Svalbard Odyssey

After making your own way to Longyearbyen, you will be transferred to your hotel. Once you arrive, you can pick up your luggage tags at the hospitality desk and sign up for pre-embarkation activities. After check-in, you’ll likely have free time to explore Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost settlement. Take a peek at the Svalbard church, wander inside the local gallery at Galleri Svalbard, or settle into the Karlsberger Pub to sample its impressive whiskey and cognac collections. This is also a good time to purchase any last-minute necessities ahead of your cruise aboard the Greg Mortimer.

You’ll check out of your hotel in the morning, ensuring that your luggage tags are attached to your bags, so they can be safely transferred to the ship. After check-in, the rest of the morning can be spent at leisure before meeting your guide in the afternoon for a drive to outer Longyearbyen, where the iconic architectural lines of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault await. After observing from the outside (the seed bank is entirely closed to visitors) we continue to Camp Barentz in Advent Valley to learn about life in the extreme conditions of the Arctic. You’ll board the Greg Mortimer in the late afternoon, and in the evening the Captain’s welcome dinner signals the beginning of a thrilling Arctic adventure.

We’ll spend an enthralling nine days sailing aboard the Greg Mortimer in the Svalbard Archipelago, but because of unpredictable atmospheric conditions (weather, sea, pack-ice, etc., as well as maximizing wildlife opportunities), the itinerary will not be finalized until you’re sailing, chosen by your experienced expedition team, who have years of experience in exploring the Svalbard Archipelago.

While sailing in Svalbard, you’ll have the opportunity to see the luminescent blues of more than 2000 glaciers, magnificent mountain ranges, and a legion of wildlife, including walrusses, whales, seals, and arctic foxes, but none more impressive than the Polar Bear. You’ll explore by Zodiac to get closer to wildlife, hike across the tundra to visit remote human settlements, nd climb to incredible viewpoints to spot puffins and guillemots nesting on the cliffs. As you sail north of Svalbard, the ship will maneuver between sea ice, a phenomenon that stretches to the North Pole and is best viewed from the Greg Mortimer’s excellent viewing platforms, which are ideal points from which to spot wildlife directly from the ship – including polar bears on drift ice. Sea kayaking offers a sublime opportunity to immerse yourself in the Polar waters, rowing closer to glaciers and spotting wildlife at an immersive level. Other activities such as scuba diving, bird watching, onboard lectures delivered by real-life explorers and scientists, and polar plunging (when conditions allow) are all available on the Svalbard Odyssey Polar cruise.

The Greg Mortimer cruises back into Longyearbyen in the early morning escorted by the occasional puffin or guillemot who use the currents of air created by the ship to gain momentum, a good opportunity to say goodbye to the local wildlife from an observation deck. You’ll have plenty of time to bid farewell to your expedition team and any friends made along the way before disembarking. From here, you can either continue your onward journey or join us for an optional extension to your tour with a night or two in beautiful Kirkenes for more Arctic adventure close to the Finnish border.