Qaqortoq, Greenland

[Level six]

On 4/28/2022 at 5:10 PM, DRS/NC said:

OK, probably more than you wanted to know.  I really enjoyed the ports.  I won't do the cruise again, but I'm glad I did it once.

 

Agree, I think we were on the same cruise.  We were always the first off the ship(sometimes at 7am), but as mentioned, some were still tendering onto the shore at 3pm!!  Lots of mad people.

 

We travel with a friend who is dependent on a wheelchair and Princess does not allow wheelchairs users on the tender, so you might want to check that out.  Also, there were several accidents while onshore with elderly people falling on uneven walkways, or even no walkway, just dirt.  Many people coming back onto the tender injured and needing a wheelchair.

 

IMO, none of the Greenland ports are  wheelchair friendly or even mildly needing a walker friendly Especially the walk around the lake you mentioned is a very steep hill and would not be possible IMO with a wheelchair.  We did it, but it was hard being very able bodied. 

 

I also enjoyed the cruise but would not take it again and especially on the Caribbean Princess. 

[VaCruzers]

On 5/4/2022 at 2:10 PM, Level six said:

Agree, I think we were on the same cruise.  We were always the first off the ship(sometimes at 7am), but as mentioned, some were still tendering onto the shore at 3pm!!  Lots of mad people.

 

We travel with a friend who is dependent on a wheelchair and Princess does not allow wheelchairs users on the tender, so you might want to check that out.  Also, there were several accidents while onshore with elderly people falling on uneven walkways, or even no walkway, just dirt.  Many people coming back onto the tender injured and needing a wheelchair.

 

IMO, none of the Greenland ports are  wheelchair friendly or even mildly needing a walker friendly Especially the walk around the lake you mentioned is a very steep hill and would not be possible IMO with a wheelchair.  We did it, but it was hard being very able bodied. 

 

I also enjoyed the cruise but would not take it again and especially on the Caribbean Princess. 

May I inquire as to why you say especially on Caribbean Princess? Thank you!

[Level six]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:38 PM, VaCruzers said:

May I inquire as to why you say especially on Caribbean Princess? Thank you!

IT was super super crowded.  When they redid the CP, They added more passengers cabins and no extra public space.   

[ladysail2]

On 4/28/2022 at 8:14 PM, gnome12 said:

Note that the city is St John’s, Newfoundland (with an apostrophe “s”). Saint John (note that Saint is never shortened) is in New Brunswick. 

Okay, you caught that!   I didn’t know that Saint was never shortened…learn something new everyday!

[ladysail2]

On 2/28/2022 at 10:53 AM, edinburgher said:

...😀

It wasn't the flies which prompted our second visit, but the icebergs which we totally fell in love with on our first visit. They have "proper" icebergs in Greenland, nothing like the wee bitty surface  floating stuff they have in Alaska, our only disappointment on our Alaskan trips.

 

 It had several beautiful icebergs floating around on it.  It was a beautiful sight, as are all icebergs.

Those wee bitty surface floating stuff are called ‘berger bits’.  Newfoundland has some very impressive icebergs too if you ever want to go there.

Edited June 2, 2022 by ladysail2
Spelling

[Turtles06]

On 6/2/2022 at 1:33 PM, ladysail2 said:

Those wee bitty surface floating stuff are called ‘berger bits’.  Newfoundland has some very impressive icebergs too if you ever want to go there.

The term is “bergy bits.” 😊

 

But since you mean the “wee bitty” stuff, you may be referring to the even smaller growlers, or even brash ice.  😊
 

https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/blog/get-to-know-your-ice

[ladysail2]

4 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

The term is “bergy bits.” 😊

 

But since you mean the “wee bitty” stuff, you may be referring to the even smaller growlers, or even brash ice.  😊
 

https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/blog/get-to-know-your-ice

Bergy bits sounds cuter than burger bits.  Thanks for the correction and information! 😊

[mets123]

Are we north enough to see the Northern lights?

[ladysail2]

4 hours ago, mets123 said:

Are we north enough to see the Northern lights?

Ottawa, Ontario is North enough to see Northern Lights…..and Iceland, Greenland are certainly in range.  Saw them in Iceland last time I was there. Of course it all depends on the sun’s activity, so we’ll have to hope for some.

[Nitemare]

12 hours ago, mets123 said:

Are we north enough to see the Northern lights?

Also depends on when sunset is.  Near the Arctic Circle it doesn't get dark enough at night until very late August to see Northern Lights.  For instance in Iceland, you just can't see them until mid August at the earliest, and no one does tours until September because that darkness at night in late August only lasts a couple of hours in the 'wee hours' of the night

[geoherb]

On 5/23/2022 at 5:34 PM, Level six said:

IT was super super crowded.  When they redid the CP, They added more passengers cabins and no extra public space.   

 

No. The Caribbean Princess (CB) started with an extra deck of passenger cabins without any added public space from the beginning. They have not added any additional cabins. 

I just booked the August cruise to Greenland. I'll be sure to pack patience and try to pack understanding for those who forget to. 

[Level six]

7 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

No. The Caribbean Princess (CB) started with an extra deck of passenger cabins without any added public space from the beginning. They have not added any additional cabins. 

I just booked the August cruise to Greenland. I'll be sure to pack patience and try to pack understanding for those who forget to. 

I don't know, that is what I was told. 

 

Either way, it was super, super crowded.  So much so, that any cruise that is on that ship, even if a great cruise or deal, I just skip on by, I will not step foot on that ship again.  That's how bad it was IMO.  Others love the ship, so, everyone is different. 

 

You have a good attitude to pack patience.......it will be needed.  On one port in Greenland, we were first off (got up at 5am to see sail in and also elite) when we were heading back to the ship at 3pm, they were still calling numbers for tenders!!!  People were very upset because that port only has room for one tender and some people had been in a tender waiting to get off for over 1 hour or 2?  I don't know.  But, having said that, have a great cruise.  We did have fun and always do, but that one was a stressful one.  

[geoherb]

3 hours ago, Level six said:

But, having said that, have a great cruise.  We did have fun and always do, but that one was a stressful one.  

 

Thanks. This will be my eighth cruise on the Caribbean Princess. When it was first launched, I said I never wanted to sail on a ship that large. The extra deck of passenger cabins without adding any more public space seemed crazy. I heard that on the Greenland itinerary, the crowding can feel even worse because people are not using the outdoor areas as much as they would on a warm weather itinerary. I'm doing my part to ease the crowding by going solo.

[NorbertsNiece]

Any info on Narsarsuaq please 🙂

[edinburgher]

Those wee bitty surface floating stuff are called ‘berger bits’.  Newfoundland has some very impressive icebergs too if you ever want to go there.

 

It was mostly brash or "bergy bits". Having seen  "real icebergs" in all their spendid beauty, and absolutely loved them, we will bear in mind that Newfoundland is the next place to go, so thank you for that suggestion..

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Those wee bitty surface floating stuff are called ‘berger bits’.  Newfoundland has some very impressive icebergs too if you ever want to go there.

 

It was mostly brash or "bergy bits". Having seen  "real icebergs" in all their spendid beauty, and absolutely loved them, we will bear in mind that Newfoundland is the next place to go, so thank you for that suggestion..

I was in Newfoundland a few years ago. When I was up in St Anthony to visit L'Anse Aux Meadows (an excavated Viking settlement dating from about the year 1000) I took a whale and iceberg boat tour. Fabulous icebergs in what is referred to as "Iceberg Alley"

https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/things-to-do/iceberg-viewing

[edinburgher]

gnome12

 

Neither "brash" nor "bergy bits" in these images, only beauty. Enjoyed looking at the images, so many thanks for posting the link.

[Ofmyheart]

On 4/28/2022 at 7:10 PM, DRS/NC said:

I'll jump back in here RE walking & mobility issues in  Qaqortoq & Nanortalik and tendering.

 

I was on the Caribbean Princess in Aug. 2019, RT form NYC.  The weather in Greenland was amazingly good.  I wore my fleece-line rain jacket & was quite comfortable -- and no rain.  Those 2 POC are very  small fishing villages (under 2500 residents each at that time). Tendering from the ship took 2 hrs.; tendering back took 3 hrs!  There was no port; each had a small wooden fishing pier, as one might have at a remote fish camp. The pier could handle only 1 tender at a time.  Dumping 2,500 tourists on them was not kind. 

 

I use a folding rollator/walker when tendering so I had a place to sit & wait for the return tendering.  The mild weather (a rare summer day, we were told) caused the young school boys to shed their shirt & pants (undies only) & dive/swim in the pier-side water!  A local man played live music (for coins) as we waited.

 

The roads/paved surfaces were very limited -- mostly broken or rough gravel.  It was often challenging w/my walker; I felt the vibrations in my arms/shoulders for several hours after.

 

There is a lovely church to visit in Qaqortoq, but I didn't see it.  It was farther down the road than I could walk.  I did go into the very small fish/seafood market house in Nanortalik; I can now say that I have now seen seal & whale meat.  Moving on!

 

The highlight (for me) in Nanortalik was the middle school's fund raiser.  The kids (most spoke English quite well) were raising money for a 2020 trip (probably cancelled) to Denmark.  Like many schools, they had 2 long tables set-up outside the (1 & only) supermarket.  For a $1 donation, one could get a bagel chip w/blue berry or blackberry jam.  (I chose blackberry -- good.)  What better day for a fundraiser than when the cruise ship comes -- all those grandparents who were sure to say "Ah, of course!"

 

Nuuk is a growing capital -- several bus tours around town as well as an easy public bus.  Very colorful town -- it made me think of Lego houses/buildings.  We were actually docked there -- at the cargo port.

 

St John, Newfoundland is now one of my favorite ports -- a local person welcomes the ship w/a wonderful Newfoundland dog!  We had a fabulous day there -- sunny & quite warm (80*) on Sept.1.  It's a beautiful city -- very colorful.  I took a 1/2 day city tour w/various stops, including a wonderful museum.

 

Don't miss the small but interesting immigration museum (free) at the pier in Halifax.  Canada has a rich immigration history.

 

OK, probably more than you wanted to know.  I really enjoyed the ports.  I won't do the cruise again, but I'm glad I did it once.

 

Have fun!

We too were on that cruise and enjoyed the fund raiser and taking with the kids. 

 

It was a great cruise and we are on it again, encore cruise 8-22!

[Ofmyheart]

There are helicopter tours in Q but the cruise line normally books then all. There is also an interesting tannery shop near the helipad.

[mpk]

On 4/28/2022 at 3:28 PM, DRS/NC said:

I remember mine came in a pack of 3 at a low price.  Never even had to open them (Aug. 2019).

 

Is August a good time (bug wise) to visit Greenland?  Sounds like Alaska, where bugs are gone by August or September, from what I've read.

[drowelf]

On 7/6/2022 at 11:10 AM, mpk said:

 

Is August a good time (bug wise) to visit Greenland?  Sounds like Alaska, where bugs are gone by August or September, from what I've read.

I've read varying reports on bugs, but just in case we have a couple of head nets that we will carry in case we encounter a situation where the tiny bugs are swarming. 

[Ofmyheart]

3 hours ago, drowelf said:

I've read varying reports on bugs, but just in case we have a couple of head nets that we will carry in case we encounter a situation where the tiny bugs are swarming. 

We bought bug nets for our last Greenland cruise & thankfully did not need them!

[tring]

On 6/18/2022 at 5:32 PM, NorbertsNiece said:

Any info on Narsarsuaq please 🙂

 

Very small place, though there is a small museum, and a cafe. I do recommend the boat trip to sail around and between the grounded icebergs.  You will see some from the ship, but at a distance, so nothing like the experience being so close to them on a local boat.  When a ship is in the local boats are generally all contracted for the ship's tours, or local use, so not much chance of booking directly.  If you are fit and want to walk up Signal Hill, in Narsarsuaq, that could easily be done independently.  We got the information from The Blue Ice Cafe in the "town"eight years ago, but probably easy to research before you go now.  At 72, I would no longer have been fit enough to go up there now, though DH would have managed it.  

 

The walk around the lake in Qaqortoq is a difficult one and I understand the ship's trips, from both our ship and a Hurtigruten expedition ship, (on our call two weeks ago) all had to turn around rather than continue to the whole route around because the ground was too wet and unsafe.  The same happened on our visit eight years ago on a different cruise line.

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by tring

[tring]

On 6/18/2022 at 5:32 PM, NorbertsNiece said:

Any info on Narsarsuaq please 🙂

 

I edited my post after you had added your 'thanks" icon, so you may have missed some of the final version.  We loved Greenland, so hope you do as well. I always seem to have after thoughts and edit posts!

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by tring

[NorbertsNiece]

1 minute ago, tring said:

 

I edited my post after you had added your 'thanks" icon, so may have missed some of the final version.  We loved Greenland, so hope you do as well.

 

Excited! Hope to be able to book excursions soon. Thanks 😀