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Midnatsol to Antarctica


digitl
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Yes, the itineraries will be very different but, concentrating on the Antarctic segment, I have concerns around passengers' expectations and reality.

 

There's already quite a lot of confusion about the Celebrity Infinity Antarctic cruise (absolutely no landings but some passengers don't realise that when they book!) and so I hope the arrangements for Midnatsol's landings are made crystal clear before and during the booking process.

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500 passengers expecting to land, when the maximum allowed ashore at any one time is 100, doesn't sound too inviting when compared with their excellent Fram offering.

Yes, I'm sure they've looked at the number but I'm not excited about this decision. I feel it doesn't add anything to their image as a respected company for expedition trips in Antarctica.

I also feel that offering landings in Antarctica on a ship with 500 passengers is concerning (for the passengers as expressed by digitl, but also for the environment. I expect they will be limited to very specific locations to avoid adverse impact on land and fauna).

 

I'm also wondering which ship will be replacing Midnatsol in Norway during that time? Maybe the return of Nordstjernen? ;)

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I'm also wondering which ship will be replacing Midnatsol in Norway during that time? Maybe the return of Nordstjernen? ;)

I had wondered that too, there were some rumours of a different ship, on another forum we both frequent.

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Yes I've seen that Gaelail! :)

Bobbi you don't have to worry about your March 2016 trip, Midnatsol is bound to Antarctica for the 2016/2017 season which is in winter so she should leave Norway late september/early october probably.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Yes, the itineraries will be very different but, concentrating on the Antarctic segment, I have concerns around passengers' expectations and reality.

 

There's already quite a lot of confusion about the Celebrity Infinity Antarctic cruise (absolutely no landings but some passengers don't realise that when they book!) and so I hope the arrangements for Midnatsol's landings are made crystal clear before and during the booking process.

 

I'll share my experience in trying to figure out which cruise to book.

 

I went to the Antarctica portion of Hurtigruten's website and checked out the itineraries. Only two would work with my schedule, one on the Fram and the other on the Midnatsol. I liked the itinerary of the Midnatsol better (Chilean fjords as opposed to Ushuaia), and it was a day longer and a little cheaper, which I took to maybe be a "guinea pig" rate for an untested and unreviewed cruise.

 

Then I read the differences between the two ships' purposes--the Fram was advertised to be more "extreme" than the Midnatsol. I really wanted to just do the "classic" Antarctic: going ashore to see wildlife, zodiac cruises, and kayaking, nothing like skiing on a glacier or, to quote the site, "field landings ashore designed to challenge you mentally and physically". So Midnatsol seemed better in that category as well. However, I was concerned that the site said that the Midnatsol cruise would offer landing opportunities, but didn't seem to offer any more details beyond that (whereas the Fram's page listed potential landing sites in detail).

 

Doing a little more research, I saw that the Midnatsol is comparatively huge--it takes literally the most passengers a ship can take and still land people. The site didn't give any sort of indication as to how the ship's going to handle all those people; in fact, for a new cruise, it didn't give much of an indication for anything as to what to expect. I then saw quotes from Hurtigruten saying that the Midnatsol was going to be geared towards families (which seems strange in a ship that doesn't even offer double beds until the suite level) and worried that I was going to accidentally end up on the "kiddie ship" to Antarctica.

 

I tried calling customer service and relayed my concerns about the size of the ship and the lack of information about what to expect for excursions. The CSR I spoke with didn't respond to my concerns about the ship's size (presumably because Hurtigruten hasn't given him any information to respond with), but did offer to email me a list of excursions. I verified twice that he was emailing me the list for Midnatsol, and even clarified "the newer Antarctica ship" and he said yes. When I got to my email, it was the list for Fram.

 

So, while it seems that the itinerary for Midnatsol is a better fit for me, I'd essentially be signing up for a mystery box of a cruise. Plus, after all that, I noticed that the Fram's potential landings don't look to be that extreme after all. They look like the same places all the expedition ships go.

 

Basically, this is a long way of saying: I hope Hurtigruten releases way more information soon.

Edited by Anonygoose
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Compared with what Midnatsol is likely to do, Fram is extreme. Compared with other expedition ships, Fram offers pretty much the same (though some do offer a more 'adventurous' experience). We've always enjoyed our trips on Fram and have never been left wanting more!

 

As for Customer Service, that's normally quite good (in the UK) but it sounds as though whoever you spoke to wasn't up to speed on Antarctica.

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I don't think they are quite ready with the details for these yet. I noticed on their website that a brochure will be ready in July and their current brochure with 2016/2017 info just lists the Fram sailings so this may be a late decision on their part. I am also looking for more details on the Midnatsol sailings and have not been able to find much either. I have ordered the brochure and hopefully it will have more information. I liked the different itineraries (looking at the Legendary Magellan) from the typical Antarctic sailings. Would not do the Christmas Magellan Cruise as I expect that would have some of kids, but the January one may be ok as most would be back in school. I don't think their booking website even has all the room types listed as it seems to stop at mini suites and does not list any of the larger ones at this point. Will keep checking it to see if additional details show up over time.

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We've had details by post but it's not something we would book. If we're going to Antarctica (and we are, again!) then we want maximum time on land there (along with South Georgia and the Falklands) rather than Chilean fjords which are far easier to reach. That's not to say Midnatsol might not suit other travellers.

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  • 2 years later...

Hi, we booked for 23rd October departure of midnatsol from monte video, Uruguay! We will be in Puerto madryn on 25th and 26th. We would like to take punta tombo full day tour from expedia. The ship is not offering anything similar. Likewise we will be in port Stanley on 30th October and are interested in taking a tour to pioneer point for king penguins and also other types of penguins, with a guide named Patrick watts from adventure Falklands! We want some more people to join in these tours along with us as we may bargain the price as well as can make friends and enjoy the rest of the tour! Happy cruising and happy white continent ;):):D

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Hi, we booked for 23rd October departure of midnatsol from monte video, Uruguay! We will be in Puerto madryn on 25th and 26th. We would like to take punta tombo full day tour from expedia. The ship is not offering anything similar. Likewise we will be in port Stanley on 30th October and are interested in taking a tour to pioneer point for king penguins and also other types of penguins, with a guide named Patrick watts from adventure Falklands! We want some more people to join in these tours along with us as we may bargain the price as well as can make friends and enjoy the rest of the tour! Happy cruising and happy white continent ;):):D

 

Welcome to CruiseCritic.

 

Here is a link to the Roll Call for some smaller cruise lines, including Hurtigruten.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72

 

See if there is already a Roll Call started (by cruiseline name, ship name, and date), or start your own.

 

And enjoy your cruise.

We are thinking about this one, after we have a Norway cruise on Hurtigruten next winter, first.

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Yes, I'm sure they've looked at the number but I'm not excited about this decision. I feel it doesn't add anything to their image as a respected company for expedition trips in Antarctica.

I also feel that offering landings in Antarctica on a ship with 500 passengers is concerning (for the passengers as expressed by digitl, but also for the environment. I expect they will be limited to very specific locations to avoid adverse impact on land and fauna).

 

I'm also wondering which ship will be replacing Midnatsol in Norway during that time? Maybe the return of Nordstjernen? ;)

According to the 2018-2019 catalogue, MS Spitsbergen will take over for the Midnatsol in Norway..if I read the page #65 (USA Brochure) correctly.

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  • 1 month later...
Hi, we booked for 23rd October departure of midnatsol from monte video, Uruguay! We will be in Puerto madryn on 25th and 26th. We would like to take punta tombo full day tour from expedia. The ship is not offering anything similar. Likewise we will be in port Stanley on 30th October and are interested in taking a tour to pioneer point for king penguins and also other types of penguins, with a guide named Patrick watts from adventure Falklands! We want some more people to join in these tours along with us as we may bargain the price as well as can make friends and enjoy the rest of the tour! Happy cruising and happy white continent ;):):D

 

We are also on this cruise. How can I contact you?

Judy

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We are also on this cruise. How can I contact you?

Judy

 

Here is the link for Roll Calls for 'All other lines' (not the major cruise lines):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72

 

And here is the link for one of the threads within that, which might be for your cruise (October 22nd or 23rd?? the other thread shows the 22nd):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2529917

 

A major advantage of posting there is that you are more likely to find others on your specific cruise.

For general questions or excursion info, here is great (as is the Northern Europe Ports of Call).

 

But to try to make arrangements with others on your exact cruise, you might want to be sure to post on the Roll Call.

 

(Alas, CC doesn't have a Hurtigruten specific Roll Call section, which would make all of this a lot easier - both for shared info and for Roll Call meetings and such. Maybe as Hurtigruten keeps adding ships... CC will annoint them with their own Roll Calls :) )

 

As for "how to contact", because CC doesn't have PM enabled, you could include an email address within your post (either regular e-address, or some CC-specific version that is somewhat anonymized, as we do in our "signature" area below).

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hi, we booked for 23rd October departure of midnatsol from monte video, Uruguay! We will be in Puerto madryn on 25th and 26th. We would like to take punta tombo full day tour from expedia. The ship is not offering anything similar. Likewise we will be in port Stanley on 30th October and are interested in taking a tour to pioneer point for king penguins and also other types of penguins, with a guide named Patrick watts from adventure Falklands! We want some more people to join in these tours along with us as we may bargain the price as well as can make friends and enjoy the rest of the tour! Happy cruising and happy white continent ;):):D

We are interested in same tours

Please contact me

Vardaadar@bellsouth.net

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  • 4 weeks later...
Hi, we booked for 23rd October departure of midnatsol from monte video, Uruguay! We will be in Puerto madryn on 25th and 26th. We would like to take punta tombo full day tour from expedia. The ship is not offering anything similar. Likewise we will be in port Stanley on 30th October and are interested in taking a tour to pioneer point for king penguins and also other types of penguins, with a guide named Patrick watts from adventure Falklands! We want some more people to join in these tours along with us as we may bargain the price as well as can make friends and enjoy the rest of the tour! Happy cruising and happy white continent ;):):D

 

 

Hi

We are interested in joining these tours, however there is no information as to the arrival and departure of these ports.

We will be at the NH Hotel on the 22nd

Varda and Moshe Adar

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