Iceland or is it Iceland; Land of Fire and Ice
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
Comments
Le Champlain was literally brand new when we took the tour. What type of cabin do you have? On our most recent Ponant trip the TD’s were really downplaying the cabin sizes to trim people’s expectations compared to large cruise ships. There were a lot of Tauck first timers.
Alan - True, you can't step out the door of the Hilton Nordica and be in downtown, but we found the location acceptable for the short period we were there at each end of the tour.
We did a loop walk from the hotel to Hallskirche, downtown, over to the waterfront, up the waterfront and then back to the hotel. We spent about half a day. We had good weather and found it to be a refreshing way to get rid of the arrival flight cobwebs. Of course, stopping in a bakery for a local treat didn't hurt the process.
On the room size, we had three in our party so the room that we got was at the end of the building and was quite large. Just the luck of the draw, I guess. It was far from plush, per the Nordic ways.
Knees, overall conditioning, etc., limited my ability and desire to do a large amount of walking, so we took a taxi to downtown eating and tourist area. Taxis all accept plastic and tipping is not customary. After lunch we walked to the Lava Show then Fly over Iceland. Both were certainly touristy but actually very interesting and well done. They “made” real lava and a lava flow at the first attraction. The videography was fantastic at Fly over Iceland. This is not the attraction you should partake if you have visual and balance integration issues, but what stunning scenery! Despite the cost, we thought both were worth the price.
Alan - Glad your two outings were worth the money. Your knees will enjoy the mineral bath outings if you plan to partake in them.
Alan — It’s great to hear you back on the road. Wishing you a wonderful trip!
Alan: We stayed at the Grand Hotel, and the rooms there were not very ‘grand’ either. The public areas of the hotel were nice, but the breakfast was just average. I would give the hotel maybe three stars. The walking was not inviting so we also took a cab to the shopping district … to the top of the hill so we could walk back down … the driver’s excellent suggestion.
Our friends arrived late morning. Without missing a beat we headed off to downtown for lunch and the Lava Show. Since it was nearby we also did the fly over Iceland experience. Though touristic, both were very well done. The Lava Show used a large and very hot behind-the-scenes kiln to actually create lava. During the flow the guide explained and demonstrated the make up and features of lava. The viewing room got very hot. Fly Over Iceland was similar to Disney’s Avatar experience except this was real world, wild video of Icelands amazing topography (waterfalls, craggy peaks, etc.) taken from a helo and projected on a half-sphere while rows of seats tilted with the motion portrayed. It was very well done. Only a few viewers were affected by the sensory overload. (No photos allowed)
Lost? We’re not lost!
Same jacket, two circles. 😃
Day one complete. Breakfast at the Hilton was pretty decent again. Afterwards it was time to meet our TDs, turn in paperwork, settle our hotel bill, etc. We have 5 TDs and a tour liaison- a new term for us. One TD was Gilli, who we met on Blue Danube in 2018. I shared with her a photo of the two of us I had taken at the castle ruin on the hill in Durnstein- we both looked much younger!
There are 155 Taucktourians + the 6 Tauck staff- Tauck has the entire ship. About noon we boarded 3 buses for a short trip under overcast, rainy skies, to the Harpa Concert Hall for a nice but typically too big lunch at the onsite La Primavera restaurant. After lunch we reboarded the buses for a drive thru Old town, to the Perlman Museum. Due to the large crowd and mixed signals our group only got to see 2 of the lesser exhibit areas. We missed the best two, the Volcano show and the ice caves exhibits. The buses took us to Hafnarjordur to board Le Champlain.
After getting checked in and spending a little time in our cabin where our luggage was waiting, we had a shipboard briefing in the theatre followed by dinner. While we were eating, the ship got underway. Amongst all the paperwork we received, we got an envelope with a letter offering us each a $100 shipboard credit (for the spa, boutique purchases, laundry, etc.) for being “one of our most travelled patrons. . .”.
It has been a bit rough so far tonight on our journey to Heimay, our port of call for tomorrow.
Alan - Here's a picture of Gilli on Grimsey Island you can share with her from our trip in 2021. Hopefully the weather allows the tenders to go ashore when you get there.
Here were our Tour Directors.
We have traveled with Marcos in Iceland and somewhere else, possibly one of our Galapagos tours.
We have Mark and Gilli, and Mateo who is a friend of Marcos (both from Costa Rica).
Day 2. Heimay & the "Islands of the Western Men"
After a bit of a rough transit we spent the day at Heimaey Island. The main focus of today was the landscape and the impact of the 1973 volcanic eruption which nearly destroyed the entire village and port.
Food- the breakfast buffet at Hilton was better so far than on Le Champlain. While we expected it and it is early in the tour, there has been too much fish for our taste with too little available non- seafood main selections. We often chose items off the "Always Available" menu. I think I started with Shrimp Cocktail with "Heinz cocktail sauce" every dinner!
Today we visited a small museum dedicated to the eruption. We then drove around the small island to see more remnants of the eruption. One of the highlights was a brief stop where we observed a Puffin rookery. Tonight was the Captain’s Dinner. We skipped tonight’s ABBA show,
Adjacent to a golf course were these two reconstructions of Icelandic long houses.
Elephant rock- can you see it? Not much in the way of ears, but definite eye and wrinkled trunk dipping into the water.
You lucked out with Marcos. His knowledge of birds is incredible.
Alan - Your pictures bring back memories. You forgot to mention one of the highlights of that island, the golf course. There were lots of golfers playing when we were there.
We always went to the shows that began at 9-30pm but they were not well attended. On our recent tour, they had changed things and all but one show were in the lounge at about 6 pm before dinner. Which to us was a shame since you miss out on the really good backgrounds and lighting. At 9-30pm, the shows only last a half hour and a good way to wind down and digest the dinner. It’s not as if you have to get up at the crack of dawn on the small ship cruises, they are so laid back compared to the land tours.
This change was to improve attendance
Sam - nice to see you are getting some exercise while travelling - at least your arms and right ankle.
No golf for me on that trip, only envy! 😂
Day 3. Grundarfjordur
Today we pulled into the fishing village of Grundarfjordur (don’t ask me how to pronounce it!) on the Snarfellish peninsula. Like all of Iceland, the topography was volcanic and the economy based on fishing and raising sheep (wool) and the small Icelandic horses for the tourist industry. The small horses are purebred and not to be confused with ponies or miniatures.
Our choice of excursions ("Journey to the Center of the Earth") took us along the coastal areas just below the volcanic mountains outside Grundarfjodur and towards the Snaefellish Glacier. We were only able to catch brief glimpses of the glacier due to fog and mist. During the bus ride we passed a small coastal peak (Church Mountain) which was a filming location for Game of Thrones. Waterfalls appeared everywhere and the area was dotted with sheep farms and grazing sheep.
The big attraction was a visit to the Vatnshellir lava tube. It was a bit strenuous to descend two very tall narrow spiral metal stairs (and climb back up- no elevators!). The floor of the lava tube was very irregular, and though wet, not slippery due to coarse lava rock, but the random lava rock still made it difficult to traverse. We were given flashlights and helmets due to the low ceiling in one small section. The temp in the lava chambers was just above freezing.
Icelandic spelunking - interesting. You should visit Kartchner Caverns in Arizona. 😄
That was never offered on our tour
British - Not on ours either, but based on the scenery I can tell that was the day we had a very good excursion where they fed us fresh scallops, straight from the ocean during the birding and sea-life excursion.
Birding/fishing/scalloping excursion was cancelled abruptly a few months ago after the boat company informed Tauck with no prior warning that they were selling their boat and closing the business.
Don’t remember having that excursion either
We had that one canceled also. We enjoyed a day on the boat, cuz reviews of the alternative were not good and the water was rough and cold. The cave was not going to work for us.
Alan: hope you didn’t fall overboard. How was the rest of your trip?
Gonna finish it tomorrow.
Day 4. Grimsey Island and the Arctic Circle
A few admin notes- every night we received a 4 sided Daily Program printed by the ship with the daily routine, meal times, entertainment, exercises, etc. and other useful information. Additionally we received a Tauck daily schedule that included what was planned for the group and details about our chosen excursion. Additionally, we received a small 4-sided brochure with information about tomorrow's port of call. Information overload? VOX listening devices were used on almost every general tour and excursion. Contrary to the manufacturer's claims, I find the newer VOX devices have a shorter range than the old ones- something to consider if you are like me and tend to wander off the beaten path or lag behind the group to snap photos with no people in frame.
Le Ponant could not dock at Grimsey so it anchored out and we rode the ship's lifeboats which served as launches, ashore. Thankfully the seas were calm
The Arctic Circle passes right through small Grimsey Island. During one walk there is a photo stop with Arctic Circle sign prop. A bit further but tougher to reach is a spherical stone that precisely marks the circle. Since the circle changes slightly, the stone can be moved. During the walk we had an opportunities to photograph nesting Puffins and the Arctic Terns that would dive bomb you if they thought you were getting anywhere near their nest. I got a small peck on my head from a Tern. The walks were on decent surfaces but far from being level and not easy in my current condition.
The harbor seawall and small town from the ship's launch:
Arctic Tern and chick:
Gilli our Puffin Tauck guide:
Day 5, Akureyri.
Other observations- unlike many tours we have been on, day touring and excursions don't start especially early, often between 8:00 and 9:00. While it is nice for those of us who are not early risers, it really cuts into touring time, since we always had to be back to the ship for lunch. Often times we arrived back at the ship with little more than 30 minutes before they stopped serving lunch. Except for the excursion to Vigur Island on Day 6, we traveled by bus when group touring or on excursions. We seemed to have more than our fair share of people with walking issues, so getting on and off the bus took quite awhile. Since lunches were often late and there is not much to see, there is little time to see anything in the port towns, especially since the ship got underway late afternoon, or during dinner.
While I would call it just a town, Akureyri is the second largest city (town) in Iceland. Like yesterday the weather was great with temps nearing Icelandic records and blue skies with puffy white clouds, unlike the overcast and cool first few days of the tour. We made an all-too-brief photo stop at the Godafoss waterfall (is that redundant, like saying ATM machine?
since "foss" means waterfall). The highlight for us was our excursion to the Myvatn Nature Baths. Unlike Sam's experience, other non-Tauck people were there, but it was not crowded. By choosing different spots you could pick a temperature. It was wonderful (We chose not to visit the Blue Lagoon on Day 7. It s now closed due to the nearby eruption.)
Godafoss:
Myvatn Baths
Alan - Wow, we had a lengthy stop at Godafoss, even time at the gift shop at the end. The Godafoss/Myvatn day was one of the funnest days for me. I hope Myvatn healed all of your aches and pains, at least for a short time.
That tour now is nothing like when we went. We found it a bit disappointing, there was not enough site seeing and way too much time on the ship. it was our first small ship cruise, others have been better, the best being the Arabia cruise which was packed with site seeing but is no more.