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

[eurolady]

3 hours ago, vslparis said:

I was told that they are using our daily saliva test results today ( Friday , so last day before disembarkation ) as the one which will we provide to the airlines for our return. We will get paperwork that confirms that the test was negative and we will present that paperwork to the airline.  According to the attestation form - “ the test was a viral test that was conducted on a specimen collected from me during the 3 calendar days proceeding the flight’s departure “. That means if the test is done today, then it will be good for a departure on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Based on your days, I would say that you are good to go on Thursday as long as your test is done  no earlier than on Monday  . That is what is in place right now; not sure when you are going so keep an eye on that. Your airline should have something about this in their requirements to fly back to the US .

Thank you for your reply.... it's appreciated.

[Heartgrove]

Back to the voyage. The Reykjavik Port Authority "Arrivals Board" shows the Viking Sky arriving at 03:45 on July 3 at Skarfabakki-312. The calendar shows 05:00.

 

Once again the website is: https://www.faxafloahafnir.is/vefmyndavel-faxafloahafna/

[SantaFe1]

And to all a good night!  Just got our test results.  Filled out the Delta attestation form.  Off at 7 am for the 11:15 Delta flight for JFK.  Godspeed to all who come after!

[Australia08]

As those of you leaving the ship tomorrow have time, please let us know more about the excursions. What was your overall impression of Into The Glacier, In the Footsteps of Elves, and The Ice Lagoon by Zodiac. I’d really like to know about the food served on these excursions, too. Thanks!

[anaco_angler]

Thanks to everyone on the inaugural voyage for sharing your impressions, your experiences, and above all your joy just being on the Viking Sky in Iceland.

[Rami077]

On 6/24/2021 at 5:11 PM, SantaFe1 said:

Yes, they won’t let you board without them.  And Iceland and Viking want to see them too.

A friend of mine is going on a later cruise and is taking a letter from her doctor stating that she hadCovid in December 2020 and is recovered.  She is not vaccinated.  Will she be able to enter Iceland?

[Azulann]

1 minute ago, Rami077 said:

A friend of mine is going on a later cruise and is taking a letter from her doctor stating that she hadCovid in December 2020 and is recovered.  She is not vaccinated.  Will she be able to enter Iceland?

She  needs to get a vaccination and  14 days after her last vaccine to cruise  on Viking .

Tell your friend to do her own post on CC 

 

[TayanaLorna]

54 minutes ago, Rami077 said:

A friend of mine is going on a later cruise and is taking a letter from her doctor stating that she hadCovid in December 2020 and is recovered.  She is not vaccinated.  Will she be able to enter Iceland?

She may get into Iceland but not on board a Viking ship there as all passengers are required to be fully vaccinated.

[C-sea]

 Heimaey, Westman Islands... Did anyone go on the Beluga Whale Center & Bay by boat tour? What was your impression, worthwhile?

[C-sea]

Please share ports (or day number) that had production shows or local entertainment on board.

 We have booked Vok Baths the evening of Seydisfjordur (day 5) 7pm to 10:30pm on a Viking Shore Excursion and hope we are not missing anything special in the theater that evening.

[minka34]

32 minutes ago, C-sea said:

hope we are not missing anything special in the theater that evening.

Note FoggyEthan has posted a link to Google drive where he has posted all the dailies, menus and other information found by scouring the roll calls and FB site. 
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rJqx62oEB9Ty8LckUD5NfSUM8HYyC_fs?usp=sharing

As far as day 5 Seydisfjordur, there is a guest lecture in the auditorium "The Volcanism of Iceland" at 9:15 (talking about Eldfell eruption etc).  Various musical entertainments in the atrium and explorer lounge, but there does appear to be a musical production.

[FoggyEthan]

2 hours ago, minka34 said:

As far as day 5 Seydisfjordur, there is a guest lecture in the auditorium "The Volcanism of Iceland" at 9:15 (talking about Eldfell eruption etc).  Various musical entertainments in the atrium and explorer lounge, but there does appear to be a musical production.

 

I list the production numbers since people will want to know the themes and days/times, but I didn't mention the one-off musicians since I think it is assumed that they will be around the ship. And I didn't mention the guest lectures since they may vary from cruise to cruise, so the June 26 experience may not match anything that comes after.

 

I must admit a little disappointment that there was no Icelandic entertainment on board. I'm guessing it is a Covid issue, but with Iceland having no cases of local transmission and being nearly completely vaccinated, that may cease to be a reasonable reason. Heck, it could have been scheduled in a port. We do have one late-night stay in Seydisfjordur.

[FoggyEthan]

I have one big question for people coming back: did you try to get onto any excursions that were marked as "full" before boarding, and were you successful?

 

I'm on July 13th, and since the excursions opened for booking there have been no new openings that I've been able to spot, and almost everything interesting has been sold out since nearly the beginning.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

[DaveSJ711]

35 minutes ago, FoggyEthan said:

I must admit a little disappointment that there was no Icelandic entertainment on board. I'm guessing it is a Covid issue, but with Iceland having no cases of local transmission and being nearly completely vaccinated, that may cease to be a reasonable reason. Heck, it could have been scheduled in a port. We do have one late-night stay in Seydisfjordur.

 

Bjork was unavailable.

[vslparis]

44 minutes ago, FoggyEthan said:

I have one big question for people coming back: did you try to get onto any excursions that were marked as "full" before boarding, and were you successful?

 

I'm on July 13th, and since the excursions opened for booking there have been no new openings that I've been able to spot, and almost everything interesting has been sold out since nearly the beginning.

 

Thanks!

-- Ethan

 

I tried to get on the Vigur Island one and was unable to do so.  It was a very limited number of people unlike a bus tour so that may have been the issue.  I was able to change the time on one of the included ones though.

[mhb1757]

First report from the 7/3 cruise. We flew Icelandair from Boston. Packed flight but smooth trip. Arrived30 minutes early. Airport was empty. Unlike last week we had no real wait getting thru the airport. Maybe 40 minutes from touchdown to bus. Most of that was walking and waiting on luggage. Viking had long line of guides and luggage handlers there waiting on us. We were on the first bus. 45 minute drive to Harpa. Did check in for ship and were seated for a nice breakfast. One of the guides has offered to do a welcome walk at 9:30 and then our bus to the ship leaves here at 10:45. Beautiful weather, no wind. Great start to trip. 

[dobbs36]

8 hours ago, FoggyEthan said:

 

I list the production numbers since people will want to know the themes and days/times, but I didn't mention the one-off musicians since I think it is assumed that they will be around the ship. And I didn't mention the guest lectures since they may vary from cruise to cruise, so the June 26 experience may not match anything that comes after.

 

I must admit a little disappointment that there was no Icelandic entertainment on board. I'm guessing it is a Covid issue, but with Iceland having no cases of local transmission and being nearly completely vaccinated, that may cease to be a reasonable reason. Heck, it could have been scheduled in a port. We do have one late-night stay in Seydisfjordur.

Is there any dance music? Place to dance??

[mhb1757]

Buses left downtown for the ship between 10:40 and 11. Short drive to port. There was a slow moving queue to board the ship. Probably about 10 minutes. They sent us straight to the muster station for life jacket demo then said we could explore the ship or eat in World Cafe until they made announcement that cabins were ready. We headed to spa to sign up for times in thermal suite (1 hour increments beginning at 8AM). Then we were going to try and change day and time for chefs table. They had 1 person handling dining reservations, so I got in line (maybe 3 people ahead of us). 25 minutes later the same couple was sitting there.  They had to peruse every Chefs table menu, Manfredis menu, ask at least 65 questions about each of them then discuss among themselves what sounded best to them on the menu. Then they only wanted certain dates and times, none of which apparently were available so then they started complaining and explaining why they had to eat at specific times and then they wanted to speak to a supervisor, and by now there are probably 20 people waiting. So I gave up and left. Can’t make reservations on the app or stateroom TVs and none of my dining reservations are showing up on my calendar. Oh well. Minor annoyance in an otherwise great day. 
we got a bite to eat in the World Cafe (wasn’t crowded at all, service was excellent) and they announced all cabins were ready a little after 1. Went to cabin, spit in the tube after waiting the requisite 30 minutes and got unpacked. Weather couldn’t be nicer. If I wasn’t feeling totally sleep deprived I’d take the shuttle back into town to explore some more…but I’m thinking a nap sounds better. Guess I should go check on my dining reservations. (And pray that same couple isn’t still sitting there). 

[Crockett&Darla]

50 minutes ago, dobbs36 said:

Is there any dance music? Place to dance??

Torshavn.

[TayanaLorna]

16 minutes ago, mhb1757 said:

Buses left downtown for the ship between 10:40 and 11. Short drive to port. There was a slow moving queue to board the ship. Probably about 10 minutes. They sent us straight to the muster station for life jacket demo then said we could explore the ship or eat in World Cafe until they made announcement that cabins were ready. We headed to spa to sign up for times in thermal suite (1 hour increments beginning at 8AM). Then we were going to try and change day and time for chefs table. They had 1 person handling dining reservations, so I got in line (maybe 3 people ahead of us). 25 minutes later the same couple was sitting there.  They had to peruse every Chefs table menu, Manfredis menu, ask at least 65 questions about each of them then discuss among themselves what sounded best to them on the menu. Then they only wanted certain dates and times, none of which apparently were available so then they started complaining and explaining why they had to eat at specific times and then they wanted to speak to a supervisor, and by now there are probably 20 people waiting. So I gave up and left. Can’t make reservations on the app or stateroom TVs and none of my dining reservations are showing up on my calendar. Oh well. Minor annoyance in an otherwise great day. 
we got a bite to eat in the World Cafe (wasn’t crowded at all, service was excellent) and they announced all cabins were ready a little after 1. Went to cabin, spit in the tube after waiting the requisite 30 minutes and got unpacked. Weather couldn’t be nicer. If I wasn’t feeling totally sleep deprived I’d take the shuttle back into town to explore some more…but I’m thinking a nap sounds better. Guess I should go check on my dining reservations. (And pray that same couple isn’t still sitting there). 

Wow, that is frustrating!  But it sounds like the ship is open to arriving guests before your Covid 19 test comes back so that is good.  Is everyone wearing masks unless sitting down to eat?  Did you take the offered walking tour from Harpa?  Seems like it would be a good way to see a bit of town.  I think we would be too tired to go back out once on board...wanting to unpack etc.

[drsue]

Did anyone on either the first or this second cruise arrange their own flights and not use Viking transport? (We had a last minute change so didn't make it under the 30 day limit).  If so, how did you do it? Flybus? Taxi?

[BarbRN]

12 hours ago, C-sea said:

Please share ports (or day number) that had production shows or local entertainment on board.

 We have booked Vok Baths the evening of Seydisfjordur (day 5) 7pm to 10:30pm on a Viking Shore Excursion and hope we are not missing anything special in the theater that evening.

We did too. 

[Clay Clayton]

2 minutes ago, drsue said:

Did anyone on either the first or this second cruise arrange their own flights and not use Viking transport? (We had a last minute change so didn't make it under the 30 day limit).  If so, how did you do it? Flybus? Taxi?

We are in the third and have arranged our own using AirportDirect. They offer a scheduled service at a very low price or private transfers at a higher price. Drop me an email at BigNCBear@aol.com if you need more info. 

[BarbRN]

Did anybody bring Insect  repellent and what form and did it work?

[Jgg630]

19 minutes ago, drsue said:

Did anyone on either the first or this second cruise arrange their own flights and not use Viking transport? (We had a last minute change so didn't make it under the 30 day limit).  If so, how did you do it? Flybus? Taxi?

 

15 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

We are in the third and have arranged our own using AirportDirect. They offer a scheduled service at a very low price or private transfers at a higher price. Drop me an email at BigNCBear@aol.com if you need more info. 

Clay did you call to book or fill out the form?  I’m trying to figure out which is easier.