paulatsea

We saw whales and other unusual sea things that I can’t remember the names of ! from the ship. And loads of birds. The captain would tell everyone where to look as soon as the bridge had spotted them. most days we saw something especially once past the arctic circle. we saw a polar bear once on the ice from the ship. I think it’s very unlikely you will see one close up as if they are spotted approaching they are chased away for safety reasons. when we tendered at Svalbard we had to wait on the tender for 30 minutes with armed guards as a bear had been spotted ! So the guides and guards make sure you are nowhere near any of them. at least 50% on board guests were wildlife enthusiasts with expensive cameras and red arctic jackets ! Expert Guests speakers / guides also on board. it was unusually warm when we were there - actually above zero. I think most cruises stop at the same places on the way up depending on ship size - smaller is better - I remember north cape being very interesting. if you are going up that way I think it’s best to go all the way to Svalbard rather than just the very north of Norway. if I remember anything else relevant I will post.

We went in June 2017 Balmoral. all the guides and guards we had were Russians - and very good - so I don’t know if that may affect any excursions etc.

Our Guard in Svalbard

But you might not see any bears - not guaranteed- we saw lots of whales. It’s worth going anyway if you can - very special and remote and beautiful.

Yes Spitsbergen is correct - or anywhere in Svalbard area is where the bears live ! We had an armed guard on the excursions in case we were attacked. We paid about £2500 pp but that was about 10 years ago. Fantastic place and great stops on the way up. top of the world.we went in June/July from Liverpool.

Svalbard - I saw a few there - that was on Fred Olsen.

Thanks - any idea why we can’t do this direct ? Myself I mean ?

Ok thanks - I’d prefer to wait until general sale and pay a bit more to get the specific cabin I want (and hope I don’t get moved !)

Yep thanks - I was looking at the mini suites in particular - but we like to have the TV at the end of the bed - so will stick with normal or deluxe balcony !! May sound sad - but that’s us !!!

Also - advice please from those who have booked pre general release before - do the prices change much between now and the general release ? the suite prices look tempting as well !

Ok thanks - so at some stage you can go back into the booking and then select the cabin ?

November 24 is about 1300 for 13 nights select price Aurora and about 1600 for 16 nights select price Arcadia - both to canaries and both deluxe balcony price looks good to me especially for 2 years time - I would book If I could select my cabin. this is with peninsula and previous customer discount and with parking or a measly 60pp spend !

Just looked at the 2024 ones . Arcadia and Aurora Canaries Select price does not give the option to choose a cabin number even though the link to choose your cabin is there - note says to the effect “on a guaranteed fare you chose your cabin type and we will allocate the cabin number” Any idea why this is ? Is this a new change to select price cabin booking options ?

Thanks for another great trip report - I hope you do the Fred around the world in 80 days so we can come with you !! best wishes. Paul

Great Blog - thanks again. Have you got another trip booked or planned ?

Will be interested in your feedback dude - bon voyage.

Glad it’s going well.

Open top bus is a great trip.

Mine always used to turn everything off I’m sure ! Apple says When you turn on Airplane Mode, it turns off all radios except for Bluetooth. If you turn off Bluetooth while you're in Airplane Mode, your device will remember the next time you turn on Airplane Mode. I think because last time I used airplane mode on board I switched Bluetooth and WiFi back on - and it remembered !!! Anyway as you said only cellular really matters

Just checked picsa - default is cellular only but if you then manually also turn off WiFi and or Bluetooth it will remember you have done this and incorporate into airplane mode next time you use it. you are correct - I didn’t realise this . Just looked it up . Thanks for correcting

Thanks picsa - just checked iOS remembers if you also manually switched off wifi and or Bluetooth last time you used airplane mode and it will switch these off as well next time you use airplane mode. But you are correct the default now is cellular only - I didn’t know that.

sorry if already mentioned. When Flight mode is turned on you need to switch WiFi on to use the ship WiFi and the onboard website. So turn flight mode on - this switches everything off - then next turn only your wifi on. This way mobile data etc is all off and only WiFi is on. I have Vodafone and 4G mobile data and calls when docked is not usually expensive - about £2/day but you can buy weekly package. My contract includes EU roaming.

We did the toboggans once. Scraping slowly down a road. I wouldn’t recommend it. cable car was good.

Us too.

My mistake - sorry I didn’t realise they did this .