The tour achieved what it was meant to. A quick 8 days around Iceland. The tour guide Thor improvised well as the schedule was changed due to weather conditions. This worked out well, the whale watching company cancelled on us but we went instead to Forest Lagoon which was better than Sky and Blue Lagoons in Reykjavik. Everyday of the tour was a travel day as there was little time and so much to see. I feel the tour would have benefited from a 2nd night in the place we visit before Vik as there are so many adventure activities to do like the ice caving, glacier hikes, ice climbing etc that I day could have been filled doing that. Then one less day in Reykjavik. What this Top Deck tour lacked was music. We didn't have a top deck song. I have been on other top deck tours such as through Morocco and on long drive days the guides have played games or had everyone select 5 songs and have turns at connecting tot he speaker and playing them. Stuff like that to keep people engaged. I feel bus life could have more engaging. I know there is nice scenery outside but so to on my other tours. Since there is so much back to back busing, this fun Top Deck is known for wasn't there. Thor was a really good guide. He told us stories about the elves and trolls in the areas we went through as well as the history of the local areas. He was funny as well. But the tour lacked a sort of youthfulness that top deck tours are known for. We also didn't do the daunting group introduction which I quite like because it puts everyone out of their comfort zone and the group bonds more quickly together. We can't do it while the bus travels though due to the road laws and dangerous conditions. Bus was always clean and the driver Brun was nice. I quite enjoyed the tour. I am glad we went all the way around the Island in winter where may other tour companies would not due to the unpredictability of road closures due to storms. But it didn't feel 'Top Deck'.
Great trip to Western Arctic: Canada and Greenland First two days due to strong winds we were exploring unexpectedly fjord near Kangerlussuaq airport in Greenland. This affected the planned itinerary and expedition team worked hard to resolve various issues. It was a very memorable experience with 18 nights on board of Ultramarine. We have visited places where no other expedition ships have been or only visited on rare occasions. We were lucky with clear skies on the first 6 nights and the Aurora Borealis was better and better on each night. Glaciers, icebergs were nice backdrops on many photos and experiences were enhanced with helicopter flights over magnificent landscapes of Baffin island (Sam Ford fjord especially) and Greenland. Wonderful autumn colours of tundra and rock formations were explored on many hikes in addition to the visits to archeological sites. Introduction to Inuit culture and history was during visits to Itileq, Ilulissat, Uummannaaq, Nipisat island and Pond Inlet. It was enhanced by performances of local artists and visits to Inuit colourful homes. Although the wildlife of Arctic is not so plentiful as in Antarctica, we managed to have wonderful observations of numerous polar bears (12 in one day!), seals and birds. We also followed somewhat the footsteps of Franklin's expedition and reached the Beechey island where the expedition has spent the winter in 1845/46 and where are some graves of the sailors. Expedition team members presented many interesting lectures on history, geology, birds and bears. It was also a nice culinary experience of Greenlandic cuisine: Tundra to Table.
You certainly pack a lot into this 5 day trip which delivered despite the ever changing winter weather. Our guide Oskar as flexible with the itinerary which meant that we were able to get the most out of each day. The highlight was the glacier walk and we even got a glimpse of the northern lights one night.