Norway/Iceland Independent tours

[RedSox68]

To all those who have done this itinerary with Disney, has anyone booked their own excursions with independent tour companies outside of what the ship offers for the following ports:

Copenhagen, Denmark ~~ Depart at 10 p.m.
Fredericia, Denmark ~~ 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Kristiansand, Norway ~~ 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Bergen, Norway ~~ 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Alesund, Norway ~~ 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Faroe Islands (Torshavn), Denmark ~~ 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Seydisfjordur, Iceland ~~ 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Akureyri, Iceland ~~ 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Grundarfjordur, Iceland ~~ 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Reykjavik, Iceland ~~ 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cornwall (Falmouth), England ~~ 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
London (Southampton) ~~ Arrive 5 a.m.

If so, can you provide reviews and contact information. Right now we grabbed a cruise on Princess, but are hoping when Disney opens the rest of 2020, we will be able to afford to go with them.

Thanks much.

 

[aggiedog]

Extreme Iceland and Arctic Adventures are both good for Iceland. What you do will depend on how long you're in port, obviously. I'd get on TripAdvisor and look up the other ports, or Cruisecritic. You'll get more info there, as the number of travelers there exceeds those you'll find on this board.

BTW, I love Iceland. Have been twice on land trips.

 

[Pens Fan]

We used Discover Iceland for both days in Reykjavik and the were fantastic. I highly recommend them. We used Inspiration Iceland in Akureyri and had a great day as well.

Your itinerary looks fabulous! I would love to be on that cruise with all of the Iceland stops. Our cruise was originally supposed to stop in the Faroe Islands, but Disney switched it to Kirkwall, Scotland. Kirkwall ended up being our second favorite stop (Both Iceland stops tied for first), but we were still disappointed on missing the Faroe Islands.

I agree with aggiedog that you should check on TripAdvisor and Cruise Critic (love their port specific boards!). You will find a lot more people on there with experience in your ports. I don't think Disney has sailed to a few of the places on your list, so I doubt you will get much, if any, feedback on those from folks on here.

 

[KashasMom]

I agree about Cruise Critic. There is a lot of great port info/recommendations there. Also - Tom's Guides have some good information - https://www.tomsportguides.com/port-guides.html.

We've also used ToursbyLocals and done walking tours in various cities (you can Google for those).

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

If you are going to book your own excursions in Iceland, do it as soon as possible ahead of time. We learned the hard way.

We thought we could get off the ship and find a tour just like we have at any other port of call we have been to on a cruise. NOT!!!
On the day we landed in port we got off the ship and there was a small building to book excursion. Everything was booked for that day and there was nothing available for the next day because we would have got back to the ship too late.

On the very opposite side of the parking lot there was a place to rent cars so we thought we would rent a car and drive ourselves. And take our own time! Every rental car was booked. So we decided to go back to the ship to see if there was anything available through DCL. For the first day in port we only had two choices, fishing or horseback riding. None of us were interested in either of those.

Luckily they did have the Golden Circle tour available (six in all) for the next morning and we booked it. If this was not available we were going to try and see if we could take a taxi tour.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We did a few pre-nights in Copenhagen when we sailed on the Magic in 2015 and used Tours in Copenhagen. They were fantastic! http://www.toursincopenhagen.com

In Bergen, we used Bergen Guide Service and they were also very good.

Maybe things have changed, but I could not find a private tour company in Alesund.

We did DCL excursions in Kristiansand, Akureyri and Reykjavik and they were excellent. We also booked two boat tours with Special Tours in Reykjavik (Puffin and Whale watching) and they were both very enjoyable.

 

[Intr3pid]

We normally don't do any guided excursions in Norway or Iceland, as these are some of the easiest countries to drive in. That being said, how much time do you have in Bergen and Alesund? A guided excursion in Bergen can get you to Flam for a combo fjord cruise and Flambana train, and they will know how to precisely time it. Same story in Alesund if you want to swing a day trip to Geiranger.

 

[RedSox68]

OMG -- thanks so much for all this great information and tips! I have adjusted my first post to show our times in port. I am also checking Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic, but knew that Disney hit a few of these ports so thought y'all might have some suggestions. Thanks again. I'm taking notes.

For those who departed from Copenhagen -- any hotel suggestions?

 

[FSU Girl]

Our cruise was originally supposed to stop in the Faroe Islands, but Disney switched it to Kirkwall, Scotland. Kirkwall ended up being our second favorite stop (Both Iceland stops tied for first), but we were still disappointed on missing the Faroe Islands.

What did you do in Kirkwall? I'm going there next year and I'm struggling to figure out what we should do. The excursions are pretty limited.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

OMG -- thanks so much for all this great information and tips! I have adjusted my first post to show our times in port. I am also checking Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic, but knew that Disney hit a few of these ports so thought y'all might have some suggestions. Thanks again. I'm taking notes.

For those who departed from Copenhagen -- any hotel suggestions?

We stayed at the Hotel D'Angelterre in Copenhagen. It was a little pricey, but beautiful and within walking distance to a lot of restaurants/shops, etc.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

What did you do in Kirkwall? I'm going there next year and I'm struggling to figure out what we should do. The excursions are pretty limited.

Kirkwall is AMAZING! When we went there on the Magic, they provided a shuttle to go into Kirkwall where we visited St. Magnus Cathedral and the Earl's Palace. There are also a lot of great shops and restaurants in that area. We then took a private tour in the afternoon to see some of the Neolithic sites and some WWII sites as well. I HIGHLY recommend going to Skara Brae. It's pretty amazing. If you want to book a private tour, I highly, HIGHLY recommend doing it as soon as possible as there are a limited amount of tour guides and cars in that area. You will find good recommendations on trip advisor. We ended up booking one through DCL and literally got the last private tour available (I contacted every tour guide I could find!). We had booked our cruise last minute and were so lucky to be able to get a guide.

If you are interested in booking a DCL port adventure, I would probably choose Absolute Orkney, Orkney's Neolithic Heartland or the World Heritage Archaeology Adventure and would pair any of those with a half day of just walking through the town of Kirkwall. (Or find a private tour, which is probably cheaper!)

Also, be prepared for the sail away. I don't know if they do it any more, but when we sailed away from Kirkwall in 2015, children and adults from the town played bagpipes and danced on the dock to wish us good-bye.

 

[Pens Fan]

What did you do in Kirkwall? I'm going there next year and I'm struggling to figure out what we should do. The excursions are pretty limited.

We booked a private tour through Orkney Aspects. I read somewhere that they were no longer in business, though I can’t confirm that.

We had an incredible day. Our tour mainly focused on the Neolithic sights, but did include a nice tour of the island. Highlights were Maeshowe tomb ( seriously, find a tour that goes there!), Scapa Flow, the Standing Stones, the cathedral, and an archeological dig. I don’t recall the name of the dig off hand but normal tours didn’t go there. Our guide was a sponsor and had permission to bring her guests.

It’s a beautiful and fascinating place. It’s also somewhere that I strongly recommend hiring an independent guide. When we went we noticed that almost all of Disney’s tours were four hours or less which really doesn’t do the area justice. Our guide was the owner of Orkney Aspects and she had arranged many of the Disney tours herself. She said due to the small population of Kirkwall there simply weren’t enough guides and buses to go around and therefore full day tours through the cruise line were few and far between. They offered mostly half day tours to accommodate more people. We booked our full day tour with her well over a year in advance. She told us that by a year out they were completely booked.

Check out Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic for guide recommendations and book early! You’ll have a great day.

 

[RedSox68]

We stayed at the Hotel D'Angelterre in Copenhagen. It was a little pricey, but beautiful and within walking distance to a lot of restaurants/shops, etc.

I'll keep it in mind. Thanks.

 

[RedSox68]

Just updating -- any more suggestions for tour vendors (even for other lines or itineraries with some of these ports)? Thanks.

 

[closetmickey]

We are using IceAK for a private super jeep tour in Akureyri. Haven't been yet but they have been wonderful to work with thus far. They are a small outfit- book early.
And in Alesund we are seeing Path of the Trolls with CalmGiant. Can't wait!

 

[aggiedog]

I have no idea what the apples to apples comparison is money-wise, but DCL tends to be higher priced than other lines. If you are open to a non-DCL line, I'd look around on Cruisecritic for info and BTDT advice on other lines. A quick search shows several companies that have Iceland/Norway cruises.

For our Med cruise, we saved enough doing concierge on MSC compared to non-concierge on DCL that we spent an extra week in France.

 

[closetmickey]

I forgot to add small group tour with Mountaineers of Iceland for the Golden Circle/Glacier Snowmobiling in Reykjavik

 

[RedSox68]

I have no idea what the apples to apples comparison is money-wise, but DCL tends to be higher priced than other lines. If you are open to a non-DCL line, I'd look around on Cruisecritic for info and BTDT advice on other lines. A quick search shows several companies that have Iceland/Norway cruises.

For our Med cruise, we saved enough doing concierge on MSC compared to non-concierge on DCL that we spent an extra week in France.

Thanks, but we're not doing a Disney Cruise -- going with Princess. Disney was $7,000 more than Princess for the British Isles for the exact same itinerary and stateroom! We have gotten smarter about the excursions, too, and try to book off ship as it saves a bunch of money.

 

[RedSox68]

I forgot to add small group tour with Mountaineers of Iceland for the Golden Circle/Glacier Snowmobiling in Reykjavik

Boy, 10 years ago that would have been a great excursion. Not so much now though

 

[RedSox68]

We are using IceAK for a private super jeep tour in Akureyri. Haven't been yet but they have been wonderful to work with thus far. They are a small outfit- book early.
And in Alesund we are seeing Path of the Trolls with CalmGiant. Can't wait!

Thanks!