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Old 10 Jul 22, 09:47 AM  
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Omega1
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Join Date: Jan 08
Sky Princess - Norway & Iceland, June/July 2022

The second leg of our 28 day back to back cruise on the Sky Princess to Norway and Iceland didn’t get off to the best of starts. The late arrival of the ship into Southampton meant we didn’t get under way until 8.30pm, over four hours late.
The Captain was very apologetic and said there was free wine with dinner and each person would be given on board credit of $50, which, given we were largely unaffected by the general chaos, was very generous. He also said the late departure would not affect the arrival time in our first port which was the main thing.
The saga of the noisy cabin from the first cruise, fortunately, didn’t repeat itself. We expected to have to go back to our original cabin, but my new best friend Carlos from guest services called to offer us another mini suite - again, it took all of a nanosecond to accept! We have landed really lucky and the guest services people have been extremely helpful given we originally booked a balcony cabin for the first cruise and an inside cabin for the second but ended up in mini suites for both.
We said goodbye to our friends who were with us on the first leg, and hello to my brother and sister in law who are joining us for the second leg.

Days 2 and 3 Sea Days
The usual sea day activities - lots of eating, reading, watching films and doing ship organised activities. We enjoy attending the trivia (quiz) sessions and the usual routine is that on a sea day, after breakfast, we go to the 10.30 trivia and then go for a coffee. Speciality coffees (cappuccino, latte, etc) are an additional cost but when served in the Bistro sur La Mer, we were never charged - nor was anybody.

We’re looking forward getting off the ship tomorrow for a good walk and some fresh air, over the last four days we’ve only spent four hours ashore in Southampton - not that I’m complaining but a change of scenery will be nice. When I mentioned this to Mrs O she wondered how I was going to cope with the trans Pacific cruise which we have booked for next year, with 12 of the 22 days being at sea. I’ll find a way!

Day 4 Skjolden
The forecast was for rain early in the morning but drying up and overcast. There had been a lot of rain in this part of Norway over the past few days and the local weather app had warnings of flooding and potential land slides. Our plan was to walk to Wittgenstein’s Hut about 4km away - Wittgenstein was an early C20 philosopher who came to this part of Norway for solitude and to think his best thoughts. It was a lovely walk with lots of spectacular waterfalls owing to the heavy rain and snowmelt. After about 3km the path should have gone onto the lake shore but owing to the heavy rain the lake had risen, so no path and with a sheer rock face behind there was no way through. Plan B was to continue along the valley to a waterfall we could see in the distance. As we approached the waterfall there was a campsite with a nice little cafe for our morning coffee fix.

We headed back to the village and called in at the visitor centre before heading back to the ship.

We have been befriended by Putu and Dewa, a couple of waiters from Bali, who have reserved us a nice table in their area of the Soleil dining room, by a window. This is good because much of the lovely scenery sailing away down the fjords is during dinner. They are lovely guys and nothing is too much trouble , which goes for the vast majority of crew members we have come into contact with - especially our cabin steward, Ronaldo, who seems to be having a bit of time away from the Premier League.
This evening’s show in the Princess Theatre was a group of singers called The Westenders, who individually have all had leading roles in Broadway and West End shows. They were excellent.
Day 5 Olden
The first three ports of the cruise are repeats of ports from the first cruise, but today, in Olden we had clear blue skies which made the place seem totally different- it’s spectacularly beautiful. An MSC ship was berthed at the single dock, so we had to anchor in the fjord and go ashore on tenders. One of the benefits of being on the highest tier of the Princess loyalty scheme is that we don’t need to queue to get tender tickets, we just go to a designated lounge where we get called for the next available tender - a wait of only a couple of minutes.
We decided to repeat the walk up the Olden valley we did a couple of weeks ago, but go a bit further to a lake. Our route took us through meadows, past old farm buildings, alongside the river that was flowing quicker and deeper than two weeks ago. When we reached the lake we had the picnic we had made at breakfast- that might seem a bit miserly but a) there was nowhere to buy any food and b) have you seen the price of stuff in Norway? Mrs O packs small sandwich bags when we go on a cruise, makes ham, cheese, salmon or whatever rolls, along with a piece of walnut bread and a banana, makes a fab picnic.

Our walk back followed the road past the lovely, old wooden church and on into the village where we had a drink in the cafe. The tender back to the ship was quiet and fortunately the fjord nice and calm making for a smooth transfer. We’ve had several ports cancelled over the years when it was too rough and unsafe to operate the tenders, but the worst was at the port of Punta Arenas in Chile when the tender ashore in the morning was fine and only took 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the wind picked up and the tender back in late afternoon took 50 minutes - it was bloomin’ rough, people were throwing up and some of the crew looked green around the gills!
Each evening we check the dining room menu to see what we fancy but tonight nothing caught our eye so went to the buffet. I mentioned in my last report how we had been impressed with the food in the buffet and tonight was no exception. We’d had a long day walking in the sun and were a bit pooped - sometimes we just can’t be bothered dressing up! The bonus was it was such a lovely evening we sat out on deck 16, where the view sailing down Nordfjord, was breathtaking.

Not my photo, but this was taken from the Loen Skylift, the Sky Princess can be seen (just) anchored in the middle distance.

Day 6 Alesund
It was an early start with the alarm set for 6.30am (I thought we were on holiday) as we wanted to pick up our hire car at 8am. Picnic packed, we walked the kilometre to the car hire depot - we got a nice upgrade to a VW Tiguan. Our plan was to partly retrace our steps from the last cruise as far as Valldal and then cross Storfjord on a car ferry, drive through the mountains before taking a different ferry across Storfjord and then back to Alesund. We also added a return visit to Gudbrandsjuvet, the spectacular gorge we visited on the last cruise as our new travelling companions hadn’t seen it.
On the car ferries, no fares seem to be taken on board, all local vehicles and hire cars are registered for autopass and number plate recognition cameras at the dock do the rest. It’s all very slick. Each ferry (car and 4 pax) cost about £6.50 for a 15/20 minute crossing. The ferries are a vital part of Norway’s mainland, national road infrastructure.
The weather again was glorious and the scenery amazing- it’s probably best to let the photographs do the talking…..

The hot news is that we have a new captain - Captain Hakki Laakkonen. I can’t remember changing captains mid cruise before and the speculation on board is that Captain Notmyfault was relieved of his duties - the likely reason is his contract ended with it being the end of the month.
It is very foggy this evening and the ship’s fog horn is blaring out - it’s quite loud in our cabin! We are now on our way to Iceland and as we approach the North Atlantic I suggested Mrs O goes out onto the balcony and keeps watch for icebergs. She wasn’t amused.
Day 7 Sea Day
The blooming fog horn was going all night!
A light breakfast and no lunch today because tonight we are going back to Sabatini’s speciality restaurant, plus it’s formal night - it’ll be like a scene from the Godfather!
Our ideal cruise is something like three port days followed by a sea day, repeat, so we were looking forward to a relaxing sea day.
We did the morning trivia (quiz) - our group of four teamed up with a nice couple who just happen to know stuff we don’t - but we didn’t win.
There is a full programme of activities on a sea day, but much of it is not to our liking so we tend to read, watch films and eat, but today was an exception. There were a couple of destination presentations for the upcoming ports of Isafjordur and Grundarfjordur. The person presenting these destination talks is very knowledgeable and presents information for independent travel and not, like some who just promote ship tours. There was also an afternoon show in the Princess Theatre.
Yet again, our experience in Sabatini’s was excellent, Sabatini’s is slightly cheaper, at $25pp, than the other two speciality restaurants, but it’s probably our favourite. Not having any lunch was a good call! We have a reservation in the Crown Grill for the last night of the cruise but there is talk of switching to Sabatini’s- that’s a decision for people above my pay grade!
I have to report that there is dissent in the ranks. One of the highlights of the entertainment on the ship is the production shows by the ship’s singers, dancers and orchestra- they are Rock Opera and 5 Skies. It seems like they won’t be doing them this cruise for some unexplained reason - we aren’t happy cruisers!

Day 8 Akureyri
The blooming fog horn was going all night - again!
We were so stuffed after our evening meal in Sabatini’s we only had a light breakfast and made a picnic for our long day out. The ship docked in Akureyri, no tender required, and we walked the short distance to the car rental office. We were allocated a Hyundai Tucson hybrid - another nice upgrade.
We are repeating a tour we did back in 2017 when we shared a car with two lovely Dibbers (Katie and Andy) who happened to be on the same transatlantic cruise on the Crown Princess to New York. We had a fab day then and it’s well worth doing again. The weather was dry, overcast and a chilly 6 degrees. The route took us over the causeway to the opposite side of the fjord and then started to climb the hillside but since we were here 5 years ago, a new 7km long road tunnel has been built through the mountain, but when we emerged on the other side of the mountain there clear skies and bright sunshine!
Our first stop was the spectacular Godafoss waterfall (God’s Waterfall), so called, according to legend, when an ancient chieftain decided his people should become Christians, he threw statues of the ousted gods into the falls.

We continued to Lake Myvatn which translates as Midge Lake - I don’t think I have ever been to a more aptly named place, there were swarms of them. We almost used a full can of Smidge between the four of us. Just beyond the lake was Myvatn thermal baths. This is the area where clouds of steam can be seen across the landscape, these vents are very often capped and used to generate electricity or heat home, offices, etc if near to towns or cities. Like the Blue Lagoon, the water for the thermal baths comes from a nearby power station.

Only a mile beyond the baths is the Namaskard volcanic area which looks just like a lunar landscape with additional vents of stream, sulphur deposits and pools of boiling mud. The memorable thing about the area is the stench of sulphur, like stink bombs or rotten eggs.
Large notices warn visitors to stay on the marked paths because the surface is thin in places and people have been known to fall through with tragic consequences. It was an amazing place.

A further 11 km brought us to Krafla, a large volcanic crater containing a deep blue lake, this was the spot for our picnic mainly because it didn’t stink of sulpher and there were no midges.

We now started to retrace our steps back to Lake Myvatn and turned to the south of the lake to Dimmuborgir (Dark Castles). This area is made up of weirdly shaped rock formations created when lava flowed across boggy ground.

Our final stop was at Laufas Folk Museum, home to a traditional Icelandic farmhouse, built out of wood and turf and a tiny restored church.
Another brilliant day.


The main theatre entertainment tonight was a Beatles tribute band. Strangely, when they sang together they were good, but individually, not so. ‘Paul McCartney’ murdered Yesterday!

Day 9 Isafjordur
Isafjordur is an isolated town with a population of 3500 in the West Fjords region of Iceland. The West Fjords is quite a large area but only has 9000 inhabitants in total. The area is pretty remote with a rugged landscape and few roads, many of which are gravel. We visited Isafjorder in 2017 when we just had a look around the town, which took all of 30 minutes - this time we decided to rent a car. The ship was too big to dock so anchored in the fjord and we were tendered ashore. When we rent a car or get public transport we usually head to the most distant point first and then work our way back keeping an eye on the time. The furthest point, and highlight of the day was the stunning Dynjandi waterfall about 60km from Isafjordur. Some of the gravel roads have been properly surfaced in the last few years and the route went through two long tunnels - the first was 9km long and a single track with passing places, which cuts out the treacherous mountain passes. The passing places in the tunnel are all on the southbound side, which was us on the way out. We only met one car we had to give way to. On the return there was more traffic, including the ship’s tour buses and even though we had right of way, it was unnerving to see headlights coming towards us and wondering if they’ll give way.
At Dynjandi, we climbed quite a way up to the foot of the main waterfall - photos don’t really do it justice.

Our next stop was the fishing village of Thingeyri, where we stopped for coffee in a quirky cafe whose house waffles are supposed to be the best in Iceland, but at £13 each we decided to give them a miss!
The last stop on our tour was the Arctic Fox centre in Sudavik. The Arctic Fox, whilst not endangered, is in decline numerically. The centre was established to help preserve numbers by discouraging hunting and preserve their native habitats across the West Fjords. The exhibitions were interesting and they currently have a male fox in their recovery pen - the victim of a road accident.

Sudavik was hit by an avalanche in January 1995 that wiped out a big part of the village, killing 14 people. The villagers decided to relocate the village about a kilometre down the road away from the avalanche zone, which is now a memorial park.
Our car hire today was the most expensive of our trip, costing £163, plus £21 petrol = £184, so £46 pp. A ship’s tour to the waterfall and a fishing village cost and eye watering $365pp! A half day trip to the Arctic Fox centre and a folk museum was $189pp.

Day 10 Grundarfjordur
We didn’t have any detailed plans for today, just a vague idea to walk the three miles to the local waterfall Grundarfoss. Grundarfjordur is a tiny village on the Snaefellsness peninsula. The reason that cruise ships stop here is the wildlife - whale watching and bird watching- particularly puffins. With no dock large enough for the ship we had to tender ashore. As we walked along the road to the waterfall we saw a man walking towards us weirdly carrying a tree branch above his head. As he got close he offered the branch to us, explaining that Arctic Terns were nesting in the shingle next to the road and were very protective of their territory- anyone who gets close gets dive bombed. We accepted his gift and continued. Right on cue the birds started to attack but the magic branch did the trick. We turned off the road along a grassy track to the waterfall. It’s only a baby compared with the mega waterfalls in Iceland but nonetheless impressive.

As we walked back towards the village, we recovered the magic branch which again fended off the Terns. A little further along the road we met a couple and offered it to them which they politely declined with knowing looks to each other that said ‘village idiots’. A couple of minutes later we looked back to see them running wildly, hands over heads as the Arctic Terns swooped down in a scene from The Birds.
As we got to the village we went for a coffee in Valerea Kaffi which had only been open three weeks. It is owned and run by a Colombian guy and his Icelandic wife. The coffee beans are sourced by the owner’s brother in Colombia from farmers who have moved on from growing other products for Pablo Escobar. They are then roasted on the premises - the coffee is sensational. I hope their venture is a success, they deserve it.

The village is dominated by Kirkfjell which, as we returned, became clear of cloud.

Mrs O has a thing about going into supermarkets abroad and looking at the range of goods available and Grundarfjordur was no exception. There was a promotion on fermented shark which could be smelled twenty metres away. They were giving small samples on cocktail sticks and by the looks on the faces of those trying it we’re glad we gave it a miss.
Back to the tender dock for the short crossing back to the ship and a late lunch.


Day 11 Reykjavik
Although we have been to Iceland before on a cruise we haven’t had a good look around Reykjavik. Last time we rented a car, with Dibber friends Katie and Andy, and drove the iconic ‘Golden Circle’ which is well worth doing.
We got the shuttle bus into the city about 4km away and were dropped off at Harpa, an impressive concert hall / conference centre on the waterfront. The shuttle is independently operated and a round trip cost 2500 ISK (£15 ish) per person. We headed straight up to the Hallgrimskirkja, a striking church that has become a symbol of Reykjavik since it was completed in 1986 - having taken 41 years to build. Inside it is minimalist, in an Icelandic kind of way, but nonetheless beautiful. Out side is a statue of Leif Erikson, a Viking (Norse) explorer and thought to be the first European to have set foot in North America, around 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

Next was our obligatory coffee stop - prices in Reykjavik seem to be a little cheaper than in rural Iceland.
We wandered around, visiting City Hall, the two Cathedrals and past the Icelandic Phallological Museum - I’ll let you Google that one!

Our final stop was Harpa - very striking architecturally - before we got the shuttle bus back to the ship.

We didn’t bother going to the show this evening, it was comedian Tom Binns who we have seen a couple of times before. One of the downsides of a back to back cruise with Princess is that they seem to regularly recycle the same guest entertainers - first world problem and all that.

Day 12 Sea Day
After four port days, it was nice to have a relaxing sea day - three consecutive sea days actually. We had lunch in Alfredo’s Pizzeria, one of the free dining venues. The pizzas are excellent, made to order with fresh ingredients and served piping hot. The Alfredo’s menu also includes starters, pastas and desserts and although we didn’t go there for dinner, it would be a good alternative to the dining room for a change.

I haven’t commented much on the food and I don’t find photos of every dish eaten very interesting, so I haven’t done it! All I can say is that we have found the food to be at least good, mostly very good and occasionally excellent. Since last October, we have spent eight weeks on the Sky Princess and know the menus pretty well. Last night, we had two courses that are fabulous. The first was a starter, ’twice baked goats cheese soufflé’ and second a ‘salted caramel chocolate pot’ for dessert.
There are some aspects of the food offering that generally we don’t like, such as the desserts. To us, they taste synthetic, mainly due to the toppings and fillings on cupcakes, cakes and other desserts. They look great, but flatter to deceive…


Day 13 Sea Day
Much the same as the other sea days!😂😂

Day 14 Sea Day
Our last day! Whilst not wanting to dwell on it being our last day, there was the packing to be done, which in itself is fine but I have this vision of after putting out the cases the night before disembarkation, I haven’t left any clothes out for the next day and have to get off the ship in my pyjamas and get dressed in the baggage reclaim hall! We have some American friends something similar happened to. He forgot to leave out his jeans and only had shorts to travel home to Montana from Florida in February. It was -6 c when they landed!
We had our last dinner on board in Sabatini’s - again. It has become our favourite restaurant but requires the discipline of not eating much, if at all, during the day to do the six courses justice.
The final theatre show was grandly titled a Royal Variety Performance which sounded rather twee but was really good. Three of the guest performers did a 15 minute slot each with a finale by the ship’s singers, dancers and orchestra.

Day 15 Southampton
Disembarkation was a breeze compared to the debacle two weeks earlier. Our disembarkation time was 8am and we had collected our cases and were in a taxi by 10 past. I mentioned in the first part of this trip report that we had used Just Park for parking given that CPS parking at the port wanted a small fortune for 28 days compared to the Just Park location we used. The car was fine, if a little dusty and covered in leaves!
It’s been a fantastic trip with lots of wonderful ports, lovely travelling companions and great memories. Now the diet starts! I hope you’ve enjoyed following along with my first trip report - happy travels!

Edited at 12:04 PM.
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Old 10 Jul 22, 02:00 PM  
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pinkbelle
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Join Date: Sep 03
Thank you for the report, hiring a car worked well for you, so much packed into the port days.
Very lucky with the cabin upgrades, that never happens to me, but to be honest we tend to book aft facing and mark it no upgrade. It seems you were unlucky as we’ve never been bothered by noise there, soot yes, but no noise other than the ships wake.

Our neighbours were coming over today to share their experience, over Pimms and strawberries, sadly one of them woke up feeling under the weather and has just tested positive. So we’ll be waiting a week or two for their report, so it was great to read yours.
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Old 10 Jul 22, 02:23 PM  
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Omega1
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Originally Posted by pinkbelle View Post
Thank you for the report, hiring a car worked well for you, so much packed into the port days.
Very lucky with the cabin upgrades, that never happens to me, but to be honest we tend to book aft facing and mark it no upgrade. It seems you were unlucky as we’ve never been bothered by noise there, soot yes, but no noise other than the ships wake.

Our neighbours were coming over today to share their experience, over Pimms and strawberries, sadly one of them woke up feeling under the weather and has just tested positive. So we’ll be waiting a week or two for their report, so it was great to read yours.
Thanks. I felt sniffly with a slight cough but tested negative this morning- it’s amazing we didn’t come down with Covid, being on board for 28 days. The initial upgrades were a complete fluke as we had marked our bookings as ‘no upgrade’ - first we’ve had in almost 50 cruises. The aft balcony cabins are lovely- just not directly above the Vista Lounge, unless you are in the Vista Lounge until 2am.😂😂
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Old 10 Jul 22, 04:09 PM  
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pinkbelle
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Originally Posted by Omega1 View Post
Thanks. I felt sniffly with a slight cough but tested negative this morning- it’s amazing we didn’t come down with Covid, being on board for 28 days. The initial upgrades were a complete fluke as we had marked our bookings as ‘no upgrade’ - first we’ve had in almost 50 cruises. The aft balcony cabins are lovely- just not directly above the Vista Lounge, unless you are in the Vista Lounge until 2am.😂😂
Fingers crossed it stays negative, but you did very well to get through 28 days of cruising and avoid the quarantine zone.
Be book Baja deck, half covered half open and not above Vista or under wake view.

My DH read your review, he also says thank you, said your description of the “magic branch” was as good as a Bill Bryson chapter
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Old 10 Jul 22, 09:04 PM  
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PlanningAhead
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Great report- thank you!
How were the seas between Norway and Iceland?
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Old 10 Jul 22, 09:15 PM  
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Loopylooloo
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What incredible photos! Looks stunning. Really enjoyed reading this thank you 😊
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Old 10 Jul 22, 09:56 PM  
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Omega1
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Originally Posted by PlanningAhead View Post
Great report- thank you!
How were the seas between Norway and Iceland?
Very calm the whole 28 days!
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Old 13 Jul 22, 11:27 PM  
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2point
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Fabulous trip report, again really appreciate the time and effort you've put into sharing such a fantastic trip.

I love the mix of history, nature, humour and getting off the beaten path vibe.
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