Iceland Cruise Loop
Travel Advice for Seniors: Iceland Cruise Loop
We booked a cruise from New York City that went through Halifax, Newfoundland, Greenland and then circled Iceland. Unfortunately, our cruise was cut short by a few days due to hurricane force winds on the east and south sides of the island. But overall, the cruise was a nice fifteen-day (actually 13) itinerary.
We were excited to take this cruise because we had never gone on a large ocean-going cruise ship. We chose Viking because they max out at about 925 people, much more manageable than the 5000 person behemoths. Also, they are luxe, but don’t nickel and dime you for a stray cookie in the middle of the afternoon and beer/wine with lunch and dinner is included.
We boarded our ship from Manhattan Cruise Terminal and sailed right by the Statue of Liberty on the way out to the ocean.
The sailing days were fun for the first day, but can get a bit boring on the second, third and possibly fourth days. There is plenty to do on the ship including a popular exercise room, a popular spa with large whirlpool, hot tub, snow room (!) and a super steamy sauna. Both were free amenities. I did have to wait for a treadmill once on the voyage. The spa area wasn’t too crowded to enjoy yourself, but the loungers were all taken every time we visited. There was also Wintergarden Tea Room featuring a lovely tea with tea sandwiches, scones and sweeties plus a good selection of teas, all at no additional charge. There were two pools, one with a retractable roof where we never had a problem finding a lounger chair.
The boat had several restaurants to choose from. We preferred the sit-down restaurant for main dinners and the buffet style restaurant for breakfast and lunch. There were also two specialty restaurants, one with wine pairings, the second an Italian restaurant. All of the food was excellent. No one who goes on a cruise goes to lose weight! I try to diet a month in advance so I can put back on the few pounds I lost and still fit into my clothes!
There were also plenty of game areas, secluded places for visiting, plenty of musicians and venues plus lectures most every day/evening and sometimes films. Plenty to do, but as mentioned previously, it gets a bit dull. Mom did get a haircut and style and we both got excellent massages, both at additional charge but very much worth it and not too pricey.
Having been on many river cruises, I can say that thinking you will be sitting outside on your veranda as you do on a river cruise during an ocean cruise is NOT the same, especially when crossing the Atlantic. Most days, even with sunny weather, it was far too windy and wet to sit on the veranda. And when you hit some weather, it may be helpful to have some Dramamine handy. We did have a few days of weather and it is advisable especially for those with mobility issues to hang on to the handrails.
Back to the cruise, Iceland is what I call a “natural resources” trip, which is long on beautiful landscapes and features and less about museums and historical sites. Most of the cities we docked in were very small and didn’t really have much to see except for Viking settlement replicas.
Our first stop was Halifax, Nova Scotia where we took the hop on-hop off bus around to most of the best sights. The Botanical Garden was small, but in bloom. The bus stopped at the Citadel, which is one of the main sights in Halifax, but we opted out of that visit, instead taking the bus all of the way around the city.
L’anse Aux Meadow, Newfoundland was the next stop where we visited a true Viking settlement site. A group of local guides made the history of the site interesting.
Next up was Qaquortoq and Nanortalik Greenland. Both small cities with a few historic reproduction museums and expensive souvenirs. Even the grocery stores were expensive, but had such delicacies as saltfish candies. We love to tour grocery stores when traveling, super easy gifts for friends at a good price point. Who doesn’t like a candy bar or packet of cookies from a foreign country? Much better than a tchotchke.
Finally, we made it to Isafjordur, Iceland for more Viking settlements and then on to Akureyn. The fjords along Easter and northeaster Iceland are truly majestic. The cities are small and don’t have a great deal to offer, but the scenery is the thing.
At Akureyn we opted for the Myvatin Nature Bath excursion, a trip to the same named geothermal bathing pools. One of the great things about living on a volcanic fault line, is that there is plenty of geothermal energy and hence plenty of nice warm bathing pools.
A word about bathing pools….make sure your ticket includes a towel. Also, Europeans are much less fussy about nudity than Americans. You are expected to shower completely and then put on your bathing suit before getting in the water and the reverse when getting out. Please don’t worry about what everyone is thinking about your body, no one really cares, a a quick glance around will ensure that you are not the one with the worst figure in the shower or the pool! So relax and enjoy the therapeutic pools.
Akureryn was the last of the towns that we toured as our trip was cut short by Category 2 force hurricane winds. So, we turned back around and headed to Reykjavik, missing Seydisfyordur, Djupivogur and Heimaey. We were really bummed about missing Heimaey as we were looking forward to the possibility of seeing a puffin or two. Interestingly, we did see a taxidermized puffin at one of the museums and it is only about 12-15” tall, for some reason was thinking there were larger.
The captain of the boat made the best of it by taking us above the Arctic Circle so we all received a certificate. And the weather cooperated by treating us to a marvelous showing of the northern lights. A word on the northern lights…they were difficult to see with the naked eye, but with your cell phone camera all of the fantastic colors were more obvious and stay for a few minutes to watch as they do move and change color. The ocean was pretty rough the night we turned around, so be prepared to be tossed around a bit and hang on tight! Also, it was a bit difficult to see as the top floor ship lights were turned off so that we could see them better.
We landed at Reykjavik next day and were off on another adventure there…
Where we stayed: On board the Ship.
How we got there: This was part of a 15-day ocean cruise tour beginning in New York City and ending in Reykjavik, with stops in Canada, Greenland and Iceland.
General Accessibility Information: Iceland is overall pretty accessible. Tour operators like Iceland Unlimited offer accessible day and multi-day tours. Sjálfsbjörg, The National Association of People with Disabilities surveys museums and public spaces for accessibility. TravAble is a free app that shows accessible places and services. FIA Guide for the Disabled Traveler is a website with information about using a disability parking permit or placard in Iceland. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements. See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.
