Part 2...
Embarkation was late afternoon, so there was also time for a bus ride out of town to see a husky dog handler and his huskies. Not really my cup of tea, but it was good to see some more of the Longyearbyen area and learn about the history of coal mining in Svalbard. The Norwegian mine is closing for good in a few weeks, but the Russians have a settlement called Barentsburg which will continue to mine coal. We later sailed past Barentsburg, which for obvious reasons is not really seeing many tourists at the moment.
Our ship was the MS Spitsbergen which had apparently had a refit and upgrading of cabins fairly recently. Our cruise had 98 passengers, which was well below the 220 capacity. We had booked an Arctic Superior cabin on deck 7 which was compact, but with plenty of storage space, a good size shower room and a big window with unobstructed views.
HX supply muck boots (on loan) for landings and give an 'expedition jacket' (a waterproof and windproof shell jacket) to each passenger which they can keep. Something to be aware of is that the boots don't really cope with wide calves, and the jackets are a disaster if you have anything approaching hips. They are very slim, men's fit, with absolutely no shaping for the female form. If you are more than a US size 16 (UK size 18) you will likely not find a jacket to fit you. I had come prepared with my own jacket, from a previous Hurtigruten trip to Antarctica, when the jackets were a different brand, different colour and very different fit. Others were not so lucky and I saw several ladies in tears at the 'fat shaming' of not being able to have an HX jacket. A couple were unable to go on zodiac landings as they didn't have a suitable jacket. I am taking this up with HX as their pre trip webinar blithely assured passengers that a jacket would be available for all shapes and sizes. Simply not true. This was a definite low point of an otherwise great trip.
On board there is a buffet style restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a small bar/cafe serving more cafe type food. There's also a large bar which serves as a social space. Food was excellent and all included with no supplements. House wines, beers and spirits were also included, even most cocktails. There was definitely no need to pay extra for the premium booze!
Other amenities on board included a science centre used for citizen science projects, two hot tubs and a really nice sauna with huge windows looking out across the ocean. Plenty of deck areas from which to spot the wildlife.
There were many interesting lectures on the natural and human history of Svalbard, and also on topics such as wildlife photography, climate change, conservation projects, etc. Also there was the opportunity to contribute to citizen science projects, e.g. collecting and analysing water samples and counting the micro organisms within it. Not my scene so can't give any more detail as didn't get involved.
Every day we had at least one and often two landings. These are 'wet landings' by zodiac boat, hence the muck books and waterproofs (you need to bring your own waterproof trousers). The expedition crew were excellent in getting us all into and out of the zodiacs. Once on shore we could explore, but it was absolutely forbidden to enter any of the old whaling huts or to pick up any wood or bone etc from the beaches. It was fascinating and other worldly to be in such a remote place but to have evidence of previous human activity there. There were also opportunities to have a polar plunge, essential a swim in the Arctic ocean. My husband did this twice and was rewarded with certificates detailing the air temp, water temp and latitude. There's a nurse standing by!
Continues in part 3....