Trade Wind

Have a look at the stories on this website of what happened on Hurtigruten's attempt to transit the NW Passage on Fram during 2018.  The matter is now the subject of considerable litigation in Europe, Australia and N America.

Beware of potential deceit, and keep an eye on ice forecasts and the success of other cruise ships before you leave home.  Be aware of Hurtigruten's Terms and Conditions: a  "major change" to the itinerary before you leave home entitles you to the option of cancelling and receiving a full refund.  During 2018, passengers were not informed of the "major change" until they were trapped on board.

Hurtigruten's attempt to traverse the NWP (the first time that the company has tried) with Fram in 2018 failed because the passage was blocked by ice.  Hurtigruten must have known of the need to make a "major schedule change"  before the second (eastbound) passengers left the UK, and either knew or reasonably should have known that the passage was impassable before the first (westbound) group left home.  Canadian ice forecasts are freely available and archived.  Other ships ran into difficulties and failed to get through the week before Fram.  This information is also freely available. The situation was ironically summarised by the Norwegian Captain of the Fram who said, “I appreciate that you have paid for a Rolls Royce and received a Lada.”  

Complaints to Hurtigruten both while on board and subsequently have resulted in obfuscation, delay, refusal to meet face-to-face and the offer of derisory compensation not in line with Hurtigruten's own T&Cs.  The matter is now the subject of legal action in the UK, France, Germany and North America. 

Shockingly, having failed to deliver during 2018, Hurtigruten is currently advertising the same, two, mirror image cruises, on the Fram, for August/September 2019, and have “sold out” a new itinerary for a cruise on the MV Roald Amundsen between Alaska and Greenland during the summer of 2019. 

Passengers who have booked berths on these cruises should beware of the likely deceit, ensure that at least part of their payment is made by credit card, and ensure that they have legal cover as part of their travel insurance.  They should be fully aware that no cruise ship has managed to traverse the Northwest Passage without being accompanied by an icebreaker. Neither the Fram nor the Roald Amundsen are icebreakers, whatever the glowing and (to the uninitiated) misleading words used to describe their capabilities in Hurtigruten’s brochures (don't believe me - just look up the actual meaning of their stated ice classifications on Wikipedia!).  

There are many companies other than Hurtigruten which run “expedition cruises”.