Chasing Ice, Northern Lights, and Polar Bears on the Ocean Endeavor in the Arctic

By Tab Hauser
Senior Writer

Cruising the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada is a true adventure vacation.  For 17 days we explored 3255 miles of the remote waterways in the high Arctic.

The Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in the Arctic Sea via northern Canada. Our cruise weaved through beautiful scenery, including barren rocky and snowy mountainous islands, narrow channels, fjords, fog, and icebergs.

A Shortcut Over Canada

Since the early days of European trading with the Far East, the idea of finding a shortcut over Canada was an important quest. A northwest passage could take trading ships 8000 miles direct, versus 14,600 miles sailing around South America.

Much is written about the early explorers seeking fame and fortune who tried and died making the earliest attempts to cross.  The most famous was Sir John Franklin and his 129 men who left England in 1845 with two ships.

They all froze or starved to death two years after their boats were crushed by ice and had to abandon ship to the barren islands. Our ship visited the graves of three sailors who died earlier in that expedition.  Lectures and songs aboard the Ocean Endeavor were dedicated to Franklin and his crew.

Daily Routine

Expedition cruising is different from the large ships that call on the Caribbean Islands. Those ships can carry 3000 to 7600 passengers.

The Ocean Endeavor carried 187 like-minded passengers who did not come aboard to see staged shows, visit a casino, and dress up.

The goal of most expedition passengers is to explore where only a small ship can go.

Passengers cruising with Adventure Canada did not sign up to sleep late.

If we had a morning landing, a cheery wake-up announcement occurred between 7 AM and 8 AM giving our position, weather, and any schedule update.

Following breakfast, guests would go to the mud room to don your life jackets and rubber boots (provided) before boarding a Zodiac.

Switching to Hiking Shoes

At the landing beach, guests would leave their life jackets and switch over to hiking shoes to explore the area. The landings were made in the most scenic places that had historical or geological significance. There were also cultural visits to remote communities and cities.

Arctic Landings

During our 17-day cruise, the ship stopped in over a dozen places.  Each location was scenic and unique. The landings had us walk on crushed rock and soft tundra.  During these stops, from a distance, we spotted polar bears, seals, an arctic fox, a herd of musk ox and walrus as well as birds. There were bays where guests went on scenic zodiac rides.

It was at these landings that our expedition leader encouraged us to find a quiet place to reflect on our whereabouts.

This was not only calming but also got us to appreciate absolute silence.

During a zodiac cruise, our driver turned off the motor so we could hear nothing but the water running off a glacier waterfall from a thousand feet up. Below are a few highlighted stops.

In Port Epworth, we hiked up to a bluff that had 1.9-billion-year-old stromatolite fossils. Stromatolites were the earliest bacterial organisms that gave life to our planet by producing oxygen. Port Epworth is under consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its natural beauty and geological significance in Earth’s evolution.

Bellot Strait is a 16-mile-long scenic narrow strait where the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean tides meet. Jutting north near the middle of the strait is the most northern place on the North American continent.  Here our expedition leader read a poem and led a toast for being on top of the continent with Sailor’s brand rum for all.  Here we spotted bright white beluga whales along a cliff in the distance.

Beechey Island is 1.8 square miles and has three of Franklin’s crewmembers who died in 1846 and are buried here.

Two other graves include someone from a later search party, and another illegally placed there that is said to be a Franklin expedition buff.

There are plaques and cairns (rock posts) dedicated to other explorers and ships that visited here.  You also see the remains of a storehouse used by search parties looking for Franklin. During our walk, our geologist picked up perfect pieces of fossilized coral from a sea here 450 million years ago.

Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island on Earth. The ride through the fjord to the landing was beautiful.  At Powell Inlet, we admired the 3000-foot walls that went up to the island’s large ice cap. The reflections on the water off the cliff with the blue icebergs made perfect photos.  From the beach, we viewed a herd of walrus in the cove opposite our landing.

78 Degrees North

The Endeavor cruised up to  78 degrees latitude where the sea ice was thick. At 720 miles from the North Pole, passengers put on their warmest clothes to meet on the aft deck. Here our cruise director read a page from the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen written in 1893 and led a toast to being here.

Icebergs Up Close

During the passage, we cruised by many icebergs. A highlight was getting up close in small boats or zodiacs twice on Greenland’s west coast. This part of the world has some of the most active glaciers. Their sizes ranged from the size of our ship to that of a small town.

Their colors ranged from white to light blue with some having a height of over 200 feet. One 1500-foot iceberg with an arch looked like a floating fort. Guests loved the “polar bar” floating in the ice field. This had polar bear-dressed staff passing out hot chocolate spiked with Bailey’s. Perfect!

Communities

Our ports of calls took us to communities in Canada and Greenland.

During our visits, we were welcomed with regional music by schoolchildren, saw the style and warmth of Inuit clothes made from regional animals, took a tour through the towns, and visited their cultural centers.

One village treated us to musk ox sliders, smoked narwhale, arctic char, and a local berry cake. We learned how people lived off the land and sea for their protein and clothes.

In Ilulissat, Greenland, our zodiac weaved around the ice to reach this city of 4600 people. Ilulissat is Inuit for iceberg, and the ice fjord on the back side of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Inuit Experience

The understanding of Inuit culture is an important part of Adventure Canada.  On board were several Inuit team members and special guests.  Each shared something about their lives or culture. This included personal stories, music, food, clothes, beading as well as a discussion on their terrible mandatory resettlement by the Canadian government back in the 1950’s.

Sea Time

When at sea there were always activities going on. This included lectures on history, explorers, glaciers, geology, botany, local wildlife, regional handcrafts, beer tasting and music.

During the cruise, passengers had an opportunity to take the polar plunge. I recommend trying this once. It will wake up every sense in your body. Most plungers lasted 10 seconds before climbing up the ladder.

Northern Lights

Viewing the aurora borealis is a highlight of any arctic trip.  When the northern lights were showing well, an announcement was made. This got most guests quickly to dress and get to the stern where the lights of the ship were turned off for better viewing. We were awed watching the mostly shades of green with a tinge of red actively swirling across the sky.

The Ocean Endeavor

The ice-strengthened Ocean Endeavor is 450 feet long, 69 feet at beam, having a draft of 19 feet. Endeavor gets into small bays, narrow channels, and fjords. She holds 198 passengers and a crew of 124. The ship is spacious with its nine decks and four lounges. (I was more comfortable and had more personal room aboard Endeavor than I was on a 1040-foot cruise ship with 3100 passengers I boarded earlier this year to Bermuda.)

The ship has several different class cabins to meet different budgets. I opted for a wide cabin on deck seven that was roomy. All cabins are only two minutes from any part of the ship.

Wine and spirits were priced reasonably. At dinner, unfinished bottles of wine were saved for you for the next day. Beer drinkers were pleased with the large assortment from Canada and Greenland.  For relaxing or chatting, the Compass Lounge had a 24-hour coffee/tea service with freshly baked cookies.  Tea service was daily at 4 PM.

Endeavor Extras

The Endeavor has a hot tub, extensive library, gift shop, small gym, sauna, and spa for massages. The internet was available but was expensive or time-limited. While underway the bridge is open for viewing.

Tips: There is a saying that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad dressing.  Purchase good quality wind and water-resistant outer pants, a good puffy jacket and hiking shoes. For days aboard, bring a casual comfy pair of light weight shoes. Dress aboard is casual.

Adventure Canada is known for giving back to the community and the environment it sails in. During my cruise, they donated hockey equipment to a remote village. They also gave free boarding to three research students who work on making the Arctic a better place. In 2026, look for two new expedition ships.

For information on their many different cruises go to www.adventurecanada.com/