At least once during a lifetime, the facilities should include marble countertops, designer inspired bowls and shower, and Bulgari soaps and lotions. The butler, champagne, and private party invitations weren’t bad either. But what can compare with the choice of a shower with multiple styles of showerheads, or a large bathtub with its own hand held retracting shower? The marble countertop with backlit mirrors was positioned in between.
Arctic cruising aboard Silversea’s Prince Albert is probably a bit different than Amundsen’s painful and painstaking journeys. Our rugged activities included getting dressed for climbing into the sturdy zodiacs—it takes a lot of effort to put on thermal underwear, waterproof pants, several layers of tops and sweaters, several layers of socks, waterproof boots, heavy parka and an infuriating contraption designed to keep us afloat if necessary. It was probably designed to challenge one’s understanding of knots and satisfy the insurance underwriters.
The reward for all this work was the chance to see breathtaking scenery and wildlife straight out of a National Geographic TV special. I also gained a little appreciation for the patience of a true wildlife photographer. General disappointment during the first few polar bear-free days was somewhat alleviated with specialty drinks from an attentive waiter. Still we did persevere. Or rather, our captain understood that 122 people on a ship for 10 days without any polar bear sightings could put a serious dent in his stocks of liquid.
And polar bear we did see, and walrus, reindeer, humpback whales, and a huge variety of birds, sometimes by the thousands. Our excitement watching a magnificent polar bear hunting for food rivaled that of any fan watching the seventh game of a World Series. There were hikes up glaciers, sailing among crackling blue ice, a beautiful ring-necked seal surfacing almost next to the zodiac. A pod of humpback whales breached playfully along side the Prince Albert, showing off their classic fluke. Plus everyday there were the sights of snow covered mountains. That is everyday and all day. June north of the Arctic Circle means 24-hour daylight.
As Silversea guests our hunt for food was much easier than our polar bear’s. Mostly it was a matter of getting out of all the expedition layers, changing into a somewhat different attire, and showing up in the restaurant. There charming Uta would seat us at our favorite window table, darling Bernadette would explain the evening’s choices, and fun-loving Karolina would choose our wine. We would share stories of the day’s adventures, and hope our polar bear finally had his dinner, too.
As Silversea guests our hunt for food was much easier than the polar bear’s. Mostly it was a matter of getting out of all the expedition layers, changing into a somewhat different attire, and showing up in the restaurant. Charming Uta, our Maitre d’Hotel, greeted us every night with a beaming “Madame Gershberg, Madame Zabel, your table is ready.” While gloved, formally dressed waiters would take an arm and escort us to our favorite window table where we could watch the incredible arctic scenery. Darling Bernadette, our Filipino waitress, would explain the evening’s choices, and our fun-loving sommelier Karolina would choose our wine.
It’s 5:30 a.m. and we’re awake, outside and shivering, wearing more layers of clothes than we would on a New England ski trip, though we’re on a cruise in July. But no one’s complaining aboard the Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic Explorer — not when a polar bear has just been sited on an ice floe just 90 feet from the ship. Did I mention we’re cruising in the Arctic — in the Svalbard archipelago, less than 1,000 miles from the North Pole where there are more polar bears (3,500) than people (2,500).
The morning briefings provided us with information on zodiac operations and behaviour in polar bear country. All our guides were armed every time we went ashore in case of bear encounters .The afternoon gave us a chance to practise our zodiac skills. We saw a bearded seal sunning itself on the pack ice, numerous birds and having found a place to land got quite close to Reindeer. So a good first day and back to the ship for dinner and then back to tackle the pack ice again. It took until 8am the next morning but we made it through so a day at sea with interesting lectures .We reached 80degrees north and what was to be a brilliant day. We started at the bird cliffs at Alkefjellet 60,000 pairs of Thick-billed Murres nesting on narrow ledges, an amazing and somewhat smelly site. Then just after lunch a female Polar Bear with 2 cubs was spotted on the pack ice. They were quite hard to spot as she was moving on and off the ice but we stayed with them and one of the cubs stood on his hind legs to get a better look at us. This was to be our only bear sighting but how wonderful to see them in their true environment. We finished our day with a beach landing and 18 Walrus’s. The next few days we visited Gravneset Whaler cemetery and beach (where the brave can take a dip!), bird cliff and a hike to the top of a glacier, Ny Alesund, and just watching the breathtaking scenery from the deck. As we returned to Longyearbyen the pack ice had gone but was replaced by fog so our last hike was cancelled as it would not have been safe to land.