Spitzbergen expedition cruise to the Arctic

COUNTRY:: Arctic Cruises
LOCATION:: Spitsbergen
DEPARTURES:: CHECK AVAILABILITY2013: 24 Jun, 26 Jun, 5 Jul, 27 Jul, 6 Aug
2014: 10 Jun, 20 Jun
PRICE:: From £3750 - £5095 (11 days) excluding flights
VOUCHERS:: Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday

Spitzbergen expedition cruise to the Arctic

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Spitzbergen expedition cruise to the Arctic

Small group adventure holiday

Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.

How Spitzbergen expedition cruise to the Arctic makes a difference

We take extremely seriously our responsibility to minimise our impact on these pristine areas. Our ship operators are Full Members of the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) and have agreed to abide by one of the world's most conscientious codes of conduct for tourism.

During the last Arctic season we started a pilot project, which raised awareness and funds to better understand how polar bears are being effected by the warming climate and loss of habitat (sea ice). The project was incredibly successful and our passengers purchased several satellite tracking collars to follow the bears movements.

We also participate in the “Clean up Svalbard” project which resulted in several thousand tons of rubbish being removed from the shores of the archipelago. This interactive program has achieved a positive result that has made a tangible difference to the environment.

We have at our offices worked to reduce our carbon footprint through a reduction of energy use and energy conservation measures. We also actively reduce the waste produced by having active reduction and recycling policies in place. We run annual staff workshops on Responsible Tourism.

Global warming is a reality and to help you make a difference by reducing the carbon dioxide that is produced when you travel we offer a chance to carbon balance your flights. We encourage all our clients to do this and do so for all our staff travel. Go on do your bit!

This operator is an Associate Member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and has agreed to abide by one of the tourism world's most conscientious codes of conduct. Our ship operator is also a member of the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO), which covers operations in Spitzbergen. We support various conservation initiatives:

Polar Bear Study: The polar bear’s migratory patterns have long been a mystery to conservationists. With money raised from expeditions and donations, we have made valuable contributions to the purchase of the expensive tracking collars – critical in monitoring their hunting and mating patterns.

Albatross Campaign: Almost half a million US dollars has been raised through staff and passengers towards the ‘Get the Albatross off the Hook’ campaign, aimed at stopping the death of albatrosses by long-line fishing.

Scott Polar Research Institute: We support the work of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. The Institute is the oldest international centre for Polar Research within a university.

Polar Ambassadors: Polar Ambassadors believe that the preservation and conservation of the polar regions is imperative. There are 10 simple things that you can do now that will make a difference. Our expedition team on each ship takes this very seriously, and look forward to explaining how everyone can become involved.

Spitzbergen expedition cruise to the Arctic

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The story of the provider of Spitzbergen expedition cruise to the Arctic

The guides on these trips spend most of their lives on these old Russian survey vessels, cruising pristine Polar wildernesses. Travelling with such highly-qualified experts is a real education; one of the expedition leaders is regarded as the ‘god of polar bears’ and another is an acclaimed wildlife photographer. This company has a long heritage in taking hundreds of clients to the Arctic and Antarctic and the staff believe you’re a long time dead so don’t be surprised if you get woken at 4am and asked to go up to the deck to watch arctic foxes playing.

Listen to the podcast below:

Holiday provider no: 55

Spitzbergen expedition cruise to the Arctic

Reviewed 28 Jun 2011 by Daphne Lott

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The amazing and unusual weather we had, the great amoung of wildlife, the quality of all those running the trip.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

This was a photographic polar bear exploration and so once we had left Longyearbyn we did not see any other human habitation. If a traveller expects to see the "sights" of Svalbard then a Spitsbergen Explorer trip would be more for them.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Yes. Benefit to the few inhabitants.
Leaders were very careful to ensure we all minimized impacts on the environment.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Excellent

Reviewed 06 Jul 2010 by Patricia Frochaux

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing polar bears and glaciers

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Bring warm clothes and binoculars !

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

No contact with local people, reduced impact on environment

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Great time !

Reviewed 11 Jul 2010 by Christopher Watts

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

We spent some days in Tromso and Longyearbyen before and after the photographic tour in Svalbard, having traveled independently. We hired a car in Longyearbyen enabling us to visit places outside the town without a firearm or a companion, and these were the high spots, photographing and filming reindeer, geese, ducks and tern close up. The tour was fine, but not as good as similar tours organised by the Frenchman, Christian Kempf, and there was far too much 'Hi-de-hi', Benny Hill-type presentation, and not enough for the serious observer of flora and fauna.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Go if you want to see bits and pieces, to enjoy good food, to chit-chat, but if you're serious and know something about the Arctic and it's animals, etc., this operator will tend to disappoint. If you want to learn about photography, this was a photographic 'special' that would not have helped that much, but if you like holiday snapshot competitions, then it could go down quite well, and you might just win a... (we never did find out what).

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Not at all, really. The main benefit was to the operator, I suspect, and their approach always bore a hint of mercenary interest. There was certainly a feeling that profit meant that we, the passengers, should pay for everything that we could be persuaded was necessary, and that the 'cruise' was kept as economically short as possible, and the off-ship opportunities were kept within tight limits, but that 'happy' and 'positive', not to say 'over the top', daily reports and good, regular food would enable us to be satisfied that we had had 'the best holiday of a lifetime'. That maybe so for some, but the term 'expedition' had no place in the lexicography of the trip!

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

For us, rather limited, and we have experienced better (other than the food!) so the holiday would be good for gossiping over a pint (which we don't tend to do) but useless for any real contact with the arctic nature other than by chance (and that did happen on the last afternoon when a fox approached us on one of the two real walks that we had during the 11 days), and the 'experts' were more touristic than scientific. There was no team feeling, it was clearly 'them' and 'us', and we were the ignorant ones. We were also assumed to be incompetent in any subject for which the staff felt themselves 'competent'.

Read the operator's response here:

Hi Christopher,
We have a team of people on board with a high Calibre of experience starting with Ian Stirling one of the most respected men in the world when it comes to Polar Bear research with 3 major books and 200 articles to his credit. Stirling was the first Canadian to be elected president of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. The expedition leader has over 100 Voyages to his credit and the ornithologist on board Tony Crocker is highly respected in his field.

Our RT credentials are clear to all concerned. Wherever possible, we purchase produce that is harvested from sustainable sources, and all provisions – right down to our cleaning products – are chosen for their low environmental impact. We have recently completed a refurbishment programme on the ships to help minimise their environmental impact.

Wherever we operate, we work hard to ensure our impact on the environment is minimised – training staff and business partners, maintaining the vehicle fleet, ‘leave no trace’ when camping and walking, keeping our distance from wildlife, and of course advice for everyone who travels with us. We’re also working to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and support a number of environmental conservation projects. Greenhouse gases emitted by transport and accommodation during all our trips in the Arctic and Antarctica are balanced and reinvested in projects that offer Gold Standard (or similar) Carbon Credits and are aimed at neutralising your contribution to greenhouse gases.

It is impossible to make no impact at all when visiting a wilderness environment. In weighing the pros and cons, we occasionally decide it is better not to visit at place at all. Where we do visit, we follow strict environmental guidelines. We work with our clients to ensure we do everything we possibly can to ensure the sustainability of a wilderness travel experience for the future, and we always welcome feedback and suggestions.

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Date	Prices (Adult,pp)	Basis	Status
24 Jun 2013	£ 4430	ex flights	Available
26 Jun 2013	£ 3750	ex flights	Departure Guaranteed
05 Jul 2013	£ 4370	ex flights	Departure Guaranteed
27 Jul 2013	£ 4370	ex flights	Departure Guaranteed
06 Aug 2013	£ 4370	ex flights	Departure Guaranteed
10 Jun 2014	£ 4965	ex flights	Available
20 Jun 2014	£ 5095	ex flights	Available