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CANADIAN ARCTIC & GREENLAND
A voyage through the super natural waters north of the Arctic Circle is an extraordinary experience, whether it’s navigating the fabled Northwest Passage, exploring Greenland’s coastline, or an entire circumnavigation of the North Pole.
From ship or shore, the natural landscapes are astounding, the gargantuan ice floes both savage and tranquil; the sound of calving glaciers overpowering; cathedral-size icebergs dwarfing all around them. Visit some remote communities and marvel at wildlife all around you: the walruses of Svalbard’s Moffen Island, the musk ox and arctic fox, and of course the king of the North, the majestic polar bear.
A journey into the Arctic offers a new perspective on the world around us.
A sample of our Arctic & Greenland Experiences:
Northwest Passage - 12 Nights
Baffin Island Explorer - Iqaluit to Resolute - 12 Nights
High Arctic Explorer - 11 Nights
Enquire about more Expedition Cruises here
About our ships
Travelogue: Exploring the North West Passage
Contact Vancouver Travel Consultant Christine Boecker for your Expedition!
Northwest Passage (12 Nights)
We celebrate Roald Amundson’s 1905 successful voyage through the Northwest Passage by attempting to repeat the journey 100 years later.
Aboard the Akademik Ioffe, we believe our expedition will be the first travelling from east to west through the Passage, and it promises to be as much a journey of discovery as was Amundsen’s exploration.
We’ll travel the northern coast of mainland Canada, challenging the vast expanses of sea ice. As we sail through the Arctic Archipelago we’re always on the lookout for wildlife, from birds to bears to whales. We’ll find evidence of the European legends of discovery, including the most notorious of all, the ill-fated Franklin expedition of 1845.
The journey begins in the small community of Resolute and from there, our route takes us south to Bellot Strait, where Point Zenith on Boothia Peninsula marks the most northerly point of Canada’s mainland. We continue through Franklin Strait, and then sail west through Coronation Gulf attempting to touch the waters of the Beaufort Sea to complete the full extent of the Northwest Passage. Then we turn back making our eastward voyage back to Resolute. At the conclusion of our expedition, we’ll hope to travel further east and explore the last known winter camp of the Franklin expedition at Beechey Island. Here, we end our journey paying tribute to all of the Arctic explorers that shared the spirit of adventure before us.
Note: Weather, ice, or other conditions
may necessitate changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain
shore excursions.
Itinerary (reversed on some departures)
Day 1 Charter flight to Resolute and board ship by Zodiac
Day 2 Beechey Island and Prince Leopold Island
Day 3 Fort Ross and Bellot Strait
Day 4 Victory Point, King William Island
Day 5 Gjoa Haven and Simpson Strait
Day 6 Jenny Lind Island
Day 7 Johansen Bay, Victoria Island
Day 8 Holman
Day 9 Smoking Hills
Day 10 Pearce Point
Day 11 Bernard Harbour
Day 12 Byron Bay/Lachlan River, Victoria Island
Day 13 Cambridge Bay – disembark ship by Zodiac and charter flight out.
Baffin Island Explorer - Iqaluit to Resolute (12 Nights)
We begin in Iqaluit, exploring the southeast coast of
spectacular Baffin Island. As we turn and cross Baffin Bay towards
Greenland, we’ll be watching for whales, polar bears,
seabirds and icebergs. The next days are spent exploring the
spectacular coast of Greenland to Illulissat, to cruise among the
gigantic icebergs along the ice front created by Jakobshavn Glacier,
the fastest-moving glacier on earth – about 15 to 25 metres a
day! We'll also stop on the Greenland coast at Uummannaq, a picturesque
village set in the shadow of a red gneiss mountain, some of the oldest
rock in the world.
Heading west, back to Canada we visit Milne Inlet, the
breeding ground for the rare narwhal and we may have them surfacing
around us as we cruise in the Zodiacs. Another stop is Pond Inlet,
famous for its soapstone carvings. From here, we can hike to the
ancient site at Salmon River to see the remains of Thule houses built
in deep pits with rafters of whalebone. We cross Lancaster Sound
– the ‘wildlife highway’ – and
hike in the solitude of beautiful Navy Board Inlet on the north coast
of Baffin Island.
We'll visit Beechey Island, which gives us an historical
perspective on the centuries-long quest to find the Northwest Passage
and a new trade route across the top of the world. We hike to the
graves marking the winter camp of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin
expedition. In search of the Northwest Passage, all 132 men died after
their ships were crushed by the ice. At Prince Leopold Island, we
cruise in the Zodiacs beneath cliffs teeming with birdlife, including
thick-billed murres, northern fulmars, black-legged kittiwakes, and
black guillemots.
 Note: Weather, ice, or other
conditions may necessitate changes to our itinerary and alteration to
certain shore excursions.
Itinerary
Day 1 Charter flight from Ottawa to Iqaluit and Zodiac embarkation to ship
Day 2 Monumental Island, off the southeast coast of Baffin Island
Day 3 Pangnirtung, in stunning Cumberland Sound
Days 4 - 5 Davis Strait – at sea
Day 6 Sisimiut, Greenland
Day 7 Ilulissat and Jacobshaven Ice Fjord
Day 8 Uummannaq
Day 9 Baffin Bay – at sea
Day 10 Lancaster Sound and Cape Hay bird cliffs
Day 11 Dundas Harbour, Devon Island
Day 12 Prince Leopold Island and Beechey Island
Day 13 Resolute – disembark ship by Zodiac and charter flight to Ottawa.
High
Arctic Explorer (11 Nights)
The High Arctic Explorer is truly a voyage of adventure and
discovery. We will sail out from
Resolute and investigate
the area that
challenged the famous explorers of the past. This beautiful but extreme
environment is still remote and wild, and to get the best out of it, we
will relax and ‘go with the floe’. Travel in this
region relies on understanding sea ice, and as many explorers before us
have found, is truly a ‘moveable feast’. We will be
visiting an area that overflows with history, and is also renowned for
its rare and spectacular wildlife, including polar bear, narwhal and
walrus. This is wilderness at its most extreme and beautiful, with
towering cliffs and glaciers, flowing tundra and ice in all its forms.
We will explore both the eastern Canadian High Arctic and the northwest
coast of Greenland, travelling to places that very few people have ever
seen, exploring new areas and the discovering new lands. We will also
visit some of the world’s most remote communities, where we
will be shyly welcomed by local Inuit and introduced to both the modern
and ancient aspects of their culture. This basic itinerary represents
an idealised plan and will change in order to take advantage of the
best opportunities that the ice and weather present.
 Note:
Weather, ice, or other
conditions may necessitate changes to our itinerary and alteration to
certain shore excursions.
Itinerary
Day 1 Charter flight Ottawa to Resolute for embarkation
Day 2 Prince Leopold Island
Day 3 Croker Bay and Dundas Harbour, Devon
Island
Day 4 Cobourg Island National Wildlife Area and Grise Fjord
Day 5 Melville Basin
Day 6 Qaanaaq, Greenland
Day 7 Kap York and Melville Bay
Day 8 Pond Inlet
Day 9 Cape Hay Migratory Bird Sanctuary
Day 10 Devon Island
Day 11 Beechey Island
Day 12 Resolute - disembark and transfer to airport for charter flight to Ottawa
Top
The Akademik
Ioffe is widely recognised as the best expedition-style
cruise vessel operating in Polar waters. She's a well-equipped,
ice-rated ship capable of carrying up to 118 passengers, although we
normally carry no more than 110 for extra comfort. In terms of
stability and speed, she is 'state of the art' and, while not
luxurious, she's very comfortable and kept in top condition.
The Akademik Sergey Vavilov is the sister ship of
the Akademik Ioffe and offers an almost identical experience. We are
very proud to be the operator of these unique vessels - the pride of
the Russian Academy of Science.
As working
scientific research vessels, they form the ideal platforms from which
to explore. We have all the equipment needed for exploring, from zodiac
landing craft to kayaks and camping gear. We even carry snowshoes. The
two ships are virtually identical, which means we can offer the same
great program and leadership, for which we are now so well known, on
both vessels.
In Antarctica we operate both the Akademik Ioffe and, her sister ship,
the Akademik Sergey Vavilov. Widely regarded as the finest expedition
ships operating in Polar waters, each offers a high level of comfort -
in her appointments, stability and strength.
Length
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117.04m |
| Breadth |
18.28m |
| Draft |
6.09m |
| Engines |
5,000 kW diesel, twin engine, twin
propeller, 600 kW bow and stern thrusters |
| Ice
Class |
KM*L1(1)A2, Canadian Type B |
| Tonnage |
6450 |
| Crew |
53 |
| Passengers |
110 |
There is a panoramic bar/lounge, library, videoroom,
and dining
space for the full passenger complement in one seating. There is also a
gymnasium, sauna and swimming pool. There is ample space for meetings
of the full group as well as smaller rooms for more intimate meetings.
Slide and video projection equipment are available, as well as overhead
projection andcomputer/data
projection in our state-of-the-art presentation theatre.
Main
Deck Triple
Cabin has bunk beds, a sofa bed, shared facilities, a washbasin in
cabin, and a writing desk. |
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Main
Deck Twin
Cabin has bunk beds, shared facilities, washbasin in cabin, and a
writing desk.
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Upper
Deck Twin
Cabin has one lower berth, a sofa bed, semi-private (one bathroom
between two cabins) facilities, and a writing desk. |
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Superior
Twin
Cabin has one lower berth, a sofa bed, private facilities, and a
writing desk. |
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Superior
Plus
Cabin has two lower berths, sofa, private facilities, and a writing
desk. |
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Peregrine
Suite
Suite has a double berth, sofa bed, separate sleeping quarters, private
facilities, writing desk, TV, VCR, and a refrigerator. |
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Cook
Suite
Suite has a double berth, sofa bed, separate sleeping quarters, private
facilities with a bathtub, writing desk, TV, VCR, and a refrigerator. |
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Contact Vancouver Travel Consultant Christine Boecker for your Expedition!
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