Iceland - Which Cruise Line?

[smwg]

I know cruise lines are very subjective, but which one do YOU like for an Iceland Cruise?  Also, should I try to do the itineraries that include Scotland, Norway, Ireland, or Greenland (which one do YOU recommend)?   I need to keep it to around 10 - 12 days. I've looked at Princess, RCCL, Celebrity, and NCL.  Are there others I'm forgetting?  I (56) will be traveling with my husband (61), DD (30), DD (22), and DS (16).  Your opinions matter. 

 

Thank you!

[CruiserBruce]

We had a great time on Holland America last summer. 

 

I would focus on Iceland and Greenland. Other countries are nice, but Iceland and Greenland deserve the primary focus.

[CCJack]

We went on the Celebrity Apex to Iceland / Ireland out of Amsterdam this summer (2022).   The Apex was our favorite and most beautiful ship of our 20 or so cruises.  The trip was great.   We had previously done a Norway only cruise (Cunard) - so we didn't plan to add Norway to Iceland.  However, I can say Norway is a more beautiful cruising destination than Iceland.  Iceland is more interesting from a volcano / geology standpoint once on land.  If you have never cruised to Norway, I would consider a Norway / Iceland trip.  May be doable in 12 days.  Try to get a deep fjord port in Norway.   I prefer Amsterdam vs. Southampton for departure.....

 

 

[ljandgb]

Iceland is truly best seen by land.  It is gorgeous, but sparsely populated.  Ports beyond Reykjavik will be very small, with limited tourist structure meaning you'll mostly just need to do ship tours.

 

Consider a Norway cruise and a short Iceland land trip on one end of the trip. For Iceland, you can do full accompanied group tour to having arrangements made for you to total DIY.   Any of these will get you out into the country side and seeing what makes Iceland really special.

[janetcbl]

Check into Viking Ocean Cruises. Many trips circumnavigate Iceland;  others go even further and include Greenland, the Faeroe Islands and Svalbard!  They seem to have an inside edge when it comes to excursions (only my opinion, not fact) as well.

[Capt_BJ]

I was gonna say VIKING too, but I see DS-16 .... no one under 18 on VIKING .... we're booked on this for July ....

 

[kitkat343]

In Norway I loved geiranger, flam and olden (we only visited the heritage fjords).  Anything that combines those with Iceland would be really special, but I have no idea if that’s possible.  We did Norway with Cunard, but honestly I’d just go to a site that would let you search all Iceland cruises and see what comes up in terms of itinerary that seems most interesting to you.  
 

I would recommend going for itinerary over cruise line here, with the one exception being ncl.  They ran a ship aground last March in the Dominican Republic.  They’ve known since then that the dr can only handle two large ships in port on one day.  And they’ve made no attempt to warn customers that the itinerary they are selling is wrong.  I’m currently on the getaway, and they announced on 12/20 they would turn the dr into a sea day and cut out the morning in Antigua for environmental reasons.  They never changed the itinerary on their website and continued to sell the cruise as going to the dr.  People who called to book directly through Norwegian weren’t told of the itinerary change and passengers who tried to cancel (including me) were denied the opportunity to do so.  It’s obviously a much bigger difference to drop a port in Europe versus the Caribbean, but if you have other options I think they’d be safer in terms of following the published itinerary.  

[milolii]

Agree primarily pick for the itinerary. 

 

We are on the Island Princess crusie in July visiting Seydisfjordur,  Akureyri,  Grundarfjordur and Reykjavik.  We are using private group companies(recommended on CC) in all four ports.  This is 14 days. 

 

We also call on  two ports in Norway: Alsuend and Haugesund.  A bit of a compromise on Norway, but heavy on Iceland. 
 

NCL has a few interesting cruises on the Star, as does Viking, but we went with this one.  

 

[cwms]

We’re doing a NCL cruise this summer.  Get on ship in Reykjavik, cruise to 3 other stops in Iceland and then over to Greenland for 3 stops there.  Back to Reykjavík 11 day trip.  Really looking forward to it.

[janetcbl]

19 hours ago, Capt_BJ said:

I was gonna say VIKING too, but I see DS-16 .... no one under 18 on VIKING .... we're booked on this for July ....

 

Didn’t note the 16 year old. Maybe consider Lindblad/National Geographic. Smaller ships, heavy emphasis on nature and excursions. Somewhat pricey, but worth it, IMO.

[r&rd]

Both Windstar and Azamara do Iceland intensive itineraries

[smwg]

On 1/13/2023 at 8:04 AM, cwms said:

We’re doing a NCL cruise this summer.  Get on ship in Reykjavik, cruise to 3 other stops in Iceland and then over to Greenland for 3 stops there.  Back to Reykjavík 11 day trip.  Really looking forward to it.

I was looking at this one, too.  But now I'm wondering if I should NOT do Greenland and go with Norway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[smwg]

Thank you to everyone for your advice.  I originally was not even considering Norway, but have since decided not to rule it out completely.  Decisions, decisions.. .   

[reeinaz]

On 1/30/2023 at 2:03 PM, smwg said:

I was looking at this one, too.  But now I'm wondering if I should NOT do Greenland and go with Norway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There is an NCL Star cruise 8/15/23 That visits all 3

 

[SueMo]

On 1/11/2023 at 7:25 AM, ljandgb said:

Iceland is truly best seen by land.  It is gorgeous, but sparsely populated.  Ports beyond Reykjavik will be very small, with limited tourist structure meaning you'll mostly just need to do ship tours.

 

Consider a Norway cruise and a short Iceland land trip on one end of the trip. For Iceland, you can do full accompanied group tour to having arrangements made for you to total DIY.   Any of these will get you out into the country side and seeing what makes Iceland really special.

I have to ditto ljandgb here.  In Norway, you cruise through gorgeous fjords and the scenery is spectacular!  Many of Iceland's attractions are along the south coast where no ships dock.  A land trip is a must to see the best of Iceland!

[cruisinqt]

Carnival has a 12 day London cruise on the Pride that’s got a lot of Iceland stops. It has 4 stops in Iceland (Reykjavik, Grundarfjordar, Akurreyi, Seydisfjordar) two stops in Scotland (Isle of Sky, Invergordon) and one stop in Ireland (Belfast). As far as great port choices go that’s hard to beat. 

[smithley]

We went on RCCL's Jewel of the Seas for a Transatlantic starting in Amsterdam (Aug/Sept '23) with 3 stops in Iceland, cruise through Greenland's Prince Christian Sund, another stop in Greenland and then stops in Newfoundland, and two in Nova Scotia before disembarking in New Jersey.  We have cruised to Alaska twice, cruised from England through Scandinavia and the Baltic, and have done the Norwegian Fjords.  All of those trips were absolutely fabulous and up to this point the fjords took the cake.  However, the transatlantic was an experience like no other - absolutely breathtaking scenery, especially through the Sund.  Glacier after glacier, iceberg after iceberg, crossing the Arctic Circle and even a bit of the Northern Lights.  Be forewarned that weather may not be your friend and you might miss a port - we had an extra night in Akureryi because the seas were too high to dock in Reykjavik - but enjoy.  Also - our cruise was a great value since there is no need for a balcony room in the colder and foggier climes.