Looks like you had an interesting day yesterday, Bob 
Glad you’re enjoying it…
Thanks everyone for looking in and making an old bloke feel young and debonair just like James Bond…
…
The Bee Gees tribute was brilliant Realist, and the Eagles are also one of my favourites so will look out for that one.
Glad you are having fun 
Morning Summer…
My day usually starts with an early morning five miler around one of the upper decks that have been purposely made for early morning walks/runs…
Running gives you such an appetite, so next it’s off for a tasty cooked breakfast…
No running yesterday though but still had the breakfast while the captain (Sarah Breton) a woman!. reversed into the bay…:shock:
We were dropping anchor in the fjord and taking a tender to the dockside in Isafjordur, a beautiful little fishing port made all the nicer with a warm sun illuminating the surrounding hills.
After a thorough expedition around the town we returned to the ship an hour…:surprised: later…Alright maybe an hour and a half, towns in Iceland tend to be very small. There were more passengers on our ship than the population of Isafjordur!..
I had scheduled a run for this morning (Friday) but we were going on a tour that departed at 9:00am so I decided to postpone the run until tomorrow (Saturday and a sea day)…
It was while we were enjoying an early breakfast when the first whale appeared off the port side, and then another, we were surrounded by whales spouting jets of water high into the sky and then rolling forward, and with a flick of their mighty tails disappeared into the depths.
As whale activity diminished, dolphins appeared and kept pace with the ship and we were sat by the window having a grandstand view. It was certainly the most exciting breakfast I’ve ever had…
The tannoy crackled and the captain explained that during the night the ship had to turn back to Isafjordur to be met by the coastguard cutter who would take off another unfortunate medical emergency who had become ill during last nights theatre performance. It’s only to be expected I suppose when the average age of the passengers is around 75. I do wish the person involved a successful and speedy recovery though…
So about 3 hours behind schedule we are presently just arriving in Akureyri and are waiting to dock. Tours will still go ahead but times will be rescheduled if the captain can have permission to remain in the port longer than had previously been booked…
You look and sound to be having a ‘whale’ of a time. 
Brilliant photographs too and you are even managing to keep up the running! That will prevent you putting on weight due to all that delicious food!
I am tickled pink to find you having such an enjoyable time. The livery paint scheme is very sharp, and that looks like one of the nice jogging tracks, though the quick sprint up that hill and outcropping must have been a welcome relief… Excellent and relaxed running form, BTW ;-)! I am terribly jealous in a good way!
Apparently Iceland is quite the spectacular place and just from flying over it, it appears to be similar is some fashion to the Pacific islands I’ve visited. Are you hiking quite a bit? What do you think of the waterfalls? Glaciers? I understand that it is a phenomenal place to get a feeling for evolutionary processes. Are you getting plenty of nature talks? How are the guides? Too many questions, LOL.
How fantastic that the pods of whales and dolphins joined you for breakfast! I’m sure there is more where that came from!
You look handsome and debonair in your tux, no doubt stirring the ladies’ imagination and adding to the flair of cruising as its most enjoyable. What species of whales are you seeing?
Thank you for taking us along. Good grief though, It’s getting awfully crowded in this stateroom with the entirety of the forum along, so I am slipping out for a bit.
Looking forward to more photos and reports! Steady as she goes.
What a breakfast ! …you are right those memories will last forever… I never fancied Iceland cruises but your posts have changed my mind…it sounds great fun
If you’ll excuse the pun…
Thanks Baz, and yes it’s nice to get out of breath on the running deck every once in a while, but I think the food consumption has overtaken the calorie burning…
Thanks Surfermon, Iceland has turned out to be a fantastic place and not how I would have described it prior to visiting.
The geology is quite something else, with parts of the Island several hundred million years old and other parts relatively new, just a few million years old.
The species of whale is somewhat a matter of debate with some people claiming ‘Humpback’ but they looked small and I would suggest ‘Minky Whales’…
Unfortunately decent hiking has not been possible due to the limited time spent ashore, and Mrs Foxes dislike of rambling over long distances and rough terrain. We are only as adventurous as our weakest member…
Thanks also for the complement, and the running track is the best I’ve I’ve come across on any ship…:surprised:
He does doesn’t he. he could easily be the new Bond. :shock:
Iceland is a very beautiful place Summer, with friendly, welcoming people and scenery to die for…
We have been so lucky to have had good weather and I would think that this kind of expedition could be make or break depending on the weather, although on a cruise I believe the ports of call come second to the enjoyment of the ship and a weeks stay would be recommended for any indepth exploration of Iceland…x
Brook Bond.
Glad you are having a great time foxy. Some of those pics do really look like Scotland.
Hmmmm
[size=3]Av’ you a license for zis Minky ?[/size]
Sorry everyone, maritime internet is rubbish, just tried to download some photos and my netbook went to sleep, and me too…
It might be due to the terrain. We have just docked in the Faroe Isles and are surrounded by mountains. I’ll try to put them up later. Received some bad news yesterday, due to engine trouble the Oriana will not now be docking in Dublin. Mrs Fox is gutted, it was one of the reasons for this cruise.
Instead, she will carry on to Cobb/Cork when she sets off at five tonight.
Our last day in Iceland on Friday we embarked on ‘Jewels of the North’ a coach trip that would take us around the North side of Iceland, and through countryside that was still being formed…
Traveling over the Fjord we could see the ship anchored at the other side…
Leaving Akureyri and heading out into the wild countryside of Northern Iceland photo opportunities were around every corner, and the coach driver would stop occasionally at a roadside viewpoint. We were very lucky to have some good weather…
A land of Ice, fire and waterfalls…
The next stop was this lava field. Apparently it takes 100 years for mosses to grow on the cooled lava. So just over one hundred years ago this land would have been covered by molten lava engulfing everything in its path…
The only indigenous trees on Iceland are Birch, but due to only six months of daylight they never actually grow any bigger than this.
A very hostile landscape where geothermal vents push out of the ground making it a hazardous place to walk…Nature is still forming this part of Iceland…Sort of ‘Work in Progress’…
Boiling mud gurgles away at over 100*C and the smell of sulphur stings the nostrils…
Returning to the ship in time for the evening meal the captain leaves Akureyri and sets a course for our next port of call on the Faroe Isles…Goodbye Iceland…
Wow OGF, didn’t realise you were using the ship’s internte, that will cost an absolute fortune. Best to use WifI ashore in a cafe or use your own Smart Phone as a WiFi hotspot. I used to buy a package of ship’s internet a few tears ago at £35 a pop but now they’ve changed the package and it’s just a huge rip off. So I now just use my own mobile internet whenever we hit land.
Oriana as you probably know has had engine problems ever since she arrived in the fleet. That’s what give her the charateristic judder and vibration in the rear restaurant. Even after a huge drydock refit they were unable to cure the problem. So a further engine problem is no surprise.
You should get compensation for missing Dublin on account of it being a technical failure rather than weather. If they haven’t already offered it, go ask at reception. It’ll be about £50 or so. You might want to also enquire as to how she can dock in Cork but not in Dublin if it’s engine trouble.
I’m quite sceptical with these things because the cruise line save masses of money by not calling at a port. Tens of thousands of pounds saved in berthing fees.
I also learned from an officer on the “gold lunch” that ports are not guaranteed generally on cruises anymore, only on the cruises where you fly out to permanently stationed ships. This somewhat staggered me.
He told me that it depends which ships are in a port on any given day and what time they arrived. I asked him how they can possibly issue a cruise brochure offering cruises up to a year ahead with all their itineraries and he said none of it is guaranteed but most of the time they are able to make the ports and secure a space.
So I am quite sceptical these days when they drum up an excuse for missing a port.
That said, I’m just looking at the various crew and port websites at their scheduled arrivals lists.
This site:
Lists Oriana and Crown Princess in Dublin Port on the 16th.
However the actual Dublin Port site doesn’t list Oriana. It does however list the cruise ship Corinthian from GCCL for the 16th.
Interestingly I found an article in the Irish Times here stating that they have taken the decision to reduce the number of cruise ships landing at Dublin to 160 this year and 140 next year. They say:
“it is taking the step to ensure it can handle increased volumes of freight, particularly as more ships will come direct from the continent after the UK leaves the EU.”
"Between 2021 and 2023 it will limit the number to around 80 after which it will start expanding capacity again. "
This looks to be a very deliberate anti BrExit decision to cause disruption and loss of tourism income in order to effectively punish BrExiteers and ensure that people hurt and thus come running back to the EU at the earliest opportunity. This ties in with the article I posted in a BrExit related thread yesterday which suggests there is an establishment conspiracy well underway to get the UK back in the EU by 2023.
The Dublin Port site shows a lot of freight ships due to arrive tomorrow. I wonder therefore whether Oriana has actually been refused. Just doesn’t really stack up for me that engine trouble could see you not able to dock at Dublin but able to dock in Cork. How does the engine know ?!
Maybe there’s some tricky manouevering to be done at Dublin which the engine can’t handle?
Interestingly the Cork Port Authority website lists Oriana as arriving in Cork on the 16th tomorrow at 07:30 and departing on the 18th at 05:00 so that would suggest you have an overnight in Cork.
https://www.portofcork.ie/index.cfm/page/cruiseschedule2010
Anyway, you look to have had a great time in the land of ice and fire, scenery looks stunning there. Have you kept yourself a little chunk of volcanic rock or similar to bring home with you?
Enjoy your last few days. Back to Blightly soon when you can give us the full scoop.
Thanks for that Realist, there are many disgruntled passengers that came on this cruise specifically to visit Dublin especially Australians who had arranged to meet relatives in Dublin.
I know what you mean about the vibration at the rear of the ship and in the oriental restaurant, I thought it was a balance problem with the propeller shafts. We have also had problems with the plumbing, but I will explain in more detail upon returning to some decent internet…
OGF, looking at those photos is like eating good candy - heavenly! I was hoping that you would see many or the waterfalls and other outstanding geological features. The similarity to Hawai’i is remarkable - from the vents to the return of the plants after the flows.
Careful about taking those rocks though. You do it in Hawai’i and it’s going to enrage the gods of the fire and mountains. We sure don’t need you tripping on an otherwise outstanding run, and then having to go to all the trouble to send back the cursed rocks:
I can’t help but be susipcious about the port problem, as well. When I was working on the Big Island and flying between islands once a week, the airline there used “mechanical issues” as a reason to consolidate flights that were more than half empty.
For heaven’s said, pardon me. This is your vacation and the last thing you need to think about is shady business decisions and angry volcano gods. 
Go have more fun and keep the pictures coming! 
Thanks Surfermom, I’ve left those rocks where they were, I certainly don’t want to pi$$ any Gods off…:-(…I’ve enough trouble with having to accept another year piled on to the 68 that I’ve already accumulated…
Geology is definitely something I could get into, it really is a fascinating subject especially the volcanology. There is nothing wrong with adding another ‘ology’ to my extensive list of ‘ologies’…Runology, eatingology, APology (because I’m always putting my foot in it) and Forumology…;-);-)
Seriously though, I’ve enjoyed every minute and would love to return someday and spend more time there, perhaps even Hawaii…
I have to agree with you and think the port thing is very suspicious, but ‘it is what it is’ and although disappointed I’ve promised to take Mrs Fox to Dublin for a few days on a city break…
You were right about the ‘Eagles’ night with Caravan Realist. Watched them last night…Brilliant! The bloke on lead guitar was superb…