Because of Covid and resulting cancelation of most cruises during the summer of 2021, we were not able to take a planned cruise on another line in August. However, we found an 8 day cruise on Viking which circumnavigated Iceland. We had been to Reykjavik before, but nowhere else in Iceland, so decided to take the cruise. Viking has an awesome Covid protocol so we felt we could do it safely. We had cruised Viking a decent number of times before, river and ocean, and knew they did an excellent job. The cruise was excellent. Iceland is mostly a destination for people who love dramatic scenery and nature. It did not disappoint. However, if you mostly like to do historical sightseeing, or stay in the ports, or spend little time on coaches traveling to places outside the port city, you may be disappointed. Due to Covid and limited do it yourself touring, we mostly did ship excursions. We likely spent a little more money doing that than had we been able to do what we wanted, but there were plenty of wonderful excursions offered, and at what I considered to be a reasonable price, so it was fine. Isafjordur afforded me an opportunity to see puffins on Vigur Island, though the puffins usually leave near the end of August, making the island less interesting. Akureyri was beautiful, with many natural wonders out in the countryside. In Reykjavik I took an excursion offered by Viking which was fabulous for scenery and photography out in the Reykjanes peninsula. Djupivogur is a very small place but with some time on a coach, you can go on a glacial lake, which was quite fun, calm, and beautiful. Seydisfjordur was a charming tiny town, and we were there until 11 pm, which made for a nice long day to explore. And since it was August, puffin time, I was able to take an excursion that PLENTY of puffins, though mostly advertised as being in search of ELVES. The Westfjords and Haimaey was fun, with volcanic scenery, and (sometimes) puffin sightings.

The ship (Jupiter) has the usual Viking ocean features (modern, uncrowded, free use of spa pools and internet, one free short excursion per port, etc.) In addition, Jupiter and one other ship has a small planetarium with shows. Book early if you want to check out a free show. in general, entertainment was limited compared to that of big cruise lines, but after exploring a different port every day, we were too tired and satisfied after a nice dinner to really care. Covid procedures made us feel safer than we would have been on other ships, with daily non-invasive saliva testing, and a contact tracer to wear in case you were found to be in close contact for over a certain time limit with someone who tested positive. We never tested positive, and nobody on our ship ever tested positive, so there were no snags on our cruise. However, early on, a couple cruises did have problems, made worse by Iceland's unusual response. But our cruise was perfect - no positive cases, no missed ports, no bad weather, just fun!

Food on Viking is quite good, as is the service overall in the rooms, dining venues, etc. Viking really does things with exceptional customer service in mind. I had no complaints at all. It was a fabulous cruise, and even with Covid requiring some changes, for the most part this cruise seemed like the ones we had taken with Viking before - excellent!