Venture: Air charter Reykjavik to Greenland 9/17

[DrSHF]

Hi. Does anyone know whether there is a luggage limit, either weight or number, on the included charter air from Iceland to Greenland at the start of this cruise. Thanks. 

[Covepointcruiser]

We are on the charter the other direction.   Bet our bags may fly separately as we had two checked bags each.

[cruiseej]

1 hour ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Bet our bags may fly separately as we had two checked bags each.

 

Why would bags fly separately? This isn't like a bus from the ship to an airport. How many planes do you think they charter, one for people and one for luggage? 😉

[DrSHF]

I spoke with Seabourn today. Apparently we are each allowed two 50 pound bags.

[rallydave]

On 9/12/2022 at 6:11 PM, DrSHF said:

I spoke with Seabourn today. Apparently we are each allowed two 50 pound bags.

What about carry=ons?  Will they be the same as most flights these days; small suitcase, computer bag plus medical device??

 

Thanks in advance

[Covepointcruiser]

We re on several flights back to Iceland, we leave the ship at 9am.    Our bags weight more than 50 lbs with our new Parkas Md they have taken that into account.    Usual flights out of this airport are on King Air planes.    I expect they will charter an Iceland Air.   The village with the airport has only 500 people.   This airstrip was built by the U.S. in 1941.    Best airport in Greenland as it is inland and has not been impacted as much by weather.  

[Covepointcruiser]

We will transfer from the ship to pier in the zodiacs so I am hoping for good weather.    Transfer from the pier to the airport will be in village school buses.   Expect arriving passengers will have the same shuttle and zodiac transfer.

[cruiseej]

13 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Usual flights out of this airport are on King Air planes.

We flew out of Kangerlussuaq back to Iceland after a Silversea cruise a few years ago, and the charter plane was a 767 (which was not very full)!

[Covepointcruiser]

That sounds wonderful and gives me more hope for a good experience.    We have bout 170 leaving and about the same boarding so I guess the plane could take the passenger load.    Do you remember what the airport terminal was like?    Can all the passengers fit in the building?

[rallydave]

Teter are two airports in Reykjavik so wondering if the charter is from the city airport or Keflavik which is about 40 miles from Reykjavik ?

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, rallydave said:

Teter are two airports in Reykjavik so wondering if the charter is from the city airport or Keflavik which is about 40 miles from Reykjavik ?

 

Given that Reykjavik Airport (RKV) has a longest runway of only 5140 ft, I highly doubt that a 767 would be operating there.  Very highly unlikely.  Like almost impossible.  Same with 757s.

[cruiseej]

5 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Do you remember what the airport terminal was like?    Can all the passengers fit in the building?

 

Yes, there's a terminal building large enough to hold everyone. I don't remember much about it but you can Google "Kangerlussuaq airport" and click on images to see a few photos of it.

 

Interestingly, this airport, which is the primary international gateway airport for Greenland, is slated to close to most commercial air traffic sometime next year because part of the runway keeps sinking into permafrost which is melting due to global warming. It was originally built by the US military, and was located up a long fjord where there is less wind and fog than along the coast. Work is underway to more than double the size of the runway in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, so it will be able to handle international jets by 2024.

 

3 hours ago, rallydave said:

Teter are two airports in Reykjavik so wondering if the charter is from the city airport or Keflavik which is about 40 miles from Reykjavik ?

 

In addition to not having a long enough runway for large planes,  the Reykjavik city airport doesn't have the facilities to handle large international flights. It's almost certain the charter flights will be to/from Keflavik.

[Missabby]

There are YouTube videos of a 757 and Airbus airplanes landing at RKV, so it appears small to mid-sized jets can land there (e.g., 757, 737, A320).  What the RKV airport authority allows is the question.  As this is a charter flight, it's difficult to find out what exactly does land there.

 

FlightAware showed nothing between Kangerlussuaq and either RKY or KEF, probably because they are charter flights.. 

Edited September 17, 2022 by Missabby

[Covepointcruiser]

We took the flight from Greenland to Iceland.   Before we left the ship we were given seat numbers was a 737 MAX.    Disorganized boarding as we weren’t called by row.   Everyone crowded into a line  and when we finally got to the stairs we were told there was no assigned seating so we had to take whatever was left.    All overhead compartments were filled by earlier arrivals who put nothing under their seats.   We were stuck in non reclining seats with no window.    The passengers in front happily reclined into our laps and then complained that our knees were in the way.    Glad it was only a 2 hour flight but we were crippled after as we both have knee issues.    Seabourn should have stayed with the assigned seating.

 

 

[PolarDrifter]

6 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

We took the flight from Greenland to Iceland.

 

 

Which airport in Iceland did you arrive?  Reykjavik City Airport (RKV) or Keflavik (KEF)?

[Covepointcruiser]

Keflavik, so about 45 minutes from Reykjavik.

[DC Traveler244]

We were on the flight from Kangerlussuaq to KEF on September 18.  The flight was on a charter operator called Privilege.  I was told by a fellow passenger who claimed to know such things that it was a 757.  Whatever the model, the aircraft clearly was old and had seen better days (my seat had a broken armrest and couldn't be put in a fully upright position).  The seats were six-across and the rows were jammed in so closely that the flight was very uncomfortable.  

 

When we reached KEF, it took 40 minutes to get all the bags from the plane to the terminal.

 

Unfortunately, things got worse after we collected our bags and were bussed to the hotel Seabourn had selected for us in Reykjavik (Radisson Blu).  We had to transport our bags from the terminal to the bus without any assistance (the bus was parked about 200 meters away).  The bus deposited us two blocks from the hotel, and we were again required to carry our bags to the hotel (this time in a downpour). 

 

I don't know what the airport-to-hotel transfer process was like for passengers who'd been booked at other hotels, but it was disgracefully poor experience for the passengers Seabourn booked at the the Radisson Blu.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisr]

2 hours ago, DC Traveler244 said:

We were on the flight from Kangerlussuaq to KEF on September 18.  The flight was on a charter operator called Privilege.  I was told by a fellow passenger who claimed to know such things that it was a 757.  Whatever the model, the aircraft clearly was old and had seen better days (my seat had a broken armrest and couldn't be put in a fully upright position).  The seats were six-across and the rows were jammed in so closely that the flight was very uncomfortable.  

 

When we reached KEF, it took 40 minutes to get all the bags from the plane to the terminal.

 

Unfortunately, things got worse after we collected our bags and were bussed to the hotel Seabourn had selected for us in Reykjavik (Radisson Blu).  We had to transport our bags from the terminal to the bus without any assistance (the bus was parked about 200 meters away).  The bus deposited us two blocks from the hotel, and we were again required to carry our bags to the hotel (this time in a downpour). 

 

I don't know what the airport-to-hotel transfer process was like for passengers who'd been booked at other hotels, but it was disgracefully poor experience for the passengers Seabourn booked at the the Radisson Blu.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you mean the 1919 Hotel?   I have friends who are on now and we keep in touch via email.  She said getting from the hotel (not the 1919 as they were told Seabourn doesn’t use that one) to the airport and then to the ship was a mess.  They also said it was an uncomfortable flight,though relatively short.

[DC Traveler244]

8 minutes ago, cruisr said:

Do you mean the 1919 Hotel?   I have friends who are on now and we keep in touch via email.  She said getting from the hotel (not the 1919 as they were told Seabourn doesn’t use that one) to the airport and then to the ship was a mess.  They also said it was an uncomfortable flight,though relatively short.

Yes.  Seabourn booked us at the Radisson Blu 1919, which is in downtown Reykjavik .  There is another Radisson Blu at the airport.

[cruisr]

Interesting as my friends were told they would be at the 1919 and then Seabourn said it was not using that hotel and there would be no passengers staying for the 9/18 cruise staying there.  Guess they changed their mind on passengers staying there after the cruise.

 

Forgot to mention they told me they also had to walk all their luggage, without help, two blocks to the bus.  Guess the bus parked between the 1919 and their hotel so both those just getting off the Venture and those getting on have the same Seabourn Experience. 😉

[DC Traveler244]

12 minutes ago, cruisr said:

Interesting as my friends were told they would be at the 1919 and then Seabourn said it was not using that hotel and there would be no passengers staying for the 9/18 cruise staying there.  Guess they changed their mind on passengers staying there after the cruise.

 

Forgot to mention they told me they also had to walk all their luggage, without help, two blocks to the bus.  Guess the bus parked between the 1919 and their hotel so both those just getting off the Venture and those getting on have the same Seabourn Experience. 😉

Interesting.  It appears that, unfortunately, the experience was similar for Venture guests embarking and disembarking through Kangerlussuaq on 9/18.  

 

Our experience onboard the Venture was consistent with Seabourn standards, and we really liked the ship. But treating guests like cattle post-disembarkation (or pre-embarkation) is a huge mistake on Seabourn's part.   

 

We'd booked an August 2023 NW Passage cruise on the Venture, with a Kangerlussuaqn embarkation. We've canceled.

 

We communicated our displeasure to Seabourn in the post-cruise questionnaire.  Wondering if the organization really does read the responses . . . .

 

13 minutes ago, cruisr said:

Interesting as my friends were told they would be at the 1919 and then Seabourn said it was not using that hotel and there would be no passengers staying for the 9/18 cruise staying there.  Guess they changed their mind on passengers staying there after the cruise.

 

Forgot to mention they told me they also had to walk all their luggage, without help, two blocks to the bus.  Guess the bus parked between the 1919 and their hotel so both those just getting off the Venture and those getting on have the same Seabourn Experience. 😉

 

[Missabby]

I totally agree that the poor post-disembarkation (or pre-embarkation) process is a HUGE mistake on Seabourn's part.  I also understand that they were most likely working within certain limitations imposed by the circumstances. (ie; a better charter company wasn't available, the bus isn't allowed to get closer to the hotel, etc.) However, I think they could do better if they tried harder or started planning earlier. Because as seen by DCTraveler244's reaction to cancel a subsequent booking, the chaos experienced by this season's travelers could potentially impact future business.  I hope that others who have had the misfortune to suffer through this have also taken the time to express their displeasure directly to Seabourn.  I have no clue whether Seabourn actually does anything with their customer surveys or if they simply hand them out just to make us feel like we matter.  But management needs to figure it out before Seabourn goes the way of Crystal.  Just my opinion.

[Covepointcruiser]

We also suffered thru the disembark from the Venture.   The flight would not have been as bad if they had kept with the assigned seats.   Once we walked to the plane it was a “free for all”.   The row we were left with did not recline although the seats in front did, onto my lap.   Passenger in front was very inconsiderate.    We did have to claim our bags at Reykjavik but at least we were able to use the free luggage carriers to get them to our bus.   We were lodged at the Apotik and we also had to move our bags, in the rain, two blocks to our hotel.   This was because of traffic restrictions on Sunday.   The next day we opted for a private transfer to the airport and had no further problems.

 

[15Day+]

We too were not impressed with the charter flight. We had no problem with seating, we sat in our assigned seats at the back of the plane, but we were not impressed with the lack of knee room, the absence of an entertainment system and the box lunch.

 

Since we only travel with carry-on luggage we were through security in Keflavik Airport in about 10 minutes and chatted with the shuttle drivers for about 45 minutes before the rest of the passengers finally appeared in the arrivals area.

 

The Hotel Borg was excellent and we had no problem with the 200 meter walk from the shuttle bus.

[IDLnyc]

We also took the charter flight from Kangerlussuaq back to Reykjavik on September 18.  While we waited to board, I noted that Kangerlussuaq did not appear to have the machinery to load luggage onto aircraft in bulk containers. So luggage was loaded piece-by-piece.  I realized then that the luggage would also have to be off-loaded in Reykjavik piece-by-piece (170 passengers = 200 pieces = 5 tons of luggage), which may account for the delay in Reykjavik baggage claim.  This seems to be a foreseeable risk for using what was almost a bush airport.

 

Post-cruise, we were booked into the Hotel Borg, where coincidentally we spent three nights prior to boarding the Venture.  So we were already aware that busses are not allowed to use the street right in front of the hotel.  I fault the Grey Line agent on our bus for saying that the walking distance from the bus stop was "half a kilometer".  It was really two short blocks (the hotel is on the other side of the same block facing the bus stop)..  After hopping in and out of zodiacs and kayaks, this seemed like not a big deal.

 

That being said, it would be difficult for the mobility impaired or people with lots of luggage.  I noted from our prior stay that small Mercedes bus-vans ARE allowed to park in front of the hotel, so maybe Gray Line or Seabourn should have made special arrangements for those with exceptional needs.