Small Ship & Expedition Cruises Tour & Trip Reviews

We enjoyed the sailing experience from our Captain, Mato, to all the beautiful islands we were able to see.

Nice location, well organized

Intrepid continues to provide an authentic yet affordable experience. My kind of travel.

The trip was just excellent, led by a wonderful captain. Seeing all the islands was really super, even though the seas were rough at the start - but it gives you an idea of where to spend more time in the future (or just do more sailing). Getting involved in the sailing experience was a really super experience.

We all had a great time. The group was a good fit. We had a range of seas and winds. Kutte handled strong winds with our learning new skills well. Some of the dockings in strong winds were a real test. Tying up took extra time. Stopped for two swims on the calm return. No negative members. Range of ages (68 to 25) worked well. Positive people with no disharmony. Great trip for all.!!

It was a good new boat, the destination was well chosen and the skipper carried out his job with efficiency and good humour

Incredible experience sailing on the Grand European tour from Amsterdam to Budapest! Just wonderful! The tours were interesting, and most allowed for adequate free time to explore the areas visited. But the staff! Beyond compare.

We talked about doing a cruise with Viking ever since we were made aware of them back in 2008. We just arrived home yesterday and are still floating on air! The spectacular time we had is almost beyond description. First, we loved our stateroom. It was the basic 150 square foot space. This room was so well designed. We met new friends and always had someone new to share a conversation with. The gem in the hospitality crown was our Program Director, who had more energy than any five people put together. I could go on and on but I will say this: we are already planning our next cruise with Viking.

We enjoyed the entire experience; Normandy and Omaha Beach were especially moving. The food and service deserve praise too. This is our third Viking cruise and we'll do it again. Viking does it first rate all the way. Keep it up.

Completed an Classical Egypt & Jordan in March. The sites are just breath taking & Our tour Leaders are more then just leaders, full of passion & knowledge. An unforgettable experience . Thank you Peregrine.

My travel buddy and I flew to Spitsbergen from Oslo. Before our cruise we stayed overyight at the Radisson Blu Hotel. Nothing fancy, just a place to wait for the ship. The staff was helpful and friendly. I'll start with my only real complaint about my Fram experience: the check in procedure. We all seemed to arrive by bus from our hotels at roughly the same time...then we proceeded to our assigned deck, where I stood in line for one hour to be checked in - really, to provide them with my credit card information. The check-in process needs to be streamlined and improved. Other than that, the crew, the ship, almost everything and everyone met or exceeded my expectations.

If we didn't want to purchase a drink package we were able to have water with each meal, and the food was VERY good. Our cabin was small but acceptable for the week we were on board. One of our excursions - a hike - was really more of a forced march. The terrain was so rough I couldn't enjoy the scenery because of the necessity to look where every step was taking me. The pace was far too fast for the conditions. Before we began our cruise I hoped for just one decent polar bear sighting. Of course, with wildlife there are never any guarantees.From the ship we saw a total of seven polar bear! I was thrilled to come home with five VERY nice photos of them.

We also spent an hour on land watching a large group of walrus. Gliding through the heavy ice was a thrilling experience. Because of ice conditions our route was changed and a couple of landings were not possible but we knew we were at the mercy of the weather and ice. In the end, because of the ice, we didn't just circle Spitsbergen - we went around Svalbard! Of course everyone should investigate any company and specific ship and itinerary before purchasing a cruise, but I will heartily recommend Hurtigruten and the Fram to experience Spitsbergen.

My family including our 17 year old son sailed from Kirkenes to Bergen in August. The ship was the size we expected - a smaller passenger ship, billed a "coastal steamer". Our son had his own cabin which gave all of us plenty of room - and him space to do his own thing.

Highlights that passengers will enjoy is meeting other passengers, mostly European, who welcome conversation particularly with young people like our son. The food was invaribly healthy, plentiful and delicious - quite a distinction from a Caribbean cruise we took on a floating city. Hurtigruten is definitely and thankfully not that!

We also enjoyed the frequent stops at various towns and small ports along the way. At Hammerfest we took a 2-3 mile hike up over the hill overlooking the town. At another town, we were surprised to see vintage American cars of the 1950's and 60's tooling around town. If there was time I would go for a run as soon as we tied up enjoying discoveries as I ran through Trondheim and other lovely communities.

The Richard With needs some updating but nevertheless is comfortable. For those who want entertainment, this and we presume other Hurtigruten ships have little, their belief being that the scenery and the other passengers are entertainment enough. Fair enough but a movie once or twice would have been a fair diversion we might have enjoyed with other shipmates.