We wanted to see the Northern Lights (which we did, on one night) and visit places of interest and fjords of Norway. We knew we would be on a working post-boat, not really a cruise ship and that it would be quite dark and possibly poor weather, at times.

However, bearing in mind the 'cruise ship' cost we thought not enough thought had been given to passengers not wanting to pay the extortionate prices for the excursions. On almost all daytime occasions the ship was in port long enough for us to get off and have a look round, it coincided with a mealtime, so it was a choice of not eating the paid for, full board, meal or not going ashore.

The one excursion we did, the husky tour was advertised as a 3.5 hr experience. However, 3.5 hrs was the time the ship was in port; the excursion was somewhst less, the actual husky experience lasting about 20 minutes. We were split into three groups and herded to the 'activities'. There was virtually no interaction with the sleigh drivers, it was a case of get on, put your feet here and off you go then, at the end, get off and get out of the way for the next group. No offer of even one photo of us on the sleigh and no information about the dogs unless we specifically asked. We were given a herbal tea drink (about 150ml) and traipsed round the ice hotel and on to another 'highlight', a visit to see the reindeer; this was laughable. There was a Sami chap, in traditional dress, feeding a single reindeer, from a bucket. Another reindeer wandered up to have a look while the third (there were only three) never appeared. This 'experience' cost us £207 each! Read more