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LIVE from "Iceland's Natural Beauty" -- All Sailings, 2021

Peregrina651

By Peregrina651,
in Viking Ocean

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BarbRN

BarbRN

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, JM0115 said:

We got on board around 11am.  I was also concerned that we would have an issue booking the spa (thermal suite) and went there right after the muster. Had no issues getting what I wanted.  Later on during the journey I could not get the thermal suite for extra bookings, but we were on the Sky that had the missing ports which made it more crowded as we had extra "sea" days. We had no issues getting extra Chef's Table reservations but did not get the exact times we wanted.  

 

@Bookworm114I tend to worry too much about these things too, but need to learn to relax more 🙂. When we were on board the Viking app kept crashing and was not really useful for making reservations at the restaurants. Hopefully this is fixed now.  Have a wonderful cruise!

Ditto on worries 

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IWantToLiveOverTheSea

IWantToLiveOverTheSea

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, commencemilo said:

Can anyone tell me if the included Snapshots of Reykjavik or Waterfalls of the Gods was all on bus or is it a walking tour.

I want to minimize bus tours at least in the beginning of the voyage

 

I would still like to go since this is such a unique itinerary but still sitting on the fence for the 9/7 cruise.

Snapshots of Reykjavik is all on the bus, according to my spouse.  He says there were about 20 people on his particular bus Aug. 4, and while they drove past a lot of places, no actual stops were made.  

 

He also took the Waterfall of the Gods and Farm Life excursion.  He doesn't remember how long they were on the bus versus off, or how many people - but there were two major stops (a farm and the waterfall), where of course you leave the bus.  He says all buses he took on the cruise were 2/3rd full or less, maybe 25 to 30 max.  I went to the Waterfall (Godafoss) on a different excursion, and we had about 45 minutes there.  

 

Our stateroom had 2 packets of 10 blue/brown pleated paper masks plus packets of wipes and small bottles of hand cleaner.  But you could wear masks you brought from home, and I was certainly not alone in doing so.  I've made mine with little rubber stoppers so they're adjustable - no dropping down below my nose.  I also brought a few packets of detergent for hand washing them, and some anti-fog wipes for my glasses when I wear masks. 

 

 

 

 

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IWantToLiveOverTheSea

IWantToLiveOverTheSea

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, bardstowntraveller said:

We were on 8/3 Jupiter sailing. We did Golden Circle, Voks  Baths, Natural Wonders, Ice Lagoon and Wildlife of Heimaey by Boat excursions. We enjoyed all of them. The Golden  Circle, Natural Wonders and Ice Lagoon were all day tours requiring quite a bit of time on the bus. Buses were nearly full— restricted to no more than 30 people. Mask compliance was good. In the Voks Baths and on the Heimaey boat, no one wore a mask.  The hottest pool at the Voks Bath was very crowded.  Our favorite excursion was the Ice Lagoon. Least favorite was Natural Wonders because it was very similar to Golden Circle and the midges were terrible.

Bardstown, I did the Lagoon excursion too.   Did you have Mike?    You weren't on my boat, were you?  

 

I loved Natural Treasures in Akureyri, but you're right - it's kind of like the Golden Circle.  But I took Through the Lens in Reykjavik, so it wasn't repetitive for me. Loved it.  And I had a bug hat, which apparently a lot of people wanted!

 

Some people on our Heimaey boat wore masks; some didn't.  My favorite excursion was In the Footsteps of the Elves, because I was 15 feet away from a bunch of puffins!   Least favorite was the Wildlife of Heimaey.

 

For others looking for info on excursions, there's a separate thread on that - although not all that many people have contributed to it.  

_MG_4751 Mike zodiacguide&driver.JPG

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anaco_angler

anaco_angler

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Snapshots of Reykjavik is all on the bus, according to my spouse.  He says there were about 20 people on his particular bus Aug. 4, and while they drove past a lot of places, no actual stops were made.  

 

He also took the Waterfall of the Gods and Farm Life excursion.  He doesn't remember how long they were on the bus versus off, or how many people - but there were two major stops (a farm and the waterfall), where of course you leave the bus.  He says all buses he took on the cruise were 2/3rd full or less, maybe 25 to 30 max.  I went to the Waterfall (Godafoss) on a different excursion, and we had about 45 minutes there.  

 

Our stateroom had 2 packets of 10 blue/brown pleated paper masks plus packets of wipes and small bottles of hand cleaner.  But you could wear masks you brought from home, and I was certainly not alone in doing so.  I've made mine with little rubber stoppers so they're adjustable - no dropping down below my nose.  I also brought a few packets of detergent for hand washing them, and some anti-fog wipes for my glasses when I wear masks. 

 

 

 

 

Our experience on the July 13-20 Jupiter cruise with the Snapshots of Reykjavijk shore excursion was that there was a fair amount of time spent on the bus (I think there were 29 in our group) but we made at least five stops where we got out to take photographs, plus the lunch stop in Grindavik. People were pretty good about using masks and spreading out on the bus.

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IWantToLiveOverTheSea

IWantToLiveOverTheSea

Posted
Posted
Just now, anaco_angler said:

Our experience on the July 13-20 Jupiter cruise with the Snapshots of Reykjavijk shore excursion was that there was a fair amount of time spent on the bus (I think there were 29 in our group) but we made at least five stops where we got out to take photographs, plus the lunch stop in Grindavik. People were pretty good about using masks and spreading out on the bus.

Snapshots was the included Reykjavik excursion; I think the one you mention (and I, on a later cruise) was called Iceland Through the Lens.  You kind of have to love lava for that one, but I found I did!  And yes, I think we made 5 stops, plus the lunch at Grindavik where we had to walk up the fire escape to reach the restaurant!  We had around 25 people, spread out and masked out.  

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anaco_angler

anaco_angler

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Snapshots was the included Reykjavik excursion; I think the one you mention (and I, on a later cruise) was called Iceland Through the Lens.  You kind of have to love lava for that one, but I found I did!  And yes, I think we made 5 stops, plus the lunch at Grindavik where we had to walk up the fire escape to reach the restaurant!  We had around 25 people, spread out and masked out.  

Sorry; you are absolutely correct. Thanks for clearing that up for the OP.

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IWantToLiveOverTheSea

IWantToLiveOverTheSea

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Jimmcdaniel said:

There are still Puffins at Heimaey Island!

 

And you don’t need to board a bus on the Wildlife Boat Tour. 

That means that there are still likely to be puffins on Vigur Island as well, though I suspect not for too much longer. And for Vigur, you just walk a minute or two across the harbor and get on a boat for a 30 minute ride to the island.  

 

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IWantToLiveOverTheSea

IWantToLiveOverTheSea

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, bardstowntraveller said:

Saw Puffins on Wildlife Boat tour. But be aware they are in the distance and much smaller than pictures you may have seen. They are about 1/3 the size of a seagull. They are recognizable because of how fast their wings flap

Puffins are also viewable, much closer, on the "In the Footsteps of the Elves" excursion out of Seydisfjordur - assuming they're still around.  But "Footsteps" is a long bus excursion, so that may make it undesirable for some, for more than one reason.  And puffins are viewable on the "Vigur Island" excursion out of Isafjordur, though the viewing is distant there, similar to Heimaey. Occasionally they may land on a rock not terribly far away from where you can stand to wait for them, but I had to wait 20 minutes for that to happen a week ago.  And by now, they may be leaving; not sure. 

 

Here's a picture from the Elves excursion; name of place is something like "Hafnarholmi."  I took this with a telephoto lens, but I was probably only about 30 feet away, on steps that go up a hillside.

_MG_4531 PuffinduoHafnarholmi.JPG

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bluesea777

bluesea777

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Puffins are also viewable, much closer, on the "In the Footsteps of the Elves" excursion out of Seydisfjordur - assuming they're still around.  But "Footsteps" is a long bus excursion, so that may make it undesirable for some, for more than one reason.  And puffins are viewable on the "Vigur Island" excursion out of Isafjordur, though the viewing is distant there, similar to Heimaey. Occasionally they may land on a rock not terribly far away from where you can stand to wait for them, but I had to wait 20 minutes for that to happen a week ago.  And by now, they may be leaving; not sure. 

 

Here's a picture from the Elves excursion; name of place is something like "Hafnarholmi."  I took this with a telephoto lens, but I was probably only about 30 feet away, on steps that go up a hillside.

_MG_4531 PuffinduoHafnarholmi.JPG

 

Excellent picture!

 

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BarbRN

BarbRN

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Puffins are also viewable, much closer, on the "In the Footsteps of the Elves" excursion out of Seydisfjordur - assuming they're still around.  But "Footsteps" is a long bus excursion, so that may make it undesirable for some, for more than one reason.  And puffins are viewable on the "Vigur Island" excursion out of Isafjordur, though the viewing is distant there, similar to Heimaey. Occasionally they may land on a rock not terribly far away from where you can stand to wait for them, but I had to wait 20 minutes for that to happen a week ago.  And by now, they may be leaving; not sure. 

 

Here's a picture from the Elves excursion; name of place is something like "Hafnarholmi."  I took this with a telephoto lens, but I was probably only about 30 feet away, on steps that go up a hillside.

_MG_4531 PuffinduoHafnarholmi.JPG

Gorgeous

 

8 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

So sorry. Best wishes to you and your husband. 

Any singles go?

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sleepybobo

sleepybobo

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, BarbRN said:

Gorgeous

 

Any singles go?

 

18 minutes ago, BarbRN said:

Have to eat alone. 

 Have you joined your sailing’s roll call? May be you can connect with some singles on the roll call?

 

While this may not be on top of your priority list, call Viking to see if they can refund or issue a voucher to you if you decide to go alone. Viking is doing free single supplement now. 

 

 

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BarbRN

BarbRN

Posted
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6 minutes ago, sleepybobo said:

 

 Have you joined your sailing’s roll call? May be you can connect with some singles on the roll call?

 

While this may not be on top of your priority list, call Viking to see if they can refund or issue a voucher to you if you decide to go alone. Viking is doing free single supplement now. 

 

 

Doubt it. No insurance. Preexisting cancer. Lost on insurance 5 years ago. Trip Mate

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Camden lady

Camden lady

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Anyone else having issues with CC?  I couldn’t see threads this afternoon at all. Now I can but it appears I have lost all my subscriptions. 😢

Yes, I couldn't see the threads either for a while.  

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BarbRN

BarbRN

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Anyone else having issues with CC?  I couldn’t see threads this afternoon at all. Now I can but it appears I have lost all my subscriptions. 😢

My messages wouldn’t post. 

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