Silver explorer: Reykjavik to longyearbyen June 13-25 live

[RachelG]

Day 11, June 23, 2012--Monacobreen glacier

 

Another bright beautiful day with calm seas as we approached Monacobreen, a expansive glacier that comes right up to the water. *The zodiacs zipped across the still surface to get up close to the glacier.

 

We heard a lot of creaking and groaning from the ice. *Icebergs, some as big as a car, floated all round. *Everyone wanted to see a calving, where a huge chunk of ices breaks off and falls in the sea. *But it wouldn't happen-- till we got 1/2 way back to ship at the end of our 1 1/2 hr tour. *Then a piece the size of a small house broke off. *Pretty dramatic.

 

We also saw some belugas (just the tops of their heads), a seal sunning on an iceberg, bunches of birds.

 

Lunch was a special international one with food from all the places the staff comes from. *We had a lot of really good Filipino and Indian food, homemade sauerkraut from the chef's grandmother's recipe, roast pork, multiple variations of salmon and other seafood, Crepes hand made by the French hotel director. *The dining room was specially decorated with all different flags, very festive.

 

20 people did the polar plunge afterward, where you jump into the sea. *I was NOT one of them. *They looked pretty cold.

 

Due to the ice, we had a change in plans and had an afternoon at sea. *Followed by captain's farewell reception and dinner. *Hopefully tomorrow we will have more time onshore or with wildlife sightings.

[RachelG]

Finally have Internet again as you can tell by my 3 days of reports. As far as food, it is pretty good. I actually am amazed at the quality given the remote. Location. And they do take special orders, just like Regent, if it is something they have onboard. The Indian and Filipino dishes at lunch were the best we have had anywhere. The meat continues to be undercooked as far as pork and ground meat go. Others are fine. Service is great.

 

We have been a bit underwhelmed at the wild life sightings. Wish there were more and closer. Tomorrow is another day!

[duct tape]

It doesn't sound so dismal, beautifu lscenery and polar bears!

[jpalbny]

Summer solstice at 80 degrees north... Wish we were there! Glad you're having such a great time, and your weather sounds pretty nice, too! Sorry to hear that you couldn't make it further east, though.

 

The wildlife is different up north compared to Antarctica. The sightings are more iffy; guess the density of land critters is much lower compared to Antarctica, where you walk among thousands of penguins. Oh well, look on the bright side - the smell is more pleasant! :D

 

Wishing you a great remainder of your cruise, and hopefully, some more great sightings!

[RachelG]

Day 12--june24,2012--western Svalbard

 

Sorry I sounded glum about the relatively few animal sightings yesterday. *We just were frustrated at having to spend the afternoon on the ship sailing instead of doing something onshore. *The scenery really is beautiful.

 

We sailed all night on relatively mobile seas. *I felt like I was on the end of a bungee cord while lying in bed a couple of times. *But it got us back around on the western side of Svalbard to a place that is known for walrus. *

 

We were first off the ship in zodiacs this am, zipping over to shore in a slight mist and some pretty good wind. *Had to walk quite a ways on the beach to get to the area where about 15 walrus had hauled themselves up on the beach and were napping.

 

Now walrus have got to be one of the most blubbery animals on earth. *And on land, they don't move a whole lot. *Lift a head here and there, maybe scratch a bit, but that is about all. *Still they were nice to see. *

 

The captain had to reposition the ship due to winds while we were onshore, so we got extra long to look at the big fatties.

 

Back on the ship, that most dreaded sighting--luggage on the bed. *I have resolved to ignore it till the last possible moment.

 

Had a nice break between morning and afternoon excursions as the ship repositioned. *This afternoon's excursion was I think my favorite of the entire trip. *We landed on a small beach from which arose a fairly steep hill covered with bog and lichen. *Very spongy ground. *A rock face in front of us, but we climbed up the hill and were treated to the sight of a beautiful arctic fox jogging past, not in any distress as I could tell. *Then over a mound and there was a herd of reindeer grazing, maybe about 20. *We got to watch and just enjoy the magnificent views for about an hour. *Going back down, another arctic fox, this one closer than the first. *A perfect end to our cruise.

[jpalbny]

Sorry I sounded glum about the relatively few animal sightings yesterday. *We just were frustrated at having to spend the afternoon on the ship sailing instead of doing something onshore. *The scenery really is beautiful.

 

Don't think you sounded glum... We, too, had a stretch of 2 sea days in a row with multiple canceled landings and agree that it can get frustrating... We came so close to landing on Kvitoya but agonizingly, couldn't do it because of a blasted Polar Bear who was camped out there. Then our scheduled zodiac cruise was canceled due to high winds. There's only so many hours of scenic glacier cruising that one can handle, before you just want to get off the ship and hike! :)

 

Glad you got to see an Arctic Fox - they are pretty cute, aren't they? Where were the walruses, Lagoya?

[Ms Understood]

Sorry your wonderful trip is almost over. That is the b**ch of it, isn't? At some point you always have to go home. Thanks for taking the time to post. Wishing you a safe trip home. See you next year in Churchill!

--------------------

Helen

[RachelG]

Yes, the walrus were in Lagoya, I think. While I have felt rushed off the ship with a lot of cruises, I did not feel that way at all this time. Had a leisurely breakfast, then off at 9:30. They provided a bus transfer to the museum( highly recommend, very informational and quite modern) and downtonw( tons of shopping with good prices and no VAT). Then 2 hrs later they took us to the airport for our chartered SAS flight to Oslo.

The people who were cruise only were quoted a price of $109 pp for the bus from the airport to downtown Oslo. And they said a taxi would be $119. Obviously for 2 people, taxi is a better deal. Then we were able to get a taxi for only $60 (taxi rates are apparently not regulated in Oslo, so you can make a deal). Our driver was an enterprising afghani who was proud to have the best rates. He also happened to be from mazar-e-sharif, which is where our son had been stationed. He was surprised that we knew of his native language, Urdu. He also promised to pick us up and take us back to the airport in the morning, which he did right on time.

Overnight at the doubletree for a very good rate.

 

Flying back to the US today. Oslo-helsinki(love this airport)-Chicago-Tulsa.

[WesW]

Rachel, thanks to George and you for taking us along on your journey..safe travels home.

[duct tape]

Have a safe trip and thanx for sharing!

[drron29]

Thanks for the report it brought back many memories.As to the wildlife we missed out on the Walrus but seeing 6 polar bears in one place more than made up for that.But seeing 6 poplar bears in one place plus a mother and cub will stay in our memories forever-

 

And that is another thing with SS-they certainly get alternative transport costs wrong.Two years ago we arrived in Longyearbyen on the same flight as the SS group-charter wasn't in place then.From memory the SS bus was $99 each to Radisson Blu but 6 of us shared a taxi van for $50 in total-and of course got there a lot quicker.

[Masonic Phantom]

Thanks for the report it brought back many memories.As to the wildlife we missed out on the Walrus but seeing 6 polar bears in one place more than made up for that.But seeing 6 poplar bears in one place plus a mother and cub will stay in our memories forever-

 

 

And that is another thing with SS-they certainly get alternative transport costs wrong.Two years ago we arrived in Longyearbyen on the same flight as the SS group-charter wasn't in place then.From memory the SS bus was $99 each to Radisson Blu but 6 of us shared a taxi van for $50 in total-and of course got there a lot quicker.

 

drron29,

We look forward to your excellant reports & the photo,s....Thank you ddron29:)

Cheers Gary.

[RachelG]

Now that we are back home for a couple of days, I have some final thoughts.

 

We had a great time overall. My husband felt the ship was somewhat claustrophobic. I think that is because we usually book suites with balconies. On this ship, there are a couple, but they are VERY expensive. And the light would be so brighth in the arctic this time of year. I was happy with our cabin.

 

The crew and staff were really outstanding, ESP our butler and everyone in the dining room and bar.

 

Food was pretty good. My only real complaints are the running out of bacon and diet coke. Food preparation is so subjective. I was always able to find things that I enjoyed, but they do need to ah more attention to adequate cooking of pork and ground meat.

 

I thought the wine pours were really skimpy. They would only pour 1 oz at a time. They were generous with refilling,1 oz at a time, but I like my wine to air. In fact, my husband would often tell them this, and they still only wanted to pour a tiny amount. I know this must be a money saving thing, but give me a break. We have never had a problem getting a properly fIlled glass on regent.

 

I was thrilled that they had proper loose leaf tea. Regent should have this as it doesn't cost much more than the higher quality tea in bags, but tastes so good when brewed freshly.

 

Self serve laundry was fine--only a few wars. The things we sent out to be laundered came back perfect.

 

Gym was fine it turned out as hardly anyone else used it.

 

Internet reception was better than expected. I used onboard credits to pay for it, but really missed regent's free Internet. This is area where silversea could easily change, and would result in a lot more customer satisfaction.

 

I felt that we should have had more excursions in Svalbard. Reading the descriptions, it sounds like that we would be in the zodiacs or on shore twice a day, but this only happened two days out of 4. There is only so much "scenic cruising" that I like to do.

 

With he new smoking policy, we will definitely be back to silversea, both on the explorer and other ships too if we liKe the itinerary.

 

If anyone has specific questions, I will be happy to answer!