Guests on board Silversea Cruises’ Silver Explorer between the 10th August and 5th September 2019 were able to experience the company’s first ever sailing of the Northeast Passage, a remote cruising route just above the Arctic Circle. Silversea Cruises decided to celebrate their 10th year of operation by completing their most ambitious expedition to date.

The 144 guests on board were accompanied by 15 experts which included three historians, a marine biologist, a professional photographer, a botanist, a geologist and an ornithologist. Between them, they delivered around 50 different informative lectures across the whole voyage, each explaining a different destination coming up or a type of wildlife to keep an eye out for.

Passing Through

It was two weeks into the cruise that Silver Explorer reached the Arctic pack ice and began sailing northwards, following the edge. The ship was accompanied by a Russian icebreaker so that it could make its way through the thick floes, allowing guests to have this one-of-a-kind experience and making Silver Explorer the most luxurious cruise ship to sail this route.

The ship travelled over 5,000 nautical miles in total over 25 days. It visited 27 different destinations in three countries, including Nome in Alaska, Ayon Island in Russia and Tromsø in Norway.

Highlights

One of the highlights of the cruise - aside from the passage - was the two different sightings of polar bears. The first was when the ship was near Kolyuchin Island and the 12 guided Zodiac tours allowed guests to safely see several polar bears.

The second sighting was just off Ayon Island, in the East Siberian Sea. Here guests saw a female polar bear navigating her way around the ice with her two cubs. A vast number of walruses were also seen around these two spots.

Guests can boast that they passed through the Arctic sea ice twice and had an extremely unique culinary experience in Ostrov Isachenko, a small island in Russia. A temporary bar was established near an abandoned weather station and served up blinis, champagne and caviar in temperatures as low as 3 degrees.

They also enjoyed a folkloric performance in Provideniya, Ayon Island, which involved local children singing and dancing.

A Few Words From The Team

Stefan Kredel, one of the expedition leaders on board Silver Explorer, explained that it’s extremely difficult to guarantee anything when cruising this far north, however, they got very lucky with the weather and are very thankful for the icebreaker. He’s thrilled to see that the guests now have such unique memories from this amazing region.

Conrad Combrink, the senior vice president, explained that the high feedback score “speaks volumes about Silversea’s approach to ultra-luxury expedition cruising.” He goes on to further enforce that they explored each destination in so much depth, so that their guests could immerse themselves in the unforgettable journey of discovery.

In 2020, Silversea Cruises are organising two more sailings of this nature, one through the Northwest Passage aboard Silver Cloud and a Northeast Passage adventure on Silver Explorer. So, if you wish to book onto these cruises, call us on 0800 035 0701 or contact us via our website.