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Don’t be disappointed if you see a lot of puffins, but no polar bears—sure, you might see polar bears, too, but you might not. Greenland is one of the most sparsely populated places in the world. It is an 836,330-square-mile island—larger than Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Maine combined.
About Visit Greenland
We are here to help you plan and prepare for your extraordinary voyage to explore one of the world's most hidden destinations. Join a small group of fellow explorers and experience Greenland in comfort and luxury on a purpose-built, ice-strengthened expedition ship. Greenland cruises offer the perfect chance to experience kayaking amongst the ice, dog sledging, ice fishing and polar trekking. Explore Greenland, the world’s biggest island, on a Holland America Line cruise. Halfway between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, Greenland has been inhabited for more than 4,500 years by Arctic peoples who migrated from Canada, and later by Norsemen.
The unexpected link between imperiled whales and Greenland's melting ice
No Diamonds International type businesses, but local cultural opportunities may be available either through the ship's Shore Excursion Office or once on shore by the local citizens. Cruise guests in today’s Greenland might not plant the same explorer flag in their various destinations throughout Greenland, but the sense of being a pioneer in the wake of great adventurers who sailed these shores long ago still prevails. A cruise in Greenland is first and foremost a nature based experience, but on top of that it is an intimate meeting with our culture, society, and history which adds a dimension not often seen in other Polar cruises. Greenland cruises invite you to explore seldom-seen, hard-to-reach places only accessible by ship on an expedition cruise. Typically, cruise companies will work with local tour operators to arrange for cultural experiences with Greenlandic people for cruise passengers.
Related Cruises
Many cruises to Greenland depart from Reykjavik, Iceland, which has excellent international connections to the rest of the world. For cruises commencing in Greenland, a charter flight to Greenland is often included as part of the itinerary from Iceland or Copenhagen, Denmark, to ensure a seamless journey. Greenland is one of the largest untouched wildernesses on Earth, from mountainous landscapes that rival Patagonia to vast unexplored fjords. Greenland is a harsh environment where it’s too cold for most food to grow, so locals have long had to make do with what is available to them as a means of survival. You may find it helpful to remember that Greenlandic Inuit believe in wasting no part of the animals they harvest and taking only what is necessary. However, if you find this aspect of the experience disconcerting, this may not be the right cruise for you.
Day trip to Eqip Sermia
This is a great model for expedition cruise lines sailing in this part of the world and it's worth asking about as you're making your Greenland or Northwest Passage cruise decision. Hunting -- and eating -- seals, whales, polar bear, narwhal and musk ox is legal in Greenland and part of Greenlandic Inuit culture. You'll see lots of souvenirs made with seal fur in the local shops, even though such items are not allowed to be brought back into the U.S. While surveying the beauty of the Ilulissat Icefjord, an UNESCO World Heritage site, we heard gunshots coming off the ice from local hunting boats. A handful of expedition ships, such as those from Lindblad and also Swan Hellenic, are rated PC5.
FROM MIDNIGHT SUN TO NORTHERN LIGHTS
During the summer, the Arctic has predominately high-pressure weather systems, which create calm conditions. Disko Bay is often affectionately called Disko Lake locally due to its calm summertime conditions. Seeing polar bears on a cruise in East Greenland is possible, although the chances are less so than in Svalbard. However, please note you are highly unlikely to see them in Southern Greenland or the Disko Bay area, as they are concentrated in areas of sea ice, and these areas are ice-free during the summer.
Greenland cruises that visit the western and northern part of the island as part of a Northwest Passage cruise will stop in settlements primarily occupied by Greenland's indigenous peoples. Life in these villages has modern conveniences, but also traditions that might be difficult for some foreigners to understand. But based on our experiences here at Cruise Critic, we wouldn't recommend anyone plan a trip to Greenland going before August, unless you're on a true ice-breaker ship such as Le Commandant Charcot. The Danish Maritime Authority asked police in Greenland to investigate why the ship ran aground and whether any laws had been violated, a police statement said, adding that no one has been charged or arrested. An officer has been on board the ship to carry out "initial investigative steps, which, among other things, involve questioning the crew and other relevant persons on board," it said. "There have not been any injuries to anybody onboard, no pollution of the environment and no breach of the hull," SunStone Ships said in a statement.
Round Trip
We've heard of many disappointed passengers who weren't able to touch land or make any stops at all on the Greenland part of the cruise. Greenland has some of the most dramatic changes because of climate change; you can see where glaciers have receded and the crew onboard usually offer sobering facts about how fast that has occurred. But there is still a lot of ice, and it can radically affect your cruise. In Greenland, we chose to do the exploring on our own and for us it was perfect. My biggest tip would be, in the small ports of call get on the early tenders if at all possible. Yes the Caribbean Princess was crowded, and because of the unique itinerary there were lots and lots of "Elite" passengers.
Cruise ship pulled free after running aground in Greenland - Yahoo Movies Canada
Cruise ship pulled free after running aground in Greenland.
Posted: Sat, 13 Apr 2024 03:33:45 GMT [source]
To Country
The ship was freed by a fisheries research vessel at high tide, said the cruise ship’s owner, Copenhagen-based SunStone Ships, and the Joint Arctic Command, which coordinated the operation. We want to immerse you in the raw, untamed beauty of the natural world – and that’s where our small expedition boats come in. As 80% of Greenland is covered by an inhospitable ice sheet, you’ll discover most wildlife around the ice-free periphery. In the coastal waters, rich in fish, look for humpback whales and seals.
"They are in the process of investigating whether the ship is intact and seaworthy and ready to sail on." I use a scooter (on board & at Canadian ports) & a rollator/walker in the Greenland ports. Yes, the "roads" in Qarqortoq & Nanortalik were difficult (gravel) to manage so I didn't see as much as other more mobile pax. There were lots of icebergs and some wild life, plus seeing the sunrise every morning was awesome.
A number of cruise companies have started offering sailings to Greenland in recent years. The majority are small expedition brands, with space enough for 100 to 300 guests onboard, including such lines as Lindblad, Hurtigruten, Adventure Canada, Quark, and Scenic. Some larger cruise lines, like Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line, occasionally sail here, as well. Because Greenland is so vast and most of its communities aren’t connected by roads (locals get around by boat, bush plane, or sled dog team), one of the most convenient ways to see the country is on an expedition cruise.
However, there are cruises, mostly in Norway, that cater to travelers looking to see a solar show. Dozens of cruise ships sail along Greenland's coast every year so passengers can admire the picturesque mountainous landscape, waterways packed with icebergs of different sizes and glaciers jutting out into the sea. The cruise ship ran aground Monday above the Arctic Circle in Alpefjord in Northeast Greenland National Park, the world's northernmost national park. The park is nearly the size of France and Spain combined, and approximately 80% is covered by an ice sheet. Alpefjord is about 240 kilometers (150 miles) from the closest settlement, Ittoqqortoormiit, which is nearly 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from the country's capital, Nuuk. Greenland offers a diverse selection of expedition cruises at different times of the year.
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