Arctic Highlights

Your exciting Arctic cruise expedition begins today in Longyearbyen, the administrative capital of the Svalbard archipelago. After arriving independently to this unique Arctic town you will be transferred to the port for late afternoon embarkation. After settling in to your comfortable cabin and familiarising yourself with your new surroundings the ship will sail through beautiful Isfjorden and your adventure will begin.

Exploring the Northwest Spitsbergen National Park, our itinerary over these days is dependent on ice, sea and weather conditions and will be determined on a day by day basis - this is true expedition sailing. Exploring as many remote areas as possible we will visit ice-covered fjords with breathtaking mountain scenery and glaciers and spend time sailing through the ice in search of polar bears hunting seals. At one or more of the stops, we hope to see Arctic fox and Svalbard's unique reindeer, as well as visiting historical sites and learning about the area's distinctive tundra. Enjoying exciting Zodiac excursions you will come up-close to nature in its most impressive form.

Traversing the Greenland Sea towards the Northeast Greenland National Park, keep an eye out on deck for a variety of marine wildlife in the waters below including orca, humpback and minke whales, as well as dolphins. As we sail there will be informative and entertaining lectures and talks provided by your team of onboard experts on everything from the wildlife of the area to historic Arctic exploration. As we approach the eastern coast of Greenland we will attempt to follow the pack ice edge to explore the polar seascape and spot sea mammals and sea birds such as kittiwakes and fulmars.

Heading south along the eastern coast of Greenland we will sail through some of the most spectacular fjord country in the world. You can explore rarely visited glaciers, bays and inlets in the world's largest national park looking out for wildlife such as walruses, seals, musk oxen, foxes, Arctic hares, lemmings, and a variety of birds. Explore in Zodiacs to get a closer look at some of the birdlife and to walk on the tundra.

We also plan to visit the small settlement of Ittorqqortoormiit to see local crafts and Inuit culture.

As we head towards Iceland and the steaming hot springs of Reykjavik, you can continue to enjoy the lecture series while watching the seas for whales. The view is often complemented by soaring fulmars, kittiwakes, gannets, guillemots, and razorbills.

Arrival into Reykjavik signals the end of our Arctic adventure and after breakfast disembarkation will begin at the Midbakki Pier - Port of Reykjavik. The port is within walking distance of downtown and for those who are flying straight home a transfer will be provided to the airport.