Life at Sea with Iceland ProCruises

Day 9 begins with an early morning entry into the Prins Christians Sund or the Prince Christians Straight. Our captain advised us to get up early to view this stunning passage. As soon as the ship entered calmer waters, I went outside on deck 6 with my camera. On either side were majestic peaks with waterfalls, some snow, a few glaciers, a few icebergs and lots of fog. The wind was fierce and there was a light intermittent rain but many of us stayed on deck to view the mountains and take photos although I did go to my cabin twice to add warm layers. We sailed through this straight for five hours and I can imagine how awe struck early sailors must have been. There was 1 small village along the bank – someone said they counted 10 houses but I didn’t see that many. We passed a much smaller vessel, which I assumed to be a delivery boat as the village outposts get a food supply delivered every 2 weeks. The scenery was magnificent but talk about living off the grid!

As soon as we exited the straight, the waves picked up again. Let’s just say we were rockin’ and rollin’ for the rest of the day.

True to my goal of experiencing as much as possible, I had my full body massage in the afternoon after more lectures and lunch. A cabin had been converted into a small spa complete with spa ambiance and music. The therapist was quite good and not being on terra firma didn’t seem to bother her at all.

After dinner, there was a surprise dessert and coffee party. Any kind of coffee with liqueur was available along with an amazing array of sweets. On three, 6’ tables and a couple of round tables sat 21 cakes, 2 trays of fruit skewers, 2 trays of petit fors, 2 trays of cream puff swans, and other assorted baked goods – the display was dazzling.

Day 10 was also spent at sea with waves not quite as rolling. The sun remained hidden in grey skies but the temperature was warmer. There were several lectures on whales and climate change, people read, played their bridge tournament, got massages, napped, browsed the library collection, and continued making new friendships. We were invited to go to the bridge, which is always interesting to see all the computers and equipment necessary to sail a super yacht like the Ocean Diamond. There was a second Captain’s cocktail reception, this one I did get to attend and it was quite lovely.

Breakfasts and lunches on board are buffet and one need not worry about scurvy. Fresh fruit, homemade yogurt, cheeses, oatmeal, breads, and all the expected eggs (cooked to order) and breakfast meats are served daily. At lunch there are salads, cheeses, meats, bread, and 3 hot dishes to eat. There is always something vegetarian but I had asked if the chef would cook some beans for me so that I could get a little protein. Happy to say he prepared a variety of lentils, white beans and chickpeas that he rotated for me. He even grilled tofu and put with white beans for a lunch buffet and I was surprised at all the Europeans who at tofu along with their meat.

Dinners are 3-course from an a la carte menu with different soups, salads, appetizers, entree and dessert every night. The food is quite good and passengers especially love the dinners.

It’s been interesting chatting with the other passengers, where they’ve been, next planned trips, and such. Two Icelanders, one German and one Norwegian have asked me what in the world is going on with America and Trump? Apparently he isn’t only good for our news ratings, but all around the world too.

After dinner we were treated to Icelandic sagas, for which they’re famous. Two of Iceland ProCruises’ staff are opera singers so they sang and treated us to storytelling about Iceland’s elves, trolls and the 13 drunk Santa Clauses! You will have to come hear those entertaining sagas for yourself.