Described as the 24 Day Route of the Vikings II, we departed Monday August 6th from Reykjavik with several stops in Greenland, Labrador, and Newfoundland arriving in Montreal on Thursday August 30th. Embarkation formalities were performed with the customary Seabourn efficiency and within 30 minutes of arriving at the dock we were enjoying our first glass of champagne in the Colonnade.
Our first port of call was to be Heimaey Island, a highlight for most people because of it's puffin population and the 1973 Eldfell volcanic eruption. Sadly, due to high winds/seas we couldn't launch the tenders and had to skip this port. Interesting to note that Heimaey is not on the 2019 schedule, so I suspect that our experience was more the norm than the exception.
After 2 days at sea, we arrived on the morning of the 4th day at Prince Christian Sound, awaking at 7 am to the sound of the foghorn - a sound with which we would be all too familiar by the end of the cruise. It was cold, windy & wet outside. After a couple of hours the fog lifted and, after the Ventures zodiac tours had finished (we sat at anchor for 6 hours while those that had signed up for the zodiac tours were treated to an up close look at the glacier) we spent the rest of the day cruising through the Sound.
On day 5, waking once again to the sound of the foghorn, the brightly painted houses of Qaqortoq, our first port of call in Greenland, rising up-hill from the shoreline could be seen peeking out from beneath the low cloud. The water is flat calm and after 3 days at sea everyone is keen to get ashore. There are a couple of Ventures tour options on offer but we decided to hike on our own around Lake Tasersuaq. By 10 am the fog had lifted and after getting directions & confirming that it would take approximately 4 hours we set off. As we neared the bottom of the lake the cloud/fog came down & forced us to retrace our steps. As we were walking back the clouds lifted and we arrived back in town to bright sunshine. It had taken us about 3 hours, so after a short wander around the town we tendered back to the ship. Qaqortoq is the largest town in Southern Greenland with a population of 3,229, but, as we were to discover, like the other small towns in Greenland that we were to visit, does not have much in the way of tourism infrastructure. I couldn't shake off the uncomfortable feeling in these towns that I was intruding upon their daily life, each click of the shutter being accompanied by a feeling of guilt.
Day 6, we are in Paamiut, a small town of around 1,500 people on the Labrador Sea. Awoke to the foghorn & another scene from the Ancient Mariner. By 8:30 the fog lifted to reveal Paamiut sitting under a thin layer of low cloud at the end of a channel surrounded by large rocky outcrops/islands. 'Small' icebergs can be seen floating in the distance. Again there are a couple of Ventures tours on offer but we had decided on a hike along the fjord, promising good views of the surrounding area. Naturally, we got off trail, found ourselves at the end of the fjord and had to backtrack until, meeting some fellow cruisers, the blind led the blind until we picked up the correct path and climbed a hill providing fantastic views of the town, fjords, and surrounding countryside. By the time we got back to town we had managed to turn an hour excursion into 3 1/2 hours. After a few pictures of the church, a gift from the people of Norway, it was time to return to the ship. The white-tailed eagle is reputed to be plentiful in Paamiut but we din't see any. The sun shone as we left Paamiut on a flat sea which provided ideal conditions for spotting humpback whales & seals as we passed the southern end of the Greenland icecap.
Day 7, today we are docked in Nuuk, founded in 1728 by Hans Egede as the first town in Greenland, and the present day capital city. Awoke at 6:30 to bright sunshine, a flat sea scattered with small ice-floes and lovely views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Once again there are a couple of Ventures options on offer plus some other Seabourn excursions but we had planned on a hike up Little Malene, starting out from behind the airport. As was becoming par for the course, we ended up on the wrong path. The first 'problem' was that the #3 bus to the airport didn't run on a Sunday, so we had to take the #1 bus to Qinngorput & begin the hike from there. Then instead of following the 'green dots' we followed the orange ones and after an attempt at scaling Big Malene (not recommended without a local guide) we managed, with help from several locals, to navigate our way around the base of Little Malene to the airport and arriving back at the ship some 7 hours after we had first set off. Note, a mosquito/fly net is a must as the flies can be more than an annoyance. We didn't have time to look around the city, but as it was a Sunday we were told that there wasn't much open so we didn't feel that we missed much. Seabourn had arranged for two local singers/dancers and a male drummer/singer to perform for us in the evening - strange, haunting songs and a scary mask dance with animal/snakelike movements, gyrating bodies, distorted face gestures and strange guttural noises - quite an end to our day in Nuuk.
Day 8, awoke once more to the sound of the foghorn. The anchor went down at 7:40 am and we couldn't see beyond the bow. Announcement at 8:25 am that the days activities have been delayed or cancelled due to the fog. Welcome to Maniitsoq, described as the Venice of Greenland, a small town apparently popular with fishermen in search of Arctic Char. That may well be, but we could find very little else to recommend the town to day trippers. The single Seabourn excursion was a Ventures kayak tour - sort of says it all. We had been handed a map as we disembarked the tender but as street names were hard to find it was of limited use. We tried without any success to find the marked trails and so satisfied ourselves with climbing the several flights of steps to an overlook, affording views over & beyond the town to the surrounding mountains. Maniitsoq translates to 'the uneven place', with roads running between rocky outcrops upon which houses sit, accessible by wooden staircases of varying height/construction. As in the other small towns we visited all manner of items - outboard motors, car parts, old shipping pallets, bicycle frames - lie outside houses or in the street, such that someone commented it is hard to distinguish between what is trash & what isn't. Perhaps has more to do with the need to be self-sufficient in such remote places & not throwing anything out that might perhaps one day come in useful.
Day 9. Early this morning we crossed the Arctic Circle. Today we are docked in Sisimuit, the second largest city in Greenland with 5,400 inhabitants. Weather overcast but dry. Several Seabourn/Ventures excursions on offer but decided to simply walk around the town & perhaps do the 'hike through the ages' on our own (Seabourn offers the same walk but with a guide for $69 - based on comments from fellow passengers that bought into it, save the money & do it yourself) . Sisimuit had perhaps the best 'feel' of any of the towns that we visited in Greenland. Although it is a fairly large town there is no need to walk far to see what it has to offer. The ship docked right in town and although the main street is a bit of a climb, the church & museum are within easy walking distance, there is a nice local craft shop near the harbour and the Hike through the Ages starts just round the corner from the dock. One downside, the flies were terrible - one enterprising lady was making a fortune selling fly nets at the dock. We were told that there was a hiking trail starting at the end of the main street so we did walk to the end of town. Although we didn't find the trail, there are several sled-dog kennels on the outskirts of town which we hadn't come across in previous towns. Coming back to the dock we decided to do the Hike through the Ages, and things soon went awry. There are supposed to be 11 marker posts, but they are not in sequence and it is easy to feel lost - however the walk isn't long & the ship/town is always visible from an elevated position.
Day 10, Ilulissat, Disco Bay & the icefjord - probably the highlight of the trip. Woke to glorious sunshine, the air was cold and Disco Bay was flat calm & glistening as the Quest slowly & deftly navigated the growlers & icebergs to it's anchorage off Ilulissat. The main attraction in Ilulissat is the icefjord - a stretch of the ilulissatfjord where the water is shallow & ice that has calved off the Jakobshavn Glacier gets stuck & forms a huge icefield, which then itself calves off into the sea. The pressure of the ice must be incredible and the sound of the icefield calving is like thunder. There are two marked trails - the Yellow trail (2.7 km) and the Blue trail (6.5km). Both the yellow & blue trails begin at the boardwalk about 1 km along the main street from the center of town - the yellow trail is a circular route overlooking Disco Bay starting & ending at the boardwalk, while the blue trail follows the icefjord for 4 miles along the fjord & then branches inland and circles back through a rocky ravine coming out at the other end of the town. Naturally, we decided to do the Blue trail. The walk along the icefjord is spectacular ending at a rocky 'beach' allowing access to the waters edge, before branching inland. The hike through the ravine is only for the brave or the foolhardy - it is a hard 2 1/2 mile slog over very rocky terrain - far better to retrace the route back along the fjord, or as we were told later, take the blue trail part way along the fjord until it meets a red trail which loops back to the boardwalk. The walk to the end of the fjord took us 5 hours stopping along the way to admire the views, the walk through ravine back to town took another 2 hours.
Days 11 (fog, smooth seas), 12 (rough seas, rain) & 13 (calm seas) were sea days cruising the Davis Strait & Labrador Sea. On day 11 brave souls were invited to take the Polar Plunge in an icy pool. Day 13 itinerary was marked as Iqaluit, but it was only an administrative stop for the ship to clear Canadian Immigration & Customs.
Day 14, Lady Franklin & Monumental islands. A Ventures Only day - for those that had signed-up to zodiac tours. For everyone else it was a day at sea with nowhere to go. We had signed up for both morning & afternoon tours. There were 3 groups in both morning & afternoon. We were on the second tour in the morning at 8 am, and the first afternoon tour at 2pm. The morning tours were blessed with a calm sea & a Polar Bear resting on the island, although our particular ride was marred by the zodiac taking on water forcing us to switch boats so in all we had a little over 30 minutes of a 90 minute tour to enjoy the experience. In the afternoon the wind came up & the sea was rough, and in my opinion it should have been called off . Trying to take photos was a joke. I was never happier to get back aboard the ship. There were quite a few complaining of bad backs for several days afterwards.
Day 15, was another Ventures Only day at Akpatok Island, Nunavut. Waking to 40 knot winds & high seas, we weren't looking forward to today's zodiac tour, so we were quite happy to hear the announcement that today's tours were cancelled. The ship did a couple of loops off the beach - apparently polar bears had been spotted, but they were too far away to make out - before heading on our way. It was a shame really as we had 2 more sea days before our next port of call.
Days 16, & 17 Sea Days, cruising the Davis Strait & Labrador Sea. On Day 16, having been recently reinstated by Seabourn, we enjoyed the Galley Market Lunch. On Day 17 the sun shone & we got out on deck to enjoy a Pina Colada.
Day 18, saw us docked in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador - inhabitants 8,100, including some 4,000 native Inuit - the largest native population in Canada. After yesterday's sunshine we arrived to pouring rain. Being the first cruise ship to dock in over 13 years, our arrival was a big deal and the community had rolled out the welcome mat with free shuttle buses to various stops in town, various craft stalls by local artisans, and photo ops with local Mounties. Unfortunately, they had to quickly rethink the bus schedule as they were overwhelmed by the large number of people wanting, despite the rain, to set foot on land after 7 days at sea. Despite the weather we enjoyed our day, taking in Birch's Nature Trail along the Churchill river.
Day 19, another Sea Day, with the usual daily activities and a 'Fun Fair' in the Club. At night the clocks were set forward 30 minutes as Newfoundland has it's own time zone a half-hour ahead of the mainland.
Day 20, L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, of note for the earliest evidence of Europeans in North America - the excavated remains of an 11th Century failed viking settlement established by Norse adventurers from Iceland. And, the authentically reconstructed Norstead Viking Village housing a replica of a Viking longboat. Seabourn offered a couple of 4 hour coach tours to the North Coast & St. Anthony's respectively, but we opted to tour the viking settlements on our own. The weather was good & the settlements were both within easy walking distance of the dock. Climbing the hill behind Norstead Village provided a panoramic view of the ship at anchor & the surrounding countryside.
Day 21, Red Bay, Labrador. Today a small fishing village, it was, between 1550 & early 17th century, once a major center of Basque whaling operations. A couple of well set-out museums are dedicated to these activities. We didn't fancy the Seabourn coach tours - a 61/2 hr Labrador Coastal Drive, and a 4 1/2 hr Lighthouse Journey - choosing instead to explore on our own. We purchased a combined ticket for the Whaling Museum, manned by Forest Rangers, and the short ferry ride over to Saddle Island, with it's large seabird population, which in itself was worth the price of admission. The island is well maintained by the Canadian Forest Rangers, some of whom were on hand to answer questions and point out areas of interest. The other Whale Museum, in the community center, housing a full length reconstructed skeleton of a Right whale, was also very interesting and has good free public wi-fi.
Day 22 Corner Brook, Newfoundland, on the Bay of Islands at the mouth of the Humber river, is the second largest population center in Newfoundland (after St. Johns). Jacques Cartier was the first European to arrive here in 1534 and it was surveyed by Captain Cook in 1767. Once an important center for pulp & paper production, today there is only one paper mill still in operation. The surrounding hills provide a picturesque backdrop to today's progressive city of 22,000 inhabitants. We joined two friends on a private tour of Gros Morne National Park & the Tablelands, Canada's second largest national park at 1,805 sq. km. (note, Seabourn offered a similar tour for a lot more $$). Our driver took us to the quieter south side of the park taking in the towns of Trout River & Sunny Brook. Although the light was hazy throughout the day, it is undoubtedly picturesque and worth the 1 1/2 drive each way. As the ship was casting off we suffered a complete power outage. Some passengers reported hearing a bang & others seeing smoke. Jan was quick with a calming announcement but the ship tied-up again & we were 4 hours late in leaving.
Day 23 was another Sea Day. Last round of Team Trivia & although on the day we didn't do very well it was enough to maintain our overall lead & be crowned Team Trivia Champions, winning a Seabourn backpack & teddy bear. We also won the team 'dress-up' competition with our rendition of "Feelings", the lyrics rewritten by Doug to reflect the Trivia theme.
Day 24, Quebec City, dominated by the imposing Chateau Frontenac, is where Samuel de Champlain established the first French foothold in 1608. One can easily fill in the day wandering the Old Town with it's cobbled streets packed with museums, mansard-roofed houses, art galleries, restaurants, cafes and craft shops. Our day started bright and warm, but soon the rain came down & it was rather unpleasant walking around. Despite our rain jackets & umbrella we were quite wet by the time we got back onboard. Glad to get into dry clothing, we enjoyed a late Greek lunch in the Colonnade. The afternoon was spent packing ready for disembarkation the next day. During dinner the Captain announced a problem with the coolant on the port side engine shaft and that we would have to anchor until it was fixed, potentially delaying our arrival in Montreal, a cause for concern to those with early flights.
Day 25 Disembarkation in Montreal. As it happened our arrival wasn't delayed but a problem with getting the baggage off meant that disembarkation was strictly by number, resulting in overcrowding in the available public areas. Our number was called at 9:10, good timing as we had a car arranged for 9:30 to take us to the airport. Sitting in departures, with 3 hours to wait for our flight, we found ourselves asking "why hadn't we stayed on until Boston......."
Overall, however, rather than leaving us wanting more, we would have been happy with less. There were too many sea/ventures-only days, similar ports of call and some leaving us wondering why we had stopped there at all. It might seem churlish to criticise the service on an ultra-luxury cruise ship, however, in the Restaurant the service was inconsistent, ranging from poor to acceptable, and in the Colonnade generally well below the expected standard.