Hurtigruten – Cashback, Rebates & Rewards

Ich schreibe hier wegen der vielen negativen Bewertungen, die mich verunsichert hatten nach der Buchung. Es war eine ganz tolle Reise, die alle Erwartungen erfüllt hat. Hervorragend regionale Küche, und vor allem: ganz wunderbar freundliches und hilfsbereites Personal, in allen Bereichen. Eine rundum gute Erfahrung. Meine Reise war mit der MS Nordlys Ende März.

Expedition Otto Sverdrup Wir waren im Dezember auf der Reise Hamburg und zurück unterwegs. Eine phantastische Reise. Wir hatten eine Suite, die sehr gemütlich war. Die ganze Reise und die Crew waren klasse. Das Essen im Lindström, für die Suite Gäste inclusive, hat sich überhaupt nicht gelohnt. Ansonsten war alles ok. Die Antwortfreundlichkeit und Zuverlässig von Hurtigrute ist sehr sehr langsam. Ansonsten alles völlig überteuert.

Ich habe mich sehr wohl gefühlt auf der Richard With. Leider wurde unsere Reise aufgrund techn. Schwierigkeiten um 2 Tage gekürzt, die haben uns sehr gefehlt. Als wir dann auf dem Schiff waren hat die Erholung angefangen. Das Essen ist hervorragend, die Mannschaft so aufmerksam und immer freundlich, man konnte sich sehr wohl fühlen. Ich würde es sofort wieder buchen!

Jetzt, wo seit 2 Tagen wieder zu Hause, poste ich noch ein paar Impressionen einer unvergessbaren und in dieser Art so schnell nicht wiederholbaren Reise in die Antarktis. Im Moment geht es mir wie auf dem Schiff: ich weiß nicht so recht womit ich beginnen soll. Auf dem Schiff wußten wir teilweise nicht, ob wir nach Backbord zu den jagenden Orcas oder nach Steuerbord zu den die Kajaks umrundenden Minkwales schauen sollten. So war es mit den vier Robben und Pinguinarten - die wir sehen durften. Zum Teil aus fünf Metern Entfernung. Aber es war nicht nur die Fauna die begeisterte, es waren die im rot-gelben Abendlicht der untergehenden Sonne aufblitzenden, wie an einer Perlenschnur aufgereiht, hintereinander langsam treibenden riesigen Eisberge, das Rot des Morgenhimmels morgens um halb fünf von Nike Harbor, die Farben von weiß bis leuchtend blau der Gletscher und Eisberge... Und dann der Weltrekord. Am 22.Februar 2023 72 Degrees South - soweit war bisher noch kein Schiff in den Southern Ocean vorgedrungen. MS Roald Amundsen: ein Hybrid Expeditions- Schiff. Dank dem Kapitän und der gesamten Crew des Schiffes und dem Expedition Leiter "Yibo from the Bridge" mit seinem Team von Wissenschaftlern. Ohne dieses fantastische Team und die Spontanität zur Änderung der Route in ein Gebiet wo keiner bisher war und wußte, wo genau angelandet werden kann hätten wir diese Impressionen so unique nicht gehabt. Danke für ein wahrscheinlich für viele Jahre einmaliges Erlebnis. Eigentlich 10 Sterne für Hurtigruten.

We were on the Fridtjof Nansen Antarctic Circle Expedition from February 7 to 23, 2023. The ship usually carries 500 passengers, but there were fewer than 300 people on our trip. The cruise included one night in Buenos Aires before taking a charter flight to Ushuaia. They tell you that you are allowed a checked bag weighing 50 pounds and a carry on weighing 17 pounds. They did not weight our luggage going to Ushuaia, but they did weight it when we were returning. We had a few hours in Ushuaia; enough time for lunch and to visit a few of the many souvenir shops. They took us on a bus ride (“city tour”) along the two streets that make up the downtown. Everything in Ushuaia closes at 1:00 p.m. We spent 2 ½ days on the Drake Passage because we headed straight for the Antarctic Circle. The waves were at about 6 feet. Most people onboard did not have a problem handling this. We saw some spectacular sights. We saw hundreds of penguins and three types of seals. The ship had to stop twice, once for over an hour, because whales had surrounded the ship. The glaciers were incredible and there were plenty of glaciers to see. It turns out that some of the places where we went were uncharted. They did not tell us this until we were on our way back to Argentina. We made several landings on the barrier islands that surround the Antarctic Peninsula. We also landed at Red Rock Ridge; the only landing made on the actual continent. Certificates are given for everything: crossing the Antarctic Circle, participating in the Polar Plunge, camping on the continent, and kayaking. I was hoping that we would stop at the bar at the Ukrainian research base and the post office at Port Lockroy, but we did not. The staff from Port Lockroy came onboard and did a presentation and sold souvenirs. The post office closes for the season around March 1st, so we just made it. Hurtigruten sold postcards and stamps onboard for over $7 per postcard. The Port Lockroy people took the postcards with them. I got the impression that there really wasn’t a plan and that our stops were decided on a day by day basis. We sailed past some places more than one time and we sailed in circles on more than one occasions. They were probably looking for interesting places to show us. Most of the travelers were not from the US. We like to know what the plan is, even if the plan has to change. We don’t deal well with “we’ll let you know”. Most of the time we didn’t know what we were going to do until 15 minutes before it happened. The trip really was spectacular. I’m glad that we decided to take the longer cruise which had more days in Antarctica and crossed the Antarctic Circle. There was a landing, which usually took place in the morning, and cruising in the zodiac, usually in the afternoon, planned for each day. On the way back across the Drake Passage, the waves were at around 20 feet. The ship has stabilizers and I could not tell that the waves were this high. The food onboard was hit or miss. Dinners were either spectacular or reminiscent of dinner at a Sizzler’s. The hashbrowns at breakfast looked like they had recooked the same patty every day for two weeks. I was on vacation for 24 days and lost weight. But for the fact that the bread and the ice cream were wonderful, I probably would have lost more weight. After 2 weeks at sea the vegetables looked long in the tooth. The ship has a well-stocked bar and the drinks start at 8 euro. The weather was not really that cold; it gets colder in Atlanta. The wind could be brutal though. At one point it was so windy on the top deck that I could not inhale. There was a storm on our first day inside the Antarctic Circle and a landing was canceled once because of the size of the waves. We still did the cruising that day and we did get wet while in the zodiac, and it was cold. I was glad that I packed two of everything: two ski pants, two sets of thermals, two sets of ski gloves, two sets of glove liners and two gators. I took hunting socks and merino wool socks that I bought at Costco. I tried using the merino socks once and then went back to the hunting socks and sock liners. I bought a 35L dry bag because I had read that it was a good idea. The rules that apply to Antarctica do not allow you to sit on the ground or to place anything on the ground; including the 35L bag. It is hard to use a 35L bag if you cannot place it on the ground. I wish I had brought a 10L bag instead. I brought the plastic bag that hangs around your neck for my cell phone. The saltwater left spots on the bag and made it useless. There are rubber leashes for cell phones that make more sense. One woman did lose her cell phone over the side of the zodiac. It can be a bumpy ride.