Svalbard

Archipelago of the ice bear

Dates

6th - 16th June, 2012
16th - 26th June, 2012

The landscape and wildlife in Svalbard, Norway's beautiful Arctic archipelago, almost defies description, and the only way to experience it is in a small ship, offering access to the otherwise inaccessible.  If you have ever dreamed of visiting the High Arctic, and if vast, trackless wilderness that offers almost unequalled opportunities to observe polar bears, walrus, bearded seals, humpback, fin and blue whales, narwhal, beluga, reindeer, eagles, puffins and a great deal more, appeals to you, then Svalbard is for you.  It is a place that, once visited, will never be forgotten.

Overview

Our trips are timed to coincide with when the permanent winter ice breaks up into a mass of drifting floes, or pack ice, during the Arctic spring, providing opportunities to observe a vast range of animal behaviours that cannot be seen when the sea is completely frozen.  As current and wind compress and open the pack ice, it provides an environment where the polar bears can utilise their full range of hunting techniques.  On permanent, or fast ice, the bears are mostly confined to hunting seals by waiting at their breathing-holes or breaking into their birthing lairs, but in the pack-ice the seals haul themselves out along the edges of the smaller floes and the bears swim amongst the ice, hunting the seals from the water, using stealth to get near enough to surge out of the water before they can escape.  Being able to manoeuvre through the pack ice in a small ship and in Zodiac inflatables, not only permits observation of bears hunting and feeding, but also provides opportunities to see them travelling; getting into and out of the water, swimming and jumping between floes.  The pack ice also offers wonderful opportunities to observe pinnipeds such as harp seals, bearded seals and walrus, when they are hauled out on the floes.  In addition, the edges of fast ice and larger floes can be good places to see narwhal and belugas.

Some companies run trips to Svalbard late in July and even as late as August, but guests on those trips have little or no opportunity to experience travel amongst the sea ice, so they are reliant on seeing bears on land and are therefore confined to fewer observations and limited behaviour observation.  In addition, the landscape at that time has less snow on it, and looks browner and less impressive.

Our 2012 Svalbard itineraries will be ten days long, with the first day at sea being the day after the embarkation day, and the disembarkation day following the tenth day at sea.  Having ten full days at sea makes our itineraries three or four days longer than many other Svalbard cruises, representing significantly better value for money.  The trips will begin and end in Longyearbyen, which is typical in most Svalbard cruises.  The ship we will be using for this trip is the MV Polaris.  We will have only 12 guests per trip, so the environment aboard will be very personal, with a very low ratio of guests to guides, and it will also allow us to better include the guests in decisions about daily activities and excursions given influence on an initially-intended itinerary by variables such as wildlife sightings, weather and ice shifts.

We are dedicated to providing authentic expedition-style trips led by top-flight naturalists, which are defined by provision of excellent natural history information, lectures, food and general service, in order to maximise guests' experience of the awe-inspiring beauty of Svalbard.  We will also take advantage of every opportunity to offer excursions in our Zodiac inflatables, to facilitate the best-possible wildlife viewing and opportunities for photography.  Similarly, so that our guests can have the option to be as active as possible, we will offer shore excursions as often as wildlife and weather permit.  To that end, it is important to state that we have a very specific bear safety policy, which is very important in terms of use of the inflatables and any time we spend on shore.

In temporal terms, optimising a trip to Svalbard is a fragile balance given climate variability year to year and the vagaries of wind and current, and there can be no guarantees, but we are keen to offer our trips where they can coincide best with the presence of pack ice, making it more likely to yield the best wildlife observations.

The ship

We will be sailing on the MV Polaris, a 34 metre ex British Royal Navy battleship tender which was converted into an expedition ship 4 years ago.  The ship has good common space, such as the dining room, and lounge/bar area where lectures will be given.  The comfortable cabins are roomy, and all have en-suite facilities.  There are two double cabins on the main deck, and six double and four single ones on the lower deck.  The outside deck space is well laid out for wildlife watching, and the size of the ship means that observers will not be far above the water or ice, allowing for low-angle observations and photography.  The ship also has two Zodiac inflatables.  For further information, and to see some pictures of the ship, click here; http://www.blueplanetexpeditions.co.uk/polaris1.html

Service

We have a very specific emphasis on service, offering a high level of cuisine, in keeping with the best industry standards.  Snacks and refreshments will be readily available, and we offer complimentary wine with dinner.  In addition, and to promote a very relaxed home away from home atmosphere, we will be offering an 'open' bar.  Between the crew and the naturalist/guide staff, every effort will be made to make guests feel as relaxed and comfortable as possible, offering as intimate and authentic an experience as possible of some of the wildest and most beautiful places in the world.  What makes what we offer an 'expedition' rather than a 'cruise' is defined by where we can go and what we can do in a small vessel with so few guests, and it also refers to a very flexible approach to being able to maximise our experience on any given day.

Why travel with us?

Apart from pride in our itineraries, and a commitment to provide our guests with the best experience possible, there are other specific and very practical reasons why you should choose us for your Svalbard adventure.  These include:

- Once aboard ship, our price is inclusive, beyond anything accrued on a shipboard account.  There are no charges for any activity or excursion.

- No single supplement.  Single guests pay the same as individuals travelling as a couple, and all single guests can have their own en-suite cabin.

- Our dates offer the best opportunity to get into the pack ice, for optimum wildlife-viewing.

- We will have only 12 guests per trip, keeping the guest to guide ratio very low and maximising the attention given to every guest.

- Our trips are true 10-day itineraries, with day one being the embarkation day, not the day you leave home.  Disembarkation day is the day after day ten.  Some companies include one or two days of travelling to the ship, and the disembarkation day, as part of the itinerary, so that it is three days longer than the time actually spent at sea.

 - Our pricing is competitive with other Svalbard expedition trip providers, and less expensive than many.  However, the fact that our itineraries are 10 days long mean that we are offering better value than many other providers.

- Our guides are all experts in their fields, with extensive experience in Svalbard and other High Arctic regions.

- We place a very specific emphasis on the quality and diversity of lectures.

- We will offer guests who want to hike and be active the option to do so as often as possible.

- We have a policy of flexibility, adapting to weather and other circumstances where necessary or desirable, in order to optimise guests’ experiences.

- Safety is a primary concern, in all aspects of shipboard life, and in particular regarding deployment of our inflatable boats.  We also have a very specific polar bear safety protocol regarding on-shore excursions and bears in the water and on ice-floes.

- We are glad to offer complimentary wine at dinner and to have a casual honesty-box-style self-service bar.

Price

£5995 - Pounds Sterling - (US$9417 or CDN$9406 as of 27 Jan, 2012) per person, inclusive other than for travel to and from Longyearbyen from guests' points of origin.  Longyearbyen, which is the only airport in Svalbard, can be reached via daily flights from Oslo and Tromso with SAS.

Further information

For further information, please visit the Blue Planet Expeditions website, at; http://www.blueplanetexpeditions.co.uk/home.html

Brochures are available in .pdf format at; http://www.blueplanetexpeditions.co.uk/brochures.html

If you have any further questions, or if you would like to speak to the Expedition Leader, please contact us through info@blueplanetexpeditions.co.uk or info@ursusinternational.org at any time.