So Many Questions!

[Fighterone]

We are leaving out of Miami on MS Roald Amundsen in less than 2 weeks and information concerning life on board is just so hard to find.

 

The itinerary is from Miami to Panama via, Belize, Columbia. 

 

Could someone  help answer a few questions? 

 

What is the dress code for evening? Are there elegant nights?

 

Can one bring wine/liquor on board? 

 

Is bottled water such as Pellegrino available or is it strictly ship water?

 

Is the menu typically Norwegian or American?

 

Anyone willing to post menus other than vegan. I saw that one. 

 

What else can you tell us?

 

TIA

 

[Devonian]

We returned from Alaska three weeks ago after an excellent 18 days on Roald Amundsen from Vancouver to Nome. We loved the ship!

 

 You will find answers to most questions on this webpage;  https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-gb/expeditions/practical-information/ships/roald-amundsen/?_hrgb=3

 

Based on our recent experience there is no dress code other than practical/comfortable clothing. No formal nights - although some people dressed up just a little for the Lindstrom “fine dining” restaurant. 
 

You’re not permitted to bring wine or liquor onboard - but house wine (changed daily) is included with lunch and dinner and generously refilled. Bar prices are reasonable by UK standards. Pellegrino sparkling water was provided in our cabin mini-bar and is available to purchase on board. 
 

Menus are rather more Norwegian than American, with lots of fish, rather few green vegetables and beetroot with virtually every dish. All good quality ingredients, attractive presentation and appropriately small portions. Breakfast and lunch buffets offered good choice and we liked the all day dining restaurant, Fredheim, offering comfort food like burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and shakes to eat in or takeaway. 
 

Wishing you a great cruise…

[Fighterone]

Thank you, most helpful!

[Love The Villages]

On 9/18/2022 at 6:00 AM, Devonian said:

We returned from Alaska three weeks ago after an excellent 18 days on Roald Amundsen from Vancouver to Nome. We loved the ship!

 

 You will find answers to most questions on this webpage;  https://www.hurtigruten.com/en-gb/expeditions/practical-information/ships/roald-amundsen/?_hrgb=3

 

Based on our recent experience there is no dress code other than practical/comfortable clothing. No formal nights - although some people dressed up just a little for the Lindstrom “fine dining” restaurant. 
 

You’re not permitted to bring wine or liquor onboard - but house wine (changed daily) is included with lunch and dinner and generously refilled. Bar prices are reasonable by UK standards. Pellegrino sparkling water was provided in our cabin mini-bar and is available to purchase on board. 
 

Menus are rather more Norwegian than American, with lots of fish, rather few green vegetables and beetroot with virtually every dish. All good quality ingredients, attractive presentation and appropriately small portions. Breakfast and lunch buffets offered good choice and we liked the all day dining restaurant, Fredheim, offering comfort food like burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and shakes to eat in or takeaway. 
 

Wishing you a great cruise…

We are in the process of booking this cruise for 2023.  I can find the included excursions for each stop, but haven't been able to find if there are optional excursions and what those might be.  The "free" excursions listed show 1-2 hrs ea. and that does not fill up a full day.  Do they have enough options to keep you busy at each stop, or do you have to find additional things to do on your own????

 

Thanks for any info you can provide!

[DrivesLikeMario]

How do you book the optional tours?  It says in the fantastic link above (thank you so much for that) that you should book them ASAP but not how to do it.  ??

[soxfan1495]

On 1/2/2023 at 1:33 PM, DrivesLikeMario said:

How do you book the optional tours?  It says in the fantastic link above (thank you so much for that) that you should book them ASAP but not how to do it.  ??

When onboard, you are given info about downloading an app into your iPhone.  You book optional excursions (and certain dining options) using the app. We are on the Amundsen now and have indicated an interest in two optional excursions- kayaking and snowshoeing.  The other optional excursion is an overnight camping excursion.  A lottery is apparently done to determine which optional excursions you are able to do.  Since we are only at the beginning of our cruise, we don’t know yet which optional excursions we will go on.  The app is easy to use.

[DrivesLikeMario]

1 hour ago, soxfan1495 said:

When onboard, you are given info about downloading an app into your iPhone.  You book optional excursions (and certain dining options) using the app. We are on the Amundsen now and have indicated an interest in two optional excursions- kayaking and snowshoeing.  The other optional excursion is an overnight camping excursion.  A lottery is apparently done to determine which optional excursions you are able to do.  Since we are only at the beginning of our cruise, we don’t know yet which optional excursions we will go on.  The app is easy to use.

Thank you so much!  Very helpful!

[edhopper]

Going on the Amundsen Feb 14, Antarctic Circle and have some questions. 

 

1. What to wear on board. I know it's casual, but is the ship chilly inside. Do we need a sweater or polarfleece vest when going to eat?

 

2. Internet? How much is does it cost, and is it good for email and web searches through the trip?

 

3. Sunscreen? Is there restrictions on the type of sunscreen we can use due to environmental concerns.

 

Thanks, I am sure I'll have more.

Edited January 6, 2023 by edhopper

[miklinga]

Edhopper, 

We were on the Fram in December, so my reply may not be perfect for the Amundsen.  The dress was casual all day and only a few people changed for dinner except to remove rain pants and parka.  It was not chilly on the Fram except sometimes in the Explorer Lounge in the evenings and on deck (of course).  During the day it was warm throughout the ship.

  

Internet was included in the cruise fare.  We had good to OK internet almost all the time.  Sometimes it was slow, but we were both able to upload pictures and send them on facebook from a netbook, tablet and phone (if the number of pictures was not large).  One day in Antarctica I was able to post 10 pictures at one time within 2 minutes on my phone.  Another day it took 30 minutes using the netbook.  Some folks got more agrevated than we did.

 

Nothing was said about the sunscreen that I recall. The biggest biosecurity was our boots being cleaned before and after each landing.  They will issue boots for use and take the cleaning very seriously. We stepped through virkon disinfectant going onshore and upon returning to the ship.  On some days we also had to go through the "guano-matic" that scrubbed the outside of the boots.  We also needed to keep the tread on our boots clean between excursions using a large bent paperclip and/or brushes that are available.  There is an issue with bird flu and they needed to keep foreign seeds and soil from contaminating the wildlife. 

 

I hope your cruise is as memorable as ours was.

 

Safe travels, 

Mike and Linda

 

 

[AlanCruise]

Just returned from Roald Amundsen.  On board is warmish, no need for warm clothes to eat.

Internet is free and very good (Uses Starlink). Great for email and Web browsing. There apppear to be some restrictions. e.g. for some cloud storage and video streaming, but you can access Youtube and we managed a couple of Facebook messenger video calls.  It was always available, even in the middle of the ocean.

No restrictions on sun screen. There will be a session to vacum your outer clothing to remove any seeds or similar. You have to wear there boots when going ashore in Antarctica.

[edhopper]

Thanks for the responses Alan and miklinga.

 

This question might be far afield, but did exchange exchange for "Blue Dollars" in Argentina? If so, how did you change your money?

[AlanCruise]

I looked at the options for the Blue Dollar (this is the tourist type rate which is much better than the official rate) and took some dollar bills for this purpose.
However we found that just before we went (Over Christmas) that the non argentina credit cards had started giving better rates and in the end just used the cards and the slightly better rate for cash wasn't worth the effort (we were only there for two overnights)

Visa card rate as of today is listed as 310 Peso to the USD (the rates we saw in shops were typically 350).  Mastercard lists a rate similar to the official rate and that is the initial exchange, but a few days later we got a partial refund (can't work out the actual rate as forgotten the original peso price) but similar to visa rate.

 

Apparently the best rates are got by using Western Union to do a transfer to yourself and pick up in Argentina but you have to find a Western Union location. We didn't try this.

[edhopper]

Thanks. Looks like using a Visa card and getting pesos with Western Union is best.

[edhopper]

Another question. We both have good sunglasses. (I have Ray Bans) do we need to buy ski goggles or is that overkill?

[soxfan1495]

2 hours ago, edhopper said:

Another question. We both have good sunglasses. (I have Ray Bans) do we need to buy ski goggles or is that overkill?

I don’t think you need ski goggles.  At least on this cruise (1/3-1/13), sun glasses are sufficient.  Goggles might be nice when on a zodiac if it is raining or snowing, but still, it seems to me, not necessary.

[soxfan1495]

On 1/4/2023 at 5:26 PM, soxfan1495 said:

When onboard, you are given info about downloading an app into your iPhone.  You book optional excursions (and certain dining options) using the app. We are on the Amundsen now and have indicated an interest in two optional excursions- kayaking and snowshoeing.  The other optional excursion is an overnight camping excursion.  A lottery is apparently done to determine which optional excursions you are able to do.  Since we are only at the beginning of our cruise, we don’t know yet which optional excursions we will go on.  The app is easy to use.

Just to update my earlier comments:  we were able to do both the snowshoeing and kayaking excursions.  Still two days left in Antarctica before starting the return via Drake Passage.  With excursions, it all depends on weather and ice conditions, so we were lucky.  In any event,  both excursions were fantastic.  While kayaking, we were surrounded by whales and penguins:  probably the highlight of our trip!

[AlanCruise]

I took goggles and used them a couple of times. Once on the zodiac when a bit rough and spray was coming in. Second time on land when it was getting windy and wet!

If you have some take them.

[edhopper]

What is the laundry situation? Is there only the paid service through the ship, or is there self service laundry on board. What are the costs?

Thanks

[AlanCruise]

No self service laundry,  there is a paid service (free if you are in a suite). I have no information on price.

We did some hand washing in the sink and the heated bathroom floor makes a good drying system.
 

[edhopper]

Our cruise is the second half of February,  I know there is still a lot of daylight, but is there a chance to see the Southern Lights?

[edhopper]

Pesos in Argentina? What about getting from the airport. We have the Western Union account set up, and we get the Blue exchange rate with our Visa. But don't we need cash when we arrive to take a taxi from the airport? The rates we can get in the US are bad, 160 ARS to the dollar. Do we get $50 - $100 anyway, so we have cash on arrival. Or do we exchange at EZE?

How do you all deal with this?

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 hours ago, edhopper said:

Pesos in Argentina? What about getting from the airport. We have the Western Union account set up, and we get the Blue exchange rate with our Visa. But don't we need cash when we arrive to take a taxi from the airport? The rates we can get in the US are bad, 160 ARS to the dollar. Do we get $50 - $100 anyway, so we have cash on arrival. Or do we exchange at EZE?

How do you all deal with this?

Use Uber.  That goes to your US credit card in pesos and you get the wholesale exchange rate.  We've been using for two days now in Buenos Aires – quick pickups, good rates [recommended by hotel bellman].  Credit cards accepted everywhere.  Only need for cash so far would have been the tip at a restaurant [Buenos Aires custom – bill can go on CC, but tip must be cash], so we just left US bills.

[edhopper]

Are there any extra baggage restrictions for the flight to Ushuaia? We will each have a checked bag under 23kg and a carry on. Plus a person shoulder, messenger type bag. This is how we normally travel.