Would you pay a premium price for a luxury cruise through a stretch of water that was once regarded impassable and treacherous?
It seems enough people are to justify a second sailing by Crystal Cruises through the Northwest Passage that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Arctic Ocean.
The Crystal Serenity will be making the journey in August and September, with an escort ship and lots of safety and rescue equipment onboard.
A Crystal Cruises media release says the 32-day voyage will depart Anchorage/Seward in Alaska for New York City on August 15, 2017. It will sail through some of the most spectacular, remote areas of the previously impassable polar region.
“The Arctic is like nowhere else on the planet,” says Graham Dickson, Arctic Kingdom president and CEO. “As the top land-based operator in the Arctic, we are excited to be providing exceptional opportunities for Crystal Serenity guests to authentically experience the Arctic – unlike ever before.”
Crystal says that Inuit guides, Northerners, marine biologists, archaeologists, expert divers, conservationists, photographers, and wildlife experts will supplement the team from polar specialists Arctic Kingdom in guiding the passenger ship through the passage.
The Northwest Passage was only fully charted between 1903 and 1906 by explorer Roald Amundsen.
It hit the headlines in 2016 when the abandoned British ship HMS Terror was discovered 168 years after a doomed attempt to navigate the passage.
The Terror and its sister ship HMS Erebus were abandoned after becoming trapped in ice — at the cost of 129 people aboard died.
All-inclusive fares on the Serenity start at US$21,855 per person. Details here.
