A quote from boxer Mike Tyson seemed a strange way to start our Silversea Expeditions 16-day Pond Inlet, Nunavut to Reykjavík cruise.
But the first words from our expedition leader, Michael, proved apt. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face,” he told the 160 passengers on board Silver Endeavour on the first of the daily briefings held during our cruise.
The ever changing and unpredictable Arctic weather that resulted in several itinerary changes during the cruise provided ‘the punch’. According to Michael numerous changes occurred even before the cruise departed from the small Arctic Canadian town of Pond Inlet – a statement supported by the several ‘change of itinerary’ notices received before embarkation.
But the hard-working expedition team together with the captain made every effort to replace advertised stops with alternatives. As the original itinerary promised we did visit a number of locations in Arctic Canada and parts of Greenland before docking in Reykjavik. It’s just they weren’t necessarily the advertised locations and we spent more time at sea than originally planned.
The weather also resulted in changes to some of the sightseeing with visits to advertised fjords and scenic attractions replaced with other fjords and glaciers.
Sadly, the weather meant fewer landings and zodiac and kayaking excursions than planned but most passengers were understanding and could see water conditions were not conducive to such activities.
What did delight many of the passengers, who ranged in age from early 20s to 80s, was the wildlife seen on the cruise which included a few bears, walruses, lots of bird species and the rare Narhwal.
At the same time none of these sightings could be classified as ‘close encounters’ apart from the Narhwal who were swimming very close to the ship. The sightings of these rare toothed whales even proved a highlight for many of the expedition team who had never seen them before despite numerous Arctic visits.
Strict Arctic wildlife watching rules meant the bears could only be seen from a distance so either long lensed cameras or binoculars were required for close-up sightings, even though a couple of passengers did get good photos with their smart phones. By far the best wildlife photographs came from the on-board videographer Eric Duran. Many of us relied on Eric’s pictures for clear images of the wildlife we saw. This was especially true in relations to the bears and walruses.
Before and during all excursions, members of the expedition team were on continual watch to ensure no possible interactions between passengers and bears while zodiac viewings were dependent on the bears `being relaxed’ with our presence.
Also delighting many guests were the two nights of Northern Lights viewing. Fortunately previous briefings had explained the lights were best seen through a camera lens so when the late night calls came advising the lights were visible many passengers headed to the outside decks with cameras or phones in hand.
Many of these guests were very well–travelled making for some interesting conversations. As well as offering some great scenic experiences, these outings gave passengers the chance to meet others on the cruise.
Given the ‘free seating’ dining, early evening recap and briefings given by the expedition team and the zodiac and kayaking expeditions there were plenty of opportunities to chat with fellow travellers, the majority of whom seemed to come from America, Canada, Germany, England and Australia.
According to the crew it was one of the most active groups on board as shown by the number who put their hands up for kayaking. There were also a high number of solo travellers, which was one of the reasons the ship operated below its capacity of 220 guests.
Interestingly, previous travel and cruising experiences influenced passengers’ ratings of the cruise. The highest ratings came from those who hadn’t experienced Antarctic or other areas frequented with glaciers and fjords.
Those who had travelled to the Antarctic were continually reminded that the two areas shouldn’t be compared, even though both offer polar experiences.
There’s no doubt Antarctic wildlife and scenery is far more dramatic and totally different to the Arctic. But the Antarctic doesn’t have the communities found in the Canadian Arctic and Greenland. And for a number of passengers visiting and learning more about these communities was one of the main reasons for undertaking the cruise.
What: Silver Endeavour 16-day Pond Inlet, Nunavut to Reykjavik cruise
When: August/ September 2024.
- Arctic, cruising, Silversea, travel
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