Voyager Iceland (with precruise details) to Copenhagen 7/30-8/11 live report

[macbest]

Precruise July 27-July 30 

Voyager July 30-Aug 11

Post cruise Aug 11/12 Copenhagen

 

We are a 40 year married couple in our early 60s that have cruised on Regent for 130 nights (and many other cruise lines). Regent has always been our favorite cruise line and we are excited to be back on board the Voyager. This cruise was a rebook twice due to Covid. We love the line so much we did a future cruise credit rebooking so they wouldn’t have to refund us during those tough times in 2020 when so much money was being returned. That Future cruise credit enabled our 14 day Caribbean Splendor cruise in Feb. I’ll post that link shortly. 

 

This post will be a near daily update on our adventures with a heavy weighting on food and drink. We sailed the Spendor in Feb and did a similar post that was well received so we thought we would do it again. 

 

I hope this is viewed as complimentary to the excellent post started by mdunne48 and not a competition. Just a different viewpoint.

 

We paid for a flight deviation and got an Alaska flight SFO-Sea, 4 hour layover and then an Icelandic Air nonstop to Reykjavik. Both segments were business class. Ironically we had more legroom on the Alaska flight than the Icelandic flight. I asked for another routing through Newark on United connecting United to Reykjavik but it was $3000 extra. 

 

The included business class lounge in Seattle (upstairs from gate S9) was nothing special but frankly way nicer than the mob scene at the gates. 

 

Icelandic air has been well written about and all is true. No bed in business class. So so food. Ok service. 

 

We attached the Apple AirTags to our luggage (actually put them inside) and it gave us a nice comfort knowing where our bags were at all times. Both while at the airport and also when bags were moved by hotel porters and Regent. Others on the precruise had lost luggage so something to consider. 

 

We arrived a scant 7 hours later in Reykjavik and were swiftly picked up by the Regent representative at baggage claim. We are doing the Regent 4 day precruise in Iceland to see the highlights and the golden circle. I’ll include some pictures of that as we go. 

 

Overall summary of the precruise- excellent. Our guide was one of the best we have had on any precruise. Ingvar Einarsson. Super knowledgeable and somewhat a local (went to boarding school here) he spoke perfect English and knew all the perfect pronunciations of Icelandic dialect. He really knew his history about Iceland. While it is the luck of the draw on who you get, if you get him I think you would be very pleased. 

 

The geology and geography is as interesting here as anyplace we have been. Especially when it is explained in great detail on why. Like the numerous Table Top mountains that I though only existed in Cape Town South Africa. The heavy ice during the ice age, near the north and south poles “weighed” on the land creating a similar mountain type that is only here, Canada and Cape Town. 

 

The hotels were very good and comfortable and the bus very comfortable (holds 50, we were 27 so plenty of room to sit). I would definitely recommend this precruise despite the what seemed like a relatively high cost ($3999 as I recall per person). The entrance fees can add up (Blue Lagoon is $140 alone) and they did a lot of surprise, unique experiences like the lunch at the tomato greenhouse, and the lava tube let alone the famous falls, geyser, etc. and everything is expensive in Iceland. More to come on the adventures and meals precruise. 

[macbest]

Overall summary of the precruise- excellent. Our guide was one of the best we have had on any precruise. Ingvar Einarsson. Super knowledgeable and somewhat a local (went to boarding school here) he spoke perfect English and knew all the perfect pronunciations of Icelandic dialect. He really knew his history about Iceland. While it is the luck of the draw on who you get, if you get him I think you would be very pleased. 

 

The geology and geography is as interesting here as anyplace we have been. Especially when it is explained in great detail on why. Like the numerous Table Top mountains that I though only existed in Cape Town South Africa. The heavy ice during the ice age, near the north and south poles “weighed” on the land creating a similar mountain type that is only here, Canada and Cape Town. 

 

The hotels were very good and comfortable and the bus very comfortable (holds 50, we were 27 so plenty of room to sit). I would definitely recommend this precruise despite the what seemed like a relatively high cost ($3999 as I recall per person). The entrance fees can add up (Blue Lagoon is $140 alone) and they did a lot of surprise, unique experiences like the lunch at the tomato greenhouse, and the lava tube let alone the famous falls, geyser, etc. and everything is expensive in Iceland. More to come on the adventures and meals precruise. 

 

We stayed at the Hotel Borg in downtown Reykjavik the first night. I had followed Rick Steve’s advice (I pick up his books in every European country for tips, tricks, dining, and touring advice) and are at the Food Cellar, about a 5 min walk from the hotel. Food was excellent. The pepper steak and the Angus ribeye were both tender, perfectly cooked and nicely accompanied with sides. We started with a tuna tartare and a Jamon Iberico (here shown half eaten) both which were excellent.

 

 I was amazed at the Gin Menus in Iceland restaurants (this one shown from the restaurant above) 

Fun. 
Here was the itinerary for the pre cruise. I’ll add pictures of the highlights soon. 

[macbest]

Boarding was painless although since we were on a Regent pre cruise, we had to Covid test at the port. We missed the “no more Covid proof tests by 1 day, it starts Aug 1). That process took maybe 30 minutes due to the 27 people that were on the pre-cruise. After that test, it  was probably 15 minutes and we were on the ship. Given our pre-cruise arrived at the port at 2 PM there was no one else there. Our rooms were ready when we walked on the ship and we went out for a quick lunch at the pool grill. The new Matador hamburger was exceptional.

One of the pleasures of cruising is to have a pre dinner cocktail. We always seek out the lounge with a piano player. Austin Ray is the pianist on board and in the Observation lounge. First impressions - wow - excellent. Very talented. This is exciting. 

 

The only negative as far as the drink scene goes is their is no Hendricks Gin on board like they normally have. And tonic is Schweppes. Sounds like a first world problem but I really like a good G&T and the Gin on board to me is substandard. 

 

Dinner in Compass Rose was packed. Arriving at 8p was probably a mistake as it took over an hour for us to get even our first dish. The staff was just slammed. In hindsight I thought about dropping into prime 7 as I’m guessing we could have gotten in as a walk-in. Despite the slow service the food was excellent. 

 

The beet carpaccio was simple but very tasty especially with the addition of the hazelnuts. 

The shrimp cocktail was smaller than we remember and was not cold. 

The cauliflower soup with chicken canelle was incredible. Soup smooth and silky, great cauliflower taste (with  some snipped chives). 

We both had the veal picatta (mine shown with extra sauce). Best veal I have had in a while but I recall that is typical for Regent. 

A Kalua coffee soufflé and cheesecake finished the evening off nicely. 

Wine selections tonight were not to our liking. We ordered off the limited menu a New Zealand Pinot Noir ($70). Nice fruit forward on the nose but typical of most NZ Pinots the taste falls off in the back of your mouth. It was, however, good with the veal picatta. 

The limited wine list only has 3 Pinots just like in Feb. This is very disappointing. Surprisingly they are all relatively old also. Ours was a 2015 and the others are of similar vintage. A 7 year Pinot is getting near end of life. While I would have expected this due to the build up during Covid on our Feb cruise, I’m surprised to see this now

Edited July 31, 2022 by macbest

[macbest]

Dynjandi waterfall tour and local village

In Isafjorour, Iceland today, our first stop. I love waterfalls (and pipe organs) and this was a wonderful tour to see the extensive set of waterfalls. 

 

 

 

 

We had great weather (any day without rain is good!) which allowed for a trek to the top (base of the largest waterfall). It is a thundering waterfall, the ultimate expression of Icelands countless bridal-veil cascades. The hike allowed for wonderful views of the beautiful fjord including the table top mountains nearby. 

This one was completely different than the other waterfall we visited on the pre-cruise, the Gullfoss falls (preview of that excursion below). 

[1982CruzStart]

Loving the pictures. I am also a big fan of waterfalls so really enjoyed all the pics. 

Have a great cruise and thanks for taking us along. 

[asnaleah]

Great waterfall photos! Thanks for taking us along with you!

[RachelG]

Loving the report and pics. We have been to Iceland several times.  This brings back good memories.

[jimbri]

Great photos - especially the waterfalls.

[macbest]

Sorry for the delay. Internet out on ship for last 25 hours. The local village part of the tour yesterday continued to the cute town of Suoureyri, a fisherman’s town. We got to sample smoke salmon (done right on premise- I am not a fan but with the horseradish Mayo it was ok.) Then some fresh made cod cakes with a home made tarter sauce. Those were delicious.

And then some dried cod which was hit with a sledgehammer as shown here first. Not a fan but we tried it. We ended up at a little cafe and had cod fish and chips (when in Iceland…). Might be the best I have ever had. Super creamy cod and a batter unlike others. Literally “crunchy”. We won’t be back to ship until 3:00 so why not try the local flavor?

Our guide was super cute. Lived near us for a few years in Larkspur CA (40 miles from us) and then came back here to this fisherman’s town. She literally lives in the street above where we were. She worked in the fish house breaking down fish and smoking them, busing tables at the cafe and now a tour guide. She is seen in the picture sledge hammering the dried fish! All in all, a fun excursion. 

[macbest]

Dinner Compass Rose, 2nd night

We revisited the main dining room after our less than stellar service yesterday (primarily to the crowds). We were met by name by the Matire D and led to a table by our same server Nino. Service was excellent all night. More attentative, and personalized to our requests. Definitely chalk it up to first night issues. 

 

The meal tonight was exceptional. We started with the “always available” side of the menu, escargot. This is always one of our favorites. I mean what is not to love. Garlic, butter, herbs and delicious bread. It did not disappoint. I think I have said it before, I could bathe in that sauce! 

Next was a delicious asparagus soup. While it said, “cream of asparagus” we didn’t detect any cream which made it lighter and more enjoyable. It did have some smoked salmon that wasn’t to our liking (we still tried it because that is the rule!) but we worked around it. 

We both had salads, a mixed green and a Caesar which were nicely dressed. After a kir royal sorbet, dinner was a grilled lobster tail (our waiter steered us away from the steamed lobster on the main menu). The Beijing beef stir fry with oyster sauce and cashews was calling and this was my favorite dish of the night.  I would order this again. My wife had a simples pesto pasta with some grilled shrimp. Very tasty but would have liked pine nuts with it. We also ordered steamed vegetables which we had last night and were very enjoyable. 

Ended with a hazelnut soufflé. Yum. 

Still having challenges with the included wines. The Pinot wasn’t drinkable. Tried a merlot that was much better. I have a meeting with the sommelier tomorrow to discuss other options on board. 

 

We had fun in the casino losing a little more money (but much slower than last night). 

 

By the time the meal ended the boat was really rocking side to side. We were warned about 10 foot swells throughout the night as we sailed around the top of Iceland. You had to hold on as you walked. At least it was side to side vs front to back as it just rocked us to sleep. I’m guessing others were very unhappy with the motion. It is all part of cruising. 

[macbest]

“The seas were angry my friend. Like an old man ordering soup at a deli.” (Reference George Kastania from Seinfeld)

From last night we had 10-12 foot swells as we go north of Iceland. We were woke at 7:30a in the room by the captain over the loudspeaker saying our port Husavik would be cancelled. It was a tender port and the seas were too high to safely get off. At first we were a little disappointed since we had a whale sightseeing trip that we were looking forward to and it was our last port in Iceland. But alas, safety first. 

 

Lunch today in compass rose was a special treat now that we have a sea day. They filled the menu with menu items from the alternative restaurants on the Splendor ship. 

 

We started with the tuna Niçoise salad from Chartreuse which is a modern adaptation. Beautiful presentation and yummy. 

We split one our favorites on Splendors’ Pacific Rim menu, the Duck Confit spring rolls. If this shows up, don’t miss it. 

For our entree I had the amazing Black Angus NY strip loin with Bulgogi sauce and wasabi mashed potatoes. A little much for lunch? Maybe for most but if you have had this before, you know it was not to be missed. Absolutely delicious. 

My wife had the Yellowfin Tuna salad  from Prime 7. Creamy avacado, shaved vegetables with a ginger sesame emulsion. Good but not as good as the Niçoise salad. 

That was a real treat to “bring us back” to our newest favorite ship, the Splendor that we took in February. 

[Kwaj girl]

@macbest try the R Collection Cab or Red Blend....or the Sterling Cab.  We enjoyed them on the segment immediately prior to yours.  

[wristband]

Appreciate you taking the time to post your thoughts and... the photos!

[macbest]

Was a little disappointed with the dinner choices in compass rose tonight so we headed to Sette Mari, the Italian, no reservations offering. Met up on the way up from pre dinner cocktails at the Horizon lounge with a couple from our pre cruise and had dinner together. 

 

The food overall was good but not great. Our pre appetizers that they deliver automatically to the table were cold. The buffet appetizer setup had a few offerings see below. These are clearly new recipes since our last cruise in Feb but not necessarily better. 

Off the pasta menu I had a mini version of the pasta carbonara. Again, good not great. Too much liquid and not enough fully cooked pancetta (when is there ever enough pancetta?). 

Main was veal Marsala with mushrooms (added) and extra sauce. Very good but not as tender as the veal picatta we had in compass rose the first night. 

We had a few desserts the cannoli and tiramisu both were tasty.

I thought the service really lacked again. Very slow, water glasses weren’t filled, slow in wine refills. The head waiter we had the first night who I talked to about the service did jump in to assist and thank goodness. With 538 people on board (max is 630) this is probably close the fullest sailing the voyager has had since Covid (don’t know this for sure but I heard there were much fewer passengers on the previous leg and I wonder if they added the extra staff needed to accommodate this fuller passenger count). 

 

We went to the casino for a short loss and then to the Voyager lounge to listen to the Glitter Duo for the first time. The music is all played from a computer with them adding vocals. Very Karaoke like and kind of cheesy compared to an act like Boogie and Kasha that we have seen several times before on Regent. That said they did play some good tunes and the dance floor was full including my wife and I which doesn’t happen to often - to swing Disco which was a lot of fun. I think we will practice a little more this afternoon so we can “tear up the dance floor” tonight! (Jk). 

 

The seas are much more friendly last night and this morning as the ship was protected by Iceland and we were only going 9 knots. We both slept like babies and didn’t wake up till 11:30 (we had a time zone change so 10:30 actually)! Now that is relaxing. I think I’m officially in the vacation zone……

 

We went and had Cappuccinos this morning before venturing around the ship. Ah, the good life. It appears the internet is up and working well again to do more updates to come on our precruise adventures. 

[rcandkc]

The previous cruise had around 525 passengers.  I was on it. Do, not that different. 

[rcandkc]

5 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

The previous cruise had around 525 passengers.  I was on it. Do, not that different. 

Sorry, it was 529.  Maybe the guest patterns are different than previous cruise and they are still adjusting. 

[mdunne48]

There are 584 guests on board Voyager for this segment, an increase of 55 from the previous segment. There are definitely more children aboard for the current segment. I think this segment has an overall younger demographic which could be leading to more later diners. Just a guess on my part.

[macbest]

Stepping back: Day 1 of our precruise 

Fun day touring Iceland. Lava tube was really interesting and quite the trek! Our guide there was like looking at Harry Potter. Fun.

How the walls almost looked like they are painted on like you would see on a Disney ride!

Also saw some thermal pools and waterfalls. Great first day!

The group stayed at the Hotel Husafell instead of making it all the way back to Reykjavik.  Interesting modern hotel in the middle of no where (but near a glacier and the lava tube above. Dinners on all the precruise were on our own. This hotel only had one restaurant. The menu was very limited and for entrees included either lamb or salmon, both items we don’t eat! They had a set menu with a seafood soup that was delicious (even though it had small amount of salmon in it) and the main course was a delicious beef tenderloin with a pickled green pepper sauce. Topped off with beef fat cooked carrots and a nice burgundy - we chose wisely. 

As I mentioned previously we learned so much about the geology, geography and so much more from our tour guide. One example, nearly all homes use the hot springs water to heat their homes. After the water leaves the house the still hot water is plumbed to pipes in the roads and streets to keep them from freezing. The water then heads to the ocean. That coupled with several hydroelectric facilities and hot springs used to make electricity, rates are super cheap. A typical home pays roughly $250 to heat and power their home - a year!  

 

[macbest]

Stepping back: 

Iceland touring Day 2. Only 5 geysers in the world. Old faithful is in the US. There are 2 in Iceland. Great shot of the bubble as it explodes.

 

This was a fascinating national park (Pingvellir) where the tectonic plates (North Atlantic and Eurasia) are separating about 1-2 cm every year. The geology and geography here is a sight to behold. Never seen anything like this.

 

Waterfalls everywhere too. And like half the mountains are “table top” mountains similar to the single version of this in Cape Town (happened during ice age in South Pole and North Pole areas) - also some of these in Canada but that is it. Oh and glaciers. Wow.

 

Awesome Included lunch as we left the golden circle in a green house! Specializing in tomatoes. Tomato soup was awesome but the tomato beer was even better. 40% of Iceland tomatoes are grown here. Completely unique Regent experience. 

they had a basil plant on each table. Just snoop and add to your dreamless tomato soup! Ok I added a dollop of sour cream. 

[macbest]

Lunch on our second sea day was in La Veranda and was an Asian buffet. Everything looked so good so I tried a little of many things. Alas, it was tasty but was missing the spice or bite I often find in Chinese food. 

This afternoon was great. Relaxing in our room watching movies looking off our balcony for the numerous whales in the area. We had to look through the window as it was like 40 degrees outside. Anxious for some warmer weather. 

[irishwitchy]

Enjoying your review, I have to disagree with the Nicoise Salad,  I ate it, but it was like they took the Tuna Tartar from Prime 7 and shaped into a square and put it over the string beans,  I was expecting a nice piece of tuna very rare with some grill marks and I have personally done a deconstructed Nicoise Salad,  that looked better. 

 

I have to ask, did you ask for the mushrooms on the Veal Masala?   My husband ordered that last month and expected it to have mushrooms and it didn't, which we thought was very odd. We ordered wine from the list, because the most of the included wines we didn't enjoy, but that is fine with us - I'm very picky.  

 

Your excusions look great - keep having fun!

[macbest]

9 hours ago, irishwitchy said:

 

I have to ask, did you ask for the mushrooms on the Veal Masala?   My husband ordered that last month and expected it to have mushrooms and it didn't, which we thought was very odd. We ordered wine from the list, because the most of the included wines we didn't enjoy, but that is fine with us - I'm very picky.  

 

Your excusions look great - keep having fun!

Yes I did ask for the mushrooms. And I agree that I always get them in any other restaurant when ordering veal Marsala so it seemed like a natural. Given that every dish is prepared to order it is an easy add. 
 

I might have to resort to your concept or just ordering wine. I too am picky. Although the Pinot blanc last night in CR was excellent. 

[macbest]

Sea day 2 - Compass Rose dinner

I love it when a plan comes to together. We arrived to dinner slightly later than normal and were seated promptly again at our new favorite waiters station, Nino. No sooner did we sit down our favorite bread and water glasses with ice and lemon were delivered. Nino has all our requests down now and this feels again like the true “Regent way”. 

 

We started with the Shanghai pork dumplings in a broth that were incredible. Remembering this dish from a previous cruise as a “must have” served us well as this was delicious. 

The sesame seed tuna loin tartare on a vegetable base (finely chopped asparagus, celery, carrots, zucchini, broccoli tossed in a wasabi Mayo and then plated with a ring mold) with some extra wasabi Mayo was probably the best thing we have had so far on this cruise (ok a toss up with the escargot). Creamy tuna and the vegetable base with the hint of heat from the wasabi is a match made in heaven. Can’t recommend this enough. 

I did a small portion of their pasta for the day, a simple preparation of orecchiette, anchovies, olive oil, broccoli and peperochini. Pasta and broccoli were perfectly cooked. Delicious. 

The main course was amazing. A Paul Bocuse inspired dish, halibut on a bed of spinach with root vegetables done in globes. The secret was what was under the breaded crust (which didn’t seem like breading at all) a mixtures of finely diced tomatoes and mushrooms with herbs. Finished with a burere blanc sauce this was really an exceptional dish. Halibut perfectly cooked and the flavor of the ingredients were so harmonious together. A real treat that I haven’t had before. 

Finished with a pistachio soufflé it was an outstanding meal. 

With visits from the head waiter (Alberto) who just seems to magically appear everywhere we are to check on us and several other senior staff we were treated like royalty. 

 

The Pinot blanc offered as an included wine from France was exceptional. I’m not a big white wine drinker but I enjoyed this throughout the meal. 

 

We went to the Voyager lounge to hear the Glitter Duo and again were very disappointing. They butchered the 50s/60s songs. I don’t get it but alas there were people up dancing so they must have a following (of 10-12 people). We left and went to the observation lounge to hear Arthur Ray at the piano and he blew our mind with trivia on some songs like the words behind Mrs Robinson from the “Graduate” and what the song was really about (including a totally “made up” last verse that means nothing). We will settle in after dinner here with Arthur in subsequent evenings. What a treat he is and so talented. 

[macbest]

Vestmanna sea Cliffs excursion in Faroe Islands. 

Amazing rock and mountain  formations on our boat adventure to these sea cliffs, where the puffin lay eggs and feed young as well as many other birds. 

We went out on a small boat (and battled the 40 degree weather with winds) to around what some have  called the “19th island” of the Faroe Islands. 

Also ducked into a sea cave with the boat as shown. 

Amazing stats on the Faroe island. $64,000 GDP per capita (above the United States), 50,000 people. 95% of their exports are fish. They don’t belong to the EU in part to allow it to decide their own trade parameters for the numerous fish they catch and sell. They are owned by Denmark. Nearly 100% renewable energy. What is odd is that many of the 18 islands are connected by extensive driving tunnels. The first one we went into to goes under the ocean and is 6 miles long!! How does a nation of 50k people afford tunnels like this? On our drive to the boat for our tour we went through at least 6 long tunnels. One such tunnel connected to an island of maybe 2000 people at most. Crazy!  

 

A few other pictures (waterfalls everywhere of course) and grass covered roofs. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by macbest

[Deb25]

Gorgeous photos!