Cultural expedition cruise pioneer releases particulars of 4 extraordinary voyages exploring Greenland, the Northwest Passage and Northern Canada from late August to early September 2024, when the Northern Lights are most seen.
Swan Hellenic continues to entice adventurous, curious minds with its expert-curated, cultural expedition cruises, this time saying particulars of 4 distinctive “Northern Lights Voyages” throughout the Arctic aboard its luxurious ice-class vessel SH Vega.
- The primary is Iceland, East Greenland and the Northern Lights – 18 to 30 August 2024 – a 12-night circumnavigation of Iceland that ranges inland from 5 very completely different locations. Departing from and returning to Reykjavik, friends may have numerous alternatives to benefit from the capital metropolis’s diversified sights, together with the neighboring Blue Lagoon, well-known for its therapeutic geothermal waters. Ísafjörður is the primary port of name, a bustling fishing city set within the coronary heart of the dramatic Westfjords area. At this level, SH Vega sails north for an intensive foray into the wilds of East Greenland, from the distant city of Ittoqqortoormiit to the huge Scoresbysund fjord community and majestic Kong Oscar Fjord. Having returned south, the following port of name is Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland’s buzzing, cultural hub, surrounded by the wealthy, Skálanes nature reserve. The fishing village of Djupivogur then delivers fairly a distinction, with its Viking origins and close by Vatnajökull Nationwide Park, a wild expanse with Europe’s largest ice cap, Vatnajökull Glacier, thundering glacial rivers and lively volcanoes. Lastly, the “Puffin Island” of Heimaey immerses friends in thrilling birdlife experiences earlier than their return to Reykjavik.
This uncommon cultural expedition cruise, will be daisy-chained with SH Vega’s subsequent voyage, Greenland in Depth, to carry additional Northern Lights alternatives and intensive expeditions into the secrets and techniques of Greenland, the world’s largest island.
- Greenland in Depth – 30 August to 9 September 2024 –departs Reykjavik, Iceland, on a 10-night voyage of Greenland, immersing friends in its thrilling wild landscapes and provoking cultures and traditions. The expeditions begin instantly with the uninhabited coastal island of Skjoldungen and the dramatic Prins Christian Sund fjord. Right here breathtaking vistas await, full with alternatives for sighting bearded seals and finback, blue and minke whales. The colourful Inuit fishing and searching village of Aappilattoq follows, bringing cultural insights which discover a dramatic distinction the day after within the abandoned mining city of Ivittut. Nuuk, Greenland’s capital metropolis, is subsequent, combining a contemporary perspective with a buzzing arts scene, outdated Colonial Harbor and conventional picket homes alongside avant-garde structure. Sisimiut, simply north of the Arctic Circle, continues the cultural deep dive, having been inhabited for over 4,500 years by the Inuit, Dorset after which Thule folks. Days eight and 9 are devoted to the UNESCO World Heritage Websites Ilulissat Icefjord and Disko Bay, an Inuit house for millennia, earlier than the cruise ends to discover Kangerlussuaq over two days. As soon as a WWII airbase on the head of the fjord, Kangerlussuaq is now a welcoming gateway to Inuit tradition, with its devoted museum and icy tundra, teeming with wildlife.
Not surprisingly, this distinctive cultural expedition cruise already has restricted remaining availability, partly because of the spectacular alternative it presents for daisy-chaining with Iceland, East Greenland and the Northern Lights which precedes it.
- Canadian Northwest Passage and the Northern Lights – 9 to 25 September – is a 16-night cultural expedition cruise that sails from and returns to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland, making its method to and thru a lot of the Northwest Passage, first calling at Sisimiut, the northernmost metropolis in Greenland, Ilulissat after which Qeqertarsuaq, the biggest city on Disko Island. Day six brings the magical mountain views of Pond Inlet on northern Baffin Island within the Canadian territory of Nunavut. A chief breeding floor for narwhals, it’s equally well-known for conventional Inuit craft abilities and the thousand-year-old qarmaq sod homes in close by Qulalukat. Dundas Harbor, the japanese entrance to the Northwest Passage on Devon Island, is subsequent, adopted by Croker Bay and Radstock Bay, intently related to the exploration of Canada’s Excessive Arctic undertaken whereas trying to find the lacking crew of British explorer Sir John Franklin’s fateful Northwest Passage Expedition in 1845-46. SH Vega takes friends nearer to his story the next day on Beechey Island, the place the expedition wintered. Port Leopold, a spot of untamed magnificence, is the following port of name earlier than crossing the Lancaster Sound to Elwin Bay, wealthy in wildlife from thick-billed murres, black guillemots, northern fulmars and black-legged kittiwakes to Beluga whales and ringed seals. The ship then calls at Fort Ross on Somerset Island, the now deserted northernmost fur buying and selling publish of the Hudson’s Bay Firm, the place Sir James Clark Ross situated the Magnetic North Pole in 1829. Passing by means of the Bellot Strait and cruising Peel Sound, this unforgettable cruise reaches Coningham Bay on Prince of Wales Island within the coronary heart of the Northwest Passage. It then completes the return leg to Kangerlussuaq by way of the breathtaking Sam Ford Fjord and distant, lovely Baffin Island neighborhood of Qikiqtarjuaq, famend for the heat and hospitality of its folks, who welcome guests and share their wealthy historical past, tradition and traditions with pleasure.
Additional enriching the expertise, this voyage is one in all Swan Hellenic’s Maris Culinary Discovery at Sea Collection in partnership with JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs, the connoisseur group for cooks beneath 40 who’ve already gained worldwide acclaim. Michelin star chef Alexandra Müller from Switzerland shall be accompanying friends all through the cruise, serving a distinct signature dish each evening within the lead-up to a luxurious Gala Dinner created to showcase her creativity and abilities.
As well as, this cruise can also be one in all Swan Hellenic’s Discover Area at Sea Collection in partnership with the SETI Institute. Famend Astronomer Dr. Uma Gorti, an Skilled in Star and Planet Formation, shall be accompanying friends aboard and ashore all through their cruise, giving two talks through the voyage: “Star and Planet Formation” and “Astrochemistry”.
- The fourth of those particular Northern Lights cruises is Canadian Arctic and Northern Lights – 25 September to 10 October 2024 – which sails from Kangerlussuaq on an epic 15-night voyage of discovery from the grandeur of Greenland’s glaciers, fjords and icebergs to the spectacular wilds and Inuit cultures of the northern Canadian coast. Initially exploring from Qeqertarsuaq, Ilulissat, Disko Bay and Sisimiut, SH Vega then sails south to Nuuk earlier than crossing the Labrador Sea to Iqaluit within the Everett Mountains of Baffin Island. The northernmost metropolis in Canada and capital of Nunavut territory, Iqaluit has been a fishing location of the Inuit and their predecessors, the Paleo-Eskimo (Dorset tradition) and Thule for 1000’s of years. The acquaintance with Baffin Island continues alongside the coast and as much as the uninhabited Woman Franklin Island, greatest identified for its big vertical cliffs of Archean rock, among the many oldest rock formations on the planet, but additionally a haven for black guillemots, ptarmigan and gulls, with walruses and beluga whales close by. Persevering with south to the Torngat Mountains Nationwide Park in Newfoundland, staffed fully by Inuit, friends can hear first-hand their folks’s tales of spirits and traditions of their ancestral homeland. The distant Arctic outpost of Hebron brings additional insights into Inuit life and historical past on day 11, adopted by a day at sea crusing on to L’anse Aux Meadows with its 1,000-year-old Viking settlement, now a UNESCO World Heritage Web site, earlier than this eye-opening cruise concludes in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Based as a naval base in 1749, Halifax is now famed not just for its seafaring custom but additionally its museum with artifacts rescued from the Titanic, in addition to Fairview Garden Cemetery, the place lots of the ship’s victims are buried.
As one in all Swan Hellenic’s Discover Area at Sea Collection in partnership with theSETI Institute, this cruise can even be privileged to host the institute’s CEO Invoice Diamond, who shall be accompanying friends all through their cruise, each aboard and ashore. Invoice will give two talks through the voyage: “The Seek for Life Past Earth – The way it Works, The way it’s Going, and Why it Issues” and “Astrobiology, Discipline Expeditions and the Seek for Life Past Earth”.
SH Vega is a 5-star Polar Code PC 5 expedition cruise ship with ice-strengthened hull, that includes elegant Scandi-design interiors, intensive outside areas and devoted expedition amenities. Accommodating 152 friends in 76 spacious suites and staterooms, the bulk with giant balconies, she includes a swimming pool, state-of-the-art gymnasium, spa, panoramic sauna and three eating venues – the Swan Restaurant, Membership Lounge and Pool Bar & Grill.
Swan Hellenic Chief Industrial Officer Patrizia Iantorno feedback: “We’re very pleased with these Arctic Northern Lights voyages with their distinctive onboard experiences. They not solely provide uncommon entry to the uncooked magnificence, historical past and cultures of those distant, pristine areas, but additionally carry particular alternatives to witness the Northern Lights from land and sea. We are able to’t wait to welcome friends aboard! “
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