There were two ship-wide meetings today – one to discuss compensation and one to discuss the remainder of the trip.
Hurtigruten provided options – stay in Ushuaia and join the Antarctic cruise that leaves in a few days, re-book for 2023 on one of several trips, receive a partial refund, or take trip credit on a future Hurtigruten trip. Considering the situation and that somewhere in the fine print we are sure there’s a ‘we owe you nothing in cases of force majeure’, Hurtigruten has gone above and beyond to try to resolve the issue for each cabin/group.
The trip was supposed to end in Ushuaia days from now, so we’re where we supposed to be…just a tad early. The second meeting today was what we would be doing for the days we’re unexpectedly in Ushuaia. Once again, Hurtigruten not only went above and beyond to ensure we had daily activities for 300+ people but they offered all excursions at no cost.
Adding to the complications, it’s high tourism season in Argentina so some of the resources – tour guides, drivers, etc. – are in high demand. We cannot imagine how many hours they put into arranging these excursions and all the logistics involved! We are quite impressed with and thankful for their efforts. Yes, disappointed that the highlight (main purpose) of our trip was canceled, but Hurtigruten is doing a good job at ensuring we get good quality excursions.
We have one excursion scheduled everyday for the next 4 days. Trains, National Parks, glaciers, penguins, and who knows what else are in our near future!
Starting tomorrow, we should be back with some pictures for folks tired of reading stuff.