From Tuesday 26th February. Time to offer an opinion on our home for this 19 day voyage. The Fram is one of the bigger boats that visit these waters. Constructed in 2007 and operated by Norwegian company Hurtigruten, it is a sturdy vessel designed specifically for traveling to polar regions. On this trip it is carrying about 220 passengers and does so in comfort although to come to that conclusion only 4 days into 19 at sea might be a wee bit premature. Still, there is no sense of crowding and there is plenty of space in the public areas.
The standard cabins are probably best described as ”bijou” and space is at a bit of a premium. The bathroom is small but all the essential bits and pieces are there and the room is thankfully cleaned each day. There are two beds one of which is folded into a couch during the day. There is adaquate storage space with two small wardrobes and some small shelf areas. There is a also a small desk but I can’t see it much of the time as it is strewn with all manner of stuff. I wouldn’t consider it an ideal working environment. There is a fridge (not stocked in our case) and a safe. There is also a TV but up to now that is not a facility we have made use of other than for keeping in touch with information on what is going on on board, the ship’s position and so on. There is no doubt that if sharing, it would be important to get on with your cabin mate!
Incidentally, the ship is not full and cabin upgrades to a suite were on offer when we embarked – but at the price of a small family car.
The public areas, the restaurant, bar and observation lounge are all excellent for relaxing. All meals are included but drinks are extra and not all that cheap, which might explain why the bar is empty a lot of the time. Even water is charged for although most passengers seem to be opting for the cold refreshing tap water. There is a bit of a hard sell obvious which suggests the staff are working on a commission basis. Lunch is generally a buffet and dinner an alternating buffet and waiter service. There is free coffee and snacks throughout the day. The food so far has been excellent.
The outside decks space is perfect for viewing the scenery and, despite the cold, is a pleasant enough place to sit for a while when the sun shines. All landings are well organised and despite restrictions that allow only 100 people ashore at one time, no one misses out.
The Polar Cirkel boats used for landings are very easy to get in and out of (no steep or perilous steps to navigate) and are very comfortable on the short journeys across open water required to get to shore. More detail on this will be provided elsewhere in the blog. As followers of this blog will be aware, internet access is provided via a satellite link (about EURO 28 for six hours) but service is slow and sometimes non-existent. That’s a bit worrying as there is a sign in reception which clearly states that important ship’s functions rely on web acess to operate effectively.
As I said, we are only four days in so final judgement is pending!