My husband and I had been on the Hurtigruten FRAM before, on a cruise from Iceland to Spitsbergen. It's a relatively small ship, built in 2007 specifically for cruises to the polar regions. The Fram officially accommodates 318 passengers, but on this voyage there were only 171, around two-thirds of whom were German speakers. The official language of the ship is English. We were the only Americans aboard, along with two intrepid Australian widows, some families from the UK, various other Europeans, three Japanese, and a single Argentine man.

Check-in went relatively smoothly, considering that it had to take place aboard the ship. We had boarded from the pier in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, via "Polarcirkel" boats, i.e., Zodiac-like tenders. Luggage was delivered to our cabin in a timely manner, and after the mandatory safety drill we set sail down stunning Sondre Stromfjord.

Except for suites, cabins aboard the Fram are very small. Okay, they're tiny. Ours was one of the cheaper ones and had a bed that converted to a couch by day. But there was adequate storage space for all our cold-weather gear, and the bathroom, though small, was quite acceptable and impeccably clean. This is an expedition ship, and no one is likely to spend much time in the cabin. Read more