Scenic Eclipse Svalbard July 2024 questions

[7-continent-cruiser]

Looking for someone who has previously taken the Scenic Eclipse (or maybe with another line) cruise around Svalbard in the summer.  

The recommended clothing seems more appropriate for Arctic winter rather than summer.  According to what I can find, typical temperatures are 30's to low 40's F (3°-7° C).  I'm from Colorado, not south Florida.  I made the mistake a few years ago when visiting Antarctica in December and was overdressed to the point of being uncomfortable.  They have advised that because the flight from Longyearben to Oslo is in economy, we only get one piece of checked luggage and they will be adding a parka to the clothes we bring with us. Do I really need to fill up my one piece of luggage with multiple sets of long underwear, ski pants, etc.?

Any description of landings and Zodiac excursions would be helpful.  

What has been your experience with the flight (charter I believe) from Longyearben to Oslo?

[81Zoomie]

On 6/8/2024 at 2:27 PM, 7-continent-cruiser said:

Looking for someone who has previously taken the Scenic Eclipse (or maybe with another line) cruise around Svalbard in the summer.  

The recommended clothing seems more appropriate for Arctic winter rather than summer.  According to what I can find, typical temperatures are 30's to low 40's F (3°-7° C).  I'm from Colorado, not south Florida.  I made the mistake a few years ago when visiting Antarctica in December and was overdressed to the point of being uncomfortable.  They have advised that because the flight from Longyearben to Oslo is in economy, we only get one piece of checked luggage and they will be adding a parka to the clothes we bring with us. Do I really need to fill up my one piece of luggage with multiple sets of long underwear, ski pants, etc.?

Any description of landings and Zodiac excursions would be helpful.  

What has been your experience with the flight (charter I believe) from Longyearben to Oslo?

We are going on Atlas this summer and have been tracking the temps in Longyearbyen.  It appears to be warmer than our Antartica experience.  Have similar concerns about bulky clothes and limited luggage allowance.  Perhaps there may be more experience on the Silversea and Seabourn boards?

[dreamercruise]

My husband and I took both Scenic’s Antarctica and Arctic cruises.  Indeed, Arctic is relatively milder than Antarctica.  Both times, we packed only one 50-lb limit checkin luggage in addition to one backpack and one personal item.  I packed 40-lb for Arctic versus 47 lb for Antarctica.  What also helped is that we did not have to wear a bulky winter coat in Arctic trip as we went to Arctic in August versus Antarctica in late December/early January.  In the Arctic trip, I wore the same kind of winter clothing as in the east coast.  One exception is when the ship sailed to the northernmost point. There, we wore the same heavy clothing as in Antarctica.

There is no need to bring multiple sets of clothing.  You can pack much less if you do layering and mix-and-match.

By the way, we are forbidden to do submarine or helicopter rides in Arctic due to Norway laws/rules. Bring a very high power binocular or telescope if you want to spot polar bears, Arctic foxes, walruses, and etc.. Otherwise, you will see only dots.  You do not want to be near a polar bear on land or in a boat. It can over run and over swim you. In fact, when we did kayaking, Scenic had two staff members scouted for sights of polar bears, while 3 other staffs (with guns) accompanied us in the activity.

One other excursion was zodiac cruising to see the nests of birds (hundreds of thousands of them in some hills). The location of the nests affects the survivability of the eggs/chicks, as there are plenty of predator birds and even foxes around stealing them in a flash.

Longyearbyen is the place for the small flights to land. It has the famous global seed vault. The charter flight is like a regular, no frill, small, economy class flight.

The most memorable moment of the trip was the spectacular scenery of sky and sea when the ship was surrounded by thousands of ice blocks at the northernmost point.

[dreamercruise]

On 6/8/2024 at 2:27 PM, 7-continent-cruiser said:

Perhaps it is too late to answer your questions. Didn’t see your thread until today.

[7-continent-cruiser]

I saw your post while on the cruise, thank you.  Got home a few days ago.  The internet was too slow to respond from the ship.  So here is my experience, maybe helpful to future cruisers.

 

I ended up bringing much of what was suggested, although only one set of thermal underwear which I never used.  I did not bring a scarf or neck gaiter.  We only had one day where weather was a challenge.  There were 35-knot winds and accompanying swells that sprayed us in the Zodiac.  The wet and wind were the issue, not cold.  I brought thin gloves to make handling my camera possible.  We had to grab the safety ropes in the Zodiac and they were wet.  My gloves got wet, and that was the only time I took heavy gloves out of my pockets.  All landings were "wet" landings meaning you stepped off the Zodiac into water about a foot deep (maybe a little more).  The snow pants kept water out of the boots, but the pants get wet and then wet again as you reboard the ship and have to step into the boot cleaner with rotary brushes.  So, some sort of water-repellent pant that goes over the boot is necessary. We had several sunny days including a magnificent one at the ice 80° 38' N.  More often than not, the provided parka with the liner was too warm. I began to go with the liner removed.  I skipped the knit hat and went with a ball cap.  One day a polar bear was sighted and I went to the bridge and stood outside for over an hour wearing what I had on--sandals without socks and a light jacket.  I got some comments but was not too cold.

 

On Zodiac cruises without landings, some people were wearing hiking boots.  Unofficially, I was told that something that covered your ankle was sufficient.  I had only low-top sneakers, but it would have been nice to avoid having to put on and remove the boots in the mud room.

 

I want to point out that fellow passengers continued to bundle up, often with scarves around their faces and more even on the bright sunny days approaching 50°F (10°C).  Clearly some people do not tolerate cold.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, 7-continent-cruiser said:

One day a polar bear was sighted and I went to the bridge and stood outside for over an hour wearing what I had on--sandals without socks and a light jacket.  I got some comments but was not too cold.

I think this helps put your post in context.  I would be cold in those circumstances.