With its glacier-fed waterfalls and lunar-like landscapes, it's no wonder everyone is racing to visit the breathtaking and otherworldly Iceland. Help make your journey one you'll never forget having a top-of-the-line cruise.
Cruise Iceland: The land of geysers and glaciers
Splashing around within the geo-thermal waters of Reykjavik's Blue Lagoon, which ranges in colour from shades of chalky blue to turquoise is both heart-warming and uplifting.
Heart-warming due to the pleasing temperature around the coolish night and uplifting due to the rumour of youthful restoration, after the soak.
I may not be entirely convinced these waters and facemask is going to be beneficial, but I am prepared to see what goes on and happily join everybody else who have been seduced by photos from the vibrant blue lagoon.
It is all just a little surreal being shoulder-deep within the soothing mineral-rich waters encompassed by jagged lava fields, while the clock says 10pm which is as bright as day.
The Blue Lagoon is fast becoming Iceland's most widely used attraction rivaling the gorgeous Gullfoss Golden Waterfall for first place.
“Everyone really wants to have the benefit of these geo-thermal waters also it helps many – you wait and find out,” says our guide, Marika.
Being immersed in the warm lapping waters, full of silica and sulphur as well as the night sunlight creates among those “pinch me this is really happening” moments in travel.
I leave the lagoon feeling refreshed and invigorated with curly hair that conditioner soon tames and wants that youthful transformation- fingers crossed.
If you decide to go to the lagoon, leave your modesty behind when you're inspired to strip and scrub yourself with soap in a communal shower area – separate for women and men – before donning your swimsuit and plunging in. You'll find explicit drawings of where to scrub inside the name of hygiene.
The Blue Lagoon visit is among the tours offered on Holland America Line's Nieuw Statendam 14-day Northern Isles cruise.
Ports include Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh in the UK, Iceland's Reykjavik, Isafjordur and Akureyri and Norway's Alesund and Bergen.
Iceland: Must-visit destinations
Iceland using its dramatic landscape, you'll find 130 volcanoes – active and inactive, geysers and glacier-fed waterfalls, is around the hot travel destination list.
Last year greater than 2 million visitors headed to locate the wonders of Iceland, a country with a population of 334,000.
“It's the natural beauty individuals need to see and everybody is just a little intrigued by Iceland,” says Maria.
“I would say there's a certain magic about Iceland that individuals are rushing to see in case it changes and also the stories from the Vikings have always captivated people.”
There's a complete house round the cruise that starts and finishes in Amsterdam with 2704 passengers, including 178 Australians plus 1000 crew.
Considered a mid-size ship, the Nieuw Statendam could be the latest in Holland America Line's stable which numbers 15. Television personality Oprah could be the ship's godmother.
Passionate cruiser, Mary Anne Thomas from Sydney says she's desired to visit Iceland for some time and regarded a cruise the easiest way.
“It's fabulous to stop at different ports and find out these places while not having to consider packing and achieving from one location to the next – I've always stood a fascination for Iceland and these other stops have been an added bonus,” she says.
For an uplifting understanding of Iceland, we spend time at Reykjavik's National Museum of Iceland having its historical exhibits spanning its early settlement to the present day.
Other highlights include the picturesque Pingvellir National Park and now we watch in awe in the oldest geyser in the world called Geysir inside the Haukadalur Valley.
The volcanic crater, Kerid within the Grimsnes area forms part of several volcanic hills thought to are actually created 6000 in the past and is really worth a visit.
Birdwatching is also popular especially the cute North Atlantic puffins and also the beautiful Icelandic horses that have extra gaits in comparison with other horses.
Our A couple of days in Reykjavik are fabulous and entice us to return in the future.
After busy times during the sightseeing, going back to the sleek ship is really a pleasure.
Renowned designer Adam D. Tihany and cruise industry architect Bjorn Storbraaten, worked their magic to produce a stylish ship where music and art features.
The decks are named after famous composers – we're on Gershwin deck in the cosy cabin with balcony plus a compact ensuite with Elemis toiletries.
Our affable steward, Jaya from Indonesia ensures all is spick and span, but we spend very little time in our cabin as there's a great deal to complete.
Dining is an exciting journey with lots of options including the elegant open-seating dining rooms to specialty restaurants that will get in a fee. They range in the Pinnacle Grill for steak and seafood, authentic Italian cuisine is served in Canaletto, southeast Asian dishes at Tamarind and Nami Sushi, along with a contemporary twist on French seafood classics in Rudi's Sel de Mer.
Food expert and cookbook author, Rudi Sodamin, who is the master chef of Holland America Line, oversees the cuisine fleet-wide and has an enormous following.
For quick meals head to the Lido Marketplace for buffet ballast while the Ny Deli and Pizza features Italian salads and thin-crust pizzas.
Poolside there's Participate in with grilled burgers, hotdogs and Fried potatoes along with a gelato bar.
Inspired by blue and white Delftware, the Grand Dutch Cafe is the place for excellent coffee – for a small cost and complimentary sweet and savoury Dutch favourites.
Entertainment is excellent and there is something for all.
The innovative Music Walk showcases a number of live musical experiences and genres, such as the Rolling Stone Rock Room, Lincoln Centre Stage, Billboard Onboard and B B King's Blues Club.
The Music Walk goes from live rock and pop bands to classical recitals and rhythm and blues.
Watch out for your amazing 7.5-ton harp sculpture that fills the atrium, even the paintings imitating Dutch masters with a modern twist and a “melting” guitar near a good start.
Iceland: Something for everyone
When you are considering activities, there's everything from trivia to games, basketball to bridge.
Fancy being a winemaker for any day? Register plus a sommelier may have you blending your personal drops for US$47.
Cocktail mixology is large, and passengers can discover the secrets having a skilled bartender showing the newest trends including Asian cocktail mixology for people $15.
Want to become pampered? Splash on a facial or perhaps a massage and movie lovers will like stretching out around the sun lounge for any poolside blockbuster.
This cruise, however, is about the destinations with vivid experiences like the fabulous Alnwick Gardens with dancing fountains and enchanting mazes, the lunar-like landscape of Reykjavik's Peninsula and also the birdlife of Vigur Island, the place to find puffins, eider ducks and Arctic terns.
In a little Reykjavik bar, we toast our trip with a glass of brennivin produced from potatoes that tastes similar to unsweetened schnapps and dine on delicious Arctic Char.
Then locals try to get our heads around Iceland's longest word that has 64 letters.
Vadlaheidarvegavinnuverkfaerageymsluskúrslyklakippuhringurinn.
The meaning? Something in regards to a lost key.
As for the Blue Lagoon makeover – no symbol of change yet, just wonderful memories.
Sail away
Holland America Line operates more than 500 cruises to a lot more than 400 ports in 98 countries all over the world. From shorter getaways to 128-day itineraries, the company’s cruises visit all seven continents. The 14-day Northern Isles sailing on Niuew Statendam departs on August 2, 2022. Visit hollandamerica.com
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