On July 31st we arrived in Isafjordur, Iceland. We were last here in June, 2023. At that time we were on a larger ship and had to drop anchor off shore and take a tender boat in. This time the ship was smaller and no other ships were in port so we could dock right at the pier.
Here is a blog posting from the 2023 visit Isafjordur, Iceland JUN 8, 2023
On August 1st we arrived at our next Iceland port, Akureyri. On the way, we reached 66° 33′ N, thereby crossing the Arctic Circle. We received a nice certificate from Holland America to mark the occasion to add to our collection. The Arctic Circle is the most northerly latitude and includes the Arctic Ocean, North Pole and northern regions of Alaska, Canada, Russia and Nordic countries. With glaciers, tundra and icy seas, it is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun with 24 hours of daylight in the summer.
Akureyri, pop 18,000, and located in northern Iceland, is nicknamed “Capital of Northern Iceland”. It was settled in the 9th century by Vikings and is an important port and fishing center. During WW2, British Allied forces were based in the town. The town is located at the head of a long fjord surrounded by high mountains. The mountains shield the town from strong winds, giving it one of the warmest climates in Iceland even though it is only 62 miles from the Arctic Circle. Akureyri, as well as Iceland itself, has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.
Akuyeri has unique traffic lights where all the red lights are hearts. Definitely unique and shows the Icelandic hospitality and spirit.
We decided to book an excursion at this port, a seven hour excursion!! It was a chilly overcast day but our enthusiasm was not dampened as we marveled at the beautiful scenery. Snow capped mountains, lakes, rivers and waterfalls with hillsides of cattle, sheep and horses were a beautiful sight to behold.
Everyone had eaten a large breakfast since we didn’t know when we would stop for lunch, so we were all taken aback when our guide announced we would have an early lunch. Early meaning 10:30! But you just have to go with the flow. Lunch was at a nice restaurant with tomato soup and bread that tasted good on this chilly day. The main course was a local fish called arctic char, a common freshwater fish in Iceland. We also had boiled potatoes and salad.
After lunch we continued to a changing landscape of lava rock and steaming geothermal pools. 
We had seen much of this before in Iceland, Yellowstone National Park and New Zealand.
A Lake Made By The Volcano
We did not stop but rode by a visible gap between the two tetonic plates.
Our last stop was the highlight of the day was the Godafoss waterfall. It is 39 feet tall and 98 feet wide. The name means “waterfall of the gods”. Legend says when Christianity became the official religion of Iceland in the year 999, an official threw his Norse gods into the waterfall.
As we sailed these last couple weeks around Greenland and Iceland we saw many icebergs in the water. The captain and his officers had to be on constant watch for danger. Also for several nights as we made our way from Iceland to Norway, we had very heavy fog with zero visibility. Throughout the nights and sometimes during the day the ship’s foghorn sounded at least every two minutes. Fortunately it didn’t keep us awake.
We had two days at sea before reaching Oslo, Norway. We had plans to spend the day in Oslo with Bill’s cousin and her husband who live there. Unfortunately going from the very hot weather in Florida to the very cold air of Greenland and Iceland got to both of us and we were both under the weather. We were very disappointed to have to cancel our plans. Fortunately we had brought plenty of medicine with us and recovered fairly quickly.
1952 Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in 1930, 1966, 1982 and 2011
A Full Marina
About 90 minutes after leaving Oslo, the ship came to a standstill. The captain came on the public address system and said a passenger needed urgent medical care and we had stopped to wait for a rescue boat to come. Our crew put out a platform and helped the rescue boat get close enough to transfer the patient and her husband to the rescue boat.
Next up: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Captain Frank greeted us warmly and Kimberly, the fantastic Cruise Director, greeted us with big hugs. We were excited at the prospect of seeing our favorite crew members from the World Cruise. Sadly for us, most of them were on their vacation break. Time to make new friends! On the World Cruise we had cabin 5148. For this Voyage of the Vikings cruise, which is known as a Legendary Cruise, we are in cabin 5151. Cabins very close, so again like home!
