Most cruise ship companies offer Alaska cruises to Sitka, Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point and Hubbard Glacier but when I saw the itinerary of the Roald Amundsen and nice staterooms, and public areas, I was hooked. It had a starting point in Nome, with stops at St. Paul, St. Matthew Island in the Bering Sea as well as Dutch Harbor and Unga Village in the Aleutian Island chain. Except for Dutch Harbor, those destinations were only accessible by boats, specifically Zodiacs.

A week before sailing we received an e-mail from Hurtigruten, informing us that of unforeseen rule changes by the US government, the landings at St. Paul and Unga Village had to be canceled. Later we learned that only US Coast Guard Zodiacs were approved for landings in the US waters and not the Hurtigruten Nodiacs.

The ship itself had a small outside deck at the bow and a slightly bigger one with 2 hot tubs and a pool at the stern. Additionally, Deck 11 at the top of the ship was designed to accommodate most of the passengers with great viewing opportunities. Unfortunately, the ventilation system for kitchen, engine room, sewage holding tanks were also located on Deck 11. This created a very unusual, sweet stench engulfing the entire deck and made it impossible for me to use it. Read more