MS Roald Amundsen Antarctic Oct 23 2021

[karen11g]

Got this email from Hurtigruten Norwegian office this morning. (Our cruise is Jan 11, 22)

 

"We hope you are as excited as we are on your upcoming expedition with us on MS Roald Amundsen.

As we approach our first planned expedition cruise to Antarctica again, we are in daily contact with our highly professional partners, relevant authorities and organizations in South America. We are closely following an ever-changing situation surrounded by a great deal of uncertainty and interdependence.

We are very happy to be able to confirm and assure you that your upcoming departure seems to go as planned. We are preparing to explore Antarctica again!

Changes are constantly being made in travel restrictions in South America, which means that Hurtigruten Expeditions will return to Antarctica with two ships for the coming season, both departing from Chile. MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fram will board their guests in Punta Arenas, Chile. MS Fridtjof Nansen will be distributed to Europe.

Being able to visit Antarctica again is something we have dreamed about and planned for too long. We are happy and grateful that we can once again offer our guests safe, sustainable and often life-changing journeys to the frozen continent. Returning to Antarctica marks a major step closer to re-operating in all waters.

The health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is always our highest priority. Based on the development of the pandemic, our health and safety protocols are continuously updated and adjusted according to the current situation. All guests and all crew must be fully vaccinated for all expeditions with Hurtigruten Expeditions to Antarctica. For more information on our updated health and safety protocols, please visit this page here.

Nowadays, restrictions and rules are constantly changing, which means that the information we have must also be changed. We will do our best to inform you as soon as possible if any changes occur.

If you have any questions or requests, we will do our utmost to give you quick and good answers by email booking@hurtigruten.com or by phone +4721030604 [Norwegain office].

We appreciate that you are our guest and we thank you for the trust you have shown us by booking a trip with us.

We look forward to welcoming you on board!"

Edited September 29, 2021 by karen11g

[SeriousCallersOnly]

Hurtigruten website is showing the October 22nd cruise has been canceled this morning.

 

https://www.hurtigruten.com/expedition-practical-information/covid-19-updated-information/expedition/?_hrgb=3

Edited September 29, 2021 by SeriousCallersOnly

[tinydancersb]

Serious -- Those listed October trips are cancelled.  Karen11G's trip is scheduled for January.  Our trip is scheduled for December and I received the same email as Karen this morning.  So it appears that the changes have come too late for those trips listed for October.  But at least some of the later trips will go ahead--as of now anyway.  I still see much uncertainty.  Our trip is supposed to include five days in South Georgia, which we really want to see.  But South Georgia is Argentinian territory, if Argentina remains closed, then it could fall off the itinerary.  Many unanswered questions at this point.

[SeriousCallersOnly]

3 minutes ago, tinydancersb said:

Serious -- Those listed October trips are cancelled.  Karen11G's trip is scheduled for January.  Our trip is scheduled for December and I received the same email as Karen this morning.  So it appears that the changes have come too late for those trips listed for October.  But at least some of the later trips will go ahead--as of now anyway.  I still see much uncertainty.  Our trip is supposed to include five days in South Georgia, which we really want to see.  But South Georgia is Argentinian territory, if Argentina remains closed, then it could fall off the itinerary.  Many unanswered questions at this point.

Thanks.  Yes I saw later that it was a December sailing.  Latest news for Argentina indicates they will open with no quarantine in November, by the way.  Hopefully you will get to go to South Georgia.  https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/argentina-covid-travel-rules?fbclid=IwAR17s7WRZYnSZHN8JrOvgyqKjyl9Kh4jJ0Cp6XKvkyvQzOIsdn6GBDyz9j0

 

[tinydancersb]

Thanks Serious.  I hope those cruisers with October reservations can rebook for a later, open date.

 

[PaulMCO]

3 hours ago, tinydancersb said:

 But South Georgia is Argentinian territory, if Argentina remains closed, then it could fall off the itinerary.  Many unanswered questions at this point.

I thought the UK won the war??

South Georgia is a British Overseas Territory.   There is a UK Post Office there too.

[Bella0714]

Hurtigruten just posted this on Facebook:

We are happy to announce that we will return to Antarctica with MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fram. Both ships will once again bring guests to explore the White Continent as of November and December, respectively, departing from Punta Arenas, Chile. The first tour with MS Roald Amundsen will be starting from Santiago de Chile on November 24th, 2021, while MS Fram’s first will be on December 10th, 2021.

Due to the travel restrictions situation, the third ship planned for Antarctica, MS Fridtjof Nansen, will instead be offering expedition cruises to the coast of Norway from Hamburg, Germany – starting early January 2022.

All affected guests have been informed via e-mail about information relevant to their bookings. Should you not see this in your inbox, please check your spam folder.

Unfortunately, for a limited time period earlier today, all our Antarctica sailings for the upcoming season were included on the list of cancelled sailings. This is not correct and was caused by a technical issue that has now been fixed.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this error.

[hallasm]

… and the press release

https://press.hurtigruten.com/pressreleases/hurtigruten-expeditions-returns-to-antarctica-with-two-ships-both-departing-from-chile-3132265

[tinydancersb]

Mea culpa PaulMCO.  My dim recollection was that the Falklands War was just about the Falklands. Duh.  Yes the Brits own South Georgia, but both it and the Falklands appear somewhat independently governed, with their own rules regarding Covid and visitors, evolving no doubt.  I haven't yet seen anything from Hurtigruten on this, nor have I spoken with anyone there yet.  But thank you for the correction.

[goldengatecruisers]

I am very pleased you have an active Antartica thread. I am a past Hurtigruten guest but am not sailing with them this coming season, choosing instead an itinerary on Crystal Endeavor in January.  There is not much information on CruiseCritic at the moment as so little is known.  I actually posted the following text on an Antartica thread on the Crystal Cruises board hoping for some answers but so far nobody has chimed in with any updated info.  Specifically I am looking for additional information on the Argentine protocols for cruise operators for the upcoming 2021/2022 season. I have seen guidelines for arriving travelers but the articles I have read state the guidelines have not been made into law.  So, in essence, they are merely suggestions.  Has anyone heard differently? I have not managed to find anything definitive with regards to protocols specifically for Antartica cruise passengers and have been researching the various operators and no one seems to have anything to report.  Crystal guests traveling on this Antartica season received a recent email from Crystal highlighting the re-opening of Argentina to international arrivals.  The email includes a somewhat promising opening sentence of 'welcoming you on board Endeavor', but there was no mention of the specific protocols in place for Antarctic cruises. I realize cruise operators are still in the planning stage and optimistically they want the Antartica season to run smoothly and safely but we are getting close to the start of the season and there is little information.  I find myself hanging on to any positive post I see on here and the Hurtigruten board has been the most active. Silversea have moved their operations to Chile where a basic protocol mentions a 'bubble' concept for all arriving guests from airport to hotel to ship embarkation.  Guests would remain in quarantine at the hotel presumably for the one night, as most passengers arrive one day ahead.  What happens for guests with private air arrangements or longer pre-cruise hotel stays - how does that fit in with the bubble requirement?  Are they required to remain at their hotel for those days and will Argentina have something similar planned?  I am encouraged by the early departures on Hurtigruten and like all of you, I am following various ships movement around the globe as they make their way to Chile/Argentina to begin the season.

For those of you fortunate to be on the early Hurtigruten sailings have you been provided with any additional information that you are able to share here?  We are sailing on a 19 night January itinerary so we still have a bit of time before the cruise and a lot can change between now and then.  It is unclear whether we will be permitted to sail our itinerary as planned as it involves South Georgia and Falklands. I am excited for all of you on the early departures and will be watching closely at the modifications to your itineraries, if even modified.  I hope you all get to sail without any issue and please do report back here if you get any updated information from Hurtigruten.  I have my fingers crossed for all of you booked and will be following along.  Thanks.

[PaulMCO]

1 hour ago, goldengatecruisers said:

I am very pleased you have an active Antartica thread. I am a past Hurtigruten guest but am not sailing with them this coming season, choosing instead an itinerary on Crystal Endeavor in January.  There is not much information on CruiseCritic at the moment as so little is known.  I actually posted the following text on an Antartica thread on the Crystal Cruises board hoping for some answers but so far nobody has chimed in with any updated info.  Specifically I am looking for additional information on the Argentine protocols for cruise operators for the upcoming 2021/2022 season. I have seen guidelines for arriving travelers but the articles I have read state the guidelines have not been made into law.  So, in essence, they are merely suggestions.  Has anyone heard differently? I have not managed to find anything definitive with regards to protocols specifically for Antartica cruise passengers and have been researching the various operators and no one seems to have anything to report.  Crystal guests traveling on this Antartica season received a recent email from Crystal highlighting the re-opening of Argentina to international arrivals.  The email includes a somewhat promising opening sentence of 'welcoming you on board Endeavor', but there was no mention of the specific protocols in place for Antarctic cruises. I realize cruise operators are still in the planning stage and optimistically they want the Antartica season to run smoothly and safely but we are getting close to the start of the season and there is little information.  I find myself hanging on to any positive post I see on here and the Hurtigruten board has been the most active. Silversea have moved their operations to Chile where a basic protocol mentions a 'bubble' concept for all arriving guests from airport to hotel to ship embarkation.  Guests would remain in quarantine at the hotel presumably for the one night, as most passengers arrive one day ahead.  What happens for guests with private air arrangements or longer pre-cruise hotel stays - how does that fit in with the bubble requirement?  Are they required to remain at their hotel for those days and will Argentina have something similar planned?  I am encouraged by the early departures on Hurtigruten and like all of you, I am following various ships movement around the globe as they make their way to Chile/Argentina to begin the season.

For those of you fortunate to be on the early Hurtigruten sailings have you been provided with any additional information that you are able to share here?  We are sailing on a 19 night January itinerary so we still have a bit of time before the cruise and a lot can change between now and then.  It is unclear whether we will be permitted to sail our itinerary as planned as it involves South Georgia and Falklands. I am excited for all of you on the early departures and will be watching closely at the modifications to your itineraries, if even modified.  I hope you all get to sail without any issue and please do report back here if you get any updated information from Hurtigruten.  I have my fingers crossed for all of you booked and will be following along.  Thanks.

You are not alone.  There is little information and as you have discovered you need to piece together the info from the various expedition companies doing Antarctica sailings.

 

You can also check the Antarctica section in cruise critic. 

 

Also trip advisor has a good section in their forums

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i12337-Antarctic_Adventures.html

 

As you noted Silversea and Hurtigruten have opted to go the Chilean bubble route. 

Lindblad aka National Geographic is going to bubble in Miami and fly directly to Ushuaia

Quark has decided to bubble in Buenos Aires.

 

Crystal is silent probably because they are new and probably because they and everyone is waiting until 1 November to see if Argentina holds to its promise to open the country to foreigners.  Until this happens all is speculation for those cruise lines that are using Argentina as a base.

[adirondacksailor]

Well, I was disappointed for a couple of days with our Hurtigruten cancellation.  But on Friday I booked Crystal Endeavor for Jan 4 Buenos Aires/Jan 5 Ushuaia. And, the ship looked so good to my husband, he is tagging along on this one. ☺️

So, I will also be watching Argentine restrictions until then.

And, will still be tracking the R. Amundsen to see just how long she does take across the Atlantic! 

[goldengatecruisers]

Thank you PaulMCO for the additional information, some of which was new to me so much appreciated!  I think you are right about Crystal not saying anything further until more is known about Argentina and the requirements for entry.  I have asked whether the Nov 18th departure has accepted final payment yet but no one has responded on the Crystal board.   As of now, my final payment date is pushed out till mid November for my January departure.  Adirondack, I am a frequent Crystal cruiser and you and your husband are in for a treat on Endeavor.  Friends traveled recently around Iceland and have not stopped raving about how stunning she is inside.  We are excited.  I will board as you disembark if all goes to plan. 

[adirondacksailor]

Happy to see my full refund from Hurtigruten today. That was quick! 

[adirondacksailor]

Looks like R. Amundsen finally left Norway 10/8. 

[AlanCruise]

And UK government has today removed the "Only essential travel" advice for Chile.

[AlanCruise]

Roald Amundsen has just left Las Palmas on its way to Montevideo where it is due on Nov 17th.

Due to leave on first cruise from Punto Arenas on Nov 24th.