Between the Poles – Our Epic Global Expedition Cruise

Your adventure starts in Montréal, the largest city in the beautiful province of Quebec, and second most populous city in Canada. Occupying the Island of Montréal and its surrounds, the city is a hub for Canadian history and culture with a modern cosmopolitan feel, brought about by both French and British influences. If you arrange to arrive a few days ahead of your cruise, you will find plenty to appreciate in this lively city. French is the first language for most inhabitants of this diverse city; however, English is widely spoken, and visitors are encouraged to explore and discover Montréal’s various neighbourhoods. Discover shopping, cuisine, and culture in abundance in the city’s lively downtown area, marvel at Notre Dame Basilica while exploring the historic streets of Old Montréal or find colour and quirks aplenty in Montréal’s buzzing Plateau district. For those looking to satisfy their inner foodie, Montréal is one of the finest cities in Canada for its lively markets, excellent cuisine, and charming café culture. Discover local delicacies, including smoked meats, freshly baked bagels, and maple sweets, washed down with a beer from one of the many craft breweries in the city. Montréal is famed for its year-round festive atmosphere, with a variety of events and festivals taking place throughout the year. Unwind after a day’s exploration at one of the pubs and bars along Downtown’s Crescent Street, renowned for their welcoming social atmosphere. Enjoy a cocktail on the terraces or take to the dance floor at one of the city’s lively bars and music venues. Enjoy all that Montréal has to offer before heading north to Cambridge Bay to begin your adventure in earnest aboard MS Fram. Pre-Programme Add some extra time and join our optional half day Montreál Sightseeing & Savoir-Vivre Tour. You’ll see how culturally diverse…

In the morning you’ll fly from Montréal to Cambridge Bay, where your comfortable expedition ship MS Fram awaits. Cambridge Bay is a settlement of around 2,000 people on Victoria Island - one of Arctic Canada’s largest islands. In the local language of Inuinnaqtun, Cambridge Bay is known as ‘Iqaluktuuttiaq’, meaning a ‘Good Fishing Place’. It’s an apt name, and visitors come here for the Arctic char fly-fishing in the nearby rivers. The abundant wildlife is an obvious pull for explorers to these parts. Others come to visit the Canadian High Arctic Research Station, a world-class centre for the study of climate change and all things Arctic. It’s only fitting that your voyage starts here where Arctic explorers of old seeking the Northwest Passage often sheltered. You too can add your name to this illustrious list, which includes the legendary Norwegian adventurer Roald Amundsen. After you check in on the ship and collect your complimentary expedition jacket, you’ll have time to settle into your cabin or walk around exploring your new home-from-home. There’s a mandatory safety briefing held before departure, making sure we are all as safe as possible for the voyage ahead. The evening dinner will be the first of many on board, and it’ll end with a toast by the Captain, wishing everyone an enjoyable expedition. You’ll then meet the Expedition Team in a separate welcome session who’ll give you some important health and safety information.   The team will also talk you through the guidelines from AECO, the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators. You'll learn how you can protect wildlife habitats, keep a safe distance from wild animals, and visit Arctic communities in a dignified and respectful way.

We’ll set a course into the heart of the fabled Northwest Passage. Since the late 15th Century, the search for this fabled seaway through the Canadian Arctic was something of a Holy Grail for hardy sea adventurers. The first recorded voyage was led by John Cabot in 1497. James Cook attempted but failed to sail the Passage in 1776, and many are already familiar with the ill-fated Franklin expedition of 1845. The first to conquer the Passage in a boat was Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, on an expedition that lasted from 1903 to 1906. The sea ice varies from year to year and every expedition here is unique. In this modern era, with our state-of-the-art navigation equipment, we’ll chart our own adventure, setting a course for eastern Canada. During our passage, we’ll land at sites linked to early explorer history, visit Inuit communities, and attempt to spot Arctic wildlife such as polar bears, whales, seals, and a variety of seabirds. There may also be opportunities for small boat cruising between ice floes, and in true expedition style we’ll head ashore and experience the pristine wilderness of the Canadian Arctic. The ship’s Captain and Expedition Team leader will continuously assess the current weather and sea conditions, adapting activities accordingly, and adjusting the itinerary to take account of the sea ice. Like all good explorers, we must respect and work with nature, not against her. Along the way we hope to be able to show you some of the following places: Gjoa Haven honours the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who wintered here from 1903 on the Gjøa expedition. He called the place ‘the finest little harbour in the world’ and learned a great deal from local Netslik Inuit people about survival and travel in polar regions. These skills were instrumental in helping…

As we emerge from the Northwest Passage, we leave Canadian territory behind us for now and set our course for Greenland. While sailing across Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, you’ll continue to enjoy informative lectures in the Science Center. Some of the topics may include wildlife you might see, Greenlandic culture, expedition history, geology, photography, and lectures on historic explorers. Ilulissat, Greenland Translated simply as ‘Icebergs’, Ilulissat is set in the stunning scenery of the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This place is truly picture perfect. It’s also a vibrant hub for adventure seekers who head out onto the polar ice sheet, and there are almost as many sled dogs living here as there are people. Just outside the town, you can often see enormous icebergs floating in the deep blue waters. They originate from the Jakobshavn Glacier, which calves some 35 billion tons of icebergs each year. These bergs make their way down the 12-mile fjord before entering Disko Bay – and with their shimmering forms and delicate hues they’re a nature photographer’s dream. Sisimiut, Greenland Greenland’s second-largest settlement sits 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the central coastal area of the Davis Strait. Its name translates into ‘The People at the Fox Holes’, a reference to the many Arctic fox burrows found nearby. Another local animal is the musk ox, whose wool is used to make a special fabric called qiviut—said to be 10 times warmer than sheep wool. Nuuk, Greenland Nuuk was settled in 1728, which makes it the oldest settlement in the nation. And although Greenland’s capital is classed as a city, fewer than 17,000 people call it home. The name Nuuk means peninsula, and it’s located at the mouth of a system of spectacular fjords and mountains. Today Nuuk is…

The next leg of your journey begins in Halifax, the cosmopolitan capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. This well-situated seaport looks out over one of the world's largest natural harbours. Halifax has all the allurements of a modern Canadian city, and it’s a great place to catch up on some shopping before we head south to the tropics. During the next seven days of our journey at sea, the Expedition Team will help us deepen our knowledge of the oceans and ecology. At the same time, we’ll be taking advantage of the fantastic facilities onboard and running a programme aimed at focusing on mind, body and soul. What does this mean? Read below to find out... Understanding our oceans As we sail from Nova Scotia to Panama, you’ll be able to take part in an engaging programme of hands-on lectures, workshops and classes that cover topics like marine biology and the history of sea navigation from the Vikings till now. As an added bonus, you’ll be invited to join the ship’s officers on the bridge, giving you a behind-the-scenes insight into what modern navigation is all about. Learn from the enthusiastic Expedition Team members, handpicked for their expertise, and use microscopes in the ship’s Science Center to explore the ocean’s hidden ecosystems. There will also be Citizen Science projects to sink your teeth into, which are connected to important live research worldwide. Finding inner peace It’s not all experiments and learning though, rest and rejuvenation are just as important. Take your time to just stop, watch the waves, reflect, and enjoy some precious ‘me time’. To help you reset your mind, body, and soul, there will be daily yoga and meditation classes run by our wellness professionals. These sessions promise to leave you feeling refreshed, recharged, and ready…

We’ll pass through the Panama Canal, a 50-mile-long man-made marvel of engineering featuring channels and open water that was opened to traffic in 1914. The canal links the Atlantic to the Pacific, and roughly halfway through the 12-hour transit we’ll enter the Gatun Lake section. If you’re lucky, you may spot a crocodile or alligator on the shore. Watch the trees and you may also catch a glimpse of monkeys, and maybe even a sloth or two. Emerging into the Pacific Ocean, over the course of the next part of our journey we’ll take you to visit two national parks, as well as a range of endearing coastal communities across five Latin American countries: Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile. But first, we pay a visit to the amazing and little-travelled Darien region. La Chunga, Darien National Park, Panama You’ll be on quite the adventure today as we head to an authentic Embera community in the middle of the jungle in Darien National Park. The indigenous Embera have lived in this area for centuries, long before the first Spanish explorer ever set foot in the New World. The tribe here doesn’t receive visitors regularly and we have worked closely with them to give you this rare opportunity. We’ll brief you beforehand on how to make sure our visit to this isolated community is a respectful one in line with their customs on courtesy. In order to get there, we’ll anchor up in La Chunga Bay and head up the Sambu River through the jungle using our small expedition boats. As we will be travelling inland, it will likely be a lot hotter and you’ll want to bring good protection from the sun and mosquitos. The journey up river will take approximately one hour but will be well worth it. Bahia…

Castro We have made it as far as Patagonia. In Castro, bring your camera to snap the brightly painted palafitos. These are the traditional wooden stilt houses lining the edge of the fjord at Gamboa Wharf. The nearby UNESCO-listed Church of San Francisco is a masterpiece of carpentry made entirely of wood in the neo-Gothic style. Puerto Eden The tiny hamlet of Puerto Eden sits on a bay and is part of a remote peninsula that juts out into a fjord in the province of Última Esperanza – meaning ‘Last Hope’. From here there’s access to the exceptional landscapes of Bernardo O'Higgins National Park – Chile’s largest protected area, comprising a stunning network of peaceful fjords and gorgeous forest-mantled mountains. There are no roads to, from or even within this isolated village, just boardwalks and footpaths that connect the homes of its less-than 200 inhabitants. Puerto Natales Take in the breathtaking views of the southern Andes as we arrive at Puerto Natales. The city is an entry point to Torres del Paine National Park, which attracts hikers and climbers from all over the world. Aside from a full-day optional excursion to the national park, you can also spend some time leisurely exploring Puerto Natales on foot. This sleepy city is a mix of Bohemian bars, shops selling outdoor gear, corrugated tin houses, and eateries serving up global cuisine. Chilean fjords We’ll cruise amongst the fabled fjords and multitude of islands found within Chile’s rugged Magallanes Province, where jagged mountains reach for the sky. Then we’ll pass through the western part of the Strait of Magellan, named after the famous 16th Century Portuguese explorer who first traversed it. The scenery is so fantastic here you’ll feel an innate sense of wonder and peace! Cape Horn & the Drake Passage After looping…

This is the final frozen frontier – a vast, unspoilt, white desert teeming with life at the bottom of the world. Majestic mountains coated in thick snow rise up from the icy sea. Glaciers creep across the landscape, cracking, and calving icebergs along the coast. The scenery is almost silent, save for the shrill of lovesick penguins, splashes from courting seals, and the sound of crumbling ice. The 46 species of birds living here, including Terns, Petrels and Jaegers will also draw your attention. During the seven days we spend around the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula, we will likely go ashore at several places, allowing you to experience the region’s wildlife and landscapes first-hand. The Expedition Team will lead on landings where they will create a perimeter for you to move around freely at your own speed. They will also direct ice-cruising in our small expedition boats to tour icebergs and glaciers from a safe distance. In addition, there are sometimes optional activities like kayaking, camping and snowshoeing, although numbers are limited. Don’t forget there’s a variety of Citizen Science projects running, such as photographing whales and collecting water samples. Uploading your whale photos to a global database helps scientists around the world study migration patterns and microbiology. You’ll get an even better understanding of the fragile ecosystem of Antarctica when we study the samples in the Science Center. As outlined in the Antarctic Treaty, Antarctica is dedicated to peace, science and tourism. That’s why we adhere to very strict environmental guidelines in this area. We are the foreign element here, so it is important to make as little impact as possible. The wildlife is used to the ice and cold weather, but not human interference. We want to leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but pictures!…

Inspired. That’s how many of our guests feel after seven fascinating and unforgettable days exploring Antarctica. You, and undoubtedly also the memory card in your camera, will be filled with memorable moments that will stay with you forever. MS Fram will turn around, point north and begin to take you safely back across the Drake Passage and on through the Beagle Channel. The Expedition Team will continue their lectures in the Science Center and also recap the experiences from your cruise. Count the stars from the hot tub on the observation deck and add your new friends to your preferred social media channel.

We arrive in Punta Arenas in the morning, meaning your Pole-to-Pole expedition has come to an end. We transfer you to the airport, where you will fly to the capital, Santiago de Chile. Even as you’ll have to say farewell to the ship, the Captain, crew and the Expedition Team, you don’t have to say goodbye to adventure. When one chapter closes, another opens and there are more expedition cruises and destinations to explore. More than the photos you’ll take home with you, we hope that what you’ll cherish the most are the magical moments you experienced on this expedition – moments not behind the camera lens, but just as vivid in your mind and heart. We share an overall goal – to show that expedition cruises can and should be as sustainable as possible, and to inspire all of us to do more to protect and cherish our wonderful planet. This is the appreciation we want you to take home with you and share with your friends and family. Here’s to seeing you on your next adventure! Post-Programme If you’re in no rush to head back home after your epic Pole to Pole cruise, we wholeheartedly recommend extending your trip and enjoy the many delights of the Chilean capital. Indeed, why not prolong the adventure with a Post-Programme that visits the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Easter Island. Here, you’ll see and try to make sense of the mysterious statues that stand like sentinels looking out to sea – another bucket list destination to tick off!

Itineraries are subject to change.