Arctic cruise research

[RooFlyer]

What comes after Antarctica? The Arctic of course!

So looking for advice re Arctic cruise. I've found this trip report by @drron from 2010 Drron takes to cruising. The Arctic here we come. Yikes! Some memories of how flying used to be! Also @JohnM 's more basic job in 2019 (Russia and Russian vessels are now off the agenda .. fortunately!)

ATM looking at Ponant and SilverSea and one by Hurtigruten, with Ponant the front-runner for price and itinerary. Not Quark.

Initial questions.

Best month? May / June / July ?
If I could only do one, should it be Greenland or Svalbard? (Hurtigruten is the one with both, but a lot of sea time.).

 

[VPS]

Following along for ideas

 

[Pushka]

@love_the_life ? I have memories of a polar bear?

 

[drron]

Thanks @RooFlyer for letting me have a trip down memory lane. So old we were still flying QFi!
Greenland very enjoyable and much better to do it on a cruise. However most cruises around Greenland start or end in Iceland. Silversea do have some that start and end in Greenland though may also visit Baffin Island.
I wouldn’t recommend doing Svalbard and Greenland in the same cruise.

 

[RooFlyer]

This is my front-runner. No single supplement and airfares from/to Paris included (economy ). About $16K for Prestige cabin, deck 5.

Cruise Fjords and glaciers of Spitsbergen from Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen - June 2025 | Ponant

Somewhere in the High Arctic, between 76 and 80 degrees latitude North, Spitsbergen, meaning "pointed mountains”, awaits you for seven days of unforgettable travel looking out for wild life. You will lift the anchor in Longyearbyen, where colourful wooden

uk.ponant.com

Of course I'll have to get to and from Paris. In high season. Never been in Europe in high season, except when working.

I've been drawn to Svalbard after talking to one of the expedition crew on my SS Antarctica cruise. @Port Power , it was the Canadian Andrew, who has been on a number f cruises in the area. He said there is some movement to restrict cruises around Svalbard and "if you want to go, do it ASAP".

 

[zig]

Following for inspiration as I would also like to do an Arctic cruise.

 

[drron]

If anyone else is thinking of a Greenland cruise I recently redid an old trip report that on AFF had lost most of the pictures so I was able to replace them for this report.
We went in August 2013. I really would recommend August as we got to see the Northern lights nearly every night plus polar bears in greenland and Iceland as well as one of the largest populations of walrus. Plus when we got to Churchill in hudson Bay the river was teeming with the white Beluga whales.

Very late report on Iceland, Greenland and Hudson Bay

There have been a few mentions of Iceland and Greenland recently. The weather does play a big part and on our cruise we had some really good weather. We departed Reykjavik on August 7th 2013 0n the Explorer. I will though show our days in Iceland first. We started off visiting our grandkids in Sy...

boards.cruisecritic.com

 

[Port Power]

This is my front-runner. No single supplement and airfares from/to Paris included (economy ). About $16K for Prestige cabin, deck 5.

Cruise Fjords and glaciers of Spitsbergen from Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen - June 2025 | Ponant

Somewhere in the High Arctic, between 76 and 80 degrees latitude North, Spitsbergen, meaning "pointed mountains”, awaits you for seven days of unforgettable travel looking out for wild life. You will lift the anchor in Longyearbyen, where colourful wooden

uk.ponant.com

Of course I'll have to get to and from Paris. In high season. Never been in Europe in high season, except when working.

I've been drawn to Svalbard after talking to one of the expedition crew on my SS Antarctica cruise. @Port Power , it was the Canadian Andrew, who has been on a number f cruises in the area. He said there is some movement to restrict cruises around Svalbard and "if you want to go, do it ASAP".

I will be interested to see your final itinerary. It’s a long way for 7 nights; will you add on something else?

I will be doing Svalbard in June with Silversea, but unfortunately not Greenland, which is disappointing.

 

[RooFlyer]

I will be interested to see your final itinerary. It’s a long way for 7 nights; will you add on something else?

For sure. Maybe some western Europe that I've never been to in Summer (Germany, Italy). Ah, just checked school hols in Germany 2025 - July. That's going to help determine the date for the Arctic cruise.

I might go crazy and look at a Med cruise as well. Never done the Greek Isles.

 

[Pushka]

For sure. Maybe some western Europe that I've never been to in Summer (Germany, Italy). Ah, just checked school hols in Germany 2025 - July. That's going to help determine the date for the Arctic cruise.

I might go crazy and look at a Med cruise as well. Never done the Greek Isles.

We had a fabulous small boat trip organised for the Greek Isalnds in 2020. Of course we know how that ended. Also look at a small cruise boat around Croatia. The small islands are fabulous. We had around. 35 passengers onboard.

 

[Port Power]

We had a fabulous small boat trip organised for the Greek Isalnds in 2020. Of course we know how that ended. Also look at a small cruise boat around Croatia. The small islands are fabulous. We had around. 35 passengers onboard.

I second the Croatian islands. Loved the week on a yacht.

 

[Lat34]

I second the Croatian islands. Loved the week on a yacht.

I can third (if that's a thing) the Croatian islands on a yacht. Try for two weeks to have a really good look but even 7 days Split / Dubrovnik or vice-versa on a small boat or yacht is fabulous.

 

[kookaburra75]

Brother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law did an artic adventure a few years ago, which included Svalbard. I'll get the details off them and post it. Although from memory it was a Russian scientific ship.

 

[love_the_life]

We were in the Arctic in August 2010 (MrLtL's birthday bash) and on Silversea from Tromso to Reykjavik (16 days) including Bear Island, a fair bit of time in Svalbard, Jan Mayen and then a loop around Iceland. We saw lots of polar bears and walruses but the puffins had already left when we were there so missed them. We were supposed to traverse the top of Svalbard but the sea ice was too thick. I am guessing Rooflyer is perhaps more interested in the the geology and we had a couple of great expedition staff.
Friends of ours did almost the same trip just before COVID and sadly there were no polar bear sightings at all, though someone they know did the North West passage last year and did see them further north.
The issue we found with Ponant in the Antarctic was that the ship was geared for the French and if you couldn't understand the French lectures, although they were also presented in English, these were woeful (lost a lot in translation as you say).
So Rooflyer if you were frustrated by the standard of the expedition staff in Antarctica, you might want to do some research on Ponant as well. The other frustration with Ponant was the medical form which had to be completed by your doctor!

 

[cgichard]

Is that medical form for Ponant required for all their cruiases, or was it specific for the Antarctic one?

 

[drron]

We were in the Arctic in August 2010 (MrLtL's birthday bash) and on Silversea from Tromso to Reykjavik (16 days) including Bear Island, a fair bit of time in Svalbard, Jan Mayen and then a loop around Iceland. We saw lots of polar bears and walruses but the puffins had already left when we were there so missed them. We were supposed to traverse the top of Svalbard but the sea ice was too thick. I am guessing Rooflyer is perhaps more interested in the the geology and we had a couple of great expedition staff.
Friends of ours did almost the same trip just before COVID and sadly there were no polar bear sightings at all, though someone they know did the North West passage last year and did see them further north.
The issue we found with Ponant in the Antarctic was that the ship was geared for the French and if you couldn't understand the French lectures, although they were also presented in English, these were woeful (lost a lot in translation as you say).
So Rooflyer if you were frustrated by the standard of the expedition staff in Antarctica, you might want to do some research on Ponant as well. The other frustration with Ponant was the medical form which had to be completed by your doctor!

So you got on the PA2 after we got off in Tromso. We sailed from Svalbard to Tromso and the next cruise was to Reykjavik. The QE2 was in port.

 

[bashworth]

We did Antartica last year and next year are booked in with Viking in 2025 to do 29 days New York to Bergen via Greenland, Iceland and Svarlbad.

 

[Port Power]

We did Antartica last year and next year are booked in with Viking in 2025 to do 29 days New York to Bergen via Greenland, Iceland and Svarlbad.
View attachment 368906

That’s a nice itinerary, but is it an expedition cruise or on a classic ship with included shore excursions?

 

[bashworth]

That’s a nice itinerary, but is it an expedition cruise or on a classic ship with included shore excursions?

Classic Ship (But less than 1000 passengers) with shore excursions.

 

[RooFlyer]

The other frustration with Ponant was the medical form which had to be completed by your doctor!

May not be current. I don't recall it for my 2023 Kimberley cruise.

We were supposed to traverse the top of Svalbard but the sea ice was too thick. I am guessing Rooflyer is perhaps more interested in the the geology and we had a couple of great expedition staff.

Not necessarily. Polar Bears and walrus high on the list . I just want expedition staff to be able to address questions beyond the everyday.

if you couldn't understand the French lectures, although they were also presented in English, these were woeful (lost a lot in translation as you say).

Frankly, on all the cruises I've been on (Galapagos, Kimberley, Antarctica) the lectures have been at the 'man in the street' level, so I won't miss them if all in French.

Is that medical form for Ponant required for all their cruiases, or was it specific for the Antarctic one?

For my cruise, there was a medical questionnaire to fill out - quite extensive - but completely voluntary as to what you said. I did it in full, as you never know ...

I have booked this cruise (no single supplement ) , and will take my chances on French lectures etc. May be different date.

Cruise Fjords and glaciers of Spitsbergen from Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen to Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen - June 2025 | Ponant

Somewhere in the High Arctic, between 76 and 80 degrees latitude North, Spitsbergen, meaning "pointed mountains”, awaits you for seven days of unforgettable travel looking out for wild life. You will lift the anchor in Longyearbyen, where colourful wooden

uk.ponant.com