Arctic Cruises

Explore the northernmost part of Earth on an epic voyage

to the beguiling Arctic region, following in the footsteps of the few intrepid hearts who have reached the top of the world - pioneers, polar scientists and those with insatiable wanderlust. Your once-in-a-lifetime journey on board our powerful polar-class icebreaker towards the Polestar and the midnight sun will be an adventure to join an elite group of people who have traversed these magical, remote frozen waters and ice-covered lands, similar but also different to Antarctica. This is a life goal that you will never forget with extraordinary landscapes from serrated mountain peaks, rich river valleys and narrow fjords to beautiful wildlife including walruses, polar bears and majestic whales.

Destinations

Nome

Join our luxury expedition ship in Nome, a remote frontier town on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. Located on the Bering Sea this is the departure point for your cruise across the Northeast Passage. The mostly ice-free journey crosses the Bering Strait (51 miles across at its narrowest) between Russia and North America. Nome is the most famous gold rush town in Alaska (the town’s welcome sign is marked on the state’s largest gold pan). Visitors still come to celebrate the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, held each March. At the turn of the last century ‘mushing’ was the only form of transport. Nome has been inhabited by eskimo communities for thousands of years, and is also known for some of the best Eskimo dancing in Alaska. Excursions include mushing, panning for gold on the beaches and trips to the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, which protects a remnant of the Bering Land Bridge that once connected Asia with North America. This wind-swept tundra landscape on America’s western tip is also a haven for wildflowers. Hardy muskoxen and reindeer forage, bear and caribou roam, and the mountain streams provide a freshwater habitat for spawning Wild Alaskan salmon.

This unforgettable polar cruise tracking

the firmament to the Polestar will leave memories that will last a lifetime. A birdwatcher’s paradise, keen-eyed naturalists will see black-legged kittiwakes, black guillemots, ivory and glaucous gulls, and tundra shorebirds including snow bunting, purple sandpiper and Brent goose. Watch closely also for wolves, arctic hare and reindeer that track their prey across the frozen terrain. And while the silvery luminosity of this region can be bewitching, you will see lush tundra with colourful buttercups, yellow poppies and rockfoil. In the cerulean waters, grey, bowhead, white, humpback and minke whales plus ringed, spotted and bearded seals, sea lions and lumbering long-tusked walrus swim. While high above, peregrine falcons, Arctic tern and skuas circle, beak to heel. From hardy muskoxen foraging and bears roaming to Wild Alaskan salmon leaping, this sometimes harsh landscape is a celebration of some of the most enchanting wildlife on earth.

An expedition trip to the spectacular Arctic

is very much a moving adventure in an emotional and real sense. This is an extraordinary encounter with a region of intertwining elements from Northern Canada and Greenland to Alaska and its constantly shifting parts in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. The one constant in the Arctic is change. You will witness a wilderness where preserved mammoth remains have been found in the boggy tundra permafrost, pacific walruses bellow, snowy owls swoop and Arctic foxes jump through wildflowers. Your adventure will be enriched by our wildlife experts with fascinating presentations to bring your magical environment to life.

As you enter the Arctic Circle and the most northern of the five major circles

of latitude on our ice-strengthened expedition vessel, designed both for speed, comfort and manoeuvrability, a region of dramatic scenery unfolds. Snow-capped mountains and unique landforms from fjords to monumental cirques come into view; a destination of raw beauty that was only recently fully-charted by navigators from the last century. The Midnight Sun, Polar Night and Northern Lights of yellow, red and violet that fill the sky are only matched by the audio fireworks on a cruise where you’ll hear the sound of a thousand seabirds, seals bark and walruses growl, whistle and produce bell-like rings below water. However you choose to experience the Arctic, this is a miraculous and ever-changing destination that will leave you changed forever, too

Our Cruise Itineraries

Norway Explored

Cruise through spectacular scenery on our 10-night Beauty of the Fjords adventure – longer and more immersive than many fjords voyages – as our luxury expedition ship visits the places it was built to explore, slipping into tiny harbours and a wealth of fjords, from Norway’s longest to one of the narrowest that a ship can navigate. We head north from Amsterdam before reaching Norway. You’ll snake through emerald-green fjords, around rugged headlands, past mighty glaciers, along tiny channels and amongst the Lofoten Islands enjoying long days and the soft glow of the midnight sun. As we arrive in Tromso, 250 miles above the Arctic Circle, you’ll have visited some of Norway’s wildest scenery in boutique style.

Lands of the Vikings

Explore the wonders of Norway’s fjordland, mirror-clear waters sandwiched between jagged peaks, then take in the wild splendour of Norway’s Lofoten Islands, before exploring the Shetland Islands with our expansive 10-night Fjords and Islands Discovery cruise. The voyage sails from the Arctic city of Tromso and shadows the Norwegian coast 2,000 km, serenely cruising into the country’s fjords. Here, we visit Sognefjord, Norway’s longest, and cruise as far as Flam, passing waterfalls and picturesque towns before ending in Norway’s historic city of Bergen, the gateway to the fjords. Our boutique expedition ship takes you into the heart of places that matter in this awe-inspiring northern landscape

Norway from end to end

Embark on a truly amazing 14-night Arctic adventure divided between the some of the best and most exciting of Norway’s fjords and an intensive exploration of the Svalbard archipelago – calling at mainland Europe’s most northerly spot, North Cape. Our five-star expedition ship sets sail from the medieval city of Bergen and visits a wonderland of tiny harbours, grandiose fjords and rocky islands, not to mention the cities of Trondheim and Tromso, before reaching Spitsbergen in the High Arctic. Join us on board as we take in superb scenery that, on a perfect day, can be dotted with polar bears and whales.

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