A photojournal from our cruise on Infinity to Iceland

[uktog]

I have now managed to sort out some of our photos and have now created this second pictorial review. I think there will be 11 posts of pics and I will try and get them up in succession before comments appear to make it easier for those who want to read the whole story in succession.

If you are interested in our more detailed on board review you can find it here

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1876774

As we said, we spent the day before the cruise in Cambridge which is such a beautiful place even on a slightly cooler cloudy English summer’s day. However the punts were out in force

 

And the views of Kings College Cambridge never cease to inspire.

I have one picture from embarkation for those travelling by train – the picture shows the terminal from the ship and the building to the right (red brick on the edge of the picture) is the rail station. There are porters there who will help you take your luggage from the train to checkin. If you arrive by car you head for the car park as signposted (not the terminal) and you will drop your luggage in designated bays before parking your car and being transferred to the shuttle bus with just carry ons

[uktog]

These are beautiful islands and if all possible try and get out of Torshavn and see further. You do not need shuttle in Torshavn, simple walk to town from the port gate (they shuttle you to there). This is the picture we took later in the day which will help you reference some of the later pics. The shuttles drop you at the blue building you can see the grass roof houses and the church

This picture back to the ship is taken from the drop off point, for those with limited walking, it is so pleasant just to sit there

This is one of my favourite pictures I took all cruise

The grass roofed houses are the feature of these islands and you find them as soon as you go ashore. Try and go up the side streets, they are wonderful.

We discovered the local church which was very pretty – by then the early morning mists had lifted and we were blessed with a glorious day

[uktog]

In the afternoon we did the tour Panoramic Faroes and the woodturner. This allowed us to see amazing scenery along the way as the bus went over high passes and down to shore side.

The wood turner was a real craftperson – a genuine local and so skilled.

And here is the output of his work

If you did not want to go to the turner and the shop, he had a beautiful garden and the beach beside to walk on

 

The scenic views on the way home were spectacular it is hard to do justice to them

 

[uktog]

Reykjavik authorities locally provided shuttle to the centre (quite a long walk) costs £8 or 10 euros or $12 per return trip, these cannot be charged to sea pass, tickets have to be bought inside the tourist shop at the pier, but well signed.

On our first day we did the Golden Circle Tour with Iceland Guided Tours (7800IKR each) not including lunch. This was a very good trip that covered all the spots you want to see and we were in a minibus of 14.

It was a little disorganised at pick up and as it was raining people got a little tense but Odin sorted everything and we were soon on the road with Abby for an excellent day out. We saw all the sights always just before the cruise bus arrived or just after they had left.

Included in our trip were the wonderful sights of

Faxi Waterfall which I am not sure the cruise tour can get down to

We lunched at Gullfoss waterfall which allowed us to balance how we spent the time between the waterfall, eating and shopping. In the cafe they serve lovely lamb stew soup – actually it is a meal in itself and you can have unlimited refills – it was so good most of our group had two bowls. I will include the pictures in the posts on “food porn” at the end of this diary

We then progressed to the Geyser which most obligingly goes off every 3-7 minutes. This was a beautiful area which had so many walks, you could spend a day just here.

Our final area was Pingvellir, the home of the site of the first parliament of Iceland and also no mans land where the tectonic plates have shifted and you can see the impact of the increasing divide between the European Asian and North American plates

[uktog]

As timings were tight we took the ships excursion to the Blue Lagoon which allowed us about 90 minutes in the water.

All over Iceland, as part of the ecosystems reaction to the volcanic reactions are lupins. We were so lucky to be there when they were in full bloom and whole road banks and hillsides were covered in these lovely blue flowers

Of course, you cannot forget in Iceland these little beauties which are quite tricky to photograph unless your tour will stop the bus for you to do so.

If you get time go into Reykjavik town centre. The cathedral is beautiful

Actually you will have time if you are there in June/July(!) this pic of the ship webcam taken from the room TV was done at 2340 and you can see how light it was. This confuses the body and in some ways gives you more energy to stay awake

Anyway to the Blue Lagoon, I have other pics but I do not want to scare you all with pics of me and DH in swimwear. As I said in an earlier post taxis to Blue Lagoon were asking for fixed fare 125 euros return so you need to get a group of 4. Entry charges to the Blue lagoon have increased, it's now 10 euros even if you do not bathe and 40 euros for bathers. You may be better going with the ships trip. If you go make sure you take your ships beach towels they did not advise to do that and some people spent a time lining up to pay to hire towels there. You do not need to bathe naked in front of others. One tip, it might be easier not to be in the same changing area as everyone else from the tour as that means everyone is trying to change back and use hair dryers at the same time - spread out throughout the various locker bays

Sadly it was time to wave goodbye to Iceland’s capital and head on our journey north

[uktog]

In Akureyri no shuttles are needed, this is a lovely little town if you are not doing an organised trip, the Botanical gardens were very popular with those who went there.

We wanted to see the sights and so opted for the ships tour Jewels of the North as we were only in port for 7 hours and this was a 5.5 hour tour. We seemed to take the same route and see the same sights as those on private trips though we had our mid morning snack in a local community centre which had been opened for the purpose rather than at a souvenir shop.

On this trip there was some loud comments being passed by one group on a private trip with a Taxi firm about how silly we were to be herded on ships tours – not necessary and not appreciated as this was an excellent tour and having seen how remote areas are in this part of Iceland I would want to be 100% sure where the transport back up was.

Anyway to the pictures

The sail in to Akureyri is beautiful if you can get up to see it

 

Like most our first stop was at Godafoss waterfalls – not a place for those with a fear of heights, it is all unfenced and some tourists really do scramble far out.

Many of the places on our trip were stops I wished we had longer but I think that is going to need a land based visit to Iceland. The pseudocraters at Skutustadagigar was one such place

Walking around the “Dark Castles” it is hard to remember this is not eroded stones and rocks but lava shapes pushed up from the ground

The land is still fracturing – this split came about in the 1990s during some volcanic activity

Lake Myvatan is beautiful and even on our brief drive through you saw some brief glimpses of unusual birds

[uktog]

An amazing feature of this day out was our visit to the still very active geothermal fields some running on the same fault lines as the various volcanoes – including one which is overdue erupting but the Icelanders are ready for it.

The air is a little “smelly” here but unless you have medical contra indications, please get out of your bus/taxi and enjoy this raw power of nature. It was sad how many did not and without medical reason.

 

 

 

On the trip you had views of many beautiful lakes and valleys

Too soon it was time to sail away with one last look at the town and its lovely cathedral

[uktog]

In Gerainger you tender to the pier where there is a tourist information office with a board outside showing all available that day. Lines inside got quite long as people went to book and things sold out quickly - everything was so much better than the ships prices.

The hop on hop off bus was very popular - actually it is more a drive and ten min photo stop at two key points than hoho but at 200 Norwegian kroner is good value. You could also pick up a Viking boat trip, cycling, kayaking etc there

But before you reach Gerainger, you pass the Seven Sisters water fall and you will want to picture it and The Bride both on the way in and the way out.

They opened the helideck on the way in, but be aware, go well ahead of when they say they are going to pass these two beauties – our ship was about 30 minutes ahead but there was no warning for guest on board and there was no narration of the sail and sail out which did disappoint

 

 

On arrival at Gerainger we decided the extent of our activity would be to walk up to the lovely church

The walk up is longer and more challenging with zig zags than we had perhaps thought when looking ashore but even with moderate mobility issues, we succeeded and it was so lovely. All day you just wanted to keep taking pictures

On sail out, the elite lounge was not open but the voucher system was brought into play – what a place to sit with your drinks and relax - an aft balcony!

 

[uktog]

In Bergen, we were docked in the container port which is not near Bryggen. A free shuttle was provided to beside the art gallery and park near the town centre.

Crossing past where the hop on hop off buses leave (20 euros as far as I could see) you pass the statue of Greig, very trip I make to Bergen, poor old Edward is crowned by a seagull, one day I will get him “uncapped” but not today

Bryggen was about a 20 min walk and you pass by the pedestrianised area

And the lovely fish market

Before you arrive at Bryggen

 

[uktog]

I know some of you love these so here are a few pictures. I have yet to fully master the flash on the cameras so some of these are not as sharp as I would have liked them to be

I love the Seared Ahi Tuna in Blu

This is the lovely lamb soup we ate at Gullfoss waterfall

I mentioned in my other thread that they no longer offer fruit baskets in Aqua class, this is the designed “fruit plate” that is now in use

And of course what picture of food would be complete without a view of the Brunch which in our case was on 4th July – hence the cake

[uktog]

We splurged out on this lovely evening in the USS United States restaurant ($99 per person including paired wines). It was a six course dinner – I do not have pictures of the sorbet.

Course 1

The Goats Cheese soufflé – strange though to have it in a bowl, would have preferred a flatter plate but it did taste good. The alternative choice for this course was the lobster bisque

Course 2

The crispy pork belly – really nice. The alternative was the Fylo wrapped pear with cheese – it looked quite sizeable

Course 3

Here I had the lovely mozzarella salad

And dear husband had the porcini mushroom risotto which was very filling so he certainly did not eat it all

Course 4

We both opted for the fillet steaks with cabernet sauce – they melted in our mouths. The alternative choice was sea bass which only one of the 8 at the table had but it looked lovely

Course 5

The desert choice was either the strawberry balotin flambéed at the table or the absolutely amazing Valrohna chocolate cake. Unfortunately it was so tempting and delicious, I dived in before I took the photo but you get the idea

 

Again, I apologise, I was not doing very well getting the flash settings right in the crisp white plate surroundings of the speciality restaurant but I hope you can still enjoy

[uktog]

 

 

 

 

 

The curse of the new flash strikes here!

[Scotswoman]

Uktog,

Thank you so much for your brilliant coverage. Your detailed report and the many pictures have really whetted my appetite. Next week at this time we'll be "somewhere up there". We'll be sure to remember to toast you as we sail along!

Morven

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[dln929]

Thanks for sharing all your photos with us (and review, too). We haven't gotten around to seeing this part of the world yet so it's nice to have this preview from you.

[gonecroozin]

Thank you for this lovely review. Your photos are wonderful.

This itinerary is definitely on my future cruise wish list.

[cymraes42]

Thank you from us too.

We are off next Monday and can`t wait to see all the beautiful sights !

Karen

[ILikeShips]

What great pictures - excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed every one including specialty dining Yum! Will be doing Norway in a couple of weeks and our thread certainly has started me packing immediately! Thanks again!

[shipshape sam]

Thanks for posting!

[uktog]

Thank you for your kind comments on the photos. It really is a most beautiful part of the world, one that I would encourage others to add to their bucket lists

[drarill]

Great review!! Thanks for sharing your pictures with us!!:):)

[CruzPotato]

thank you, uktog, for your post and pictures. With your description and pictures (which are wonderful, with or w/o flash issues) I've added these ports as definite musts. Thanks again for taking the time to do this.

[TroubleT]

uktog, Great pictures!!! Thanks for sharing them!

[portofrome]

Thanks for sharing your great photos!

[ladylemondrop]

Fantastic photos! Loved the one of the aft balcony view, how lovely!

The waterfalls looked fabulous, and the Geiser! Has made me want to take this cruise! We are very lucky to live near Cambridge, and often go to enjoy some river punting. So glad you enjoyed this cruise, and thanks for sharing!

[villauk]

Thanks for sharing the photographs. It's really whetted our appetite for this cruise ;). After seeing your snaps, I think we will make the effort to venture further out from the main town area in the Faroe Islands - that beach looks great.

 

Sure hope we can use our aft balcony :D.