Iceland - afternoon tours and puffins

[jantoby]

Booked for Iceland this June.  Fred won't tell me whether we'll only be allowed ashore to do ship's tours, or what tours there might be, but other cruise lines are ship's tours only.

 

I only booked this cruise to see puffins.  Has anyone been on a Fred tour that saw puffins?

 

Also, I get travel sick on coaches before about 11am (strange, but true) so if there are no ship's tours starting later than usual, I'll be stuck on board for 10 days.

 

Anyone remember if there were later-starting tours, or did anyone keep their excursions brochure?

 

Would be very grateful for any help with this.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by jantoby
typo

[nosapphire]

38 minutes ago, jantoby said:

Booked for Iceland this June.  Fred won't tell me whether we'll only be allowed ashore to do ship's tours, or what tours there might be, but other cruise lines are ship's tours only.

 

I only booked this cruise to see puffins.  Has anyone been on a Fred tour that saw puffins?

 

Also, I get travel sick on coaches before about 11am (strange, but true) so if there are no ship's tours starting later than usual, I'll be stuck on board for 10 days.

 

Anyone remember if there were later-starting tours, or did anyone keep their excursions brochure?

 

Would be very grateful for any help with this.

 

 

Can't help you on the tours, but you may see puffins at sea anyway.

Last time we sailed near Iceland in summer we saw loads swimming and diving around us.

If you see something that looks as if it is running along the top of the water - even down to leaving what looks like footprints - that will be a puffin so overloaded with food it is having trouble getting airborne.

And if the only way people can get off is ship's tours, then almost certainly there will be extra coaches - so the probability of an afternoon tour is quite high, I should think.

[Britboys]

Sorry, I really don't want to put a damper on this but if your cruise is the one out of Dover on 2nd June, I would be more concerned as to whether it will actually sail. I'm booked on Bolette at the end of June to Northern Europe and doubt that will happen now...

I really do hope I am wrong, for both of us.

[tring]

2 hours ago, jantoby said:

Booked for Iceland this June.  Fred won't tell me whether we'll only be allowed ashore to do ship's tours, or what tours there might be, but other cruise lines are ship's tours only.

 

I only booked this cruise to see puffins.  Has anyone been on a Fred tour that saw puffins?

 

Also, I get travel sick on coaches before about 11am (strange, but true) so if there are no ship's tours starting later than usual, I'll be stuck on board for 10 days.

 

Anyone remember if there were later-starting tours, or did anyone keep their excursions brochure?

 

Would be very grateful for any help with this.

 

 

 

I would also be rather surprised if a cruise with much in the way of any ports of call will take place in June and would suggest that it is not so much a case of "Fred will not tell you" as more along the lines of, "Fred has no more idea what will happen than anyone else".  The criteria for cruises will be very much the same for all lines as they will be sailing (or not) according to criteria set out by their home port country, after lots of discussions with the Government, CLIA and the cruise lines.  It is well publicised that when cruises do start there will be scenic cruising, then progressing to a few UK ports and beyond that a resumption of cruise visits to other countries (again with tours only).  Given the relatively slow roll out of vaccines in other countries (and even we do not plan on more than the vulnerable being vaccinated by spring), visiting those could be some time away.  Even when ships do visit, they will be restricted again by whatever criteria or specific ports that the country concerned puts in place.  I personally see a lot of potential last minute changes as well, considering how the travel corridors have worked so far.

 

I agree with nosapphire that you may see puffins from sea, though more likely if the ship is moored or in calm water.  They are often visible as "rafts" of puffins since they congregate together in the water.  However for that you will need a good pair of binoculars to get any sort of view.  The puffin tours are run on very shallow draft boats that can get close to shore in areas where puffins breed and can give very good visability of the individual birds as I understand it (though no personal experience).  Being shallow draft boats it does mean they can rock around quite a bit, so not the best if someone is very prone to sea sickness, though perhaps depends on the weather.  If you are docked in Reykjavik in "normal" non covid, times for an overnight and in the puffin breeding season, it would be very easy to arrange your own tour with one of the boat trip companies there. Elding is a big, reputable Whale Watching company and they also do puffin tours in season (quite possibly the company who are contracted for the tours by various cruise lines).

 

You may of course be able to see puffins in various parts of the UK.  We have seen many of them by standing near the top of a cliff edge at Dunnet Head, Scotland in late June.  Can also be seen at other locations in England which could be easier to travel to.  You have set me thinking now.  Worth a google, if only to see the pics 🙂

 

Edited January 31, 2021 by tring

[JMyrtle]

We are also booked on this Iceland cruise in June and have already accepted the fact that if it sails at all it will be a "scenic cruise" only with no shore visits permitted. 

We have already had six cruises (four last year and two so far for this one) either with Fred or Saga cancelled since last March, the first at thirty six hours notice. 

Since then we book, they cancel, we rebook and so it goes on to the point where I have given up with Saga as there is no hope of us meeting their requirement to get both inoculations in order to travel any time soon as we are under seventy years of age. 

This will be our third attempt at Iceland so I hope it  finally goes ahead as its getting beyond a joke now particularly as even with the discount we seem to pay more each time we rebook. 

Edited February 3, 2021 by JMyrtle

[jantoby]

11 hours ago, JMyrtle said:

We are also booked on this Iceland cruise in June and have already accepted the fact that if it sails at all it will be a "scenic cruise" only with no shore visits permitted. 

We have already had six cruises (four last year and two so far for this one) either with Fred or Saga cancelled since last March, the first at thirty six hours notice. 

Since then we book, they cancel, we rebook and so it goes on to the point where I have given up with Saga as there is no hope of us meeting their requirement to get both inoculations in order to travel any time soon as we are under seventy years of age. 

This will be our third attempt at Iceland so I hope it  finally goes ahead as its getting beyond a joke now particularly as even with the discount we seem to pay more each time we rebook. 

 

 

Just had email of cancellation.  I think we'll probably transfer to the same cruise 2022.

[JMyrtle]

Nothing to transfer to, the two options on offer are for Southampton or Newcastle, we live ten miles from Dover, don't drive and there are No 2022 departures listed for Dover at all except for one 28 day sailing in the autumn so after a year of being messed about we are now being left high and dry - literally! 

Edited February 4, 2021 by JMyrtle

[jantoby]

Can't do the Southampton one as will be cruising then and not going to book anything as early as August this year.   I'm sure there will be more Iceland cruises next year.  I certainly hope so as I've got a lot of research notes!

[Britboys]

1 hour ago, JMyrtle said:

Nothing to transfer to, the two options on offer are for Southampton or Newcastle, we live ten miles from Dover, don't drive and there are No 2022 departures listed for Dover at all except for one 28 day sailing in the autumn so after a year of being messed about we are now being left high and dry - literally! 

I'm sure there will be a Dover season from Fred next year. We just all now need them to get the rest of the 2022 programme sorted and put on sale.