LIVE from "Iceland's Natural Beauty" -- All Sailings, 2021

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

1 hour ago, susanlik said:

so if iceland air from dc to kef shows a nearly empty 767-300 i am assuming they are changing to the smaller 757-200?

Maybe Heartgrove, who you addressed your question to, knows more, or at least could guess better than I can.  However, if it helps, I just looked at flightaware.com's historical data for Icelandair's nightly nonstop from Dulles.  You can see what type of plane has been used each night for the last (I think) two weeks.  That data indicates a mixed bag of 763s (767-300) and 753s/752s (757s). It looks like on weekends they've been using the bigger planes and the other days the smaller ones.  And while I thought we ended up on a 767 on Aug. 3 as initially scheduled, my spouse says we were on a 757, according to the seat card he looked at.  

[Heartgrove]

1 hour ago, susanlik said:

so if iceland air from dc to kef shows a nearly empty 767-300 i am assuming they are changing to the smaller 757-200?

 

I am not sure how far out you are looking. Icelandair's utilization schedule on flightradar24 shows the 767-300 through September 3. There is another factor for using the 767-300 and that is the cargo capacity in the belly is almost twice the weight carried than a 757. The air cargo market is increasing and that is why they are placing in the future two 767-300 into dedicated freight service. During the passenger lull last year they pulled the interior out and did utilize them for all cargo flights. Structural changes including strengthening the floor deck will be required to become a true freighter.

[covergirl1300]

one more question for those of you that went before or stayed after the cruise.

We are looking for a couple of nice places for dinner. Any suggestions? We have 2 nights before boarding Jupiter. Will ask our hotel to make reservations for us once we arrive. TIA!

 

[Bookworm114]

27 minutes ago, covergirl1300 said:

one more question for those of you that went before or stayed after the cruise.

We are looking for a couple of nice places for dinner. Any suggestions? We have 2 nights before boarding Jupiter. Will ask our hotel to make reservations for us once we arrive. TIA!

 

We really enjoyed https://www.sjavargrillid.is/en/ which is in the center of town and https://koparrestaurant.is/en/home-2/ which is out in the old harbor. We were not crazy about Kol. 

[Lil Puppy Dog]

We loved Old Iceland Restaurant - https://oldiceland.is/.  We recommend the wild mushroom soup as an appetizer and the cod with champagne sauce as a main course.  This is a very small restaurant.  You need to make reservations.

[KarNog]

Heimaey port cancelled for Friday due to poor weather. Will sock in Reykjavik tomorrow.

 

My partner and friend did the 5 hour hike in Djupivogur and would not recommend it. Something about goat trails and holding onto grass to keep from tumbling down the mountain

[Doc who loves to travel]

2 hours ago, covergirl1300 said:

one more question for those of you that went before or stayed after the cruise.

We are looking for a couple of nice places for dinner. Any suggestions? We have 2 nights before boarding Jupiter. Will ask our hotel to make reservations for us once we arrive. TIA!

 

We went to Messin - great fish pans and not super expensive.  https://messinn.com/english/

Apotek.  Great food and desserts. Not cheap. https://apotekrestaurant.is

and Kol. Excellent, gourmet but not cheap. https://kolrestaurant.is

 

photo of our scallops from Apotek.  great presentation. 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Doc who loves to travel

[Dukefan]

4 hours ago, covergirl1300 said:

one more question for those of you that went before or stayed after the cruise.

We are looking for a couple of nice places for dinner. Any suggestions? We have 2 nights before boarding Jupiter. Will ask our hotel to make reservations for us once we arrive. TIA!

 

We enjoyed a dinner at Hofnin.   It was recommended by a couple of friends that visit Iceland last February.  The food was excellent.  I would recommend reservations since after about 7:30 it was realy packed.

[covergirl1300]

10 hours ago, Dukefan said:

We enjoyed a dinner at Hofnin.   It was recommended by a couple of friends that visit Iceland last February.  The food was excellent.  I would recommend reservations since after about 7:30 it was realy packed.

Thank you! nice to hear from you, we did the Viking Homelands with you and you shared our table at Manfredi's, Gary and Kelly...

[Dukefan]

37 minutes ago, covergirl1300 said:

Thank you! nice to hear from you, we did the Viking Homelands with you and you shared our table at Manfredi's, Gary and Kelly...

I loved the Vikings Homeland cruise.    It was one of my favorites.  A lot of what makes a cruise great is the people you meet.  Wish you folks were on our Iceland cruise.  It was fun trip.  Iceland's nature beauty is truly awesome and the people we met there before the cruise were wonderful.    Have fun!!

[BlairsvilleCruiseGirl]

22 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

 

Global Entry includes TSA Pre-check. 

 

From their website:

TSA PreCheck® provides expedited security screening benefits for flights departing from U.S. Airports. Global Entry provides expedited U.S. customs screening for international air travelers when entering the United States. Global Entry members also receive TSA PreCheck® benefits as part of their membership.  Global Entry is $100 for 5 years.  TSA Pre-check is $85.

 

We just renewed our Global Entry.  We felt a little guilty bypassing hundreds of people in line but got over that quickly!  Well worth the money.

Just got off the Jupiter on Tuesday and breezing through the Global Entry queue in Boston was worth every penny of that $100!  And it's nice to have the bonus of TSA PreCheck for all our domestic flights.

[Wander58]

18 hours ago, covergirl1300 said:

one more question for those of you that went before or stayed after the cruise.

We are looking for a couple of nice places for dinner. Any suggestions? We have 2 nights before boarding Jupiter. Will ask our hotel to make reservations for us once we arrive. TIA!

 

We ate at the Old Iceland Restaurant this past Tuesday night after getting off the Jupiter.  It was fantastic!  Make sure you make a reservation as its a small place that seats maybe 32...there was a waiting line outside.  Excellent local Fish and Lamb - and probably the best Mushroom soup we've ever had.  Not inexpensive, as our dinner with 1 drink each and a spilt dessert was about $170.  

[susanlik]

august 31 sailings and ending important info for airlines

 

https://www.icelandreview.com/news/air-traffic-controllers-to-strike/

[Bookworm114]

We did Iceland’s Natural Beauty today.  It was great. Did not count but there 25+ on the bus. People seemed to be wearing masks on the bus and a few took them off while walking. It has been very warm in Northern Iceland this week. It was around 57F but felt warmer. It was very windy  and sunny at the Myvatn lake stop. On the plus side, not a midge in sight. They don’t like the wind. Godafoss Waterfall was cloudy but still very nice and no rain. As you go up to the main lookout there is an inconspicuous stairway on the right that will take you down to water level. It is steep and the ground is uneven but sweet if you can manage it. 

[philw1776]

2 hours ago, BlairsvilleCruiseGirl said:

Just got off the Jupiter on Tuesday and breezing through the Global Entry queue in Boston was worth every penny of that $100!  And it's nice to have the bonus of TSA PreCheck for all our domestic flights.

Sadly we've had disaster every single time with Boston Global entry. i'm OK but wife can't seem to get machine to read her prints. Agent then gets POed at us. We get through last.
Recently returning from Iceland the GE terminals were all occupied with folks queuing up. Regular entry had very short lines. Got through in a couple minutes.
My 2nd disappointment with GE is that I never get TSA Pre-Check with it. Never.

[formernuke]

5 minutes ago, philw1776 said:

Sadly we've had disaster every single time with Boston Global entry. i'm OK but wife can't seem to get machine to read her prints. Agent then gets POed at us. We get through last.
Recently returning from Iceland the GE terminals were all occupied with folks queuing up. Regular entry had very short lines. Got through in a couple minutes.
My 2nd disappointment with GE is that I never get TSA Pre-Check with it. Never.

I'm sure you've always entered your trusted traveler number in your airlines' website, right? They are the ones that mark your ticket as TSA precheck or not. I've never had an instance where I didn't get precheck if I had done so.

[vslparis]

21 hours ago, covergirl1300 said:

one more question for those of you that went before or stayed after the cruise.

We are looking for a couple of nice places for dinner. Any suggestions? We have 2 nights before boarding Jupiter. Will ask our hotel to make reservations for us once we arrive. TIA!

 

We had a lovely dinner at Old Iceland  which was within walking distance of our hotel . https://oldiceland.is/ . It is a small place so you should make a reservation for dinner.  

[vslparis]

1 hour ago, philw1776 said:

Sadly we've had disaster every single time with Boston Global entry. i'm OK but wife can't seem to get machine to read her prints. Agent then gets POed at us. We get through last.
Recently returning from Iceland the GE terminals were all occupied with folks queuing up. Regular entry had very short lines. Got through in a couple minutes.
My 2nd disappointment with GE is that I never get TSA Pre-Check with it. Never.

I too have had problems with the fingerprints but fortunately for us here in the DFW area we no longer have to put the passport in or do the fingerprint thing.  It is all facial recognition. We just look at the camera, take the picture at that's it ! 

With regards to TSA pre-check as @formernuke said, you need to enter your

Known  Traveler number ( a 9 digit number  on the back of your Global Entry card shown as as PASSID ) either under your FF account or on each individual plane reservation if you don't have a FF with a particular airline.  Flying to Iceland in June we went on United which we never use here in DFW and I just put our Known Traveler number in the Passenger Info section of our reservation.  If you have done all that and you still don't get TSA Precheck, maybe you should check with the Global Entry people.

[MarkTapley]

7 minutes ago, vslparis said:

fortunately for us here in the DFW area we no longer have to put the passport in or do the fingerprint thing.  It is all facial recognition. We just look at the camera, take the picture at that's it ! 

Same for us returning from KEF to ORD on August 21.  I think it took us 8 minutes total from aircraft parking at the gate to arriving at the curb to wait for our driver.

[DAVE & PAT]

My understanding is that at the end of the cruise Viking provides the covid test needed at the airport to fly home. Is that correct.

[Wander58]

24 minutes ago, DAVE & PAT said:

My understanding is that at the end of the cruise Viking provides the covid test needed at the airport to fly home. Is that correct.

Yes.  Just make sure to check the date if you are staying longer.  They gave us printed results for the 22nd.  I called Guest Services and asked them to  print our results from the 23rd as we were flying on the 25th.  I wanted the extra day just in case of any flight delays.  You can also get an extra spit tube and results for morning you leave the ship if you are staying a few more days - they will email it. 

[Frenchberet]

1 hour ago, vslparis said:

I too have had problems with the fingerprints but fortunately for us here in the DFW area we no longer have to put the passport in or do the fingerprint thing.  It is all facial recognition. We just look at the camera, take the picture at that's it ! 

With regards to TSA pre-check as @formernuke said, you need to enter your

Known  Traveler number ( a 9 digit number  on the back of your Global Entry card shown as as PASSID ) either under your FF account or on each individual plane reservation if you don't have a FF with a particular airline.  Flying to Iceland in June we went on United which we never use here in DFW and I just put our Known Traveler number in the Passenger Info section of our reservation.  If you have done all that and you still don't get TSA Precheck, maybe you should check with the Global Entry people.

I sometimes have problems coming up with fingerprints too.  A gate agent told me to drink some water before de-planing, it worked.  Many airports now have the facial recognition machines which are great.  Unfortunately, I’m short so sometimes it just takes a picture of the top of my head!  
 

Agree that you need to enter your Known Traveler Number when purchasing tickets.  If pre-check isn’t listed on your boarding pass for whatever reason, you can try to get through Pre-Check by showing your GE card to the agent. 

[philw1776]

3 hours ago, formernuke said:

I'm sure you've always entered your trusted traveler number in your airlines' website, right? They are the ones that mark your ticket as TSA precheck or not. I've never had an instance where I didn't get precheck if I had done so.

Yes obviously

[DAVE & PAT]

46 minutes ago, Wander58 said:

Yes.  Just make sure to check the date if you are staying longer.  They gave us printed results for the 22nd.  I called Guest Services and asked them to  print our results from the 23rd as we were flying on the 25th.  I wanted the extra day just in case of any flight delays.  You can also get an extra spit tube and results for morning you leave the ship if you are staying a few more days - they will email it. 

Thanks for your reply

[kotman]

1 hour ago, DAVE & PAT said:

Thanks for your reply

We're staying 3 more days, so , the last morning results would really help us! Whom and when should we ask for the "last day results" to be emailed us and to get extra spitting tube?