Northeast to Northwest passage??

[cruising cockroach]

18 minutes ago, gogo65 said:

Thanks Ill check them out, Ive been doing a few google searches looking for some videos, and haven’t come across very much

 

I'll try to dig up the name of the 2 French one tomorrow.

 

Here's something about the CXL of the 2 N pssage transits in 2018.

 

Heavy ice halted Northwest Passage trips for Ponant pair (seatrade-cruise.com)

 

Remembering the lyrics to this song is a must

 

Edited March 28, 2022 by cruising cockroach

[gogo65]

CC, they could potentially cancel the cruise and just reposition via the Panama Canal, but thats some serious $$ to lose, being one of their big ticket cruises.

I’d be OK to do the Baffin Bay and Greenland area as long as they got us to Seattle.

If they did the NW passage the cruise after ours could easily be changed to an Alaskan cruise and then continue down to Japan as planned, although if they went via the Panama Canal, I suppose they would continue across to Japan (but then is Japan going to be open by then??)

Too many options, but no doubt $$$ will impact the decisions!

[cruising cockroach]

Who knows?  I will try my plan A of trying to get a NW passage cruise on the cheap.  I think Ponant ould do a NW Passage though it is a few days shorter than the other cruise.  It looks like the ice pack is among the thinnest on record so it might be possible.

[gogo65]

https://www.abercrombiekent.com/tours/luxury-expedition-cruises/2022/the-northwest-passage-from-greenland-to-the-bering-sea#datesandprices

 

This one is leaving a few days beforehand, not sure how the prices compare?

[gogo65]

8 minutes ago, cruising cockroach said:

Who knows?  I will try my plan A of trying to get a NW passage cruise on the cheap.  I think Ponant ould do a NW Passage though it is a few days shorter than the other cruise.  It looks like the ice pack is among the thinnest on record so it might be possible.

The normal NW passage cruises leave from Kangerlussuaq or Reykjavik so they will need an additional day at least leaving from Tromso.

[cruising cockroach]

2 minutes ago, gogo65 said:

https://www.abercrombiekent.com/tours/luxury-expedition-cruises/2022/the-northwest-passage-from-greenland-to-the-bering-sea#datesandprices

 

This one is leaving a few days beforehand, not sure how the prices compare?

 

Pretty much the same (cost and time) as the Sept NW passage cruise on Le Commadant Charcot from Rejkavik.  Maybe 5% cheaper because it isn't on Le Charcot (it's on L'Austral).

[cruising cockroach]

7 minutes ago, gogo65 said:

The normal NW passage cruises leave from Kangerlussuaq or Reykjavik so they will need an additional day at least leaving from Tromso.

 

Using Google Earth, it would seem the distance from Tromso to the NW passage if going around the north end of Greenland is about 200-250 Km shorter than the distance from Reyjkavik going around the south end!

[gogo65]

1 hour ago, cruising cockroach said:

 

Using Google Earth, it would seem the distance from Tromso to the NW passage if going around the north end of Greenland is about 200-250 Km shorter than the distance from Reyjkavik going around the south end!

Now that could be interesting!

[gogo65]

Asked my TA if he heard anything about itinerary changes, his response 

 

‘They are currently working through the changes to itineraries and we will send you an update as soon as it has been advised by head office.’

 

So nearly 4 weeks later, we have nothing.

CC did you put a room on hold?

[gogo65]

CC, seems something is happening, all of a sudden there is a lot of cabins available.

I’ve been following the capacity for a while and where there was only one available in each category there is now at least 5.

Not sure if it’s a great indication.

[gogo65]

On 3/28/2022 at 4:39 PM, cruising cockroach said:

Who knows?  I will try my plan A of trying to get a NW passage cruise on the cheap.  I think Ponant ould do a NW Passage though it is a few days shorter than the other cruise.  It looks like the ice pack is among the thinnest on record so it might be possible.

CC we have just been notified the cruise will be a NW passage!!!

from my TA:
‘Guest relations have advised this itinerary will now be the North West Passage instead of the North East passage. They are just waiting for formal confirmation and will send the details.’

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by gogo65

[jonikal]

 

 

https://arcticportal.org/maps/download/maps-shipping/2414-northwest-passage-northwest-route-and-sea-ice-conditions

[cruising cockroach]

Any change in fares?  The show I've been watching is The Polar Sea narrated by Gordon Pinsent.  Features lots of renditions of Stan Roger's iconic song.

[gogo65]

2 hours ago, cruising cockroach said:

Any change in fares?  The show I've been watching is The Polar Sea narrated by Gordon Pinsent.  Features lots of renditions of Stan Roger's iconic song.

No not as yet, it is still being sold as a NE passage, assume once the advertising is changed and it is sold as a NW passage prices may increase??

I’ll update as I hear anything.

[gogo65]

New itinerary..

It’s going to cause us a few issues as the disembarkation date is now 5 days later, but will await the official letter with options before making a decision.

However the itinerary looks fantastic with 8 days in Greenland and then the NW passage 

[jpalbny]

Looks like a great itinerary! Hope you can make the new dates work for you!

[gogo65]

So we are doing the North West Passage!

Letter from Ponant received today, options were:

1. Additional 5 days at no charge and an offer to pay any change/cancellation fees or

2. Cancel and receive 10% off any cruise 

(There was no option to transfer to the 2023 North East passage cruise)

 

After a few issues with Singapore airlines we’ve managed to change our return flights.

We had booked business class using points from Seattle to Sydney, I was unable to change the flights online as I was going to lose 220000 points as they had expired, Singapore airlines managed to do it over the phone, they had two business seats from Seattle to Singapore but they didn’t have any business flights available from Singapore to Sydney, they were able to open up two seats in Business for us. The total cost of the change was $44, so very happy with the outcome.

Ive kept an eye on the cabin availability and they have obviously had significant cancellations, as there currently over 50% of cabins available and I expect more will be cancelled over this week (previously close to fully booked), will be interesting if they start advertising it as a 29night North West passage cruise and what happens to the prices.

[Cie]

We were booked and have decided to go now on the NW passage.  Hoping to meet some of you on the ship.  5 extra days at no charge is a great bonus too.  Just had to change hotels in Nome since we decided to stay there 2 nites.  

 

Edited June 17, 2022 by Cie

[gogo65]

On 6/18/2022 at 2:56 AM, Cie said:

We were booked and have decided to go now on the NW passage.  Hoping to meet some of you on the ship.  5 extra days at no charge is a great bonus too.  Just had to change hotels in Nome since we decided to stay there 2 nites.  

 

Hi Cie, We will see you on board,

WE had to change our hotel in Seattle but I had booked free cancellation hotels, so that was easy.

Our only additional charge was a night in Singapore on the way home, but we were happy as we had business class flights booked on points and they were able to transfer them onto another business class flight albeit with the additional night in Singapore.

I did start a roll call and noticed that 10-1 has also confirmed they are going on th cruise.

Maybe we can chat over there..