Svalbard cruise in the Arctic

Planet and people

We use small ships on all of our cruises which minimizes the detrimental impacts to the places they are travelling through. This is no more prescient than in the Arctic where it is impractical and environmentally not advisable for large numbers of passengers to go ashore at any one time, so having a smaller ship helps control and minimize the impact that tourists can have on the land.

All of our cruises in this region are accompanied by an Expedition Team that comprises experts in a range of fields such as zoology, polar history, marine biology and glaciology, and usually photography. Part of their task is to educate our clients on the issues that this sensitive ecosystem can experience, whilst making sure that our guests adhere to strict guidelines. They also give regular talks on board about the local environment, wildlife and history, and the threats that are currently mounting to the environment and wildlife.

Journeys to the Arctic bear an extra responsibility for the traveler to respect and protect the environment. The sensitive environment means that we have an extra responsibility to make sure we have absolutely no detrimental effect on that environment. The expedition team are responsible for your safety and entertainment, but also your education about all aspects of the Arctic, and especially its conservation and current conservation issues. They will accompany you on excursions ashore, explaining and pointing out the wildlife, physical features and any historical highlights.

While we will encounter few communities during the voyage (owing to the remote locations we travelling through) we do encourage you to explore Tromsø and Longyearbyen in Norway pre and post cruise. The communities who live there will be happy to talk and give you a taste of some local cuisine and stories...