Now, around eight days into the cruise called "Whiskey and Wildlife", cruising around Shetland, Orkneys and the Outer Hebrides, I've realised a few things about what an expedition cruise is really like.
First of all, the itinerary you have booked, might not be the itinerary that you will be going. Wind, waves and other conditions might make it impossible to do landings at some places, so often a trip can be reversed in order to get to the most difficult destinations at the best possible weather. In our case the itinerary was changed to the following:
Day 1: Departure from Glasgow
Day 2: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Day 3: Isle of Man
Day 4: Islay
Day 5: Oban, Tobermory and Loch Sunart (Changed to St. Kilda)
Day 6: Iona (here Staffa was added!)
Day 7: Sky and Canna (changed to Castle Bay)
Day 8: St Kilda (Changed to Loch Scavaig)
Day 9: Stalwart Stornaway (yet to be seen)
Day 10: Fair Isle (yet to be seen)
Day 11: Orkney (yet to be seen)
Day 12: Lerwick, Shetland (yet to be seen)
Day 13: Arrival in Bergen
In our case, the changes have only been to the positive. We have gotten to see places that were not on our original itinerary, and places that the boat has never sailed to before, making it also feel more expedition- like. So far, Staffa Island has been one of the favorites, which we would not have gone to, if the itinerary was set the way we were supposed to travel. So hooray for that!! :