Iceland and Greenland Cruise Shore Excustions - Worth the money and options

[Baguetteandbrie]

We (family of 4) are going on an Iceland and Greenland cruise later this year - first time cruising. We have several days on the boat so keen to at least get off when we dock. Trying to work out though if the 'trips' here are worth it. The cruise provided ones are extortionate but even private ones are still pricey - at least £150pp for a few hours. Having never been on a cruise or to this part of the world I'm trying to decide if at least one is a must do (to see the unusual landscape etc) and if there are any other provider options we have not considered - Help!

You'll get a better response on tripadvisor forums. I never do the excursions but wouldn't be able to advise on Iceland

Everything in Iceland is pretty pricey, particularly compared to Med excursions. What's the choice for Iceland? I'd take a look at Reykjavik / Blue Lagoon / waterfalls and give anything to do with whale watching a miss. The boats are small, the sea is invariably choppy and everyone tends to be sick!

Depends how long you’ve got ashore in Iceland.

Reykjavik is lovely and you could spend a whole day there, but it’d be a shame not to get out and see some of the island. It’s stunning.

We are doing an Iceland and Norway cruise this year and we have booked excursions with the ship. Mostly because I want to make the most of the trip and I don’t want to be panicking about not getting back in time if I did things myself.

It’s not been cheap but I hope it will be worth it. I also assumed part of the cost was just higher costs in the area alongside the ship mark up.

We just returned from a Med cruise and did no excursions, it just depends on place I think.

@Doyouthinktheyknow Could I ask who you are using for your cruise? Sounds great.

Have you compared prices on Viator?

@Doyouthinktheyknow what time of year is your trip please it sounds fab.

Never done a cruise before but DH is keen unsure whether I would love or hate it?

Also what size are the beds in a cabin on a cruise for a couple i.e. are they double, king or superking size?

Which cruise line? Which ports?

Normally for Med cruises I’d tell people to get off and wander and/or arrange private tours rather than go with the cruise line. Exceptions to this would be eg Rome where the port is a way from the city and you want to see as much as possible, without the risk of missing the ship.

For Iceland the excursions can be crazy expensive but often there’s not that much to do in terms of wandering (except Reykjavik). A tour of some kind may be needed to get the most out of the destination. Going with the cruise line guarantees they’ll get you back to the ship if there are any delays but private tours could be cheaper, with smaller group sizes.

I hope you and your family have an amazing first cruise 😁

Depending on the size of your ship some of the cruise liners berth in the city of Reykjavik so you can literally walk off and be at the indoor market. You could easily spend the day exploring the city. Soup is a big thing there and there is a traditional fish soup you can try, especially at eateries by the harbour. Also there are electric scooters dotted all around which may appeal to cover more distance.

Do not book the Blue Lagoon it is currently being affected by the lava eruptions. the Sky Lagoon is much nearer and it's the same 7 step ritual. Or in the city swim/sauna/hot tubs with the locals for less than a tenner https://reykjavik.is/sundholl-reykjavikur

We enjoyed the Golden Circle tour but it is quite a chunk of time sitting down. But geysers!

I've been to Greenland, not on a cruise though, but the 6 hour boat rides to see glaciers and trips to see the permafrost are usually a couple of hundred pounds.

Greenland is expensive anyway. It's owned by Denmark, which is expensive, and it's remote location makes it even more so!!

But, a cruise to Iceland and Greenland can't have been cheap, so you must have some money to have booked it. But it seems a shame to go all that way and not to and see anything to do with the natural habitat and wildlife.

Sounds amazing! Iceland though you should definitely try and get to Blue Lagoon, geysers, waterfall, glacier etc not sure how much time you have there. Everything is expensive in Iceland. I think we paid 250 PP for a day that covered most of the above, blue lagoon was a separate trip.

I really want to do Greenland, please come back and tell us how it was.

What excursions are they offering in Iceland? Reykjavik is nice, blue lagoon is overrated but there are so many other stunning things to see and do in Iceland.

We did the Iceland Greenland cruise and didn't do the excursions as very expensive but I wish we had now we were on a very small ship only 359 people and it was amazing. I did wish I had more real winter clothes I thought it can't be that cold in July but it really can!

Never done a cruise but enjoy youtube videos about them and there are loads with practical reviews and tips about things like this. Eg if you arrange excursions yourself and miss the boat they won’t wait for you! would search some of those.

I found Reykjavik cold and dull, food and drink extremely expensive. Also disliked the iceland landscape, austere. I generally dislike the outdoors, but enioyed a waterfalls and glaciers type day trip, even on a rainy day. DH loved the landscape (the holiday was his choice!)

Don’t think you can go in the Blue Lagoon any more.

also loved whale watching and saw some minke whales, but it was a calm day!

I'm not sure it should be a surprise that Reykjavik is cold!

You can go in the Blue Lagoon when there's no imminent volcanic danger. Whether you should or not is a different question. IMO there are much nicer hot pools to go in.

@quizzys @BollockstoThis1
We are doing it in July with P&O, on Aurora which is one of their smaller ships.

We have done 3 cruises now, all with P&O and have loved them all. P&O are more formal than some cruise lines, the smaller ships have 2 formal nights and ‘evening casual’ the rest of the time. I actually enjoy dressing up so I like it but not for everyone.

We have booked a balcony cabin, same as for all our cruises. Lots of people say inside is fine but I love having a balcony and we have had some incredible views from our room. Norway and Iceland will be all about the views so looking forward to chilling on our balcony😎

Its not like we spend hours there but often in the morning before breakfast and before we go out on the evening.

Thanks everyone. I think we'll go and book at least one excursion - looking at from Akureyri to see waterfall, volcanic landscape and some hot springs (Like Blue Lagooon). There are 4 stops in Iceland in total and 2 in Greenland. @jollygoose you've twisted my arm - I think we might regret it. Hoping Reykjavik will have enough to do in itself so won't do a trip from there, Maybe we might see an iceberg or whales from the ship so don't think we'll look at whale watching.

I've been to both Iceland and Greenland, though I traveled independently rather than on a cruise. Both are geographically amazing places to see. Both are hugely expensive. My advice would be to do a trip at every place you stop. You'd be doing yourself a true disservice to not see as much as possible while you are there. It's such an incredible and unique opportunity to be in each of these countries.
In Iceland you could save a little by organising independent excursions online before you go. Greenland I'd advise you to make use of the cruise excursions.

p.s. I'm happy to make some recommendations for you if you list your stops.

There's a very good museum in Reykjavik called Perlan that's worth a visit, and also the big church Hallgrimskirka which is lovely.

Going to other hot springs rather than the blue lagoon will be great. We have been to several and it's such a good experience.

Iceland is truly beautiful, and different from pretty much any other country I've been to.

Reykjavik is nice for a wander. Punk museum is something odd for a visit - it's in a ex public toilet - still has the toilets. There's a flyover thing (didn't do but meant to be good) several other museums.

It's a very polite city - we saw a car driving slowly down the road with a person meandering along in front of it - if that was London it would have been car horns all round!

If you have kids there is a cat cafe which was nice. There are quite a few walking tours that you could book independently. They are big on cats / trolls / myths there I think.

Ah thanks. All these recommendations sound great.

Any trip/ activity suggestions would be great @HoHoHoliday . The stops are; Akureyri, Isafordur, Reykjavik, Qaqortoq, Nanortalik.
We were keen to do a glaciet tour in Qaqortoq but the main place I could find online was already booked out serving the cruise trips direct and as mentioned the cruise trips are £££.
In Qaqortoq I'd read there's a the large lake near town (Tasersuaq) that's nice to hike around? Also that Nanortalik has nice walkinh trails. Think we'll definitely stay in the town/city in Reykjavik.

We've got a day at each place