WanderingBrit

Chef’s Table was perfect this evening. I’d made the reservation hoping to align nicely with sail away, and nailed it. We were seated at table #1, the rearmost 2 top by a window. A quiet corner with a good view of the room and out the window of Reykjavik sailing by. The 4 top next to us was never occupied. We’d had the Asian Panorama menu 2 years ago, but it still seemed fresh. At each course the vegetarian alternative for my wife was excellent, even down to how well it paired to the wine. Her alternative menu was also different from what we’d had 2 years ago, as were the wine pairings. Service was everything one could hope for, and it was a standout evening! Music and coffee in the atrium are the perfect complement.

Pool area staff were exceptional; we were brought complimentary sorbet, had a touching chat with a lovely waiter from Uganda who, at 38, was outside his country for the first time. When he first approached us to ask if we needed anything he said it made him delighted to see us - which I dismissed as a bit OTT. As we chatted with him later I understood the sincerity of his meaning; in Uganda he “only ever saw white people from a distance. I thought they were gods …. but now I see we are all gods the same!” All aboard was 5pm, but at 5:20 we saw Viking excursions still returning and no sign of us casting off any time soon. This reinforces the argument in favor of cruise line excursions - the ship will wait for you if you’re late back!

Our room was immaculate when we returned to it, though some sort of maintenance activity has meant we can’t use our balcony. We very much enjoyed the thermal spa, and are now enjoying the main pool, where we were promptly visited to see if we’d like a drink.

A nice enough included excursion, “Panoramic Reykjavik”, that gave nice views over the city from the Perlan followed by a very informative tour of the whale museum. Lunch at The World Cafe was plenty tasty for me, a bit more challenging for my vegetarian wife. After sitting and watching other tables seat, and be waited on for drinks, I have to conclude that I’m putting out some sort of vibe that makes waiters ignore me. We again had to get up and flag someone down in order to get water.

Based on limited observations, service is not what we experienced 2 years ago on Orion sailing around Bermuda - when admittedly the ship was at 50% capacity. Seated in two areas of the World Cafe yesterday evening we had to flag down someone to ask for water, or walk up to the bar to request the house wine pour. No one ever checked to see if we needed refills, and we put dirty plates on a table next to us where they sat apparently unnoticed. Breakfast in the Restaurant this morning was something of a let down. The staff had chosen to open only half of the space, presumably because of early excursions leading to lower numbers. They picked the starboard side facing the industrial port, rather than the port side looking out over beautiful landscapes. This also meant that diners had to walk through the disembarkation staff to get to the Restaurant, which was awkward. Despite low numbers, we were still seated at one of the 737 layout two tops, closer than we would have chosen to other guests. Breakfast took 35 minutes to arrive, by which time the toast was cold, having been on the table for 25 minutes. My wife’s eggs Benedict were at best lukewarm, cold in places. There was no check to see if we needed more water - both our glasses were empty - and no check to see if I wanted more tea, I had to ask. We popped up to the World Cafe to grab some fruit, and saw that we could have had our choice of nicely spaced tables facing the mountains, so I’m certain we’ll be having breakfast there from now on. Service in The Living Room was excellent, too much so, and we rather got our Silver Spirit’s money back in Jaquard Brut yesterday afternoon 😁 . Our room steward is exemplary - apparently popping in whenever we’re out to switch out sodas as we’d asked, or replace toiletries we’d moved in to the shower. When we bumped into him this morning he seemed genuinely to want us to have something, anything, we could ask of him, so I asked for foam pillows which arrived 5 minutes later. Time for our first excursion!

You could visit Reykjavik a dozen times and not have an evening as nice as this

Viking isn’t just my cruise line, they’re a customer- even though I work for a different division of Ecolab 😎

That’s why it was on my “embarkation afternoon “ to do list 😎

Having unpacked, a quiet moment to recuperate seemed called for. I quite like the Jaquard Brut. Bridge tour booked for August 2nd, a sea day.

We stayed at Fosshotel Lind, $226 per night. They offered early check in and rooms so spotless they were positively spartan. Scandinavians looked at the decor and said “wow, that’s sterile”. The room was small, but the location was good. Easy walking distance but quiet at night. View from our room, and outside.

And we’re onboard! Paperwork check ashore got us our cards and excursion tickets, but the real check in was once onboard - in The Restaurant, where we also had our muster drill. our first location in The World Cafe soon got very much busier than shown, and we moved to the Aquavit Terrace indoor area. Much nicer!

If you plan to arrive early and stay in Reykjavik, which I heartily recommend, you’ll find that not only are hotels heated by geothermal water but it also provides the hot water to your shower. The resulting aroma may cause you to shorten your time under the jets, but the slightly raised alkalinity is nice and soft 😁

Just for reference and to manage expectations: Lunch was 2 Icelandic beers, Ham & Cheese Panini, and Fish & Chips. All perfectly decent, but hardly a fancy establishment: $71 Two hotdogs at a food truck: $15

Saga Premium is decent value, unless you have a ton of BA Avios points like I do 😁 One way Saga Premium for 2 from O’Hare to Keflavik was $2,200, and that’s in seats that are a long way from a Club World lie flat “suite”. Our round trip O’Hare to Aberdeen next May cost $1,400 and points for 2, and that’s a decent bed for the overnight leg. 5 1/2 hours is a nice short flight though!

We booked “Economy + hotel transfer” with Airport Direct. I carried a printed copy of the ticket with us, which the bus agent scanned at the bus stop at the airport. Because you specify which hotel you need during booking, when you arrive at the bus transfer point they’ve already figured out which minibus you’re to get in. Very helpful staff cross load your bags from the big bus to the little one, and off you go! The connection buses stop at marked spots, they’ll tell you which is the one closest to your hotel. Couldn’t be easier.

You didn’t think rainbows happened on their own?

When in Reykjavik…

Very smooth, calm, process through immigration and baggage claim. Waiting for our bus in the sunshine 🌞

Greenland, which isn’t green, and Iceland which isn’t ice.

I don’t think I’ve ever crossed the Atlantic in something this small

Saga Premium checkin - no one ahead of us. At 59 minutes from leaving home we’re at the “Lounge” 😂 Icelandair has no lounge arrangements at O’Hare.

There’s only one Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes leaving on July 28th 😎 Reykjavik to Bergen by way of the Faroes on Jupiter

Finally time to start a trip we booked almost 2 years ago while onboard Orion in Bermuda! Setting off for O’Hare starts with confronting the difference between the weather we’re leaving, and what awaits us. It’s nice to start in some comfort, with a driver we’ve used before.

US and Canada have different rules than the UK, where consumers have more protection under law.

I don't use a TA; the Virgin Voyages website tells me that my final payment is due at 120 days.