On August 29, I boarded the Celebrity Silhouette for a cruise from Southhampton, England. We went around Iceland and had a stop in Belfast. Here is a review about my trip!
First off, I highly recommend Iceland, absolute beauty all around.
Pre-Cruise:
I flew into Heathrow and stayed two nights before the cruise started. I saw some awesome sights in and around London which many of you saw pictures of already on this page. Some things I recommend; Tower of London, Windsor Castle and Big Ben. I wasn't really that excited to stay in London, but it did exceed my expectations. I stayed at the Citizen M, Tower Bridge. It was great. I took the train from Waterloo to Southhampton to board the ship.
Embarkation: Possibly the easiest of all time. I arrived via taxi around 1:45p dropped my bag and did not stop walking until I was in my room. No lines.
I enjoyed a light lunch and just relaxed a bit before dinner. Overall, the food was good. The standouts were; fresh Icelandic trout for dinner after the first port stop, the mozzarella sticks at lunch, indian food selection at the buffet. My favorite though was Craft Social. The sliders and the wings were great. I wish they would lower the price a bit, I think the price out a lot of people. $15 for sliders and $11 for wings. Food on this cruise: B
The first port stop was Seydisfiordur. This is a small port, but there are a few neat things to see and do here. Waterfalls, hiking and many hot springs. I HIGHLY recommend some sort of excursion. I did one to the VOK baths. A hot spring surrounded by a nice cold lake. I would go again in a heartbeat!
After a nice swim, I enjoyed the springs. We went back into town, however, there was a lot of time left before the ship left. I stopped in at a small coffee shop and had some tea. Not much to explore in the very small town.
The next day, we were in Akureyri. Iceland was having a major wind storm, so we had to dock here overnight, rather than in Reykjavik, which threw a wrench into my plans a bit, but this does happen in Iceland quite a bit, so be prepared. Here, I went to a horse farm and dairy. It was nice seeing some of the countryside and local culture and traditions. There are other things to see and do here as well, but I enjoyed this experience.
Our next port, Reykjavik was in limbo, so we had a day at sea. Luckily, we were able to dock, however, we only had one long day 11A to 11P. This put me in a dilemea. I had to choose between the two excursions I wanted to do. The Golden Circle, which is a collection of countryside sights such as, waterfalls, geysiers a national park and mountains. OR The Blue Lagoon, which is a famous hot spring. SInce I had already done a spring, I went with the Golden Circle, which really cool. Saw some great falls and explored the countryside quite a bit.
I do wish I would have been able to go to the Blue Lagoon though, I heard it was really cool!
Ultimately, Id love to go back to Iceland and explore more. Some things I heard but didnt experience, bugs can be a real issue sometimes, so, bring some kind of net and use some sort of bug spray. I never saw any bad weather, some sprinkles and wind, but some people said they felt they needed warmer clothing.
Our last stop was Belfast. This place is cool. My tour was cancelled, so, I had to improvise. I originally had a tour doing the GIANTS Causeway, which is a costal rock formation which has some interesting topography. I got off the ship not knowing what I was going to end up doing. I went into town and hit the tourist center. I asked the staff if they had any tour that could take me to the causeway and I did end up with the last spot. Little did I know, it included a stop at a Game of Thrones filming location, which I skipped and went to the pub. We also had a stop at the Old Bushmills distillery. That was cool. Then onto the Causeway. It reminded me a lot of the Oregon coast, to be honest. A beautiful sight.
To conclude, I would really encourage anyone to visit Iceland either by cruise or by land. Its very picturesque and scenic. Id certainly go back, especially when I am back on my feet (Some of you may not know I had a pretty severe leg injury that keeps me from my normal activities) I got by pretty well though. Ireland was amazing and I hope to do a thorough trip there soon. Id love to hear any questions or comments! Please feel free to call me and comment below!
