An expedition cruise to Svalbard, also known as Spitsbergen, is a fantastic way to experience the true Arctic, and is easy to get to from continental Europe. Here you can the epic Arctic scenery of glacier and mountains, enjoy iconic wildlife species like Polar Bears, Walrus, and Blue Whales, and learn about the phenomenal efforts of early explorers
How to get there
Some expedition cruises to Svalbard will start and end in the town of Longyearbyen, the administrative centre of Svalbard (and pretty much the only settlement there). You can get there on scheduled flights from Tromso on mainland Norway. Other cruises will include a charter flight from Tromso (or sometimes Edinburgh). Other cruises will sail from Reykjavik or Tromso, maybe sarting/ending in one or the other.
When to go
The Svalbard expedition cruise season operates during the northern summertime of May-September, and while there is no bad time to visit during this period, there are some differences throughout the season.
May-June
The expedition cruise season begins in mind-May, as the winter sea ice starts to recede and allows access, though some locations will still be blocked off. Whales will start to arrive as the weeks pass and the water opens up, but will remain in low numbers, Humpback Whales are the most likely to be sighted, and there will be a few Fin Whales a little further out to sea
June-July
Migratory birds arrive in June, and by the end of the month the cliffs are covered in nesting seabirds, and wildfowl will be scattered across the land, shores, and fjords. By late June the Whales are really starting to arrive and soon Humpback Whales will be frequently sighted in the fjords, large numbers of Fin Whales gather close offshore, and you may get lucky with a Blue Whale sighting, particularly if you’re crossing to/from Iceland or mainland Norway
August-September
As darkness returns to the night-time, so do the chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis- The Northern Lights. The later in the season you can go, the better the nocturnal conditions for observing this phenomena will be. By mid-September the expedition cruise season is pretty much over, and much of the wildilfe has departed
Polar Bears
For many people, Polar Bears are one of the main attractions on Svalbard. They can be seen throughout the expedition cruise season of May-September, and there’s no clear pattern of when they’re more or less likely. The Svalbard government is introducing new laws to restrict Polar Bear viewing, enforcing maximum viewing distances of 300-500 metres, which is obviously not great for a viewing experience. It remains to be seen how strictly this will be enforced, and how closely expedition cruise operators will follow the rules, but it certainly reduces Svalbards appeal for Polar Bear viewing. Some expedition cruise ships, particularly those with PC6 and above ice capabilities (read about ships ice classes here), will take a day or two of a Svalbard voyage to explore the sea ice north of the archipelago, and this often brings close range Polar Bear sightings. You can read more about Polar Bears on our page here.
Which ship to go with
A lot of cruise ships operate in Svalbard each season. In many ways they all offer a very similar experience, as many factors are decided by the regulatory body for cruise ships in the Arctic: AECO, they control which locations you are allowed to land at or zodiac cruise, how many people are allowed ashore at any one time, how long you are allowed ashore etc.
The main thing to consider is the size of the ship (by number of passengers) you travel on, as different restrictions apply to different size classes, and crucially, most landing sites only allow 100 passengers ashore at a time.
Smaller expedition cruise ships (less than 100 passengers) are permitted access to the most landing sites, and being able to take all the ships passengers ashore at one time means that your time at a site can be completed quickly, you can move to another location later in the day, and maybe even access a third site in the same day. Travelling on a smaller ship will give you more time exploring, but there are trade-offs which may or may not be important to you; smaller ships will have fewer facilities/restaurant options, reduced entertainment, are more vulnerable to bad weather when crossing open oceans (read more about that on our page here), and they are generally more expensive. Most smaller ships are pretty old too, the industry has favoured mid-sized ships for new builds, so a small ship may seem a bit ‘dated’ on-board.
Mid-sized expedition cruise ships (100-300 passengers) make up the bulk of the expedition cruise ship fleet, with most taking c200-250 passengers. These offer a nice balance between exploration and comfort.
Larger expedition cruise ships (300-500 passengers) provide the most comfortable way to visit the Arctic. Their bulk makes them less prone to rough seas in open waters, and they will have multiple restaurants and bars, evening entertainment options etc. But, with only 100 passengers allowed ashore at a time at most landing sites, it will take a whole day to complete a visit to a location, meaning you will only see one place each day, and spend most of the day enjoying the ship and the view from the ship in the time either side of your activity slot.
Large Cruise Liners Some large cruise liners do visit Svalbard, usually just for one day as part of a longer Northern Europe cruise. They will use tenders to call at Longyearbyen or Ny Alesund, and shore excursions by local operators can you to explore in a limited way. The government in Svalbard is working to reduce/exclude visits by large ships, so be very careful booking one of these cruises, as you may well find the Svalbard call cancelled at short notice. You can read more about these cruises on our page here.
Icebreakers Even though Svalbard has large amounts of sea ice, and an array of glaciers, an icebreaker is not necessary to visit. Many expedition ships have an ‘ice class’ rating, which you can read more about here. These ships are capable of navigating through waters strewn small icebergs, and can even crunch through sea ice. Icebreakers operating around Svalbard are usualy there to access the North Pole, which is a very different experience that you can read about here.
What to bring
Many people are surprised to discover that travelling to the most remote and extreme part of our planet doesn’t actually require a huge amount of specialist equipment. Most expedition cruise ships will provide you with the essential items of a parka and boots, leaving you just needing waterproof trousers (you absolutely must bring these!), some thermal layers and items, and camera and binoculars. Read our article here for further details and recommendations.
Expedition Cruise Expert 