The rugged, remote Arctic remains one of the most unexplored domains on the planet and offers an unforgettable adventure. This ice-laden region encompasses the Canadian High Arctic, Greenland, the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen and at the very top of the planet, the North Pole. Arctic inhabitants include majestic polar bears, muskoxen, arctic foxes, beluga whales, reindeer, seals, walruses and a multitude of cliff-dwelling migratory seabirds.
Explore fjords, glaciers, tundra, ice-laden waterways and remote communities in the Land of the Midnight Sun. With our luxury expedition cruises one can enrich the Arctic experience with alpine kayaking, helicopter excursions, hiking, paddling, Zodiac cruising, submarine tours and community visits.
Svalbard boasts one of the Arctic‘s highest concentrations of polar bears. They are the world’s largest land carnivores and have become a symbol of the imperilled Arctic wilderness. This is one of the best places in the world to view polar bears hunting in their preferred habitat: the pack ice. Svalbard is also home to impressive colonies of nesting seabirds, a variety of seal and whale species. This is a protected wilderness where we find flowering tundra and tidewater glaciers. You can also encounter a great abundance of nesting seabirds, and land mammals such as Arctic fox and reindeer.
In Greenland coastal plains are home to prehistoric-looking musk oxen and other wildlife.
Franz Josef Land, part of the Russian Arctic National Park, is a nature sanctuary. Polar bears, walrus, endangered bowhead whales, and other Arctic wildlife can be spotted anywhere, anytime in and around the archipelago.
The Arctic is also rich with historical sites. You may find here the staging areas for many historic expeditions to the North Pole, including those of Roald Amundsen and Walter Wellman. In Svalbard, modern human endeavour can be experienced at Ny Ålesund, a former mining town that is now home to a multinational community of Arctic researchers. In addition to a museum, gift shop, and post office, visitors to this extreme northern settlement find a famous bust of Amundsen and a historic airship mast.
In Franz Josef Land we encounter a stark and enigmatic landscape steeped in the drama and heroism of early polar exploration. At places like Bell Island, Cape Flora, and Cape Tegetthoff we can walk in the footsteps of Fridtjof Nansen, Frederick George Jackson, Julius von Payer, and other polar explorers.
The choice and variety of Arctic luxury expedition cruises has greatly expanded over the last five years.
Previously, the few luxury ships operating in this region were converted vessels and did not really meet the expectations of the modern luxury traveller. However, many travellers were prepared to accept this because of the incredible experience that travelling to the Arctic represented.
We are pleased at the age of compromise when it comes to luxury creature comforts and facilities on luxury artic cruises is now over. The Sovereign Cruise Club is proud to be market leader in represent a new generation of wonderfully luxurious and intimate expedition ships, many of them recently launched or about to be by Ponant, Seabourn, Silversea Expeditions, Scenic Cruises and Viking Cruises. High quality premium cruises to this area are provided by Hurtigruten.
Naturally, due to the weather conditions Arctic luxury cruises only take place during the summer. A wide variety of itineraries are available, commencing at seven nights, up to port intensive 21 nights expeditions.
Many of our luxury cruise expedition partners are all inclusive on board and include a variety of shore excursions, many of which are by zodiac in small groups. A luxury expedition cruise is also the ideal way to get the most out of the Arctic, on board there will be a host of experts, from marine biologists to geologists and anthropologists to bring this fascinating and remote part of the world to life in a way that one would not think possible.
Ships such as the Scenic Eclipse provide helicopter excursions and the new Seabourn venture class expedition ships and the Scenic Eclipse also have submarines to further enhance your enjoyment of this remote part of the world. Whilst reasonably priced, please note that all helicopter and submarine tours are at an additional cost.
The luxury experts at The Sovereign Cruise Club look forward to helping you to plan your once-in-a-lifetime trip to this breath-taking and remote part of our wonderful planet. So, what are you waiting for? Surely you do not want to keep the polar bears waiting, do you?
