PA II 6/22/10 Arctic Cruise Review

[Mike2131]

I just submitted an indepth review (don't know when it will post), but I can sum up the experience in one word - Incredible! From the wildlife and scenery to the crew and Expedition Staff to the entire shipboard experience we cannot recommend this cruise and Silversea highly enough.

 

I will be glad to answer any questions you might have.

[rojaan19]

I just submitted an indepth review (don't know when it will post),

 

 

OK I am waiting patiently .....

[Mike2131]

I need to correct one critical spelling error on my part. In reference to the professional photographer's wonderful video/photo compilation, I typed "I would be surprised if anyone filed to purchase a copy". What I meant to type was "...failed to purchase a copy". It was a spectacular reminder of our wonderful experiences during the cruise.

[rojaan19]

Hi Michael,

 

Excellent review ! We are also expecting a trip of a lifetime.

 

We are staying in the same hotels as you did, the Radisson Blu at Oslo airport and Longyearbyen. Getting to the hotel at Longyearbyen are there plenty of taxis at the airport ?? or did the hotel have a shuttle bus ?

 

Another question, on the boat were there any early starts ? and could you have breakfast in your room, was that an option ?

 

Ann

[Mike2131]

Hi Michael,

 

Excellent review ! We are also expecting a trip of a lifetime.

 

We are staying in the same hotels as you did, the Radisson Blu at Oslo airport and Longyearbyen. Getting to the hotel at Longyearbyen are there plenty of taxis at the airport ?? or did the hotel have a shuttle bus ?

 

Another question, on the boat were there any early starts ? and could you have breakfast in your room, was that an option ?

 

Ann

Hi Ann:

 

I tried to strike a balance between enough detail and too much. Questions usually are the easiest for filling in the gaps.

 

There are very few taxis in Longyearbyen so sharing makes the most sense. They all seemed to be vans and would haul 4-5 people with luggage. There is no shuttle bus from the Radisson.

 

We did have 1 or 2 early starts (one morning @ 7:00) depending on what Zodiac group you were in. We had 4 groups - 2 for the German speaking passengers and 2 for the English speaking. They would alternate who went ashore first so some mornings you might be the early group (early breakfast and out) and other mornings you would be the late group. Then you could have a more leasurely breakfast, perhaps hear a lecture, and then take off. Sometimes only one of the sub-groups (for instance 1 and then 2) would go because there would be a limit on the number of passengers who were allowed on shore at a time. This was the case at the Walrus haul-outs (only 30 guests at a time) so we did not stress the animals.

 

We never had room service, but I think there were guests who sometimes took breakfast in their cabins.

[Aussieflyer]

Hi Mike2131

We are on the 22 August sailing from Tromso to Reykjavik - can't wait. A couple of questions (thanks Ann for yours as well and also the answers). It was suggested that a trekking pole would be useful. Did you have one or see others with one? In your opinion is one pole enough or would a pair be better? Did you have any problems with battery life for cameras etc with the cold conditions? I am wondering if we need to buy extra batteries for the cameras and video.

A great report - hope we have the same success with wildlife viewing.

Jenny

[jpalbny]

I just submitted an indepth review (don't know when it will post), but I can sum up the experience in one word - Incredible! From the wildlife and scenery to the crew and Expedition Staff to the entire shipboard experience we cannot recommend this cruise and Silversea highly enough.

 

I will be glad to answer any questions you might have.

 

Glad to hear that you had a wonderful time!

 

We enjoyed our Antarctica trip so much that we're booked on PA II for the Arctic next year. Your review makes me sad that I have to wait until next August!

[rojaan19]

Hey Jenny,

 

We bought trekking poles, one each, from kathmandu on sale. And we got great gloves from here

 

http://shop.freehands.com/

 

it is a new york company but we got the gloves in a week, and they are excellent for using your camera - taking photos without taking your gloves off !

 

Oh and we are definitely taking extra camera batteries ... dont want to miss shots of those bears :D

 

Ann

[Mike2131]

Hi Mike2131

We are on the 22 August sailing from Tromso to Reykjavik - can't wait. A couple of questions (thanks Ann for yours as well and also the answers). It was suggested that a trekking pole would be useful. Did you have one or see others with one? In your opinion is one pole enough or would a pair be better? Did you have any problems with battery life for cameras etc with the cold conditions? I am wondering if we need to buy extra batteries for the cameras and video.

A great report - hope we have the same success with wildlife viewing.

Jenny

Hi Jenny:

 

Trekking poles - If you don't want to bring your own, there were some onboard that were available (just like boots). We did not see too many people using them. Those that did seemed to favor a pair vs. a single pole.

 

Batteries - The cold did seem to accelerate battery depletion (like for my Sony Cybershot) and extras are definitely recommended. My DGF's Cannon Digital SLR uses long life rechargeable batteries and she brought 2 so there was always a fresh one. If you have that option, it is better than "regular" batteries.

 

I hope you have the same good (or even better) fortune we did to see the magnificent wildlife of the region.

[Mike2131]

Glad to hear that you had a wonderful time!

 

We enjoyed our Antarctica trip so much that we're booked on PA II for the Arctic next year. Your review makes me sad that I have to wait until next August!

We booked a year in advance and had to wait it out as well. Antarctica is on our list, but I don't think we can get there until 2012!

[Zorack]

We're going on the PAII near the end of February...do you need to purchase boots or do they have ones for you on board?

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks Mike and Ann for the information about poles and batteries. We have rechargeable ones for most of the cameras so will look at getting a spare for each. The back up camera uses regular ones (we have a recharger for them as well) so hopefully will have enough. From memory Ann you are on the trip immediately before us - happy sailing and wildlife spotting (Leave some for us :))

Jenny

[Mike2131]

We're going on the PAII near the end of February...do you need to purchase boots or do they have ones for you on board?

They don't promote that in case a guest comes on board and they are unable to fit him or her. We used the ship's boots (pretty normal sizes), but I think most people brought their own.

 

If you wear an unusual size you might want to bring your own as well. You are always welcome to leave them on the ship to add to their collection for future guests to use.

[Saga Ruby]

I am curious as to where PAII sailed to view the wildlife. In what location did you see the polar bears and the walruses? I was in Magdalenafjord in 2005 and we were overjoyed to have the opportunity to observe two polar bears roam the area for hours from the glacier to the mouth of the bay of that tiny inlet.

 

The Master of Saga Ruby said that, in the six years he had been coming to Svalbard, he had never seen bears so we were getting quite a treat. And the entire ship's company was glued to the railing with our ship-provided binoculars.

 

As the bears roamed the crags and caused thousands of nervous birds to launch into the air, we stayed on Saga Ruby and watched them for hours. Occasionally the bears would climb up into the crags then belly-surf down to that rocky coastline. But our 4 hrs of viewing taught the lesson that polar of bears roam - they were never static, always gracefully in motion. How did your Zodiacs maintain safety with polar bears in your viewing area?

 

In Longyearbyen, we were using school buses for shuttles from the dock into "town" - you turn right at the Polar Radisson where the two reindeer are grazing. At the end of the day, when we left the pier at Longyearbyen, our propellers stirred up marine green water over the black oil slick that floated on the water.

 

I am a newbie to Silversea - Vancouver to Tokyo next year. I was a big fan of Royal Viking until they pulled up the gangway for the last time in the '90s. I look forward to my experience on Silver Shadow.

 

Ruby

[Mike2131]

I am curious as to where PAII sailed to view the wildlife. In what location did you see the polar bears and the walruses? I was in Magdalenafjord in 2005 and we were overjoyed to have the opportunity to observe two polar bears roam the area for hours from the glacier to the mouth of the bay of that tiny inlet.

 

The Master of Saga Ruby said that, in the six years he had been coming to Svalbard, he had never seen bears so we were getting quite a treat. And the entire ship's company was glued to the railing with our ship-provided binoculars.

 

As the bears roamed the crags and caused thousands of nervous birds to launch into the air, we stayed on Saga Ruby and watched them for hours. Occasionally the bears would climb up into the crags then belly-surf down to that rocky coastline. But our 4 hrs of viewing taught the lesson that polar of bears roam - they were never static, always gracefully in motion. How did your Zodiacs maintain safety with polar bears in your viewing area?

 

In Longyearbyen, we were using school buses for shuttles from the dock into "town" - you turn right at the Polar Radisson where the two reindeer are grazing. At the end of the day, when we left the pier at Longyearbyen, our propellers stirred up marine green water over the black oil slick that floated on the water.

 

I am a newbie to Silversea - Vancouver to Tokyo next year. I was a big fan of Royal Viking until they pulled up the gangway for the last time in the '90s. I look forward to my experience on Silver Shadow.

 

Ruby

The place where we (and the voyage after) spotted the large number of Polar Bears was in Sallyhamna (I could not find that name on the map I have) which is in the NW corner of Spitzbergen. It is not far from the Magdalenafjord. We had a landing planned for Smeerenburg that was canceled in favor of Sallyhamna when the Captain and our Expedition Leader learned the bears were there from other ships.

 

We saw 7-8 bears including cubs that were drawn to a dead whale that had drifted into the fjord in September of 2009. We stayed off-shore in our Zodiacs (with 3 armed bear guides) and witnessed their behavior for sometime. They knew we were there, but we were not a threat to their food source so they ignored us. Just an incredible experience. The expedition before us saw no bears at all and the voyage after saw 10 in the same location. Wildlife sightings are always the luck of the draw and we drew a great hand!

 

We saw Walruses in 2 locations - Lagoya Island (the fartherest north we sailed) and at Poolepenten (spelling?). Per regulations, only 30 guests at a time were allowed on shore at a time so we did not disturb the animals.

[Saga Ruby]

Thanks for the info. I have hard-copy maps of Svalbard, Spitzbergen, and Longyearbyen so I'll be able to look up your wildlife sightings.

 

Our ship's photographer was put into a tender in Magdalena Bay and sent to the shoreline to photograph the polar bears - with strict instructions not to land as there were no security measures available. That photog took 100s of photos, then later sold them in packets to the eager pax onboard. There was such an overwhelming demand from pax for pix that he ran out of photography paper and had to load more paper at the next port!

 

I could show you a photo of the bear as he was belly-surfing in the snow from the top of the crag to the coastline, but all you would see would be a small rock, a black nose, and a vague outline of a bear. I had planned to visit the Antarctica early this year but canceled because I prefer bears over penguins and I've seen enough icebergs to last me the rest of my life.

 

You have a rare honour of seeing arctic wildlife in the, uh, wild. Another distinct memory for me was in Ny Alesund, the research station, where male arctic terns were battling ferociously far up in the air for the affections of the young lady tern down below on the rocks. Our itinerary plan was to round the top of Svalbard then on to Nordkapp but the North Pole icepack had shifted and we had to turn south to continue our adventure.

 

My cruise to Far North on Saga Rose is my hall-of-fame trip. And to sail for 2-3 days south to get to the Arctic Circle was quite the giggle!

 

Ruby