Expedition into the Northeast Passage
An epic voyage in the wake of the great explorers from Alaska to Norway aboard the Hanseatic Inspiration
- 19 August 2022
The sea passage through the Russian Arctic between Asia and Europe was navigated for the first time 140 years ago; it was an exclusion zone until just 30 years ago and still to this day remains a great seafaring challenge with only a few passenger vessels having ever completed its transit. For this unique expedition we are working with our long-time associates and pioneer in expedition cruises to the Northeast passage, Hapag-Lloyd cruises, who have made a limited number of cabins available for our passengers on this this rare modern-day adventure. Their latest five-star vessel, the Hanseatic Inspiration, has been built to navigate passages such as this and, in addition to the vessel’s expeditionary qualities, you can be assured of the excellent service, food and luxurious surroundings on board.
Following in the wake of famous explorers into the territory of the icebreakers, the Hanseatic Inspiration will set out on an adventure from Seward to Tromso through regions steeped in history and mystery with abundant wildlife along their remote shores. We will be sailing in one of the world’s most pristine regions witnessing dramatic landscapes and nature in its purest sense, unscathed by the modern world. We will witness Arctic wildlife, highlights of which will include our three days experiencing the raw beauty of Wrangel Island where we can observe seabirds nesting in the high cliffs as well as polar bears and reindeer, and also the natural world spectacles of Franz Josef Land. The places visited and the order in which this is achieved will vary depending on wildlife sightings and diversions, such as following a whale that may appear at any time.
This is a sea route with a legendary past and we will be tracing part of a passage that conjures a history of inspiring courage, determination, and superhuman endurance. Whilst this itinerary represents a true expedition cruise, we will be travelling in the utmost comfort aboard the Hanseatic Inspiration with its beautiful surroundings, spacious cabins and public areas. In keeping with the expeditionary nature of the cruise there is a convivial atmosphere on board and the expedition team take care of the day to day events with a sense of adventure.
Useful links & Travel Advice
Please find a selection of useful websites to refer to for information from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, on visa requirements, NHS travel health advice and other useful travel tips.
Hanseatic Inspiration
Operated by our German associates, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, the Hanseatic Inspiration is a new five-star expedition ship launched in October 2019. With a maximum of just 230 passengers (199 passengers in Antarctica), this unique vessel offers an informal and relaxed atmosphere on board with more open deck space than any other expedition ship. There is a qualified expedition team of naturalists who will accompany you ashore and provide informative talks in the comfort of the well-designed HanseAtrium, and a crew of 175 offering the most exquisite and attentive service on board.
Itinerary
Please note flexibility is key to a successful expedition and although we have outlined an itinerary below, the actual itinerary depends on the local conditions which besides ice and weather, include decisions taken by the Russian authorities. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will, of course, do everything in their power to ensure that this cruise can take place as advertised but as with any expedition cruise to these remote destinations, are reliant on weather, ice, sea conditions and local authorities.
Day 1 London to Seattle, USA.
Fly by scheduled flight. Arrive this afternoon and transfer to our airport hotel for an overnight stay.
Day 2 Seattle to Seward, Alaska.
Check out after breakfast and return to the airport for our scheduled flight to Anchorage. On arrival we transfer to the port of Seward to embark the Hanseatic Inspiration. Sail this evening as we start our journey towards the Northeast Passage.
Day 3 At Sea.
Relax on board as we sail towards the Aleutian Islands.
Days 4 & 5 Aleutian Islands.
From Alaska, the volcanic chain of the Aleutian Islands extends into the Pacific in a wide arc. Perhaps you will hear the cry of “Whale spotted!” in the water off of Unga Island where we hope to observe these giants of the ocean particularly well from the deck, before landing for a hike. Also see the ancient petrified forest and a ghost town with a history of gold mining and look out for the usually prolific numbers of bald eagles which greet our arrival to Unalaska Island.
Day 6 At Sea.
Enjoy a day at sea as we cruise north towards Saint Matthew Island. Join one of the lectures or relax and enjoy the facilities on board.
Day 7 Saint Matthew Island.
Today we anchor off of Saint Matthew Island. This island is famous for its barren yet exceptionally beautiful landscape, and being more than 200 miles from the nearest Alaskan village it is extremely remote. In 1909, the island was designated as one of the first wildlife refuges in America by Teddy Roosevelt. With luck, we may see some Arctic foxes in this sparsely populated world, along with a variety of seabirds.
Days 8 & 9 Chukchi Peninsula & Bering Strait, Russia.
Overnight we will lose a day as we cross the International Date Line as we arrive in Russia and start to sail the Bering Strait to the Barents Sea. This Strait takes its name from Vitus Bering, an explorer in the service of Russia, whose vessel was shipwrecked following his 1741 voyage to the coast of North America. During our expedition days in the Chukchi Peninsula we should be able to view whales, seals and seabirds in abundance. In seldom-visited Provideniya you will learn about the lifestyles of the people here in the far east of Russia and will go ashore with the experts and visit the small museum located here. At Cape Dezhnev, the most north-easterly point of the Eurasian landmass, it may be possible to walk to a monument erected for the pioneer Semyon Dezhnev, who was the first to traverse the cape in 1648.
Days 10 to 14 Kolyuchin Island & Wrangel Island.
If weather and ice permits, we hope to spend three days at Wrangel Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Using the Zodiacs to land we can experience raw natural beauty. Numerous species of birds nest on steep cliffs, and long tundra hikes will give you the chance to observe polar bears and reindeer in the vast, silent landscape. Kolyuchin Island on the edge of the Chukchi Peninsula also offers overwhelming animal observations. The Zodiacs will take us to large bird-infested cliffs with thousands of thick-billed murres, black guillemots, kittiwakes, horned puffins and glaucous gulls and with a little luck, we will see lots of walrus gathering on the rocks.
Days 15 to 19 Siberia, East Siberian Sea & Laptev Sea.
In the East Siberian Sea, we will join the small group of seafarers who have made it to this region. Vitus Bering is said to have discovered the Medvezhy Islands on his second Kamchatka expedition in 1740. Land with the Zodiacs and enjoy impressive sights here, and on the New Siberian Islands, where exciting insights into the “adolescence” of polar exploration await us. This collection of islands in the East Siberian Sea is famous as a polar bear nursery, the icy habitat where the kings of the Arctic bring their cubs into the world. In 1893, researcher Fridtjof Nansen allowed his ship to freeze here in order to reach the geographic North Pole by using the natural ice drifts of the Arctic Ocean. We may also be able to observe rock ptarmigans and reindeer on these little-researched islands.
Days 20 & 21 Severnaya Zemlya.
After cruising through the Laptev Sea, the Hanseatic Inspiration can take full advantage of its status as a small expedition ship with the highest ice class. This is the only way to reach the semi-glacial islands of Severnaya Zemlya and only a few people have seen these coasts that are inhabited by polar bears, Arctic foxes, Arctic hares, walrus and seals.
Day 22 Isachenko Island.
Isachenko Island is part of the Kirov group in the Kara Sea, north of Russia. Here we find a station that was likely abandoned in 1993. It tells of the lonely life of researchers at the end of the earth. Due to the thriving source of food for them on the shore, such as mussels, sea stars, cold-water lobsters and annelid worms, with luck, we should also see some polar bears here.
Day 23 Uyedineniya Island.
A vast tundra welcomes visitors to Uyedineniya Island. It has been said that, upon discovering the island in 1878, Norwegian Edvard Holm Johannesen dubbed it ‘Solitude Island’, perhaps due to its remote location. The island is famous for the discovery of a cervical vertebra of a plesiosaur during an expedition in the 1930s. More recently, in 1993, Uyedineniya Island became part of the largest nature reserve in Russia – the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve. This conservation area protects this habitat for wildlife, including polar bears, walrus, seals and a large variety of birds.
Days 24 & 25 Novaya Zemlya & Barents Sea.
For the next couple of days, the Hanseatic Inspiration will be following in the footsteps of Willem Barents as it heads for the deep bays of rugged, elemental Novaya Zemlya. As Barents circumnavigated the island in 1596 on his search for the Northeast Passage, his ship became trapped in the pack ice and the crew was forced to spend the winter there. In geological terms, it is almost identical to the Urals, as it is a northern continuation of the mountain range, which was formed when Europe and Siberia collided. We will land here with the Zodiacs to get up close to the landscape.
Days 26 to 28 Franz Josef Land.
Our expedition continues in Franz Josef Land. The captain and crew will react flexibly during the time here, allowing us to observe the wonderful natural spectacles. For example, Apollonov Island is known for the walrus that occupy the beach; these huge animals weigh around 1000 kilograms and make an impressive sight from a respectful distance. The Zodiacs will take us to a popular magnet for geologists on Champ Island – there are massive, perfectly spherical stones of up to three metres in diameter. We also visit Bell Island, which takes its name from a bell-shaped mountain. Few people would expect to find the oldest building in the archipelago here: a wooden house built in 1881 of stone and snow in the vast wilderness is a small sign of civilisation.
Days 29 & 30 Barents Sea.
We spend the next two days sailing through the Barents Sea on our way to the largest city north of the Arctic Circle, Murmansk. For centuries, the Northeast Passage has fired the imagination of pioneering spirits, from the early explorations by the naval powers of England and Holland in the 16th century to the first successful passage by the Swede Adolf Erik Nordenskjold between 1878 and 1879.
Day 31 Murmansk, Russia.
Founded in 1916, the city of Murmansk today has a population of approximately 300,000 people. This was a military exclusion zone until 1991. Upon arrival you have the choice between an optional city tour or a visit to a nuclear-powered icebreaker. Later we will complete our customs and immigration formalities as we leave Russia.
Day 32 Sailing the North Cape.
We spend the day sailing off the North Cape with the opportunity to relax, attend a lecture or utilise the facilities on board. People once believed that the North Cape marked the end of the world, but this day marks the end of our expedition.
Day 33 Tromso, Norway to London.
After breakfast we transfer to the airport for our scheduled indirect flight to London.
Dates and Prices
19 August to 21 September 2022 | ||
---|---|---|
Category | Brochure Price | Special Offer Price |
1 Outside cabin Deck 4, 5 & 6 | £22495 | £21995 |
2 Panoramic cabin Deck 4 & 5 | £23495 | £22995 |
3 French balcony cabin Deck 6 | £23995 | £23495 |
4 Balcony cabin Deck 5 | £25495 | £24995 |
5 French balcony cabin Deck 7 | £25495 | £24995 |
6 Balcony cabin Deck 6 & 7 | £27295 | £26295 |
7 Balcony cabin Deck 6 | £27995 | £26995 |
8 Balcony cabin Deck 7 | £29795 | £28795 |
9 Junior suite with balcony 6 & 7 | £33995 | £32995 |
10 Grand suite with veranda Deck 6 & 7 | £46995 | £45995 |
6 Balcony Deck cabin for sole use | £35995 | £35495 |
Tour Reference Code: SCHA190822
Price Includes: Economy class scheduled air travel • Overnight hotel accommodation with breakfast in Seattle • 31 nights aboard the Hanseatic Inspiration on a full board basis • Mini-bar with soft drinks in your cabin restocked each day • Zodiac tours • Expedition team including onboard lectures • Gratuities • Transfers • Airport taxes • Port taxes • Landing fees • Loan of parka jacket, waterproof boots, binoculars and hiking poles during cruise.
Not Included: Travel insurance, optional excursion in Murmansk, Russian visa, ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation) for the USA.
NB. Flight schedules are yet to be released at the time of going to print and the itinerary may change on their release. Itinerary subject to change based on weather and ice conditions.
Important Russian Visa Information: A visa is required for Russia and Noble Caledonia will provide all supporting documentation needed although the process to apply for the visa cannot be started until three months before departure and in some instances can take up to six weeks. To obtain a Russian visa it will be necessary for passengers to attend application centres in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. This information is correct at the time of printing and should the information change, we will be in touch with booked passengers with updated guidelines. |
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Deckplan
Hanseatic Inspiration
Operated by our German associates, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, the Hanseatic Inspiration is a new five-star expedition ship launched in October 2019. With a maximum of just 230 passengers (199 passengers in Antarctica), this unique vessel offers an informal and relaxed atmosphere on board with more open deck space than any other expedition ship. There is a qualified expedition team of naturalists who will accompany you ashore and provide informative talks in the comfort of the well-designed HanseAtrium, and a crew of 175 offering the most exquisite and attentive service on board.
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