Viking Cruises: Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes

Our latest Viking cruise was on the Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes itinerary, which starts in Bergen, Norway and ends in Reykjavik, Iceland. This was our sixth cruise with the Viking cruise line and it was one of our favorites.

Check out some of my other Viking cruise experiences: Trade Routes of the Middle Ages, Ancient Mediterranean Treasures, Zurich and the Swiss Alps and Denmark.

My husband and I boarded the Viking Jupiter in mid-August for our 13 day cruise. After a brief stay in London, we flew to Bergen, Norway to board the ship.

Here is the itinerary for Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes- a few stops in Norway, then sail to the Faroe Islands, then sail to Iceland and stop in a few cities there. It’s important to note that sometimes the itinerary changes slightly based on weather or port availability. It did happen on our cruise, but nothing that caused us to miss anything major.

We usually stay in a “Deluxe Veranda” room. For this trip (our 30th wedding anniversary), we upgraded to a Junior Suite. The Deluxe Veranda rooms are fairly spacious on the Viking cruise ships, but it was awfully nice to have the extra space on this longer cruise. The extra “living area” was great- lots of room to spread out, and we loved the larger balcony. The wider bathroom and shower with double sinks was fabulous too. A big bonus was that laundry was included with our room. So each day we were able to hand off our laundry to our cabin steward, and he’d deliver us clean clothes the following day! For all passengers, there are laundry facilities and laundry services available on the ship.

We met our cruising friends Sandy and Paul in Bergen for the cruise. Here we are in the Explorer’s Lounge at the first cocktail hour. It is our favorite place on the Viking cruise ship to relax and unwind with beautiful views of the ocean.

We’ve actually been to Bergen many times, so we opted not to go on a ship excursion. Instead, we explored the food scene in Bergen. The local seafood market has everything you’ve ever wanted to try as far as seafood goes, and I even got to try a reindeer hot dog!

Cooking classes are offered on board the ship at The Kitchen Table. We all took an Italian cooking class with a great instructor and delicious food. We made risotto, veal saltimbocca, pasta with tomato sauce and tiramisu.

Our first incredibly gorgeous stop in Norway was in Olden (a change from Flam in the original itinerary). On this stop, we experienced the Briksdal Glacier excursion. We had a beautiful drive through the countryside, and then took a “troll car” up to the glacier. There was a little bit of hiking involved, but not super strenuous. At the end, we were offered Norwegian cakes at the lodge and we had time in the gift shop too.

The next stop was in Alesund, Norway. We signed up for the Hessa Island by e-bike excursion (with a group and a guide). This was a great outdoor experience, and we were lucky that it wasn’t bad weather. When you ride an e-bike, you do some pedaling but it’s also powered by a battery that gives you a speed boost. It was great to get off the ship and do something active, and it was a lovely place to explore.

And the final stop in Norway was in Eidsdal (instead of Geiranger). For this stop, we chose the Norddalsfjord by Kayak excursion. This was the coldest day of our trip, and it was sprinkling a bit throughout the day. We bundled up and wore water-proof rain jackets and pants, and all was fine. It was a great day kayaking with some fun people from the ship. And we saw some beautiful farms, waterfalls and scenery along the fjord!

I thought I’d highlight some of the food and staff of the ship. The food was really good. There are several places to eat: Chef’s Table, Manfredi’s Italian, The Restaurant, The World Cafe, The Pool Grill and Mamsen’s. Over our 12 nights on the ship, we experienced them all! We enjoyed a ton of great seafood, steaks, paella, soups, sushi, pasta, lobster, salads, Asian foods, a variety of breakfast items and so much more. They really have a little bit of everything. The staff on the Viking cruise ships are well trained. They are pleasant and friendly and accommodating. We even met the captain of our ship (pictured above with myself and Sandy).

We had two at-sea days on board our cruise. These are days where you are sailing the ocean. I always wear a sea-sickness patch when I cruise (just in case), but we didn’t have rough seas at all. Besides relaxing, there is plenty to do on a sea-day. Sandy and I went to tea, we had tours of the bridge and the galley. And a visit to the spa is available on the Viking ocean ships too (I had a facial AND a massage).

Sailing toward iceland, we made a brief stop in the Faroe Islands. We chose the included excursion here: Faroe Island Vistas (a bus ride around the islands). It was fairly rainy and foggy, but we did get to see some beautiful greenery.

After the islands, we had another at-sea day. On this day, we experienced the Blue Nose ceremony, a rare, tradition-based ritual where sailors and marines receive the title of “Blue Nose” upon crossing into the Arctic Circle (so as cruise passengers, we received the blue nose and a certificate!) We played trivia against other passengers in the bar. We went to the Abba show put on by the Viking entertainers and a comedy show featuring the very talented cruise director. And a first for us was going to the Explorer’s Dome on board, a small planetarium where we viewed a program on space exploration. In warmer weather, you can enjoy the deck of the ship with a pool, ping pong, shuffleboard and more.

Another thing to note: the Viking Cruise Ships have a pretty extensive gym with free weights, mats, TRX, balls, jump ropes, cardio equipment and strength workout machines. I went to the gym 10 of the 12 days on the ship! The result: I came home weighing the same as when I left, and I felt great having a workout each morning.

Seas were too rough for us to stop at our first destination in Iceland (Seydisfjordur), so we sailed on to Akureyri, Iceland. Here we chose the (all day) Diamonds of the North excursion. We had a scenic drive to the Dimmuborgir lava fields, then continued on to Dettifoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall (it was AMAZING). Then it was on to the Hljóðaklettar—or Whispering Cliffs, where we marveled at the craters and basalt columns formed by the flood waves of the Vatnajökull ice cap. After a delicious two-course lunch of Artic Char and Pumpkin Soup, we headed to Húsavík on the shores of Skjálfandi, a charming fishing town.

Next was a stop in Isafjordur, Iceland. This place was an unexpected pleasure, and it was our most fun day of the trip. We chose the ATV excursion. It was really nice because we were able to just walk off the ship, and the ATV place was right there near the docks. I loved that they had gear for us to put on over our clothes. The whole thing was just a blast. We had a great guide who took us up a mountain, through creeks and rivers and rough terrain. Nothing about it was scary, and we had beautiful views at the top. We all had a beer at the local brewery (near the ATV place) after the excursion.

You can probably tell from the photos above that we had a pretty happy cruise.

Our final destination on the cruise was Reykjavik, Iceland. We chose to go on The Blue Lagoon excursion. It’s a bus ride to the lagoon. Everyone told us to do it. We’re glad we did. It’s a beautiful experience (they give you a silica mask to rub on your face), and it’s very relaxing to soak in the warm waters of the lagoon.

On the last night of a Viking cruise, there is a special celebration in the theater to say thank you and goodbye to all of the Viking staff who made it such a great trip.

We extended our stay in Reykjavik for two nights. The first thing we did when we got off the ship was to go on a food tour. There are plenty of them to choose from, but we booked with Wake Up Reykjavik. It was totally worth it. The food in Iceland is extremely expensive, so if you book a food tour, you get to taste quite a few things at a good price. We had pastries and coffee, Arctic Char and Plokkfiskur (a local cod and potato dish), a traditional Icelandic hot dog, fermented shark (yuck), lamb soup and rye bread ice cream (yum!)

If you can afford it (Iceland is pricy!), stay at The Edition Hotel. It’s very nice, and it’s central to everything. There is a gorgeous rooftop bar. We also splurged and ate at OTO, a Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant. I’m trying to forget about how much we spent on that dinner, but it was really good!

On our last day in Iceland, we booked a day long adventure with Icelandic Adventures. It was a Golden Circle Tour followed by snowmobiling on a glacier. We had the best guide, Mr. “B,” and we booked the Super Jeep tour. Here are the places we stopped: Þingvellir national park (Thingvellir), Gullfoss waterfall, a dairy farm for ice cream and Geysir hot spring area.

And then we drove wayyyyy out to Langjökull glacier to go snowmobiling. They gave us gear to put on over our clothes. It was a sunny day, so the glacier had quite a bit of watery runoff. Much of the snowmobiling was on very icy terrain. But it was quite the experience. This is one adventure that I suggest you book if you visit Iceland! It’s just too cool to be snowmobiling on a glacier in Iceland!

After all of that adventuring, it was time to return to the United States. We had 10 pieces of luggage, and our driver picked us up in a small Tesla to take us to the airport. We managed to fit it all in! The airport is about a 40 minute drive from Reykjavik. What a fabulous trip!