sampo icebreaker

It is true that its expensive but who can say that has swimmed and walked on frozen sea? Sampo will remain in my memory as one of the best experiences I have lived. My husband and I spent the whole time outside because the views were astonishing. It is impressive to hear the ice breaking as the icebreaker goes on. Everyone at Sampo is very nice. We had just for ourselves an spanish guide, María, who is very kind and joyful. I would say María is more finnish than many Finland born since she speaks about the country so proudly. She gave us the tour around the whole ship and was very open to any question. María, gracias por el rato que compartimos. Te escribo en español para que puedas mostrárselo a tu madre: en nuestros recuerdos se queda sobre todo tu buena disposición y alegría. Creo,por cómo te expresaste de Finlandia, que eres más finlandesa que muchos ahí nacidos y eso te convierte en una muy buena guía.Swimming in the frozen sea is such an amazing experience. It worths every penny. First, you get dressed in an special survival suit (there is very kind ship personnel to help) and then you get around 10 minutes to float in cold water with ice around you. Don't worry, with the survival suit you keep your temperature so you feel "normal". Try to share your time between swimming in and walking on the frozen sea. The food on board was also very good.I definitely recommend this.

My friends and I were excited with Sampo Ice Breaker. The guide told us about the history of Sampo and the difference with Sampo and other ships. We went to the deck, wanting to see the ice break. However, Sampo was cruising on the same route whereby the ice was already broken. Despite this slight disappointment, the rest was nice. The magnificent view from Sampo was great. It had also stopped for awhile to allow people riding snowmobile to board. We were brought to see the inner ship by our guide. It was eye opening.Recommend to pre-order food upon booking for Sampo tour. Food was served in huge portion for an Asian size. Crews were efficient and friendly in serving the food. Finally, the highlight of the tour: to float on the ice. Guide had told us the safety rules and preempt us what we should do while we were in the ice. We were told to hang our overall and shoes in a room. We wore their luminous orange suit to allow us to float and prevent us from getting wet. It was big and I felt like a penguin walking in the suit. Finally reaching the ice after going through the stairs. Crews helped us to "slide" into the ice. Floating in the ice was amazing. However, crews were not allowed to take photos for us. Hence, I recommend to have another group of tourists to take photos for you and vice versa. Certificate was given to us when the tour had ended. It was an awesome experience.

Dear Lisa,sorry to hear that you have been disappointed on Sampo! The ice situation in the Gulf of Bothnia is sometimes very difficult to forecast, and it might also change very quickly. During your visit we had couple of days very hard wind, which can in some circumstances move the ice dramatically. This is what happened in early February also. Just couple of days after your cruise the wind and weather conditions changed again, and we have lots of packed ice - even 5 metres high piles of packed ice in our icebreaking area.In fact, the icebreaking experience is different every day. So much depends on the weather, the light, temperature and wind. Dealing with the nature is never something you are able to forecast, and perhaps this is one of the great things, too! It is nice, however, that you liked our guides and cruise staff. I will forward your comment also for them. Thank you for visiting Sampo!Best regards,TittaPR and mediaKemi Tourism Ltd.

We rented a car from Rovaniemi and drove 1.5hrs to Kemi for this 4 hour cruise. There was an English speaking guide assigned to us the moment we stepped onboard and she took care of us very well, right until we departed the ship. Cruise was very well organised, captain and the crew were all very friendly and helpful. The cruise included a very informative guided tour of the ship from the engine room right to the bridge, lunch of either reindeer or salmon soup and a chance to swim in the frozen Baltic Sea! Going on this cruise is indeed a once in a lifetime experience, well worth every single penny spent. Just watching the Sampo cut through the thick ice and hearing the thundering sound of ice being crushed and the vastness of the frozen sea is just exhilarating. The highlight of our cruise is of course swimming (or floating) in the frozen Baltic Sea. You get to wear these orange coloured immersion suits where amazingly you don't get cold or wet. It was a lot of fun!To commemorate the experience, the captain will honour each cruise participant with a Sampo Icebreaker Certificate back at the port. This will definitely go down as one of the most memorable highlights of our trip to Lapland, Finland... Highly recommended!

It was a 2 hour drive from Rovaniemi. The Sampo is the Former Ice breaker of the Finnish Government. It offers a unique cruise experience on the Gulf of Bothia, It was a 4 hour cruise and staff showed us around the cruise. Watching the ice break and crack was a great experience too. We had lunch on board and were also able to wear the emergency suits and jump into the ice cold water and float for a couple of minutes. Most of the staff were good but some were a bit rude. I guess they could not handle a large group. A must see experience but I feel you would enjoy it if you are part of a larger group.

simple an experience that was fantastic. The service from the crew excelled. Watching the ice break as you are going through it on the ship is amazing. Then you get to suit up in waterproof onesie type things and jump in to the ice water.

It's expensive, but it's definitely worth paying the money. It was a fantastic experience altogether.The staff were very helpful and friendly and being able to float in the sea was great.Well spent money.

A unique experience that was truly fantastic. The service from the crew excelled. Watching the ice break as you are going through it on the ship is amazing. Then you get to suit up in waterproof onesie type things and jump in to the ice water. I thought it would be colder than it was but I did not freeze. The only time I got cold was if I kept my hands in water(they were covered). Not having seen frozen lakes etc before we found walking on the ice was so much fun. The tour of the ship including the engine room impressed my partner who is hard to impress. We nearly didn't do this tour as it is quite expensive, but we are so glad we did. It was a major highlight of our trip to Finland with the Northern lights being the other. The tour goes for 4 hours but feels a lot longer.

Nothing to dislike. I would recommend this extraordinary journey. The meal was excellent, the information and tour of the boat most informative, and altogether a unique chance to explore a precision craft. I passed on the chance to float in the icy waters, but I'm sure this was also great fun for those who tried it.

Having a trip with the icebreaker and floating in the middle of the North Sea is quite an unique experience, which you can not have in the other place.

This excursion was one of the best I've had. You must try the reindeer soup, yum. Floating in the Baltic Sea is a once in a life time experience. Well worth the price of the 4 hour trip out on the frozen sea.

Well organized experience of icebreaking on the Baltic sea.The tour take about four hours, including sailing out to the sea, stopping for a dip in the ice cokd water, and return to the port.The ship is from the sixties, reasonably well kept.We had the fortune to be there on a beautiful day, so we could enjoy the trip from the decks and sea the ship sailing through the frozen ice fields.The dip in the sea is more of a touristic gimmick, the suits are limited and one has to wait for his turn and then use the suit which someone else just took off. Takes a long time and it's not very hygenic. Try to be among the first ones (the ship takes 150 tourists at a time).

Titta V, Public Relations Manager at Sampo Icebreaker, responded to this review, 3 weeks agoDear Zinio, thank You for your revised. I'm glad You enjoyed the icebreaker cruise. During the cruise we serve different meals. The soup (either creamy salmon soup, cheezy reindeer soup or vegetarian soup) with bread, coffee/Tea is always included in the day cruise price. It is also possible to book a 3 course menu in advance. The additional 3-course menu is available in our web shop, and also from our Sales Office and from Travel agencies.With best regards, Titta / Sampo Sales office

This is one of the greatets adventures that I ever made. It's funny to think that you will be part of a sea cruize during the Finnish winter.The atmosfere in the Sampo was great, amazing food!All the staff strives to do the best to give you a great time.When they stop in the midle of the cruize make shure to drop-off to walk over the frozen sea.You can even take a picture on the on the bow of ship pretending that you're pushing it back to the wather!

The team takes you around various parts of the ship , gives ample explanations and helps you to take the dip in the Baltic frozen waters , it`s nice and time goes by quickly , it`s a pity though that the so called "lunch" it`s only a -albeit good one -salmon soup ...