WalkerC

We did this excursion with Fred last July and it was very good - although in July all of the locations are busy as you would expect. The lunch was 3 courses as described earlier with salmon and the good thing was that we were served promptly so could quickly get out to spend more time at the geysers.

I couldn't agree more about the trip from Akureyri to see the bubbling mud pools - I could have taken photographs there all day as the colours were amazing but it is not a pretty place and there are no loos there.

The weather in Iceland is really changeable so go prepared for everything - when we were there in July the hottest temperature was 14 and it was often much colder.

To add to other comments, we travelled 3 times on Black Watch last year and in addition to the cereals mentioned above there are also bowls with nuts, seeds, dried fruit etc., in the buffet area so you can add these to make up a tasty breakfast. There is also bircher muesli, served in sundae glasses also on the buffet, with a berry compote on the top which is delicious. There is fresh fruit available and also healthy options such as smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and kedgeree made to order (although, to be honest, the day I tried the kedgeree it could have been better!).

We have always enjoyed the food on Fred and have had no complaints - we have found them good with special dietary needs when needed.

Enjoy your trip to the Arctic - we are doing this trip this year too (again) but this time on Balmoral.