Silver Cloud Live - Reykjavik to Kangerlussuaq - June 25th to July 5th 2023 - Surprise!

[RyanJCanada]

Day 1 – Reykjavik

 

Hello, Reykjavik!

 

Those of you who followed our previous live cruise report - Silver Cloud Live - Dublin to Reykjavik - June 15th to 25th - Page 6 - Silversea Cruises - Cruise Critic Community - were no doubt expecting our trip to draw to an end a few days prior. (We certainly were.)

 

But I’m thrilled to say that RyanJCanada family is bound for Greenland.

 

What? you wonder. How is that possible?

 

Well, it started as an idle musing a few days ago.

 

“I wonder if they still have room on the next leg…”

 

We checked, and they did. So, we met with the onboard booking manager and made an offer.

 

And then we made a larger offer.

 

And then a little bit of a larger offer beyond that.

 

And that offer was accepted.

 

The adults in the group had always wanted to go to Greenland, but we felt that it was too much for the kids’ inaugural expedition cruise. We had no idea whether they would enjoy it and handle the rough seas, or if they would be able to behave at an appropriate level for that length of time.

 

But it worked out much better than we expected – so we talked to the on-board sales representative to see if there was anything he could do.

 

And then we talked to the kids to make sure it would work for them too. Because as much as a cruise to Greenland is one of those amazing, bucket-list kind of trips, it’s not necessarily as exciting for a ten and a seven year old who might be missing soccer games and time with their friends.

 

So we asked our kids what they thought, and we talked it through – and we were thrilled when they agreed that this was the right decision.

 

The deal was only struck on our last day at sea – as we were anchored outside of Heimaey – so there much that needed to make the switch. Some of that was painful – like saying goodbye to 75% of the value of our Airbnb rental for the last two days in Iceland, and paying an exorbitant amount for our single-day rental car. And there was also the not-so-little matter of needing to pick up cold weather expedition gear, particularly for our daughter – who was smaller than any of Silversea’s parkas – and to replenish our seasickness medication.

 

But we ripped off the proverbial band aid and carried on. So by the time we landed in Reykjavik, we were ready to put our plan into action. My wife took our kids off to shop for clothing, and I made my way towards the ‘downtown’ Avis car rental office, which in fact is about 5 km out of downtown.

 

Reykjavik's ultra-modern downtown - the ideal place to be an investment banker who is also really into Arctic exploration

 

Thankfully, I managed to catch a taxi and had my car within 30 minutes of disembarking. I caught up with my wife just as she was buying the last of the jackets at North 66 and Arctic Explorer, and we even had time for a few delicious pastries at Bakabaka before we went off to find a pharmacy.

 

And the award for "most difficult sign to read" goes to...

 

I need a regular-sized pain au chocolate for scale, because this one was absolutely massive

 

Most pharmacies are closed in Reykjavik on a Sunday, but we did manage to find one that was open – and picked up a few more packs of Bonine (aka Metclazine) to see us through what might prove to be a rough crossing between Iceland and Greenland.

 

At this point, we were running ahead of schedule – which proved to be something of a problem, as we were not booked to go to the Blue Lagoon until 2 pm. We attempted to shift the booking via their online portal, but it claimed they wouldn’t have enough room. So instead I placed a call via Skype and they very kindly moved our booking forward to 12 pm. With that confirmed, we were back on the road once more.

 

Or, mostly. One of the downsides of renting a car in Iceland is that the manual transmission is far more prevalent than the automatic. Which is fine, mostly, unless you’re someone like me who mostly drives a manual when they are on vacation in Iceland. And the last time that happened was about 5 years earlier. So one could say I was out of practice. Or you could say that I was complete rubbish. Both would be accurate.

 

How rubbish, you ask? Well, I managed to stall the car about four or five times before I left the parking lot. Then I realized I was trying to start off in 3^rd gear. With that bit of hard earned wisdom, my driving became significantly easier. But not flawless. So if you were one of the inhabitants of Reykjavik who woke to the smell of burnt clutch on Sunday morning – you have my sincere apologies.

 

(My son is reading this over my shoulder, and pointing to the back of his head – which I inadvertently bounced against the seat rest numerous times with my terrible, bouncy starts. So apologies to my family, too.)

 

Terrible shifting aside, we managed to reach Blue Lagoon by 12 pm – and we had a lovely visit. Yes, it’s touristy. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s a fancy name for what is essentially a flooded old quarry. But try telling that to our children as they soak in the pale blue waters, with a raspberry slushy in hand. How will they reply? Another $8 slushy, please.

 

I didn't trust my phone inside the Blue Lagoon's sulphurous mineral bath, but even the 'moat' around the Lagoon is photogenic...

 

Practically speaking, though, it was good that we changed our booking, as it was quite busy and they were making people wait if they arrived prior to their booking.

 

And how busy was the lagoon itself at noon on a Sunday? Actually, not that bad. It’s a very large site. So there were plenty of places where we could find a quiet spot relatively free of other bathers. And all together we were in the waters for about 90 minutes before we decided it was time to move on.

 

Mother Nature seemed to have similar ideas and rain started coming down hard as we walked through the parking lot on our way to our single-day rental car. It was about 40 minutes back to Reykjavik, then I dropped off my wife and kids next to the Cloud so that they could reboard and settle themselves in while I returned the rental car.

 

Refueling the rental was easier than is often the case, as there was – for once – a gas station close to the Avis office. Getting back to the cruise ship, however, was a more difficult proposition. The Avis office had very kindly offered to call me a rental car when I returned. However, they closed early on Sunday and so there was no one there to call when I returned the car.

 

Instead, I tried to use the Taxi Hreyfill app to very mixed success – it appeared to set my pick up location as the entirety of the shopping plaza, which made it quite difficult for the driver to decipher. The driver attempted to call but I was reluctant to answer due to Bell Canada’s exorbitant roaming fees – in this case, $16 the moment I picked up the phone.

 

But as rain poured down and the Cloud’s departure ticked ever nearer, I bit the bullet and answered the driver’s second call – at which point I was able to explain that I was up by the Avis office. I’ve never been so glad to see a Tesla in my entire life.

 

I shared a pleasant chat with the driver about Iceland’s fantastic swimming pools and water parks – which we sadly were unable to visit – before he returned me to the Cloud in exchange for his fare and a generous tip. All in all, I was glad not to have spent 30 – 40 minutes dealing with the matter as I had in Dublin.

 

Back aboard the Cloud, and then off to our new rooms – we’ve bid goodbye to the Royal Suite, and are instead in a pair of verandah rooms. While I’ll miss my coffee machine, the change has been welcome – I’d say we have more storage space in 2 x verandahs than we did in the single suite, and it’s lovely to have two bathrooms instead of one (even if that one bathroom was generously slathered in marble and had both a shower and a bathtub).

 

Better still, we’re now further back from the front of the boat – which should dramatically cut down on the extent to which we feel the swells and the chop of the ocean. A key consideration given that we’re about to cross the North Atlantic between Iceland and Greenland.

 

We spent the next few hours unpacking and dealing with assorted admin – rebooking dinner reservations, and confirming that we don’t need to book any excursions. This will be an expedition-heavy trip, so very few advance arrangements can be made. That suits us just fine.

 

No parkas in our room, but we’ve been told that we should be able to pick those up during the parka exchange the following day. We do have boots, but they range from men’s size 10 to 12. So, not ideal for young children. But there is also a boot exchange on the schedule, so we’ll cross fingers and hope for the best.

 

We were then off to the head-of-department introductions and the expedition brief, where the appearance of the children once more drew wary glances – though the much-welcome visits by fellow guests who welcomed them back aboard and praised their behaviour seemed to help. Still, we’ve cautioned our kids that they need to make a good first impression with the new guests.

 

Then it was off to the Grill / Hot Rocks for another round of extremely messy outdoor dining. The main change this time – the kids are no longer allowed to have the rocks directly in front of their place setting, nor are they allowed to do any of their own cooking. Apparently there was an incident wherein a minor guest burned themselves on one of the stones and then the family turned around and sued Silver Seas.

 

That sort of frivolous litigation seems quite silly even to the children, but we didn’t object to the new change – not when we were eager to get started on cooking some delicious filets mignon and prawns.

 

There was a major staff changeover when we landed in Reykjavik. This is particularly noticeable in the expedition team, the majority of which is new on the ground. But some familiar faces are carrying over, and we’re up to 26 members. So it looks like we’ll be well looked after.

 

In terms of guest numbers, I counted around 180 names on the zodiac lists. We were not initially on that list, so it might be more once the dust has settled.

 

But I digress – we were talking about food. After the Grill, we decided to switch it up with dessert at the Restaurant, where I got the hazelnut cheesecake and my son ordered a cassis mousse cake. (The maitre d’ offered to give our daughter six scoops of coffee ice cream – but thankfully, this was one rare instance when the parents were able to overrule the crew.)

 

The kind of Hazelnut cheesecake you'd get if Ferroro Roche made a pact with the devil

 

Is it cake? Is it mousse? I don't know what's real any more...

 

Speaking of which, the crew has been so great with the kids, and have really gone out of their way to welcome us back to the Cloud. Most of this is just genuine kindness and skill on the part of the crew, but I do think it helped that we took the time to name so many crew in our feedback survey, as well as in a separate letter than we penned to the Hotel Director on the last day of our cruise. Being ‘mentioned in dispatches’ really helps with job progression, apparently.

 

And on that note – we congratulated our former stateroom attendant on his promotion to butler!

 

Returning to our rooms, we noticed that the Cloud still hadn’t set off yet. From what the crew said, this was due to low tide and a delay in taking on provisions – much of what should have been loaded in bulk apparently had to be loaded by hand instead. Though I expect we won’t have any difficulties making up lost time during the next day-and-change at sea.

 

Artistic interpretation of Crew Loading Provisions, or do I just not know how to rotate pictures? We'll let the reader decide

 

The Cloud did eventually sail from Reykjavik. And as my wife and I took in Iceland’s cloud-swept hills and lush green plains, it finally started to sink in – this was really happening.

 

We’re sailing for Greenland.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by RyanJCanada

[Lois R]

Hi Ryan, wow, that is all quite exciting...😃 so you are having to change all your flights home as well......hope that goes smoothly.

 

Looking forward to reading all about this cruise too😃

[jpalbny]

That is the best news I've had all day! Looking forward to a Greenland expedition through your reports.

[RyanJCanada]

Today’s Chronicles:

 

 

 

 

[RyanJCanada]

Lunch today:

 

Arctic char - artistic expression, or inexplicably upside down? It’s a mystery wrapped inside a buttery lemon sauce

 

Shrimp and fish curry 

 

Dinner menu:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artfully shot tuna tartar that definitely did not have a few bites out of it no matter what anyone says

 

Lemongrass beef

 

Our daughter’s dessert tonight - the score is currently Crew 73, Parents 2

[RyanJCanada]

Tomorrow’s Chronicles:

 

 

 

 

[Daveywavey70]

What a wonderful surprise Ryan. Can’t wait to follow along. 

[RyanJCanada]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Ryan, wow, that is all quite exciting...😃 so you are having to change all your flights home as well......hope that goes smoothly.

 

Looking forward to reading all about this cruise too😃

Fortunately, we had booked with Silversea's door-to-door service, so the flight change was included! Just need to get our tickets out of New York, ideally before our existing flight departs from Reykjavik...

[RyanJCanada]

HELLO, GREENLAND!?!

 

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Enjoy your vacation and thank you for posting food pictures!

[spinnaker2]

Can’t wait for the next installment!

[Dolcevita Diva]

What a fantastic turn of events - for your family, but also for those who are thoroughly enjoying your journal.

[RyanJCanada]

Day 2 – At Sea, En Route to Skjoldungen

 

We woke late in the morning, grateful for the time change that granted us an extra hour – we’d need it, as today’s schedule was filled with admin.

 

Parka exchange was bumped back to 1 pm, but boot exchange started at 8 am – and was moved from the mudroom on Deck 3 to Deck 5. We managed to exchange our Gargantuan Galoshes ™ (Men’s boots ranging from 10 to 12) for something more reasonable.

 

We then went to breakfast at the Restaurant, where adults and children alike had to make peace with the fact that we are no longer on a 10 day holiday, and so we would no longer be able to eat as though we were guests of honour at a 4-year-old’s birthday party. (With as many hot dogs – and as much wine – as that implies.)

 

So kids ordered some berries to go with their waffles – and had to choose between crispy bacon and sausages – while adults had this strange concoction called yo-girt and grah-know-lah? Weird, but we seem to feel strangely better eating that than we did when we were drinking mimosas and ordering pancake / fried egg sandwiches like the world was ending.

 

Breakfast done, we attempted another round of admin to try and slot ourselves into a zodiac group and find out what was happening with our flights home. Thankfully, this was a door-to-door cruise so – in theory – our return flights should be Someone Else’s Problem. But we won’t believe it until we have the tickets in our hot little hands. No luck on either front, unfortunately, though we have Silversea’s assurances that both will be dealt with in short order.

 

Then on to the enrichment lecture at 9:30 am – this time providing some fascinating insight into the background behind the Vikings and why they left Scandinavia to settle abroad. (Spoiler alert – Farming in Norway is even more difficult than it sounds.) We’re really lucky to have Kristian Pederson on board, and I think his lectures are going to be informative for kids and adults alike.

 

Unfortunately, one kid and one adult ducked out midway through because trivia was at 10 am and there was no way we were going to miss it. Rumour has it that Entertainment Host Daniel picked up fresh swag in Reykjavik, and my son wants first crack at it. Despite having lost two beloved members at the end of our last leg (sniff, sniff) we both added a new member and took first place. Not a bad start!

 

Daniel thankfully sped through trivia in record time, as I had a mandatory kayak briefing at 10:30 am – which will be done as a lottery, so may the odds be ever in my favour.

 

This was followed by the zodiac / AECO safety briefing at 11 am. The briefing was actually rather entertaining and I managed to find it on YouTube so, here you go:

 

AECO Arctic visitor guidelines - YouTube

 

That took us to just before 12 pm, so back to the room for a few minutes and then off to the Restaurant (again) for lunch. Please do not judge Silversea’s excellent food based on the terrible quality of my photography – the meals were excellent. And according to my wife, the fish chef seems to have improved since the last leg – the artic char was far less overdone than previous iterations.

 

But there’s no time to rest on our laurels – we had to go to the parka exchange. Which could prove difficult, as we don’t have any parkas to exchange. But the expedition team rolled with it, and we left with the best-sized parkas we could have hoped to acquire. (Which – in our daughter’s case – is laughably large, but we got a right-sized parka for her in Reykjavik so we should be all set.)

 

And better still – we have a zodiac group! We’re real passengers after all! Granted, they’d initially split our family across four different zodiac groups but they got that sorted out in short order.

 

Surely now we could take a break, right? Yes. We did. In the Panorama Lounge. For about 28 minutes. At which point we were told that it was the very last call for our biosecurity briefing – despite our zodiac group’s window not starting for another 15 minutes.

 

So we abandoned our freshly-served chocolate chip cookies to go through the truly vital process of having our clothing checked for foreign contamination – Velcro in particular. With last call having just been announced, the line was daunting. But Silversea had several crew members assigned to the task we were soon done and back in our rooms.

 

At this point, we reached a very important time of the day. Followers of the previous thread will know what time that is – nap time.

 

Back to the Observation Lounge for a bit, and then off to the Explorer’s Lounge at 6 pm to learn about tomorrow’s expedition.

 

Which, in short, is this – everything has gone wrong and nothing is going to plan.

 

(So, pretty much as expected.)

 

Whatever ‘expedition territory’ we’d entered into in our previous cruise has significantly expanded, particularly given that we are entering Greenland waters early in the season. That means that there is still a significant amount of ice around. The ice is mostly in the north, but sometimes it blows further south.

 

This is one such occasion – and so, as a result, it looks like we will be unable to cruise the fjords along Skjoldungen, and will instead need to just show up in Greenland and see what looks nice.

 

(As Expedition Leader Darren put it – “Some of these fjords have never been visited by passenger ships. I’m going to see if I can find a new one. Maybe they’ll name it after me. The Darren Fjord.”)

 

If we hadn’t just done an expedition cruise, I might’ve been concerned. But given our experience last time – and the way the team artfully exchanged Dunvegan for the Shiant Isles – we’re more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

Back to the room to change, and then we managed to check off another few items of admin – we have flights now from New York to Toronto, as well as seats on the charter flight from Greenland to New York. We also got the credit card slips signed off. And – last time we checked – we hadn’t been broken up into new zodiac groups.

 

So I guess that means that the admin is… done? Seems difficult to fathom, but we’ll go with that for now.

 

And all just in time for dinner – another lovely meal at the Restaurant, during which Captain Andriy Domanin came up to introduce himself, congratulate our son on his trivia win, and ask how we’re enjoying the cruise.

 

The answer: Very much indeed.

 

[Author's note - Please forgive the lack of photographs - many more coming soon!]

Edited June 27, 2023 by RyanJCanada

[Fletcher]

I found Greenland to be a seriously surprising place.  Not what I expected at all. To begin with was some spectacular scenery. That was a given. Hardly any wildlife on our visit. That was a disappointment.  We loved the ruined church of Hvalsey up the fjord. The big shock were the towns and all those Soviet-Style apartment blocks where everyone lived. The people seemed battered down by the elements, by the economy, by everything. The teenagers hung about and they all seemed to have lost their teeth. The adults hung about smoking.  No one had anything to do. Fishing had almost died out. This was life on the edge, part of Europe, part not of anywhere.  Don't ignore this aspect of Greenland, @RyanJCanada Show us like it is.  

Edited June 27, 2023 by Fletcher

[WesW]

Is this your EL,  if so you and your family will have  a wonderful Expediton voayge. Darren in the photo was our outstanding ELon the Cloud,  this April from Capetown to the Seychelles (Mahe).

Edited June 28, 2023 by WesW

[AusMum]

Can’t wait to catch up on this blog - we are doing Iceland and Greenland in September 2024 on Endeavour, so it was good if you to take this cruise to give us a preview lol

[RyanJCanada]

5 hours ago, WesW said:

Is this your EL,  if so you and your family will have  a wonderful Expediton voayge. Darren in the photo was our outstanding ELon the Cloud,  this April from Capetown to the Seychelles (Mahe).

That’s him! Darren seems to really know what he’s doing and is able to spin on a dime as needed. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the trip holds.

[RyanJCanada]

IMG_3416.HEICDay 3 – Darren’s Landing

 

“Far to the north, hidden behind merciless barriers of pack ice, lie expanses of land that cast a spell over you. Huge imaginary gates, their hinges fixed to the horizon, seem to guard these land areas. Slowly the gates swing open and you enter another world where man is insignificant amidst the awe-inspiring vastness of lonely mountains, fjords and glaciers.”

 

- Louise Arner Boyd

 

We woke this morning to this:

 

 

Absolutely beautiful. Words cannot describe, though Ms. Arner Boyd did a far better job than I ever could.

 

But there was news, too – this beauty came at a price. We would not be able to breach the pack ice and cruise the Skjoldungen fjord.

 

So, on to Plan B. Or was it H at this point? We would cruise south down the coastline until we found a suitable spot for zodiac cruising and – potentially – landing.

 

But who cares when you’ve got a view like this?

 

 

It’s tough to improve on a morning like this but were determined to try – with a subarctic swim.

 

I think the other guests thought we were a bit odd, swimming in the pool while they were walking the track in their parkas. But the Cloud kept the pool warm enough, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

 

After, we took in a series of lectures including a behind-the-scenes look at Frozen Planet 2 - delivered by expedition team member Justin, who also works as a wildlife filmmaker.

 

It was fascinating to hear how hundreds of thousands of dollars and weeks of time for multiple camera operators – both on water and below water – are often needed to get just a few seconds of footage. And unreal to see everything they went through to get that precious footage – from withstanding hurricanes at sea to diving in -35C weather.

 

After, we had another great briefing from expedition member Ace on the habits of migratory birds and the ongoing efforts both to study and protect these birds. Of particular interest was the fact that birds’ migration patterns were only discovered in the 1820s after a bird landed in Europe with an African spear embedded in it.

 

Previously, theories around bird migration from past philosophers such as Aristotle had focused on the notion of birds transforming into other creatures – such as frogs – or, later, that they hibernated or otherwise disappeared. Seems strange to think it took so long to discover the truth of what was happening.

 

On to the Grill, where we braved the chilly weather to get ourselves some more burgers and hot dogs. (We had behaved ourselves for an entire day, after all, so we all thought we deserved a reward.)

 

Drawing near the end of lunch, we received the fateful announcement – a potential passage through the ice had been discovered, and the ship would be doubling back to see whether we might be able to launch zodiacs and even make landfall on Greenland.

 

Accustomed as we were to zodiac excursions, we nevertheless retired to our quarters to once more lay out our kit and check to ensure we had all the necessary supplies for a Greenlandic landing. We would be dressing a lot more warmly than we had in the British isles – with rain pants and parkas, and gloves and hats in reserve if needed.

 

As H-hour drew near, we once more marshalled ourselves in the Restaurant, ready to deploy on a moment’s notice if necessary.

 

The first zodiac group would consist of the “pole-to-polars” – the venerable group of veteran cruisers who had been on the Cloud since February, starting with a trip to the Antarctic. But given that they were launching all zodiacs – and operating both embarkation points – we expected that the process would move quickly, and that we would soon be underway.

 

We also brought down our regular boots along with our Bog boots, so that we could leave our Bogs in the mudroom after our cruise, thereby limiting the mess (and contamination) brought into the rest of the ship.

 

We sat. We played cards. We waited.

 

And then our turn came.

 

 

It was an utterly incredible zodiac cruise. We started off by setting off amongst the drifting ice, and then our driver used the nose of the zodiac to push open two sizeable drifts so that we could make our way further down the inlet. We swung past towering icebergs and poked our zodiac’s nose into the gaps in basalt mountains. We watched freshly-formed waterfalls cascade down the rocks, and the kids reached their fingers into the frigid waters.

 

And then we landed.

 

 

We’d been nervous about our first wet-water landing, but Silversea handled it effortlessly. Even our daughter – who is sadly Bogless due to sizing issues – had no trouble making it ashore with her feet dry.

 

And so all of us were able to enjoy that too-brief moment ashore on Greenland, and feel that pure, simple joy of discovery.

 

Absolutely unreal.

 

This is why it’s so important to go with a professional expedition team. Because they can take those setbacks and turn them into victories. They did it when Dunvegan was cancelled in favour of the Shiant Isles, and again when Skjoldungen was cancelled in favour of “Darren’s Landing”.

 

And it’s important to remember that that the penalty for failure is high here. All the more reason to cruise with a capable crew.

 

But there was some bad news – we returned too late for trivia, so we had to sit this one out. (As did the rest of our team.) Though Daniel did very kindly award my son some points during the recap, when he proved to be the only one in the room who knew that the dodo went extinct in the 17^th century.

 

Trivia completed – and partial prize points in hand – we returned to the Observation Lounge, where I attempted to bang out as many words as possible in about 20 minutes time, then we were off to the expedition briefing.

 

Again, a bit of mixed news – we’re scheduled to cruise Prince Christian Sund tomorrow morning, but last they’d heard the original entrance was closed in with ice. So we might have to go the long way. But we’re still expecting to arrive in time to visit the village of Aappilattoq by early afternoon. The village has only around 100 inhabitants, and hunting and fishing are the main occupations here.

 

And a bit of surprising news – apparently, my name has come up in the kayak lottery. So my wife is planning to take the kids into Aappilattoq and I will instead be paddling off the Cloud in a two-person kayak. Or at least, that is the plan – I am part of the second group and ice has been unpredictable, so this might not unfold quite as expected.

 

After the expedition briefing, we took in some of the ‘recaps and precaps’ – which, I’m sad to say, I’ve missed up until now. They’re very good – several of the expedition team members take just a few minutes to come up with some thoughts on various topics of interest.

 

This time it was Arctic explorer Louise Arner Boyd (quoted above), Norse navigation – specifically the ‘viking sunstone’, aka Iceland spar (more on that here - Viking Sunstone | Iceland Spar | Facts and Sources - Skjalden.com) and the Greenlandic language.

 

Fun fact about the Greenlandic language – the longest (unofficial) word is “Nalunaarasuartaatee-ranngualioqatigiiffissua-lioriataallaqqissupiloru-jussuanngortartuinnaka-sinngortinniamisaalinn-guatsiaraluallaqqooqiga-minngamiaasiinngooq.”

 

This apparently (loosely) translates to: “There were reports that they apparently – God knows for how many times – once again had considered whatever I, my poor condition despite, still could be considered to be quite adept and resourceful as initiator to put a consortium together for the establishment of a range of small radio stations.” But don’t worry – the longest official word is a mere 41 letters long.

 

Thankfully, Silversea also covered the more important words, including “Hello” (“Aluu”), “Thank you” (“Qujanaq”), “Goodbye!” (“Takuss”) and “Help!” (“Ikiunnga”).

 

Our minds still swimming with these newfound facts, we elected to take it easy tonight and order a pair of room service pizzas along with some bitter chocolate mousse. Very tasty – and the kids were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

 

Pay no attention to the artistic cuts that are hiding the missing portions of this pizza

 

The adults intend to follow soon after, despite the breathtaking scenery still rushing past as we make our way to Prince Christian Sund.

[RyanJCanada]

The sun sets on the Cloud:

 

 

[RyanJCanada]

Today’s Chronicles:

 

 

[lincslady]

What a wonderful report and pictures - the best I have ever seen on CC.  Thank you so much, it felt like being there. 

[drron29]

We did a similiar cruise in 2013 on the Explorer. We cruised from Reykjavik to Churchill in Hudson Bay via Greenland. however it was in late August which is a much better time to go. However it didn't stop us from having terrible weather on the way to Skjoldungen Fjord. Seven metre swell on the night before we got there and there were thoughts it may not happen. But for this Expedition we had the A team aboard with both Conrad Commbrink and Robin West leading the team. Several on that team later became Expedition leaders.

However the morning that we were to enter the fjord the weather settled quite a bit. Before getting there we had the bonus of 4 Fin whales passing by.

 

And then approaching the fjord. Once we were inside the conditions were perfect and the weather kept improving.

 

A second lot to come.              

 

 

[drron29]

We also got to do a zodiac ride up to the glacier.

 

We were also the first Silversea cruise to have a woman as captain. Captain maggi.

 

The other reason that later is better is that there is a longer night so we saw the Northern lights nearly every night. Plus when we reached Churchill the Beluga whales were there in large numbers. Just stunning.

So there is your excuse to do this cruis again!

[AusMum]

31 minutes ago, drron29 said:

We did a similiar cruise in 2013 on the Explorer. We cruised from Reykjavik to Churchill in Hudson Bay via Greenland. however it was in late August which is a much better time to go. However it didn't stop us from having terrible weather on the way to Skjoldungen Fjord. Seven metre swell on the night before we got there and there were thoughts it may not happen. But for this Expedition we had the A team aboard with both Conrad Commbrink and Robin West leading the team. Several on that team later became Expedition leaders.

However the morning that we were to enter the fjord the weather settled quite a bit. Before getting there we had the bonus of 4 Fin whales passing by.

 

And then approaching the fjord. Once we were inside the conditions were perfect and the weather kept improving.

 

A second lot to come.              

 

 

That's good to hear - our cruise is September 2024, so hopefully even better weather?

[HappyLadyTravels]

Hello and thank you for your day to day postings. I'm on the Silver Endeavour August 20th. With Zodiac landings, do you think hiking shoes with Bog over shoes to the knee is enough? Instead of renting boots?