Circu
Circu
This inaugural voyage aboard the Sea Spirit, round trip from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, provides the rare opportunity to explore Northeast Greenland National Park. Ice permitting, we plan to enter the Kaiser Franz Josef & Kong Oscar Fjords for a close look at these scenic wonders, alive with wildlife during the summer months. We’ll look for musk ox, eider ducks, Arctic foxes, and whales. This is expedition cruising at its very best, considering that East Greenland’s northernmost inhabited settlements are far south of our intended destination.
On the Svalbard portion of trip, we explore the island’s legendary northwestern coast, home to dramatic mountain scenery, tidewater glaciers, rich polar history, and some of the Arctic’s best wildlife viewing: polar bears, walrus, seals, whales, and towering cliffs with thousands of nesting seabirds. Our captain and expedition leader aim to provide the best experience possible, so the routing of your voyage may be reversed, taking into consideration weather and sea conditions.
Welcome to Oslo, which in 2019 was awarded the prestigious title “Green Capital of Europe”. We’ve arranged a comfortable stay for you at an Oslo Airport hotel so that you’re conveniently close for your flight to Longyearbyen on Day 2.
If you’re adventurous and have the time, take the handy airport train into central Oslo – it’s a 20-minute ride and trains depart and arrive frequently during the day. Near Oslo Central Station are shops, cafes, the Botanical Garden, cultural attractions and the attractive waterfront area.
Today you have a flight to Longyearbyen, the administrative center of Svalbard and starting point of our Arctic expedition! At the Longyearbyen airport, you will be greeted by our staff and transferred to the pier where we will warmly welcome you aboard the deluxe expedition vessel M/V Sea Spirit. Get settled in your spacious suite and explore the ship that will be your comfortable home during the extraordinary adventure to come. Once underway, a full schedule of events kicks off with informative briefings and introductions from your expedition staff. After the first of many delicious dinners on board, step out onto the open decks to admire the gorgeous scenery in endless evening light as we pass through the wildlife-rich waters of Isfjorden, one of the largest fjords in Svalbard.
Svalbard is a true High Arctic wilderness and flexibility will be the key in our ability to maximize your experiences. Our route and exploration opportunities here are heavily dependent on the weather and sea ice conditions we encounter. Our experienced captain and expedition leader decide the itinerary and continually adjust plans as conditions and opportunities warrant. You can be sure that the best possible advantage will be taken of the circumstances presented to us by Nature in this wild and remote corner of the Arctic. We anticipate exploring in the northwestern part of the island of Spitsbergen. This area contains the archipelago’s most impressive scenery and some of the Arctic’s best wildlife viewing. We will try to reach the entrance of the Hinlopen Strait and see the beautiful fjords.
Jagged snowy mountain peaks flank deep fjords and narrow channels. Immense tidewater glaciers calve icebergs into turquoise waters. Fields of flowering tundra are home to grazing reindeer and playful Arctic fox. Bountiful inshore and offshore waters are home to a wide variety of marine mammals. Polar bears can be spotted anytime, anywhere in and around Svalbard.
Also in this area is Ny Ålesund, a former mining town that is now home to an international community of Arctic researchers, complete with museum, gift shop, and post office. This was also a staging area for historic attempts to discover the North Pole.
From Svalbard we head southwest across the Greenland Sea toward East Greenland. In these far northern latitudes, it is possible to encounter sea ice any time of the year. All along the way, we remain vigilant for sightings of marine mammals such as seals, and the majestic polar bear. In previous eras, a large number of different species of whales, especially bowhead whales, lived in the Greenland Sea. But due to hunting which lasted into the 20th centur, the whales were on the verge of extinction. Now, fortunately, the populations are recovering, and sometimes we can see these majestic animals passing by.
This is expedition cruising at its most authentic and it brings us new opportunities to explore. We will go on a true arctic adventure and feel the real breath of the Arctic. Our itinerary and exploration opportunities in East Greenland are dependent on weather and sea ice conditions. Again, you can be sure that our experienced captain and expedition leader will take advantage of every opportunity so that you can experience excellent wildlife viewing, discover incredible scenery and go ashore wherever possible. The Franz Josef Fjord and Kong Oscar Fjord systems are part of Northeast Greenland National Park, the world’s largest and perhaps most remote. This whole area contains some of the Arctic’s most magnificent scenery. Deep fjords and narrow channels, flanked by ice-clad peaks up to 2000 meters high, reach far into the mountainous heart of Greenland. Tidewater glaciers create colossal icebergs that float with wind and tide throughout the fjord system. On shore, fields of multicolored tundra are home to musk oxen and Arctic hare. The landscape — vast, open, and seemingly untouched since the beginning of time—is a hiker’s paradise. Throughout this area, we also find ancient Thule archeological sites, historical trappers’ huts, and modern Inuit hunters’ cabins. To provide you with the best experience possible, Days 3-5 and 8-11 might be reversed. This allows our captain and expedition team to monitor the weather and sea conditions; remember: flexibility is the key to polar expedition cruising!
Following our exploration of the Northeast Greenland coastline and fjords, we head back across the Greenland Sea toward Svalbard. Presentations and workshops by our expert staff ensure that these days at sea are not idly spent; but that’s up to you! Seabird viewing and whale sightings can be enjoyed from panoramic open decks as well as exterior stateroom windows and balconies.
After filling up with one last buffet breakfast on board, we bid you farewell in Longyearbyen and provide transfers. By this time, you may already be making plans for your next amazing trip with us into the polar worlds!
Airfare;
Visa and passport fees (if applicable);
Luggage and trip cancellation insurance;
Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages other than those for special events and celebrations;
Fuel surcharge may be applied for all bookings;
Personal expenses such as laundry and telecommunication charges;
Mandatory Emergency Evacuation Insurance to a minimum benefit of US$ 200,000 per person;
The cost of any applicable medical tests (such as COVID-19) or vaccinations required either by a national government or Poseidon Expeditions before, during or after the cruise;
Staff gratuities.
My voyage was great. All of the logistics worked out perfectly, right down to the correct size of allocated wellington boots!
I enjoyed Spitsbergen. The wildlife was like nothing I have ever seen before (polar bear, puffins, reindeer, birdlife). I still get a thrill every time we cruise around in Zodiacs and the glaciers were quite spectacular. Looking back at my photo’s reminds me of how astonishing the scenery is in Spitsbergen. The crew were great, and it was nice to meet up again with some familiar faces on board.
June 23, 2018
My trip in June to Svalbard was one of the high spots of my life. I am a wildlife devotee and green supporter so for years I have had a huge conflict about pursuing the former without transgressing the latter too much. Somehow, this cruise felt right – Ice Tracks and the entire ship’s crew are really conscientious about their environmental impact and told us about it – very reassuring. I loved the zodiac trips out right up to huge glaciers – one of which we saw calving – and onto the land where we trekked and got a real sense of the presence of polar bears – their tracks and where they’s scrambled out of the water onto the snow. We saw all 3 land mammals of the Arctic – wonderful birds including King Eiders – a bird high up on all birders’ ‘must see’ list, and whales including a Beluga with two calves, swimming so close to us!
I was travelling on my own – but everyone was very sociable and I was never on my own for long. The on board staff were always kind, helpful and hugely knowledgeable. A brilliant trip.
June 20, 2018
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