Beluga Whales with Hurtigruten

Many thanks to all of you who emailed and said how disappointed you were we couldn't do the live blog from the Arctic on board Hurtigruten's Fram last week (due to internet connection problems).



So here in some form of compensation is a one-week-later very shortened daily entry. These Beluga whales were in a pod of some thirty animals we saw as the ship was berthed at Barentsburg on the first night.



They looked for all the world like a group of white jellybabies cavorting in the surf!



For more info on booking the cruise, see The Cruise Line Ltd.



See you tomorrow!

This Summer's Arctic Scramble

Hurtigruten's Arctic Cruises on board the MV Fram this summer are seeing a massive surge in bookings due to the Arctic Exploration vessel MV Polar Star's owner Karlsen Shipping co. of Halifax, Nova Scotia, being placed into receivership. Polar Star had recently undergone repairs, in the Canary Islands, after a grounding in the Antarctic on January.

The Karlsen vessel would have been sailing in the Arctic until September. However, with her being unable to sail, anyone considering a cruise in this region this summer is advised to contact Arctic expedition companies such as Hurtigruten (www.hurtigruten.co.uk) or, for a more detailed list of operators with vacancies, adventure-cruise specialists The Cruise Line Ltd.