20260620 Saturday, June 20, 2026 Reykjavik Disembarkation

20260620 Saturday, June 20, 2026 Reykjavik Disembarkation

The ship was slowly making its way to its berth on the Reykjavik waterfront as we had breakfast in the buffet.  We disembarked at 8:15 a.m.  There were no customs or immigration procedures for us on arrival in Reykjavik.  It did take a while for some of our bags to show up in the baggage hall, but we were then promptly escorted out to a waiting bus.  

Unloading luggage a bag at a time.

We had taken our luggage to the bus and saw the bags loaded into the bus luggage compartment, but we sat in the bus for at least 20 minutes, and then noticed them taking our bags out and moving them back to the terminal.  Before we could speak up, someone came on the bus and announced that our bags would be transported to the hotel in a separate truck, and would be delivered to our hotel rooms.  Janet was a bit concerned because she had some things she wanted to give to our excursion guides and horses that were in our small suitcases.  We had counted on being able to grab those things out of the bags once we had arrived at the hotel so we didn’t have to carry as much on the bus.  

We did arrive at the hotel at 9 a.m., but there was no early check-in for us.  We were told our luggage would arrive at 11 a.m., and that we could check into our rooms at 3 p.m.  

Ben and Janet were the only ones who used the Viking Transfers.  Everyone else did self-transfers from the cruise ship terminal to the hotel, but after calling a van, they had to wait nearly an hour for the van to show up.  They also disembarked about an hour later than we did. 

 
Ben and Janet set off on foot to find the location where the horse ride transfer van would pick us up.  This was literally just a 2-minute walk from the hotel to City Hall. 

There was a large pond behind City Hall with gardens and a landscaped walkway, so we walked around the pond and could see the Reykjavik Cathedral up on the hill.  We ended up walking to the cathedral and touring it. 

 

After visiting the cathedral, we headed back to the hotel via the main shopping street, which basically connects the city central square, near city hall, to the cathedral.  
There are lots of tourist shops, restaurants, and bars along this street.  There are lots of murals and urban art in Reykjavik.

One restaurant featured a seven-course Icelandic culinary experience featuring puffin, whale, horse, and lamb.  We had our eyes out for lamb soup and fish and chips.  Icelandic hot dogs are also supposed to be unique and a point of Icelandic pride.  We had our eyes out for Icelandic lamb soup herbs but could not find them in the shops along that street.  The only herbs were intended for use or blended with teas, rather than as culinary ingredients.

We met up with Mark, Jan, Doug, and Sandy after our walk and gave them the lowdown before finding some comfortable chairs in the hotel lobby to rest up a bit before our horse ride excursion.  

The luggage did arrive at 11am so we were able to unload our backpacks into one of our luggage bags so we would have less to carry to the horse riding excursion.

At the 12:45 p.m. recommended time, we were waiting at the City Hall bus stop, but the van for the horse ride excursion didn’t actually show up until 1:20 p.m.  There were 4 other women in the van from other hotels that were also doing the horse ride excursion.  Our stop was the last pick-up site before the van headed to the suburbs where several stables for different companies are located.  There are networks of gravel trails/roads laid out through an extensive ancient lava flow.  

Upon arrival at Íshestar stables, we viewed a safety and orientation video in a room with about 20 other riders.  We were then fitted with helmets and led out to the horses.  This is quite a large stable operation.  We were paired up with horses and mounted up.  

They did not have a mounting block, so with Janet’s bad knee, it was awkward and difficult for her to mount her horse, but it was managed.  Her horse was named “Gangster”.  This was apparently to do with the horse having a blue eye, and not for a nasty disposition.  Ben’s horse was Aisha.  

The Icelandic saddles were kind of like western saddles but without horns.  
Our ride was pretty much all at a walk.  The group of over 20 riders included a little girl who was probably 7 or 8 years old.  She was put in the lead with one of the staff taking the reins and walking the entire route.  

After about 15 minutes, we were given the opportunity to separate into beginners and advanced riders.  They said if you wanted to join the advanced riders, you would have to be able to mount and dismount independently and be good at maintaining your balance.  Ben could barely get his horse to follow directions, so he was definitely destined for the beginners.  Janet, being the dutiful wife, followed.  Actually, out of the large group, only 3 women, all with extensive riding experience, took the more advanced route, and afterwards, they said they got to trot a little, but did not experience the unique Icelandic horse gaits beyond walking and trotting. 

 
The ride lasted 90 minutes and was through a scenic ancient lava field where much of the lava was covered with moss and lichens and there were scattered bushes, low trees, and lots of purple lupins.  The path was gravel and dirt.  The wind did kick up some dust, but it was not too bad.  

Janet’s horse was very responsive to her commands, and she could have easily joined the advanced riders except for her inability to mount unassisted.  Ben’s horse was very stubborn at the beginning, but became more responsive as the ride continued, allowing both horse and rider to get familiar with each other.  

We were very lucky to have perfect weather for the ride with temperatures in the mid-50’s, light wind, and partly cloudy skies.  

After returning to the hotel, we were able to finally check in to our room.  Our bags were waiting for us.  

We got together with everyone and walked into town for some Icelandic Fish and Chips.  These were basically indistinguishable from Fish and Chips anywhere else in the world, but since fishing was so integral to survival in Iceland, it was pretty much mandatory.  

We personally hope to find some good Icelandic lamb soup before we leave Reykjavik because that was what we really remembered as unique from our last visit to Iceland 10 years ago.  

After dinner, we all walked up to the Cathedral, and then back to the hotel.  
Tomorrow we have a full-day Private Golden Circle Tour booked for our group of 6.  

20260619 Friday, June 19, 2026 Ísafjördur, Iceland

20260619 Friday, June 19, 2026 Ísafjördur, Iceland

We arrived in Iceland with cold, wet weather.  The ship had been rolling through the night as a low-pressure area was situated northeast of Iceland.  The temperature was about 40ºF with winds gusting to 20 mph.  The ship tied up with our balcony facing the opposite wall of the fjord.  

This was a steep eroded wall with a roadway along its base.  There were sheep grazing above the roadway.  

Icelandic wool being made

Eider Ducks-where eider down comes from. 

Males in white and black mating plummage.

Around us there were lots of birds both floating on the water and flying around.  These included the fulmars, kittiwakes and gulls, as well as the very sleek looking and fast arctic terns.  There were also plenty of eider ducks.  

Our tour was set to depart at 10:55 a.m., so we had our last Mamsen’s waffles and geared up for rain and a bus ride.  While we were preparing for the day, the ship’s crew had a mandatory drill which included shutting the fire protection and water tight doors and ultimately abandoning ship, launching the life boats.  

Doug and Sandy had an 8:30 a.m. tour and had booked an optional whale-watching excursion around noon.  When we were boarding our bus, we ran into them and they gave us advice to head in directly into the theater at the first stop if you wanted to get a seat.  Apparently, it was very crowded during their tour.  

The tour took us on a drive around Ísafjördur, which is the largest city and regional capital of the Westfjords peninsula of Iceland.  It has a population of only 2,700, but has all the basics needed for a city, including a recreation center with a pool and two grocery stores.  It has some quaint architecture dating back to the 16th century when foreign merchants first set up trading posts on this sandy spit of land sticking out into the fjord.  

Unfortunately, with the rain and filthy bus windows, we weren’t getting good photos of the buildings in their city center.  It wasn’t long before we dove into a 3-mile-long tunnel connecting Ísafjördur to its neighbor Bolungarvik, which is one of the oldest fishing villages in Iceland.  Fishing remains the mainstay of the area’s economy, in addition to tourism. 

There isn’t a lot to see in Bolungarvik, but we did get to enter a municipal theater and were treated to several songs sung by a local singer/songwriter accompanied by his guitar.  He did an interesting set of folksy and atmospheric melodies in Icelandic, but did explain the themes of each number.  

At the conclusion of our Bolungarvik cultural experience, we drove past a light house and stopped at Ósvör Bolungarvik, which is a museum consisting of several historic fishing huts, including a dwelling typically shared by a fishing crew of 8.  

Interestingly enough, the tiny cabin only had 4 bunks, so they had to double up.  Even more interesting was the typical crew, consisting of 7 men and one woman.  The woman usually took care of the chores and cooking, but with only 4 bunks, the big question was who got to sleep with the woman.  

The guide said rumor had it that it was either the youngest, who didn’t know any better, or the oldest, who had forgotten how.  The structure had a timber frame and grass roof construction and was surprisingly comfortable compared to the cold wind and rain outside.  

The final stop on our tour was a photo stop at Bunárfoss, a waterfall fed by springs with water so pure that the guides encouraged us to take a drink from the stream below the falls.  

Being medical professionals with the prospect of a long transoceanic flight ahead of us, we passed on the opportunity to pick up a case of gastroenteritis.  

After returning to the ship, we had lunch in the buffet and then got to work with the business of repacking all our stuff into our suitcases.  This does require some strategy because it is likely that our suitcases will be held in storage for several hours before we can access our post-cruise extension hotel rooms.  Janet booked us for an Icelandic horse riding experience, so we’ll have to keep on hand what we’ll need to do that.  

Our final Chef’s Table experience was with a Mexican menu.  The appetizer was a tasty Tostadas de Pulpo, which is octopus on a corn tostada with guacamole.  It was a tasty bite.  We were surprised to learn that Mexico is the third largest producer of octopus in the world.  

The first course was a Tamalito de Pollo, or reimagined chicken tamale pressed flat and served with a zesty salsa verde.  Quite good.

The granita was unique— prickly pear and lemon with a dash of hot chile powder on top.  Quite a contrast— Fire and Ice— perfect for Iceland.  

The main course was a beef short rib, braised to fork-tender and served with mole sauce and a purée de camote, miel de agave, which was a creamy starch sweetened with agave and tasting like butterscotch pudding.  The combination of the umami beef, chocolate/cinnamon mole, and butterscotch camote worked quite well.  It was a unique taste experience and a pleasurable one.  

Dessert was chocolate in 3 textures, including crispy chocolate cinnamon bar bits, chocolate crumbles on mousse, and double chocolate brownie à la mode.  

We finished the evening’s entertainment with a show by Ellie, the lead female vocalist from Scotland, who did a solo show with several selections from Broadway and West End musicals ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Sara Bareilles, to Barbara Streisand and Liza Minnelli. It was another fine show showcasing Ellie’s broad range.  

Our suitcases made it out to the hallway in time for pick-up. Hopefully, we will have all the clothes we need to walk off the ship tomorrow.  

20260618 Thursday, June 18, 2026 At Sea, Svalbard to Iceland Day 2

20260618 Thursday, June 18, 2026 At Sea, Svalbard to Iceland Day 2

It was nice to have another relaxing day at sea.  Our clocks moved back another hour overnight to put us on Reykjavik time, so it was nice to sleep in.  After a casual breakfast in the buffet, we attended lectures and walked the promenade deck before participating in general trivia. 

 
There was a culinary cooking demonstration by the head chef, but unlike Princess Cruises’ culinary demonstrations, there was no comedic relief, except after the chef completed a pasta with Arabiatta sauce, he said that the stage hands usually will eat his creations, so he buried a huge pile of hot chili flakes under Parmesan cheese for some unfortunate stage hand to discover later.  

At lunch, they did feature a fresh pasta station on the AquaVit terrace with a couple of different pastas and sauces.  Unfortunately, there was a big line and it was cold outside. 

 

Today’s trivia was divided up into different parts starting with super close-up photo recognitions.  The general trivia was broken up into Missing Lyrics, Name the Century, Movie quotes, and just a handful of actual general trivia questions.  We got slaughtered on the Name the Century for various significant events and only managed to get a couple of the missing lyrics completely correct.  If it had been name the artist and title, we would have been fine.  The winning team did rack up an impressive score.  

The weather has been clear with patchy clouds overhead and mild to moderate winds.  The ship is in open North Atlantic waters and did skirt a low-pressure system last night, so the ship has been subject to a steady, noticeable slow rolling motion.  Although the ship’s wildlife specialist has spotted blue whales and bottle nosed whales around the ship, about all we have spotted have been rare whale spouts too far from the ship to identify the species of whale, but there have been no visible tail flukes or breaching spotted.  There are plenty of black legged kittiwakes and northern fulmars around the ship, sometimes in significant flocks that have flown around the ship repeatedly.  These look like gulls for the most part.

Black-legged Kittiwake

Northern Fulmar

Our particular stateroom location (6055) seems to be at a harmonic resonance for something in the ship’s power plant because there has been a steady low-frequency vibration that tends to rattle things on the desk and closet even when the ship was at port.  

We would avoid this location in future cruises.  There have been a few times when we could hear noises overhead as chairs were being moved in the World Cafe above.  

The saddest day of any cruise is when the disembarkation luggage tags arrive.  We will have to pack up our bags and have them out in the hallway by 10 p.m. tomorrow so the end is near.

Dinner in the Restaurant started with Turmeric Harissa Lemon Chickpea Soup, which had a very interesting flavor and texture, but had just a touch too much salt.  

The entrees featured Seared Duck Magret with foie gras, which was quite delicious, moist, and tender.  

There was a dessert called Exotic Wave which had passion fruit curd, meringue shards, and fresh fruit which was like a deconstructed Pavlova.  It was sweet, creamy, tart, and refreshing.

The evening wound up with a farewell reception to toast the ship’s crew, followed by the Vocalists doing a Beatles tribute.  The arrangements were novel to create four-part harmonies for the male and female vocals.  This caused the music to sound un-Beatles-like, but they did cover a lot of the Beatles songbook in mash-ups with an energetic and overall enjoyable show.  We recognized the costumes from a “British Invasion” Viking Vocalist show we saw on the Viking Orion in the fall of 2024 during our North Pacific Crossing cruise.  Same costumes, different singers and different show.

Tomorrow we arrive in Ísafjördur, Iceland, which will be our last port of call before disembarking in Reykjavik.  The weather forecast is for a 30-40% chance of rain, 0.25” precipitation, and temperatures 38-42ºF.  We may have to don our heavy weather gear again like in Honningsvåg. We hope not to have to pack wet things in our suitcases tomorrow.