Greenland - Do they miss port calls often?

We're considering either the Zuiderdam CPH-NYC or the Rotterdam RTM-BOS Transatlantic crossings next summer since each has stops in Greenland. Since Greenland is the big attraction for us, I'm trying to get an idea of how often those stops in Greenland are missed. (I'll post on the ports board, too, but since HAL appears to have the most itineraries that include Greenland, this seems a good place to start!)

If you've made it in to the Greenland ports, did you enjoy them? Would love to hear the experiences of other HAL cruisers.

Thanks!

I have done the voyage of the vikings twice and did not miss a port in Greenland, nor the passing of prins Christian sund. The latter depends a lot on the iceberg situation in the sund. For the ports, they are all sheltered in the fjords so the weather must be really extremely windy to have the tender process cancelled.

Have done 2 northern TA’s on HAL. Loved them! First one we made all the ports and Prins Christian Sund. One of my favorite days cruising- 80 knot wind but the mountains blocked us and it was fantastic.

The 2nd cruise we missed 2 ports in Iceland and one in Greenland as well as St John in NF. But we still loved the cruise and would do it again. The Captain even sailed up a fjord that was not scheduled and turned around when his chart ended. So wonderful!

Even if you miss a port or 2 the experience is still worth it- IMHO.

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This thread unearthed a lot of Greenland information:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2473820&highlight=greenland

Our 2017 Voyage of the Vikings missed no Greenland ports. Quqortoq and Nanortalik were both unique and interesting. Prins Christian Sund's east opening was blocked by ice when we headed east, so we sailed in as far as possible, turned around, and sailed back west and out into the sea.

Heading west, we were able to sail through Prins Christian Sund.

Greenland is well worth visiting.

Barbara

I've cruised in Greenland several times over the years, including three times on the Voyage of the Vikings. I never missed a Greenland port, although one time we had to take a different route through Prins Christian Sund.

I loved all the Greenland ports. There were no HAL excursions at any of the ports when I was there, but there were ways to get around, and some interesting sights.

I would not trade those stops for anything. They were well worth the effort to tender in and back.

I’ve done Seabourn’s Voyage of the Vikings. 6 ports in Greenland. We made 4.

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We have done this cruise. We loved our cruise of Greenland and our two ports of call and we were able to visit both ports in Greenland. Prince Edward Sound is a fantastic scenic cruise day.

On our 2014 Viking Passage cruise we missed the Shetland Island but did make the Faroe Islands. Not sure about which future Viking Passage itineraries are visiting.

Great cruise and we did it on the MS Eurodam.

July 2017 Viking Passages--we missed Prince Christian Sund due to sea ice flowing down the southeast coast of Greenland. We also missed Nanortalik due to too much ice. On the other hand, the captain and Greenland pilots worked hard to come up with an alternative plan so we cruised Skove Fjord, and had one day in Qaqortoq and one day in Narsaq. We could have been very disappointed BUT we saw places most cruisers don't see and we'll have a good excuse to do the cruise again! So I don't think the ship will just pass by Greenland without stopping. You might not go where you think you're going to go, but you'll set foot on Greenland.

All great info. Many thanks. Now to decide which one to take!

Kathy

I went on Transatlantic Viking Voyage in 2016 -- both Greenland ports were amazing as others indicated. Cruising through Prince Christian Sund was really fantastic -- the morning was cloudy/rainy but by afternoon it cleared up --- stay outside on the upper decks and you will see some fantastic scenery -- some of the best photos of the sund were in the later afternoon as we were exiting. I loved both ports in Greenland -- it was just great walking around, talking with the locals, visiting grocery stores and looking at the towns. Even if you only see one -- it is more than many people get to see. Go for it and ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've done this two times on a different line. We missed on port.

If you dock in locations that includes the odds of not missing a port.

Greenland is a terrific place to visit and with each passing year attracting a greater number of tourists.

Keith

If you are seriously interested in Greenland, the 2018 Voyage of the Vikings has added a third port in Greenland. Read yesterday's post by ArtsyCraftsy:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2446680&page=11

Barbara

In 2019 Prinsendam is returning to Greenland, too, and has added one more port in Greenland as well.

We went to Greenland on Prinsendam this year with 2 days in Prince Christian Sound, Nanortalik and Quaquortoq and additional ports in Iceland, Faroes, Shetland Isles and Orkney plus Rosyth near Edinburgh. Fantastic cruise on our favourite ship, can only recommend it. Only drawback for non-Europeans is the fact that the cruise starts and ends in Amsterdam which means two flights from and to Europe. ( but a chance to stay in one of the loveliest cities to stay at....)

We were also on the 2017 Viking Passages trip that skipped ports and ended up using a different itinerary, and we loved every minute in Greenland anyway. In my opinion, it's all about the floating icebergs and the gorgeous scenery. The towns are interesting, but I would have been almost as satisfied if we had ended up with a couple of days of scenic cruising and no ports at all.

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