Iceland Cruise July/August 2024
Graham & Elaine
Last updated 22nd August 2024
Photo's can be viewed here
28th July home to Manchester
Well, we’re off on our travels again. This time we’re taking a cruise with our friends Pete & Ann and we’re heading (mainly) to Iceland.
28th July 2024 – Home to Manchester Airport.
Graham and I left home just after lunch this afternoon and drove ourselves to Pete & Ann’s house in Audenshaw. We decided that, as the schools were off and the motorways would potentially be busy, we would take a more scenic route via, Gainsborough, Maltby, Holmfirth and on to Audenshaw. It turned out to be a reasonable decision although we did come across quite a few numpties as we drove across Saddleworth moor!
After a brief stop to collect Pete and Ann and their luggage we drove on to the Delta by Marriott hotel close to Manchester airport. As far as airport hotels go this one has a lot to recommend it. The staff were extremely helpful, the rooms were good, the parking was even better (we nabbed a disabled spot right outside reception) and the restaurant food, although a little pricey, was also good.
29th July 2024 – Manchester to Copenhagen.
As we had a fairly early flight this morning we had booked a taxi for 07:00. What we hadn’t realised was that as we’d booked their ‘stay and fly’ package the cost of the taxi was included and, even better, because there were four of us and quite a lot of luggage, they sent two cars and it didn’t cost us a bean extra!
Graham and I had recently been told that the wheelchair service at Manchester was pretty poor but we can honestly say that was not our experience. We checked in at the assistance lounge and after a short wait we were taken across to check-in for our flight (we hadn’t been able to check-in on-line). I was then allowed to take the wheelchair myself and to push Graham through security and to the gate (after a short stop for breakfast).
The flight was short and uneventful and we were soon off the other end where we were all four whisked very quickly past all of the queues through passport control to collect our luggage which, it turned out, was some of the first off of our flight. Our taxi transfer was waiting for us and we reached our hotel (The Tivoli) by around 13:30. When we originally booked we requested a handicapped persons room for Graham but this seemed to have been a little lost in translation but we were soon sorted with a suitable room.
Once we’d settled ourselves in we met up with Pete & Ann and took a taxi into the Nyhaven (Harbour) area of the city to take a look around. As it is holiday time here it was pretty busy so rather than walk too far (Pete, Ann and I left Graham sitting for a while whilst we did take a walk) we all decided to take a canal tour and see the city from the water. By this time it was 18:00 and, as the restaurants here all looked very expensive, we decided to take a taxi back towards our hotel to the Meat Packing area which had been recommended by staff at the hotel. As it turns out this was a bit of a mistake as most of the food on offer was either tapas style or fast food. We ate in a fairly noisy place which sold ribs, chicken burgers etc. and, for me in particular, this turned out to be a definite mistake as I ended up with a very sore stomach which was followed by a very bad night’s sleep!
30th July 2024 – Copenhagen to the Azamara, Onward (our home for the next 12 nights)
The check-out time at the hotel was 12:00 and the check-in time for the cruise was 12:30 so we split the difference and booked a cab for 12:15. Although it was a pretty expensive journey it went very smoothly and were on-board the ship by around 13:15.
Once on-board Ann and I left the ‘boys’ sitting in the buffet restaurant (the only one that was open for lunch today) whilst we went and booked ourselves into the specialty restaurants for later in the cruise. That done we joined them again and had a fairly light lunch albeit rather later than we would have liked. We then had a bit of time to start our unpacking before we went along to the mandatory safety drill. Once that was done it was back to finish unpacking before we changed ready for dinner.
This evening, we ate in the main restaurant (Discoveries) and, as usual the food was very good. My issues with food were easily accommodated from the standard menu but I was then handed a menu for Wednesday’s dinner so that I could pre-order from the specials menu without any worries of onions or garlic being included.
Once we’d eaten we headed to the theatre where we were introduced to all of the entertainments team who each gave a display of their singing, dancing and/or musical skills and, as far as I’m concerned at least, they were all very impressive so we should be kept well entertained over the coming days/evenings.
31st July 2024 – Arenadal, Norway.
This stop wasn’t included in the itinerary when we originally booked but it seems that because of some feedback about one of the stops in Iceland it had been dropped (it didn’t look like there was much to do or see there anyway) and this one was inserted.
We had breakfast in Discoveries and then made our way out onto the open decks close by as we’d been informed that, as a special treat, we were going to be entertained by a local dance school who performed some scenes from Disney’s ‘Frozen’ along the quayside. The display lasted around 20 minutes and was really, really good. The youngsters were spread across a zigzag path leading up from the waterfront and they put their hearts and souls into the performance which was very well received by all on-board.
After a brief return to our cabins we set off, on foot, to take a look at the town. It is only a relatively small town but very pretty and in a lovely setting with lots of boating activity amongst the islands close by. Our walk back was followed by lunch in the buffet restaurant (again the only one open at this time of day) where I was very impressed with the service. Having asked one of the chefs to point out which dishes didn’t have onion or garlic I was approached by one of the senior chefs who asked me what I’d like so that he could cook it for me! As it would be relatively quick and easy I asked for some pasta but what I forgot to do was ask for a small portion so when it arrived it was probably more than I would usually have for my evening meal at home!!
As the sun was out and weather warm we decide to take a post-lunch rest around the swimming pool before separately heading back inside to ready ourselves for another evening of too much food and a (hopefully) good show.
1st August 2024 – At Sea
Today was something of a lazy day as we had a day at sea. We started off with having breakfast in the Windows Café (the buffet restaurant) followed by a lazy morning chatting in “The Living Room” (an observation lounge at the front and close to the top of the ship).
After a buffet lunch we went along to listen to a lecture by a very interesting Australian lady who is a barrister and a specialist in forensics. Apart from telling us her own story; how she first became a lawyer and then, as forensics started to become more important in her line of business, took on further studies in forensics. She told us a number of stories involving the use of forensics in cases she had both prosecuted and defended and very interesting it was too.
A couple of hours later we joined another lecture, this one by a historian who provided some insight into the history and importance of the Vikings in Scandinavian culture.
After a quick change we made our first visit to one of the on-board specialty restaurants. This time it was to “Prime C” which is essentially a steak and seafood restaurant. Once we were done there we went along to the theatre where they had a comedian doing a turn. As this turned out not to be to our taste, Graham and I left and made ourselves comfortable in one of the bars before turning in for the night.
2nd August 2024 – Torshaven, Faroe Islands.
When we initially booked this trip we arranged to take a scenic tour around the Torshaven area which was due to start at around lunchtime. Due to a change in itinerary, we discovered once on-board that the tour time had been changed to 08:15 so we had an early start this morning (even earlier than anticipated as the foghorn started up at around 05:30). Breakfast was a little rushed as we ended up in the buffet restaurant at the same time as a good number of the other guests but we made it to our meeting point in plenty of time.
Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t really playing ball this morning (bucketing rain, and fairly strong winds) so the scenic trip, although interesting and still worth doing, wasn’t as scenic as it might have been. Despite the weather we made a number of photo stops along the way, one of which was at the top of the mountain (not that it was all that high) and it was blowing an absolute gale.
Once back at the ship, Pete, Ann and I made use of the shuttle bus service which dropped us quite close to the main town and we spent a little while walking around (in the pouring rain) taking a look at the traditional turf roofed building etc. before taking the shuttle back to the ship for a much-needed warming coffee.
Lunch also turned out to be a slightly less comfortable affair than usual as well today as pretty much everyone had given up with the idea of walking too far in the rain and it was obviously busier than usual (a perfect example of why I don’t like buffet restaurants but it was the only one open today).
This afternoon Ann and I went along to listen to another lecture “Do Icelanders really believe in Elves?” which was, once again, interesting particularly when the speaker said that regular surveys of Icelanders taken between 1974 and 2016 all showed that around 50% of the population said they either believed in Elves or had actually seen them!!
This evening we, once again, ate in the Discoveries restaurant before heading to the cabaret lounge where we listened to another, different, set by the guest violinist who is on-board for a few more days. As we were both feeling pretty tired this evening Graham and I called it a night once the show was over.
3rd August 2024 – Seydisfjordur, Iceland
As we weren’t due to arrive until late morning we had a more leisurely breakfast and then sat in the Living Room watching the world go by (literally) for a while. We had a tour booked for 14:00 this afternoon so after a light lunch we took the tender boat across to land and joined our fellow travelers and boarded a 4x4 bus which was to take us to the Skalanes nature reserve which is well known for its colonies of birds. The drive to get there was pretty and also a little rough in places as we had to cross a few rivers (hence the 4x4 bus). Once there we saw a number of different bird species quite close to the parking area and then whilst Graham waited at the bus the rest of us took a walk out the cliffs where a multitude of birds, including puffins, nest. Once back on the bus we made one further stop at a small archeological site where a few years ago an ancient graveyard was discovered.
The ship’s sailing time was 18:00 with the “all abord” time published as 17:30 however we were still on the bus on our way back when the guide took a call as it was already 17:45 and the ship wanted to know where we were. As we got back on-board the captain made an announcement stating that “as we’re now all finally back” we would be departing as soon as possible. Oops!
As we were a little late getting back, we were also a bit later eating but we had a very pleasant meal on a table we shared with a couple of Aussies we’ve been speaking to on and off for days.
Tonight’s show was given by a very talented Scottish flautist who also specializes in playing the penny whistle. Being shattered again after another fairly full day we retired pretty early again.
4th August 2024 – Akureyri, Iceland
This morning dawned with much more promising weather and some very pretty views along the fjord which brought us to the town. Our tour was a bit earlier today so breakfast wasn’t quite such a leisurely affair but still very pleasant.
We had chosen a tour which would take us to see the Godafoss waterfall which was around a 50-minute drive from the port. The scenery along the way was very pretty and the falls themselves were well worth seeing. Graham made it out to one of the main viewing areas where he and Ann waited for Peter and I to return from a slightly longer, rougher walk. Our next stop was the botanical gardens which, although not huge, were very pleasant to take a walk around. From there we returned to the ship and a well-earned hot drink.
After a light lunch taken at the Mosaic coffee bar, I decided I’d take the shuttle bus that was running from the ship to the edge of the town. Unfortunately, it seems I got my timing wrong as the shuttle only ran every half-hour and I had missed one by five minutes so I decided to make the walk in to town (It wasn’t too far). The main shopping street isn’t all that big but very pleasant and, oddly, it has a children’s play area right in the middle of it. After taking a walk around and checking out what the tourist shops had to offer (all very, very expensive) I decided I may as well walk back as well as I’d have had to wait quite a while for the bus again.
We dined in the Discoveries restaurant again this evening and had what was probably one of the best meals we’ve had on-board. Everything just worked. We settled in for a drink in “The Den” after dinner and got chatting to a very nice couple. As we had an early tour booked for Monday we weren’t late to bed again.
5th August 2024 – At Sea
We were up really early this morning as we had an early tour booked and wanted to make sure we had breakfast before we left. Unfortunately, we were only half way through breakfast when the captain come on to the address system to advise that gale force winds were forecast for later in the day and they had been advised against heading in to our planned stop at Isafjordur. This was particularly important as we were to have been anchoring off-shore and using the tenders into port. I later had a brief chat (in the lift) with one of the senior officers who explained that the run into the port is in a very narrow channel and although we may have got in and anchored tendering would have been dangerous and then getting back out of the channel would also have been very hazardous. It may even have led to us getting stuck there and then missing out on our stop at Reykjavik.
As we had nowhere to rush off to we finished our food and then headed to “The Living Room” where we found some seats close to the floor to ceiling windows but there was little to see really as it was pretty misty for much of the day. A few cups of tea/coffee and a light lunch later and we’re back in our cabins filling in a little time before we head out to our second specialty restaurant this evening (this time it’s to The Aqualina, the Italian restaurant).
6th August 2024 – Reykjavik, Iceland
Having arrived in Reykjavik late yesterday evening there were people already getting off of the ship by the time we had breakfast this morning. As we had a full day tour booked (7 hours) we were fairly early off ourselves. We joined a fairly full bus and were taken to a number of sights around the area.
First we stopped at a National Park which included the largest lake in Iceland and where you could take a walk through a gorge which was actually the North American tectonic plate. From there we moved on to visit a set of geysers which although not huge, are very regular in their displays. Next was a stop at the very well known Gulfoss falls which are well worth the time. Graham and I had actually been here before on a previous visit but things around the falls had changed somewhat. Rather than stopping at a car park quite close to the top level of the falls we were taken to a car park quite a bit higher up. After an included lunch we took a short(ish) walk to the viewpoints which was well worth the effort despite there being quite a few people about.
Next on our itinerary was a brief visit to another smaller waterfall which had a salmon ladder built at the side of it. From there we visited a nearby farm for a short introduction to the famous Icelandic horses which (apparently) have a more varied gait that any other breed on the planet. Although not horsey people we found this to be an interesting albeit fairly brief visit. The last stop on our tour was to a volcanic crater which, although not huge is almost perfectly formed and, once again, the views were great.
All of this was helped by the fact that the weather was, for a change, on our side. It was warmer than we had expected and stayed dry right up until we were on our way back to the ship.
Unfortunately, once we were back on the ship things took a bit of a downturn when Graham ate something which got quite badly stuck and necessitated a visit to the medical centre (who were really good). Fortunately, things improved[E1] fairly rapidly after some treatment and he was even able to eat an evening meal although quite carefully. A quick drink listening to the resident pianist finished off our evening and we’re just about to retire for the night as we have another tour booked for tomorrow morning.
7th August 2024 – Heimaey, Iceland
We woke this morning to partly cloudy skies and some very interesting views. Heimaey is a small island (13.4 sq km) just off of the coast of Iceland which is famed for its sea birds and also for the fact that after a volcanic eruption in 1973 it actually grew in size quite substantially. As we ate breakfast, we could see that we were getting pretty close to some of the very small islands that followed the entrance to the harbour and it made for a very interesting docking.
A little later in the morning Graham and I bumped into the ships captain and he said that we were actually pretty lucky to have got in here as, quite often, the weather prevents them docking here because of the very narrow entrance . He also confirmed that it is a difficult approach particularly as they have to reverse the ship through the old, original jetties but not until they have had to negotiate their way through the ‘new’ lava flows.
After we had booked this cruise we selected a number of tours to take part in and todays was a “RIB safari” lasting around and hour and a quarter. Well, it turns out the first 15 minutes or so were taken up by the process of clambering into cold water floatation suits and life jackets which was fun in itself. We then made our way to the RIB and its safe to say we were all a little surprised to see that the vessel we were joining had some very unusual seating. We were expecting some small plastic seats across the vessel but what we actually found was a set of seats that were more like a horse saddle with a small padded back and a handle directly in front of you! It was difficult enough for the rest of us to get into position but even more so for Graham! The crew couldn’t have been more helpful and with the help of the captain (who was around 6’5” and built like a brick chicken shed) he was able to get seated and we set off for an exhilarating ride around some of the smaller islands.
During the tour we stopped to view a number of sights including a cannonball from the 1800’s which is embedded in the cliff face, one of the largest puffin colonies in the world and a variety of caves. We even went into two of the caves which was quite an earie experience particularly as they played some quite haunting music whilst we did so. It’s fair to say that this wasn’t quite what any of us had expected, but we’ve all agreed that it is one of the highlights of the cruise.
Once the tour was over (and we’d clambered out of our suits) we visited a local bakery for some warm drinks and cake. This was followed by a stroll into the main street where we discovered a brewery which was due to open at 13:00. As we didn’t have to be back on-board until 14:30 we decided it would be rude not to try it so on our way back to the ship we made a slight detour and sat outside in the sun with a beer each which was a very pleasant way to spend a bit of time.
Once back on-board we had a light lunch before going up to the top deck to watch our departure through the rocky islands.
8th & 9th August 2024 – At Sea
There isn’t too much to report for these two days as both were spent at sea. We spent our time eating, drinking and relaxing around the ship and taking in the various pieces of entertainment on offer including listening to a set by the husband of our cruise director which was very entertaining.
10th August 20224 – Skagen, Denmark
We arrived at our last port of call for this cruise fairly early this morning but as we hadn’t booked a tour we had a fairly leisurely start.
Once we were ready to leave the ship, we made use of the shuttle bus service to take us to the town. It wasn’t all that far but too far to want to walk it. Once in the centre, Graham decided to take a break from walking and sat in a very pleasant café whilst Pete, Ann and I went for a look around the town. It’s not a particularly big town but very pleasant with lots of pretty expensive shops. We then joined Graham for a coffee before deciding to try to find the Engineering Museum our friends Leif and Lene had told us about.
As the museum was around half way back to the ship we asked the shuttle driver if he could drop us off. He apologized and said that he wasn’t allowed to do that but that he would point it out to us so we knew where it was. Once back at the ship I took a walk to try to see how far it was to see if Graham would be able to manage the walk. It turned out to be quite a trek and as there was a strong (very strong) wind blowing we decided it wasn’t practical. Fortunately, someone amongst us (can’t remember who) suggested we try to borrow a wheelchair from the ship and Pete went on a hunting expedition to try to find what we needed. Once he’s secured a wheelchair, we made our way to the museum which was worth the effort. An engineering museum doesn’t necessarily sound like the most interesting but they had a lot of huge engines which had been restored as well as an array of cars and motorcycles.
After a late lunch back on the ship, this time taken on the Patio by the pool, it was time to try to get the rest of our packing done as our bigger bags needed to be outside our cabins by 23:00 ready for tomorrow’s departure.
This evening we went back to the ‘Prime C’ specialty restaurant for our meal before heading to the theatre for a ‘Rock’ themed show which was, in our opinion, one of the best they’d done.
11th August 2024 – Copenhagen, Denmark
We were up very early this morning as we had to be out of our cabins by 08:00. The timing meant we were restricted to using the buffet restaurant as we didn’t want to drag our overnight bags with us. Whilst we’d been on the ship Ann had managed to email our Copenhagen hotel and ask them to book a taxi pick-up for us. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as they might have once we’d arrived and it took a few telephone calls before we were picked up.
We still arrived at the hotel fairly early so, not surprisingly, our rooms weren’t ready but we were able to leave our bags in the secure storage before heading out into the town. We had decided to use the Hop-on-Hop-off bus service and started by taking a tour around the whole route before jumping off near the Tivoli Gardens for lunch. We then re-joined the bus as far as the stop for the Amalienborg Palace where we went in to see a display focusing on the current Danish Monarch.
Early evening we returned to the hotel to check-in and sort our bags out before making our way to the very nice (if very expensive) steak house within the restaurant itself. A quick coffee followed before we retired for the night.
12th August 2024 – Copenhagen to Manchester.
As we weren’t being picked up until 14:30 today we had time for a more leisurely breakfast before returning to our rooms to ready our bags for leaving. That done we checked out leaving our bags in the storage area before taking a walk to the local shopping mall for a look around and a light lunch.
Our taxi driver arrived a little early to collect us and it was good thing that he did as there were some major roadworks on the way to the airport. We still arrived in good time and Graham and I waited a short while for a wheelchair whilst Pete & Ann went to check-in. We met up again just as we were boarding for our flight home.
Once in Manchester there was wheelchair waiting and we were through security etc. in very good time. We then had a little bit of hassle trying to get our return taxis sorted but we were still back to Pete & Ann’s by around 20:00. After a takeaway meal and a drink, we called it a night as we were all pretty shattered.
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13th August 2024 – Manchester to Home.
We left Pete & Ann’s shortly after breakfast and had a good run home arriving at 13:00 with the joyous prospect of bag loads of washing!!
Overall, it was a good trip. The weather could have been kinder to us in one of two places but as we’ve said many a time, you can’t control the weather and we still enjoyed ourselves despite the odd day of rain and a missed port.
All of the ports we did see were worth a visit and there was some great scenery to be had along the way but I think I’d prefer my next cruise to be somewhere where the weather is a little more predictable as packing for this trip was quite a challenge!