Ponant small ship tour - Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice

Just checked the Ponant website for their Iceland tours . They still are showing sailings for the two dates (6/16 and 623) before Tauck starts sailing with them on 6/30.

I'm holding onto about a 20% chance that this tour happens.

As of now Iceland isn't allowing foreign visitors, but they say they will reassess about May 1st. I would expect to determine for sure if the tour will be cancelled shortly after Iceland has their early May reassessment.

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Comments

  • Cathy - Good point. I've now dropped my hope to 5-10%. Not to zero yet, but real close. :D

  • We're all seeing our vaccine rollout in the U.S. getting better and better and hoping the same is happening elsewhere. Every few days I check the numbers for different countrys. Iceland is actually doing a bit better than most of Europe. I'm being hopeful about our Aug/Sep trips but also already have a Plan B if one or both don't happen.

  • Cathy-I did the same! I moved my Morocco trip once again—originally in 10/20 to -second try in 11/21 and now to 10/22. 🤞🤞 However, I am hedging my bets. I am holding into my 2021 flights— just in case. I am hoping I can rebook the 2021 trip in the event it actually happens. The flights were booked with United points. I can cancel with full points returned within 30 days of the departure. I was anxious to book 2022 because I was afraid my ideal travel date would book up if I waited too long. There are 5 in my group: it’s not always easy to book 3 rooms—especially when there is only 1 guest in one of the rooms.

  • Just check the Iceland tour availability. It shows all the June cruises as "Sold Out", but not the ones starting in July. AlanS says that usually indicates that Tauck/Ponant are leaning towards cancelling the "Sold Out" sailings. There are no offerings for 2022 yet. That's a good thing, I think. Could me they are saving those for people booked this year that get cancelled (again).

    That will be the final Covid straw if our June 30th sailing gets cancelled, but the July 7th sailing actually happens.

  • We have not cancelled Jamaica yet. It is more difficult now though because Jamaica changed their arrival requirements to a negative test within 72 hours of departure for Jamaica. It used to be 10 days. We scheduled our test for April 7th, with results available on April 9th. We leave on April 10th. It's more problematic for people flying to Tucson from Seattle and then on to Jamaica with us. Hopefully we can work everything out.

  • Glad you found it in English. My Icelandic is pretty rusty.😊

  • I got an email response from Ponant and they said they would decide by no later than April 9th whether to resume their Iceland Mosaic sailings, which is the equivalent of the Tauck tour.

  • Sam, did you see the news piece about a dormant volcano erupting in Iceland yesterday? That should make your tour interesting.

  • Claudia, I did see that. I just want to be able to tour! :/

  • Sam, don't we all. What's a little volcano here or there. Wonder if Switzerland has dormant volcanoes?

  • From the cruise mapper.com website. This doesn't look good for my end of June tour to Iceland on Le Jacque Cartier.

  • Not looking good? Not looking at all! :/

  • I think your December Antarctica cruise is a ‘go’ unless something else happens. Our Med. cruise on Le Bougainville, and our Antarctica on Le Lyrial are also looking better. Africa in late June ... ???

  • edited March 2021

    Cathy, I would ask Tauck about your physical but don’t get it until you are sure the trip is a go if it costs you money.
    Argentina remains a problem, I read that today

  • Try the phone option that says, “If you recently completed a tour .... “. I’ve gotten through on that line ... they’re not very busy. (;-)

  • Same with, do you want to book a new tour.

  • Cathy - With global warming, Antarctica may be gone by then :)

  • Just a little morning sarcasm, with a hint of truth to it, Cathy... Hope your trip happens sooner than later.

  • What global warming? The view out my window just now. (A joke, I'm not a climate change denier)

  • Claudia - Wow. You had to be 2000 feet higher to get snow in Tucson last night. The mountains above our house got a fair amount.

    FYI - Be prepared for some AlanS, I'm wearing shorts and basking in the sun comments! :D:D

  • So Claudia, did you get your new deck completed. We love our newly renovated deck.

  • Sam, We live at 7,000 ft.

    Go for it Alan, it's a balmy 28 degrees out.

    Last weekend I was battling pollen allergies and a 3 day sinus headache, now this.

    Yes, British those are new new metal railings. We love the new deck. We made it bigger on the other side of the house so it feels completely different. Can't wait to use it when the weather is warm enough and not so windy.

  • Just be glad I don't wear a Speedo anymore, and least not a racing brief- just racing jammers. :D

  • edited March 2021

    OAT informed their customers that they must have proof of vaccination before they can go on their small ship tours and that all the crew will be vaccinated. Although that’s a great idea, as there is yet to be a standard true proof of vaccination. It’s too easy to fake those flimsy pieces of card. I would want everyone to be vaccinated, is that a legal requirement as yet? I’m still unclear as to how all ship staff can get vaccinated, the tourist industry is hardly an essential job and the Tauck ships I have been on are not staffed with Americans, so it’s unclear to me where they will get vaccinated. I’m unclear whether they would get priority over seniors or those with underlying health conditions.
    I don’t think Tauck has requirements for their customers to be vaccinated, yet!

  • Alan, we may have seen you in Taormina a few years ago.

  • Not me!

  • Mr B wears speedos to swim, but yikes, not on Tauck tours. Take minutes to dry and take up no room in the suitcase. It’s a European thing, you American guys are too hung up on modesty. 😂

  • Claudia - I was wondering about you when I saw the radar map on the news last night. We got about 1 inch, but heavy snow was to our south. This March is the second snowiest in Denver history (so far). There are still 6 days left, but it's supposed to be close to 70 here by Sunday.

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