Wildcat85

So part of my frustration is that I paid for evacuation and repatriation insurance costs based on a location of Antarctica — not Ushuaia. A location of the latter would have brought the cost down. These cruise lines should make clear these details and tell you that the ship will turn around if someone - anyone —is seriously injured and no one will be air lifted off the ship or the Pennisula. They should tell you repatriation would be from South America. Btw I did see a helipad on a Quark expedition ship docked at Ushuaia.

I understand that the cruise line wants to use a doctor’s certification in their defense if they get sued. However it is frustrating to know that I paid an outrageous sum for medical evacuation and repatriation insurance with the understanding that, if I got injured, I would be evacuated. Yet someone else can have a fall onboard and my vacation can be ruined because the ship has to turn around because they are not in fact evacuated despite the requirements of medical certification and insurance. I know age and disability discrimination is a legal problem. But I hope they review the medical certificates, especially for the “lottery” events like kayaking and camping. It can be dangerous to others to have persons with disabilities participating. I am aware of someone who did such activities but lied about their health and it impacted others in the group.

I was quoted a much higher figure than 50k USD for insurance by a variety of companies I considered, including HX, and I bought higher than I was told to be safe. Now I feel I spent way too much money on insurance unnecessarily. I will say that I think the medical clearance for sailing is a bit of a farce and puts fellow passengers at the mercy at those who falsify their condition or get their doctors to do so. Yes I am aware of someone doing this. There were enough elderly and/or frail people on my cruise to Antarctica that you would expect an accident if there were rough seas. Fortunately we had mild seas. That said, one person allegedly fell backward off a zodiac. Not an elderly person but not an agile person. It wasn’t too serious because we continued on the cruise and I saw the person later at the dining room. It could have been worse due to the rocks or other factors. Thankfully the zodiac crews were top notch.

I heard this on a recent cruise to Antarctica that MS Fridtjof Nansen will be repainted when it goes into dry dock next year.

PGHCruiser84- Wow I was on the 11/23 Antarctica sailing too and had the best time of my life! I went camping as well. I guess 10 foot waves are mild cause the captain said we were lucky both ways. We also had lots of solo travelers due to the waiver of the single supplement. It made the ship less crowded and was nice for those of us to be able to connect. I got a corner suite at BA Emperador which was gorgeous. Too bad wasn’t there long to enjoy.

So Polar, Do you know anything about phone calls or internet availability on Antarctica cruises? How connected or not will we be? I’d like to call my elderly mom from the ship if possible. I leave next month on a Highlights cruise.

Hello. Has anyone used Hurtigruten’s medical screening company named Vikand? Any input or impressions to share? One of my questions is whether they will provide me adequate documentation to file a claim with my health insurance. What kind of proof of the evaluation do you get? Do they give you results and any diagnoses? I hope the receipt clearly indicates it is for medical services. It isn’t cheap so I hope to get some refund from my company’s insurance. Thanks for any thoughts.

Cruise lines reserve the right to make changes. It could be due to a maintenance issue if something is broken, for example. But you usually aren’t told why based on what I’ve read from people’s stories. Usually the “bumped” people aren’t happy about it— unless they get a good upgrade that does not have any of the issues they were seeking to avoid, such as obscured views or an unfavorable deck location. Sometimes, when the cruise line gives you a supposedly upgraded cabin as a substitute, the room is noisy or has something the ousted passengers wanted to avoid. Of course these people worry that the ship just gave their room to someone else that is a loyalty member or would pay more. I am not referring to Hurtigruten or any particular cruise line but from what I’ve read on blogs and forums generally. I personally have not been bumped but it is something I worry about because I am picky about my cabin and go to great research to pick one I’d like.

LOL. Me too! It was a trade off between the glass and location on the deck. I wanted to be in the middle for more stability because of the likely rough Drake Passage. I hope they don't change my room!

It is a red opaque stripe across the length of the ship that obscures visibility for many balcony rooms. These balcony railings/fences are not see through glass. Instead they are metal and you must look up or down for the view. This metal type balcony is common on many ships. Some people prefer the privacy of the metal to clear glass.

Does anyone know how Hurtigruten promotion codes are distributed? I’ve never seen one offered, but the booking tool has a space to insert one.

Jazzbeau, yes certainly one wouldn’t want a defective cabin and I’m sure Hurtigruten would provide at least as good a replacement.

Two YouTube videos for cabins on this ship: for Cabin 732: for Cabin 825:

Great photos, CDN Polar. These give a much better feel than the official shots on their website. The room looks more comfy than the elongated rooms, which seem narrower than other cruise lines I have experienced. The extra pane of glass is definitely a plus. I agree that I wouldn’t want an upgrade to a room that didn’t have my desired criteria. I would be willing to pay extra if I knew what I was getting with an “upgrade” and it didn’t have any dealbreaker elements. It seems my assigned room is pretty good overall so I wouldn’t want to be changed without specifically agreeing to it. Like you, I had specific things I was looking for and this was the best I could come up with on my budget.

Grayjay and others, Do you know if Hurtigruten offers upgrades shortly before departure if they undersell? Do the suites have the red metal balconies? I suppose it depends on the deck level. P.S. there are a couple of good videos (taken by tourists) on YouTube of some random cabins on this ship if you search by its name.