July 12 Voyage of the Vikings pre-cruise
We booked this cruise, Voyage of the Vikings, four months ago during a sale. As of today, the first segment, Boston to Rotterdam, is almost full and the return segment, Rotterdam to Boston, is sold out. The app tells us that there are eight days until we board Holland America ship, Zuiderdam, in Boston.
The cruise will be during hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean which officially runs from June 1 through November 30 with the peak period between mid-July and early October. The ship will change course if needed.
“When the threat of a storm occurs, cruise ships can out sail them. Storms tend to move at about 8 to 10 knots, while ships can attain speeds of up to 22 knots and beyond. This can help when storms intensify rapidly while a ship is at sea, but come armed with seasickness medication just in case (and yes, that goes for seasoned cruisers and first-time cruisers alike).
In theory, a hurricane could capsize a cruise ship, but a quick change in the itinerary or outrunning a hurricane is the solution to avoiding trouble while cruising.”
I have been following the threads on Facebook and Cruise Critic. When we booked, there was a stop in Dublin, Ireland, but it was removed shortly after booking. Last week, the stop at Red Bay, Labrador, was cancelled due to problems with the pier where the tender boats would be using. It has lost its safety certification. We have visited Dublin for four days pre-COVID and visited Red Bay on a Newfoundland bus tour.
The current 35 day itinerary starts with boarding at Boston, Massachusetts; then Bar Harbor, Maine; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Corner Brook, Newfoundland; Paamiut, Greenland; Nanortalik, Greenland; Isafjordur, Iceland; Akureyri, Iceland; Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Cobh, Ireland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Stornoway, Lewis and Harris Island, Hebrides, Scotland; Djupivogur, Iceland; Reykjavik, Iceland (2 days); Qaqortoq, Greenland; St. Anthony, Newfoundland; St. John’s, Newfoundland; Halifax, Nova Scotia; back to Boston.
Shortly after booking the cruise, we looked at the ship’s shore excursions many of which were sold out. We chose our tours and were waitlisted for tours in Rotterdam and Stornoway. Last week, extra times were added to the waitlisted tours and we signed on. Larry joined a passenger organized golf game in Stornoway.
We will be packing for a range of weather. Boston and Rotterdam could have high temperatures near 30° C, but other places might only have temperatures around 15° C and quite windy. We will prepare with layers and rain gear.
On July 10, Reuters reported “A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula (which is a volcanic and seismic hot-spot) in southwest Iceland,
near the capital Reykjavik, following intense earthquake activity in the area,
the country's Meteorological Office (IMO) said. Experts from the IMO will
assess where exactly the lava is emerging and how the eruption evolves
over the coming hours.“
“. . . this eruption is not expected to spew much into the atmosphere.” So far just lava is flowing from a 900 m fissure.
Today Holland America sent an email saying that Zuiderdam will not be docked in Reykjavik as previously planned, so passengers and crew will need to board the 125+ person tender boats to the dock. When in Reykjavik both days, there will be four other cruise ships in port.
There are no COVID-19 vaccine requirements for passengers for this cruise. We did try to get our sixth vaccine dose, but we still had another three weeks to go before the six month gap since the last shot and there was no bending of the rules. We will have to wait until we return to get the shot.
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