Nothing was spared in catering to Pioneer Cruisers! Hannah R. was key to our great enjoyment. Food was good, plentiful and available 24/7. Cabins spacious and comfortable. TV reliable. Crew incredibly gracious. Entertainment and activities top notch.

Gorgeous and elegant ship with top notch service. Gala nights are gorgeous and a time to shine.

I’ve been on an expedition cruise with Quark for the third time now, and I can’t praise it enough. Each voyage is better than the last. An incredible number of unforgettable experiences, an amazingly professional and friendly team, great people, great atmosphere. If you’re heading to the polar regions with anyone, it should be Quark.

We used the City Cruises Pass during a trip to Toronto. 
You can add the ticket to your Apple wallet, which for me is an added bonus because you don’t have to worry about pulling the ticket out of your bag every time you get to a new location.
The price point was alright and the different exhibits, that the ticket provided access to, were good. 
I would definitely recommed the City Pass.

This was - by far - the best (and most expensive ;-)) Trip of my life. (This counts as I did a lot of traveling in the past 54 years!)

The trip was exciting because of several topics:
1. The destination was outstanding (ok, I chose it ;-)) 
2. The ship (size, condition, layout, facilities) / number of tourists: the OPTIMUM for a traveling type "expedition"
2.1 size of the ship: not "small" but sufficient (size, lounges, rooms for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Not too big so guests could stay together for communication and nobody had the risk of "being alone"
2.2 cabines in very good condition (of course depending on the money "invested")
2.3 number of guests not too big: 
- it was possible to get in touch basically with everyone -> big enough to "select" people / groups fitting into the own "style"/language
- allowed everybody to do all activities together without giving the feeling, that the nature is disturbed too much; the guests diluted a lot while being on shore an in the wild
2.5 the size of the ship gave me also a feeling that it does not interfere with the nature too much
2.6 Even if - because of the smaller size of the ship - the power of nature (waves, wind) had a significant impact on the ship (the ship moved a lot under strong conditions on open water) I personally loved this as it gave me the feeling of an expedition and to of an "all inclusive big scale ship cruise far away from the nature"; exciting to feel the power of the nature!
3. Staff andservice
3.1 Expedition Team (ET): 
3.1.1 I loved to understand that these members have been specialists on their fields (scientists, guides for kayaking) being absolutely competent and knowledgeable. Even detailed/scientific questions had been answered in any case. And if one did not know the answer he/she made a research and came back with the answer! Lectures of these guys have been amazingly interesting/competent (as far as I can judge it); I felt the passion with which the lecturer presented their topics. Absolutely outstanding!
 3.1.2 The entire ET showed to be caring about the nature, which I loved to see. They communicated precisely the rules 4 being in the nature/how to behave so that the nature is not too much disturbed by the guests. If the rules have not been followed they  interfered promptly to fix it. (This even could have been more intensive as some guests seemed not adhere to the rules with adequate care sometimes)
3.1.3 The ET did an amazing job to care about all guests to enable all of them to experience all activities & especially about guests, being not that fit and athletically. All of them onboarded and offboarded the Zodiacs safely and not one accident happened here. For doing that they stood in ice-cold water up to the hips to enable these experiences for everybody. Amazing!
3.1.4 The ET showed the guests that they are a real team. They worked together, everybody did care about everything (even if the tasks had been split up between the members) and I did't recognize any conflicts at all. They communicated in each minute with each other so the information flow was outstanding. In particular information about e.g. whales, in particular during the last expedition day where we all could watch the orcas coming along. Kayakers, guests on the Zodiacs and the guests on the ship had been informed in real time. 

So I had the feeling of the best service on all kind of topics. Even individual arrangements have been achieved ("is it possible to get back to the ship a bit earlier because of ..." (I had a job interview during the trip and ask for a special service to be back on the ship latest on a concrete time). 
Having problems with my teeth on Falkland Island they arranged an appointment with a dentist and organized a ride to the dentist and back again). The doctor on the ship frankly told me that he's not a dentist and to be sure about the situation he strongly proposed a visit with a specialist!
Please let them know my feedback! It was AMAZING!

4. Staff for housing / cleaning / making up the rooms / cooking / serving the meals
4.1 same thing as above! Everything has been done on a level that I did not miss anything. Also here the staff communicated with each other quickly. E.g. as I told - not as a complaint but just as a comment - somwhen that my back is aching while sleeping, at the same day I had 2 toppers on my bed without having asked for it.

I took the time to write all this because it was super service by everyone!

Only one final thought "room for improvement": 
The internet connection was really slow. As - "sadly" - everybody is hanging on the smartphone to send pics/information to their families this was sometimes difficult and pulling e.g. an ebook via the network was not possible. This is the only recommendation!

  

My reserved river cruise was overbooked and Mr. Mackenzie Williamson of Viking called me and I took his offer to move to another sailing.  I was told there will be no issue with my paid Viking air flight from Houston to Paris. I talked to Viking Air supervisor Tee Martin; she wants to charge me 800 each for a flight to Paris via Montreal or to charge me a so-called deviation fee of 100 each for a flight leaving Houston one day early. Even though I agreed to pay for my own accommodation and transfer. THE BOTTOM LINE IS VIKING FAILED TO HONOER WHAT THEY OFFERED ME 

This review covers the September 22nd to October 3rd Coastal Express voyage of the MS Nordkapp. 

We were lucky with the weather and with 11 Northern Lights viewings, often two per night in the clearer northern regions – one between 8/9pm and the 2nd time ranging from after midnight to 4am. We were also lucky to see autumn colours and a variety of wildlife – none of which can be guaranteed.

Daily information briefings cover the next day’s activities and ports but also wider topics like art, music, and mythology. They are a good introduction to each port, whilst landmarks and photo ops are announced and pointed out on approach. Crossing the Arctic Circle is celebrated going north and south. Given the route is a postal service, you can send postcards with a special Arctic Circle or North Cape stamp. Other onboard activities on our trip included detours into Trollfjord, food tastings, Norwegian music, sea shanties, learning knots and there’s plenty of books, games, and jigsaws for those who want them.

Excursions are expensive but enable you to visit locations inland, not feasible on your own, and with timings guaranteed to have you back on board just before the ship sails. Like the information briefings, excursions are usually organised with 1 or 2 nationalities per coach, with translation in both languages. English speakers who spoke some German did comment that descriptions in German covered more topics on some excursions.

Some excursions are weather dependant so may be cancelled and others were added in during our trip so it’s worth checking, whilst there is an opportunity to visit the bridge for a small donation to the Hurtigruten Foundation.

There’s no pressure to take excursions. It’s entirely possible to do your own thing in the ports and onboard – chat, gym, sauna or 2 hot tubs – a robe or towel recommended for the latter. Several attractions like the Hurtigruten museum in Stokmarknes (fascinating!) and the Lofoten Krigsminnemuseumin  and the Lofoten Magic Ice Bar (both in Svolvaer) are just metres from the ship. Most places also have a range of statuary and public art. Peoples’ experiences and photos differ depending on what you choose to do.  

Downloading the Hurtigruten and Camarella apps is recommended. The first is only usable on board but provides a helpful programme of events, details of your personal excursions and the dinner menu for that day and the next day. The other (a partnership with Camarella) offers access to the wider Camarella community but also a group for your boat where passengers can, and do, share photos. The voyage video package is also a nice souvenir. There is a mix of nationalities. There were more people on the north-bound voyage than the southern on our trip, but everyone was friendly and willing to talk. 

Food is plentiful and excellent. Hurtigruten work with a number of Norwegian growers and suppliers to provide fresh and interesting artisanal products, including various alcoholic beers and spirits. Similarly, with the toiletries in the cabins. Breakfast and lunch are buffets. Dinners alternate between buffets and three course set meals – with three options, including vegetarian. Allergies etc are catered for. In the UK, there is an option to dine at Kysten, the fine dining restaurant on board, for a small supplement. This was excellent and provides a quieter experience for anyone celebrating a birthday or anniversary. There is a coffee shop offering a selection of cakes, sandwiches, ice creams and beverages, whilst the bar provides alcoholic and hot drinks in the evenings. Hats off to the chefs, and all the onboard crew who are hard-working but friendly. The team handling UK sales was equally good, being very helpful with booking enquiries. 

Everyone seemed pleased with their cabin, whether they opted for a more stable position on a lower deck or one higher up with a window – being on the promenade deck raised the possibility of people walking past but this really wasn’t an issue. Hurtigruten’s 1893 Ambassador programme is useful for free hot drinks, wi-fi and excursion discounts. Creating a ship account tied to a credit card meant there was no need to carry cash on board. It was possible to settle up the final bill via cash, or a debit/credit card so was very flexible. On land, Norway is virtually cashless so a debit card with a good overseas rate is recommended. Cash was useful for crew tips which are discretionary.
Something to do again? Absolutely, probably in a different season to maximise the contrast. This was a brilliant introduction to Norway and the coverage of Sami culture and Norwegians’ experiences in the 2nd World War was particularly interesting.


Very knowledgeable, passionate  and experienced staff who don't cut corners on safety.  Food quality and choice impressive and good wines provided,  room staff top level.

Just finishing a Parisian holiday cruise on the SS Joie di Vivre and had a wonderful time. Our cabin was beautiful, comfortable, and well maintained. Food was excellent. The staff was very attentive and eager to please. I love that Uniworld chooses tours that support local businesses and cultural sites.  Wonderful experience. 

Very Disappointing Experience with Holland America Line

I joined Holland America’s two-week English Channel cruise starting on August 24, and the trip was full of problems from day one.

First, I was given the wrong room. Then, I found hair in a piece of cake. The worst part was the constant noise from the kitchen above my cabin — it was loud 24 hours a day and I couldn’t sleep at all.

I asked to change rooms but was told there were no available cabins. They only offered me $300, which I refused. I paid almost $2,000 for a relaxing holiday, but instead I spent two weeks exhausted and stressed.

I emailed the company twice (on September 8 and again a week later) and have waited over six weeks with no reply at all. Very disappointing customer service for a company that claims to care about its guests.

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