Northwest Passage: Greenland to Alaska

Arrive in Anchorage this afternoon and enjoy exploring the quaint capital city streets at your leisure. Check in with our hospitality desk this afternoon, making your last arrangements before our charter flight the following day.

Arrive by chartered aircraft in the remote city of Nome, Alaska, on the coast of the Bering Sea. Explore the town prior to embarking National Geographic Resolution. Settle into your cabin and enjoy lunch and dinner on board.

As you sail eastward along the northern coast of Alaska, scan the water for marine life and enjoy life on board. Take a yoga class, unwind with a massage in the wellness center and curl up next to the fireplace in the library. Visit the Bridge and learn about navigation. Relax in one of the twin infinity hot tubs or spend some time in the only igloo at sea. Learn about the area from or onboard historians, naturalists and photographers, and enjoy exceptional dining options.

Once a thriving whaling village off the coast of the Yukon Territory, Herschel Island is now classified as a Natural Environmental Park. The island protects the wildlife alongside the heritage of the Inuvialuit people and the whaling industry. As you wander through Herschel’s historic dwellings, keep an eye out for the wildlife residents, which include bears, musk oxen and arctic foxes. The area is also home to the largest colony of black guillemots in the Western Arctic.

Indulge in the ship’s many amenities as you continue along the shores of the Canadian High Arctic. Soak in the ship’s infinity-style outdoor hot tubs, take in panoramic views from the rooftop observation deck and enjoy talks from onboard experts.

National Geographic Resolution, purpose-built to ply polar waters, navigates the Northwest Passage following nature’s path—dependent on ice and weather conditions. Taking cues from nature, follow wildlife, stop for hikes on the tundra or drop anchor in a beautiful fjord or an icy bay to explore and kayak beneath massive ice sculptures and soaring cliffs.

Cross the top of the Northwest Territory of Canada to search for polar bear, ringed seals, arctic foxes, musk oxen and walruses. Along the way, explore ice-studded channels and glacier-carved islands that stretch for hundreds of miles—a stunning display of raw geology. Sail past the northernmost part of mainland North America through the Bellot Strait, one of the narrowest and most infamous straits of the passage. Visit Devon Island and take a walk with your ship’s archaeologist to learn about the Thule people—ancestors of the modern Inuit—that once inhabited this region.

History and culture are also on the itinerary. Learn about the Inuit peoples who have hunted and fished here for thousands of years, and hear heroic stories of the early explorers: Roald Amundsen, John Ross, William Edward Parry and James Clark Ross, among others.

Explore some of the beautiful bays and inlets along Baffin Island’s Lancaster Sound, a favorite Inuit hunting and fishing location for hundreds of years. Carved by Ice Age glaciers, Lancaster Sound is also the eastern gateway to the Arctic Archipelago, where European explorers like William Baffin first ventured in the 17th century to search for the Northwest Passage. Your days here are spent searching for ringed seals, arctic foxes, walruses and polar bears, as well as beluga and bowhead whales.

Sail into Qeqertarsuup Tunua, also known as Disko Bay, where you’ll be welcomed by floating icebergs calved off the world’s most active glacier, Sermeq Kujalleq. Enjoy an extraordinary cruise aboard local boats among towering icebergs of the UNESCO World Heritage-designated Ilulissat Icefjord. Visit the town of Ilulissat and hike into the Sermermiut Valley, once an Inuit settlement and now the home to a peaceful boardwalk overlooking the Icefjord.

Cruise the length of Kangerlussuaq Fjord en route to Sisimiut. Dozens of deep fjords carve into Greenland’s west coast, many with glaciers fed by the ice cap that covers 80 percent of the country. At Sisimiut, a former whaling port, enjoy your choice of guided walks through the sights and sounds of the village, including Dog Town or Sallinnguit, a small island with centuries of history from Inuit culture through colonization and current day industry. In your free time, enjoy a local food tasting, visit the open-air museum or explore the local artisan workshops. 

Disembark in Nuuk and join the recommended group flight to Keflavík; transfers to the nearby hotel and luggage assistance will be provided. Upon arrival, enjoy an included dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for flights home.