Day 13 Akureyri, Iceland

Day 13 Akureyri, Iceland

 

Okay third time entering this information for my blog – let us hope I don’t lose it in cyberspace this time! Writing this as if it were July 3, 2023 and when did actually visit Akureyri, Iceland.

 

We booked an independent tour with Iceland Everywhere Tours (EIT).  It was a full day tour runningfrom 9 am till 5 pm.  Originally we were to depart at 5:30 pm today so the schedule would have been tight – but as NCL revised our itinerary we are missing Isafjordur as a port and staying in Akureyri until 4 am on July 4.  Isafjordur is a smaller port and they were trying to dredge the harbour to accommodate for larger ships like the Norwegian Prima.  This work was originally to be complete in October 2022 but has been delayed.  It may be done by the middle of July – but not soon enough for our cruise.

 

Our excursion was a tour on a mini-bus, a Mercedes Benz with 19 passenger seats.  Siggi, our driver, said they intentionally leave a couple of seats empty to move around.  I also think it gave some breathing room because these were TI-NY seats!  JG and J each chose a single seat so they had an acceptable amount of room, but P and I shared a double seat and there was lots of rubbing of shoulders!  The whole mini-bus seemed much narrower than a North American vehicle, to reflect the narrower size of roads in Iceland.

 

There were many mini-buses and a number of larger buses from the cruise ship that visited just about all of our destinations today.  With three cruise ships in port – there were many tours running.  Our tour was essentially to visit Godafoss and Myvatn.  Foss means waterfall in Iceland.  Godafoss was like a mini Niagara Falls.

 Our second stop was at Skutustaoagigar – it is an area of Myvatn Lake with a high concentration of pseudo craters.  Here it was particularly windy and 5 Celsius.  Good thing we are Canadians who know how to dress in layers as we were well prepared for this weather!  This is where we chose to eat lunch.  Each person had to buy their own lunch.  J had the best one – smoked trout on pumpernickel bread.  The pumpernickel bread was cooked in a geothermal hot spring for 24 hours.  It was delicious!

 

After this was my favourite stop – Hofdi Nature Park.  Hofdi had a small parking lot so the large size coaches couldn’t stop here and it was a quieter experience!

 We then visited Gonguleidir in Dimmuborgir – a lava field.  The rocks looked very much like trolls and the Icelandic people believe that there are 13 prankster trolls (Yule Lads) that are associated with Christmas.  J like this area best as it has amazing landscape architecture that feels like the badlands of Alberta, but in magma rather than in Sandstone.

 

Our last two stops were at geothermal hot springs.  JG and P liked the hot spring best where they climbed below ground to put their feet in hot springs.  The temperature was about 40 degrees Celsius and absolutely beautiful!

Our very last stop was at Namafjall Hverir – a high temperature geothermal area with fumaroles and mud pots that smelled strongly (stunk one might say) of sulphur).

 

We returned back to the port about 5:20 pm – just in time to race to our room, change clothes and go for dinner for our 5:30 pm reservation!  Dinner was its usual amazing service and food.  And three of us were all very tired – and went to bed at 9 pm.  One of us face timed his girlfriend and then went to bed!

Day 12 At Sea

Today we are crossing the Atlantic Ocean as we head towards Iceland. We can feel more movement on the ship - but not a huge amount. We are safely located centrally low on the ship on deck 5 so our rooms are about as stable as one can be on a ship!  You feel more motion at either extreme end of the ship. 

J had a Behind the Scenes tour on the ship this morning. He was in a small group of 15 guests who had the opportunity to visit one of the kitchens, the laundry, the engine control room,  the backstage of Prima Theatre, I-95 (the main corridor for crew operations), the crew recreation area and the Bridge. J especially liked the engine control room and the bridge!  I thought it was a perfect gift for his 60th birthday and it was. 

We expected it would be crowded in the Indulge Food Hall today so we arrived 15 or 20 minutes early and every single table inside was taken- except for one!  So we scooped the one table right beside the door that opened with a blast of cold air when people ventured outside. The Prima ship has loads more seating areas outside - which is perfect for hot destinations - but crossing the Atlantic to Iceland is a frosty experience so the ship doesn’t staff those tables on days like today. The Indulge food hall is fun to eat at - you place your order on tablets at the tables and your food gets delivered from one of 11 food stations. If you are still a little hungry, you order some more!!

After lunch JG really wanted to go sit in the Infinity pool so he talked his brother P to join him!!  I tagged along to be the official photographer!

Note the absence of people on deck!!

After the swim JG used my laptop to organize photos, the boys played games and read and I had a sleep. 

We went down for supper to the Commodore Room at our usual time of 5:30. So far every night we are lucky enough to get placed at a window. 

After supper we played a game of Splendour, then headed to bed. J and JG hope to get up at 5 am as we enter the fjord tomorrow so they want to get a good night sleep and watch as we enter the fjord. And OH - the sun doesn’t set tonight!!

Day 11 Alesund, Norway

Fabulous birthday for JG today. A hike and bike in Alesund, Norway!

The company we used for our hike and e-bike tour was Uteguiden. If I had been savvy enough in booking this excursion I would have booked them directly with Uteguiden.com - but Viator commands a large presence on Google and we ended up booking the trip with Viator. Ultimately we were really happy with today’s trip. Antona was our guide. He was French and Canadian but grew up in the Philippines. Another family of four from Southern California was on the trip with us. We were all fitted with e-bikes (Cannondale brand) and the battery operated just like mine at home so I was comfortable with it.

We cycled for about 15 minutes to a nearby island where we locked up our bikes and began the hike to Sukkertoppen. The elevation gain was about 300 metres of vertical though maybe 60 had been gained while climbing with the e-bikes. The trail had sections that were very steep with large rocks in it - often placed as stepping stones. For me it took one hour and 10 minutes to climb to the top and of course I was the slowest. What an amazing 360 degree view at the top. We are a delicious lunch of bagel sandwiches, cinnamon buns and berry smoothies at the top. It  was 15 Celsius today with blue sky. Absolutely gorgeous for hiking!  The descent took me about 50 minutes and I made full use of my poles to steady myself and my knee which is scheduled for a full knee replacement within the next year. 

Once back at the bikes we cycled around the island - so probably another 30 minutes of cycling for fun!! And the power boost was appreciated on all the climbs!

We returned to the city and our starting point four hours later. The whole tour was from 11 am till 3 pm - perfect time to enjoy the day and not be rushed at the start or finish. Our all aboard time was 4:30 pm. 

We returned to our stateroom to see chocolate truffles delivered courtesy of the Maître’D, Moises Lequerica. J and I had talked to him last night to tell him how much we were enjoying the food, staff and itinerary in this cruise and that it was our first Norwegian Cruise Line trip!  He asked for our room number and the chocolates showed up today!!

JG also had chocolate truffles delivered to him today to celebrate his birthday!  After our delicious supper in the Commodore Room tonight, P and I went up to Indulge Food Hall and bought him a special Red Velvet cake and wished him happy birthday!

Then JG asked that we watch the movie “Catch me if you Can” for his birthday so we did that too!!

Tonight we get an extra hour of sleep and we have a sea day tomorrow!  My weary bones will appreciate that!

Day 10 Geiranger, Norway

Today was our sea kayaking day!! We booked an excursion independently with the Geiranger Kayak Centre. We had to walk two km on flat land around to the put in point. Once there we were provided with life jackets and spray skirts, then briefed on safety steps for sea kayaking. Our guide was named Ott (pronounced oit) and he was excellent. We were two families of four who all set out for the Sisters Waterfall. 

J and I paddled together, as did JG and P.  What a stunning way to experience the Geiranger Fjord!  Three hours of paddling with such enormous soaring rocks rights beside us!!  P said this was his favourite port so far - that when he faced the waterfall directly across from the seven sisters, he felt at one with nature!!

Our family with another from Ohio posing for a picture in front of the Seven Sisters Waterfall!

We returned to the ship and ate a very late lunch at 2:30 pm. J and P left the ship to climb to the top of the waterfall hike- it was about 10 km and 500 metres elevation gain.  JG and I went and did a little shopping!

Supper, then a hot tub on the 17th deck. And we made a point of spending some time on the observation deck as we pulled out of Geiranger at 10 pm. It was still daylight and much beauty to see. 

Exiting Geiranger Fjord at 11 pm at night!!

Returned to the room at 11:15 to get the bones of the blog together and hit the hay! 

Tomorrow we have a hike and bike in Alesund!

Day 9 Bergen, Norway

We were awakened by the Captain this morning at 6 am, not announcing that we were cleared to disembark, rather to scold the passengers who were feeding the birds from their balcony. The Captain said these passengers were to stop feeding the birds immediately and that it what they were doing was illegal. Sheesh!!!  Really?  You need to be told that?

So at 7 am we actually got out up, ate breakfast and disembarked by 8:15 am. Our plan was to walk to the base of the Mount Floyen Funicular. The funicular is kind of like a gondola but operates like a train that goes up the mountain and offers a great view of the city and surrounding area of Bergen. 

Once at the top we enjoyed the vantage point and took pictures of some of the local goats that reside in the area.  You could buy a ticket to descend but we chose to follow the 3 km path on foot to get back to the city centre. 

View of Bergen (and the goats) from the top of the Funicular!

Once back in town, we caught a taxi to the town of Salhus to visit the Textile Museum called Museum Senterer. It was a departure from the typical tourist attractions. JG had found it online - and  we were happy to join one other couple from the Netherlands on the tour. The mill made Salhus an industrial port beginning about 1860. The wool yarn factory continued until about 1989. It is now a textile museum.  JG bought a Norwegian wool sweater as his souvenir of this vacation.

Our guide Helma explaining one of the machines at the Textile Museum!

We then travelled by two buses back to the port of Bergen. The all aboard time was 3:30 pm. We enjoyed dinner up at the Surf side buffet at around 5 pm and saw beautiful views departing from Bergen. 

We had tickets to The Price is Right Live tonight. They did an excellent job recreating the game show on the stage. We had lots of fun cheering and laughing (and no our names were not called). We then enjoyed the comedy movie The Proposal with Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock on the TV. 

Heading to bed at about 10:30 pm and the sky is still very light. Sunset is supposed to be about 11:25 pm tonight with sunrise tomorrow at 3:44 am!!

Day 8 At Sea

Simple opportunities abound with a day at sea!  Today we enjoyed breakfast and lunch in Hudson’s - the 7th floor dining room. And then we enjoyed the Italian restaurant Onda by Scarpetta for dinner. This is a specialty restaurant that normally is an up charge to eat at - but it was complimentary to us. Quite delicious but beyond our wallets to eat at without the price break!  I thought the best dish was the chocolate cake for dessert!!

 JG, P and I all tried the Drop - a 10 story enclosed slide off the side of the ship. It was fun to try, extremely safe and not too fast. And it was free!  (Like mini golf- but some of these extra activities like the speedway racetrack have an extra charge).

Oh and we played two games of trivia. The first one we were getting our feet under us and the second we hit our stride and tied for first with 17 out of 20!!

Tomorrow we are prepared to dock in Bergen, Norway!

Day 7 Amsterdam

We arrived in Amsterdam around 7 am and guests were allowed to disembark by 7:15 am.   We left the ship shortly after 8:30 with plans to meet our friend T at 9 am. After a couple detours getting there we met outside the train station at 9:30 am. 

T guided us down streets to discover some beautiful hidden gems. This included the Beginjhof - where pious Catholic single women who performed good deeds but did not want to live in a convent and did not take vows. 

We made our way to the Vincent Van Gogh 

Art museum. J went to discover the nearby gardens, T had an appointment and JG, P and I went to visit the museum. Clearly it was necessary to prebook our time slots for the museum because the family in front of us got turned away being told they were sold out until the end of the month. We times our walk to arrive at 11:15 am and had 30 minutes to enter but could stay as long as we wanted inside the museum. We stayed our intended 1 hour 45 minutes and appreciated the highlights tour offered with the audio guide to meet that time frame. What a sad story of a brilliant artist. 

We grabbed a sandwich in the park and met up with J and T at 1 pm.  T had arranged a canal boat tour at 1:30 starting from nearby so we hopped aboard and took the outdoor seats at the back of the boat!

Typical buildings we saw on the 75 minute boat ride!

One of many canals in Amsterdam with bikes!!

Sunflowers painted by Vincent Van Gogh museum!

We saw the Norwegian Prima while in our canal boat tour!

Amsterdam Central Station with our personal tour guide T!

We thoroughly enjoyed our day in Amsterdam. And I won’t ever again load pictures before I write text!!  Sorry for the disjointed report!