites. A real immersion into Scandinavia, lots of good speakers, excursions, and the usual excellent Viking experience. Recommend it highly if you have the time.

[SJD117]

22 minutes ago, deec said:

We do the whole island of Island next year

I’ve driven the Ring Road around Iceland twice. I’d do it a hundred times if I could! The scenery is some of the best on the planet.

 

You’ll have a great trip.

[Twitchly]

8 hours ago, SJD117 said:

I’ve driven the Ring Road around Iceland twice. I’d do it a hundred times if I could! The scenery is some of the best on the planet.

That’s what I’d love to do! I enjoy cruising, but wow, what a drive.