Mostly Live From Nieuw Statendam Northern Isles June 22 - July 6

[iramack]

On 7/7/2022 at 4:15 PM, Mom39 said:

Beware Steve if you are flying on SAS.  SAS canceled our flight the day before and did not offer an alternative.  Stated reason was a strike.  This impacted a number of cruisers and guest services was very busy.

 

So I have had to change my outbound flight from BA to United via Frankfurt and a day earlier to boot! This due to BA cancelling all but one flight from Heathrow to CPH at 8:15pm.  Too risky for me if they were to cancel that one as well, I'd be screwed!  Coming home after the cruise, I am in complete limbo as there are no flights from CPH to Heathrow that will let me make my connection to DFW at 1:05.

However, I did manage to book a flight on SAS connect (not affected by strike they say) to arrive in Heathrow at 1:30pm. From there it's a crap shoot but several options if I can get BA to cooperate with my AA Business award ticket......................ARRRRRRGH!

[roxybear135]

5 hours ago, TomAndJane said:

Sorry if this has been asked already but did HAL happen to sale Icelandic Krona on board or were you required to use an ATM on shore to get local monies?

 

Thanks

 

Tom

I don't know if HAL did or not but we never exchanged money or took it out of an ATM in any of the ports/countries we went to.  We only used credit cards and had no issues with that.  Pretty much everyone takes credit card there (even the people begging on the street!) so I wouldn't bother with getting cash for any of the countries.

[oakridger]

12 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

...Pretty much everyone takes credit card there (even the people begging on the street!)...

 

I have to ask!  Are you serious that people begging on the street actually had credit card readers??!!!

Edited July 10, 2022 by oakridger

[roxybear135]

10 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

I have to ask!  Are you serious that people begging on the street actually had credit card readers??!!!

They had an app on their phones that allowed them to take credit cards.   In Norway, our tour guide for a walking tour said that the people begging their also use a cash app (similar to Venmo).  In Edinburgh, we saw street performers who also had credit card readers so you could tap your credit card to make a donation.  Kind of crazy!

[TomAndJane]

On 7/9/2022 at 12:53 PM, roxybear135 said:

I don't know if HAL did or not but we never exchanged money or took it out of an ATM in any of the ports/countries we went to.  We only used credit cards and had no issues with that.  Pretty much everyone takes credit card there (even the people begging on the street!) so I wouldn't bother with getting cash for any of the countries.

Thanks for all the replies.  Reason I asked is because a couple of our tours state if you want to purchase items, snacks or drinks onboard a couple of our small boat excursions you must bring local currency.

 

Tom

[Tonid5]

So i noticed someone said they went to Sky Lagoon. I have heard so much about Blue Lagoon. Was Sky Lagoon closer and less expensive ? Did anyone go on the Golden Circle tour but not through the cruise line ? Our cruise next year actually only gives 9 hours at that port, not 2 days like you mentioned.

[roxybear135]

5 hours ago, Tonid5 said:

So i noticed someone said they went to Sky Lagoon. I have heard so much about Blue Lagoon. Was Sky Lagoon closer and less expensive ? Did anyone go on the Golden Circle tour but not through the cruise line ? Our cruise next year actually only gives 9 hours at that port, not 2 days like you mentioned.

We went to Sky Lagoon.  It was about a 15 minute cab ride from the port.  We really enjoyed it and it was definitely an upscale experience.  They have a 7 step ritual that involves the mineral pool, an ice bath plunge, a room where there's rain coming down on you, a body scrub, a steam room, and a shower.  We purchased tickets ahead of time and I highly recommend doing this so it doesn't sell out when you want to go.  We booked a package called date night and it included admission for 2, the 7 step ritual for both of us, a drink each, and a small charcuterie platter.   I think it was around $180 for this but not sure.

[Tonid5]

Thanks Roxybear. What other helpful information regarding the cruise would you give ? We are going June 18th-July 2nd so about same season your cruise was. What do we pack for clothing ? Not sure what ports you did, but we do 2 in Norway and then 5 in Iceland and 2 in Scotland. Just a bit nervous about excursions, I want to see stuff but also things appear very expensive. Wish more from your cruise chimed in on the feed with their experiences.

 

[Tonid5]

Roxy who did you do your excursion through in Akureyri ? The Lava fields etc.

 

[Tonid5]

cruiseaholic, I hope to hear from you regarding your cruise which you said started on July 26th.

[roxybear135]

5 hours ago, Tonid5 said:

Thanks Roxybear. What other helpful information regarding the cruise would you give ? We are going June 18th-July 2nd so about same season your cruise was. What do we pack for clothing ? Not sure what ports you did, but we do 2 in Norway and then 5 in Iceland and 2 in Scotland. Just a bit nervous about excursions, I want to see stuff but also things appear very expensive. Wish more from your cruise chimed in on the feed with their experiences.

 

As far as packing, I packed jeans and tops and then a triclimate from North Face (it has an outer shell that's waterproof and an inner warmer jacket that you can zip apart or wear zipped together).  I highly recommend bringing something waterproof because you will need it.  It wasn't too cold when we were there (maybe the mid 50s was the coldest during the day) but at night it got chilly when outside on the ship.  Also make sure to bring comfortable walking shoes that don't slip because you'll need them when walking on the lava rocks near many of the waterfalls.

 

We did the lava field excursion through the ship in Akureyri.  It went to Godafoss waterfall, the lava fields, a geothermal area, and then lunch.  I wouldn't recommend doing that particular excursion because the time at each location was extremely rushed and we didn't have lunch until like 3pm.  They had a ton of different excursions that went to Godafoss and the lava fields, so look for one that does that so you have plenty of time at both places (the geothermal place we went to was very lackluster).

 

For Norway, absolutely make sure to go to the Troll Road.  We went on a private excursion through Norway Excursions and thought they were absolutely fantastic.  I would highly recommend them and they're reasonably priced (or you can book with the ship and submit this link for price match).  The Troll Road was breathtaking and one of the highlights of our trip. https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/tour/alesund-from-fjords-to-trolls/

 

I also recommend buying tickets ahead of time for Edinburgh Castle if you plan to go, as it was sold out when we were there so we didn't get to go in.

 

If you have questions about any particular port or excursion that we did, feel free to ask.

 

 

[Tonid5]

did you stop at several small cities in Iceland. ? anything in particular at them ? I don't know what cities your itinerary included. was it 14 days too ? I wish we were overnight in Reyjavit , we are just there 9 hours, same with most ports. Thanks for the info so far.

[roxybear135]

7 hours ago, Tonid5 said:

did you stop at several small cities in Iceland. ? anything in particular at them ? I don't know what cities your itinerary included. was it 14 days too ? I wish we were overnight in Reyjavit , we are just there 9 hours, same with most ports. Thanks for the info so far.

We went to Akureyri, Isafjordur, Reykjavik, and Djupivogur.  In Akureyri we did the excursion I mentioned above.  I'm not sure what there is to do in the town there because we didn't have time to explore.  There was almost nothing to do in Isafjordur and Djupivogur.  Both were tiny towns that took maybe 10-20 minutes to walk to the end of from port.  We bought some stuff at the grocery stores in both towns and otherwise just spend most of the day on the ship.

[BetsyS.]

1 hour ago, roxybear135 said:

We went to Akureyri, Isafjordur, Reykjavik, and Djupivogur.  In Akureyri we did the excursion I mentioned above.  I'm not sure what there is to do in the town there because we didn't have time to explore.  There was almost nothing to do in Isafjordur and Djupivogur.  Both were tiny towns that took maybe 10-20 minutes to walk to the end of from port.  We bought some stuff at the grocery stores in both towns and otherwise just spend most of the day on the ship.

Thanks very much.

[Tonid5]

Betsy are you cruising in the region this year or next ?

[BetsyS.]

1 hour ago, Tonid5 said:

Betsy are you cruising in the region this year or next ?

I leave 8/3 from Boston with my stepfather. Just finished everything I had to do.

I have paper copies of everything I need.

[BetsyS.]

2 hours ago, Tonid5 said:

Betsy are you cruising in the region this year or next ?

I will not be on your itinerary. I'll go to Canada, Iceland, Greenland, St. Pierre and 

Miquelon (islands near Newfoundland that are part of France) and Bar Harbor.

It's 24 days.