- Home
- Photo Tours
- Mainstream
- Carnival Breeze – Exotic Eastern Caribbean
- Carnival Freedom – Western Caribbean
- Carnival Miracle – Mexican Riviera
- Carnival Paradise – Cuba
- Carnival Pride – Bahamas from Baltimore
- Coral Princess – Ultimate Alaska with Cruise Experts Travel
- Cuba Cruise Louis Cristal – Cuba
- MSC Divina – Eastern Caribbean
- Norwegian Breakaway – Christening
- Norwegian Epic – Eastern Caribbean
- Norwegian Pearl – Alaska RT Seattle
- Quantum of the Seas – Preview Cruise
- Zuiderdam – Alaska Inside Passage
- Expedition
- Hurtigruten FRAM – Antarctica
- Hurtigruten Midnatsol – North Cape
- Passing Cloud – BC’s Gulf Islands
- Passing Cloud – Haida Gwaii
- S.S. Legacy – Columbia & Snake Rivers
- Safari Endeavour – Alaska’s Glacier Country
- Safari Voyager – Mexico’s Sea of Cortes
- Schooner Zodiac – Brew Cruise 2013
- Schooner Zodiac – Wine Cruise
- Silver Discoverer – Australia to Indonesia
- Silver Explorer – Arctic Svalbard
- Silver Explorer – British Isles
- Silver Galapagos – Galapagos Islands
- Wind Spirit – Stockholm to Oslo
- Wind Star – Rome to Nice
- Luxury
- EUROPA 2 – Greece & Turkey
- Queen Mary 2 – Eastbound Transatlantic 2012
- Queen Mary 2 – Westbound Transatlantic 2015
- Seabourn Sojourn – Ultimate Alaskan Sojourn
- Silver Shadow – Exotic Alaska
- Silver Shadow – Southeast Asia & Myanmar
- Silver Spirit – Athens to Barcelona
- Silver Spirit- Eastbound Transatlantic
- Silver Wind – Mediterranean
- Silver Wind – Middle East
- Silver Wind – South Africa
- River
- AmaLotus – Cambodia & Vietnam
- AmaLyra- Danube Christmas Markets
- American Empress on the Columbia
- Avalon Expression – Amsterdam to Nuremberg
- Emerald Waterways Emerald Star – Danube Delights
- G Adventures – India’s Ganges
- S.S. Maria Theresa – Christening
- Tauck ms Inspire – Maiden Voyage
- Tauck Swiss Jewel – Blue Danube
- Viking Baldur – Danube Christmas
- Viking Baldur – Rhine Christmas
- Viking Forseti – Chateaux, Rivers & Wine
- Viking Freya – Danube Christmas
- Viking Longships Christening 2012
- Viking Longships Christening 2013
- Viking Longships Christening 2014
- Viking Longships Christening 2015
- Viking Vidar – Grand European Tour
- Hotels
- Upcoming & Past Cruises
- About FTDC
Fram Antarctica Live Voyage Report – Day 6
Wind, Waves and Wonderful Whales

Our Antarctic Adventures with Hurtigruten took us to Danco Island this afternoon. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
We weren’t even supposed to be here today.
Guests aboard Hurtigruten’s FRAM awoke to another change of itinerary this morning, but to be honest, it made no difference to me: I have come to the conclusion, after just 24 hours in Antarctica, that there is no such thing as a bad landing spot here.
Our original landing sites at Mikkelsen Harbor and Cierva Cove were inaccessible this morning due to high winds that whipped up frothy swells and made launching the Polarcirkel boats impossible.
Still, even the high winds couldn’t keep guest off the open decks. I opened the curtains in my Deck 5 stateroom this morning to reveal two people standing at the railing, gripping their cameras, trying desperately to steady themselves and photograph sea birds while the FRAM rose and fell underneath them. I wasn’t quite so courageous; I settled for a late breakfast in the Imaq Restaurant with plenty of hot coffee.

After a morning of scenic cruising, it was time for another delicious buffet lunch in the Imaq Restaurant. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders
In fact, an unexpected morning of scenic cruising was far from a bad thing. After breakfast, I ventured up to the lounge for more coffee. Simply admiring the views from the FRAM has become a pastime in itself.
Aboard the FRAM, coffee and tea are included around the clock in the Cafeteria on Deck 4, and during opening hours in the Observation Lounge and Imaq Restaurant. Everything else carries an additional charge, which is a little curious but not unheard of. For the price, some expedition operators include absolutely everything, while others – much like Hurtigruten – limit the complimentary drink offerings. A selection of juices (orange, apple, etc) are provided free of charge in the Restaurant during breakfast.

A bevvy of alcoholic drinks can be had with meals, but none are included in the cost of the cruise. It’s certainly not a deal-breaker, just more of an FYI. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders
Drinks onboard are priced in Norwegian Kroner (NOK), which can be a little expensive for North American and European guests alike. However, the prices aboard FRAM seemed, for most items, to be more reasonable than those aboard Hurtigruten’s Norwegian coastal ships, so the sticker shock shouldn’t be too bad. A pint of beer (Carlsberg) cost 34NOK, or $4.45 US, and a can of Coke was just 19NOK, or $2.48 US.
Wine is less of a value, with glasses that run into the hundreds of NOK. I wanted to try FRAM’s onboard whisky offerings, but wasn’t prepared to part with 120NOK ($16 US) for a 2cl glass. I’d have to have a lot more Carlsberg before I’d be able to do that!
Still, I absolutely love the FRAM, additional costs and all. This has to be one of the most beautifully-designed and robustly-built expedition cruise ships afloat. We’ve passed many an expedition ship so far – all of them rugged and attractive in their own way. But FRAM is the sleek bulldog of the Antarctic: blunt, squat, and able to take what the ocean throws at her. Even in heavy seas and heavy winds like we experienced this morning, there’s very little creaking or rattling even when her bulbous bow clears the water and her keel slams into the next wave.
Why does that matter, you ask? To me, the sign of a well-built ship is one that remains remarkably quiet in rough seas. FRAM was built in Italy at the Fincantieri Shipyards near Venice, and the quality of her construction shows through.

Disembarking the FRAM this afternoon for our explorations on Danco Island. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders

FRAM’s stern. She was built in Italy at the Fincantieri shipyards near Venice. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders

FRAM is, in my opinion, one of the prettiest – and sturdiest – expedition ships operating in Antarctica. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders
By 14:00, we were coming to a stop off our picturesque make-up landing site for the afternoon: Danco Island. It is a name that doesn’t do this wonderful place justice; Danco sounds like it might be a gas station somewhere in the Midwest. Danco Island, on the other hand, is a beautiful 1.5-kilometre long island that was first discovered by Adrien de Gerlache in 1897 and named after his expedition geophysicist, Emile Danco, who perished in Antarctica.
The channels leading to Danco Island are choked with icebergs of all shapes and sizes, some of which are so artistically-inclined that you’d swear they were created painstakingly in the same way that Michelangelo might have created his Statue of David. The British built a base here in the last 1950’s that was manned for all of four years before becoming an abandoned refuge shelter, but the structure was torn down in 2004, leaving only the pristine beauty of this island in its place.
Once again, we made our way ashore via FRAM’s Polarcirkel boats, beginning with Group 4. This meant that my group, Group 3, would be the last to disembark. Not that I was complaining; it gave me a chance to enjoy a relaxing pint of beer in the Observation Lounge before eventually toddling off the Mud Room on Deck 2 when Group 3 was called.
Arriving on-shore around 15:00, I decided to do exactly what I had done yesterday: find a nice place to sit and admire Antarctica’s beauty. This time, it was a snow-covered rock facing out into the ice-filled channel – and once again, I was not disappointed.

Antarctica is so beautiful that you just can’t take your eyes off your surroundings. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders

The true spirit of exploration is alive and well both in Antarctica and onboard Hurtigruten’s FRAM. Photo © 2015 Aaron Saunders
During the 90 minutes I sat on that rock, I watched as Gentoo Penguins came by the dozen to have a peek at the stranger on the boulder. Once again, nature’s greatest comedians would waddle, slide and face-plant themselves on their merry way as they went about their business of hopping from one snow-covered rock to another, carefully avoiding the crevasses in the snowdrift behind me as they did so.
I also watched as an enormous iceberg broke free and drifted across the channel, moving at about five knots past the FRAM. The ice passed harmlessly off the ship’s port side, but I was astonished to see that, when it came abreast of the FRAM, the ice flow obscured everything except for the ship’s radar mast – roughly 100 feet above the waterline.
At one point, I figured my lone pint of Carlsberg was beginning to have some hallucinatory after-effects in the Antarctic sun: I could have swore I’d seen a three-masted sailing ship steam past an iceberg off to my right. But this was no alcohol-induced illusion; there really was a three-masted sailing ship, with a hull like an Ironclad warship, steaming up through the channel. As she approached FRAM’s stern, the difference in size became apparent – and I was immediately glad that we had the privilege of crossing the Drake Passage in our comfortably large ship.
Our Live Voyage Report aboard Hurtigruten’s FRAM continues tomorrow from the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula as we spend another day in this special region! Be sure to follow along on twitter by following @deckchairblog or the hashtag #LiveVoyageReport.
Contact Us
Sailing Schedule
Twitter
Article Search
Article Categories
Archives
- July 2019
- June 2019
- April 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009