Silversea Cruises

Iceland to Greenland

m/s "Silver Cloud" August, 13-23, 2014

Ultra-Luxury Expedition Cruising

INCLUDED:

Gratuities, Fine Wines, Premium Spirits plus...a $300/Couple Shipboard Credit and a special VIP package

Photo by Tom Taffel taken off the cost of Monte Carlo

Here’s our six-star, ultra-luxury, 296 passenger,“SILVER CLOUD” group sailing for this August. We have been successful requesting reduced single supplements rather than 200%, but it is on a booking by booking basis.

Your will receive:

$300 Shipboard Credit per suite which you can apply toward your shore excursions! These photos were taken by Tom Taffel on July 6, 2013 in Copenhagen.

Cruise Inclusions:

• Spacious Ultra-Luxury Suites - over 85% with Private Verandas
• Butler Service - All Suites
• Complimentary Beverages Served Throughout the Ship
• Gratuities
• Open-Seating Dining
• In-Suite Dining and 24-Hour Room Service
• In-Suite Beverages
• Transportation into Town

Reykjavik 08/13/14 6:00 PM
Isafjord 08/14/14 8:00 AM 08/14/14 6:00 PM
At Sea 08/15/14 --- 08/15/14 --- Prince Christian Sound 08/16/14 1:00 PM 08/16/14 6:00 PM
Nanortalik 08/16/14 9:00 PM 08/16/14 ---
Nanortalik 08/17/14 --- 08/17/14 7:00 PM
At Sea 08/18/14 --- 08/18/14 ---
Nuuk 08/19/14 7:00 AM 08/19/14 2:00 PM
Qaqortoq 08/20/14 12:00 PM 08/20/14 6:00 PM
At Sea 08/21/14 --- 08/21/14 ---
At Sea 08/22/14 --- 08/22/14 ---
Reykjavik 08/23/14

Our group rate is based on double occupancy. Vista Suite: (240 Sq. Ft.) $6,250. Veranda Suite: (295 Sq. Ft.) $7,750. Midship Veranda: (295 Sq. Ft.) $8,050. Larger Suites are all sold out! The single supplement is 200%. If you are interested in a single supplement fare, I can request a lower rate, as low as 150% on an individual basis, but please act quickly as there are only three categories available.

Cancellation Fees:

120 – 91 days: 15%
90 – 46 days: 50%
45 – 31 days: 75%
30 – 0 days: 100%

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the most northern capital of the world. Reykjavík was featured in the New York Times mid-January as amongst the top four places in the world to travel to in 2011 with "Harpa Concert Hall" as one of its main attractions. “The Reykjavík Concert Hall and Conference Centre” -- (now called: “Harpa Concert Hall”)

The opening concert was held on May 4, 2011 and was designed by the Danish firm Henning Larsen Architects in co-operation with Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. The structure consists of a steel framework clad with irregularly-shaped glass panels of different colors. The building was originally part of a redevelopment of the Austurhöfn area dubbed World Trade Center Reykjavík, which was partially abandoned when the financial crisis took hold. The development was intended to include a 400-room hotel, luxury apartments, retail units, restaurants, a car park and the new headquarters of Icelandic bank Landsbanki. The completion of the structure was uncertain until the government decided in 2008 to fully fund the rest of the construction costs for the half-built concert hall. It houses the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and The Icelandic Opera.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland is an epic land. It tempts with epithets like "The Land of Fire and Ice," but these just hint at the delights this island has in store. It is a land of dazzling white glaciers and black sands, blue hot springs, rugged lava fields, and green, green valleys. This North Atlantic island offers insight into the ferocious powers of nature, ranging from the still-warm lava volcanic eruptions to the chilling splendor of the Vatnajökull Glacier. Ice caps cover 11% of the country, more than 50% is barren, 6% consists of lakes and rivers, and less than 2% of the land is cultivated. There's hardly a tree to be seen, making the wildflowers and delicate vegetation all the more lovely. Sprawling Reykjavík, the nation's nerve center and government seat, is home to half the island's population. On a bay overlooked by proud Mt. Esja (pronounced eh-shyuh), with its ever-changing hues, Reykjavík presents a colorful sight, its concrete houses painted in light colors and topped by vibrant red, blue, and green roofs. In contrast to the almost treeless countryside, Reykjavík has many tall, native birches, rowans, and willows, as well as imported aspens, pines, and spruces.

Árbćjarsafn. At the Open-Air Municipal Museum, 19th- and 20th-century houses furnished in old-fashioned style display authentic household utensils and tools for cottage industries and farming. During the summer you can see demonstrations of farm activities and taste piping-hot lummur (chewy pancakes) cooked over an old farmhouse stove. Ártúnsblettur, Kistuhyl 4. Admission charged.

Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum. Some of Ásmundur Sveinsson's original sculptures, depicting ordinary working people, myths, and folktale episodes, are exhibited in the museum's gallery, studio, and surrounding garden. It's on the southwest edge of Laugardalur Park, opposite the traffic circle. Sigtún 105. Admission charged.

Dómkirkjan (Lutheran Cathedral). A place of worship has existed on this site since AD 1200. The small, charming church, built 1788-96, represents the state religion, Lutheranism. It was here that sovereignty and independence were first blessed and endorsed by the church. It's also where Iceland's national anthem, actually a hymn, was first sung in 1874. Since 1845, members and cabinet ministers of every Alţing parliament have gathered here for a service before the annual session. Among the treasured items inside is a baptismal font carved and donated by the famous 19th-century master sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, who was half Icelandic. Austurvöllur.

Hallgrímskirkja (Hallgrímur's Church). Completed in 1986 after more than 40 years of construction, the church is named for the 17th-century hymn writer Hallgrímur Pétursson. It has a stylized concrete facade recalling both organ pipes and the distinctive columnar basalt formations you can see around Iceland. In front of Hallgrímskirkja is a statue of Leifur Eiríksson, the Icelander who discovered America 500 years before Columbus. The statue, by American sculptor Alexander Calder, was presented to Iceland by the United States in 1930 to mark the millennium of the Alţing parliament. At the top of Skólavörđustígur. Admission charged.

Listasafn Reykjavíkur (Reykjavík Art Museum). Also known as Hafnarhús, this former warehouse of the Port of Reykjavík now houses the city's art museum. The museum's permanent collection includes a large number of works donated by the contemporary Icelandic artist, Erró. There are also regular temporary exhibitions. Tryggvagata 17. Admission charged.

Perlan. On top of Öskjuhlíđ, the hill overlooking Reykjavík Airport, Perlan (the Pearl) was opened in 1991 as a monument to Iceland's invaluable geothermal water supplies. Among the indoor and outdoor spectacles are art exhibits, musical performances, markets, a permanent Viking history exhibit, and fountains that spurt water like geysers. Öskjuhlíđ Hill.

Ţjóđminjasafn (National Museum). Viking treasures and artifacts, silver work, wood carvings, and some unusual whalebone carvings are on display here, as well as maritime objects, historical textiles, jewelry, and crafts. Suđurgata 41. Admission charged.

Víkin Sjóminjasafniđ í Reykjavík (Víkin Maritime Museum). Housed in an old fish factory with great views of the harbor, the maritime museum features an exhibition on Icelandic fisheries, trading vessels, and displays a whole Costal Guard vessel that can be explored. Grandargarđi 8. Admission charged.

Outside of Reykjavík Blue Lagoon. This world-renowned therapeutic wonder is now in a sheltered site where man-made structures blend with geologic formations. A reception area includes food concessions and boutiques where you can buy health products made from the lagoon's mineral-rich ingredients; bathing suits are available to rent. Bláalóniđ, Grindavík. Admission charged.

Ţingvellir. This has been the nation's most hallowed place since AD 930, when the settler Grímur Geitskór chose it as the first site for what is often called the world's oldest parliament, the Icelandic Alţingi (General Assembly). In July of each year delegates from all over the country camped at Ţingvellir, meeting to pass laws and render judicial sentences. Iceland remained a nation-state, ruled solely by the people without a central government, until 1262, when it came under the Norwegian crown; even then, the Alţingi continued to meet at Ţingvellir until 1798, but it had long lost its lawmaking powers.

Ţingvellir National Park. The park, at the northern end of Ţingvallavatn-Iceland's largest lake-is a potent symbol of Icelandic heritage. Many national celebrations are held here, and it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Besides its historic interest, Ţingvellir holds a special appeal for naturalists: it's the geologic meeting point of two continents. At Almannagjá, on the west side of the plain, is the easternmost edge of the North American tectonic plate, otherwise submerged in the Atlantic Ocean. Over on the plain's east side, at the Heiđargjá Gorge, you're at the westernmost edge of the Eurasian plate. A path down into Almannagjá from the top of the gorge overlooking Ţingvellir leads straight to the high rock wall of Lögberg (Law Rock), where the person chosen as guardian of the laws would recite them from memory. At the far end of the gorge is the Öxarárfoss (Öxará Waterfall). Just behind Lögberg, the river cascades down and forms the forbidding Drekkingarhylur pool, where women were drowned during the late middle ages. Ţingvellir.

Ţingvallabćr. Across the plain from Lögberg stand the church and the gabled manor house of Ţingvallabćr, where the government of Iceland often hosts visiting heads of state. Ţingvellir.

Nikulásargjá Gorge. The gorge, reached by a footbridge, is better known these days as Peningagjá (Money Gorge) because it's customary to fling a coin into the gorge's icy-cold water and make a wish.Tip: Ţingvellir.

Haukadalur. The geothermal field in Haukadalur, home of the Geysir and Strokkur geysers, is one of Iceland's classic tourist spots. The famous Geysir hot spring (the literal origin of the term, geyser) only erupts a few times a year, but the more reliable Strokkur spouts up boiling water as high as 100 feet at five-minute intervals. Don't crowd Strokkur, and always be careful when approaching hot springs or mud pots-the ground may be treacherous, suddenly giving way beneath you. Stay on formal paths or established tracks.

Gullfoss. Measuring 105 feet high, thundering Gullfoss (Golden Falls) is a double cascade in the Hvítá River, turning at right angles in mid-drop. Gullfoss enters a dramatic chasm, which nonetheless has its gentle sides. The modest visitor center is named in memory of Sigríđur Tómasdóttir, who fought against flooding the falls for a hydroelectric reservoir scheme in the early 20th century. She is said to have threatened to throw herself into the falls; a trailside plaque further honors her.

Shopping Reykjavík is a happening and fun shopping town. The main shopping is on and around Austurstrćti, Ađalstrćti, Hafnarstrćti, Hverfisgata, Bankastrćti, Laugavegur, and Skólavörđustígur. There are also two large American-style shopping malls. Both Kringlan and Smáralind make great places to shop when the weather turns inclement. An amble along Skólavörđustígur from Laugavegur to Hallgrímskirkja church takes you past many tempting woolen, jewelry, and crafts shops, as well as art galleries. Laugavegur and Skólavörđustígur streets are both filled with unique jewelry stores that often incorporate gold or silver with materials found in Iceland, like lava rock. Sheepskin rugs and Viking-inspired jewelry also make good souvenirs

Bćjarins beztu pylur The world famous Reykjavík hot dogs known as Bćjarins beztu pylur (which translates: "The Best Hot Dog in Town") are THE BEST IN THE WORLD! They are made with deep fried onions, Val's tomatatsosa (sweet ketchup), a yellow-orange-brown sweet mustard, and remola, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. What great tasting junk food and not sloppy to eat! Cost: Two for $5.00. Bćjarins Beztu Pylsur, www.bbp.is/en

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Bćjarins beztu pylsur - (The best hot dogs in town) often shortened to simply "Bćjarins beztu", is a popular hot dog stand in central Reykjavík, Iceland which has been operating since 1937. In August 2006, the British newspaper The Guardian selected Bćjarins beztu as the best hot dog stand in Europe. In addition to the famous location on Tryggvagata, there are also three other stands located around Reykjavík.[2] It is believed that the majority of Icelanders have eaten at Bćjarins beztu. Foreign visitors are often brought to the stand by locals to introduce them to the hot dogs there, which are often called "the Icelandic national food." Among famous people who have eaten at Bćjarins beztu are Bill Clinton, former president of the United States. A hot dog costs 320 krónas (or about €2) and condiments include ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remoulade, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. Hot dogs are often ordered with "the works," i.e., all condiments, or in Icelandic "eina međ öllu". At holidays they have a special hotdog named as Dentzikiotis Sausage which contains the longest commercial sausage in the world.It also has many ingredients and a special sauce.

Iceland: the "Land of Fire and Ice." Iceland is the size of Kentucky with a population of only 320,000, 65% of whom live in Reykjavík. Language: Icelandic is similar to what the Vikings spoke and most ancient literature can be read by Icelanders. Here are a few extra letters in the Icelandic alphabet: đ ć Ć ö Ö Đ ţ. The English word geyser (a spouting hot spring), is derived from geyser … the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush." Time Zone ~ Daylight ~ Temperature: Iceland is on Greenwich Mean Time. The least amount of daylight is 4-hours and 7-minutes on December 21st and the greatest amount of daylight is 21-hours on June, 21st. December and January get as cold as 36°F and July and August average 57°F.

History of Iceland: In geological terms, Iceland is a young island. It started to form about 20 million years ago from a series of volcanic eruptions. The first Norwegian settlement dates back to 874AD.

Government: Đingvellir, (Thingvillir), National Park, home of the oldest existing Parliament in the world dating back to 930AD, the first National Assembly making it the oldest Parliament in the world. Iceland gained its independence from Denmark in 1944.

Brennivin: The Icelandic "Brennivin" a non-sweet cumin schnapps called by the locals, "Black Death" has an herbal-medicinal taste which makes Irish Coffee, I renamed: "Icelandic Coffee."

Northern Lights – The Aurora Borealis: 2013 will have the most active Northern Lights of recent times and Iceland is one of the best places in the world to see them.

Volcanoes (and Eyjafjallajökull in particular): Iceland has the greatest concentration of active volcanoes in the world. Iceland averages one volcanic eruption every five years. Eyjafjallajökull consists of a volcano completely covered by an ice cap. The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were relatively small for volcanic eruptions, but caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. The eruption was declared officially over in October 2010, when snow on the glacier did not melt. From 14–20 April, ash covered large areas of northern Europe when the volcano erupted. About 20 countries closed their airspace (a condition known as ATC Zero) and it affected over 100,000 travelers.

Glaciers: Vatnajökull covers 8% of Iceland and is the largest/widest glacier in Europe.

Reindeer: Both Austfiröir reindeer cows and bulls grow antlers. Birds in Iceland: To date, 377 species of birds have been recorded in Iceland which is a remarkable feat when one considers that just 75 (or 20% of them) are regular breeders. Vagrants therefore make up the majority of the Icelandic List.

Chickens: "Settlement Chickens" have been preserved in Iceland since its settlement 1,100 years ago.

Puffins: The largest colony of penguins in the world, (ten million), makes them the national mascot.

Icelandic Horses: The Icelandic horse came from Mongolia and is highly protected. Although the horses are small, at times pony-sized, they are known for their distinctive five gaits.

Pilot Whales: The long-finned pilot whales eat 50 kilograms of food a day.

Harbor Seals: Harbor seals can hold their breath up to 30-minutes. Harbor Porpoise: The Harbor Porpoise is the smallest species of whale around Iceland and is about the same weight as a person.

Icelandic Goats: The rare Icelandic goat thrives in Iceland.

Arctic Fox: The Arctic Fox is the only land mammal that came to Iceland without human assistance.

Ducks of Iceland: There are more breeds of ducks breeding in Iceland than anywhere else in the world.

Pink-Footed Geese: A third of all the pink-footed Geese in the world lay their eggs in Iceland.

Whales around Iceland: Whaling in Iceland began with spear-drift whaling which was practiced from as early as the 12th century and continued in a relic form until the late 19th century. Iceland is home to 23 species of whales.

Waterfalls: "Gullfoss is the largest waterfall in Europe.

The Great Geysir: The Great Geysir, is a geyser in southwestern Iceland. Eruptions at Geysir can hurl boiling water up to 70 meters in the air. Eruptions may occur every three minutes or be infrequent and have in the past stopped altogether for years at a time. Geysir has been active for approximately 10,000 years. 100% of Iceland's electricity is geothermal from 100% renewable resources.

For more information, call Tom Taffel: (415) 566-7673