COMPLETE ARCTIC 

SHIP OFFERING THIS ITINERARY

Greg Mortimer

The Greg Mortimer is a new purpose built, polar expedition vessel taking 120 guests. This vessel has been designed in close consultation with Antarctic expedition specialists and is the first expedition cruise ship designed with the ULSTEIN X-BOW hull. This cutting edge nautical technology allows for gentle travel and motion at sea, improved comfort and safety on-board, reduced vibrations, lower fuel consumption and emissions and ‘virtual anchoring’ which means the ship can float anchor-less while launching the Zodiacs without disturbing delicate sea floor areas. There are four sea-level launching platforms for fast and efficient access to and from Zodiacs.

Day 1 Reykjavik, Iceland

After making your own way to Reykjavik pier, embark the Greg Mortimer in the late afternoon from 4.00 pm. You’ll have time to settle into your cabin before important safety briefings.

It is recommended you arrive into Reykjavik at least one day prior to your voyage. Our experienced travel consultants can assist you with international flights to Iceland, accommodation, transfers and tours.

Reykjavik is a beautiful city with many lovely restaurants. You may wish to visit the Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir and the tectonic plate boundary where North America and Europe are pulling away from each other. You can do these activities on a Golden Circle Tour. You may also be interested in taking a ride through teh countryside on the beautiful Icelandic horses famous for their fifth gait.

Day 2 Denmark Strait

Cruise across the Denmark Strait towards Greenland. Be on the lookout for whale blows and the many seabirds that trail the ship in the uplifting thermals. In the lecture theatre, enjoy informative and entertaining presentations from the expedition team on topics such as seabirds, wildlife, and ice, or catch up on some rest after busy days of travel.

Days 3-9 East Coast of Greenland

In the next couple of days visit Scoresbysund and Kaiser Franz Josef Fjord. Landings may include: Sydkap in Scorsebysund where you can walk to delightful viewpoints showing off the vast sound. Kayakers will havethe opportunity to explore the lonely beaches. You may explore the ancient grave sites on the island, or the lakes with green tunnels and giant icebergs on a Zodiac cruise. Other possible landing points in the area include: Rype Fjord,  Ø Fjord, Fonfjord, Bjornøya, Milne Land, Hekla Havn, and Denmark Island.

Visit Scoresbysund, the world’s largest fjord and a favourite hunting ground of the local Inuit. Massive glaciers dump into this fjord, the birthplace of the famous big Greenland icebergs. You may visit the remote Inuit community of Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresby Town) and to hike across the tundra in search of ancient graveyards and summer villages occupied 3,000 years ago by Paleo-Eskimos. This area provides excellent opportunities for sea kayaking in its maze of calm, interconnecting waterways. If you are lucky you may see musk oxen, Arctic hare and seals, and maybe if you are extremely lucky even a polar bear or narwhal.

Sefstrom Glacier adorns the narrow- peaked waterway in Alpefjord. Zodiac access is possible and it is a scenic area, with Arctic flora growing in the autumn light. Cape Humboldt is a beautiful bay on Ymer Island. There is a good chance to take a tundra walk and witness musk oxen graze. Keep a lookout for Arctic fox and ptarmigan. A lone trapper’s hut looks over the bay and magnificent icebergs.

Days 10-11 Greenland Sea

Head out to sea bound for Spitsbergen. As you cruise northeast across the Greenland Sea – the main outlet of the Arctic Ocean – you may encounter pack ice, and if you are lucky you will see polar bears hunting on the ice. The strong icy sea currents have isolated East Greenland from the rest of the world for millennia. These currents carry nutrients from the Polar Basin, attracting large numbers of fish, seals and whales. Climatic conditions and the concentration of ice in the vicinity often create thick morning fog that vanishes with the onset of the midday sun. The onboard experts will entertain you with fascinating talks on plants, animals and early explorers like Nansen, Andree and Scoresby.

Days 12-13 Northwest Coast of Spitsbergen

Depending on weather and sea conditions, the ship may cruise either north or south along the west coast of Spitsbergen, stopping at intriguing places in search of the mighty polar bear.

Along Spitsbergen’s north coast you may explore places such as Woodfjorden and Leifdefjorden, where from the Zodiacs you can enjoy magnificent views of glaciers weeping and tumbling into the sea. Walk on smooth raised beach terraces to magnificent viewpoints, visit trappers’ huts of yesteryear, and hike on flowering tundra where reindeer graze – all the while remaining alert for wandering polar bears.

Day 14 Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen is the capital of Svalbard, a Norwegian territory. As this voyage is a combination of two voyages, today some guests will join your cruise and some will leave. There will be a day of activities planned for you which will be advised in your final documentation. This may include Zodiac excursions, a tour of the town and possibly a landing.

Day 15 North Coast of Spitsbergen

Cruise northwards along the west coast of Spitsbergen, stopping at intriguing places like Kongsfjorden or Magdalenefjorden. Kongsfjorden (Kings Bay) is incredibly scenic, the fjord is headed by two giant glaciers. There’s ample time ashore for hiking on the lush tundra amongst the summer flowers and observing the remarkable bird cliffs near the 14th July Glacier, where even a few puffins nest between the cracks in the cliffs.

Keep watch for polar bears and Arctic foxes and feel a sense of history at the 350-year-old remains of a Dutch whaling settlement, Smeerenberg on Amsterdamøya. The name Smeerenberg literally means blubber town in Dutch. It is a place of extraordinary legends, of thousands of men living there during the 1630s, a town complete with shops, gambling dens and the like. However, in reality, only 400 men and fifteen ships visited Smeerenberg during its peak in the 1630s for whaling purposes.

Days 16-17 Northern Flanks of Spitsbergen

Work your way along the north coast exploring rarely-visited places such as Woodfjorden and Leifdefjorden in search of the mighty polar bear. From Zodiacs enjoy magnificent views of sweeping glaciers winding their way into the sea. You may walk on smooth raised beach terraces to a superb viewpoint or hike in the mountains on the tundra where pretty coloured wildflowers and lichen grow and where reindeer graze.  Visit trapper huts of yesteryear where Russians and Pomors would hunt and survive the cold harsh winters, all while remaining alert for wandering polar bears and their cubs. You may come face-to-face with the formidable pack ice of the Arctic Ocean, keeping your eyes peeled for walrus feeding on clams or hauled out on the beach in wallows. Listen to the cacophony of sea birds and see them feeding.

Days 18-20 East Coast of Spitsbergen

Along the northeast coast of Spitsbergen enter a different world – a polar desert. If ice conditions allow you will pass south through the narrow Hinlopen Strait. The strait is flanked by creamy coloured slabs of rock that are rich in fossils, as you will discover for yourself when you go ashore. Visit Alkefjellet in the Strait, where a series of one-hundred-metre-high dolerite towers are home to millions of Brünnich’s guillemots – the penguins of the north – that occupy every available nook and cranny. Elsewhere seek out eider ducks and geese, and perhaps spot an Arctic fox and the beautiful ivory gulls. As the Greg Mortimer passes between Spitsbergen and the smaller islands of Barentsøya and Edgeøya, cross the main polar bear migration route and the beautiful fertile plains of Sundeneset. The spongy ground is richly covered with bright green mosses, a variety of delicate and colourful flowers, particularly the yellow marsh (bog) saxifrage, various mushrooms, fungi, clear bubbling streams and small tarns. Tiny (micro) flowers such as Mouse Ears grow in Spitsbergen creating mossy rock gardens. Explore this beautiful terrain on foot, marvelling at the contrast between the colourful soft ground and the barren, rocky terrain from further north. Reindeer antlers lie scattered along the ground. Round South Cape, Spitsbergen’s most southerly point, before continuing northwards along the west coast of Spitsbergen.

Days 21-22 Southwest Fjords of Spitsbergen

Enter the spectacular Hornsund Fjord where you may take an early morning Zodiac cruise to admire the beautiful ice walls of the Samarin Glacier or take a stroll beneath the towering seabird cliffs at Sofiebogen. In Bellsund Fjord be on the lookout for beluga whales. Bellsund Fjord is a fjord that splits into two branches. It was named Bellsund after a nearby bell-shaped mountain by William Barentsz in 1596. You may visit the remnants of a Norwegian beluga whaling station from the 1930s. Across the fjord at Våraolbukta is lush and stunning landscape, where reindeer roam, Arctic flowers bloom in abundance and Arctic fox may be seen patrolling the little auk colony, where several thousand birds nest amongst the boulders, coming and going in huge flocks.

Day 23 Longyearbyen – Disembarkation

During the early morning  the ship will cruise back into Longyearbyen. Farewell your expedition team and fellow expeditioners as you disembark. A transfer is included into town, where there is free time before an onward transfer to the airport in the afternoon.

Disembark in Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, which was founded more than 900 years ago and has roots to the Viking Age. You may wish to spend some time exploring this fascinating city. Our friendly travel consultants will be able to assist you with extending your stay.