Back from a great time on the Fram

I'm going to try to find time to write a short trip report - hopefully without too much delay - but if anyone has any questions in the meantime let me know.

We had an AMAZING time and loved loved loved everything about this trip. The Fram was lovely - the crew, ship decor, food - everything exceeded expectations in every way. The landings were so much fun. Time on the ship when not doing landings was very full - tons of lectures, films, etc.

We thought this was once in a lifetime trip but we have the polar bug and need to go back - hopefully soon!

hehehe I see you too fell for the ole "once in a lifetime trip" thing!!

At the point that you start meeting people on the ships on their 22nd trips you realise there is no such thing as "once" !!

Looking forward to your full trip report :)

Looking forward to your impressions from your trip.

Looking forward to your impressions from your trip.

Ditto!

I'm going to try to find time to write a short trip report - hopefully without too much delay - but if anyone has any questions in the meantime let me know.

 

We had an AMAZING time and loved loved loved everything about this trip. The Fram was lovely - the crew, ship decor, food - everything exceeded expectations in every way. The landings were so much fun. Time on the ship when not doing landings was very full - tons of lectures, films, etc.

 

We thought this was once in a lifetime trip but we have the polar bug and need to go back - hopefully soon!

Hello dear Sparky333,

I am looking forward to your report. We are considering the MS Fram for the end of this year. It would be our first time in Antartica. We are looking at hte Classic Expedition . Question for you regarding the landings:

1. Are the LANDINGS included in price? Or do we have to pay separately?

2. How many landings did you do? I know they are depending on the weather.

3. What type of entertainment activities do they have at night?

Thank you,

Hi drblue --

here's where my trip report is

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1565960

Or if you just scroll down the Antarctica posts it's maybe the 10th down in the list.

The classic expedition is what we did also - the # of landings will vary depending on weather but pretty much we did two a day. And they are included in the price of the trip. There was one extra excursion offered while we were at sea -- that was just a polar cirkel cruise not an actual landing - and it cost maybe $190. I didn't take that.

The only other excursions that you would pay for are ones they offer before or after sailing in either Buenos Aires or Ushuaia. But all the actual landings have no extra fee.

At night -- after dinner we would go to the lookout lounge and have a cocktail, chat with friends we made on the cruise, etc. It was daylight almost 24 hrs so we really would lose track of time and suddenly realize it was close to midnight and we better hurry up and get to bed since we were getting up early every day.

There was not much in the way of entertainment besides some of the crew modeling clothes available in the gift shop (sounds awful but it was actually cute) and one night the dining/housekeeping staff did a variety show where some sang, some danced - there was fruit and ice carving one night. Not super exciting but little things to watch for a bit each night.

Also one night (maybe more than once?) they showed a movie after dinner. Oh and I think usually there was a meeting each night to tell you what to expect the next day.

Our days were very full - lots of lectures and lots of eating in between landings! And I found time to use the fitness center which was very nice and had a good amount of equipment. There is also a sauna and 2 outdoor hot tubs that are open when seas aren't too rough.

My trip report might give you more of an idea of what day to day life was like on the Fram. We loved it and would take another Antarctic cruise in a heartbeat! :)

Let me know if you have other questions.

Leslie

Thanks for the great trip report. I found it very informative and interesting