Help with Iceland cruise.

[-The-True-North-]

Hello All,

 

Looking at 2025 cruises and my wife and I have always wanted to see and visit Iceland.

 

Does anyone have experience with which itinerary on HAL is best that visits all the hot spots.

 

Quick glance I saw were:

14-Day Northern Isles

14-Day Fjords Of Norway & Iceland With Sognefjord

14-Day Fjords Of Norway And lceland With Nordfjord

14-Day Fjords And Celtic Origins: Edinburgh

14-Day Celtic Origins & Viking Fjords: Edinburgh & Nordfjord

14-Day Viking Trails & Celtic Origins: Reykjavik Overnight

 

Has anyone sailed any of these?

[cruisemom42]

For a starter, which visits the most Icelandic ports?

[-The-True-North-]

It doesn't have to be ALL Iceland. We are happy also included Norway or Scotland.

 

We cruise because it provides the ability to see multiple ports, while having our hotel move throughout the night.

 

So we are looking for which itinerary maybe has the best ports best sights.

[oakridger]

So we don't have to look up all your options, please list the Iceland ports available on the itineraries you listed.  Give us a hand here and people will give you lots of info!

 

 

~Nancy

[3rdGenCunarder]

I don't know what these itineraries are, but I'm sure all will include Reykjavik. The overnight in Reykjavik is tempting because there's so much to see in and around the city. 

 

Have you looked at the itinerary maps? I would choose the one that has the most ports in Iceland, if that's what you're most interested in. From the titles, several of these seem to include Norway. Norway is gorgeous, but it isn't the point of your trip.

 

Iceland is fascinating. I've done a land tour driving all the way around Route 1 (the only highway!). We wanted to do a cruise around Iceland, but couldn't find one with enough ports, so we did a land cruise and it was the best way to see Iceland. A lot of the ports you would visit are small towns, so you would likely be taking a tour from the port. 

 

Look for Akureyri. It's in the north and is a port that gets a fair number of cruise calls. We loved Husavik, which is also in the north, but I don't know if cruises call there. Good whale watching along the North coast. 

 

There are lots of ports along the eastern coast. Seydisfjordur is a charming little town. But be warned--all the tours will take you up (and back down again) a scary winding road. 

 

The southeast and south put you closest to glaciers, but I don't know if any cruises call there. 

 

We didn't get out to the far northwest penninsulas, so I can't comment on that area.

 

Does your local library have travel books? See if you can find an Iceland travel guide to start your research. Iceland has quite a few hot spots. Literally. That's how they generate electricity and there are thermal vent bakeries, too. 

[-The-True-North-]

@3rdGenCunarder

Thank you so much, this was the information I was hoping to get.

 

I can now go through these itineraries and look which have more in the north, rather then just more in Iceland.

 

I'll post back once I have narrowed it down on this 

 

Thank you again.

[3rdGenCunarder]

One other thing. Be prepared for sticker shock on the prices of tours. I have a cruise to Iceland and Greenland booked for this summer and the tours are crazy expensive.

[-The-True-North-]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

One other thing. Be prepared for sticker shock on the prices of tours. I have a cruise to Iceland and Greenland booked for this summer and the tours are crazy expensive.

Yeah, I've heard the stories.

 

Few friends did land based travels in Iceland. A tuna salad sandwich was like $27.

[Petronillus]

I realize that your focus is principally on Iceland but you do mention Norway as well. DW & I spent 14 days in July r/t Amsterdam on what was billed as a Midnight Sun cruise. The western coast of Norway is spectacular. I didn't realize how deeply some of the fjords cut into the interior of the country. And the profusion of waterfalls. 

It was a treat to cross the Arctic Circle. For three days the captain included in his noontime remarks, "Tonight there will be no sunset and tomorrow no sunrise!" It was like perpetually between 2 and 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

A fairly late addition to the itinerary was the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Two Scottish border agents came on board to check and sticker our passports. Trees are few and far between on the Shetlands, making for a bleak landscape. The Shetlands do not identify so much with the Celtic or Gaelic Scots as with the Scandinavians. They have their own flag, using the same colors as the Saltire (X-shaped cross of St. Andrew) but with perpendicular cross-bars just like Norway, Sweden, Denmark (and even Finland).

[-The-True-North-]

14-Day Fjords Of Norway & Iceland With Sognefjord.

May 31, 2025

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

--    3:00 PM

Jun 1, 2025

Cruising

Jun 2, 2025

Cruising

Jun 2, 2025

Oslo, Norway

7:00 AM    4:00 PM

Jun 3, 2025

Kristiansund, Norway

8:00 AM    5:00 PM

Jun 4, 2025

Stavanger, Norway

8:00 AM    3:00 PM

Jun 5, 2025

Cruising

Jun 5, 2025

Skjolden, Norway

8:00 AM    3:00 PM

Jun 6, 2025

Cruising

Jun 7, 2025

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

7:00 AM    3:00 PM

Jun 8, 2025

Cruising

Jun 9, 2025

Stavanger, Norway

7:00 AM    4:00 PM

Jun 10, 2025

Alesund, Norway

9:00 AM    6:00 PM

Jun 11, 2025

Cruising

Jun 12, 2025

Cruising

Jun 12, 2025

Akureyri, Iceland

12:00 PM    7:00 PM

Jun 13, 2025

Cruising

Jun 13, 2025

Isafjord, Iceland

8:00 AM    5:00 PM

Jun 14, 2025

Reykjavik, Iceland

7:00 AM    --

 

I like this one, but not sure why it circles back to Rotterdam.

[RuthC]

7 minutes ago, -The-True-North- said:

I like this one, but not sure why it circles back to Rotterdam.

It sounds like a back-to-back, or Collector's cruise. 

It's a lovely itinerary. I have been to all but one of those ports many times. There's a nice combination of larger cities and smaller towns. The scenic rides are worth getting up for, and worth staying out to watch the rides back out. 

[Essiesmom]

It circles back to Rotterdam because the second leg is also sold as a 7 day…or a 14 day starting June 7.  EM

[syesmar]

39 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

…I've done a land tour driving all the way around Route 1 (the only highway!). We wanted to do a cruise around Iceland, but couldn't find one with enough ports, so we did a land cruise and it was the best way to see Iceland. A lot of the ports you would visit are small towns, so you would likely be taking a tour from the port….

@3rdGenCunarder How far in advance did you need to book lodging, car and other types of reservations? Would love to see Iceland someday!

[RuthC]

12 minutes ago, Petronillus said:

The Shetlands do not identify so much with the Celtic or Gaelic Scots as with the Scandinavians.

On my first trip to the Shetlands I innocently said something to a grizzled Shetlander about it being my first trip to Scotland. 
He quite firmly scolded me 'Madam, you are NOT in Scotland! You are in the Shetland Islands'. 

I learned a LOT right then and there. 

[-The-True-North-]

@RuthC

Wonderful. So happy to hear you have been to a almost all these ports. I love hearing first hand experience.

 

And for explaining it's a back to back. I will begin to monitor this and reach out to some TAs and see what we can make happen during Wake Season.

[tupper10]

Just know in May in Norway some of the roads to the mountains may still be closed in May. Also quite cold in Iceland.  

[syesmar]

48 minutes ago, -The-True-North- said:

14-Day Fjords Of Norway & Iceland With Sognefjord.

May 31, 2025….

I’ve been to all the Norwegian ports in this itinerary except Kristiansund (though I have been to Kristiansand! Came within one click of renting a car in one, intending the other, without realizing how close the names were!) Absolutely loved these ports!

 

Skjolden is one of the most enchanting, beautiful places I have ever seen! And Sognefjord getting to/from there is so beautiful.

 

I so want to visit Iceland!

 

EDIT: HAL’s site lists Kristiansand for this itinerary, though perhaps some travel sites might have “-sund.” Just wanted to give a heads up about that, since I’ve had that happen to me.

 

 

Edited January 13 by syesmar

[OlsSalt]

Tracking the history of the Vikings and Celts, with the Reykjavik overnight cruise might be a good immersion into why Icelands is, as well as what Iceland is. In the past there was a fun HARPA theater event in downtown Rekjavik -and you would need an overnight to see this -  "How to be an Icelander in 60 minutes". https://www.harpa.is/en/how-to-become-icelandic-in-60-minutes

 

Every corner of Iceland is remarkable in it own way, so you can't lose no matter which one you pick. And of course you will miss out on a lot too, no matter what you choose.  Agree, the Route One self-drive around Iceland is preferred way to try and see it all. Some of the stunners are off the main road and in rugged coastal areas away from where cruise ships can dock.  Lake Myvatan in the north being one of them.

 

Hope someday you can come back for the round trip Voyage of the Vikings cruise, which is as close to getting it all experience but takes much longer than 14 days. This entire North Cape part of the globe has much to dazzle, no matter which one you do choose or in what combination.  But the fire and ice of Iceland does makes Iceland itself unique.

Edited January 13 by OlsSalt

[dockman]

I did the first ever voyage of the vikings round trip boston for 35 days....i actually liked all the port calls in greenland more than the iceland stops...all were good but greenland was better i thought.  Good luck pronouncing any of the names.

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, syesmar said:

I’ve been to all the Norwegian ports in this itinerary except Kristiansund (though I have been to Kristiansand! Came within one click of renting a car in one, intending the other, without realizing how close the names were!) Absolutely loved these ports!

....

 

EDIT: HAL’s site lists Kristiansand for this itinerary, though perhaps some travel sites might have “-sund.” Just wanted to give a heads up about that, since I’ve had that happen to me.

 

 

 

One way to remember Kristiansand - the one with the bank that is now a MacDonalds ...and do you want fries with that?. And Kristiansund has one part with a sunny microclimate they call Tahiti or Fiji or something like that. 🙃
 

 

[ontheweb]

You should also post your question in the following cc forum.

 

Northern Europe & Baltic Sea - Cruise Critic Community

[3rdGenCunarder]

9 hours ago, syesmar said:

@3rdGenCunarder How far in advance did you need to book lodging, car and other types of reservations? Would love to see Iceland someday!

 

I don't remember how early we started. I'm usually an independent planner for land travel, but when I was trying to find a cruise, I found Nordic Visitor and booked a package through them. They had several plans, depending on how many days and level of hotel and I customized from there. This was 2013, and US cells didn't work well there, so the package included a cell and a 24-hour emergency number. The rental car had a sat nav, which was helpful for back roads. 

 

I love cruising, but the land tour was better to see a lot of Iceland. Many of the museums and sights we saw were en route between towns we stayed in, so there was very little doubling back. DH was fascinated by plate tectonics and getting to stand on the mid-Atlantic Ridge was a bucket list thing for him. Of all of our travels, he said it was his favorite trip. 

 

@-The-True-North- if the 14-day is a B2B, consider just the second week. Depending on how long you have to spend, add some time staying in Reykjavik--it looks like the cruise ends there, yes? If you don't want to rent a car, there are plenty of day tours you could take. 

[syesmar]

@3rdGenCunarder thank you for this excellent information! Before the pandemic, Iceland was next on our list—though no reservations had been made, just materials ordered and trip research begun—and our plans got stalled. I’m hoping we’ll go sooner than later! 

Edited January 13 by syesmar

[WisRiver]

We have done two cruises, one with stops in Iceland and the other exclusively in Iceland.  We did HAL's  Voyage of the Vikings round trip that made three stops eastbound and two stops westbound in Iceland.  Both legs included a stop in Reykjavik.  The advantage to Voyage of the Vikings is the opportunity to stop in Greenland.  

 

Last year we did an eight day circumnavigation of Iceland on Hurtigruten Expeditions.  We had the chance to see many smaller ports, but also were to revisit Isafjord and Akureyri.  We missed Isafjord because of weather.  If you have the time, I would recommend the Voyage of the Vikings.

[WriterOnDeck]

I spent almost 2 months in Northern Europe/Iceand, etc., last summer (end of the world cruise and 10 more weeks afterward. We visited many many ports in Norway and twice around Iceland.

 

You can't go wrong imho, but if you want to read in more detail about cruising to the various ports, check out my blog posts -- www.writerondeck.com, Mainly late April through early to mid July, 2023.