Voyage: OTL06
North Spitsbergen - Polar Bear Special 

Voyage: OTL08, OTL09
Around Spitsbergen 

Day 1 - Arrive in Longyearbyen, the capital of the Spitsbergen archipelago. Stroll around this former mining town before embarking.  Both the parish church and Polar Museum are well worth visiting. We sail out of Isfjorden in the evening.

Day 2 - Heading north along the west coast, in the morning we arrive in Krossfjorden, where we will cruise in the Zodiacs to see the famous but rapidly retreating 14th of July Glacier, named by French explorers. A variety of flowers bloom on the slopes near the glacier and large numbers of Kittiwakes and Brünnich's Guillemots nest on the nearby cliffs.  We may also see Arctic Foxes and Bearded Seals, who cruise in this fjord. In the afternoon we sail to Ny Ålesund, the world's most northerly settlement.

Once a mining village - served by the world's most northerly railway, which can still be seen - Ny Ålesund is now a research center. Close to the village is a breeding ground for Barnacle Geese, Pink-footed Geese and Arctic Terns. Visitors interested in the history of Arctic exploration will want to walk to the anchoring mast used by Amundsen and Nobile in the airship Norge in 1926 and Nobile in the airship Italia in 1928 before their flights to the North Pole.

Day 3 - Near the mouth of Liefdefjorden, we will go ashore for a walk on the tundra island of Andøya. Many common eiders and pink-footed geese nest here, and we may spot the rare King Eider. Sailing into Liefdefjorden, we will cruise near the face of the impressive Monaco Glacier. The waters of the glacier front are a popular feeding spot for thousands of kittiwakes and occasionally polar bears are seen on the glacier.

Day 4 - Today we will reach our northernmost point at Phippsøya, in the Seven Islands north of Nordaustlandet. Here we will be at 81 degrees north, just 540 miles from the geographic North Pole. Polar bears and ivory gulls inhabit this region. We may sit for several hours in the pack ice, taking in our spectacular surroundings looking for Ross gulls before we turn south again.

Day 5 - We will visit Laagøya today, a low island where a large herd of walrus congregate in the lagoon. Sabine's gulls nest on the island as well. At Sorg Fjord we may find another herd of walrus not far from the graves of 17th century whalers. On a nature walk, we may encounter families of ptarmigans.

Day 6 - Today we will sail into Hinlopen Strait, home to bearded seals, ringed seals, polar bears, and ivory gulls. We'll navigate the ice floes of Lomfjordshalvøya in our zodiacs and explore the bird cliffs of Alkefjellet with thousands of Brünnich's guillemots. On the east side of Hinlopenstrait, we'll attempt a landing at Augustabukta on Nordaustlandet, home to reindeer, pink-footed geese, breeding ivory gulls, and walrus. Near Torrelneset, we will explore the polar desert of Nordaustlandet, next to the world's third largest ice cap. We will walk along beautiful coastline covered in smooth rocks, sculpted by the surf over thousands of years and may encounter walrus along the way.

Day 7 - In Freemansundet, we plan to land at Sundneset on the island of Barentsøya to visit an old trapper's hut and taking a brisk walk across the tundra in search of Spitsbergen reindeer and barnacle geese. Later we cruise south to Diskobukta on the west side of Edgeøya. After a Zodiac cruise through the shallow bay, we land on a beach littered with whale bones and tree trunks, which have drifted here from Siberia. We can also climb to the rim of a narrow gully which is inhabited by thousands of kitttiwakes, black guillemots and glaucous gulls. During the breeding season, the base of the cliffs is patrolled by Arctic fox and polar bears, especially females with young cubs, searching for young birds and eggs that have fallen from the nesting ledges.

Day 8 - We start the day quietly cruising the side fjords of the spectacular Hornsund area of southern Spitsbergen while enjoying the scenery of towering mountain peaks. Hornsundtind rises to 1,431m while Bautaen shows why early Dutch explorers gave the name 'Spitsbergen' - pointed mountains - to the island. There are also 14 magnificent glaciers in the area and very good chances of encounters with seals and polar bears.

Day 9 - Today we land on Ahlstrandhalvøya at the mouth of Van Keulenfjorden. Here piles of beluga whale skeletons remain from the 19th century slaughter, and yet another reminder of the consequences of thoughtless exploitation. Fortunately, belugas were not hunted to the edge of extinction any longer and may still be seen locally. There is a good chance that we will come across a pod. Cruising into Recherchefjorden during the afternoon, we can explore an area of tundra at the head of the fjord where many reindeer feed.

Day 10 - Return to Longyearbyen and disembark for the transfer to the airport.

Voyage: North Spitsbergen

OTL06: Polar Bear Special 6/26//2012 - 7/3/2012

OTL06 (S): Polar Bear Special 6/24/2013 - 7/01/2013

OTL07: 7/01/2013 - 07/08/2013

Voyage: Around Spitsbergen

OTL08: 7/12/2012 - 7/21/2012 
OTL09: 7/21/2012 - 7/30/2012

OTL08: 7/08/2013- 7/17/2013

OTL19: 7/17/2013 - 7/26/2013

OTL10: 7/26/2013 - 8/4/2013

OTL11 (H): 8/4/2013 - 8/13/2013

Registration
To confirm your space on these tours, please contact our office. 1.800.808.4492 or 206.463.1943. 

Deposit: 25% of trip cost. Check or credit card for deposit with check for final payment.

Cancellation Policy
In the event you must cancel your reservation, refunds will be made according to the following schedule: Deposit is nonrefundable. 90 to 61 days prior to departure, 50% of total is nonrefundable; less than 60 days prior to departure, 100% nonrefundable.

Fuel surcharge: If world fuel prices reach or exceed US Dollar 90 per Barrel Brent 90 days prior to departure, the boat operator reserves the right to levy a fuel surcharge of $25 USD per night, per passenger to be paid prior to travel.

Insurance
Because many advance logistical arrangements have been made prior to the running of this trip, we must adhere to the above policy. In light of this, we strongly recommend trip cancellation insurance. An application form will be sent to you upon request, or you may purchase it on your own. Because of the remote location, emergency medical evacuation insurance is required. Please check your personal insurance coverage and make sure it is applicable in foreign countries. Emergency medical evacuation insurance is a component of the insurance program IWA offers.

M/V Ortelius



The ice-strengthened vessel "Ortelius" is an excellent vessel for Polar expedition cruises in the Arctic 

"Ortelius" was built in Gdynia, Poland in 1989, was named "Marina Svetaeva", and served as a special purpose vessel for the Russian Academy of Science. The vessel is re-flagged and renamed "Ortelius". As Plancius, Ortelius was a Dutch / Flemish cartographer. Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598) published the first modern world atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum or Theatre of the World in 1570. At that time, the atlas was the most expensive book ever printed.

The vessel has the highest ice-class notation (UL1 equivalent to 1A) and is therefore very suitable to navigate in solid one-year sea ice and loose multi-year pack ice. "Ortelius" is a great expedition vessel for 100 passengers with lots of open-deck spaces and a very large bridge which is accessible to the passengers. The vessel is manned by 34 highly experienced Russian nautical crew, 15 international catering staff, including stewardesses, 6 expedition staff (1 expedition leader and 5 guides/lecturers) and 1 doctor.

"Ortelius" offers a comfortable hotel standard, with two restaurants, a bar/lecture room and a sauna. Our voyages are primarily developed to offer our passengers a quality exploratory wildlife program, trying to spend as much time ashore as possible. As the number of passengers is limited to approximately 100 on the "Ortelius", flexibility assures maximum wildlife opportunities.

Length: 91.25 meters
Breadth: 17.61 meters
Draft: 5.8 meters
Ice class: UL1 (equivalent to 1A)
Displacement: 4575 tonnes
Engines: 6 ZL 40/48 SULZER
Speed: 12 knots (14.3 knots max)
Passengers: 100