We booked most of our shore excursions for the cruise before we left home. Here’s a list of what we decided for each stop along the Viking Passage cruise.
Since we have visited most of the ports of call before, often we just got off the ship and explored on our own two feet. But there were a couple of destinations where we thought we would see more of the local scenery if we indulged in shore excursion packages from Holland America.
July 2: Rotterdam, Holland
No shore excursions necessary here. Rotterdam is Arjan’s home town.
July 3: Bergen, Norway
Since the weather in Bergen is some of the worst in Europe (although we visited Bergen during a sunny heat wave in 2014), we decided to wait and see how the day turned out. We ended up taking the funicular up Mount Fløien and heading back to the ship early because of the rain.
July 5: Lerwick, Shetland Islands, United Kingdom – Mousa Island Discovery / Jarlshof & Scenic Mainland Drive
Arjan hiked among the seabirds and wildlife on Mousa Island, while P.J. took the Jarlshof bus tour to learn about the history and culture of the Shetland Islands.
July 7: Akureyri, Iceland
We visited Akureyri and Lake Mývatn last time, so this time we stuck around town and explored by walking around. The highlight was Akureyri’s beautiful botanical garden.
July 8: Ísafjörður, Iceland – A Visit to an Abandoned Village
Last time, we walked around Ísafjörður on our own while other passengers paid to do the same thing, so this time we decided to book a 70-minute boat ride to the isolated village of Hesteyri, where the remaining residents voted to leave in the late 1940s. Because P.J. got sick, Arjan took the tour by himself.
July 9 & 10: Reykjavík, Iceland
We have been to Reykjavík several times now (a great place to fly through on the way to or from Europe), so we decided that rather than spending the money on an excursion we would rent a car and find something new. On July 9, we discovered a geopark at Lake Kleifarvatn and a thermal area called Seltún south of Reykjavík. Arjan climbed a mountain, and P.J. photographed Icelandic horses. On our way back to the ship, we drove past Þingvellir National Park where we have been before. On July 10, we walked around Reykjavík and visited the Saga Museum, a retelling of Viking myths with life-size figures.
July 12: Cruising Prins Christian Sund, Greenland
Although not technically a shore excursion, cruising the Prins Christian Sund, a series of passages through the islands at the tip of Greenland, turned out to be the highlight of the entire cruise. We both walked endlessly, several miles around the decks during the course of the day to get the best vantage points.
July 13 & 14: Qaqortog & Nanortalik, Greenland
There are no shore excursions offered in either port in Greenland. Last time, they gave us an impromptu tour of Nanortalik, and there is a great local outdoor museum there. We had never been to Qaqortog before, so this was a new adventure for us. We spent our days separately, walking around each small town on our own.
July 16: St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada – Old St. John’s & Cape Spear
Although we have been to the west coast of Newfoundland before on our own, we have never been to the capital in St. John’s. We thought we would see the most by taking a panoramic tour of St. John’s and a trip to the Cape Spear lighthouse—rain or shine. At Signal Hill, we got off the tour and took a fabulous coastal hike back to the ship by ourselves.
July 18: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
P.J. wanted to take a quick trolley tour of the city so she can imagine living there after the U.S. elections, but again, having been there before, we decided to look for something new on our own. We ended up strolling most of the Halifax Harbourwalk and then visiting the Citadel for the firing of the noon gun.
July 20: Boston, Massachusetts, US
No shore excursions necessary here. Boston is our home town!