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Navigator Northwest Passage


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The article in today's Wall Street Journal may call attention to the July 2017 cruise through the North West Passage on Navigator. It has been included among the Alaska cruises in recent brochures. There is a high level of space available currently. We're really looking forward to it!

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We made this trip, in reverse, in 2014 on Silver Explorer. Great trip; I hope you make it through; it is a few weeks too early to be able to plan on transit.

 

Marc

 

Hi Marq. I would love to sail this cruise. I get seasick. Was the Bering Sea horrible?? Any other rough spots?? I barely survived the Tasman Sea. Can you compare the two?? :eek: Thanks

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Hi Marq. I would love to sail this cruise. I get seasick. Was the Bering Sea horrible?? Any other rough spots?? I barely survived the Tasman Sea. Can you compare the two?? :eek: Thanks

 

I have sailed both the Bering from Dutch Harbor to Siberia and the Tasman sea. The only thing you can count on is "nothing" Both have been like lakes or storm tossed tempest.

 

But sailing north through the Bering to Nome in summer should be fairly calm as it is the dry time of year.

 

I am booked on this voyage.

 

j

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I would take this trip if it was on one of the larger Regent ships. Thirty nights on Navigator would be a little too much for us. For this type trip you really need the Observation Lounge!

 

Hope you are listening Regent and consider sending Mariner or Explorer on this route in 2018.

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I would take this trip if it was on one of the larger Regent ships. Thirty nights on Navigator would be a little too much for us. For this type trip you really need the Observation Lounge!

 

Hope you are listening Regent and consider sending Mariner or Explorer on this route in 2018.

 

Are you kidding? SilverSea Explorer at 120 pax I think is largest to make this sailing to date. Crystal Serenity is a disaster waiting to happen. If something goes wrong, there is not enough infrastructure to evacuate 700 pax. Two cabins on Explorer were just filled with soda and liquor for our passage. I can't imagine taking through a ship that doesn't have an ice protected hull. As it was, Explorer was pretty beaten up along the water line (i.e., ice line) after our passage. Three days behind an ice breaker was interesting but does get kind of boring.

 

Marc

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Are you kidding? SilverSea Explorer at 120 pax I think is largest to make this sailing to date. Crystal Serenity is a disaster waiting to happen. If something goes wrong, there is not enough infrastructure to evacuate 700 pax. Two cabins on Explorer were just filled with soda and liquor for our passage. I can't imagine taking through a ship that doesn't have an ice protected hull. As it was, Explorer was pretty beaten up along the water line (i.e., ice line) after our passage. Three days behind an ice breaker was interesting but does get kind of boring.

 

Marc

 

Marc, some of what you say is incorrect.

 

Yes, Crystal Serenity will be the largest cruise ship to sail the Northwest Passage but MW The World which is actually the largest ship to sail the Northwest Passage.

 

True there was not enough infrastructure on land to support an evacuation but this was overcome with the type of ice breaker that will accompany us.

 

Crystal would not have been able to do this cruise if it was a disaster in the making. The insurance underwriter would not have approved it. NYK who owned Crystal at the time who is known for its safety would never have approve it. This is why this voyage has been long in the making. Before it was even approved and announced it had been thoroughly investigated for close to a couple of years.

 

Crystal Serenity is in a dry dock this very minute in Victoria and most of the dry dock is getting it configured for this voyage.

 

For those of us on this voyage we are very excited as is the crew.

 

There is risk anytime one sails at sea and that is why safety is the number one priority of a cruise line. I know how much focus is devoted to safety.

 

Keith

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Keith, I am sure Crystal is doing everything it can. Between Cambridge Bay and Resolute, there is absolutely nothing. It is uncertain whether you could get the ship into Resolute if needed (National Geographic Explorer couldn't get into drop off passengers while we were there sine we had the one ice breaker available). At least Silversea and Crystal charged an arm and a leg because of the risk and the logistics; the Regent cruise is really cheap.

 

You will have a wonderful trip, I am sure. It is going to all depend on the ice.

 

Marc

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Keith is correct. This cruise has been in the planning stages for two years and needed many approvals from the Canadian authorities. The Serenity is now in dry dock being prepared for this voyage. This cruise was sold out in two months after it was announced. The Crystal ships are never at full capacity as they have many solo cruisers. My guess would be 850 passengers tops. I truly don't think this is a disaster waiting to happen. This cruise will be repeated next year and hopefully we will be on it.

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Keith, I am sure Crystal is doing everything it can. Between Cambridge Bay and Resolute, there is absolutely nothing. It is uncertain whether you could get the ship into Resolute if needed (National Geographic Explorer couldn't get into drop off passengers while we were there sine we had the one ice breaker available). At least Silversea and Crystal charged an arm and a leg because of the risk and the logistics; the Regent cruise is really cheap.

 

You will have a wonderful trip, I am sure. It is going to all depend on the ice.

 

Marc

 

Really cheap? $97,000 for a 30 day cruise is somewhat more expensive than other itineraries of similar duration. I assume that it takes into account added safety considerations.

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Really cheap? $97,000 for a 30 day cruise is somewhat more expensive than other itineraries of similar duration. I assume that it takes into account added safety considerations.

 

We paid $60K for 23 days in 200 sq ft and had to fly to Copenhagen and then Kangerlussuaq and then home from Nome. We took nine days to go from Upernavik to Cambridge Bay; Navigator has allocated just 60 hours to get between those two locations. For any interested, here is our Voyage Journal:

 

http://www.silversea.com/expeditions/voyage-journals/7418/

 

It is a wonderful trip!

 

Marc

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Marc

 

Your journal was a fascinating story. Thanks for forwarding. Most of our cruising has been with Lindblad-NG. We were booked on NG Explorer in 2014 and cancelled - a good move! Our expectation is that Ice conditions in 2017 will be markedly different from 2014 based on warming. We sure hope so! We are attracted by tracing the historic path and viewing wildlife, not by sweating out calls for rescue! It's amazing that the original Lindblad Explorer did the passage back in 1984!

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Here are two sites that i watched constantly in preparation for our cruise. The first is Cryosphere Today:

 

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/

 

They have a current data source problem (hopefully fixed soon) but they have historical data going back to 1979. The area of most interest is Canadian Archipelago:

 

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/recent365.anom.region.12.html

 

You can see that there was less ice in 2015 than 2013 or 2014 but not near as low as 2012. You also can see that the minimum is in September not August; you are too early if the ice is like 2013 or 2014.

 

The other site is Canadian Ice Service:

 

https://www.ec.gc.ca/glaces-ice/

 

If you click on Eastern or Western Arctic you can get the Queen Maud ice chart; this is the critical one. You want the Daily Ice Chart Concentration. Red is bad blue is good. As the ice starts to melt, the charts are updated; Davis Straight is already being populated. There is training material on how to read the bubbles online; the important number is the top number which is 10ths of coverage. I can't imaging Navigator could make through more than 4/10ths on her own; I have no idea what they are doing to Serenity. You leave Cambridge Bay on 2 August so i would track summer 2016 ice to see how you would do.

 

The anticipation of this cruise was giant; the cruise itself a little anti-climactic if you are anticipating lots of wildlife like in Antarctica or Svalbard cruises.

 

edited to add:

 

Here is a blog I used to read regarding going ons in the Northwest Passage:

 

http://arcticnorthwestpassage.blogspot.com/?view=classic

 

 

Marc

Edited by Marq
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No, we are not expecting to see the quantity of Polar bears, Walrus etc we saw in Svalbard, or the whales we saw in the Antarctic, but you did see some of both.

 

We will be checking out the blog you attached.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I like the idea of Navigator on this route. Yes, the public spaces get somewhat cramped when the weather is bad, but the recent renovations should alleviate that. And I love the aft Galileo's observation lounge--no, it's not forward, but it's a great space, and I love the rear balcony.

 

I also like the fact that Navigator has an ice-protected hull (or something like that.) And I like the small size--many of these destinations are going to be completely overwhelmed by Crystal's visit--490 is bad enough, but 8-900 is going to be awful. Should be a very intimate trip.

 

And it is a great price--it's very tempting, but I don't think I could convince my significant other, lol! He's a warm weather guy.

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Here is the ice forecast for this summer:

 

http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/prods/OTLKARE/20160601000000_OTLKARE_summer2016_0008887635.pdf

 

Doesn't look like Serenity should have any problems.

 

Marc

 

Marc, thank you so very much for sharing the report. I read though it and it looks very encouraging as you noted.

 

Thank you again.

 

Keith

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Yes, Crystal is leading the way to the NWP and it seems to be well organized. Capacity 700-800 people will not be getting off all at once. This cruise was booked full in a matter of a few weeks now wait listed. Next year is booking up fast as I expect the old Navigator will book up as well.

 

In approximately two years Crystal will have the new mega-yacht which will be a true ice breaker holding only 150-200 guests with huge suites and staterooms. Unsurpassed by any cruise line. Open dining and other venues..zodiacs will take these pax's in small number. These iconic places will receive guests in small amounts. Keith, is taking this trip and will report or blog about this great adventure.

 

We have a deposit on next years NWP and will see the reports coming back to the Crystal board before we make final payment. If you are thinking about this, please follow Keith on this new adventure. I know I will.

 

We were thinking about a few itinerary's on Regent after an eight year absence but the tone of this board is so regulated it turns us off as you are reported to the moderator by certain cheerleaders if we don't agree with him/her....and then your post is deleted or the whole thread is gone.

 

Regent is a great line but nobody here should rule the roost and run to Host Dan to complain about minutiae if it does not fit their vision. Really?

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Indeed, Suite Travels. I find it very confusing when threads simply disappear. It would be far more helpful if there was some kind of marker left behind; "post removed by moderator" or similar, as happens in other lists I follow. Occasionally, I feel that what I read was all a dream...or was it a nightmare?!

 

When a whole thread is deleted, much useful information is lost too. Thank goodness our experience onboard has not been influenced in quite the same way as here.

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