Voyage of the Vikings Blog

[mustgo]

We are booked on the 35 day for 2023.  Could anyone on board please tell me the price for the surf internet package for 1 if you bought it onboard?  Our price in advance for the upgraded internet for one is $319.  I am trying to decide if to buy now or wait.  I doubt that prices will go down and they may go up.  Thank you.

[travelers07]

Captain just announced 27 new cases of Covid today. Says more cleaning protocols and mask wearing. I appreciate that he is keeping us informed but it is just so contagious! 

[albingirl]

4 minutes ago, travelers07 said:

Captain just announced 27 new cases of Covid today. Says more cleaning protocols and mask wearing. I appreciate that he is keeping us informed but it is just so contagious! 

Such a drag.  I'm so hopeful on more cruising, but this puts a real damper on it.  The quarantine would drive me crazy.

[sergel02]

2 hours ago, travelers07 said:

Captain just announced 27 new cases of Covid today. Says more cleaning protocols and mask wearing. I appreciate that he is keeping us informed but it is just so contagious! 

It’s nice they’re being transparent about it. I know some don’t like it but I personally like being informed. I’ve known people on cruises captains kept it hidden (they never heard any announcements) and the likelihood no one got sick seems a bit rare. 

[RiciRicardo]

Question time

What do you have for entertainment on the Voyage?

Piano Bar?  Dueling Pianos? Shows with singers and dancers?

Ocean Bar?

I miss the old school entertainment with the Ocean Bar then late night in the Piano Bar and the odd production show. Perfect endings to a day.

 

R.

[Cat in my lap]

Internet is much better today!  I purchased it pre voyage which was cheaper!

 

yesterday when I went to open safe it did not work.  It requires a black striped credit card.  Guest services opened it, and then my credit card still did not work.  Luckily my husband had one black striped card which is working.  All of our other credit cards have silver stripes.  
 

 

[BetsyS.]

9 hours ago, RiciRicardo said:

Question time

What do you have for entertainment on the Voyage?

Piano Bar?  Dueling Pianos? Shows with singers and dancers?

Ocean Bar?

I miss the old school entertainment with the Ocean Bar then late night in the Piano Bar and the odd production show. Perfect endings to a day.

 

R.

I agree with you. I miss the old school entertainment. I was on the Veendam in 2014 and 2015. One night there was a singer who had been Christine in "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway for several years. I loved the music and she had a beautiful voice.

The crew shows late at night towards the end of the cruise were terrific. There 

were songs from Indonesia and the Phillipines. Those were the days!

 

[cruiseaholic78]

On 7/15/2022 at 5:43 PM, princessdi said:

Hi!  Today we tendered into Qaqortoq Greenland.  The ride wasn’t hard at all.  What was hard were the bugs.  Black flies and big mosquitoes. Much worse than at Red Bay.  I highly recommend getting the head netting if you can. They bugs are relentless.  We put tons of bug spray on before leaving the ship…really didn’t help much although it did help.  They were hungry for sure.  We did see one gentleman using the mesh bag that the bathrobe came in on his head.  Definitely going to find where I put mine.

We re coming towards you on the Nieuw Statendam, I posted (your) tip for the mesh bags on our roll call and we will definitely be taking ours. Someone said she hadn’t got warm enough clothes so was considering layering up with her bathrobe on top. Looks like we will be having fancy dress excursions!

Rosalyn

[princessdi]

A few comments and answers to help.

 

The horses on Iceland are gorgeous!  Their long manes and large structure make the look sexy….to me.  I enjoyed seeing them everywhere we went.

 

Excursions  - only been on one so far - the Golden circle Thingvellir, Waterfalls & Geysirs- 8 hours including lunch.  

44 of us on the bus.  Most wearing masks as our count of infection on ship is still rising. The tour took care of getting us in and out of the port so if you have an excursion you can ignore the free shuttle/ pay shuttle into town for now until you venture out on your own. The excursion itself was packed full of things. Thingvellir national park was our first stop.  You get off at the top and then walk down through a crack between the tectonic plates and meet the bus at the bottom.  If you can’t do the walk you can stay on the bus and ride it to the bottom.  All of this was quite clear to 43 of us.  Guest 44 however missed the point by one hour.  The 43 of us waited an hour …. Yes an hour of looking for her.  Now we are late and are the last bus in line of many.

Next we stop to see the geyser erupt.  Pretty cool.  Our time was limited there due to the lost time however the geyser did erupt while we were right there.  We then drove about five minutes to another geyser. 

Next stop is the Golden Falls and lunch.  It was suggested you eat lunch first then go see the falls.  The lunch setup just wasn’t our thing so we headed to the falls.  There were people everywhere!  We did not go down to the water’s edge due to the crowd.  We did hike down and back up the 50+ stairs to the lower level and did get pictures where we were able to camouflage a lot of the people. It is a beautiful waterfall.  Our leave time was 2 pm.  Well….again……….

43 of us understood this clearly.  However guest 44 ….. yes the same guest 44 arrived 20 minutes passed 2.  As you can imagine many opinions on what we should do took place on bus as we wait.  While one was not to burn her at the stake it was close.  

Last stop was the power plant closer to Reykjavik.  It was cool to see all the pipes that carry the hot water to town and see how it worked.  Their utility company employs a lot of people.  There was a lot of construction on our travels around Iceland both roads and housing.  I was impressed at how empty the roads were in the country. We did drive through the center of town which looked nice. This tour did not include the big glacier although seeing that would have been cool. They say it will be gone in 150 years with global warming.

It was a long day. So good to get back to the ship.  

 

Internet package - my internet was part of a package so I can’t speak to that.  Mine allows 1 device. 

 

Dinners - As mentioned the food has been great.  Everything I’ve had has been excellent.  I look forward to the bread each night at dinner.  Fabulous!

 

Entertainment - we have enjoyed the entertainers.  The main shows have been good.  The music in the piano bar sounds great.  We mostly enjoy the Ocean bar and the rock and roll band there in the evenings.  The music venues are great. 

 

Covid - Yep…it’s here….on board.  So far we have been blessed to keep it at bay in our cabin.  We continue to do what is requested.  I had Covid in early 2021 and for me it was awful.  I was a mess.  I believe completely that my immune level is strong and that we manifest what we believe.

 

Geology - rkacruiser - you know…I would have missed so much if I hadn’t seen your post about this.  Thank you 🙏 I believe I adjusted my approach to the photos I took. 

Here are some my thoughts:

WOW! WOW! WOW!  What a great perspective! It was amazing to notice the difference in the layers of rock, the types of rock, the shapes, the sharpness of the mountains and the age/harshness of the landscape. I want to know more and once I get back to a stable Wi-Fi environment I will do research.  Amazing!  I can’t imagine what wintertime in the Sund would be like.  Cold and dark.  Glaciers in themselves are fascinating but to see receding and calving glaciers was a treat. I also hope we head back thru on the return.  

 

My opinions.  Others may differ. Stay safe.

[cruisetravlr]

5 hours ago, Cat in my lap said:

Internet is much better today!  I purchased it pre voyage which was cheaper!

 

yesterday when I went to open safe it did not work.  It requires a black striped credit card.  Guest services opened it, and then my credit card still did not work.  Luckily my husband had one black striped card which is working.  All of our other credit cards have silver stripes.  
 

 

The safe lock/unlock may also work with your driver’s license. I’ve used mine in the past for such a situation.

[travelers07]

Regarding the safe- I use my key card and has worked every time. No carrying another card that way. 
 

Yes, the food has been great. And they got the coffee/espresso machine in the dining room fixed so good cappuccino after dinner tonight.

 

 

[Marmot@Sea]

7 hours ago, princessdi said:

 

Thingvellir national park was our first stop.  You get off at the top and then walk down through a crack between the tectonic plates and meet the bus at the bottom.  If you can’t do the walk you can stay on the bus and ride it to the bottom.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approximately how long did it take to walk between the drop off and pick up points?

 

Thanks.

 

Val

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, princessdi said:

Geology - rkacruiser - you know…I would have missed so much if I hadn’t seen your post about this.  Thank you 🙏 I believe I adjusted my approach to the photos I took. 

 

Thank you so very much for your very kind post.  It is very much appreciated.  

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, princessdi said:

Thingvellir national park was our first stop.  You get off at the top and then walk down through a crack between the tectonic plates and meet the bus at the bottom.

 

The walk was not a long one (as one other poster asked) as I recall and it is a walk that I would like to do again.  On my tour, we had to battle wind with horizontal rain as we made that walk.  I needed windshield wipers on my glasses with one hand on my hat throughout the walk.  But, it was worth the experience when one realized "where I am and what I was seeing".  

 

8 hours ago, princessdi said:

the power plant closer to Reykjavik.  It was cool to see all the pipes that carry the hot water to town and see how it worked. 

 

I remember that plant.  Most impressive and, one more site on such a tour, where I wished I could have spent more time to read the displays and absorb what I was seeing/learning.  

[travelers07]

Just arrived in Djupivogur, Iceland.

 

It is 52 degrees and Captain just said tendering may be a little rough. He encouraged everyone to let the crew members help them board and disembark tenders. Chance of rain today. But can’t complain with all the heat everyone else has.

 

Very small town but always nice to visit such a remote area.

 

No news on Covid but still lots of coughing around. More masks are being worn so that helps. The buffet still has some things self serve which I find surprising. Also still have roll baskets on the tables.

 

WiFi is still bad even with my upgrade. Cell service now that we are close to land is much better. We have lost the live tv channels again as we approached land. We lost them in Reykjavik too so I wonder if they are blocked for some reason. I can stream with my cellular.

 

Sea day tomorrow and Alesund on Friday. The time seems to be going very fast even with this 35 day cruise.

 

[JanDay]

Packing now for our August RT Boston via Maritimes, Greenland, six ports Iceland, and return. All new ports to me. Trying to understand which layers to bring so I won’t need to include layering with the ship robe, and so I am not totally overpacked. Advice from you veterans of these ports?

I have wool long undies, top and bottom. Waterproof comfy hiking shoes and wool blend socks. Rain/wind proof overpants. Wool sweater, wool neck gaiter, wool beanie, and gloves. Then…I have a heavy winter down coat like Pillsbury doughboy OR a 650 fill lighter down jacket, and a great rain/wind proof Goretex shell to go over either coat. We love to be outside, wandering, hiking. Is the heavy doughboy down needed, or the lighter 650 with wool layers and rain jacket sufficient?

Thanking you for setting me straight!

 

Hoping your journey continues to delight and inspire you, and that you stay well, or recover easily if the virus found its way. And thanks for the great information on this forum thread. Very helpful.

[travelers07]

Wow- you sound very prepared. I will say that for me that might be a little warm. In Reykjavik, I wore a nylon undershirt, a light cotton shirt, and a quilted vest. I found I was very warm and even took off the under layer when I stopped at a lovely restroom in the concert hall. It was probably 50’s and humid. But I don’t want to discourage you with your planned layers. And something waterproof is a good idea. We have been lucky with no rain but it has been predicted most days.

[cat shepard]

2 hours ago, JanDay said:

Packing now for our August RT Boston via Maritimes, Greenland, six ports Iceland, and return. All new ports to me. Trying to understand which layers to bring so I won’t need to include layering with the ship robe, and so I am not totally overpacked. Advice from you veterans of these ports?

I have wool long undies, top and bottom. Waterproof comfy hiking shoes and wool blend socks. Rain/wind proof overpants. Wool sweater, wool neck gaiter, wool beanie, and gloves. Then…I have a heavy winter down coat like Pillsbury doughboy OR a 650 fill lighter down jacket, and a great rain/wind proof Goretex shell to go over either coat. We love to be outside, wandering, hiking. Is the heavy doughboy down needed, or the lighter 650 with wool layers and rain jacket sufficient?

Thanking you for setting me straight!

 

Hoping your journey continues to delight and inspire you, and that you stay well, or recover easily if the virus found its way. And thanks for the great information on this forum thread. Very helpful.

Last year in July it was warm enough for just a tee shirt and light pants on the day we visited Dettifoss.

 

Most days my light fleece hooded jacket & my rain jacket with a long sleeved shirt were perfect. That way I could add or subtract layers as needed. The rain jacket was more needed to keep the wind out. I was really happy that that I could tighten the hood, so it did not blow off my head.  I had a pair of light waterproof leggings that would have been fine under my windproof pants.  We had one day of cold, sideways rain when we were,on a boat ride amongst the icebergs from a glacier. This was the only day I wore my gloves. I was also happy to have my bug netting to protect my head from the gazillion midges near Myvatn. 
 

I often just had smart wool socks on with my Tevas, though I was happy to have my waterproof hiking boots with me. 
 

I can not believe you need either down jacket, unless you “run cold”.  

[cruzingnut]

2 hours ago, JanDay said:

Packing now for our August RT Boston via Maritimes, Greenland, six ports Iceland, and return. All new ports to me. Trying to understand which layers to bring so I won’t need to include layering with the ship robe, and so I am not totally overpacked. Advice from you veterans of these ports?

I have wool long undies, top and bottom. Waterproof comfy hiking shoes and wool blend socks. Rain/wind proof overpants. Wool sweater, wool neck gaiter, wool beanie, and gloves. Then…I have a heavy winter down coat like Pillsbury doughboy OR a 650 fill lighter down jacket, and a great rain/wind proof Goretex shell to go over either coat. We love to be outside, wandering, hiking. Is the heavy doughboy down needed, or the lighter 650 with wool layers and rain jacket sufficient?

Thanking you for setting me straight!

 

Hoping your journey continues to delight and inspire you, and that you stay well, or recover easily if the virus found its way. And thanks for the great information on this forum thread. Very helpful.

 

Having been on the VOV 3 times, I used layers with the outermost one being waterproof.  I would leave the "doughboy" coat home; you shouldn't need it.  If you need more, just added another layer, made sure to have a hat and scarf.  Plus, if you get warm, it's a lot easier to take off a layer and tie it around your waist.  Can't go that with those pouffy coats!  I don't like being cold at all and this worked for me.  I typically wore a fleece around on the INside of the ship on cruises in these climates.  Just be sure to have at least a couple things you can layer with, ie: more than one fleece/sweatshirt type item.  I did do the long undies too and had a thin, long sleeved shirt over them.

 

Linda R.

[Mary229]

On 7/13/2022 at 6:18 PM, rkacruiser said:

VOV is a special voyage.  Red Bay, I participated in a shore excursion that was not memorable (meaning, I don't remember what I experienced), but, I can add Labrador to one of the Canadian Provinces that I have visited.  The tour must have been OK.  Nothing negative to remember.  

I hiked Red Bay to the Whale Bone Beach and back.  Interesting but I paid for it with bug bites even though I had deet and a netted hat.  I wouldn’t mind going again and hiking the island.

[RedneckBob]

Oh my, Captain put the pedal to the medal.

 

 VoV 2010 Maasdam anchored at Qaqortog, Greenland. Not a fake picture. I remember having breakfast in Lido as we sailed into Bay and top of iceberg was the same level as Lido!

[BetsyS.]

30 minutes ago, RedneckBob said:

Oh my, Captain put the pedal to the medal.

 

 VoV 2010 Maasdam anchored at Qaqortog, Greenland. Not a fake picture. I remember having breakfast in Lido as we sailed into Bay and top of iceberg was the same level as Lido!

Thanks for the great picture. 

          Years ago when I was on the Veendam, I was in Bar Harbor waiting  for a Tender to go back to the ship. There was a big sign saying HAL. At the very last minute,

I realized that I was on line for a Tender to go to the Maasdam.  I then went to the line 

for the Veendam. It was a close call and the day before we got back to Boston.

[RedneckBob]

3 hours ago, BetsyS. said:

Thanks for the great picture. 

          Years ago when I was on the Veendam, I was in Bar Harbor waiting  for a Tender to go back to the ship. There was a big sign saying HAL. At the very last minute,

I realized that I was on line for a Tender to go to the Maasdam.  I then went to the line 

for the Veendam. It was a close call and the day before we got back to Boston.

The Captain of the Maasdam on the VoV cruise in 2010 was Captain James Dunforth. I told the Captain if he hits the iceberg he will be Dunfor(th). 😀

[durangoscots]

1 minute ago, RedneckBob said:

The Captain of the Maasdam on the VoV cruise in 2010 was Captain James Dunforth. I told the Captain if he hits the iceberg he will be Dunfor(th). 😀

I was on that cruise too.... and recognize both the iceberg and the Captain who was one of my favorites. He retired not long after and then, sadly, passed away. That cruise remains one of may all time favorite cruises. Would love to do it again... and again.

[semibeater]

FWIW My wife and I were on the B2B previous to this sailing in a NS.  We both tested positive upon returning to Boston on July 9th. No one reported to medical during our 14 days but I noticed a lot of "cold" symptoms in casino and lounges the last 7 days. Very hard to contain if no one reports to crew. We are done cruising for awhile.