Which to choose? VOV (BOS-ROT) or Midnight Sun?

[edgeman61]

We are looking for something to use our FCC that sails before the end of 2022.

 

DW's work dictates that summer vacation has to be in either June or July.

 

Looking at HAL's 2022 schedule two sailings caught my eye.

 

The 16N first leg of the Voyage of the Vikings (Boston to Rotterdam) on the Zandam or a 14N Voyage of the Midnight Sun RT Amsterdam on the Rotterdam.

 

For similar $ we can get an OV on the Zandam or a Vista Suite on the Rotterdam.

 

Only having to make 1 Trans Atlantic flight is a plus for the VOV but having sailed on the Koningsdam in a Vista Suite, I would definitely prefer this type of room and the variety of dining options offered on the Rotterdam.

 

The itinerary favors the VOV as seeing Greenland and Iceland are on my bucket list.  However, I had watched a program on The Smithsonian Channel where the Koningsdam was sailing the Midnight Sun itinerary and it looked very interesting.  I had previously discounted any primary travel to Norway figuring it would be much like Alaska, seeing that episode of "Mighty Cruise Ships" changed my mind.

 

I may wait and see if we can do the entire VOV RT once the DW and I are retired (and pet-less).

 

Thanks for any input.

[vicd1969]

There is also an episode of Mighty Cruise Ships on the Ocean Endeavor (Season 2 of the Smithsonian Channel) that deals with a Greenland itinerary. Though that was more of an expedition cruise type of voyage. Zaandam and Rotterdam are on opposite ends of HAL ship classes. Some here prefer the Zaandam because of its smaller size and intimacy, while others would prefer Rotterdam due to more dining options and music venues. If you are an active outdoorsperson, I'd vote for doing the Midnight cruise in 2022 and then saving up for an expedition-type of cruise in Greenland in the future.

[rkacruiser]

My North Cape Cruise (Midnight Sun type of itinerary) in June was one of my most memorable ones and ranks as #1 on my cruise experiences.  Sailing on the new Rotterdam would add to the reason I would choose that cruise.

 

When one meets cruisers who have sailed in Alaska, Norway, New Zealand, Chile:  one can get into friendly debates as to where the scenery/fjords are the best.  

 

I have sailed on the entire VOV on Rotterdam VI and that itinerary and cruise experience provided excellent cruise memories as well.  

 

55 minutes ago, edgeman61 said:

I may wait and see if we can do the entire VOV RT once the DW and I are retired (and pet-less).

 

 

This is what I would suggest.  

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Both are great cruises..

[iceman93]

If it was me (and I guess that's why you asked the question, to get such opinions), I would do the r/t Amsterdam cruise.  You laid out the pros and cons nicely; the kickers to me were that you like that ship class and cabin category, that I've done a northern Norway cruise that (like rkacruiser) was one of my most memorable, and that a full VoV cruise seems to be the best way to do that one (so you can do it in the future once retired and pet-less).

[Cruising-along]

Another vote to wait for the VOV until you have the time to do the full round trip.

Funny, our PCC asked if we would be interested in the Midnight Sun cruise, and we're considering it -- it does look very nice!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Another option to consider might be the 18 Day Viking Passage from Copenhagen to Boston on the Nieuw Statendam July 16 to August 3rd 2022. You’d get the best of both options - the itinerary of the one way VoV (with extra stops in Iceland and Greenland) and the ship features of the Pinnacle class. 

[denatravels]

I haven’t done VOV yet but midnight Sun is such an amazing itinerary!

[Mary229]

I did the VOV and have sailed a long cruise on the zaandam, both were great experiences.  My comment is about Norway vs Alaska.   I have been to both and they are very different.   Alaska towns and cities are western frontier surrounded by wilderness whereas Norwegian villages and cities are ancient and European surrounded by old farms and Viking archeological sites.  I could spend a lifetime in Bergen hiking the park like trails which end in town where the full symphony plays in the city square on the weekends. 

[rkacruiser]

19 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

My comment is about Norway vs Alaska.   I have been to both and they are very different.   Alaska towns and cities are western frontier surrounded by wilderness whereas Norwegian villages and cities are ancient and European surrounded by old farms and Viking archeological sites.

 

You got that right!!!  The "flavor" of both is so different.  And, both are so enjoyable.

 

And, ought we start a "debate" about the fjords of Norway vs. Alaska?  

 

No, let's not go there.  The views we all have will differ and "no one" is right.  They are all magnificent in their own unique way!

[sfocruiser]

On 2/7/2021 at 3:23 PM, rkacruiser said:

My North Cape Cruise (Midnight Sun type of itinerary) in June was one of my most memorable ones and ranks as #1 on my cruise experiences.  Sailing on the new Rotterdam would add to the reason I would choose that cruise.

 

 

+1   We did the north cape and Svalbard on the Pdam and is easily one of our top three cruises. 

[Hlitner]

What a difficult choice!  We have been to all the ports (at least twice) and both voyages offer great itineraries.  I do not think Norway is similar to Alaska as you will not find a big Diamonds International staring you in the face in Honningsvag :).  I will also admit that DW and I considered the VOV one of our favorite voyages (but we did the entire voyage round trip from Boston).  Another factor in your comparison are the ships and whether being on the newest (and one of the largest) HAL vessels is of interest.   Having been to Greenland 3 times I do think their ports are overrated and just a bit on the boring side while Iceland certainly has more to offer the visitor.   But I think whatever you decide will be a good decision since you cannot go wrong either way :).

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

 Having been to Greenland 3 times I do think their ports are overrated and just a bit on the boring side while Iceland certainly has more to offer the visitor. 

 

Different opinions for different folks!  With all of the ports of Iceland that I have visited, I found them to be less interesting than the ports in Greenland that I visited.  Loved and would enjoy another visit to Iceland's Capital city.  But, the other ports?  Not so much.  

[Storylady]

The Voyage of the Vikings is a fantastic cruise, but more expensive due to its unique itinerary. And even more expensive if you do one way. If you are interested in the Midnight Sun, I would consider doing it on the Volendam instead of the Rotterdam. Yes, you get a brand new ship with the Rotterdam. But the Rotterdam has more than twice the number of people onboard. 
 

But the main reason for doing the Midnight Sun Voyage on the Volendam is the itinerary which goes to Flam and Geiranger. The Rotterdam visits neither. These two port calls give you the best of Norway. Plus, Geiranger stops may  not exist in the future unless the ship is all electric or extremely low emissions. Geiranger is on one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway. The cruise is July 3rd.

 

Have done quite a few Alaskan cruises and also Norway cruises. They are not the same. Norway is incredible scenery with a history that dates back to the Vikings. Plus the fjord scenery is like nothing you have seen in Alaska. Which ever cruise you chose, you will have a good time. But the ability to sail Geiranger and Flam in the future may depend on an electric ship. It would be a shame for you to miss both of these ports of call.
 

Do keep in mind everything is extremely expensive in Norway: food, shore excursions, drinks, etc. After all it is one of the richest countries in the World.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Storylady

[Storylady]

20 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Different opinions for different folks!  With all of the ports of Iceland that I have visited, I found them to be less interesting than the ports in Greenland that I visited.  Loved and would enjoy another visit to Iceland's Capital city.  But, the other ports?  Not so much.  

My favorite Icelandic port was the island Heimaey off the southwestern coast. Absolute best place to see puffins without a boat ride. And the scenery is spectacular. The port is incredibly picturesque. Definitely as good as Greenland. Unfortunately, with the sale of the Prinsendam, I don’t see HAL going there in the future.

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Storylady

[StLouisCruisers]

1 minute ago, Storylady said:

My favorite Icelandic port was the island Heimaey of the southwestern coast. Absolute best place to see puffins without a boat ride. And the scenery is spectacular. The port is incredibly picturesque. Definitely as good as Greenland. Unfortunately, with the sale of the Prinsendam, I don’t see HAL going there in the future.

 

 

We were supposed to stop there on a 2018 Seabourn Reykjavik to Montreal cruise, but unfortunately high winds and seas prevented our little ship from going into the narrow opening of the harbor.  I've read the narrowness of the opening of that harbor was unfortunately caused by volcanic eruption and lava flow.  We were all very disappointed because we didn't get to see the puffins.  You're so lucky to get there!

[Storylady]

8 minutes ago, StLouisCruisers said:

 

We were supposed to stop there on a 2018 Seabourn Reykjavik to Montreal cruise, but unfortunately high winds and seas prevented our little ship from going into the narrow opening of the harbor.  I've read the narrowness of the opening of that harbor was unfortunately caused by volcanic eruption and lava flow.  We were all very disappointed because we didn't get to see the puffins.  You're so lucky to get there!

We were lucky to be there on an incredibly beautiful day. Since the Prinsendam is bigger than the Seaborn ship, we anchored offshore. The harbor and the town were very nearly destroyed by the lava flow which stopped just on the edge. You can easily walk to where the lava flow ended. We did take tour to see the puffins which were on the cliffs at the opposite end of the island. They had a blind, so we could easily photograph the puffins coming and going with fish to feed their young. 
 

You are right about the entrance being very narrow. But oh such a picturesque port. Hope you make it there someday.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Storylady

[StLouisCruisers]

3 minutes ago, Storylady said:

We were lucky to be there on an incredibly beautiful day. Since the Prinsendam is bigger than the Seaborn ship, we anchored offshore. The harbor and the town were very nearly destroyed by the lava flow which stopped just on the edge. You can easily walk to where the lava flow ended. We did take tour to see the puffins which were on the cliffs at the opposite end of the island. They had a blind, so we could easily photograph the puffins coming and going with fish to feed their young. 
 

You are right about the entrance being very narrow. But oh such a picturesque port. Hope you make it there someday.

 

Me, too!  I think the idea of anchoring outside and going in on tenders was considered but the weather wasn't good for that either, so we just "hung around" for an hour or so then headed out.  We were going to Greenland and got to see some of the less visited places there.  The best of the bunch was Ilulissat where Disko Bay is and the wonderful glacier.  We tendered to town, where vans took us up a long hill to a spot nearer to the glacier.  From there we walked to the beginning of a long boardwalk installed to protect the countryside and so that people could visit the glacier.  At the end of the boardwalk you were right next to the glacier essentially.  It was the best stop in Greenland by far.

 

It would have been hard to walk on that terrain, and we would have damaged it I would guess.

 

 

[rkacruiser]

38 minutes ago, Storylady said:

My favorite Icelandic port was the island Heimaey off the southwestern coast. Absolute best place to see puffins without a boat ride.

 

Did not visit that island, but I think I would have enjoyed it.  In an above post, I may have been a bit too critical in some of my comments about other ports in Iceland.  The weather was not great when I was there:  quite cool, very windy with rain; rain that was being blown horizontal at times.  I needed windshield wipers for my glasses.  

[AtlantaCruiser72]

10 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Did not visit that island, but I think I would have enjoyed it.  In an above post, I may have been a bit too critical in some of my comments about other ports in Iceland.  The weather was not great when I was there:  quite cool, very windy with rain; rain that was being blown horizontal at times.  I needed windshield wipers for my glasses.  

 

So basically an average Icelandic Tuesday - LOL  Beautiful country, finicky weather!

[StLouisCruisers]

1 hour ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

So basically an average Icelandic Tuesday - LOL  Beautiful country, finicky weather!

 

I would say yes to that, but while we were in Reykjavik the weather was sunny and beautiful!  The streets were full of people strolling around enjoying it, too, including us.  But I have to admit, I've had it both ways there.

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, StLouisCruisers said:

while we were in Reykjavik the weather was sunny and beautiful!  The streets were full of people strolling around enjoying it, too, including us.  But I have to admit, I've had it both ways there.

 

Each time I have visited Reykjavik, the weather was what you described in the city.  It's when I got out of the city that the weather gods turned against me.  

 

I'd go back to Iceland if for no other reason than their delicious chocolate.