The Iceland/Scotland Cruise - An Instant Classic

[anricat]

We were on this cruise and loved it. A quick recommendation for shore excursions.... both of the Icelandic horseback riding experiences are wonderful. Beautiful and peaceful way to see the panoramic vistas of the island. The horses are friendly, responsive and just great. The businesses that operate them are different in their approach to riders somewhat, but they did a solid job of pairing you (yes, it matters) with the right horse. As one guide told us, "There really is no comparison between a horse and a bus for the experience of seeing the real beauty of the country". Very true!

This is great to hear! My daughter is really wanting to ride the horses in Iceland.

 

[Intr3pid]

Hey all, on our way back now across the pond. Would love to share my notes for the Scottish ports.

KIRKWALL

Kirkwall is the gateway to the Orkney Islands. The islands are compact in that you can see a lot in a full day of touring. And it's all authentic - from history to nature - a near-perfect cruise stop.

Disney ran free shuttles to the city center all day long. You could, if you wanted, just tour Kirkwall the town - with its cathedral and cobblestone town center.

But the allure of the stop is in the broader island. Car rentals sold out quickly with so few operators to begin with. We used the family-run Orkney Car Hire in the city center. Very good experience.

The star attraction is Skara Brae - the 5000-year-old preserved Neolithic village. You can also visit "tons" of impressive ancient stones around the island without paying a single dime. Cough, cough, Stonehenge...

Here is the route we followed on our self-guided driving tour:

1. Standing Stones of Stenness
2. Ring of Brodgar
3. Skara Brae
4. Yesnaby viewpoint
5. Scapa Flow drive-by
6. Town of Stromness
7. Town of Kirkwall

Yesnaby viewpoint is a brilliant stop where you can get a taste of Ireland's west coast. Think tall cliffs and a wild, craggy coastline. See the picture.

Scapa Flow is a body of water still "showcasing" the scuttled German fleet from WW1. There are boat tours available, but it's quite a sight even from a distance. On our way over, we came across lots of WW2 coastal defense battery. (Orkney was such a strategic location.)

Didn't have the time to do any ferries. If we were returning and had done the archaeological sites, we could take one to the island of Hoy and visit the Old Man of Hoy. That's the imposing rock at the edge of the island. At Yesnaby too, there is a small hike that will let you see the rock from a distance.

 

[diablodancer]

Hey all, on our way back now across the pond. Would love to share my notes for the Scottish ports.

KIRKWALL

Kirkwall is te gateway to the Orkney Islands. The islands are compact in that you can see a lot in a full day of touring. It's a near-perfect cruise stop.

Disney ran free shuttles to the city center all day long. You could, if you wanted, just tour Kirkwall the town - with its cathedral and clobberstone town center.

But the allure of the stop is in the broader island. Car rentals sold out quickly since there weren't many operators to begin with. We used the family-run Orkney Car Hire in the city center. Very good experience.

The star attraction is Skara Brae - the 5000-year-old preserved Neolithic village. You can also visit "tons" of impressive ancient stones without paying a singe dime.

Here is the route we followed on our self-guided driving tour:

1. Standing Stones of Stenness
2. Ring of Brodgar
3. Skara Brae
4. Yesnaby viewpoint
5. Scapa Flow drive-by
6. Town of Stromness
7. Town of Kirkwall

Yesnaby viewpoint is a brilliant stop where you can get a taste of Ireland's west coast. Think tall cliffs and a wild, craggy coastline. See the picture.

Scapa Flow is a body of water still "showcasing" the scuttled German fleet from WW1. There are boat tours available, but it's quite a sight even from a distance. On our way over, we also came across lots of WW2 coastal defense battery. Orkney was such a strategic location.

We didn't have the time to do any ferries. If you are returning and have done the archaeological sites, you could take one to the island of Hoy and visit the Old Man of Hoy. That's the imposing rock at the edge of the island. At Yesnaby too, there is a small hike that will let you see the rock from a distance.

View attachment 699195

One small correction - cobblestone not clobberstone (live in Scotland).

Thanks to you and everyone else posting their reviews of this. I’m in Edinburgh but would love to take Mum up north to the islands again as she’s not been since school - this sounds like a lovely way to do that in future

 

[Intr3pid]

INVERGORDON

Oh boy, so much to see from Invergordon that you will have to make some very tough choices. There is a great tour to take you in pretty much any direction.

But, first, a note on the logistics. Invergordon is a sleepy port town with its economy built around servicing oil rigs. The nearby city of Inverness (mind the difference) is where all the action - and the car rentals - are. So, to pick up a rental car, you need a taxi ride into Inverness first. And then back after returning it. Not feasible IMO. There is a local Peugeot car dealership (Ken's Garage) that used to rent to cruise ship guests but not this year.

No shuttles since we docked next to the Invergordon town.

So, what can you do as a cruise ship guest? I will list some from the nearest to the farthest.

1. Inverness, Cawdor Castle, Culloden Battlefield: This is for the history buffs. And those looking to tour Inverness's awesome old town.

2. Dunrobin Castle, Dornoch Village, Distillery: Dunrobin will remind of a few Disney castles. They also run a falconry show on site.

3. Lochness, Urquhart Castle ruins: If you are chasing the Lochness monster. You can take a boat cruise on the loch/lake or visit some of the Outlander sites.

4. Edinburgh, Glasgow: The ship was in port for almost 10 hours - which could allow for a full-day trip to either city. That said, I would recommend visiting them from Greenock instead.

5. Eilean Donan Castle, Western Highlands: This is the tour we took.

Eilean Donan Castle has been featured in number of movies, including 007's The World Is Not Enough. Apparently, it's the most photographed castle in Scotland. See my contribution to that count below.

Ours was a full-day Disney tour - which would get us back on board on time despite its long duration. We drove through Inverness town to stop at Loch Ness first. More photo stops followed along the A87 road as we drove by some of Scotland's highest peaks. Spectacular scenery.

We then had two hours to tour Eilean Donan. To anyone having watched The Witcher or played the games, the castle would look very familiar. There were so many excellent vantage points, but we found those to the south the best with the afternoon light bathing the castle - and the castle itself distanced from the surrounding mountains.

On the way back, we got to tour a bit of Skye around Loch Alsh. The bus took the northern route through Achanalt back to the port.

This tour was super worth it. And we are usually the kind DIY'ing all along.

 

[Intr3pid]

One small correction - cobblestone not clobberstone (live in Scotland).

Thanks to you and everyone else posting their reviews of this. I’m in Edinburgh but would love to take Mum up north to the islands again as she’s not been since school - this sounds like a lovely way to do that in future

Haha, thanks. Autocorrection somewhere along the way.

 

[Scottishdisneyfan]

INVERGORDON

Oh boy, so much to see from Invergordon that you will have to make some very tough choices. There is a great tour available to take you in pretty much any direction.

But, first, a note on the logistics. Invergordon is a sleepy port town with its economy built around servicing oil rigs. The nearby city of Inverness is where all the action and the car rentals are. To pick up a rental car, you need a taxi ride into the town first. And then back after returning it. Not feasible IMO. There is a local Peugeot car dealership (Ken's Garage) that used to rent cars to cruise ship guests but not this year.

No shuttle offered since we docked next to the town.

So, what can you visit as a cruise ship guest? I will list some spots from the nearest to the farthest.

1. Inverness, Cawdor Castle, Culloden Battlefield: This is for history buffs. And those looking to tour Inverness's awesome old town.

2. Dunrobin Castle, Dornoch Village, Distillery: Dunrobin will remind of a few Disney castles. They also run a falconry demo in the castle.

3. Lochness, Urquhart Castle ruins: If you are chasing the Lochness monster. And you can also take a boat cruise or visit some of the Outlander sites.

4. Edinburgh, Glasgow: The ship was in port for almost 10 hours - which could allow for a full-day trip to either city. That said, I would recommend visiting them from Greenock instead.

5. Eilean Donan Castle, Western Highlands: This is the tour we took. More on it below.

Eilean Donan Castle has been featured in number of movies, including 007's The World Is Not Enough. Apparently, it's the most photographed castle in Scotland.

Our tour was a full-day Disney tour - which would make sure we get back on the ship given the long duration. We drove through Inverness to stop at Loch Ness first. More photo stops followed along the A87 road driving by some of Scotland's highest peaks. Spectacular scenery.

We had two hours to tour Eilean Donan itself. For anyone having watched The Witcher or played the games, the castle would look very familiar. There were so many excellent vantage points, but we found those to the south the best with the light shining on the castle - and the castle itself distanced from the surrounding mountains.

On the way back, we also got to tour a bit of Skye around Loch Alsh. The bus took the northern route through Achanalt back to the port.

This tour was super worth it. And we are usually the kind DIY'ing all along.

View attachment 699204

Glad you go out to see lots. Really wouldnt recommend coming down to Glasgow/Edinburgh in that kind of time frame, its a 4hr drive each way. Stick to the Highlands.

 

[Intr3pid]

A few more notes - this time on the entertainment.

The depth of cruise direction - particularly the evening shows - comes out on the long cruises, and this cruise had a lot of stuff from the top drawer.

You already know the Magic's own three shows:

- Twice Charmed
- Tangled
- Disney Dreams

They were lovely as always - and well placed during the cruise.

Disney also had two evenings of songs performed by its own artists: 'Once upon a song'. and 'Songs for ever after'.

'Thor: Love and Thunder' was shown in the big theater on the Reykjavik evening.

Now, the variety acts...

We had Graffiti Classics on the first evening, and they were on board all the way till Reykjavik. (A couple of them had their families with them - touring along.) Good comedy from the lead artist - who BTW is Irish. Check out what they do here:
https://www.graffiticlassics.com/

Paul Zerdin, the ventriloquist with his own show in Vegas, was genius. While his stage show was funny, the adult version was where the gloves came off. A volunteering couple played along and came up with a truly memorable act.
https://paulzerdin.com/

Pete Matthews, the juggler from the UK, was the funniest act IMO on the entire cruise. It wasn't as much his juggling but more his spontaneous comedy that stole the show. Again, the adult version had the Fathoms rolling on the floor.
https://www.crazyjuggler.com/

Two brothers Just John & Paul paid tribute to the Beatles on the Akureyri evening.
https://www.emkayentertainments.net/just-john-and-paul

You have already heard enough about Greta Salome in this thread. And boy, she is talented. Super violinist and an awesome singer too. Sang - or played violin to - a number of hits. From Disney tunes to 'We Will Rock You' to this Oscar-nominated song from the Eurovision movie.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Or you could be crazy like us and plan a 16 hour tour for the first day in Reykjavik to add glacial snowmobiling and a tour of the Southern Coast (my favorite part) to the Golden Circle, followed by a 7am call to the Blue Lagoon on day 2 before the ship’s noon departure. I can honestly say it was worth every minute and dollar!! Best day ever

I totally agree with you, South and East Iceland have some of the most stunning scenery.

 

[hmsTigger]

It is an amazing cruise! We got to go the first year in 2016.

I don't see it for 2023?

 

[o&smom]

I don't see it for 2023?

July 22 to August 1 on the Dream. I had to look it up because they do not have every Europe cruise every year and I could not remember if it was on tap for next summer. Good news it is, bad news it is pretty expensive. Slightly different itinerary.

 

[otten]

July 22 to August 1 on the Dream. I had to look it up because they do not have every Europe cruise every year and I could not remember if it was on tap for next summer. Good news it is, bad news it is pretty expensive. Slightly different itinerary.

Probably due to the timing. We originally booked Northern Europe (with the St Petersburg overnight) for mid August 2021. Obviously that was cancelled. When the 2022 itineraries were announced they had that cruise leaving in more peak summer season and this itinerary for the mid August departure so that's what we did. Since obviously StP didnt happen this year and won't for likely many years I am especially glad we switched to this one.