Almost Live from the World Voyager - Jul 16, 2024 - circumnavigation of Svalbard

[81Zoomie]

Finally found a list of the included wines.  As I said, we are a bit picky and have found 2 of the reds we enjoy. YMMV.  The asst servers and servers all pour wine.  You don’t have to hunt for anyone special to fill your glass.  I they are happy to keep filling your glass until you ask them to stop!

 

[81Zoomie]

19 hours ago, jimrpa said:

Thanks so much for these updates. I will be on Voyager at the end of August on the Reykjavik to Longyearbyem sailing. I did an 11 day Antarctic trip on Voyager last November and loved it (my first cruise). I don’t understand the deal with AOV and Wi-Fi though. It feels like they’re nickel-and-diming us with it. They should just make it unlimit d and raise prices by a couple hundred dollars if they’re trying to cover some cost. 
A couple of questions:

1. How much Wi-Fi have you used so far?

2. Have you found any cell coverage anywhere? Obviously, there’s no cell service in Antarctica, but I wasn’t sure if the ship sailed close enough to inhabited areas of the arctic to get cell reception. 

DH has run out.  He is using his 2nd 2 GB, one on his iPad and the other on his phone.  My 1 GB should expire today.  There is no way to check where you are in usage except to ask at the front desk.  Each GB is limited to one device.  You cannot switch back and forth.  I have been diligent about working offline, shrinking the images, and not surfing, and check webmail every other day or so.  We are reading lite.cnn.com to check the news.  There is no cell service on Svalbard with the exception of in Longyearbyen.  We had some slow LTE on TMobile.  WiFi on Atlas is the only major shortcoming.  They should do better.

[81Zoomie]

Day 10 - Boltodden

 

Greetings from the rocky coastline.  The area is famous for its couple of historic sheds as well as dinosaur 🦕 footprints.  This is the first time this season that Voyager has been to this spot.  The weather and the sea state have to both permit a landing.  The weather looked a bit cloudy when we arrived, but the seas were calm.  The temperature was in the mid 40s.  It was a light layer day.  Parkas needed for the zodiac ride and in case of rain.  Waterproof pants for the wet landing.  We took off our parkas on shore and wore them on our backs using the straps they have inside.  It’s handy not to have to carry them.

 

We came ashore in an ideal little break in the rocks and a tiny cove.  There was a thick layer of slippery kelp to trudge through.  The terrain was a diverse composition of small rocks, flat boulders, muck, small streams, and some snow.  The options were once again, an adventurous fast walk or a leisurely walk.  We chose the fast walk.  Our guide was a bit zealous and took us up a rocky slope and across a snow field.  It was more vigorous than the description.

 

Then the group set out to find the famous footprints 👣.  Some impressions were worthy of maybe belonging to 🦕🦕.  It’s not like in a National park setting where items are marked.  You have to search and find the artifacts.  Two, pictured below, were definitely the real thing!  It’s pretty incredible when you think about how long ago they were left by these huge animals!

 

The huts were very rudimentary.  One was completely flattened.  We came across some reindeer antlers, a bird carcass , and an animal skull as well.  There was a lot of greenery, small bunches of flowers 🌺 🌸🌼, and the tiny arctic trees.  Some of the plants were turning reddish hinting that fall is approaching up here.  The armed lookouts 👀 were posted on the perimeter as usual.  Our guides continue to carry their rifles.  No bear activity was noted.

 

 

Edited July 25 by 81Zoomie

[81Zoomie]

Day 9 - Afternoon

 

Time for lunch!  There is always variety among the hot foods.  Today they were carving a Turkey at one end and serving seafood paella on the other side.  The turmeric sweet potatoes and the butter chicken were nicely spiced.  Pretzel bread sticks were in the bread section.  Two soups were available.  Milk rice was one option for dessert, along with cakes, pudding, and ice cream 🍦.

 

 

Next up… the Polar Bear plunge 🥶🧊🥶.  The opportunity to leap into the frigid arctic water 💦 🧊🌊 is this afternoon’s activity.  To set the scene, there are several icebergs within sight!  The brave… or crazy people, will be secured to the ship by a harness and allowed to jump into the water.  DH is going to participate.  He was practicing his water entry in our pool at home 🤣.  This fair weathered Florida girl is going to pass.  I prefer my swimming water to be above 80 deg 🌴.  Besides, someone has to take the pictures 📷🎥📸!!!

 

 

There were several events scheduled in the late afternoon and evening.  The Polar bear 🐻‍❄️ lecture was very interesting.  It was followed by the Captain’s farewell reception.  We had a wonderful dinner and then went to the crew talent show and raffle.  All the raffle and auction proceeds go to the crew welfare fund.  The evening was filled with applause, laughter, and amazement!  The Atlas crew is very talented.  To everyone’s surprise, the map of our journey embellished by an expedition team member with beautiful drawings of the wildlife we saw sold for $6000!!!

 

 

 

[81Zoomie]

Day 11 - Southern Svalbard

 

Good morning from the Hansbreen glacier.  This is the first Voyager visit to this location this season.  We opened the curtains to find glaciers and sea ice!  And here we thought we heard we were leaving the ice behind!!!  The glacier is 15 km wide.  The sea ice snaps crackles, and pops.  It is fascinating to listen to.  

 

It was nice to be the 2nd go, sleeping a bit, and not have to rush through breakfast 🍳☕️🥞.  This morning was fruit, salmon, and waffles for me.  DH has been starting off with carrot, oranger, ginger smoothies.  Soon it was our turn.  It was about 40 deg so we dressed in light layers and left our parkas behind.  Our outing was a quick zodiac ride through the ice followed by a walk up to the glacier.  The terrain was quite barren with sand, rocks, glacier silt, and mud.  Several guides got stuck knee deep in the mud while they were scouting the landing zone.

 

The cove was an amazing contrast between dark hills, rocks, and the large glacier.  We had clouds ☁️ , but the fog stayed away.  This was an amazing experience.  There were large chunks of ice 🧊 on the beach and in the water.  Some were blue, some rippled, some clear.  Everyone had fun posing with them.  Then we walked right up to the glacier!!!  It was so amazing to be able to touch the ice which extended on the land.  It was a first for us 👍👍.

 

Well, we worked up an appetite on our excursion.  Today was a special lunch for us.  DH requested Cioppino and the chef came through with it for him.  He was a happy man 😁🥰😁.  The rest of lunch was very tasty too.  My absolute favorite… the eggnog ice cream 🍦.  It was fabulous ❤️.

 

All good things must come to an end.  Our disembarkation info was waiting for us on the bed.  We must be out of our rooms by 8, and will begin to disembark at 10 am.  Fortunately we will be docked at the pier.  Our flight leaves LYR for Oslo at 2:25 pm.  Our luggage will go directly to the airport where we will claim it.  Three busses will take us into town where we can wander until 11:30.  Then we will be dropped at the airport.  We will have approximately 2.5 hours to wait for our Enter Air charter flight ✈️ at the tiny airport.  It looks like we have the only flight out at that time which should alleviate some of the chaos others have experienced.  Lots of people are stressed about the 11 lb carryon weight limit in the Enter Air documents.  If they weigh carryons the plan is to stuff our parka pockets with anything and everything heavy.

 

This afternoon Voyager has relocated to Isbjornhamna.  While sailing we saw 2 whales blow and then dive exposing their flukes 🐳🐋🐳.  The ship is facing another stunning glacier and there are a lot of sea gulls flying around the ship.  The sun is trying to break through, but we have been instructed to dress warm even though it is 45 deg.  This will be our final scenic zodiac tour of this cruise 🚢.  It is a fitting finale to a tremendous experience 👏🍾👏.

[81Zoomie]

Day 12 - Time to leave 😢

 

Traditionally, the last night on a cruise doesn’t produce the best sleep.  Tonight was no exception.  The ship rolled a bit, the empty hangers chattered, and the engines reverberated at times.

 

We were up early, well before 7 am.  Breakfast goes from 7- 9, and Paula’s is open until 10 am.  We were out of our cabin by 8 and are now camped in the dome.  It’s fitting we will be spending our final moments on board in our favorite spot.  Our luggage is being offloaded into a truck.  We are quite fortunate because there are no other cruise ships in Longyearbyen this morning.  Hopefully 🙏🏻 this will cut down on the congestion and chaos at the airport.  We can see 3 busses queued up and that is a good sign as well. 

 

I turned my phone off so I will get a clean reboot, hopefully on wifi.  I have 11 days of email waiting to dump.  Maybe there will be wifi available in the airport or somewhere in town.  Otherwise I will probably wait until we get to the hotel in Oslo.

 

We disembarked at 10 am as advertised.  The 3 bussed went to the small town center where we were free to roam.  Carryon bags could be left on the bus.  There were a few souvenir stores for last minute gift and memento shopping.  There were also public restrooms available in the two story shopping building across from the grocery/general store.  We had one hour and fifteen minutes to wander.

 

The busses departed for the airport at 11:30 for our 2:25 pm EnterAir flight.  Our baggage was waiting outside the terminal.  We grabbed our suitcases, went inside, and joined a line at the counter which was unmanned.  And there we stood for the next 75 minutes until the ticket agents showed up.  We requested seats together and were accommodated!  Checked bags were weighed.  Carryons were not weighed.  Many people had one carryon sized bag and a personal item.  At least half the passengers were carrying their parkas as well.  The security was adjacent, so no additional queuing was necessary. This time we knew the drill and pulled out our phones, cameras, and iPads.  My bag was flagged again!  In fact it went through the scanner 3 times with various items pulled out and was swabbed.  Finally, I was on my way.  I have no idea what about my bag attracts additional attention. The holding area can accommodate one plane load of passengers.  There were some seats, a small cafe/store, and bathrooms.  We each had a hot dog 🌭.  The flight was announced as ready to board and we lined up and stepped out to the tarmac in no specific order.  There is not jet bridge.  You board via air stairs.  We are on a 737-800.  DH and I had a row to ourselves 💺💺💺. I got one last glimpse of Voyager 🚢 as we took the runway ✈️ for departure.  On this flight we received water, coke, juice, sprite, coffee or tea 🧋. The snack was a beef or cheese sandwich 🥪.  The sandwich contents were fine.  The bread 🥖 was so good!  Before long we will be back in Oslo.

 

Nearly everyone on the flight is overnighting in Oslo or the immediate vicinity.  Our 5:30 pm arrival is too late for most North American and many European flights.  We will be spending 2 nights.  I plan to write ✍️ some final thoughts about our Atlas Arctic expedition experience when time permits during our trip home.  For starters I’d like to say we had a GREAT cruise 😁👍😁.

Edited July 27 by 81Zoomie

[earth117]

I really enjoyed reading your adventures @81Zoomie from the Svalbard sailing after mine. Thanks! Your last post reminded me of a couple of tips: the Svalbard airport does indeed have open wifi and oddly it has the eduroam network (global network used by universities - if you have a university account you can connect automatically without login; not sure why an airport has this!). Neither charter airline ever weighed the carryons. My luggage was also flagged by the airport scanner and was swabbed multiple times - the agent asked if I carried heart medication (not sure why - nitrogen rich?) and then if I had used hand cream. He checked the label on the hand cream/moisturizer and said that it was probably an ingredient in that (very odd, wouldn't everyone in the Arctic be using moisturizer for their dry skin?). The shop past security has both souvenirs and food - the premade sandwiches (which ran out quickly) were the most substantial and cheapest I saw anywhere in Norway! To all those considering a Svalbard trip, I'd definitely recommend it.

[Naeva]

I'd like to say thank you as well @81Zoomie . This was a fascinating read! Thank you for taking the time to keep us updated and for all of the pictures. I can't imagine how amazing it would be in person!

[kennetro]

Loved taking the trip "with you", but I'm not ready to go home yet!!!  ❤️😆

[WannaSea]

Thank you, thank you for taking the time and resources to share your unique adventure with us. It's been a great read and wonderful pictures, sad to see it end. And thanks for the helpful information revealed in your experiences which is hard to find anywhere, much appreciated. Best wishes on the final lap of your journey. Not all who wander are lost. 🙂

[BigNance]

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences!  We sail on the Voyager in January 2025 to Antarctica.  Your info has been very helpful.

Can't wait!

N

[81Zoomie]

Currently @40,000 ft en route to DFW 9.5 hours into our flight.  I’m happy you followed along and found some of the info helpful!  After we unpack, do our shopping & laundry, and convince our cat we still love her 😻, I will provide a final recap.  This Arctic expedition with Atlas was such a positive and memorable experience ❤️.  

[mnocket]

Great report!  Thank you for using your very limited internet to share your experience. I enjoyed following along.👍

[81Zoomie]

Closing thoughts on our AOV circumnavigation of Svalbard

 

 

 

 

Good

• This was our first cruise with Atlas and we thoroughly enjoyed it!  
• The ship is lovely.  Clean, contemporary, and welcoming decor.
• Most public spaces all have a view of the water.
• There is a lot of outdoor deck space for viewing the scenery including multiple front and rear areas.
• The crew is fantastic.  They are friendly, genuine, helpful, and seemed very happy.
• The expedition staff was experienced, knowledgeable, and shared their expertise.
• The parkas kept us warm and dry.  The boots were comfortable and provided decent traction.
• The itinerary was very interesting and offered unique wildlife, varied terrain, plus gorgeous scenery.
• The staff is empowered to solve any issue you may have.
• The food is excellent.  The variety is great, excellent quality, and good presentation, especially when you consider the small passenger load.
• Food allergies and preferences are well addressed.
• The zero waste goals are admirable.
• The included red wines were very drinkable.  (We didn’t drink any whites).
• The ice cream was very good.
• Paula’s Pantry is a convenient venue to grab a coffee/tea/snack/juice.
• Our cabin was very comfortable and spotless.
• The showers are the best we have experienced at sea 🚿.  The ceilings are tall, there are multiple jet options (rain head, wall jets, hand held wand, all or some), a built in bench, and glass door.
• L’Occitane bath products are better than most others.
• The Dome is a wonderful venue to relax, hear some music, play cards, meet friends, take in the view, enjoy tea, have a cocktail. Loved the panoramic view!
• The bridge has an open policy.
• The relaxed dress policy is so refreshing.  No one is inspecting your dining room attire or judging you.  There is no need to give up precious space/weight in your suitcase for ties, sport coats, gowns, sequins, etc.  
• The only time we had to show our key cards was getting on and off the ship.
• Everyone on board gets the same great service regardless of your cabin category.
• No art auctions, no constant sales pitches, no special activity fees.
• An entertainer who participated in events and chatted with the passengers was nice.

 

Neutral

• The weather did not allow the use of the outdoor bars and dining venues.

 

Bad

• The 1 GB internet policy should be improved upon.  It’s cumbersome on the guests and not up to current cruise industry standards.
• The cabin thermostats have no settings/markings.  You can only set the fan speed and choose cooler (blue) or warmer (red).  It’s a constant tweaking process.

 

A few thoughts on expedition cruising in extreme climates:

 

 

• The daily plan is not set in stone.  There may be plan A, B, and C!
• Flexibility and patience are key
• Weather and wildlife are unpredictable 
• Safety is paramount 
• The entire staff is doing everything they can to make your experience memorable 
• Nothing is perfect
• Keep an open mind
• There is so much to see and learn about when traveling
• Your experience is what you make it, look for the good
• Collect amazing memories 
• We are so fortunate to be able to go on adventures like this!!!

 

 

[MamaFej]

I enjoyed your report, and it felt like I was sort of extending my own Svalbard expedition. We had been on Silver Endeavour a few weeks earlier. 

 

I am extremely disappointed for you regarding internet. We had unlimited streaming speed, and often streamed Netflix or AppleTV in our cabin in the evening after a long day of exploring. My son is a Twitch streamer. While he didn't stream from the ship, he did upload pre-recorded videos and reels to his socials and kept his channel engagement growing. Clearly, high-speed and high-volume internetfrom Svalbard can be done, and Atlas should do better. 

 

Otherwise, I am super happy that you also had polar bear sightings. What amazing creatures! I'm very happy that the majority of your adventure was positive. 

 

Thank you so much for sharing!