Northwest Passage, Nunavut & Wild Labrador Coast Cruise

Day 1 - Reykjavik, Iceland

Arrive: Sun 29 August 2027 / Depart: Sun 29 August 2027

Warmed by the Gulf Stream as well as by highly active thermal hot springs and volcanoes, Iceland is somewhat misnamed. While it is a stark and barren country with three huge areas of glaciers, one theory is that early Norsemen sought to mislead other potential settlers by giving a pleasant name to fierce, inhospitable Greenland, and a forbidding name to the imminently habitable Iceland. Irish monks and hermits established themselves here in the 8th century, but left a century later when the pagan Norsemen arrived. Europe's first Parliament of General Assembly, the Althing, was established in the year 930 and still functions as the legislative body, although it was suspended by the Danes at the end of the 18th century and not reconvened until 1843. Reykjavik was the site picked by the island's first permanent resident, Ingolfur Arnarson in 874, and is home to more than half of the island's total population. The world's northernmost capital, Reykjavik is proud of its virtual lack of air pollution. Both electrical power and home heating are derived from the geothermal activity on the island. The city's large swimming pools are always warm, and in the countryside exotic fruits such as grapes and bananas are cultivated in greenhouses made cozy with the help of underground hot springs.

Day 2 - Kangerlussuaq

Arrive: Mon 30 August 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Mon 30 August 2027 at 20:00

In October, 1941 the United States Army Air Force constructed an airbase at the site of Kangerlussuaq. It served as a refuelling stop for single-engine military aircraft being flown to Britain during World War II. Form their last port of call, Goose Bay, Labrador, it was 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to Kangerlussuaq until they could refuel. Kangerlussuaq fjord (‘Big Fjord’), is 170 kilometers (105 miles) long and was often shrouded in fog, providing a serious navigation problem for those aircrews. Today, with the use of modern technology, navigation is no longer an issue. The landscape was ideal for the site of an airport. A large alluvial plain, deposited by the nearby glacial-outflow river, provided a perfectly flat environment for an airport. Kangerlussuaq is the largest commercial airport in Greenland and supports a population of 500. A little known fact, from 1971 to 1987, 33 missiles from various countries, were fired from Kangerlussuaq for upper atmospheric scientific research.

Day 3 - Nuuk Godthaab

Arrive: Tue 31 August 2027 at 14:00 / Depart: Tue 31 August 2027 at 22:00

Greenland’s capital boasts some 16,000 inhabitants. Although the town does not offer us any shore excursions, there are several attractions which guests may wish to visit. One is the roofed town market, where the products of the nearby sea and wilderness are for sale, including the meat of whales, seals, birds and fish. The Katuaq Cultural Center offers changing exhibitions. Especially worth a visit is the National Museum, which besides many historic objects, contains the quite famous 500-year old mummies recovered from Qilakitsoq. The nearby Museum of Art has works by both Inuit and Nordic artists. There is also an artisan’s center where guests may purchase locally produced works, and a collection of traditional houses.

Day 4 - At Sea

Day 5 - Iqaluit

Arrive: Thu 02 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Thu 02 September 2027 at 12:00

In 1576, English explorer Martin Frobisher sailed into Frobisher Bay in search of a route to China. What he “discovered” was a large inlet with numerous Inuit fishing and hunting camps along its shores. The name Iqaluit means ‘a place of many fish’ in Inuktitut. Although the Inuit people had been here for thousands of years prior, they hadn’t establish a permanent settlement. It wasn’t until 1942 that the first Inuit made Iqaluit home. They settled here to help service the U.S. Air Force base, which was used to ferry aircraft to Europe during World War II. Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, has 7,700 inhabitants. Some 60% of its residents are Inuit. A highlight of a visit here is the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, with its beautiful displays of Inuit art, artifacts and dioramas of Arctic life. St. Jude's Cathedral, often referred to as the ‘Igloo Cathedral’ because of its unique architectural design, is likewise of interest to visitors.

Day 6 - Diana Island, Nunavut, Canada

Day 7 - Erik Cove, Nunavut, Canada

Day 8 - The Seabourn Northwest Passage Experience

Day 9 - Fury and Hecla Strait, Canada

Day 10 - The Seabourn Northwest Passage Experience

Day 11 - The Seabourn Northwest Passage Experience

Day 12 - The Seabourn Northwest Passage Experience

Day 13 - Cambridge Bay Village

Day 14 - The Seabourn Northwest Passage Experience

Day 15 - The Seabourn Northwest Passage Experience

Day 16 - At Sea

Day 17 - At Sea

Day 18 - Sisimiut, Greenland

Arrive: Wed 15 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Wed 15 September 2027 at 17:00

Sisimiut is Greenland’s second-largest town, and large by Greenland standards, housing some 6,000 people. It is located just north of the Arctic Circle, and is a popular base for visitors seeking adventurous pastimes in the surrounding country. Although there are no shore excursions planned for Sisimiut, guests may wish to investigate the local market, where the products of the country are sold, including meat from whales, reindeer, musk oxen and many kinds of fish. Watch for the stocky little Icelandic horses trotting along the highways, and keep an eye out for sea eagles often seen perched on the surrounding mountains. Whales are also often seen in the sea nearby. On the hill above the harbor, there is an artisan’s workshop where they create and sell Inuit crafts, and nearby is the town museum, which has examples of colonial period houses, peat houses and other early buildings.

Day 19 - Evighedsfjorden

Arrive: Thu 16 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Thu 16 September 2027 at 17:00

Day 20 - Kangerlussuaq

Arrive: Fri 17 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Fri 17 September 2027

In October, 1941 the United States Army Air Force constructed an airbase at the site of Kangerlussuaq. It served as a refuelling stop for single-engine military aircraft being flown to Britain during World War II. Form their last port of call, Goose Bay, Labrador, it was 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) to Kangerlussuaq until they could refuel. Kangerlussuaq fjord (‘Big Fjord’), is 170 kilometers (105 miles) long and was often shrouded in fog, providing a serious navigation problem for those aircrews. Today, with the use of modern technology, navigation is no longer an issue. The landscape was ideal for the site of an airport. A large alluvial plain, deposited by the nearby glacial-outflow river, provided a perfectly flat environment for an airport. Kangerlussuaq is the largest commercial airport in Greenland and supports a population of 500. A little known fact, from 1971 to 1987, 33 missiles from various countries, were fired from Kangerlussuaq for upper atmospheric scientific research.

Day 21 - Nuuk Godthaab

Arrive: Sat 18 September 2027 at 11:00 / Depart: Sat 18 September 2027 at 18:00

Greenland’s capital boasts some 16,000 inhabitants. Although the town does not offer us any shore excursions, there are several attractions which guests may wish to visit. One is the roofed town market, where the products of the nearby sea and wilderness are for sale, including the meat of whales, seals, birds and fish. The Katuaq Cultural Center offers changing exhibitions. Especially worth a visit is the National Museum, which besides many historic objects, contains the quite famous 500-year old mummies recovered from Qilakitsoq. The nearby Museum of Art has works by both Inuit and Nordic artists. There is also an artisan’s center where guests may purchase locally produced works, and a collection of traditional houses.

Day 22 - At Sea

Day 23 - Pangnirtung

Arrive: Mon 20 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Mon 20 September 2027 at 12:00

Day 23 - Kekerten Island

Arrive: Mon 20 September 2027 at 14:30 / Depart: Mon 20 September 2027 at 18:00

Day 24 - Nunavut Canada

Arrive: Tue 21 September 2027 at 08:00 / Depart: Tue 21 September 2027 at 12:00

Lady Franklin Island, is an uninhabited Baffin Island offshore island located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut. The island lies in Davis Strait, 25 mi from Hall Peninsula. There are at least seven smaller, unnamed islands off its northwest shore.

Day 24 - Monumental Island

Arrive: Tue 21 September 2027 at 13:00 / Depart: Tue 21 September 2027 at 18:00

Montserrat is a mountainous Caribbean island, part of the Lesser Antilles chain and a British Overseas Territory. Its Soufrière Hills volcano erupted in the 1990s, causing significant damage to the south of the island and leading to the creation of an exclusion zone. The north of the island is largely unaffected, and has black-sand beaches, coral reefs, cliffs and shoreline caves.

Day 25 - Lower Savage Islands, Canada

Arrive: Wed 22 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Wed 22 September 2027 at 12:00

Day 25 - Resolution Island, Nunavut, Canada

Day 26 - Nachvak Fjord

Arrive: Thu 23 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Thu 23 September 2027 at 19:00

Day 27 - Ramah Bay, Torngat Mts, Canada

Day 27 - Rose Island, Torngat Mts, Canada

Day 28 - Hebron, NL, Canada

Arrive: Sat 25 September 2027 at 08:00 / Depart: Sat 25 September 2027 at 17:00

Day 29 - Nain, Canada

Arrive: Sun 26 September 2027 at 09:00 / Depart: Sun 26 September 2027 at 17:00

Day 30 - Indian Harbour, NL, Canada

Day 31 - Battle Harbour, Canada

Arrive: Tue 28 September 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Tue 28 September 2027 at 11:30

Day 31 - L'Anse aux Meadows, Kanada

Arrive: Tue 28 September 2027 at 14:30 / Depart: Tue 28 September 2027 at 19:00

Located at the most northerly tip of Newfoundland, L'Anse aux Meadows is nestled near the fishing village of St. Anthony. It is the site of the first European settlement in the New World, approximately 500 years before Columbus' arrival. Other Norse groups had relocated from their homelands to the New World. In 1961, explorer and writer Helge Instad discovered a group of large mounds in the countryside. These mounds were excavated revealing the remains of a Norse settlement. This site became L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Park in 1977 and is noted on the UNESCO World Heritage List of important cultural properties. The site at L'Anse aux Meadows has been completely excavated allowing visitors to see the remains of the homes, a smithy, and various worksheds. The park's interpretive center displays Norse artifacts from the excavation which include iron rivets, a flywheel and the floorboard of a boat. Researchers still debate as to whether the site at L'Anse aux Meadows is Leif Eriksson's 'Vinland,' a lush, beautiful area where he settled in for the winter around the year 1000. Parks Canada will greet you on disembarking the ship and you may explore at leisure this first settlement of the New World.

Day 32 - At Sea

Day 33 - At Sea

Day 34 - Halifax

Arrive: Fri 01 October 2027 at 07:00 / Depart: Fri 01 October 2027 at 17:00

With its exceptionally delightful harbor side setting, early Europeans were first attracted to Halifax in 1749 with the establishment here of a military outpost by Colonel Cornwallis. The ports natural advantages of a well-protected harbor and close proximity to major fishing grounds resulted in its growth into a major military base and sea port. The peninsula has had several major immigrations during its history; English, French, German, Irish and Scottish have come in substantial numbers at various times. Travelers familiar with the South Pacific will find it interesting to know that Captain James Cook, whose explorations defined most of the Pacific Basin for Europeans, also spent four years in Halifax charting Nova Scotia and the waters of the St. Lawrence. A college town, Halifax has an exhilarating and youthful air about it, as evidenced by many bicyclists and skateboarders. The heart of Halifax offers wonderful restaurants and shopping, galleries, museums, and sites of historic interest including the Naval Dockyard, which dates from 1757, and St. Paul's Church. Heading out of town, the wonders of nature are to be found in the form of the sea, with the smell of salty air, cool ocean breezes, and the powerful force of waves crashing against the rugged shoreline.