After 10 days of exploring Iceland and Greenland, it is time to say goodbye to SH Vega and make the trip back home to Texas. We had an early flight scheduled for the return on United Airlines with a 12 noon departure. The airport, which is located in Keflavik, is about 45 minutes from Reykjavik. Alex, one of the Expedition Team members, arranged for a private car to transfer us to the airport.

Breakfast in Swan Restaurant began at 7am and we had plenty of time for a meal to start the day, and some much needed coffee for me. We do not normally eat breakfast on cruises, but make an exception on disembarkation day! I will say, the coffee in Swan Restaurant is quite good.

Breakfast is served buffet style every morning from 7am to 9am in Swan Restaurant. The buffet is quite extensive and they offer omelettes and eggs prepared to order. A lighter breakfast is offered each morning in the Club Lounge on Deck 7.

Before disembarkation, we had time to say goodbye to our new friends aboard SH Vega. Captain Lyubomir was on hand to bid guests farewell, as was Ferdie, the Hotel Director. Fhilbert, the Restaurant Manager, made sure to bring Rickee her special prescription eyedrops from the ship’s freezer (they have to stay frozen). Of course, Dr. Mila was there for a final hug and goodbye.

As soon as we are at the bottom of the gangway, Alex guides us to the private car waiting for us just outside of the terminal. The driver loads our luggage and we are off to Keflavik.

When we arrive at the airport, the “fun” begins. The lines at the United Airlines desk are very long. The check in kiosks are not working, so we have to wait in line for about 30 minutes to check in for the flight. Today we are flying from KEF to ORD (Chicago O’Hare). We have a 2-hour layover in Chicago before connecting to our flight to DFW.

After checking in for the flight and checking our one piece of luggage, we head up to the security checkpoint, which is on the second floor. Unfortunately, the escalator is broken so everyone is having to muscle their carry-on luggage up a long flight of stairs. Fortunately, there is a small elevator, which we were able to access.

If you are planning to fly out of Keflavik International, you need to be aware that the security checkpoint here is very strict. There is no TSA Pre-check type of system in place, so everyone must remove all liquids in carry ons as well as laptop computers and iPads. And, laptops and iPads must be in a separate tray. It took us another 30 minutes to get through the security checkpoint.

But, that’s not all. Once we clear security, we still have to go through Iceland immigration to get our passports stamped. This actually went pretty quickly. The moral of this story is that you should plan to get to the airport in Keflavik three hours ahead of your scheduled flight departure.

Once we made it to our departure gate, the agents again checked our passports and marked our boarding passes so we would not have to show our passports again.. On this United flight, there is no jetway to board the aircraft. Instead, you board a bus that takes you to a remote boarding area for the plane. So, plan on carrying your carry-on luggage up the staircase to board the plane.

On this route, United is flying an older 757-200. Even though the seats and entertainment system appear to have been recently updated, the overhead bins have not. These are the older bins where you have to lay your roll-aboard flat, wheels in first. The newer overhead bins allow carry-ons to be stowed on their sides, like books in a library, allowing for more luggage. So, unless you are in boarding group 1, 2 or perhaps 3, you may end up having to check your carry-on luggage.

Our last view of Iceland as we take off for Chicago

Our flight from KEF to ORD departed on time and flying time to Chicago was a little over 6 hours. Once we arrived at O’Hare, we had clear US Immigration, collect our checked bag and re-check the bag to DFW. Fortunately, we have Global Entry and the automated kiosks make clearing immigration relatively easy. There is an app where you can now do this online, but we have yet to research that.

Our flight to DFW only took about 2 hours and 37 minutes and we arrived at DFW airport on time. Now, we just need to deal with the jet lag and reflect back on the amazing Swan Hellenic experience.

Disembarkation

Dynjandi Waterfall