jeremybe

Replied on your other post - I'm assuming they'll be cancelled - Hope otherwise but being realistic

53 minutes ago, Doc who loves to travel said:

Does anyone have restaurant suggestions for Reykjavik?  We have two nights and I want to make reservations if needed…

We are doing a foodie tour in Reykjavik and they recommended the following:

Matarkjallarinn (Food Cellar) restaurant: This is my first recommendation to you! A brilliant and super exciting restaurant & cocktail bar that just opened their doors last summer and is located in a 160-year-old building in the heart of Reykjavik. Their cuisine is 'Brasserie' which shows in their cozy and relaxed atmosphere but the focus is on fresh local ingredients. They are also one of the most exciting cocktail bars in Reykjavik with award-winning bartenders in their team. Guests can enjoy live piano music every weekend and some weeknights.

KOL restaurant: KOL is and has been one my favorites throughout the last year. They make really amazing classic and "comfort food" cuisines and everything with an Icelandic twist. Seafood, finger food, and awesome cocktails are among the things on the menu and last but not least, the chefs at this venue are some of the most experienced ones in Reykjavik. If you're looking to kick-start the night, then KOL is also a good spot. They specialize in craft cocktails and were among the first ones in Iceland to make their own drinks from scratch. Located in front of Hallgrímskirkja church in downtown Reykjavík.

Sjávargrillið (Seafood Grill): For me personally, I would say it's one of the absolute best restaurants in Reykjavik right now, especially when it comes to seafood. They are located right downtown near the big church, so in a great location. It was funded by a local chef who comes from a tiny fishing village up North. They want their guests to experience Iceland through their food so they serve outstanding, authentic local food and try to offer fair prices. The atmosphere is cozy, quality service and the perfect place if you want to dig deeper into Icelandic cuisine!

 

4 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

I’ve been meaning to ask about the lunch place for the Heart of the Glacier tour from Reykjavik. We drove out to Husafell last Monday where the guides for that tour are based, went to Reykholt (medieval studies center), the two waterfalls, and saw the hot springs. But we didn’t see an “expansive estate” where the tour said you’d get lunch. Can anyone on that tour describe where it was? Just curious.

 

we are driving there in two weeks - How was the drive? Any pointers/tips would be appreciated!!

3 hours ago, Clay Clayton said:

Would be interested but we are on the July 10th cruise.  Can you share contact info though?  Thanks!

 

If you haven’t posted on your rollcall already you might want to do so. 

I'm going to echo this as well - Anyone on the July 17 cruise interested in the Glacier lagoon and Ice tour??? I'll post this on our Roll Call as well! But would love to organize the trip ..

1 hour ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Yes, there are vendors who offer the trip to Vigur.  I'll post later if you want name/info.  I'm thinking of booking it myself, if they aren't full because of Viking taking all their slots.  I waited too long to book Viking's and missed out.  Give me another hour or two.  Have to take someone somewhere.

Please post the name/info when you get a chance - very interested!!! Thanks

Any updates on Shore Excursion availability? Did they open up any additional spots on the ship? Thanks!

I thought I had seen some posts, but cant seem to find them - Was there ever a definitive answer on renting a car at the airport and dropping it off close to the port? We get in on Thursday AM and figured we would tour Thursday all the way through Sunday - Maybe park the car in the Port area (is that even possible??) - Did anyone find a car rental that has port or close to port drop off? Do hotels in the city center typically have parking? Does anyone know what port we are actually docking in? 

Vikings excursion or lack thereof situation has made this a pretty difficult trip to plan - For what its worth, we were told by Viking officially that the July 17 will be allowed to do their own excursions - With a caveat that of course this could change... I haven't seen Viking add any excursions on 7/17 and everything is 100% sold out even their included tours - I've seen so many other posters complaining about the excursion situation - Really surprised Viking isn't handling it better

For those on board, can you post your experiences with Shore Excursions? Are you able to book them onboard/Is there more availability - Also for restaurants, how difficult is it to get reservations for those of us that missed out?

Thanks!!!

4 minutes ago, vslparis said:

They have stopped those busses ; Blue Lagoon is  not allowing anyone to come directly from the airport . However, that will most likely be changed shortly as Iceland suspends the Covid test on arrival program .

our guide today said that Iceland is suspending that restriction tomorrow, but I haven’t confirmed that ( just got back from our Golden Circle tour ) .

 

Thank you!!! Thats kind of what I thought..  Hope you had a great tour! Guess we'll wait a week or so and see..

25 minutes ago, Jgg630 said:

Check the Get Your Guide app. They have several transfers to Blue Lagoon. I use this app all the time. 

Thanks for that tip.. I'm looking for an Airport to Blue Lagoon transfer.. cant seem to find one anywhere

Has anyone had any success finding a Reykjavik to Blue Lagoon shuttle/bus? We are coming in early and wanted to hit the Blue Lagoon on the way from the airport - It looks like all the bus lines are suspended - Anyone have any other luck/advice??

Thanks 

Just now, Clay Clayton said:

I’d post this question on your roll call to see what other folks on your sailing have gotten. If they have, you might want to contact your travel agent as sometimes the package with tags goes to them. If you don’t have an agent then give Viking a call. 

Thanks! Will do!

10 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

But I couldn’t find any that covered the quarantine costs….only the costs of missed cruise days which Viking states they will work with us to cover.  

Thats really strange - The one I selected explicitly stated quarantine costs <I think> - This is all new so who really knows until they are tested -  We have Medjet which would cover medical - We only purchased the insurance for Quarantine/interruption

24 minutes ago, Queenie1603 said:

A little more excited today as our luggage tags, cabin tags and person stickers (we are using Viking Air) for our cruise arrived this morning. I know a lot can happen in the next 6 weeks but its that old feeling I used to get when the tickets were once sent by post. On my first Cunard cruise many years ago (QE2) the tickets were sent in a Cunard wallet. Those days seem to be long gone with many cruise lines. Glad Viking marketing dept still thinks it's worthwhile to make people feel special.😀

We're on the July 17 cruise, our own air - We have received absolutely nothing from Viking, other than the initial email confirmation from our booking- Are we missing something? Should we have received something?

Thanks!

5 hours ago, librarylady19 said:

Checking their site now. How do you know if a policy covers quarantine costs?

Look specifically under the Trip Interruption portion of the policy - It will explicitly state whether Quarantine is covered - If it is not explicitly stated than there is no coverage

4 hours ago, bardstowntraveller said:

 

You may also want to check out Squaremouth. We purchased a Covid policy through their website

Same here - We used Squaremouth  - They were very helpful especially re:quarantine requirements..

1 hour ago, Shelley34 said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viking's insurance has to be purchased 120 days before departure, or at the time the  booking is placed if it is closer than 120 days to the departure date.  

I purchased another company's insurance.  From what I understand most insurance policies will cover the cost of quarantining and trip interruption for you and your travel companion if one of you tests positive for covid.  Not sure what happens if someone is forced to quarantine because of contact tracing if your covid test is negative.  I was quoted $519 per person by Viking.  I paid about $300 per person with another company but it did not come with cancel for any reason.  I'm on the July 20 Iceland cruise.

Same here -Paid approx $300 for insurance this week for our July 17 cruise - after speaking with a few different companies many do not cover quarantine at all - Trip interruption has to specifically state it . A few of the policies started that ‘if you are forced to quarantine’ you are covered - nothing about a covid test being required

37 minutes ago, ejc14 said:

It's a bit of a walk from terminal A to the international terminal E.  Are you sure your flight out is from the international terminal?  I've been checking my flight (BOS to KEF) and it appears that this one leaves from terminal A.  What flight are you on & what date?  You can check the current flights that are the same as yours by going to flightaware dot com and put in your flight # then check for today or tomorrow and it will tell you which terminal and gate that flight is leaving from.  That is what I did to discover that my BOS to KEF (usually) leaves from terminal A.

Agreed with Terminal A - Iceland flights fly out of Terminal A - You shouldn't have to worry about getting to Terminal E 

2 hours ago, Doc who loves to travel said:

Do you know if this includes the gym?  Training for a marathon and since we can't get off the ship on our own, the treadmill will be our best friend. 

 

Half Ironman myself - will be right there with ya on the Treadmill

You are lucky you have excursions booked..We're booked on July 17 and basically everything is sold out -If Viking doesn't come through and open up more excursions or allow us to book on our own, we will be cancelling- The worst part is, before booking we checked the MVJ site and it said the excursions were available - It was only after paying when selecting the actual excursions that it says sold out.. 

How has Viking been with adding excursions? We're booked on July 11th -Just paid this AM-  When we made the initial hold, the planner showed excursions available - After we paid the excursions are now sold out.. Dont exactly want to go and just sit on a ship... Called Viking and they stated that excursions will be added.. but still concerned..

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Talk with Viking at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

Thank you! Thats what we will do!

Thank you all for the quick responses! really appreciate it!

3 hours ago, EJLobster said:

Only because i can say "been there, done that"  may I ask - have you lined up someone to help if your daughter has a problem at camp?  Otherwise, I wouldn't be so nosy, hah!

Hi There! A fellow New Englander!! (We're from NH) - Yes, that was a big concern, but grandparents are lined up just in case!

We were just able to book one of the July Iceland cruises - We have a deposit until tomorrow night - Looking at travel possibilities - Does anyone know what the latest time we can board would be?   Is it possible to board at say 6:PM?  Also for the return flight home - is a 10:30 AM flight realistic? We need to pick up our daughter at Sleep Away camp the next day and that seems to be our only option.

Thanks for the help!!

Right.. Wondering if they'll create a new itinerary or cancel outright... Who knows...