Icebreaker Sampo, Lapland, Finland

4A G 5:00 PM Mar 17, 2020

Its a memorable experience for life time
We booked this adventure from Experience365 including transfer from Kemi train station to cruise ship and return to the same spot and it had a free entrance in Kemi ice castle. At first we went to cruise departing spot by their car from train station. Then we enjoyed the unforgettable trip. Everything was amazing, every staff in cruise were very much helpful and special thanks to one of the cruise staff who took lots of amazing pics/video during our floating time in sea. But when we returned from cruise a big chaos happened. We were expecting, as our trip included entry to the snow castle, cab would take us to the castle and then our drop off point (Kemi rail station). But driver told us that he don’t know anything about the castle, he only got instruction to drop us off at railway station. Then he suggested at first we could go to castle then from castle Experience365 should arrange the transport to train station. But when we reached the castle one lady told us very rudely that from castle we had to arrange our transport separately with extra pay, we showed our ticket as we booked both way transfer from Kemi train station and entry to Kemi castle. But she didn't listen anything and don’t know how to behave with tourists. Before going there we already spent night in lapland's most beautiful and biggest ice hotel(Snow village), but still during booking we thought we can visit ice castle for that we choose this company not the Swedish one. In the same price they includes lunch also, but here nothing and that lady was so rude we feel so much bad that we didn't visit the castle and booked taxi and paid extra. What we feel that the information in the booking website was misleading but the worst part was how they deal with visitors. I think it could be handle in more polite manner. So last part totally destroyed our whole trip that’s why we would recommend before booking discuss with Experience365 in details.

4Vwalters94 5:00 PM Feb 25, 2023

Would recommend
A really enjoyable experience, and the scenery was absolutely stunning. The tour was informative, and my boyfriend who is an engineer was fascinated by how the ship worked and seeing the engine and control rooms. Getting suited up for the ice floating was a bit chaotic, which is the reason for me giving four stars. There is not much room in the changing rooms, and after taking off coats/boots etc there was a while of standing around which was the only time I felt cold. The floating itself was relaxing and a great experience. I have seen a few reviews saying that the time on the boat was too long, but I could have done with another hour or so to fully appreciate the ship and its views. There is a restaurant area and bar area on board to visit and warm if in between exploring the decks if needed. We took the afternoon tour from Kemi, and in the winter this does not include any lunch. There are a few snacks available to buy onboard (crisps, pastries) but I would recommend to eat a big breakfast, or eat lunch beforehand.