HIGHLIGHTS
- Outings
and shore visits in Zodiac® inflatables with your naturalist
guides.
- Visit
traditional villages and encounter the Inuit people.
- Disko
Bay, listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site, to see the Northern
Hemisphere’s largest icebergs.
- Discover
of the area of Ultima Thule, the mythical northern kingdom, in the
footsteps of the Vikings.
- Wildlife:
polar bears, humpback whales, Arctic terns, belugas, bearded seals,
orcas, narwhals.
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person in USD. Promotional offers are not reflected in the rates below.
|
| Start Date | End Date | Superior Stateroom | Deluxe Stateroom | Prestige Deck 4 | Prestige Deck 5 | Prestige Deck 6 | Deluxe Suite | Prestige Deck 5 Suite | Prestige Deck 6 Suite | Owner's Suite |
|---|
Mandatory Transfer Package Details:Embarkation
day - Paris/Kangerlussuaq
Flight
Paris/Kangerlussuaq selected by PONANT.
We highly recommend to arrive in Paris the day
before this flight.
We suggest to be at the check-in counter 2 hours
before departure.
Approximate
flight duration: 5h00
Meet
and greet at Kangerlussuaq airport.
Transfer
to the pier for embarkation.
- Cruise
aboard your cruise ship -
Disembarkation
day - Kangerlussuaq/Paris
Disembarkation
and transfer to Kangerlussuaq airport.
Flight
Kangerlussuaq/Paris selected by PONANT.
Approximate
flight duration: 5h00
We highly recommend to plan a departure from Paris
the day after this flight.
Your
programme includes:
- Flights Paris /Kangerlussuaq/Paris in
economy class.
- Transfers airport/pier and pier/airport.
Your
programme does not include:
- Personal expenses.
- Any other service not mentioned in the
programme.
Please note:
- Flights included in the
programme are, as of today, operated in economy class, on a European
airline.
- Detailed programme
including flight schedule will be provided with your “travel
document”.
- For passengers in
transit in Paris, we recommend to stay one night in Paris before and
after these flights to ensure your connecting flights.
- Package subject to
availability.
- This programme is
subject to change without prior notice.
Rates are listed per person in USD. Promotional offers are not reflected in the rates below.
|
| Start Date | End Date | (Starting from)
Superior Stateroom | (Mid-range)
Prestige Deck 6 | (High-end)
Owner's Suite |
|---|
Mandatory Transfer Package Details:Embarkation
day - Paris/Kangerlussuaq
Flight
Paris/Kangerlussuaq selected by PONANT.
We highly recommend to arrive in Paris the day
before this flight.
We suggest to be at the check-in counter 2 hours
before departure.
Approximate
flight duration: 5h00
Meet
and greet at Kangerlussuaq airport.
Transfer
to the pier for embarkation.
- Cruise
aboard your cruise ship -
Disembarkation
day - Kangerlussuaq/Paris
Disembarkation
and transfer to Kangerlussuaq airport.
Flight
Kangerlussuaq/Paris selected by PONANT.
Approximate
flight duration: 5h00
We highly recommend to plan a departure from Paris
the day after this flight.
Your
programme includes:
- Flights Paris /Kangerlussuaq/Paris in
economy class.
- Transfers airport/pier and pier/airport.
Your
programme does not include:
- Personal expenses.
- Any other service not mentioned in the
programme.
Please note:
- Flights included in the
programme are, as of today, operated in economy class, on a European
airline.
- Detailed programme
including flight schedule will be provided with your “travel
document”.
- For passengers in
transit in Paris, we recommend to stay one night in Paris before and
after these flights to ensure your connecting flights.
- Package subject to
availability.
- This programme is
subject to change without prior notice.
ITINERARY
Day
1: KANGERLUSSUAQ
From
1941 to 1992, the town of Kangerlussuaq in Greenland was home to an
American military base. Nowadays, thanks to its international airport,
it has become a transit point for travellers seeking adventure in the
Far North. Located to the north of the Arctic Circle, this town is the
starting point of magnificent discoveries surrounded by unspoiled
nature. Indeed, just a few dozen kilometres from there it is possible
to get close to the Greenland ice sheet, the largest body of ice in the
Northern Hemisphere. From Kangerlussuaq, admire also the superb
landscapes of tundra in autumnal colours, where Arctic hares, musk
oxen, Arctic foxes, reindeer, falcons and eagles live.
Day
2: SISIMIUT
During
your cruise, we invite you to discover Sisimiut, founded in 1756 and
the second largest town in Greenland. This small town is typical of
Greenland, boasting bewitching panoramas: here and there, colourful
stilt houses dot the undulating landscape, and the small fishing port
stands as the gateway to an icy realm. As for the town centre, it is
home to a number of historic buildings, a small church and a museum
which retraces the history of the Inuit people, as well as many craft
shops. When your ship drops anchor here, you will set out to meet the
locals in a typically arctic atmosphere.
Day
3: QIKIQTARJUAQ, NUNAVUT
The
small hamlet of Qikiqtarjuaq is on the east coast of Baffin Island, in
the heart of Nunavut territory. Bounded by the Davis Strait, the island
of Qikiqtarjuaq, formerly known as Broughton Island, is marked by the
history of whale hunting. During the 19th century, European whalers
travelled around the region and began trading with the Inuits. Later
on, the installation of a military post and a landing strip facilitated
access to this part of the world. Located very close to the Auyuittuq
National Park, Qikiqtarjuaq has very beautiful landscapes of mountains,
hills and ice, and is home to many emblematic Arctic animals: whales,
seals, walruses, narwhals and polar bears.
KIVITOO,
NUNAVUT
Located
on the east coast of Baffin Island, in Nunavut, Kivitoo is a
simultaneously calm and unsettling place that you will explore with
your naturalist-guides. This former Inuit camp lying in the heart of a
heathland landscape was abandoned in 1923. Here you will pass before a
broken-down cabin surrounded by metal tanks that stored whale oil at
the time when cetacean hunting was in full swing. You will see walrus
skulls and the graves of Inuits, revealing their past presence. Kivitoo
had its days of technological glory in the 1950s, with the installation
of an American radar station on top of the mountain overlooking the
area.
Day
4: ARCTIC HARBOR
Arctic
Harbour is on the small island of Aulitiving, barely 15 km long and 5
km wide, at the entrance to Isabella Bay. A major whale hunting site,
this small natural harbour still has remnants from those times, notably
some whaler graves. This port of call will be the opportunity to go for
a lovely hike in the heart of the Arctic tundra, and perhaps to reach
the highest point of the island, located at an altitude of 410 metres.
ISABELLA
BAY, NINGINGANIQ WILDLIFE AREA
Welcome
to the kingdom of the cetaceans! Here, those who love the giants of the
Arctic won’t know where to look. Isabella Bay is in fact part
of the Ninginganiq National Wildlife Area, one of the finest places to
observe bowhead whales. From your ship, watch the sumptuous ballet
performed by these impressive mammals. With undersea faults over 300
metres deep, Isabella Bay, located on the north-east coast of Baffin
Island, attracts cetaceans which come here to feed. In addition to the
bowhead whales, the uncontested stars of these parts, the Ninginganiq
Wildlife Area is also home to ringed seals, narwhals, polar bears, king
eiders, little auks and northern fulmars.
Day
5: SAM FORD FJORD, NUNAVUT
All
around you is a raw landscape of spectacular beauty. Nothing seems to
want to disturb the silence. You are in the Sam Ford Fjord, on the east
coast of Baffin Island. Located only a few kilometres away from the
Inuit community of Clyde River, this fjord has the kind of
world’s end appearance that only the Arctic lands can offer.
From your ship, allow yourself to be dazzled by the series of
vertiginous cliffs plunging into the waters of the fjord. These
impressively high walls of rock, known worldwide to climbing
enthusiasts, are reflected in the waters of the fjord, as though to
completely shift perspectives and blur the lines between land and sea.
Day
6: ICY ARM FJORD
The
east coast of Baffin Island is a real lacework of fjords. Among them,
in the north, is the spectacular Icy Arm fjord. As you sail these
parts, you’ll be dazzled by the immense cliffs that are
sometimes over 1,000 metres high. This is a paradise for base jumping
(parachute jumping from the top of the cliffs). During your stop here,
you will have the opportunity to hike at the feet of these mountains
and within the glacial valleys. Keep your eyes open when you get back
on your boat: you’ll probably get the chance to observe
marine mammals, such as whales, orcas and even narwhals.
FEACHEM
BAY, NUNAVUT
After
sailing the Buchan Gulf, where you may well be joined by orcas and
narwhals, you will disembark in Feachem Bay. From a small beach, home
to the ruins of sod houses, set off on a hike into the heart of very
beautiful landscapes. The main part of the walk will be along
magnificent tundra, fairly humid, full of colourful lichens, minuscule
Arctic willows, Arctic poppies, cotton-grass and soft mosses, which
will make feel like you’re walking on a mattress. Arriving at
the top of a ridge, enjoy this very beautiful viewpoint over the
glacier below. Frequented by polar bears, Feachem Bay also provides
refuge for a great many birds.
Day
7: BEATRICE POINT, NUNAVUT
Located
at the entrance to the Canadian High Arctic, completely to the east of
Devon Island, this surprising peninsular will provide an opportunity to
discover a specific ecosystem and observe the glaciers coming from the
Devon ice cap. During your port of call in these parts, you will
perhaps also have the chance to encounter the ice floes descending
directly from the North Pole, as well as the wildlife often found here.
Day
8: COBURG ISLAND, NUNAVUT
A
real paradise for ornithologists lies to the north of Baffin Bay, very
close to Ellesmere Island. Indeed, the small Coburg Island is one of
the most important sea bird nesting areas in the Canadian Arctic;
Tridactyl gulls, thick-billed murres and northern fulmars have all made
it their favourite spot. 60% of the island is covered with ice fields
and glaciers, giving a very rugged mountainous relief. In addition to
the birds, it is also home to polar bears, walruses, beluga whales,
narwhals, ringed seals and bearded seals. The Nirjutiqavvik National
Wildlife Area, created in 1995 with the goal of preserving these
species, entirely encompasses Coburg as well as its surrounding waters.
Day
9: PIM ISLAND, NUNAVUT
Pim
Island, also known as Skraeling Island, is of quite exceptional
historic interest. In fact, in 1978 and 1979, artefacts of European
origins (Viking) were discovered here, including around sixty remnants
from the Dorset and Thule cultures: pieces of chainmail, rivets, chain
links… These artefacts, dating from 1270, are perhaps the
result of the bartering practised by the Inuits, which would prove that
the Vikings had been as far as the Smith Strait. Pim Island is also
known for having been home to the members of the Greely expedition,
during the 1883-1884 winter. They took refuge here in a makeshift
shelter: Camp Clay, near Cape Sabine.
ALEXANDER
BAY
Alexander
Bay is a narrow passage located on Johan Peninsula, on Ellesmere
Island. From 1953 to 1963, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police built a
police station here, considered to be the world’s
northernmost. Still in place, it is now occasionally used by scientists.
Day
10: GEOMAGNETIC NORTH POLE
There
are three kinds of pole: magnetic, geographic and geomagnetic. The
Geomagnetic North Pole, the least well-known of all, comes from a
mathematic model supposing that the Earth behaves like a perfect
magnetic dipole, which is not in reality exact, since the Magnetic
North and South Poles and the centre of the Earth are not aligned. This
model enables scientists to better apply the physics concepts that we
know. The position of the Geomagnetic North Pole is therefore defined
by calculations and changes constantly, following the movements of the
Magnetic North Pole. In 1951, then located in Greenland at 78°
29’ N and 68° 54’ W, it was reached by Jean
Malaurie. It can currently be found on Ellesmere Island.
Day
11: HANS ISLAND
Welcome
to a rather particular island. Located between Greenland (part of
Denmark) and Ellesmere Island (Canada), its sovereignty has in fact
been controversial since 1973, when the maritime boundaries of the
Nares Strait were drawn out. Today, Denmark and Canada are still
fighting over the possession of this islet, although it is hardly an El
Dorado. This tiny piece of uninhabited land, covered with ice for most
of the year, is not the most hospitable of places. To protect the
island, which could be subject to oil drilling in the future, a
collective has been set up so that everyone can declare themselves an
“inhabitant” of Hans, thus putting the ecological
stakes before the financial interests.
HUMBOLDT
GLACIER
Greenland
is naturally the land of eternal ice. The ice cap that covers the
majority of this boreal island extends right down to the Arctic Ocean
via vast glaciers that are each as majestic as the next. The most
well-known and spectacular of these is without a doubt the Humboldt
glacier. It is the vastest coastal glacier in the Northern Hemisphere,
with a glacier terminus that reaches 110 km in width. Advancing
inexorably towards the sea, it regularly calves veritable ice
cathedrals – gigantic icebergs that detach themselves from
the glacier before toppling and crashing into the frozen ocean.
Day
12: ETAH
To
the north of the region of Thule, in Inglefield Land, there is an
ancient Inuit hunting camp known for having been the departure point of
many European expeditions to conquer the North Pole. Here, in Etah, you
will have the possibility of discovering peat house vestiges from the
Thule civilisation and making your way up the valley for a gorgeous
walk in Greenland’s high Arctic. Today, this region is still
a favourite hunting spot for Greenlanders. It is not unusual to see
musk oxen here.
SIORAPALUK
Small
colourful houses, a few small motorboats resting on the shore, a
school, a grocery store, sled dogs: here you are in Siorapaluk,
Greenland’s northernmost native settlement. With some fifty
inhabitants, this tranquil village made famous by Jean Malaurie in his
novel The Last Kings of Thule, lives in harmony with nature's cycles.
Here, hunting, fishing and skin tanning are part of everyday life, just
like in many other Inuit villages. This is an authentic and typical
port of call where you will probably be greeted by a joyous group of
children, who are always happy to welcome visitors.
Day
13: CAPE YORK
A
few kilometres to the west of Savissivik, in Greenland, your ship will
pass Cape York, a place that is brimming with history and marked by the
conquest of the North Pole. Indeed, it is here, at the end of the 19th
century, that the American explorer Robert Peary discovered fragments
of one of the biggest meteorites ever found to this day. He had them
sent back to the United States and later sold them to a New York
museum, where they are still on display. Despite Robert
Peary’s disputed achievements and his sometimes controversial
attitude towards the Inuit populations, a memorial was erected in his
honour at Cape York. Constructed in the 1930s, the memorial still
stands today.
SAVISSIVIK
Some
places in this world are so magical that their beauty cannot be
described in words… Savissivik, a small Inuit village with
less than a hundred inhabitants, is one such place. Rightly considered
to be the biggest iceberg graveyard in Greenland, it is a stunning
sight to behold. During your Zodiac® outing, you will sail
between these icy giants. Once on land, you can hike to a viewpoint
from which to enjoy breathtaking views over these icebergs, which come
in an incredibly diverse range of shapes and colours. Photographers
will love it. Savissivik Bay attracts many bears and is also known for
having been the home of one of the world’s biggest
meteorites, but the latter has now been moved to a museum in New York.
Day
14: KULLORSUAQ
Well
beyond the Arctic Circle, in the majestic landscapes of
Greenland’s Northwest, you will find the village of
Kullorsuaq, the last bastion of Greenland’s traditional
hunters. Here is where you will find Greenland’s true
character… Vast mineral expanses, sumptuous mountains,
impressive glaciers and, above all, the local population which still
lives off fishing and seal or bear hunting. Hospitality and respect for
nature are essential elements in the daily lives of these men, who live
an austere life. When we drop anchor in this remote part of the world,
set off to discover these friendly people who are also talented
craftsmen, deftly sewing the furs and skins of marine mammals. This
will be a unique and authentic experience.
Day
15: NULIARFIK
This
small island, lost north of Uummannaq Bay where two fjords meet, is
often an opportunity for sumptuous sailing along the vertical cliffs,
surrounded by drifting icebergs. Situated not far from Nugatsiaq, one
of the small villages attached to the town of Uummannaq, Nuliarfik is
an ancient village of the Thule civilisation. When your ship calls
here, you will have the opportunity to visit the vestiges of peat
houses. Then, take a walk up to higher ground and, from a magnificent
panoramic viewpoint, you will be able to observe this beautiful network
of iceberg-filled fjords.
Day
16: DISKO BAY
To
the east of Baffin Bay, discover Disko Bay, scattered with countless
icebergs produced by the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. From your ship, admire the majestic ballet of these ice giants as
they slowly drift across the dark waters. This site is a natural marvel
of Greenland, and is also renowned as an observation point for the
region’s many humpback whales. The encounters with wild fauna
and stunning landscapes in the heart of this spectacular and fragile
nature will be pure moments of wonder for you.
Day
17: EVIGHEDSFJORDEN
Your
ship glides slowly along the water towards the west coast of Greenland,
to enter Evighedsfjorden, just a few kilometres south of Kangerlussuaq.
Evighedsfjorden means “the fjord of Eternity”, and
for good reason: just when you think you’ve reached the end
of this stretch of sea measuring over 100 kilometres in length, it
seems to go on forever, as though to bring even more pleasure to those
sailing in it. The spectacular scenery ranges from glaciers to tundra
with an abundant flora, and jagged cliffs where numerous bird species
have taken up residence. Take the time to observe the white-tailed
eagles and the colonies of seagulls and black-legged kittiwakes flying
overhead in the area.
Day
18: KANGERLUSSUAQ
(Click image to view Ship details)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Gratuities
are included
- Free
Expedition Jacket to Keep and boots are available for rent
- Bottled
Water, Bar Drinks, Beer, House Wines and Soft Drinks are included with
lunch and dinner
- Complimentary
onboard WiFi (beginning in 2019)
- Complimentary
Traveler's Valet laundry servicce (beginning in 2019)
