North Spitsbergen - Polar Bear Special 2013

Overview
Dates & Prices
Itinerary
Maps
Ship Information
Highlights

Explore the spectacular and wildlife rich coastline of Spitsbergen on this 8 day voyage with sightings that may include walrus and Reindeer as well as seals, Polar Bears, Ivory Gulls and more. A number of days in to this voyage, we will find ourselves retracing our route westwards, taking us through and along the pack-ice, keeping watch for Polar Bears and the elusive Greenland Whale (Bowhead). About 100 n.miles west of Spitsbergen we sail along the edge of the continental shelf, where Fin Whales forage in summer in the upwellings along the the Spitsbergen banks.

Bi-lingual voyage: English - German

18 August, 2013 to 25 August, 2013

Make a booking request for North Spitsbergen - Polar Bear Special 2013, departing on 18 August, 2013

Quadruple Porthole $3850.00 USD pp

The cabin provides you with; 1 porthole, 2 upper & lower berths, Private shower & toilet, Desk & chair, Flatscreen TV, Telephone and Internet connection, a hair dryer.

Triple Porthole $4650.00 USD pp

Same as the Quadruple Porthole, but with 3 berths. The cabin provides you with; 1 porthole, 1 upper berth & 2 lower berths, Private shower & toilet, Desk & chair.

Twin Porthole $5300.00 USD pp

The cabin provides you with; 1 porthole, 2 lower berths, Private shower & toilet, Desk & chair, Flatscreen TV, Telephone and Internet connection, a hair dryer and ample storage space.

Twin Window $5500.00 USD pp

The cabin provides you with; 1 window, 2 lower berths, Private shower & toilet, Desk & chair, Flatscreen TV, Telephone and Internet connection, a hair dryer and ample storage space.

Twin Deluxe $5900.00 USD pp

The cabin provides you with; 2 windows, 2 lower berths, Private shower & toilet, Desk & chair, Flatscreen TV, Telephone and Internet connection, a hair dryer and ample storage space.

North Spitsbergen - Polar Bear Special 2013 itinerary:

Day 1 - Departure from Longyearbyen

Arrive in Longyearbyen, the administrative capital of the Spitsbergen archipelago of which West Spitsbergen is the largest island. Before embarking there is an opportunity to stroll around this former mining town, whose parish church and Polar Museum are well worth visiting, while in the surrounding area of Longyearbyen. In the early evening the ship will sail out of Isfjorden.

Day 2 - Raudfjord

We visit Raudfjord on the north coast of West Spitsbergen, a beautiful fjord dominated by spectacular glaciers and favoured by Ringed and Bearded Seals and where we often sea Polar Bears. In the evening we will sail by the island of Moffen where a big herd of Walrus can be found.

Day 3 - 4 - Laagøya & Nordaustlandet

At Laagøya, a haul-out place for Walrus, we make a landing. Later we sail through Beverleysundet named by Parry in 1827 and also sailed by the Swedish-Russian Arc-of-Meridian Expedition in 1898. We push east to reach the area of Nordaustlandet, where the Nobile expedition drifted around in 1928 and where the Italian Sora tried to come to the rescue. There we hope to get to Alpinøya, reached by Sora in 1928, and then to the mouth of Finn Malmgrenfjord, and Albertinibukta and to climb Soraberget (205 M) from where we have a fantastic view on the icecap of Nordaustlandet. Alternatively we will land at Storøya, where again we may meet a group of Walrus.

Day 5 - Seven Islands

Today we will reach the northernmost islands of Svalbard: the Seven Islands north of Nordaustlandet. We will attempt to land on Phippsøya which often have walrus hauled out on land. We will then try to find the pack ice to take in the spectacular surroundings and search for wildlife such as Polar bear and perhaps even the illusive Ross gull. We will reach the area of 81 degrees north – just 540 km from the geographic North Pole.

Day 6 - 7 - Retracing our route Westwards

We retrace our voyage to the west, all the time through and along the pack-ice north of Spitsbergen, looking for polar bears and northwest of Spitsbergen, looking for whales.

Day 8 - Arrival in Longyearbyen

We disembark in Longyearbyen, the administrative centre of Spitsbergen, for the flights south to Oslo and onward home.

Note:

All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions and in order to take advantage of opportunities to see wildlife. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.

Map for North Spitsbergen - Polar Bear Special 2013

Plancius

M/v "Plancius" was built in 1976 as an oceanographic research vessel for the Royal Dutch Navy and was named "Hr. Ms. Tydeman". The ship sailed for the Dutch Navy until June 2004 and was eventually purchased by Oceanwide Expeditions.

The vessel was completely rebuilt as a 114-passenger vessel in 2009 and complies with the latest SOLAS-regulations (Safety Of Life At Sea). M/v "Plancius" is classed by Lloyd's Register in London and flies the Dutch flag.

M/v "Plancius" accommodates 114 passengers in 53 passenger cabins with private toilet and shower in 4 quadruple private cabins, 39 twin private cabins (ca. 15 square meters) and 10 twin superior cabins (ca. 21 square meters).

All cabins offer lower berths (either two single beds or one queen-size bed), except for the 4 quadruple cabins (for 4 persons in 2x upper and lower beds).

The vessel offers a restaurant/lecture room on deck 3 and a spacious observation lounge (with bar) on deck 5 with large windows, offering full panorama view. M/v "Plancius" has large open deck spaces (with full walk-around possibilities on deck 3), giving excellent opportunities to enjoy the scenery and wildlife. She is furthermore equipped with 10 Mark V zodiacs, including 40 HP 4-stroke outboard engines and 2 gangways on the starboard side, guaranteeing a swift zodiac operation.

M/v "Plancius" is comfortable and nicely decorated, but is not a luxury vessel. Our voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic regions are and will still be primarily defined by an exploratory educational travel programme, spending as much time ashore as possible. This vessel will fully meet our demands to achieve this.

The vessel is equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system which reduces the noise and vibration of the engines considerably. The 3 diesel engines generate 1.230 horse-power each, giving the vessel a speed of 10 - 12 knots. The vessel is ice-strengthened and was specially built for oceanographic voyages.

M/v "Plancius" is manned by 17 nautical crew, 19 hotel staff (6 chefs, 1 hotel manager, 1 steward-barman and 11 stewards / cabin cleaners), 8 expedition staff (1 expedition leader and 7 guides-lecturers) and 1 doctor.

Ice class: Plancius was built for Ice conditions. To reach these ice-conditions she has a strengthened bow and stern. The hull is thicker and the whole construction on the waterline of the vessel is reinforced by using extra frames. Where the normal frame spacing is 65cm, we have on the bow-line and stern also frames in between so there the frame spacing is approx 30cm. Because Plancius was built to do surveys she has a special six blade bronze propeller, the shape of the propeller makes Plancius a very silent ship. Plancius has a Lloyds class notation 100A1 Passenger ship, Ice Class 1D at a draught of 5 meters (which is our waterline).

Length:89 meters (293 feet)
Breadth:14,5 meters (47 feet)
Draft:5 meters (16 feet)
Ice class:1D
Displacement:3175 tonnes
Engines:3x Diesel-Electric
Speed:10 - 12 knots
Passengers:114

Best chances to spot Polar Bears / Sailing along the pack ice!