18 day "viking passage" questions in particular about iceland & greenland.........

Has anyone ever taken the "18 DAY VIKING PASSAGE" cruise with Holland America??? In particular I would love to hear about your experiences in ICELAND and GREENLAND. Did you feel it was worth it??? Also how did you like Rotterdam??? It looks like a very interesting cruise but would love to hear some details from someone who actually has done this cruise. Its along time to be gone for me so I just wanted to know if you felt the whole experience was worth all the effort of being gone that long as well. THANK YOU.

Has anyone ever taken the "18 DAY VIKING PASSAGE" cruise with Holland America??? In particular I would love to hear about your experiences in ICELAND and GREENLAND. Did you feel it was worth it??? Also how did you like Rotterdam??? It looks like a very interesting cruise but would love to hear some details from someone who actually has done this cruise. Its along time to be gone for me so I just wanted to know if you felt the whole experience was worth all the effort of being gone that long as well. THANK YOU.

My husband and I took the round trip version (35 days) of this cruise a few years ago and it was my all time favorite. I loved Iceland and Rotterdam. I didn’t find the two stops in Greenland very exciting but the scenic cruising in that area was breathtaking. We too were on the Rotterdam and the ship was great. We did a 21 day Caribbean cruise on her this past February and everything seemed in good order. My only disappointment is that HAL has discontinued the B.B. King blues band on that class of ships.

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I took it once, ages ago. I must have loved it as I went on to take the (much) longer Voyage of the Vikings three times. That follows a similar route.

I don't recall which city was embarkation, Amsterdam or Copenhagen, when I took it, but do know it wasn't Rotterdam. I've never embarked in Rotterdam, so can't help you there.

I don't know your ports, but can say that northern Iceland is very different from Reykjavik. North has a lot more green, although not too much in the way of trees. The area surrounding Reykjavik is closer to my idea of a moonscape.

Very interesting country, with some great scenery.

You will likely sail through Prins Christian Sund. Worth getting up early to see. The last time I sailed through there was commentary for just about all of the ride. I like to be outside as much as possible for the transit. Don't miss the forlorn little village you pass on starboard. I can't imagine living there.

You will also likely stop at Qaqortoc, which I find to be another quaint, authentic village. Walk around the area and see the stone carvings just off the tender dock. Head to your left and walk down to the museum. There's a sod hut out back that gives you a real sense of what life in the past was like.

This cruise has a nice balance of sea and port days, without ever having too many in a row. You never get too tired of touring, or bored from too many sea days.

Enjoy it!

I want to give a "BIG THANK YOU " to Adoptionmsw and Ruth C. I truly appreciate any input that I can get as its a big decision for me to make. THANK YOU AGAIN.

We did the Viking Passage on the Eurodam in 2014 - one of our best cruises!

We had 3 days in Reykjavik, so we got to see a lot of different terrain (and spent one afternoon in the blue lagoon!). Greenland was interesting and enjoyed the stops in Qaqortoq and Nanortalik. In Qaqortog I arranged a boat trip up the fjord to Hvalsey church Viking ruin, absolutely beautiful setting ! Another person set up polar ice cap boat excursion.

Faroe islands were beautiful, however we never got to Shetland Islands as the captain was outrunning the effects of a storm (hence the extra day in Reykjavik). AS Ruth C said, Prins Christian Sund cruising is amazing - as were the icebergs around Greenland area.

- as were the icebergs around Greenland area.

I've been to ports in Greenland where we had to tender in past ice bergs. You get a real sense of how large some of them are when looking up at them from your little boat.

If there's an opportunity to do this, take it!

We did it last year. Loved it. Would do it again. I really liked the mix of (usually) one sea day, then a port day, then a sea day, then a port day. Lovely scenery. We were lucky enough to have our two adult daughters along so they planned several independent tours involving car rentals and lots of scenery. For me, I enjoyed walking around the small towns and feeling like a local. Even Reykjavik had that same feeling--we walked everywhere and felt safe everywhere.

You will see places none of your friends/family will ever see!! I had friends comment on FB--"You are the first person I know who checked in on FB from Greenland."

Favorite stops for me were Bergen Norway, north coast of Iceland, St. John's Newfoundland. St. John's was wonderful.

Also loved the Rotterdam, the size of the ship was perfect. I think the only time we were ever in port with another ship was in Reykjavik. We were not able to get into Prins Christian Sund due to sea ice and ocean currents but the captain and Iceland pilots worked out another routing for us. And at least two or three enrichment type lectures each sea day.

Whatever you choose, you'll be on a ship, unpack once, and taken from place to place. Enjoy!

I've been to ports in Greenland where we had to tender in past ice bergs. You get a real sense of how large some of them are when looking up at them from your little boat.

If there's an opportunity to do this, take it!

for sure! great "Kodak" moments.

Definitely do the 18 days. We enjoyed Qaqortoq. The buildings are brightly colored so it makes excellent photo ops. also love the stone carving. We didn’t get to Nanortalik due to huge storm.

And like Ruth said sailing through Prince Christian Sind was awesome. But be aware that sail through is weather dependent. Eastbound was cancelled due to the storm. When we did westbound, a helicopter checked the sound for icebergs before actually entered.

Loved Iceland. Make sure to get out of the towns and see the real Iceland either through HAL shore excursions or private shore excursions. You can do Reykjavik on your own. There is a shuttle or you can walk into town.

If you love waterfalls, Iceland is definitely the country to see. Scenery is stark, but beautiful. The country is so beautiful you could easily spend several weeks driving around the country.

Loved the full RT Voyage of the Vikings which we did last August. Even then getting through the Prince Christian Sound was dicey - one way we went in at night to as far as we could go and them came back out during the daytime. Next time on the way back we were able to go the entire distance.

Some of the most stunning scenery we have ever experienced. Other worldly, except I have not yet been to Antarctica which generates similarly awesome responses. So to best ensure getting through the Prince Christian sound, try to pick the latest date to take this cruise with the highest expectation it will be fully open.

Agree, the boat expedition to Hvalsy Church was the second most spectacular part of seeing Greenland. To make the experience more powerful it is worth slogging through the very dense reading of "The Greenlanders" - you immerse yourself into the life and times of this mysterious 500 year Viking settlement in the Greenland areas you will be visiting on this cruise.

To avoid further confusion... HAL has two different cruises, with similar names and similar (but not identical) itineraries: the Viking Passage, and the Voyage of the Vikings.

I have been privileged to sail the VOV cruise on the Rotterdam, Boston to Boston. It was an excellent cruise in many respects. Also, a cruise on the Viking Passage cruise on the Eurodam, AMS to New York. Another very good cruise experience.

I am not a fan of what I experienced in Iceland. Others experiences exceed mine, but I am glad that I have had the opportunity to purchase some of the delicious Icelandic chocoholic candies. I found the Canadian Maritime ports, on the VOY both directions, more of interest to me than Iceland. This is also true to the Viking Passage ports as well.

Greenland is special. A passage through Prinz Christian Sund is very special. I have done it 3x, both directions. It is somewhat "Antarctic" like during the passage, but the geological features that you will see along the Sund are surely different and, I found, interesting to view. The villages that the ships' visited in Greenland provided good port visits with welcoming citizens and an excellent folk show at one port. (It was so enjoyable, I saw it twice on two different cruises,)

We are doing the Viking Passage in August. Thanks to everyone for your gracious insights.

We are doing the Viking Passage in August. Thanks to everyone for your gracious insights.

We have a terrific Roll Call going -- please come over and join (apologies if I've missed your name on it)

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2444130

To make the experience more powerful it is worth slogging through the very dense reading of "The Greenlanders" - you immerse yourself into the life and times of this mysterious 500 year Viking settlement in the Greenland areas you will be visiting on this cruise.

Slog???? It's one of my favorite books ever. I've actually read it twice. :cool:

I took it once, ages ago. I must have loved it as I went on to take the (much) longer Voyage of the Vikings three times. That follows a similar route.

 

I don't recall which city was embarkation, Amsterdam or Copenhagen, when I took it, but do know it wasn't Rotterdam. I've never embarked in Rotterdam, so can't help you there.

 

 

 

I don't know your ports, but can say that northern Iceland is very different from Reykjavik. North has a lot more green, although not too much in the way of trees. The area surrounding Reykjavik is closer to my idea of a moonscape.

 

Very interesting country, with some great scenery.

 

 

 

You will likely sail through Prins Christian Sund. Worth getting up early to see. The last time I sailed through there was commentary for just about all of the ride. I like to be outside as much as possible for the transit. Don't miss the forlorn little village you pass on starboard. I can't imagine living there.

 

You will also likely stop at Qaqortoc, which I find to be another quaint, authentic village. Walk around the area and see the stone carvings just off the tender dock. Head to your left and walk down to the museum. There's a sod hut out back that gives you a real sense of what life in the past was like.

 

 

 

This cruise has a nice balance of sea and port days, without ever having too many in a row. You never get too tired of touring, or bored from too many sea days.

 

 

 

Enjoy it!

Ditto to everything she said about the ports and Prince Christian Sund.

I did the 18 day in 2014. We embarked in Copenhagen and disembarked in New York. We were on the Eurodam, one of my favorite HAL shops. I loved the cruise and am now booked on the 2019 35-day version which will be on the Rotterdam.

Iceland is my second favorite place in the world, only behind Antarctica in its incredibly diverse and awesome landscapes.

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Slog???? It's one of my favorite books ever. I've actually read it twice. :cool:

There are two books with this name. Both are different authors. To which one are you referring?

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There are two books with this name. Both are different authors. To which one are you referring?

 

 

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Jane Smiley's novel

We did the Viking passage last year on the Rotterdam. I've also done the Voyage of the Vikings in 2015 on the Veendam. Prinz Christian Sund can be iffy. We missed it last summer due to ice. In 2015 we made an early exit from the Sund due to ice and spent the afternoon working our way out of an ice field at about 1 knot. One my best days ever on a cruise ship. We were luckier on the west bound leg, making the full transit of the Sund. I love this itinerary...faraway places with strange sounding names. My kind of cruise.

Slog???? It's one of my favorite books ever. I've actually read it twice. :cool:

Howard Norman reviews The Greenlanders for the NYT: He describes my own slog far more poetically - it takes a certain disciplined curiosity to get through the tome......

......

''The Greenlanders'' employs a ''folkloristic'' mode - with its stories overlapping other stories, folded into yet others, it all seems more told than written. That is, of course, Ms. Smiley's strategy and accomplishment. At times, however, villagers tend to come off like historical caricatures: their dialogue consists of exchanged aphorisms rather than plain talk, whatever plain talk was in 14th-century Greenland. Sometimes I felt that each conversation was a crisis, or provoked one, that each utterance would sink under its own menace, or wisdom.'

In this sense, the dialogue seems a recapitulation of the Greenlanders' thinking, not their thinking itself. This is not to say, however, that the author intrudes; it is in dialogue (as much as anywhere) that the true character of the Greenlander is most forthrightly illustrated. Here, I wish to mention the novel's length, 558 pages, if only because it struck me as almost a separate animation. Each page seemed to attempt to correspond, decade by decade, if not breath by breath, with the slowly evolving Greenlandic tragedy.

Therein lies the novel's courage, and its burden. It takes a certain disciplined curiosity to get through this tome, except by incremental readings, perhaps on a hundred winter nights.

..........

We did the Viking Passage on the Eurodam in 2014 - one of our best cruises!

 

We had 3 days in Reykjavik, so we got to see a lot of different terrain (and spent one afternoon in the blue lagoon!). Greenland was interesting and enjoyed the stops in Qaqortoq and Nanortalik. In Qaqortog I arranged a boat trip up the fjord to Hvalsey church Viking ruin, absolutely beautiful setting ! Another person set up polar ice cap boat excursion.

 

Faroe islands were beautiful, however we never got to Shetland Islands as the captain was outrunning the effects of a storm (hence the extra day in Reykjavik). AS Ruth C said, Prins Christian Sund cruising is amazing - as were the icebergs around Greenland area.

 

Therein lies the novel's courage, and its burden. It takes a certain disciplined curiosity to get through this tome, except by incremental readings, perhaps on a hundred winter nights.

..........

I guess, then, by the definition above, I am very disciplined and very curious. ;)

We did the Viking Passage on Eurodam in 2015 (Copenhagen - NYC) and it was my favourite ever cruise! We loved all the ports and as for Prins Christian Sund...breathtaking!

I actually wrote a report (with lots of photos) which might be of interest to you, the link is in my signature or click on the following link

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2265322

I guess, then, by the definition above, I am very disciplined and very curious. ;)

Any by my definition but with more semantic efficiencies, I am a slogger. I got to the bloody end, and I do mean bloody. And it did let me see ghosts at the Hvalsy church ruins. I am thankful for the recommendation, and it pretty much did take me 100 nights to finish it in incremental doses.

Having been familiar with the dense reading found in the Iceland Sagas, I had to grudging;y admire the author's attempt to re-create the same effect. My own concession to this dense reading exercise was to give up on remembering the names of unpronounceable characters, and still try to keep the interwoven story lines sorted out. I appreciated more the vignettes the author created rather than the coherence of the story line. A second reading would be valuable after understanding the basic story line and literary devices this author uses.

This became obvious in the very beginning when we were presented an appealing character, developed sympathy for him and then he drops into an ice flow on a seal hunt and is never heard from again. I felt cheated first to lose him so early in the story until I also appreciated this was probably very much like life in Greenland was felt by those who were living there at that time.

I wanted a happier ending for Margaret (or how ever her name was spelled) and the use of the Hvalsy church at the end almost seemed like the author was writing the story backwards from that historical fact and recreated multi-generational saga story lines that could have led to that final recorded wedding event.

Additonally, at L'Anse aux Meadows in the re-created Viking settlement house, I finally saw a "bed closet" and "wadmaal", two terms with no explanation that kept recurring in the novel.

Great read for middle ages Norway: Sigrid Undset. Her Kristen Lavransdatter series and The Master of Hestviken series are both excellent.

Well...it's not just me. She won a Nobel prize.