Smyril Line

[Jemery]

Has anyone cruised with the Smyril Line's Norrona from Denmark to Iceland via the Faroe Islands, and back to Denmark?  I got their brochure, and it looks interesting, but I haven't seen much online about the experience.  

 

Thanks,

-John

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

My partner and I are booked on the last "North Atlantic Cruise" of this year at the end of October.....we don't mind bad weather living in Scotland!  It's certainly a good value way of seeing something of the Faroes and Iceland.  We took the Deluxe Cruise package (meals, excursions etc) & the Suite as the cabin & the total came to €2600 for 2, just drinks to pay on top (they let you buy from the duty free shop on board and you can drink it in your cabin or on deck).  There's a few good You Tube videos, including.....

 

 

 

There is also a recent episode of Mighty Ships on Norrona......in the UK it's shown on Quest & in the US on Smithsonian.  It's certainly going to be a change from our usual cruises with Oceania!!

[LaCroisiereS'amuse]

Just to add a few bits.....

 

Hirtshals isn't the easiest place to get to as an embarkation port...

 

Aalborg is the closest airport, but not particularly well served for us from the UK - KLM via Amsterdam, Norwegian via Copenhagen, or Great Dane Airlines twice a week from Edinburgh, but we've gone for BA to Copenhagen, and then the train direct from Copenhagen Airport to Hirtshals with one change in Aalborg (most journeys are 2 changes) & takes 6 hours 20.  On the way back we're getting the local train from Hirtshals to Fredrikshavn via Hjorring (takes just under an hour with a change) and staying there for a night, so we can go up to Skagen for the afternoon if the weather is good. The following day we'll catch the Stena ferry to Gothenburg (just over 3 hours) and fly back from there on BA in the evening. 

[Jemery]

Thanks.  I look forward to your comments after you return.  

-John

[Hezu]

I have done the Tórshavn-Seyðisfjörður leg on MS Norröna couple years ago. I think it was quite ok, although sure once on the open sea, the ship was rocking quite a lot, so not the most pleasant ride. North Atlantic that time of year (beginning of October) is not the calmest sea. And the initial part of the journey between the islands of Faroes offered very nice scenery, although I'm not sure if this was the usual route since that particular time there was an unusual incident: couple German guys had misunderstood the departure time from Tórshavn and thus had missed the ship, however they were transported first by road to a coastal village along the route and then got a boat ride to the ship.

Entertainment on board is fairly sparse: there is a cinema and a musician performed in a bar in the evening. I think also one lounge (or such) did show some promotional Iceland films. Buffet and cafeteria type restauntants offer proper food. The shop is quite large. And there is a free gym with a sauna - the latter I tested and it was quite nice, although the facility seemed to close surprisingly early at 19:00.

The cabin (this was a inner cabin with beds up to four persons, although this time the upper bunks weren't used) was fairly basic and compact, but did its job fine.

 

Generally, I think this ship resembles a bit the cruise ferries on Baltic, although the entertainment options are more limited as there was no nightclubs and similar. On the other hand, I doubt many would like to dance aboard when it can be even hard to walk straight line on hallways.