princessdi

Seydisfjordur Iceland We were supposed to sail up the fjord to this town and arrive at 10 am. We had a medical so they just brought the ship in while we slept. Pretty disappointing however we look forward to the sail out this evening. There are so many waterfalls! Everywhere you look you see them cascading down each crack. In the highlands you can see the glaciers that are making the waterfalls. The landscape here is gorgeous. So many different colors of green. The town is small with no more than 700 residents. There use to be a naval base here that you can still see the old machinery. They say on the sail out we will pass an old abandon airfield. It will probably be port side. 🙃 It’s a completely different world. It’s Monday and yet the town is sleeping. This may be because the light of day lasts so long. I did find a lovely little shop on the main drag that was adorable. I hope others find it too. We walked town and took a lot of pictures. It truly is beautiful. We did a tour in Akureyri to the Godofoss falls which was beautiful. The coach ride was about an hour. It was nice to get out of the coach. Next we stopped at Lake Myvan which is huge. We drive around the lake and had wonderful views the whole way. When we reached the Lava Labyrinth we did a 20 minute walk then had lunch. The walks at the scenic place are moderate so be informed. Usually the bus dropped us off at one point and picked us up at another spot so there is an option to stay in the bus. The lunch was good! Thai Coconut soup with rolls and butter. Then arctic fish (their ‘trout’) was very good with potatoes and small salad. Water and coffee was available. The lines to the bathrooms were long and you had to use a ticket (given to us by the guide or your credit card.) The lines were also long to purchase items at the shop. We headed over to the mud pots and I have to say it was like we were in a new world when we came over the mountains. It was amazing. So was the bubbling mud. The landscape went from green green to brown tan. Such a difference and way cool! No faculties are available at the mud pots so plan accordingly. The ride back to the ship was an hour and half ish. We had 20 minutes before all aboard. The ship sailed out of the fjord at cruising speed. Our last day in Iceland at Isafjordur was another cute town. We were docked which was lovely. The landscape is much the same here with waterfalls everywhere. We docked everywhere in Iceland. The sail out of the fjord was beautiful. The landscape is pretty crazy. You can see the calderas from the volcanos that created Iceland. It is all volcanos and sits on the two tectonic plates that are pulling apart. Amazing and so interesting. Again…..port side! I can’t stress that enough. Port side! 🙃 Keep in mind that the darkest it gets this time of year is twilight. Rain is forecast most days but my experience has been light drizzle except here in Isafjourdur where it rained on and off all day. The weather is only controlled by Mother Nature so I and the cruise line are also along for the ride. Couple comments: There are waterfalls everywhere! Each crack has water flowing. It is magnificent. Watch the landscape as you can see where the ground heaved during an event either earthquake or volcano eruption. The weather is cool. Wear layers. The people are very friendly and helpful. Wear good shoes. Besides port side…..enjoy! 😎🙃

So we set sail from Djupivogor (called DJ for short) which was a nice village. About 200 people live there full time. Quite quaint. We hiked to the highest point to look out. It wasn’t a bad hike. We didn’t stay long. The landscape again was amazing. Heading to Alesund Norway. It’s a day at sea to get there. The seas have gentle swells today. The flies were not here which made it so much better. Before I forget I wanted to say ‘port side’. So the reason for this comment is most things are happening port side. I am starboard side. Damn. If you can still choose I suggest port side for the cruise. On my side starboard I have seen one whale and 6 dolphins so far this trip. I know not impressive. Oh well…I’ll keep looking. Eating way too much! I don’t eat like this at home. Yesterday I tried to figure what I could cut out. Well….breakfast must happen because when you have a suite you get breakfast in the Pinnacle. This is a quiet place mid ship that has great food and it is quiet. You are not upstairs with a lot of people. It allows for you to wake up at a slower pace. Another perk I love. Then there is lunch. That I can skip and hold out for afternoon tea at 3 pm. Dinner is at 7:30 and not to be missed. So that’s the cut down plan for now. It can be adjusted as need be. I mean I am on vacation where nothing needs to be decided in a moment. It’s more of a ponder 🤔 Covid is on board and masks are mandatory now. It does take away from the cruising experience. If it is crowded it’s not for me. If I hear coughing I’m out. It hasn’t really affected us much but it does impact the options. What I found is while I would love to do the hop on hop off bus or the train it is enclosed space and not all are wearing masks. Whether I walk thru the outside market depends on the crowd. It is time consuming to watch for all the possibilities. Everyone on ship are wearing masks ALL the time. However the captain did report that someone tattletaled that people took off their masks once the lights went out in the world stage. I actually saw people without masks prior to the theater going dark. Oh yeah….they had chocolate crepes tonight………I’ll start tomorrow… Alesund, Norway Climbed over 418 steps to the top and down. It was mostly switchbacks and also some just upward climbs. I thought I was gonna die. Only kidding….it was fine. For me going down was harder on my legs and my breath was more under control then going up. 418+ steps. I napped when we got back. Bergen, Norway Walked 6 miles around town. Fish market, had pastries, saw 2 McDonald’s, 2 7Elevens, 1 subway, Starbucks and Burger King. Went to the Magic Ice Bar. Didn’t plan on it even though I looked at it yesterday but it happened to be right there. I think we stayed in all of 8 minutes. It was 23 degrees! Everything is made out of ice. Even the glasses you drink from. The cost was 250 kr per person Tilting houses in town. Kind of dirty with litter and cig butts Nice time. Nice place.

A few comments and answers to help. The horses on Iceland are gorgeous! Their long manes and large structure make the look sexy….to me. I enjoyed seeing them everywhere we went. Excursions - only been on one so far - the Golden circle Thingvellir, Waterfalls & Geysirs- 8 hours including lunch. 44 of us on the bus. Most wearing masks as our count of infection on ship is still rising. The tour took care of getting us in and out of the port so if you have an excursion you can ignore the free shuttle/ pay shuttle into town for now until you venture out on your own. The excursion itself was packed full of things. Thingvellir national park was our first stop. You get off at the top and then walk down through a crack between the tectonic plates and meet the bus at the bottom. If you can’t do the walk you can stay on the bus and ride it to the bottom. All of this was quite clear to 43 of us. Guest 44 however missed the point by one hour. The 43 of us waited an hour …. Yes an hour of looking for her. Now we are late and are the last bus in line of many. Next we stop to see the geyser erupt. Pretty cool. Our time was limited there due to the lost time however the geyser did erupt while we were right there. We then drove about five minutes to another geyser. Next stop is the Golden Falls and lunch. It was suggested you eat lunch first then go see the falls. The lunch setup just wasn’t our thing so we headed to the falls. There were people everywhere! We did not go down to the water’s edge due to the crowd. We did hike down and back up the 50+ stairs to the lower level and did get pictures where we were able to camouflage a lot of the people. It is a beautiful waterfall. Our leave time was 2 pm. Well….again………. 43 of us understood this clearly. However guest 44 ….. yes the same guest 44 arrived 20 minutes passed 2. As you can imagine many opinions on what we should do took place on bus as we wait. While one was not to burn her at the stake it was close. Last stop was the power plant closer to Reykjavik. It was cool to see all the pipes that carry the hot water to town and see how it worked. Their utility company employs a lot of people. There was a lot of construction on our travels around Iceland both roads and housing. I was impressed at how empty the roads were in the country. We did drive through the center of town which looked nice. This tour did not include the big glacier although seeing that would have been cool. They say it will be gone in 150 years with global warming. It was a long day. So good to get back to the ship. Internet package - my internet was part of a package so I can’t speak to that. Mine allows 1 device. Dinners - As mentioned the food has been great. Everything I’ve had has been excellent. I look forward to the bread each night at dinner. Fabulous! Entertainment - we have enjoyed the entertainers. The main shows have been good. The music in the piano bar sounds great. We mostly enjoy the Ocean bar and the rock and roll band there in the evenings. The music venues are great. Covid - Yep…it’s here….on board. So far we have been blessed to keep it at bay in our cabin. We continue to do what is requested. I had Covid in early 2021 and for me it was awful. I was a mess. I believe completely that my immune level is strong and that we manifest what we believe. Geology - rkacruiser - you know…I would have missed so much if I hadn’t seen your post about this. Thank you 🙏 I believe I adjusted my approach to the photos I took. Here are some my thoughts: WOW! WOW! WOW! What a great perspective! It was amazing to notice the difference in the layers of rock, the types of rock, the shapes, the sharpness of the mountains and the age/harshness of the landscape. I want to know more and once I get back to a stable Wi-Fi environment I will do research. Amazing! I can’t imagine what wintertime in the Sund would be like. Cold and dark. Glaciers in themselves are fascinating but to see receding and calving glaciers was a treat. I also hope we head back thru on the return. My opinions. Others may differ. Stay safe.

Hi! Today we tendered into Qaqortoq Greenland. The ride wasn’t hard at all. What was hard were the bugs. Black flies and big mosquitoes. Much worse than at Red Bay. I highly recommend getting the head netting if you can. They bugs are relentless. We put tons of bug spray on before leaving the ship…really didn’t help much although it did help. They were hungry for sure. We did see one gentleman using the mesh bag that the bathrobe came in on his head. Definitely going to find where I put mine. Many large icebergs could be seen as we cruised into the harbor. I find them so interesting and can’t wait to see more. The bow of the ship was opened so we could go out there. Great place to take pictures. The town was nice. Easy to walk. The church and fountain are a must see. The bright colors of the homes were a delight. The carvings in the rocks were unique. Not sure what the wintertime is like here. I would imagine cold and dark. Coming across the Labrador Sea last night was quite rocky, windy and cold. We were rocking and rolling all night long. We have the internet and drink package. The internet mostly works with patience. The drink package is great when you remember to order. I am sure I will get better at that as the days go on. We cruise Prince Christian Sound tomorrow then a day at sea before hitting Iceland. The icebergs should be amazing. So far this cruise has been wonderful and I look forward to the days ahead….

Hi! I too am on the cruise and loving it. As stated the crew has been awesome! Very friendly and helpful. I’ll speak a bit about masks. They are well respected whether you decide to wear them or you don’t. Everyone does what they are comfortable with. I find for myself I wear mine out and about when moving through the ship. Then when I sit down to eat or relax I take mine off. All crew wear masks. If I feel the place I am in or going to is too crowded I either distance or don’t attend. One point I would like to share. If you are doing eMed testing and it is antigen you can only test 2 days before embarkation no earlier. We had to redo the test in Boston because we believed 72 hours would work. That is only for the PCR test. If antigen only 2 days before. If you have to retest in Boston you will get charged for the pleasure. Holland and VeriFLY are not connected digitally so be aware you have to get/gather your information yourself. If all is in order VeriFLY can save you time. All can be very frustrating and I found it took away from the experience. The talks on the World Stage have been packed. But as mentioned they are great. Bottle water is now ‘canned’ water. It is strange but it’s just the container. The water is great however I have only tasted it once I pour it into a glass. After leaving Boston we stopped at Bar Harbor. It was a nice place. They had been celebrating a week of great weather. Walking town was easy and the lobster rolls tasty. It has been lovely getting back to sailing and cruising. Those few years were long too long. I am so grateful for the opportunity to enjoy a Holland cruise once again. Red Bay was interesting however the weather started to turn on us and the bugs made it difficult. They say it rains there every day. Every day. It was a tender port so it was a bit rough in the small boats but all was fine. The two days at sea were perfectly relaxing. I do love my sea days. Since boarding we have moved the clocks forward 3 times. For one hour then two 1/2 hours. I think it effects the crew more than the passengers but can be a pain. I am sure there are more time changes in our future. There are definitely cut backs throughout the ship and it’s processes. While disappointing it is the ‘as is’ of life. I am one grateful passenger who is enjoying this with a joyful heart. More later….