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Just now, Ruskinlife said:

 

Thanks, I will definitely try for that.. once in a lifetime!  I love your pictures, especially the penguins!

The penguins are EVERYWHERE! It's awesome! I can't wait to go back. I'll be on Fram and will be in the Drake Passage over New Year's!

2 minutes ago, Ruskinlife said:

I would love to get the chance to camp on Antarctica. Do they have limits on the number of people that can book that excursion?

Yes only 30 people. Chosen by lottery. I was lucky. It's also very pricey. And you have to go in a potty outdoors and down a hill away from the tents. You're also putting up your own tents. It's not glamping by any means. LOL :)

11 hours ago, ctbjr1309 said:

We seem to be heading more west than north at this point which I 

I think you mean EAST.😉 

Well it's lovely to be back on Seadream 1 for the crossing from San Juan to Malaga. 

There are 60 guests, at least 20 of us from last year so there were lots of happy hugs our first day. Many more repeat guests are new to the crossing. And of course there are a few first time guests that are quickly being taken into the fold. 

A lovely addition was a stop in Virgin Gorda for the beach party and Champagne and Caviar splash. Originally scheduled for Jost Van Dyke, it was changed to Virgin Gorda. Though disappointed I didn't get to go to Foxy's the party was wonderful as always! 

We're now underway to Funchal, Madeira.

So happy to be back! 

1 hour ago, ctbjr1309 said:

 

My name is Charlie - at least that's the name I'll be using during the crossing :).

Well, come say hello when you see me. I'll be the one working the room introducing myself. Yeh, I do that. :D

Just now, ctbjr1309 said:

 

Great minds....Will look forward to meeting you both very soon.

What's your name? Or will you just say to me "I'm CTBJR?" ha In the world of FB with real names it's so funny that CC is still so retro with people maintaining a certain anonymity.

On 3/12/2019 at 6:24 PM, ctbjr1309 said:

 

Elevator repair is not the reason for the unscheduled dry dock so with any luck it'll be repaired soon.

 

Oh, I just remembered why I booked the SD I crossing - Jost Beach Party on Day 1.  Is there a better reason?

I booked SD1 crossing for the beach party as well. Gosh I love Jost Van Dyke! Mom and I will see you onboard! Already have our trivia team formed from those of us from last year who stayed in touch on FB. :D

Maria and Lorraine 

Well they have 2 years to iron out the details. Lol

1 hour ago, bobs1016 said:

We were originally thinking 2022 or 2023, but with sale and friends wanting to go, we decided next year. Please let us know how the trip went, and how the weather was (clear, foggy, or rain/snow).

 

Bob

Most likely all the above weather. :) 

Sounds like they're trying to get into the expedition cruise game. They are late to the party I'm afraid. Silverseas and Ponant have been doing it for years. And Hurtigruten is ramping up both in the US market and has been internationally. It's a whole different ball game. I wish them luck. :) 

2 hours ago, Splinter said:

I have some friends that did the Antarctica trip with National Geographic expedition cruises in Jan. 2019, and they raved about the trip. You might want to compare that with the Hurtigruten pricing and itinerary.

Nat Geo trips are always much more expensive across the board no matter where they go. Most Antarctica itineraries are the same, based on ice conditions. However, some are shorter, allowing only a few days actually near Antarctica. Those would be cheaper and shorter of course. I researched exhaustively pricing and ships. I found trip advisor the most helpful actually in deciding which ship to sail. Being this is a Hurtigruten board, I clearly love Hurtigruten, both for Norway and Antarctica. 

On 3/11/2019 at 10:25 AM, LinnieRed said:

Wonderful! My husband and I are currently figuring out what works best for us to do a similar trip. When would you say the best time to book is in light of dropping prices?  For us, this is an expensive trip. Not going to cut corners but we want to make sure we get a good value. 

 

our pictures are amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.

Thank you! What I do is just look and see what other companies charge to get a sense for what IS a good price. You will see a range of prices for Antarctica based on who is selling it and how high end or basic the ship is. I have an idea of what the cruise should cost and I check every couple days for prices.When I see a price that is acceptable, I book it. And then I don't worry about it again.

One thing I did for my Dec 2019 cruise to Antarctica/S. Georgia/Falkland islands is check the Norwegian site. I use a VPN to get onto that site and found prices thousands cheaper than the US site. I use Google Chrome and my sites are always translated to English. So I booked easily on the Norwegian site and then emailed them to add my repeat guest discount.

On 2/15/2019 at 4:13 AM, Ronald-NL said:

Hello, We are Ronald and Cobie from Netherlands.

We will participate on the Antarctica cruise of the Hurtigruten's Midnatsol of Feb 26.

By the end of next week we will fly to Buenos Aires where we will meet other passengers.  We are busy packing warm clothing right now.

We would like to hear from any other passengers and exchange plans.😊

You're going to have a fantastic time! And the crew is fantastic. I just sailed to Antarctica on Midnatsol in November and loved every second. Any questions I'd be happy to help!! I did write up a trip report somewhere here. And yes most of my photos though are on Facebook's Hurtigruten Insiders page.

Sallyandtex,

I did the RT, but getting off at Trondheim, one stop before Bergen. I didn't feel I was getting the same thing at all. And there were different excursions only offering going North vs South and vice versa. I would highly recommend doing the RT. I did stay in Bergen one night before my trip, and in Trondheim 2 nights after. Then I flew to Oslo instead of taking the train b/c of time constraints. In Oslo I loved the Fram museum, which I enjoyed SO much after learning so much about the Norwegian explorers through lectures I attended on Nordnorge. I also enjoyed the Viking museum as well.

On 1/29/2019 at 4:07 PM, GeezerCouple said:

 

Were you still able to get a sense for how narrow it was, how tall the side cliffs at the start?

 

Thanks.

 

We also only "peeked in" in March.  It looked like it would be *impossible* to get in 

 

GC

I did the Bergen - Kirkenes - Trondheim voyage in late Sept 2016. Northbound we sailed in late at night. It was clear with tons of stars and we saw Aurora earlier in the evening. The ship flashed big spotlights onto the walls. It was a pretty magical evening to be honest. 

Southbound, we sailed in during the day. I'd highly recommend the Sea Eagle safari since we sailed into the Trollfjord on the smaller boat! And then we watched our ship, Nordnorge sail in and passed each other. Was pretty special.

On 1/27/2019 at 10:29 PM, Sallyandtex said:

OK, thinking of a trip in either March or September 2020.

 

Advantages/Disadvantages those different times of year in terms of:

1) daylight (not in account of Northern Lights which i believe will not guaranteed to be around at those months)

Hi Sally, I sailed end of Sept 2016. Saw Northern Lights 5 nights. Plenty of daylight.

On 1/27/2019 at 10:29 PM, Sallyandtex said:

2) access to fjords

3) scenery eg wildlfie

4) weather (rainy/stormy)

Also, is it worth a balcony? We loved balcony for NZ and stayed on it to watch the scenery but maybe too cold in Norway to do that?

Also, are the expedition/ice-breaker ships less "comforable" than the others?

We had very nice fall weather end of September. A little bit of rain in Hammerfest. I only needed my warmest jacket for Nordkapp b/c of the wind.

Not worth a balcony and I dont' think most ships have them. I was up on deck most of the time to watch the scenery and yes you have to be dressed very warmly to do so.

I sailed Nordnorge and found her very comfortable! I also sailed Midnatsol to Antartica and she was quite comfortable as well.

On 1/27/2019 at 10:29 PM, Sallyandtex said:

Is it possible to book on the Norwegen website to save that 25% someone mentioned, and still be able to book add-on shore trips too? Paying in AUD very expensive.

Thanks a lot );

I use a VPN and booked my most recent voyage on the Norwegian site. Much cheaper than the US site for me and for this voyage they asked for only a 10% downpayment vs 20% as usual.  Google automatically translates all foreign pages for me; might be an extension in my browser?  I didn't add any excursion since I do not want to pay so far ahead something I know I can book onboard. I also had to email after I booked to add my repeat guest number to get my discount. This was easily accomplished.

On 1/31/2019 at 6:09 PM, Commodore Tim said:

Will do, "Trapper"!

So great to hear we'll be seeing Christof, Tomasz and Matthew again in a few days!

Tell Chef Tomasz we'll be requesting his Polish specialties again (for my wife) this trip!

Ciao!

Tim

HI Tim! :D I do love having Tomasz make the pierogie. Miss you guys! <3 Mom and I are doing the crossing again this year in April. Enjoy Cuba!

Maria :)

Hi Gang!

It's been a few  months and alot of travels since I disembarked Midnatsol on my EPIC voyage to Antarctica. I've started this review so many times but it's just kinda overwhelming. 

In a nutshell, this was the MOST AMAZING voyage/vacation I've ever taken. I absolutely fell in love with the wild beauty that is Antarctica. And Midnatsol is a such a beautiful ship to undertake this epic voyage.

About me: 55 years old at time of sailing, traveling solo as I often do. I've been on many traditional cruises. They were all listed in my signature until we had to shorten them all. But I also sailed Hurtigruten's Nordnorge in late September 2016 and there is a very long trip report I posted here about that wonderful voyage as well.

I opted to not have Hurtigruten arrange my RT flight to Ushuaia. I was arriving to Ushuaia a day ahead and was staying an extra week afterward. I like controlling my own air. Ushuia was fantastic by the way! It deserves more of your time that just a half day here and there. I'd go back in a second, having done so many cool things: hiking, horseback riding, 4x4 adventures, Beagle Channel cruise, etc...

I was lucky to find a solo traveler offer in late June of 2018. I had already blocked off time at work for an Antartica vacation and was in fact booked on another line who places you with a roommate to avoid a supplement. But I REALLY wanted to do Hurtigruten! I was very lucky that the other company simply puts your deposit into perpetual account to be used on another trip. So I wasn't really out any money. In fact I already booked and took a trip with that company. Midnatsol's November 7 departure fit in perfectly within my time off. I had not booked my BA to USH flights yet so I only had to rearrange one flight which I had booked on points for a fee of $75. So this was meant to be for sure!!

The Ship

I booked my first ever inside cabin. And you know what? It didn't matter one bit. I didn't miss a window or a balcony whatsoever. I did learn a couple days in to turn on the TV to the bow camera to get a sense of time of day. But even then I rarely had it on. My inside cabin was on Deck 4, close to reception and midship. Low and center is best for feeling less motion. I never understood why the higher up you pay more and most suites are at the front and  back of the ship where you feel ALOT of movement!!! I love the fact that the floors of the bathrooms are heated. You flip a switch and it not only warms the floor but the bathroom too. I used that often to dry things as well! :D

The ship itself is beautiful. My only complaint about the ship is the level of HEAT!!! It was so warm in many common areas I was wearing tshirts. Sometimes I'd actually go outside to cool off. In my cabin I had the heat turned down as low as it can go. And yes it's very casual as was Nordnorge on my coastal Norway cruise. I wore my same clothes day/afternoon/evening...hiking pants and boots, tshirt. And everyone else pretty much did too. Some folks packed some nicer things. But I really wasn't paying attention. My favorite spot to hang out was outside on the back of Deck 6. There is a little wooden bench built into the area and I frequently sat there with wool blankets reading or sometimes even napping! It was a cozy spot for sure. There are plenty of nooks for quiet reading. The ship never felt crowded except occasionally in the dining room at lunch when you were on a schedule and had to eat quickly before your landing or cruising time.

Dining Room

The food is excellent!  Most meals were open seating buffet in Antartica due to the landing and cruising schedules. In fact ALL breakfasts and lunches were buffet. With dinner we had assigned tables and 2 seatings. But these were only utitized I think 3 nights whereas the remaining nights were openseating buffets.  Where we had the assigned seating/table I was in the late seating, 8pm. I loved the 2 ladies from Australia I sat with. The menus were very good with good options and I loved all the food from the fixed dining. The buffets were all amazing!! There were so many choices that you often didn't realize what was there. Oftentimes I'd see something on someone's plate and ask, "Oh where is THAT?!" LOL And same would happen to me, someone asking where I got an item on my plate.

There is such a variety of food, from Norwegian specialties to various ethnic foods. I always looked forward to the soup offered. There was always lots of veggies and salads. A vegetarian would eat quite well if they aren't picky about what veggies they want to eat! LOL My favorite item I discovered was cured halibut. Made like Gravlax is made with salmon and dill, but using Halibut, I ate this each morning with breakfast!  And be sure to look for my favorite cloudberry jam in the section where there are say 6 or so jams.  The breads are all fresh and delicious. I also enjoyed the assortment of cheeses they had.

The Expedition Staff, Officers and Crew

For me the people really make the experience what it is. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the crew who work tirelessly away from home for months at a time. The crew were predominantly Filipino and I adored all of them!!! They work so hard and I sincerely appreciate it. The service was always very good. Every now and then something might take a bit if asked for but it wasn't a big deal. 

The Captain and all the Officers were visible and approachable. I really enjoyed that you could ask any question when you saw them.

The Expedition Team. My favorite people on the planet! On my Norwegian coastal cruise there were only 4 and they really made my trip. For Antarctica we had no less than 21 members!!! Each was AWESOME! From two ornithologists to two professional photographers to biologists and lecturers who specialised in so many areas! They truly are amazing! I attended as many lectures as I could on various topics. All were so interesting. I loved learning about Antarctica, penguins, whales, the famous Antarctic explorers, the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego. Bird watching every day at the back of the ship with the two ornithologists was amazing. And the ship's photographers were so kind. I ended up getting a master class one on one with a world reknowned photographer! Amazing!

The expedition team also are the ones coordinating all the landings. This is hard, physical work. I don't know how they did it day after day. 

Crossing the Drake Passage wasn't that bad...for me. I say *for me* only because I never get seasick. Others got sick. On the return only one night did I really feel movement and that's when everything went flying off my desk and table onto the floor and couch, including my camera! Luckily my camera hit the couch but not before hitting a surface which cracked the screen. So my camera works well, but I have a cracked screen like so many cell phones have.

And finally, ANTARCTICA!!!!!! This place just blew me away! Hands down the most fantastic place I've been. Everything is just bigger. Seeing my first huge iceberg I was literally jumping up and down screaming! LOL I video'd it and my gf does a good parody imitation of me. :D So many times I was in tears of overwhelming awe. I just couldn't believe I was so lucky to be in this beautiful place. And the PENGUINS!!! My God the penguins are everywhere! We were lucky we hit a landing each day we were supposed to and cruised each time we were supposed to. We had great weather with sun and an occasional snowstorm but it's Antarctica!!

The landings and polar circle boat cruising are all included in your fare. Once on land, it's very physical work. Poles are there and we all used them. Walking in snow is tricky and sometimes all of a sudden it's deep and you're in up to your knee! I felt bad because in some spots a few folks just couldn't walk because they had mobility issues only in the deep snow. There was also the fact that on each landing, there was an uphill 'climb.'  On some landings there was relatively flat areas to walk but the climbs were....a climb. And the packed down snow and steps carved into it by the team got slick. It was challenging coming down from the top of the hills. But nevertheless I did it all, climbed every 'mountain.'  

The whales were amazing! There were several times we'd see several and one evening several KINDS all together. I'd never heard the deep gutteral whale voices but they were magnificent and made you feel very small. We were all in AWE of the wildlife we saw.

I also took part in every optional activity. I snowshoed, which is quite challenging if you're not used to doing it! LOL But great fun as well. I also kayaked. I was looking forward to this from the time I thought of Antarctica. I took kayak lessons last summer and did kayak tours, in preparation of kayaking in Antarctica. I wanted to know what I was doing. And when I finally sat in the kayak in Antarctica I burst into tears. I was so emotional, wanting this for so long and here I was doing it! And it was amazing! I also won the lottery and got to camp in a tent overnight on the continent!!!!!!! This was the most EPIC adventure!!! I can't begin to describe how serene it was as we all put up our tents and then just wandered on this tiny little islet. The light, the silence, the beauty.....all incredible! To paraphrase a fellow camper, "I may not have gotten the best night's sleep but I don't think I'll ever find a better campsite."  On Deception Island I did the polar plunge too!!! Yup, I had my bathing suit on under my clothes and was given a towel. I handed my camera off to a fellow guest and walked calmly into the water, ducked down up to my chin, and walked calmly out. :D My fellow guest who had my camera was an angel and helped me get out of my wet suit and back into my clothes! It was a great experience doing a polar plunge and I'd do it again in a second!

We did landings at Half Moon Island,  Whalers Bay at Deception Island, Orne Harbor, Cuverville Island,  Base Brown, Damoy Point/Dorian Bay. They were all varied, amazing and we saw LOTS of penguins. It was all so incredible.

In closing this voyage was certainly a trip of a lifetime and I am so happy and grateful I go to experience it. Most of my fellow travelers felt the same way and we'd often be next to each other getting emotional about what we were experiencing. 

Any questions, I'd be so happy to help!

Maria

Things break, they fix them. No different than my car. Mom and I will be there. :)

Mom and I are staying at the Hyatt House for our overnight in San Juan.