Hints & tips for July 2023 Arctic trip, from the June trip

[CaliKris]

If Kira is one of your guides she also does the Norway ABD and I'm sure she'd have some recommendations for restaurants in Oslo! It's not Norwegian food by any means, but if you go to the Munch Museum there's a nice little ramen place, Koie Ramen, that I ate at nearby and really enjoyed. We were also at the end of our trip and I was ready for a break from the more traditional Norwegian fare.

Thanks for the recommendation. I am sure we will be tired the first night so something low key like ramen would be perfect. My guess is that Kira will guide the Arctic trip again since there are only two of them and she is already familiar.

 

[CaliKris]

Thanks for all the helpful photos @Mathmagicland The ground is much different from what I had envisioned it to be. I really thought it would be walking on snow/ice.

I like to use hiking poles and will see if I can fit one in my luggage. Were you able to go on land every day?

 

[Mathmagicland]

Thanks for all the helpful photos @Mathmagicland The ground is much different from what I had envisioned it to be. I really thought it would be walking on snow/ice.

I like to use hiking poles and will see if I can fit one in my luggage. Were you able to go on land every day?

Yes, the landscape was different than I expected also. This trip, it was about half landings and half zodiacs. I think one time we had a day-of switch from a landing to a zodiac because of ice or weather, but that is par for the course with the expedition cruises. While it didn’t happen for us, if polar bears are spotted nearby people cannot land, so that would be a good change as you’d see the polar bear!

 

[chuff88]

Thanks for the recommendation. I am sure we will be tired the first night so something low key like ramen would be perfect. My guess is that Kira will guide the Arctic trip again since there are only two of them and she is already familiar.

The ramen place is actually closer to the Munch museum than it is to the hotel, and it is a bit of a walk, so it might not be the best option if you're looking for something very easy and lowkey. There are a lot of restaurants and cafes near the hotel, though.

 

[chuff88]

Also, as a different aside, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the Munch museum and recommend it to anyone looking for something to do in Oslo. I had no idea how prolific he was as an artist and his style varied much more than I realized. The museum also includes works by artists he was influenced by, as well as works by artists influenced by him.

 

[AquaDame]

We were already hoping to go to the Munch museum and the ramen place, so I'm really happy to see both recommended!

Were you also able to see the KonTiki at Fram as well..?

 

[Mathmagicland]

We were already hoping to go to the Munch museum and the ramen place, so I'm really happy to see both recommended!

Were you also able to see the KonTiki at Fram as well..?

The Kon Tiki is not at the Fram. It is in a separate museum across the road from the Fram and the Maritime Museum, which is behind the Fram.

 

[chuff88]

We were already hoping to go to the Munch museum and the ramen place, so I'm really happy to see both recommended!

Were you also able to see the KonTiki at Fram as well..?

We unfortunately didn't make it to the Viking museum or anything else like that, we really only did the Munch museum. We had a really early departure the next day and elected to make it an early night, so we didn't do as much exploring in Oslo as we would have otherwise. I was also, unbeknownst to me, in the very early stages of COVID infection, so I was pretty wiped out...

 

[AquaDame]

The Kon Tiki is not at the Fram. It is in a separate museum across the road from the Fram and the Maritime Museum, which is behind the Fram.

Ahh thank you - I knew it was in the same area and assumed! Thats what I get... sounds like if we want to go we better make it before or after.

We unfortunately didn't make it to the Viking museum or anything else like that, we really only did the Munch museum. We had a really early departure the next day and elected to make it an early night, so we didn't do as much exploring in Oslo as we would have otherwise. I was also, unbeknownst to me, in the very early stages of COVID infection, so I was pretty wiped out...

Yikes! I hope it was not too bad..? I also finally caught it in '21 by traveling, which was scary for sure, but at least I was stateside!

 

[chuff88]

Yikes! I hope it was not too bad..? I also finally caught it in '21 by traveling, which was scary for sure, but at least I was stateside!

It was not too bad! I started having very mild symptoms (truly VERY mild, just a dry throat, which I also commonly get with my seasonal allergies) on our last full day in Norway. I thought that not drinking enough water and all the activity had caught up to me and I was just having allergy symptoms. On our flight home the next day my throat still hurt, but other than that I was fine, until I stood up to go to the restroom and I could barely stand because of pain in my knee. That was the first sign something else was going on, but again, a long trip, lots of activity, I just assumed I was stiff and tired. It wasn't until the next day at home after a good night's sleep and a lot of water that I realized I wasn't feeling any better and took a test. But I recovered fully within about a week. Both of my parents also caught it (my mom traveled with me and my dad got it after we got home, strangely neither of my parents had symptoms until 4 days after I tested positive, so my mom probably got it from me and not wherever I got it from), but we'd all had the full course of recommended vaccines and boosters, and we all recovered fairly quickly. My dad had a cough linger for a few weeks, but he tends to have that any time he gets sick.

I don't want to downplay it because we were definitely lucky to get out of it largely unscathed, but we really did have what amounted to a moderate cold that passed within a week. But I also think the reason all of our cases were so mild is that we'd had the full vaccine course and were fairly cautious even while travelling (we masked on the planes and at least in the crowded public spaces, but not on the ABD buses).

 

[CaliKris]

Yes, the landscape was different than I expected also. This trip, it was about half landings and half zodiacs. I think one time we had a day-of switch from a landing to a zodiac because of ice or weather, but that is par for the course with the expedition cruises. While it didn’t happen for us, if polar bears are spotted nearby people cannot land, so that would be a good change as you’d see the polar bear!

A couple more questions as I start to think about packing.

Were the seas choppy at all? I have anti-nausea/sea sickness meds but hoping to not have to use them.

Did you generally have two excursions per day?

 

[Mathmagicland]

A couple more questions as I start to think about packing.

Were the seas choppy at all? I have anti-nausea/sea sickness meds but hoping to not have to use them.

Did you generally have two excursions per day?

The seas were remarkably calm, nothing even mildly close to the Drake in Antarctica, so calm that I immediately took note of it. Most of the time it was like glass, especially down the fjords.

Most of the time it was like this - ( and I’ll include a pic with a polar bear here) -



Or this - from our sea ice zodiac cruise -



Only one evening up north along the west coast on our overnight sail in more open waters did it get a little choppy, and I noticed it a bit just because it had been so smooth. By “a little choppy” I mean a few scattered mini-white caps, maybe a foot high at most and probably less. I did take a mild medication before bed, in case it got worse but it never did. I’ve had rougher seas sailing to Mexico out of San Diego.

If you zoom in on the lower quarter of this pic in front of the sea ice, you can see the extent of the scattered white caps, a few but not many - -


The last zodiac cruise, it was a little bouncy because it was a bit windy that day, but nothing I needed Meds for and no white caps. Didn’t feel it on the ship, but many of us did in the zodiac as it affects our pictures a a bit -

Here’s a shot of some walruses, when the zodiac was calm -



And a few minutes later, when there was more movement - hard to hold the camera straight & you can see a bit of rolling in the water in front of the walruses-



We did two excursions each day except one, the day we were at our northern-most point. On that day, our morning was on the ship sailing among the sea ice looking for possible wildlife and the afternoon was a zodiac cruise in the sea ice. Also, since we had headed north, one morning we stopped at a research station settlement where we docked and had about 3 hours to wander the settlement to check out the little museum, some artifacts, and historical markers & buildings. This was a walk-off, so think hiking boots or sneakers rather than your rubber boots & waterproof gear.

 

[AquaDame]

The seas were remarkably calm, nothing even mildly close to the Drake in Antarctica, so calm that I immediately took note of it. Most of the time it was like glass, especially down the fjords.

Most of the time it was like this - ( and I’ll include a pic with a polar bear here) -

View attachment 773610

Or this - from our sea ice zodiac cruise -

View attachment 773611

Only one evening up north along the west coast on our overnight sail in more open waters did it get a little choppy, and I noticed it a bit just because it had been so smooth. By “a little choppy” I mean a few scattered mini-white caps, maybe a foot high at most and probably less. I did take a mild medication before bed, in case it got worse but it never did. I’ve had rougher seas sailing to Mexico out of San Diego.

If you zoom in on the lower quarter of this pic in front of the sea ice, you can see the extent of the scattered white caps, a few but not many - -

View attachment 773612
The last zodiac cruise, it was a little bouncy because it was a bit windy that day, but nothing I needed Meds for and no white caps. Didn’t feel it on the ship, but many of us did in the zodiac as it affects our pictures a a bit -

Here’s a shot of some walruses, when the zodiac was calm -

View attachment 773614

And a few minutes later, when there was more movement - hard to hold the camera straight & you can see a bit of rolling in the water in front of the walruses-

View attachment 773613

We did two excursions each day except one, the day we were at our northern-most point. On that day, our morning was on the ship sailing among the sea ice looking for possible wildlife and the afternoon was a zodiac cruise in the sea ice. Also, since we had headed north, one morning we stopped at a research station settlement where we docked and had about 3 hours to wander the settlement to check out the little museum, some artifacts, and historical markers & buildings. This was a walk-off, so think hiking boots or sneakers rather than your rubber boots & waterproof gear.

Were you able to send postcards from anywhere other than Longyearbyen..?

 

[Kyyyyyy]

The seas were remarkably calm, nothing even mildly close to the Drake in Antarctica, so calm that I immediately took note of it. Most of the time it was like glass, especially down the fjords.

Most of the time it was like this - ( and I’ll include a pic with a polar bear here) -

View attachment 773610

Or this - from our sea ice zodiac cruise -

View attachment 773611

Only one evening up north along the west coast on our overnight sail in more open waters did it get a little choppy, and I noticed it a bit just because it had been so smooth. By “a little choppy” I mean a few scattered mini-white caps, maybe a foot high at most and probably less. I did take a mild medication before bed, in case it got worse but it never did. I’ve had rougher seas sailing to Mexico out of San Diego.

If you zoom in on the lower quarter of this pic in front of the sea ice, you can see the extent of the scattered white caps, a few but not many - -

View attachment 773612
The last zodiac cruise, it was a little bouncy because it was a bit windy that day, but nothing I needed Meds for and no white caps. Didn’t feel it on the ship, but many of us did in the zodiac as it affects our pictures a a bit -

Here’s a shot of some walruses, when the zodiac was calm -

View attachment 773614

And a few minutes later, when there was more movement - hard to hold the camera straight & you can see a bit of rolling in the water in front of the walruses-

View attachment 773613

We did two excursions each day except one, the day we were at our northern-most point. On that day, our morning was on the ship sailing among the sea ice looking for possible wildlife and the afternoon was a zodiac cruise in the sea ice. Also, since we had headed north, one morning we stopped at a research station settlement where we docked and had about 3 hours to wander the settlement to check out the little museum, some artifacts, and historical markers & buildings. This was a walk-off, so think hiking boots or sneakers rather than your rubber boots & waterproof gear.

So much great information thank you so much! Was the boat all ABD or was there a split of people between abd/not abd?

 

[Mathmagicland]

Were you able to send postcards from anywhere other than Longyearbyen..?

Since we went North, our museum/research station stop is in Ny-Alesund, which has the northernmost post office in the world. We could buy post cards and stamps there in a small souvenir/supplies shop to be mailed out.




Mail goes out Mondays and Thursdays, when the small plane comes in. They sold stamps for Norway, Europe, and International.



They had several different postcards available, all Arctic-themed. Some folks bought postcards in Oslo and then got the stamps & mailed them here. Be aware these remote places take credit card only, there is no longer a bank in Spitsbergen so they can’t easily make change.

There is a post box at the front of the store, or you can also mail them at the box at the original post office building a bit farther up the road.



The store was very tourist-friendly for the post cards, had several picnic tables out front with pens attached via string, for people to write and address them.

 

[Mathmagicland]

So much great information thank you so much! Was the boat all ABD or was there a split of people between abd/not abd?

Our sailing was only AbD guests - we had 115 guests and four AbD guides. There were 155 crew on board, so crew out-numbered guests on our sailing.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the pics! This *does* look very different from Antarctica! Looking forward to more.

I like how accommodating the post office was for postcards!

Sayhello

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Thanks so much for posting about this trip and adding the pics. It sounds like a great trip, and it's sad to hear that is likely not happening anymore. How fortunate you were to be on such a light trip--I assume the ship holds many more?

 

[Mathmagicland]

Thanks so much for posting about this trip and adding the pics. It sounds like a great trip, and it's sad to hear that is likely not happening anymore. How fortunate you were to be on such a light trip--I assume the ship holds many more?

Per Ponant website, the ship will hold up to 264 passengers. So yes, we were very “light”. I don’t think Disney would sell it out, ie for Antarctica I think they’d be capping at 160-170 (my guess and is not something I have heard from Disney) due to the requirements for how many people could be on land at any one time. The Arctic has similar regulations, so I’d expect Disney would want to similarly cap the Arctic trips. The maximum on land for either place is 100 at any one time, and that has to include AbD guides, expedition guides, Ponant staff, a medical person, photographers, etc, along with the guests.

 

[LPinFL]

Hi - I’ve been leaning towards not doing a trip report for this one, as it would be very similar to the Antarctica one, and with an iPhone for pics my personal wildlife photos aren’t as good as the AbD guide or Ponant photos, I thought I’d share some hopefully helpful information for those on the July Arctic trip -

Bring binoculars! This is one item on the long list of suggested items for the trip, and was overlooked by many including me. While binoculars are often not needed for Antarctica, you do need them here both on the ship and in the zodiacs as sometimes we can’t get really close to the wildlife. The ship does not have a supply for people to share. The AbD guides have some, as well as the naturalists, and they were sharing them around while on the ship.

If you are debating phone-only pics vs a digital camera, you might want the camera for this trip. We had some serious photographers along in terms of the camera equipment, as that is the best way to get closeup shots of the wildlife. Otherwise, the AbD guides had cameras they were using (along with their phones) for the included AbD pictures, and the Ponant photographer pictures were stunning! Definitely worth checking out the optional Ponant Best Of photos package for this trip.

Norway weather - I found this website (there is also an app) which was more accurate than the US-based sites or apps like weather.com. Ie - sometimes weather.com would show rain that Norway weather did not, and Norway info was more accurate. Confirm expected weather for your trip before leaving as it may change your packing.

https://www.yr.no/en


Oslo hotel - there are lots of steps everywhere throughout the hotel, including on every floor once you got off the elevators where there would be half-floors up or down to hallways with more steps. If lots of steps are a challenge, maybe reach out to AbD before you leave to request a room with no additional steps once you get off the elevators. There were very few no-steps rooms on each floor.

Oslo airport to Svalbard - security is non-PreCheck TSA-type, meaning no liquids larger than 3 oz. You will need to take all liquids, laptops, iPads, electronics (except phones), etc out for the screening. Shoes did not have to come off but all jackets did. And, if you have a film camera, while the extra film rolls can be hand-inspected if requested, all cameras must go through the X-rays. So if you don’t want your film X-rayed, make sure you don’t have a roll in the camera until after you are through security. I saw a larger than normal number of bags pulled aside after initial screening for additional personal inspection.

Also, while Norway is part of the Schengen area in Europe, Svalbard is not. We had to go through passport control as we left Oslo for the flight to Svalbard

Continued in next post -

Thank you so much for the report. We are all packed and ready to leave for the July departure…is it Saturday yet? My only concern: How difficult did you (and others) find it getting into/out of the zodiac boats, and will the staff ensure I don’t make a fool out of myself?