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Anyone going on the Sept 10, 2018 Eastbound Northwest Passage?


jonikal
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At a meeting with the Captain and expedition team leaders we were told that they were very aware of the disappointment of the passengers. Most of the complaints stemmed from the fact that there was little it no communication from Hurtigruten once they realized that the passage was icebound. This information was known to them well before the West-bound itinerary sailed. In fact, we picked up a newspaper in Pond Inlet which reported that a Canadian Navy ship was unable to transit several weeks ago. While it was explained that ice conditions can change rapidly, it is clear from other attempts to use the passage this season that they were equally unsuccessful.

Notwithstanding all the upheaval this change in plans has caused, the crew is absolutely wonderful and making every effort to keep the passengers happy.

According to what we learned from the meeting with the Captain, compensation has been authorized by Hurtigruten leadership on an individual basis, presumably depending on the fare you purchased. That would be handled by the office you dealt with.

So we are now on our first day of a 2 day crossing to Disko Bay.

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Many thanks for the update. It must be tough for the crew because while they are not the one who deal with communication, they are the one in direct line of the passengers' disappointment.

 

I think it is a good strategy from Hurtigruten to be willing to consider compensation (even though they would totally be within legal rights not to, I think). It's good for their business image.

 

All this aside, I hope you will still have fun and see many beautiful sights. I'm not surprised that the crew is doing all they can to ensure passengers have as good a time as possible.

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Thank you for your latest update.

 

I can well imagine passengers disappointment, so am pleased to learn Hurtigruten will be offering some kind of compensation. I think passengers should have been given the opportunity to cancel prior to the start of the cruise, when ice conditions were known.

 

Despite the repetition of your itinerary, I hope you are enjoying the cruise and seeing some new sights, wildlife, etc. No doubt the crew would be working overtime to ensure you are all having a good time.

 

Enjoy Disco Bay.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is a recap of our experience:

While we were understandably disappointed with the NW PASSAGE cancellation due to the prevailing ice conditions, it was the TOTAL failure on the part of Hurtigruten US to keep us informed prior to the voyage that we find unacceptable. Especially since it was known to Hurtigruten that the passage had been blocked to shipping for the entire 2018 transit season. Not only that, but the alternate sailing areas considered for us, such as Lancaster Sound, Bellot Strait and Gjoa Haven and Cambridge Bay were also known to be ice-bound. The Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Charlottetown was unable to enter Lancaster Sound on Sept 6, 2018, due to heavy ice conditions. (See Nunatsiaq News dated Sept 7, 2018).

 

In our case we checked this roll call where there was a link to a Facebook posting by Hurtigruten, reporting the NW passage would not be passable due to ice conditions. That was the first indication we had that there was a problem - approximately 10 days before our departure for Montreal.

 

We immediately phoned the Hurtigruten US office in Seattle and were told that there was an eblast being prepared for all the east bound pax that would be sent out “within minutes.” This email never arrived. The day before we were scheduled to fly to Montreal from Tampa, we once again phoned Hurtigruten and the rep provided little additional info. When I expressed our frustration and disappointment with Hurtigruten's lack of customer service, we were told that it was the “Norwegian way” !

 

As loyal customers of Hurtigruten with 4 voyages to our name and a fifth one scheduled for next year on the new MV Roald Amundsen (the sailing date of this ship still uncertain), we can only hope that the customer service personnel are going to get the training that its passengers deserve, with timely contact when any kind of itinerary changes occur. We should not have to rely on a Facebook blog to get information about such radical changes to our itinerary.

 

To maintain or expand Hurtigruten’s US market share of expedition style travel, this event and the company’s response by way of fair and adequate reimbursement to its passengers will have a significant effect on the public’s perception, by way of the internet's many travel blogs, of the company and whether the affected passengers will consider Hurtigruten for their future travel.

 

In sum: Not once did we receive any information either by phone or via email from Hurtigruten US that we would not be going through the NW Passage. All the info we gathered was as a result of our own efforts.

 

 

By contrast, we have nothing but praise for the Fram's crew. The expedition team made heroic efforts to make the alternate itinerary less of a disappointment. They were dealing with a significant number of angry passengers and were unfailingly diplomatic in their responses despite the harsh comments and a tense atmosphere. The ship’s entire crew is a great credit to the company with their good spirits, excellent service and great attitude despite the long hours and heavy schedules they contend with. Their additional burden in dealing with many unhappy customers deserves our admiration and gratitude.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We are from the UK and were on the same cruise has jonikal (sorry we never got to meet you!).

 

We would agree with everything they said. It was the lack of communication from Hurtigruten that was the main problem. Simply being told 3 days before to just 'go to Montreal' is NOT good customer service. Had we been warned 2 or 3 weeks beforehand of the potential problems, we would have had time to get our heads round it. No company should rely on social media to communicate: some of us don't do FB etc. With all the new explorer type ships coming on line, Hurtigruten need to be doing it better if they hope to even maintain their share of the market, let alone increase it.

 

Like jonikal, we have nothing but praise for the crew, who looked after us so well, and for the expedition team, who managed to organise landings and polar cirkel boat outings with limited time and resources.

 

in the end Hurtigruten gave us compensation, which we considered fair, given the voyage we actually did. Some people are still agitating for a full refund and money for disappointment. But this was an expedition cruise in an area notoriously tricky, so nothing is assured and Hurtigruten make that clear in their brochure. Maybe these people should have gone to Disneyland! Anyone booked on this route in future years needs to be aware that the itinerary might not happen.

 

Were we disappointed not to do the NWP? If course we were. But we made sure we enjoyed what we did.

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Thank you both for your feedback. Good on Hurtigruten for the compensation, I think it's unreasonable to ask for a full refund given that you have actually done a cruise (and a Greenland/North Canada cruise does not come cheap). I can understand the disappointment but congratulations for enjoying what you have been given. I am also happy about the comments on the crew, which matches my experience of Hurtigruten.

I also agree that the communication has been very bad and hopefully Hurtigruten learns from this. A company cannot be blamed for the unexpected problems, but they can be blamed for the way they handle those problems. Here there is some good, and some bad which can blemish their reputation.

 

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