NW Passage and East Greenland Experience

[Budget traveller]

I'm looking at the cruises that go to the NW Passage and East Greenland. My dream vacation would be to cruise from Reykjavik to Kangerlussuaq to Nome. This is 35 days which seems rather long, but it would include both East Greenland and NW Passage. There are two shorter ones. One from Reykjavik to Kangerlussuaq, for 14 days which would only include East Greenland. The other is from Kangerlussuaq to Nome, for 21 days, which is just the NW Passage. Does anyone have any experience of these? Is one better than the other?     

[florisdekort]

Greenland is amazing. The Northwest passage is imo a gimmick for those who want to check a box. Endless days of nothingness, packed with drizzle and a billion mosquitoes. One day in Svalbard is better than 21 days in the Northwest passage. Again, just my opinion. 

[Fletcher]

8 hours ago, florisdekort said:

The Northwest passage is imo a gimmick for those who want to check a box. Endless days of nothingness, packed with drizzle and a billion mosquitoes. 

I think you are quoting Captain James Cook.  After that he said, 'Let's go to Tahiti.'  Thanks, Floris, for saving me an igloo-load of mulah. 

[cruiseej]

@florisdekortThanks for the input on the Northwest Passage. I know the people who did the trip this year were unhappy with their many days at sea.

 

I just spotted a cruise on Lindblad/Nat Geo which does western Greenland and Eastern Canada and looks interesting; I wish Seabourn would offer something like this (ideally a little shorter). We've done an Iceland to Greenland cruise covering the southern tip of Greenland; we'd love to go back to see more.

(It's a Mercator projection map, so Greenland and northeastern Canada is distorted to looks larger than the rest of Canada.)

[highplanesdrifters]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:23 PM, cruiseej said:

@florisdekortThanks for the input on the Northwest Passage. I know the people who did the trip this year were unhappy with their many days at sea.

 

I just spotted a cruise on Lindblad/Nat Geo which does western Greenland and Eastern Canada and looks interesting; I wish Seabourn would offer something like this (ideally a little shorter). We've done an Iceland to Greenland cruise covering the southern tip of Greenland; we'd love to go back to see more.

(It's a Mercator projection map, so Greenland and northeastern Canada is distorted to looks larger than the rest of Canada.)

Silversea has a similar trip that goes to Churchill. Might be worth checking out.  I also considered the NW passage. After asking crew and a few passengers who had just finished the NW passage and getting rather negative responses we've decided to spend that big chunk of change elsewhere.

[mrlevin]

I have done both East Greenland and Northwest Passage on two different trips on Silver Explorer.  Northwest Passage is for the history; I almost think 21 days is too short.  You need to make sure that it is late enough in August so that you minimize ice issues (we spent three days behind an ice breaker).  Scoresby Sound in East Greenland is absolutely fantastic.  We sailed through there on an end of season trip from Longyearbyen to Reykjavik.  Probably the best scenery on trip.  

 

Have fun whichever you choose.  

 

Marc

[markham]

Whatever you do on Silversea expedition ships be absolutely sure you are on the right ship for your purposes. IMO the Cloud is well past its sell-by date, and is not a competitive offering vs most other such ships eg Venture or Origin.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[highplanesdrifters]

On 1/20/2023 at 3:36 AM, mrlevin said:

I have done both East Greenland and Northwest Passage on two different trips on Silver Explorer.  Northwest Passage is for the history; I almost think 21 days is too short.  You need to make sure that it is late enough in August so that you minimize ice issues (we spent three days behind an ice breaker).  Scoresby Sound in East Greenland is absolutely fantastic.  We sailed through there on an end of season trip from Longyearbyen to Reykjavik.  Probably the best scenery on trip.  

 

Have fun whichever you choose.  

 

Marc

In the interest of changing my mind about the northwest passage,  can you expand on why you liked this trip so much.

[cruiseej]

19 hours ago, markham said:

Whatever you do on Silversea expedition ships be absolutely sure you are on the right ship for your purposes. IMO the Cloud is well past its sell-by date, and is not a competitive offering vs most other such ships eg Venture or Origin.

 

We were just on the Cloud for 18 days in Antarctica, and had a fabulous time. Yes, the Venture is new and nicer — it also costs considerably more, especially with SS including air and Seabourn not. Aside from missing a venue like Seabourn Square or the Arts Cafe on newer ships, we did not find the Cloud lacking as an expedition cruise ship. Given the same itinerary and no cost constraints, of course I'd choose Venture over the Cloud.

 

(Although, it should be noted, we booked the Cloud over the Venture for our recent Antartica trip, primarily due to the massive price difference, and the old Cloud made it to the Falklands and South Georgia Island — even made it a day early to beat a storm — while the shiny new Venture had to cancel those key parts of their identical itinerary due to its broken stabilizers! 🤣)

 

I'm not saying your opinions aren't valid, @markham; I just wanted to present another opinion for anyone who might be considering a trip on the Cloud.

[sfvoyage]

My one and only foray into Silversea was an Iceland voyage on the Shadow, which really turned me off:   that ship for the most part was old and unattractive, the entertainment was terrible, the cruise director and activities (especially trivia) were lacking and bad, and the service was good but nowhere near as personalized as what Seabourn can offer for me.

 

I may try their newer Muse-class ships or their new (ex-Crystal) expedition ship at some point.  The Cloud, I think, is in between the Muse-class ships and the Whisper.  Is it more like the Whisper, in which case I will avoid it?

[markham]

Could is waaaay older and smaller than Whisper. Our Cloud cruise 4-5 years ago to Greenland/Canada featured many broken pipes resulting in cabin flooding, very cold theater and other public areas due to the zodiac enter/exit side doors being open and the air flowing up and out the pool deck doors at the top of the staircase. Remember that this is a gussied up Med cruise ship and that is all it is.

 

Maybe the worst aspect on the Cloud “expedition” side is there is no forward big bar or viewing lounge or even an open forward deck as on Venture (and all Seabourn ships) except for the minuscule Obs Library and narrow ramp at the front where there is a narrow blue track (when it is open).

 

Seabourn’s entertainment and shipboard life is always deeper, more professional and fun. Where the big 3 new ships of Silversea excel is sheer luxury, deck design (ex the forward deck issue) and fun eg 

big crossing the equator, boat building, block party and sailaway parties with large band, great singers and lots of people dancing. In contrast entertainment on Silversea generally is just flat or nonexistent. Maybe Silversea don’t know what they are missing and/or Silversea does not want to spend what it takes to make things more lively?

 

We are taking our first Venture cruise in June to Greenland for considerably less per day than Cloud, well after Venure’s April refit for its ailing stabiliser. Our TA last week announced sale prices on some Seabourn and Silversea expo cruises. But 4-5 years ago and for us then, Cloud was the only game in town. No more! It will surely expunge some of the remorse we have had since then for spending too much money on the Cloud! I am sure we will have a Viking explorers party on Venture. Can anyone imagine such a passenger-driven and ship-supported event on Cloud?

 

I hope Royal Caribbean will supply some much needed (IMO) imagination, budget and creativity so more people will try the 3 best/only Silversea ships- Muse, Moon and Dawn. Anyway, and as we love the ships, we do have 4 future cruises booked on Dawn.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by markham

[markham]

I have to correct myself (above). Where the 3 big SS ships excel is sheer luxury and design ex the front deck availability. But they do not have the fun, and the examples I gave were re SB ships and their entertainment. I do wish that SS would narrow that gap.
 

So I am sorry for this big contextual gap in the flow! 
 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Mr Luxury]

7 hours ago, markham said:

I have to correct myself (above). Where the 3 big SS ships excel is sheer luxury and design ex the front deck availability. But they do not have the fun, and the examples I gave were re SB ships and their entertainment. I do wish that SS would narrow that gap.
 

So I am sorry for this big contextual gap in the flow! 
 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Apology accepted.

 

What about the Silversea Endeavour?

This looks like a winner Markham.

Our own TA thinks so and will be aboard early this year.

Let's hope the Venture is fixed in its dry dock soon.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Mr Luxury

[Fletcher]

For me, the itinerary always comes first, second, third . . . sixteenth and so on.  That is why I am aboard the Silver Cloud in April, trawling around the Arabian peninsula.  The cruise has already undergone some significant changes in itinerary which almost made us bail out but we stuck with it and, I must say, Silversea's destination department has done a brilliant job in recovering a tricky position.  In fact, it might now be a better itinerary than originally planned.  As for the Cloud, we were aboard before she was converted into an expedition ship and are fully aware of its age-related limitations. Aren't we all, ducky?

[saminina]

10 hours ago, markham said:

I have to correct myself (above). Where the 3 big SS ships excel is sheer luxury and design ex the front deck availability. But they do not have the fun, and the examples I gave were re SB ships and their entertainment. I do wish that SS would narrow that gap.
 

So I am sorry for this big contextual gap in the flow! 
 

Happy and healthy sailing!

As we just returned from ABBA performing on Silver Dawn pool deck.  Imagine the expense of getting this group together.  Well, minus the genuine article,  it was a well attended event.  

 

Booked Endeavor Norway itinerary for June.  Great way to cash in 14 day milestone award.

 

Having sailed SS and SB this month, fun....or maybe not so fun comparing the two.  

[markham]

The Explorer is surely the real deal with its Observation Lounge and The Bow. The ship is lovely.

 

I will keep on eye on future itineraries and those prices, and see if we can swing a booking on board when we are on Dawn this August. I will need every available discount eg the on board saving for Venetians to make the grade.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Mr Luxury]

6 hours ago, markham said:

The Explorer is surely the real deal with its Observation Lounge and The Bow. The ship is lovely.

 

I will keep on eye on future itineraries and those prices, and see if we can swing a booking on board when we are on Dawn this August. I will need every available discount eg the on board saving for Venetians to make the grade.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

Dig deep Markham