HIGHLIGHTS
- Shore
visits in Zodiac® inflatables with your naturalist guides.
- A
cruise amid the stunning Arctic and volcanic landscapes of Alaska and
Russia.
- Discover
the Wrangel Island Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Sail
in the heart of the Bering Sea, surrounded by the planet’s
most remote islands.
- Sail
in the Chukchi Sea.
- Possibility
of observing brown bears at Geographic Harbor, in Katmai National Park.
- The
wildlife: polar bears, grizzlies, walruses, grey whales, sea otters,
spotted seals, and seagulls.
- Meet
the locals: the Aleut, Inuit, and Chukchi people.
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person
|
Start Date | End Date | From EUR | From USD |
Mandatory Transfer Package Details:Embarkation
day - Seattle / Nome
Flight
Seattle / Nome selected by PONANT.
We highly recommend to arrive in Seattle the day
before this flight.
We suggest to be at the check-in counter 2 hours
before departure.
Approximate
flight duration: 4h30
Meet and greet at Nome airport.
Transfer
to the pier for embarkation.
Disembarkation
day Seward
/ Seattle
Disembarkation
in Seward and transfer to Anchorage airport by coach
(approximate
duration 3h00)
Flight
Anchorage / Seattle selected by PONANT.
Approximate
flight duration: 3h30
We highly recommend to plan a departure from
Seattle the day after this flight.
This
program includes:
- Flights Seattle / Nome - Anchorage /
Seattle in economy class
- Transfers airport / pier and pier / airport
This program does not include:
- Personal expenses
- Any other service not mentioned in the
program
Note:
- Flights included in the
program are, as of today, operated in economy class
- Detailed program
including flight schedule will be provided with your “travel
document”
- For passengers in
transit in Seattle, we recommend to stay one night before and after
these flights in Seattle to ensure your connecting flights
- Package subject to
availability
- This program is subject
to change, without prior notice
Rates are listed per person
|
Start Date | End Date | From EUR | From USD |
Mandatory Transfer Package Details:Embarkation
day - Seattle / Nome
Flight
Seattle / Nome selected by PONANT.
We highly recommend to arrive in Seattle the day
before this flight.
We suggest to be at the check-in counter 2 hours
before departure.
Approximate
flight duration: 4h30
Meet and greet at Nome airport.
Transfer
to the pier for embarkation.
Disembarkation
day Seward
/ Seattle
Disembarkation
in Seward and transfer to Anchorage airport by coach
(approximate
duration 3h00)
Flight
Anchorage / Seattle selected by PONANT.
Approximate
flight duration: 3h30
We highly recommend to plan a departure from
Seattle the day after this flight.
This
program includes:
- Flights Seattle / Nome - Anchorage /
Seattle in economy class
- Transfers airport / pier and pier / airport
This program does not include:
- Personal expenses
- Any other service not mentioned in the
program
Note:
- Flights included in the
program are, as of today, operated in economy class
- Detailed program
including flight schedule will be provided with your “travel
document”
- For passengers in
transit in Seattle, we recommend to stay one night before and after
these flights in Seattle to ensure your connecting flights
- Package subject to
availability
- This program is subject
to change, without prior notice
ITINERARY
Day
1: NOME, ALASKA
Located
along the Bering Strait at the westernmost point of Alaska, Nome offers
the rustic charm of a former gold-mining town, set in the middle of
magnificent wilderness. As you weave in and out of the brightly
coloured houses, you will discover the pioneering legacy that still
marks local traditions. Fishing, reindeer rearing, sledge-racing ?
people here live from their manual labour. The surrounding plains
provide stunning vantage points for observing Arctic fauna.
Day
2: AT SEA
During
your day at sea, make the most of the many services and activities on
board. Treat yourself to a moment of relaxation in the spa or stay in
shape in the fitness centre. Depending on the season, let yourself be
tempted by the swimming pool or a spot of sunbathing. This day without
a port of call will also be an opportunity to enjoy the conferences or
shows proposed on board, to do some shopping in the boutique or to meet
the PONANT photographers in their dedicated space. As for lovers of the
open sea, they will be able to visit the ship’s upper deck to
admire the spectacle of the waves and perhaps be lucky enough to
observe marine species. A truly enchanted interlude, combining comfort,
rest and entertainment.
Day
3: PROVIDENIYA
Across
the Bering Strait from Alaska, which it almost touches and can be
glimpsed when the weather is fine, the town of Provideniya seems to
keep a watchful eye over ships heading for the East Siberian Sea.
Nestled against mountains with peaks of up to 2,000 m, Provideniya is
the gateway to the Chukotka Peninsula, a polar region as yet unknown to
the general public, with striking landscapes and a primitive beauty
like no other.
Day
4: BIG DIOMEDE
From
your Zodiac®, discover Big Diomede, between Siberia and Alaska.
This island, measuring approximately 30 km2 and located in the middle
of the Bering Strait, is Russia’s most easterly point.
Although it was once inhabited by the Inuit, it is now home to just a
handful of Russian soldiers on a military base. Just a few kilometres
further east, on the other side of the International Date Line, lies
Little Diomede, an American island which Russia sold to the United
States in 1867.
Day
5: WRANGEL ISLAND RESERVE
Imagine
a natural island that is mostly mountainous and, for the rest of its
landscapes, alternates between vast tundra plains and areas of great
lakes, lagoons and cliffs. Welcome to Wrangel, the most important
hotspot of Arctic biodiversity. Situated between the East Siberian Sea
and the Chukchi Sea, the island was named after the Russian explorer
Ferdinand von Wrangel. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the
island is a rare, precious and very ancient ecosystem with unique
vegetation, as well as an exceptional fauna: it is home to the majestic
polar bear and the vast majority of the Russian Arctic’s
walrus population. The island also holds traces of the last mammoths
and is home to several endemic species.
Day
9: AT SEA
During
your day at sea, make the most of the many services and activities on
board. Treat yourself to a moment of relaxation in the spa or stay in
shape in the fitness centre. Depending on the season, let yourself be
tempted by the swimming pool or a spot of sunbathing. This day without
a port of call will also be an opportunity to enjoy the conferences or
shows proposed on board, to do some shopping in the boutique or to meet
the PONANT photographers in their dedicated space. As for lovers of the
open sea, they will be able to visit the ship’s upper deck to
admire the spectacle of the waves and perhaps be lucky enough to
observe marine species. A truly enchanted interlude, combining comfort,
rest and entertainment.
Day
10: PROVIDENIYA
Across
the Bering Strait from Alaska, which it almost touches and can be
glimpsed when the weather is fine, the town of Provideniya seems to
keep a watchful eye over ships heading for the East Siberian Sea.
Nestled against mountains with peaks of up to 2,000 m, Provideniya is
the gateway to the Chukotka Peninsula, a polar region as yet unknown to
the general public, with striking landscapes and a primitive beauty
like no other.
Day
11: ST MATTHEW ISLAND
Saint
Matthew island is right in the middle of the Bering Sea, between
Siberia and Alaska. Classified as a National Wildlife Refuge by the
United States, this island covered in wet tundra corresponds to the
northern boundary of the polar bear’s range during winter. It
is home to many birds, including the McKay's bunting, an endemic
species whose population is estimated at 6,000 individuals. We can also
find Arctic foxes there. Although populated by the Aleut during
prehistoric times Saint Matthew Island is uninhabited today.
Day
12: SAINT PAUL ISLAND, PRIBILOF ISLANDS
Part
of the Earth’s History was written between Alaska and Russia.
We invite you to discover a unique environment that seems to stretch
out to infinity. Lost in the middle of the Bering Sea, the Pribilof
archipelago is made up of four volcanic islands where nature has
crafted exquisitely beautiful landscapes. Here, on the islands of Saint
Paul and Saint George, you will find majestic volcanoes, lava deserts
and crater lakes, offering travelers a magnificent vantage point from
which to observe a fauna composed almost exclusively of fur seals. The
archipelago is also renowned as a paradise for birds, especially on
Saint Paul, as more than 240 different species of seabirds take flight
from the top of its majestic cliff.
Day
13: DUTCH HARBOR, UNALASKA
During
your cruise, discover an exceptional site: Unalaska Island and its
port, Dutch Harbor. Located between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering
Sea, on the Aleutian Islands, Dutch Harbor is the only deep water port
in the archipelago. As for the island itself, it offers you unique
landscapes: volcanic summits swept by the wind and surrounded by the
sea, lush green valleys, sometimes covered with bright summer flowers,
sometimes with deep winter snow… Unalaska is not only an
island with astonishing nature and very varied wildlife, it is also
rich in history, where ancient indigenous cultures and remains from
World War II can be seen and their tales be told.
Day
14: CHANKLIUT ISLAND, ALASKA
Off
the Alaska Peninsula hides a small gem: Chankliut. From mountainous
terrain to flowery moors and valleys covered in sea lyme-grass, this
island, which is part of the Aleutian archipelago, offers landscapes
with a unique charm. During your walk around a lake, you will cross a
sumptuous meadow where beautiful aconite and willowherb vie for
attention. The more courageous will venture onward to the neighbouring
valley and its ancient calderas to admire the splendour of the scenery.
This totally uninhabited island bears no trace of any past settlement.
Small, curious heads will catch your attention, however: crested
puffins and horned puffins bask on the water near spotted
seals…
Day
15: GEOGRAPHIC HARBOR, ALASKA
Here
you are in the heart of Katmai National Park and Preserve. Here, the
rocky cliffs are punctuated with white marks. These are the remains of
ash deposits that accumulated following a volcanic eruption in the
past. Board your Zodiac® and, a little further south, explore
every part of Geographic Harbor and its tall cliffs covered in
vegetation and plunging into the sea. Along the sandy beach, grizzly
bears improvise hunting sessions, in search of fish and clams. In the
thickets, these omnivores eat berries, roots and grasses. Brown bears
are at home here and the presence of humans doesn’t seem to
disturb them. This makes for a fascinating and unforgettable show.
Day
16: SEWARD, ALASKA
Seward
is located on the Kenai peninsula, south of Anchorage. This bustling
port, built for the fishing and shipbuilding industries, will show you
just how vibrant it is, with its shops and galleries. The entrance gate
for the sublime Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward nestles in the heart
of very beautiful scenery, between glaciers, mountains and very rich
marine life (whales, sea otters, orcas, seals…).
(Click image to view Ship details)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Gratuities
are included
- Free
Expedition Jacket to Keep and boots are available for rent
- Bottled
Water, Bar Drinks, Beer, House Wines and Soft Drinks are included with
lunch and dinner
- Complimentary
onboard WiFi (beginning in 2019)
- Complimentary
Traveler's Valet laundry servicce (beginning in 2019)