Going to Europe This Weekend, But Don't Know Where
Feb 11th, 2003, 02:22 AM
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Going to Europe This Weekend, But Don't Know Where
We just booked the "Honeymoon Express" package on Icelandair, for travel this weekend. On it, a couple can get married, or renew their vows (we are doing the latter).
I am thinking that the suprise destinations are Copenhagen and either Oslo or Stockholm (Icelandair does not fly to many destinations, and the combos I mention have overnight ferry service). This should be a lot of fun. The Blue Lagoon is a large (100 degree) lagoon, where you can go swimming even during the Icelandic winter. We are bringing a guidebbok that covers all of Europe, so that we will be prepared to do some sightseeing wherever we wind up.
The honeymoon express flies again!
Get married or renew your vows at a secret Icelandair destination this February... Bring your wedding attire and you'll be eligible for special wedding-related gifts!
Package includes:
- Surprise Destination Sendoff party at Blue Lagoon
- Scandinavian buffet breakfast daily except arrival day
- Two nights hotel accommodation in a double room
- Overnight cruise with accommodations in double room
- Airport transfers in Iceland
- 3-day tuxedo rental for grooms courtesy of Gingiss Formalwear of Baltimore
Price: from $429* per person based on double occupancy
Itinerary:
Feb 13: Evening departure from North America on Icelandair, non-stop to Reykjavik.
Feb 14: Arrive in Iceland around 6:30am local time. Head to the nearby Blue Lagoon for surprise send-off party where your secret destination will be announced. Grooms will also receive a complete tuxedo 3-day rental courtesy of Gingiss Formalwear of Baltimore.
En route to Europe couples will renew their vows on board Icelandair. Overnight at hotel in secret destination.
Feb 15: Breakfast. Day open to enjoy the romantic atmosphere of your destination city. Overnight at hotel.
Feb 16: Breakfast. Today there's time to say farewell to your honeymoon destination. This evening board a cruise ship for a fun and elegant cruise to another European destination.
Feb 17: Arrival in second secret destination. A tour bus awaits to showcase the beauty of this city. Afternoon transfer to the airport for departure to North America on Icelandair.
I am thinking that the suprise destinations are Copenhagen and either Oslo or Stockholm (Icelandair does not fly to many destinations, and the combos I mention have overnight ferry service). This should be a lot of fun. The Blue Lagoon is a large (100 degree) lagoon, where you can go swimming even during the Icelandic winter. We are bringing a guidebbok that covers all of Europe, so that we will be prepared to do some sightseeing wherever we wind up.
The honeymoon express flies again!
Get married or renew your vows at a secret Icelandair destination this February... Bring your wedding attire and you'll be eligible for special wedding-related gifts!
Package includes:
- Surprise Destination Sendoff party at Blue Lagoon
- Scandinavian buffet breakfast daily except arrival day
- Two nights hotel accommodation in a double room
- Overnight cruise with accommodations in double room
- Airport transfers in Iceland
- 3-day tuxedo rental for grooms courtesy of Gingiss Formalwear of Baltimore
Price: from $429* per person based on double occupancy
Itinerary:
Feb 13: Evening departure from North America on Icelandair, non-stop to Reykjavik.
Feb 14: Arrive in Iceland around 6:30am local time. Head to the nearby Blue Lagoon for surprise send-off party where your secret destination will be announced. Grooms will also receive a complete tuxedo 3-day rental courtesy of Gingiss Formalwear of Baltimore.
En route to Europe couples will renew their vows on board Icelandair. Overnight at hotel in secret destination.
Feb 15: Breakfast. Day open to enjoy the romantic atmosphere of your destination city. Overnight at hotel.
Feb 16: Breakfast. Today there's time to say farewell to your honeymoon destination. This evening board a cruise ship for a fun and elegant cruise to another European destination.
Feb 17: Arrival in second secret destination. A tour bus awaits to showcase the beauty of this city. Afternoon transfer to the airport for departure to North America on Icelandair.
, that is great, I would like to do the same thing but in Paris or somewhere exotic, perhaps Bali?
Feb 11th, 2003, 08:57 AM
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Thanks for your replies. I plan to write up a trip summary when we get back.
We were planning a trip to San Antonio for this weekend, but this seemed more exciting, so we have changed. I was looking forward to warmer weather in Texas (we live in DC) and I know it will be cold wherever we wind up, but I hope it is not bitter cold.
We were planning a trip to San Antonio for this weekend, but this seemed more exciting, so we have changed. I was looking forward to warmer weather in Texas (we live in DC) and I know it will be cold wherever we wind up, but I hope it is not bitter cold.
Feb 13th, 2003, 02:24 AM
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Hi again....it is early morning on the day I leave, and I just arrived at work, with suitcase in tow. I have my Rough Guide for "Europe" so I will have information for wherever we wind up.
Feb 13th, 2003, 03:57 AM
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Howard, hope you and the Mrs. have a great time. The weather in Iceland will be a little iffy--some rain and clouds, temps near 40 degrees, but Oslo, Copenhagen, and Stockholm will all be sunny and dry with temps just about the freezing mark--GREAT winter weather (we're having similar weather here in central Germany and are about to go for a long hike in the forest around the castle at Ritter Burg)
Mar 4th, 2003, 04:19 AM
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Oh what a romantic idea..!
Also waiting for you to report back!
We're going to renew our vows in Namibia in June 2004 - we've already booked the trip because some of the lodges we want are very small and are already booking up for that period!!
Hope your renewal ceremony was fun and romantic and the trip went well!!
Also waiting for you to report back!
We're going to renew our vows in Namibia in June 2004 - we've already booked the trip because some of the lodges we want are very small and are already booking up for that period!!
Hope your renewal ceremony was fun and romantic and the trip went well!!
Mar 6th, 2003, 02:42 AM
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I apologize for the dealy, but here is the trip report: In a nutshell, it was a wonderful weekend!
There were 5 couples participating who left from Baltimore. At the airport, they had 5 huge cakes for us - which were shared with fellow passengers during check-in. It made for a very enjoyable check-in. Once we landed in Iceland on that Friday morning, we met up with the other participants who had flown in from other US cities - there were a total of 17 couples.
We went by bus to the nearby Blue Lagoon - which is a must do on any Iceland trip. It is a huge "pool" (perhaps a quarter of a mile across) of mineral filled hot water - about 100 degrees. We went swimming for a couple of hours and it was great - very comfortable even though the air temp. was about 32 degrees. In the late morning we gathered together and they announced where we were going - that afternoon to Copenhagen until Sunday evening, then an overnight boat trip to Oslo, a quick tour of Oslo, then retrun flights home Monday afternoon. At the announcement they had a raffle - one couple won a free trip to their Icelandair destination of choice, another won diamond earrings, and most , including us, won a nice bracelet.
By the way, at the Blue Lagoon, there was an Iceland TV reporter and cameraman doing a report about our tirp, and we were one of three couple to be interviewed. We are now trying to get a copy of the tape.
There were 5 couples participating who left from Baltimore. At the airport, they had 5 huge cakes for us - which were shared with fellow passengers during check-in. It made for a very enjoyable check-in. Once we landed in Iceland on that Friday morning, we met up with the other participants who had flown in from other US cities - there were a total of 17 couples.
We went by bus to the nearby Blue Lagoon - which is a must do on any Iceland trip. It is a huge "pool" (perhaps a quarter of a mile across) of mineral filled hot water - about 100 degrees. We went swimming for a couple of hours and it was great - very comfortable even though the air temp. was about 32 degrees. In the late morning we gathered together and they announced where we were going - that afternoon to Copenhagen until Sunday evening, then an overnight boat trip to Oslo, a quick tour of Oslo, then retrun flights home Monday afternoon. At the announcement they had a raffle - one couple won a free trip to their Icelandair destination of choice, another won diamond earrings, and most , including us, won a nice bracelet.
By the way, at the Blue Lagoon, there was an Iceland TV reporter and cameraman doing a report about our tirp, and we were one of three couple to be interviewed. We are now trying to get a copy of the tape.
Mar 6th, 2003, 02:50 AM
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On the Friday afternnon flight from Iceland to Copenhagen ther was a short ceremony where we renewed our vows. One couple actually got married during the trip, another had gotten married the day before, so this was their actual honeymoon. Many of the other couple had been married for a long time, and I think for most of them, the main point was to have a nice weekend, and the vow renewal was secondary (though a nice touch!)
We stayed at a very very nice hotel in Copenhagen - the Admiral, and were all given a suite. We had free time Friday nite, all day Saturday, and Sunday until 5 PM in Copenhagen. I travel independently in almost all cases, so I enjoyed our free time. We tried to cram in as much sightseeing as we could in the two days. It is a great, very walkable city, and we did manage to see quite a bit.
The overnight ship to Oslo was quite large - again we were given a deluxe room, with dinner and breakfast included. For those of you familiar with cruise ships and can relate to size by tons, - it was 40,000. The ship had an indoor pool, multiple restaurants, lounges, etc. The ship arrived in Oslo at 9 the next (Monday) morning and we spent about 90 minutes on the freezing deck watching the scenery of t he Oslo fjord go by.
We stayed at a very very nice hotel in Copenhagen - the Admiral, and were all given a suite. We had free time Friday nite, all day Saturday, and Sunday until 5 PM in Copenhagen. I travel independently in almost all cases, so I enjoyed our free time. We tried to cram in as much sightseeing as we could in the two days. It is a great, very walkable city, and we did manage to see quite a bit.
The overnight ship to Oslo was quite large - again we were given a deluxe room, with dinner and breakfast included. For those of you familiar with cruise ships and can relate to size by tons, - it was 40,000. The ship had an indoor pool, multiple restaurants, lounges, etc. The ship arrived in Oslo at 9 the next (Monday) morning and we spent about 90 minutes on the freezing deck watching the scenery of t he Oslo fjord go by.
Mar 6th, 2003, 02:57 AM
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In Oslo we boarded a bus for a very quick tour of the city - with very brief stops at City Hall, Vigeland Park, and two scenic overlooks - including one at the famous ski jump just outside the city. At 2 PM we had a flight to Iceland, we we were to connect to continuing flights to the states at around 5 PM. However, when we got to Iceland, we learned of the big storm in the NE US. The flights to Baltimore (ours) and Boston were cancelled, and we wound up going home the smae time the next day (Tuesday). Icelandair put us up in a very nice hotel in downtown Reykjavik, and so on Tuesday morning we explored the city a bit. They paid for the hotel, dinner and breakfast, and since our work was cancelled at home, we really didnt miss anything.
Overall, we had a great time. The people were very nice, and it was a great deal - $429 per person plus tax of $109. They kept throwing in extras like the raffle, three bottles of champagne given along the way, a gift basket, and some meals.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free.
Howard
Overall, we had a great time. The people were very nice, and it was a great deal - $429 per person plus tax of $109. They kept throwing in extras like the raffle, three bottles of champagne given along the way, a gift basket, and some meals.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free.
Howard
Mar 6th, 2003, 03:08 AM
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Howard,
that sounds like an amazing trip! And a great trip report to go with it. Do you know how often this trip is offered? Am I correct to assume that this generally is an off- or shoulder-season package?
Thanks,
Steve
that sounds like an amazing trip! And a great trip report to go with it. Do you know how often this trip is offered? Am I correct to assume that this generally is an off- or shoulder-season package?
Thanks,
Steve
