Looking for cruise that stops at some of Orkney/Shetland/Faroe Is/other islands UK/Ireland/Iceland

[irvington]

I'm probably looking for a unicorn, but if anyone can help me find one, much appreciated!

 

I'd like to find a cruise for 2024 or 2025 (or heck, following years if we have a crystal ball) that goes to some combination of Orkney, Shetland, the Faroe Islands, and could also take in other islands in Iceland or Scotland/Ireland etc. I don't want a cruise that stops much at places on the mainland of those countries. We love driving and train vacations too and prefer to see th ose places that way. But we never seem to get to some of the islands on the land-based vacations because it would add a number of days, complicated with rental cars, etc. 

 

The reason this starts to be a unicorn is that our interest is really in history and culture. Some of the ones I have seen have speakers and excursions more based on bird life (Noble Caledonia). We're interested in wildlife, but living in the Western US, we are more interested in culture and history of any sort (Neolithic to present). We're very happy to do sightseeing and hikes on our own, but the places you might stop if the focus is ancient and medieval history are different than if you are wildlife viewing.

 

@Fletcher pointed me to V332 12-DAY LANDS OF THE CELTS (seabourn.com) which looked perfect but I guess is now cancelled, and also doesn't seem on their docket for 2024 and following. 

 

This one seems to be a possibility: Cruise Shetland, Faroe, Iceland: wild islands & lands of legends from Bergen to Reykjavík - August 2024 | Ponant

 

any other advice appreciated!

[puppycanducruise]

Check out Holland America.  They have a couple of  cruises that stop in Lerwick and Iceland and Scotland in 2024.   Look at Northern Isles or Legends of Scotland and Iceland.  Not sure if that fits the bill for you, but have a look.

[Fletcher]

5 hours ago, puppycanducruise said:

Check out Holland America.  

Please don't.  You definitely need a smallish ship here - ideally an expedition ship with 250 pax or less, but no ship with more than 500 or so pax.  This is because many ports are tiny and cannot take big ships.  Some remote islands will require zodiac landing while many others will require tenders and in these latitudes choppy seas are the norm which scuppers the tender operations.  Check out Silversea and especially their ships - Cloud, Wind and Endeavour. 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Fletcher

[edinburgher]

that goes to some combination of Orkney, Shetland, the Faroe Islands, and could also take in other islands in Iceland or Scotland/Ireland etc

 

try searching this way..  EG go to the Kirkwall port authority website which is orkneyharbours.com to find the list of cruise calls for this year AND for 2024.

 

They give dates and the ship name and equally importantl for you, also where it had its previous call, which may have been another place on your wish list.  Use the same criteria to search cruise arrivals in eg Lerwick (Shetland)  Once you have a ship name you can go to the cruiseline website and search their itineraries.

 

Orkney is probably the #1 for all things Neolithic with a number of sites to visit,   (Unesco World Heritage listings)  so if you get there, you will be in for a real  treat.

Edited January 25, 2023 by edinburgher

[MeHeartCruising]

NCL's Norwegian Dawn has visits to Kirkwall, Orkney Islands on it's British Isles: England, Ireland and Scotland itineraries for 2023, 2024, and 2025 from what I can see.  I was on this itinerary in September.  Unfortunately, I booked at the last minute and could not find any tour or car service to take me to some of the neolithic sites I wanted to see.  Everyone was fully booked.  All I could do was walk around Kirkwall and explore the local sites.  It was still a nice day.

 

I just re-read the OP's original posting.  Note that the Dawn's itinerary has multiple stops on the mainland of the UK and Ireland.  So it may not be a good fit.

Edited January 25, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[Capt_BJ]

viking ocean - we hit lerwick and kirkwall as part of a 2 week cruise from Greenwich to northcape then back to bergen

[Cruisen Elf]

While browsing the Celebrity website today, I saw 2024 cruises that included Ireland and Iceland, and Iceland and Scotland.  Both included stops at Kirkwall.  They may have others, I didn't look at all of the options.

[ssawjo]

We were onboard the Oceania Insignia in August 2022 and we had port stops in Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, and Kirkwall, Orkney Island.  Take a look at Oceania.  The trip started in New York City, BTW.

[irvington]

These are great ideas!

[3Shelaghs]

HAL Rotterdam- Amsterdam, Norway, Iceland, Shetlands, Scotland. Tenders used at Lerwick,  Edinburgh, and Isafjordur.

[Scottishclover]

Another option is Hebridean Island Cruises. My parents did a cruise a few years ago around the Hebrides on the Hebridean Princess.  It is a very small ship, so not for everybody, but they had an amazing time. I will say they were lucky with the weather which helps a lot when you are on holiday in Scotland. They are foodies and the dining experience was good - local produce so expect lots of seafood. Even if a ship that size is not for you, it might be worth checking out the website for information on the islands.

[irvington]

21 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

Another option is Hebridean Island Cruises. My parents did a cruise a few years ago around the Hebrides on the Hebridean Princess.  It is a very small ship, so not for everybody, but they had an amazing time. I will say they were lucky with the weather which helps a lot when you are on holiday in Scotland. They are foodies and the dining experience was good - local produce so expect lots of seafood. Even if a ship that size is not for you, it might be worth checking out the website for information on the islands.

Thanks, this is a great idea.

[JeanieC,Aston]

Fred Olsen from Liverpool do many cruises covering the Scottish Islands.

[soloadventurer]

Princess usually has repositioning cruise ( British isles then back to U.S port via Iceland ) 

[Globaliser]

On 1/25/2023 at 1:05 AM, irvington said:

I'm probably looking for a unicorn, but if anyone can help me find one, much appreciated!

 

I'd like to find a cruise for 2024 or 2025 (or heck, following years if we have a crystal ball) that goes to some combination of Orkney, Shetland, the Faroe Islands, and could also take in other islands in Iceland or Scotland/Ireland etc.

 

If you are still looking, one idea may be to use the search engines on some of the online cruise travel agency sites. We're not allowed to mention specific agents here, but if you explore different ones online you will find that some of them have search engines that allow you to be fairly specific about where you want to go, including nominating ports of call you want to call at (or avoid). These search engines can be a very good research tool.

[Incognito1]

RCCL has one 12-24 May of this year.  We got it for an amazing price (I'm here looking for excursions :-)).  Two overnight Iceland ports, three Scotland ports.  Jewel of the Seas.

[willoL]

Maybe you want to join us on Oceania's Nautica in August 2024?

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/cruise-finder#time_frame=2024-8&ship=NAU&sort=featured:desc&page=1&pageSize=10

 

My son and I are doing the 28 day voyage Dublin-Boston, but the 18 day Edinburgh to Boston does stop at both Orkey and Faroe Islands. I'm also quite keen to visit the Neolithic sites. I'm a sucker for living history experiences and academically informed recreations/re-enactments.

 

We did a different TATL last summer, and, while I think Iceland is a better land destination, the Greenland ports and those in North Atlantic Canada were pretty great IMHO. I'm thrilled to repeat those ports.

 

Also ditto @Globaliser's suggestion about searching via "an online cruise discount travel agency." There's one I always use to search by particular ports. (I've never used them to book, however.) I was wild to get to St. Pierre et Miquelon, for example, and that's exactly how I found a trip that did it.

 

I've got a Roll Call going, if you do decide Nautica works for you.

 

And I've already booked what I believe is the best tour guide in Kirkwall for our day there. We are open to filling the vehicle and splitting costs if a teen interested in history and Celtic music doesn't worry you. (I recognize that some people can't stand kids of any sort.)

 

If you end up booking some other dates, I can forward the details of the tour guide I chose based on internet referrals. I won't have my own opinion to share until August 2024. 🤣

[irvington]

2 hours ago, willoL said:

Maybe you want to join us on Oceania's Nautica in August 2024?

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/cruise-finder#time_frame=2024-8&ship=NAU&sort=featured:desc&page=1&pageSize=10

 

My son and I are doing the 28 day voyage Dublin-Boston, but the 18 day Edinburgh to Boston does stop at both Orkey and Faroe Islands. I'm also quite keen to visit the Neolithic sites. I'm a sucker for living history experiences and academically informed recreations/re-enactments.

 

We did a different TATL last summer, and, while I think Iceland is a better land destination, the Greenland ports and those in North Atlantic Canada were pretty great IMHO. I'm thrilled to repeat those ports.

 

Also ditto @Globaliser's suggestion about searching via "an online cruise discount travel agency." There's one I always use to search by particular ports. (I've never used them to book, however.) I was wild to get to St. Pierre et Miquelon, for example, and that's exactly how I found a trip that did it.

 

I've got a Roll Call going, if you do decide Nautica works for you.

 

And I've already booked what I believe is the best tour guide in Kirkwall for our day there. We are open to filling the vehicle and splitting costs if a teen interested in history and Celtic music doesn't worry you. (I recognize that some people can't stand kids of any sort.)

 

If you end up booking some other dates, I can forward the details of the tour guide I chose based on internet referrals. I won't have my own opinion to share until August 2024. 🤣

Thanks, this looks pretty great. I don't know if I will be able to talk to my husband into this one since we went on an (amazing) land trip to Iceland not that long ago, but if I somehow end up doing a solo trip again next year, this looks really good. We've done a lot of traveling with our 2 history-and-music mad sons (now in their 20s) so your teen would be a plus! Also, thanks for the reminder about searching for ports. I am getting to where unusual ports are a big draw for me. Greenland would be a plus on this one. Let me know if you and your son have other suggestions or trips planned! emily.karr@stoel.com

[Milaandra]

We're taking an Ambassador cruise in June that is 14 days, a stop in Shetland, a couple of stops in the Faroes, four stops in Iceland including an overnight in Reykjavik.  The only mainland stops are Scabster and either Dundee or Newcastle (because the cruise has a choice of two embarkation points...in our case we are embarking in Dundee, so Newcastle is a port stop)  There is only one tender (Isafjordur).  Smaller refurbished ships. The cruise is Iceland's Land of Ice and Fire.  The price point is affordable and the excursions are mostly half day, but again, not badly priced, and lots of things we found interesting.  For example, out of Lerwick we're taking an excursion to Jarlshof,  I've never travelled Ambassador, and this is a newly acquired ship that is launching this month, but I'd be happy to report back on my experience if you would find that useful. 

[dd57]

I second the Viking Ocean recommendation.  Viking has guest lecturers that specialize in history and cultures.  Their In the Wake of the Vikings cruise might fit what you are looking for.  It starts in Norway, stops in Orkneys, Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, and Canada Maritime provinces then ends in Montreal.