On a Polar Cruise we stay on board one of our 4 ships whilst travelling in the Arctic Spitzberg/Svalbard area, Greenland or in the Antarctic. Activities including zodiac cruises, walks, kayaking, snowshoeing, diving, ice-camping and mountaineering are available depending on which journey you choose.

We offer over 10 itineraries, ranging from a short, starter one-week exploration of Svalbard in the Arctic to the other end of the scale with a three-week discovery voyage of the Antarctic, and of course everything in between.

Each destination and itinerary is magical and can offer varying wildlife at different times of the year, and each ship has different merits and activities to offer, this guide should help you choose the itinerary best suited to your needs and budget.

The Arctic

All four of our ships cruise through the Arctic waters. These are the MS Expedition, MV Plancius, MV Ortelius and the SV Rembrandt van Rijn. The Expedition, Plancius and Ortelius all start their journeys in Longyearbyen in Spitsbergen, and travel around the Svalbard Archipelago or down the east coast of Greenland to Iceland. The SV Rembrandt van Rijn sails off the west coast of Greenland and itineraries start with charter flights into Greenland.

The Arctic is accessible for only a few months of the year when the sea ice has melted or broken up enough for us to travel through it. These itineraries run from May through to August, with the majority of sailings in June and July.

We travel to the Arctic to see Polar Bears, grazing reindeer, colonies of birds, puffins, lounging seals, whales, icebergs, glaciers and fjords. You are likely to see tundra in the Arctic, especially in Greenland where you also find brightly painted Inuit villages, rather than the Antarctic which is mostly snowcovered.

The Antarctic

Three of our ships cruise in the Antarctic. The MS Expedition, MV Plancius and the MV Ortelius. These departures start from Ushuaia one of the most southerly points of the Americas. They all cross the Southern Ocean by way of the Drake Passage to access the Antarctic Continent. Depending on the itinerary chosen you can also travel to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Shetland Islands

Travelling to Antarctica is accessible from November through to March, which is the summer in the Antarctic.

We travel to the Antarctic to visit the last unspoilt region on earth and see penguins, whales, millions of sea birds, blue icebergs, ice and glaciers.

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