Almost Live Viking Venus - Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes - August 7-19, 2024

[OneSixtyToOne]

Day 1 - “That’s no moon!”

 

A very inauspicious start to our latest journey. We’re sitting in the Delta terminal at LAX waiting for a plane to arrive. It’s late, there’s been an equipment change, our seat assignments are invalid, and we have to wait until an hour before departure for a valid boarding pass and seats.

The flight before us is having the same issues. People are complaining that the computer is going to assign a seat when you start boarding. This is a mess.

 

After recent problems with Delta’s computer systems meltdown, visions of the Death Star and “I have a bad feeling about this” crossed my mind. 
 

I’ll post an update later. 

[SantaFe1]

9 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Day 1 - “That’s no moon!”

 

A very inauspicious start to our latest journey. We’re sitting in the Delta terminal at LAX waiting for a plane to arrive. It’s late, there’s been an equipment change, our seat assignments are invalid, and we have to wait until an hour before departure for a valid boarding pass and seats.

The flight before us is having the same issues. People are complaining that the computer is going to assign a seat when you start boarding. This is a mess.

 

After recent problems with Delta’s computer systems meltdown, visions of the Death Star and “I have a bad feeling about this” crossed my mind. 
 

I’ll post an update later. 

So sorry to hear this.  But looking forward to happier reports later.  

[FetaCheese]

@OneSixtyToOne

Thank you again, for doing a "Live From".  Looking forward to reading your posts and impressions.

  

[CCWineLover]

Oh no Joe.  Fingers crossed that you make it to Reykjavik OK.  Sending some good karma.

Enjoy the wonderful city - one of our favorites in the world.

 

I'm looking forward to your reports through the voyage, as we did this itinerary last year on Saturn.  Venus is a fine ship as well.

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

This is a mess.

Airline schedules can surely get screwed up. Unfortunate part is that we're all at their mercy when it happens. Hope things go better for you very soon! Looking forward to cruising along with you....🙂  DW and I would have been on the inaugural sailing of the Venus for the planned "Chairman's cruise" back in '21, but then it got canceled due to covid. Later it was rescheduled on the Mars - so the "Sky Survivors" were the first to sail on that ship.

[OneSixtyToOne]

Day 1 - Continued 

“If you can make it there you’ll make it anywhere”

 

We made it to NYC!

 

We’re currently sitting on the tarmac waiting for a gate to deplane. Hopefully everything runs smoothly from here on. 

 

I’m keeping this positive and forward looking, so that I’ll post a separate thread after we return home. Needless to say, there is more going on at Delta than meets the eye.

 

Tomorrow we arrive for the pre-extension in Reykjavik. 

See you on the other side.

[SantaFe1]

1 minute ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Needless to say, there is more going on at Delta than meets the eye.

Hate to hear this as we have several Delta flights in the next several months, including one in and out of LA.  But safe final travels. Can’t wait to follow you on one of our favorite cruises!

[SailorPaulH]

We just anchored at Isafjordur on Venus. High winds and choppy water canceled the sea based excursions so our Vigur Island excursion was canceled. We have seen Isafjordur before so we are going to have a lazy port day. This is a great trip, we had a couple of hiccups along the way to add to the adventure. Our Oslo to Bergen train broke down for 2 hours and then our 4x4 truck-bus got stuck in a ditch leaving Skalanes and another bus had to pull us out. The only negative we experienced is that in my estimate about 20% of the passengers have come down with hacking coughs and colds - it's not surprising considering the lack of of basic common sense or courtesy I saw among some passengers on the early days. We have been fortunate thus far. Be proactive and look after yourself.

Edited August 5 by SailorPaulH

[May B]

5 hours ago, SailorPaulH said:

We just anchored at Isafjordur on Venus. High winds and choppy water canceled the sea based excursions so our Vigur Island excursion was canceled. We have seen Isafjordur before so we are going to have a lazy port day. This is a great trip, we had a couple of hiccups along the way to add to the adventure. Our Oslo to Bergen train broke down for 2 hours and then our 4x4 truck-bus got stuck in a ditch leaving Skalanes and another bus had to pull us out. The only negative we experienced is that in my estimate about 20% of the passengers have come down with hacking coughs and colds - it's not surprising considering the lack of of basic common sense or courtesy I saw among some passengers on the early days. We have been fortunate thus far. Be proactive and look after yourself.

Wow, dramatic! Good luck staying healthy.

[May B]

@OneSixtyToOne Bon voyage! Loved the NYC song quote. I think I’m safe to say we are all hoping the rest of your trip will proceed smoothly. 

[OneSixtyToOne]

9 hours ago, SailorPaulH said:

We just anchored at Isafjordur on Venus. High winds and choppy water canceled the sea based excursions so our Vigur Island excursion was canceled. We have seen Isafjordur before so we are going to have a lazy port day. This is a great trip, we had a couple of hiccups along the way to add to the adventure. Our Oslo to Bergen train broke down for 2 hours and then our 4x4 truck-bus got stuck in a ditch leaving Skalanes and another bus had to pull us out. The only negative we experienced is that in my estimate about 20% of the passengers have come down with hacking coughs and colds - it's not surprising considering the lack of of basic common sense or courtesy I saw among some passengers on the early days. We have been fortunate thus far. Be proactive and look after yourself.

Oh my. We sure hope to make it to Vigur Island. It would be a big disappointment to miss it. Reykjavik has us excited to see the Puffins fighting Polar Bears under the Northern Lights!

 

I assume you dock tomorrow. We have a view of the Scenic Eclipse from our hotel. Was hoping the Venus will dock at that location 

 

If so, Venus will dock in front of the Ferris Wheel.

 

Wishing you fewer transportation breakdowns in your future.

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, May B said:

@OneSixtyToOne Bon voyage! Loved the NYC song quote. I think I’m safe to say we are all hoping the rest of your trip will proceed smoothly. 

We did have a 2 hour delay at JFK. There was an issue cleaning the plane. Then we waited on the plane for 30 minutes waiting for two passengers to arrive. When they didn’t show, it was another 30 minutes to find and unload their baggage from the hold. We did make up most of that time en route and had an uneventful arrival at the airport. I will post our first day impressions soon.

[millybess]

10 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We did have a 2 hour delay at JFK. There was an issue cleaning the plane. Then we waited on the plane for 30 minutes waiting for two passengers to arrive. When they didn’t show, it was another 30 minutes to find and unload their baggage from the hold. We did make up most of that time en route and had an uneventful arrival at the airport. I will post our first day impressions soon.

Great to see your photos and to read you are there.  Sorry it was "eventful", but I'm sure it will be forgotten in no time.  Enjoy!

[SteelCity Cruiser]

Here's hoping you're getting all the travel snafu's out of the way before you begin the actual adventure!

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

Day 2 - “Like butter”

 

We arrived in Reykjavik at 9:30 AM and cleared passport control in minutes. After claiming our luggage we went outside and found the Viking rep waiting at the door with our fellow pre-excursion travelers. The eight of us loaded into a small but comfortable van for the 45 minute ride into the city.

 

On the way, our driver pointed out steam venting in the distance and said it was an active fault where vulcanologists predict a major event will occur within weeks. The area has been very active with dozens of quakes in the last two years, including a 5.2 that move the ground 1 meter! My first impression of the basalt terrain is that it reminds me of Mono Lake area in CA, which is the remnant of a caldera from an ancient volcano. 

 

We arrived at our hotel, the Grandi Center Hotel, a modern tourist establishment built at the far end of the port district. Our rooms were not yet ready but the hotel had lockers to place our luggage and with that we were off to explore the city.

 

Our first priority was to locate the bus stop for our pickup for tomorrow’s independent Golden Circle tour. We grabbed a map in the lobby and saw a tour guide dressed in red and ask for assistance, assuming it was the Viking rep. Turns out she was with another company but was more than happy to help us. 
 

As of this writing we have yet to see the Viking rep at the hotel. We saw no Viking desk and have received no paperwork concern our schedule. Typically we receive at a minimum something to indicate our timeline for departure to the ship and usually a detailed orientation about the city and our surroundings. This is very un-Viking like. Is the rep a no show or is there only one waiting at the Airport? Will find out more tomorrow. 
 

With map in hand we departed, only to discover drops of rain, so we returned to the hotel to retrieve umbrellas from our carryon. Now, map and umbrellas in hand  we located our designated bus stop, only a short block away. It’s also a hop-on hop-off stop so that may come in handy. 

 

As we walked along the waterfront, we saw the Scenic Eclipse in port and suspect this is where the Venus will dock tomorrow. As I am writing this, I just looked out our hotel window and the Eclipse has sailed, so it’s highly likely this will be the case.

 

The dock is right in front of a Ferris Wheel and there is also a static display of a dockside railroad engine. When we were passing, I heard a tour guide state that they attempted to build a railway but it was not economically viable and was abandoned. 

 

 

 

 

A light rain started to fall so we opened our umbrellas and proceeded along the waterfront to view the opera house. It’s a modern design with the glass panels cut to resemble the basalt pillars found along the southern coast. It took a few pictures of the reflections in the glass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After viewing the inside of the opera house, we emerged to find the rain had subsided so we wandered into the old town section and took photos of the parliament and surrounding buildings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our journey we realized we were sleep deprived and needed some caffeine and a bite to eat. We saw someone eating a giant cinnamon roll and stumbled across this establishment. 
 

 

 

The sign did not lie. It delivered butter and happiness with perfection! It was the most buttery sweet roll I’ve ever had and I loved it. My left ventricle may never be the same. European butter has a higher fat content and anyone who bakes knows that the best recipes call for it. To borrow from the famous Porsche ad, “Accept no substitutes.”

 

We then strolled past the art museum and headed back to our hotel. Our room was now ready and we grabbed our stuff and headed to our top, 5th floor room. We have a nice view of the dock area as can also see the famous cathedral. 

 

 

After a short nap we woke up to wind and rain. Tomorrow we take the Golden Circle tour and will break out the foul weather gear we used last year in Patagonia. 

Edited August 5 by OneSixtyToOne

[tarhoosier]

Iceland: Where one can ride a bicycle from North America to Europe. Especially visible at Thingvellir

[OneSixtyToOne]

Here are a few more pics to end the day, some to add context. 

 

 

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

Good morning from Reykjavík. The sun is peaking through the clouds and it looks like a beautiful day to do the Golden Circle tour.

 

Edited August 6 by OneSixtyToOne

[island lady]

6 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Good morning from Reykjavík. The sun is peaking through the clouds and it looks like a beautiful day to do the Golden Circle tour.

 

 

Have fun!  We will be on that tour on the 23rd!  🥰

[deec]

thanks for the "live" posting.  I am now disappointed that we did not book our Bergen to NYC as two discrete cruises with a week in Iceland in the middle...if that is even possible.  We will only have one day in Reykjavik, the cruise turn over day.  Will be watching your clothes as we know there is not BAD weather only poor clothing choices!

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, deec said:

Will be watching your clothes as we know there is not BAD weather only poor clothing choices!

We were very lucky today. Did the Golden Circle independently (and saw two Viking busses at the geyser) and had great weather. Rain held off until our return to the hotel. Forecast for the next few days looks great. Rain gear came in handy at Gullfoss waterfall. Will do a complete writeup when I have a chance. Don’t see the Venus out our window, so it docked somewhere else.

[WanderingBrit]

Just now, OneSixtyToOne said:

Don’t see the Venus out our window, so it docked somewhere else.

 

I didn't want to rain on your parade, but the larger ships don't dock "downtown". Venus will almost certainly be at the more industrial port area just a little way along the waterfront - the Skarfabakki Harbour area.

[JayRich65]

Which independent tour did you utilize for the golden circle tour?  You may cover this in your detailed review.  I'm considering renting a car and doing it on my own.

[CCWineLover]

Joe - glad you had a great Golden Circle Tour out of Reykjavik!  We did Saga Tours but yours looked great too!  Makes for a long but fascinating day, doesn't it.

 

The Viking Ocean Ships always stay at the out of town cruise terminal (Skarfabakki) - usually one of 3 spaces next to each other.  We've been to them all.  Where we stayed (Hilton Nordica) we could see the Viking Mars departing and the Star arriving.  From your hotel it is 5.6 km.

 

Viking Mars leaving Skarfbaki Terminal (from Hilton Nordica) last June.

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, JayRich65 said:

Which independent tour did you utilize for the golden circle tour?  You may cover this in your detailed review.  I'm considering renting a car and doing it on my own.

We used Reykjavik Sightseeing. While I can see the advantages of DYI (more time at the sights) we had an excellent tour guide that narrated the trip and pointed out so much that I would never know doing it myself. DYK that in Iceland you can only be buried on consecrated ground? That’s one reason you find small churches all over. The church pictured below was built by a farmer so his wife could be buried next to their home. Locals call it the Taj Mahal of Iceland.

Edited August 6 by OneSixtyToOne