I’ll try to update as this tour progresses and try to address topics raised in older posts
We could have flown Delta, but surprisingly, Icelandair has a non-stop flight once a day out of RDU, our usual starting point. We have been flying mostly Business Class on long haul flights so have been spoiled with layflat seats. Icelandair uses a 737 and like previous posters their Saga (business class) seats are comfortable but don’t recline much and the spacing is tight. Bottom line, it was a tiring 6 hr flight which my body can’t handle anymore. The movie selection was terrible- only one from this year. Food- so, so. I’ve had better and worse.
We are staying in the Hilton Nordica- seriously, about 2.5 stars. It is not near downtown. Bathroom is tiny (smaller than the one in our Deck 3 cabin on the ship) and the room not much bigger, and no AC. I guess we can handle it for one night. As I suspected our cabin on Le Champlain was bigger. We arrived a day early, at 0630, but it took forever to get through passport control- what a zoo. We heard one person (staff?) say they had never seen it so bad. The lines and wickets snaked through a room filled with new automated equipment still wrapped in plastic. Hopefully, when they are up a running it will help with the long lines. With the 45 min. drive we didn’t get to the hotel until after 0900. Tauck arranged for early check in and even listed it on the summary of purchase as “no charge.” Even though it was our day of arrival we got complimentary breakfast (OK buffet) at the hotel. In summary, we experienced a mix of good and not so good.
This afternoon, if our friends arrive on time, we will visit the Lava Show
