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Hurtigruten MS Midnatsol to sail in Antartica in 2016/2017


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Any of you experienced Antartica cruisers have any thoughts on this news:

 

http://www.hurtigruten.com/us/utils/news-on-front-page/hurtigruten-to-triple-number-of-berths-on-its-2016-2017-antarctica-sailings--with-the-addition-of-the-ms-midnatsol-to-southernmost-continent/

 

I have looked at some of the itineraries and am very intrigued with their Legendary Magellan sailings and by the different type of itineraries than the typical Antartica sailings which all seem to be basically different versions of the same. These that appear to be a cross between the scenic aspects of the Chilean Fjords and Antartica landings, but am a bit concerned about how the number of passengers (max 500) will affect landings and how they will be coordinated with that many people. Not that concerned about the amount of landing time, but more about how the locations may be limited based on the size of the group (they are keeping it under the required size to land at all it seems). I am more about grand scenery photography than wildlife photography, but will be traveling with friends who may feel differently so as long as we can get on land to see some wildlife up close and actually step foot in Antartica, it should be fine for them.

 

At the moment the price is very attractive for an 18 day trip as compared to others. I expect the larger passenger count helps in that aspect. I know since this is a new ship and sailings, it will be hard to judge as there will be no actual experience to go by, but thought I would at least throw the subject out for discussion here.

 

Thanks!

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  • 1 month later...

I have just found this thread about the Hurtigruten. We went to Antarctica and the Chilean Fiords in 2007 on the Nordnorge with the Hurtigruten company. We were told then they only take a max of 300 but there were only just over 200 on our cruise.I do not think a full ship would have been an issue. We could not fault the trip, we were numbered into groups of 8 for shore landings with 1 going to the end for the 2nd landing. We did not seem to wait long for our turn and were never rushed to return to the ship. We were given a really good warm parka and they also supplied gumboots. The expedition leaders on board were all doctors in their field and we had excellent talks on the flora, fauna and geology of the area.Our cruise left from Ushuaia and finished at Punta Arenas. I would love to do another cruise and go below the Antarctic circle and would not travel with any other company.

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I have just found this thread about the Hurtigruten. We went to Antarctica and the Chilean Fiords in 2007 on the Nordnorge with the Hurtigruten company. We were told then they only take a max of 300 but there were only just over 200 on our cruise.I do not think a full ship would have been an issue. We could not fault the trip, we were numbered into groups of 8 for shore landings with 1 going to the end for the 2nd landing. We did not seem to wait long for our turn and were never rushed to return to the ship. We were given a really good warm parka and they also supplied gumboots. The expedition leaders on board were all doctors in their field and we had excellent talks on the flora, fauna and geology of the area.Our cruise left from Ushuaia and finished at Punta Arenas. I would love to do another cruise and go below the Antarctic circle and would not travel with any other company.

 

I agree, we went on the Fram in 2010 for the "Shackleton Route", AA, S. Georgia, Falklands, etc. The ship only had 268 on board. We never had any problems with excursions. Once we got ashore, we basically had all the time we wanted, there was no one telling us we had to return after just an hour or so. We are going back on the Midnatsol in November of 2016, plus it leaves from Punta Arenas so there is so much to see there before we sail. Far South Expeditions has some absolutely great trips from Punta Arenas, and we are going to go two weeks early and do an 8 day tour of Patgagonia.

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  • 1 year later...

Just saw this Thread... We also went with Hurtigruten's Ship "Nordnorge" back in 2005 to Antarctica. Included also the chilenian Fjords. Here soma picture, if you like to see them: http://sniederer.bplaced.net/2005.11/index.html

 

The landings in Antarctica were very well organised, and split into groups. On other smaller excursion ships you have a bit more shore time. But we never felt rushed back to the ship or would loved to be much longer ashore. The other thing is, we had about two landings a day and just shorter sailings in between. On smaller excpedtions we had the experience: We came back to the ship and as we changing clothes the ship already sails. Almost feeling that we missing something. Love the company Hurtigruten and their Ships. The ship is quite big for only 500 passengers, as in norwegian waters they take many passengers more. Also the have a lot of day-passengers in norway. So there is a lot of space around the ship. The Landing sites are the same as with smaller ships. As we saw much smaller ships in the same place just leaving as we came in. Our landings you can see with a small map also on my photo site. You'll be happy on the Midnatsol or other Hurtigruten ships. If you wanna know something more, don't hesitate to ask. I have been on the Midnatsol also up in Norway. Loved the ship, but would not recommend a cabin on deck 6, because there always standing people infront of the windows. I recommend a cabin class U2 or a bigger suite if you wanna spend the money.

Edited by crizzlyhug
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The Landing sites are the same as with smaller ships.

This is not exactly true. Even for a ship with 200 passengers there are some landing sites that are not permitted. And there are even less for a ship with 500 passengers (but the list of possible landing sites is still pretty nice for MS Midnatsol). I can't imagine landing 500 passengers in Port Lockroy, for instance.

Also, Hurtigruten states that there will be only one landing per day (at best) with MS Midnatsol, since it takes so much more time to land 500 passengers when only 100 are allowed on shore at the same time.

I have been twice on Antarctic cruise with MS Fram, which gives a pretty similar experience to what you describe for MS Nordnorge. I think sailings on MS Midnatsol will be different (but well, it's still Antarctica).

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I can't imagine landing 500 passengers in Port Lockroy... ...Hurtigruten states that there will be only one landing per day (at best) with MS Midnatsol.

 

You're right about Port Lockroy, almost forgot that rocky landing. And even other places can be the same. But well... it is still Antarctica. If Hurtigruten really have only one landing per day, it would be quite a long day waiting until the next thing happens... then I probably would not consider taken the trip with the Midnatsol. But when you're not that adventurous and like to have a few hours with a book or so it might still be a very good choice.

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Thinking about going on Midnatsol in Feb 2017 but comments here are worrisome. I am not keen on cruising in the first place...mainly because of the time one must spend on the ship not seeing what there is to see. It appears that this cruise may have alot of 'ship' time waiting for a 'turn' to go ashore.

If the ship is not full, this might not be a problem but you won't know that til you get on board. I can read a book at home...don't want to have time to fill.

Apparently 1 landing and 1 safari cruis per day per passenger. What is a safari cruise?

Any comments on whate sightings at this time of year?

Cost is more reasonable than other ships but you do get what you pay for.

If not this ship/cruise, any other recommendations?

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A safari cruise would be a cruise on a Polarcirkel boat (the boats that Hurtigruten use in place of zodiacs). It can actually be quite nice because you can navigate through the icebergs and see wildlife up close. While you wait for landing you are still in Antarctica and the landscape around the ship is nearly always beautiful so it is not time wasted. I would not spend that time reading a book. You still see plenty while cruising. You're just not on land.

 

February is supposed to be a good time for whale sightings, however I have been once in February and saw only a couple from very far, and then I went in December and saw many from very close. So in theory good chance for whales, but you never know.

 

You can have a look at Hurtigruten's other ship, MS Fram. Ponant also offers very good value for money. Look also at Quark Expedition. Be aware that February 2017 is actually very soon, and cruises for this upcoming season went for sale at least a year ago (I booked my Dec 2016 trip with MS Fram in Dec 2014). So you missed all the early bird discounts, and the most sought-after ships/destinations may be already full. You may have more options (and cheaper ones) if you are willing to postpone your trip to winter 2017/2018.

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Thx. Would love the safari cruise.

I don't have to go this yr but .as a single, I have an opportunity for a share at a decent price. Will look at other options tho.

My experience waiting for loading....you are deep in the ship and cannot see anything.

I still am leery about the # of passengers....

Can you tell me why the posts on TA feel that this will be a family oriented cruise?

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The family oriented vibe was advertised by Hurtigruten when they announced they would position Midnatsol in Antarctica this winter.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/54256/hurtigruten-repositions-brand-to-focus-on-expedition-and-families

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/4b35bb29 (page 22) for instance

 

I have travelled twice with Hurtigruten's Fram, which has 200 passengers and thus does turn for landing. There are several groups (8, in case of Fram), and 4 can go ashore at a time. The groups are landed one after another. When the group before yours is landing, you are called to the landing dock (inside the ship) and you wait there 10 minutes at the most. Before your group is called, you are free to wait outside and this is what I did every time. Some of the most beautiful landscapes I have seen are from that time waiting out on the deck for my landing group to be called. I imagine the process will be very much the same for Midnatsol and you will definitely not spend hours waiting in the middle of the ship. It's a very smooth process. It's just that for 500 passengers the whole landing operation is going to be much longer to allow that every one has a decent time ashore (and of course there are more risks for the weather to change).

 

But I can understand very much your concern about the number of passengers. It's way too much for me.

Quark does shared cabins on most (if not all) of their ships, I think (ie you can book a single bed in a shared cabin so no single supplement but you don't get to choose your cabin mate).

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Thx. Would love the safari cruise.

I don't have to go this yr but .as a single, I have an opportunity for a share at a decent price. Will look at other options tho.

 

Zodiac cruising is a great way to explore as you can get up nice and close to icebergs and see their colours, see seals resting on floes and be face to face with them, and have whales appear right beside you. None of that happens on land.

 

As a solo you can use the cabin share process on all the expedition ships. You are simply buying your berth in a cabin - not the whole cabin itself. They will pair you up with the same gender.

 

I have shared on 3 of my 4 trips - in a twin cabin.

 

To really save yourself money you can try for sharing in a triple or quad cabin. That really brings the price down for you.

 

You can access a list of all the available expedition companies and ships plus loads of trip reports - on the Trip Advisor forum. https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowForum-g1-i12337-Antarctic_Adventures.html

 

My advice is always the same to everyone. Pick the longest itinerary you can afford, on the smallest ship you can afford, and ensure South Georgia Island and Falkland Islands are on the list.

 

Its not the kind of voyage where you need to be concerned about the size of cabins, or balconies, or luxury inclusions. You are rarely in your cabin because the whole world is available to you outside on the decks.

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Actually, not all companies allow for shared cabin bookings. Hurtigruten does not, nor does Ponant, I think. Whether the company does it or not should be stated clearly on the website, and/or available in the pricing options. If it's not, then probably the company doesn't offer it. This is why I mentioned Quark, which offers shared cabin options, and it's not the only one. You need to shop around.

 

South Georgia is another world altogether, both for the dramatic landscapes and for the incredible wildlife. It really makes an Antarctic voyage complete. Falklands are on the way to SG and while having a much more toned down landscape, it is very interesting to visit (particularly if you are interested in bird, as there is a very rich and unique bird fauna there).

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  • 1 month later...

I was interested to read comments re land trips.In particular the bird life on Falklands.

We are booked on the Hurtigruten Antarctica cruise departing 26th Oct and despite making these arrangements well in advance find we are unable to book any of their shore excursions for Puerto Madryn, Falklands or Santiago as they are already fully booked.

We assume we can make some arrangements independently but would value any advice. Help!

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As you have discovered, booking ships' excursions is best done early, especially for locations like the Falklands where you are not arriving into, or near, a large city.

 

For Santiago, you could try Alwyn Schuler at Chileanjourney. He is excellent!

 

For the Falklands, a post on the relevant Tripadvisor forum might yield a result. We had a really good excursion to Bluff Cove Lagoon but I think you are only able to book through the ship. Contact through their website may prove me to be wrong.

 

Good luck!

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We opted to do what was described as the El Pedral Safari, operated by the El Pedral Lodge (I booked through the lodge). You should be able to get contact info by doing a google search. Our driver picked us up in town for the long drive (anywhere you want to go is a long drive). We made a couple of stops to see wildlife -- including walking amongst penguins, and had a light lunch at the lodge. Had a great time. Whether you can do this within your allotted time in port is something you'd have to research if interested -- I wrote about it extensively in this blog post. There are additional photos in this post and this post.

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I was interested to read comments re land trips.In particular the bird life on Falklands.

We are booked on the Hurtigruten Antarctica cruise departing 26th Oct and despite making these arrangements well in advance find we are unable to book any of their shore excursions for Puerto Madryn, Falklands or Santiago as they are already fully booked.

We assume we can make some arrangements independently but would value any advice. Help!

 

We are also on this one, i did start a roll call earlier but no one answered. In puerto Madryn we have booked on the second day with Forestero Tours, doing the Penninsula Valdez and also the whale watching. You are welcome to join us. In Stanley you can go to Gypsy cove by mini bus to see the penguins and other wildlife and also taxis are available and plenty to see and do. The other smaller ports there wont be any tours and will just be walking yourself.

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Hallo, we are on the Midnatsol Antractica cruise 26 October 2016 and we were unable to book any excursions plus I think we were given misleading information (we were told that there would be shore excursions as part of the trip and these didn't need separate booking). I hope we will be able to get ashore at some of the destinations, I am feeling a bit discouraged reading these forum posts. But anyway, we are looking forward to meeting others on the trip and as people keep saying, after all it IS Antractica. We just want to make the most of the experience!

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The excursions 'as part of the trip' were probably the landings in Antarctica. In my experience, excursions elsewhere with Hurtigruten are always chargeable.

 

If your disappointment is due to comments about Midnatsol's suitability for Antarctic trips, then you should understand that many (most?) of us posting on this Antarctic forum have taken expedition cruises which offer a more full-on Antarctic experience.

 

Have no doubt, you will enjoy Antarctica.

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