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Uncomfortable experience on Roald Amundsen


Catamarca
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We very much looked forward to our trip on the Roald Amundsen as it went along the Alaska coast on its maiden voyage, but were quite disappointed.   The staff and expedition team were fine.  But the experience was not.  The dining room was very congested, and there were various odd dishes served without any explanation.  Cauliflower panna cotta?  Tilstorte Bondepiker?  You needed a computer to research these...Layout of the buffet created tremendous bottle necks.  And forget any wine package...you might ask for a glass of the wine you had purchased and wait for 30 minutes for it to arrive...

 

The auditorium was a poorly arranged room, with no incline to make it easier to see the screen.  Sit in the back and view the smaller screen...

 

Occupants of "suites" were able to eat in the Lindstrom restaurant without additional charge.  Travelers in the "staterooms" had to pay extra, and hope for a reservation, when tired of the main dining room and its limited dinner menus.  "Non-suite" travelers were also the last off the ship on the tenders to visit ports.   And they are not eligible for room service, probably reasonable given the lack of space for any dining in the room.

 

There were many problems with the pre-cruise arrangements and the disembarkment.  Would say more but suffice it to say that I won't book this ship again!

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I’m not surprised you were disappointed. We are on an Antarctica trip in January and hoping that as it’s quite a while since your Arctic trip, things will have improved. Could you eat in the Freidheim restaurant?

 

We were cancelled from this trip last January so have been waiting for this cruise for a very long time but due to poor reviews we have lost our enthusiasm!

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We're on Hurtigruten for Antarctica and appreciate the warning about staterooms.   We did not pay for the suite experience.  

However, for Alaska, the Holland America Maasdam has adopted the model with zodiacs and naturalists.  

One can have the comforts of a regular cruise ship while getting up close....or not.    We just came off the Maasdam in Australia.  Loved the lectures....did not participate in the zodiacs but those who did liked them.

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50 minutes ago, HokiePoq said:

We're on Hurtigruten for Antarctica and appreciate the warning about staterooms.   We did not pay for the suite experience.  

However, for Alaska, the Holland America Maasdam has adopted the model with zodiacs and naturalists.  

One can have the comforts of a regular cruise ship while getting up close....or not.    We just came off the Maasdam in Australia.  Loved the lectures....did not participate in the zodiacs but those who did liked them.

 

Don't forget that on the maasdam zodiac seating is limited and has to be payed for seperately. And it is not cheap. They have a couple of zodiacs versus aproximately 1300 passengers.

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24 minutes ago, jakkojakko said:

 

Don't forget that on the maasdam zodiac seating is limited and has to be payed for seperately. And it is not cheap. They have a couple of zodiacs versus aproximately 1300 passengers.

Yes, you do have to pay as for other excursions.  There were other things we wanted to do more so we didn't go on any.  They have at least four though that the naturalists took out at each port.     

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On 11/27/2019 at 5:53 AM, jakkojakko said:

 

Don't forget that on the maasdam zodiac seating is limited and has to be payed for seperately. And it is not cheap. They have a couple of zodiacs versus aproximately 1300 passengers.

On Hurtigruten's Midnatsol we didn't have to pay extra for the zodiacs (which are actually a different brand but the same).

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7 hours ago, clo said:

On Hurtigruten's Midnatsol we didn't have to pay extra for the zodiacs (which are actually a different brand but the same).

Correct. On proper expedition cruise ships zodiac's are always included. HAL's Maasdam however is a normal 1300 pax cruise ship that ,as of recent, has some zodiac's that come under the normal excursion package and have to be payed for. It is more of a gimmick and does not come close to the real expedition cruise.

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5 hours ago, jakkojakko said:

Correct. On proper expedition cruise ships zodiac's are always included. HAL's Maasdam however is a normal 1300 pax cruise ship that ,as of recent, has some zodiac's that come under the normal excursion package and have to be payed for. It is more of a gimmick and does not come close to the real expedition cruise.

I had wondered if the treaty allowed larger ships to send pax out in zodiacs as long as they don't go ashore.  Or other things? This shows how close we were to wildlife.

 

IMG_6342.JPG

IMG_6372.JPG

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Nice pictures! 

I did both expedition and normal cruises to Antarctica and the polar region. 

In antarctica the rule is no more than 100 passengers ashore at any one time. Also only one ship at the time in the landing bays.

Touring in zodiac's is allowed. Using tenders is definitely not allowed. So the big ships just do drive by cruising. 

For me the best way is to use a ship with maximum 100 passengers. In that way you will get two to three landings each, in different spots per day. 

Did a hurtigruten ms Spitsbergen svalbard expedition with roughly 180 passengers. This meant doing landings in two shifts and that meant only one landing per day.

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On 12/1/2019 at 5:21 AM, jakkojakko said:

Correct. On proper expedition cruise ships zodiac's are always included. HAL's Maasdam however is a normal 1300 pax cruise ship that ,as of recent, has some zodiac's that come under the normal excursion package and have to be payed for. It is more of a gimmick and does not come close to the real expedition cruise.

 

Agreed, we were on the same cruise as Nancy and out of 80 days I think they actually launched the zodiacs round 8 times with passengers.  The standard zodiac tour was floating over reefs with glass tubes that gave a view of the fish, kind of like a hand held mini glass bottom boat.  They did have qualified naturalists driving so the talking may have been good.  I asked the cruise director why they so seldom used the zodiacs and was told they are only licensed in selected areas.  

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On 12/1/2019 at 5:21 AM, jakkojakko said:

Correct. On proper expedition cruise ships zodiac's are always included. HAL's Maasdam however is a normal 1300 pax cruise ship that ,as of recent, has some zodiac's that come under the normal excursion package and have to be payed for. It is more of a gimmick and does not come close to the real expedition cruise.

My point was that OP seemed to prefer a regular cruise ship experience which one gets on the Maasdam.   I am booked on the Midnatsol  and just got off the Maasdam recently and know the difference.    A regular cruise ship wouldn't be landing in Antarctica but could send out the zodiacs in Alaska quite easily which is where the OP was cruising.

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I will never take a maiden voyage again on any cruise line. Many of these end up being "shake down" cruises, and the crew is often overwhelmed with the new procedures, passenger reports of problems, etc. I'll let others help them work out the kinks, and then take a later cruise when things are running smoother.

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6 hours ago, HokiePoq said:

My point was that OP seemed to prefer a regular cruise ship experience which one gets on the Maasdam.   I am booked on the Midnatsol  and just got off the Maasdam recently and know the difference.    A regular cruise ship wouldn't be landing in Antarctica but could send out the zodiacs in Alaska quite easily which is where the OP was cruising.

We were on Midnatsol in Antarctica almost two years ago and it was the trip of a lifetime. But if you're expecting a 'regular' (whatever that is) experience you'll likely be disappointed.  We ADORED it.

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29 minutes ago, clo said:

We were on Midnatsol in Antarctica almost two years ago and it was the trip of a lifetime. But if you're expecting a 'regular' (whatever that is) experience you'll likely be disappointed.  We ADORED it.

No, I am not expecting a regular cruise ship experience.  I am expecting an expeditionary ship that is larger than most.   So glad to hear that you adored your trip.   Would love to hear more about it.  

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