A nice pleasant way to get a feeling for Iceland. While I think one might see more and at a personal pace by driving the Ring Road, the cruise gave a nice overview with many spectacular sites. Do not do this cruise on its own, do a pre or post cruise tour of golden circle and other sites reachable from Reykjavik, if you do not you are selling yourself short on the experience. Windstar as always delivers a great product. Star Legend is small enough to be berthed at all these ports. In several of the ports we crossed paths with some large ships, some at 3k passengers. These ships have populations larger than the towns they are visiting, and must use tenders, with some of the rides being quit long. Another point though we usually do not take ship excursions, we could not find any adequate private tours despite extensive investigation. The towns are small and do not offer much (unless you want to sit around and drink beer all day) take excursions, only way to see some of the country.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
we did the 3 day pre cruise land package. We were transported by our tour guide to the ship. Our luggage was taken to our room. We had a rapid transit through security, and check in. No problem.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Veranda open for breakfast and lunch provided an excellent choice of tasty food items. Appreciated Icelandic Specialties. Lunch was served until late on several days when tours were delayed and folks came back late. Amphora (MDR) very good nice selection well presented with good service, only had dinner here a few times. Candles (the veranda serving as a steakhouse for dinner) excellent, the filet is always on point. Cuadro 44 tapas restaurant, we indulged twice. Wonderful Spanish food. Main bar Compass Rose, usually some pre dinner music, parallel bar on the sailing ships is nicer as it is partially outside. Star bar on the sun deck a nice place to have a drink and watch the scenery.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Small pool and hot tubs, did not use. Adequate gym. Did not use the spa.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
No stage shows or other splashy entertainment. Spanish duo and Fillipino band that played in the bars
Children's Programs
No kids on board no childrens programs
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All of the crew were terrific. Room steward always kept our room neat and stocked. Waiters bartenders etc. knew our names and drink orders by the end of the first day. Spent some time in the bridge with the officers, and got some info on navigation and sailing.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Like a standard cruise ship in miniature. Be aware it is a no frills design, pleasant and functional.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Cabins on this ship are large with walk in closet, nice shower and sleeping and sitting areas. French Balcony, doors open and you can stand outside. Useful as there were lots of hours of sun and we could watch the coast as we sailed.
Ship tip
Two tips: 1. Get a room on port side so always facing land, lots of landscapes to observe. 2. Do a pre or post tour of Golden Circle and other highlights reachable from Reykjavick.
Embarked and disembarked here. Spent a day prior to cruise and half day after cruise. Very walkable town. Visit the Church (Hallgrimskirkja), Harpa, and the waterfront. Watch out for tourist shops (they call them puffin shops). Baejarins beztu pylsur famous Icelandic hot dog stand do it!
Small town. Did the Caves & Islands Rib Safari excursion. Suited up lots of fun speeding around the entire Island. Viewed some great landscapes and lots of birds. Several folks we met went whale watching and saw lots of whales and puffins. had some extra time so we visited the Sea Life Trust Beluga Whale Sanctuary / Sæheimar Aquarium, short walk small place not necessarily worth it would have been better to walk around town. If you go they do not accept cash!
Very small town. Arrived in the evening about 18:00. Walked around town, not much going on. Took a few photos of church and rainbow street. Next day tour: Hike To Hengifoss Waterfall. Left late because there was snow on mountain we had to cross. Somewhat steep climb/hike, last third over muddy rocks with a poorly defined path. Views however were spectacular and worth it!
Giving a 4 star because of a few minor faults with the tour. Slightly Larger town but still very small, did not walk around. Jewels of the North 8 hrs. left late because of other ships in port. Still had full tour returned late. Tour started with a tedious rambling 20 min ride through town with insipid babbling from a tour guide that would not keep quite for one second. This part of the tour was not mentioned in the tour description. Once that was out of the way The main sights visited including Goðafoss, Namarskard, and Dimmuborgir were excellent. Lunch at a local restaurant was carrot ginger soup and arctic char spectacular. Long day other deficiency they could have had a few short stops so passengers could get out and enjoy and or photograph scenery, especially along Lake Myvatn.
Smaller town did not walk around port. Excursion: Dynjandi Waterfall & The Westfjords. (5.5 hrs.) Very good tour, small van about 14 people, good tour guide, excellent sites, made some quick stops along the way for photos. Waterfall is amazing and different than most in appearance, slight climb to top moderately slippery ok for average person.
Another tiny port did not walk around. Excursion: Wonders of the West (about 6 hrs.), basically a circumnavigation of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula with plenty of great stops especially along the coast, Great views of Snaefellsjokull Glacier. Good tour guide with great narration.
We were first to exit. Carried off our own baggage with help from the crew. Fast and efficient. Found a company (BagBee) picked up bags and transported to airport. We enjoyed Reukjavik unencumbered.
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