Svalbard limit on cruise ship size

[Breckski]

We were in Svalbard in June and to be honest were disappointed with the number of tourists there completely understanding we were part of the issue.  We may go back in late fall or early spring to get a more authentic experience.

 

However, today I read that Svalbard would only accept ships with less than 200 passengers in 2025.  Then I looked on Viking's website, and they are still offering trips to Svalbard in '25 and '26.  What am I missing?

[JDincalif]

From what we've read, larger ships will still be allowed to visit Longyearbyen, but only smaller ships will be allowed into national parks and other designated protected areas.

 

[CurlerRob]

43 minutes ago, Breckski said:

We were in Svalbard in June and to be honest were disappointed with the number of tourists there completely understanding we were part of the issue.  We may go back in late fall or early spring to get a more authentic experience.

 

However, today I read that Svalbard would only accept ships with less than 200 passengers in 2025.  Then I looked on Viking's website, and they are still offering trips to Svalbard in '25 and '26.  What am I missing?

 

Try this article - the restrictions are aimed at the national parks and nature reserves. Longyearbyen is not part of them and will still be accepting larger ships. 🍺🥌

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/ /cruises/articles/norways-svalbard-archipelago-sets-strict-cruise-limits#:~:text=Only cruise ships with a,national parks and nature reserves.

[Mike07]

Didn't Viking expedition have a R/T around svalbard? Or was, that one that started in Norway and went a few days around Svalbard? IDK...

 

I don't think Viking does it anymore. Nat Geo/Lindblad definitely still does. though, I haven't pulled their 2025 calendar.

Edited August 9 by Mike07

[CurlerRob]

5 hours ago, Mike07 said:

Didn't Viking expedition have a R/T around svalbard? Or was, that one that started in Norway and went a few days around Svalbard? IDK...

 

I don't think Viking does it anymore. Nat Geo/Lindblad definitely still does. though, I haven't pulled their 2025 calendar.

 

I am not aware of any Viking expedition cruises around Svalbard in the past or currently. I believe that everything was always Great Lakes, Greenland, NW Passage, etc.

 

The Ocean ships have been offering the Norway to Iceland route, with 2 days in Longyearbyen. With the more recent restrictions on non-polar class vessels near the ice, I suspect the days of "standard" ocean ships going anywhere north of Svalbard are long gone. 🍺🥌

[Mike07]

20 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

I am not aware of any Viking expedition cruises around Svalbard in the past or currently. I believe that everything was always Great Lakes, Greenland, NW Passage, etc.

 

 

 

Do you have the Silver nicely printed book that used to be provided on the Expedition ships?

 

Page 150.

 

R/T from Tromso 13-day itinerary. Days 3-6 around Svalbard.

 

"Arctic Adventure" I believe is the official itinerary.

 

I have not seen it on the Viking site so maybe it was a one and done.

 

If people don't know what I"m talking about, would be worth creating a new thread for the Viking experts to chime in what happened to that one. That one does interest me... as well as anything the expedition ships do in the Arctic circle.

Edited August 10 by Mike07

[CurlerRob]

4 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Do you have the Silver nicely printed book that used to be provided on the Expedition ships?

 

Page 150.

 

R/T from Tromso 13-day itinerary. Days 3-6 around Svalbard.

 

"Arctic Adventure" I believe is the official itinerary.

 

I have not seen it on the Viking site so maybe it was a one and done.

 

If people don't know what I"m talking about, would be worth creating a new thread for the Viking experts to chime in what happened to that one. That one does interest me... as well as anything the expedition ships do in the Arctic circle.

 

I don't have that book, but your information intrigued me as I have tried to follow the two expedition ships closely, beginning with their launches.

 

Fortunately, we have a stellar contributor on these boards, @CharTrav, who publishes a comprehensive spreadsheet that tracks the full Viking Ocean and Expedition fleet. I was able to find some old documents that appear to be the trip you reference.

 

Arctic Adventure - August 2022 - Itinerary.pdf

 

Arctic Adventure & Undiscovered Iceland Rev 1.pdf

 

I was not able to confirm if this particular cruise ever actually happened - it appears to have been announced around April 2021 and was scheduled for August 2022 on Polaris. Given that Polaris was delayed by post-pandemic supply chain issues and was not launched until September 2022, my speculation is that this particular voyage never happened.

 

Following her launch in September 2022, Polaris headed south, working the Antarctic region for the Austral summer. I have not found any indication that she ever returned to the Svalbard area following that, but others may know definitively.

 

As you pointed out, the Norway - Svalbard R/T is not on the books at all now. Unfortunate, as it would be an excellent trip. I'm sure you're already aware that the 'usual expedition suspects' continue to be heavily invested in Svalbard-intensive offerings. 🍺🥌

[CharTrav]

1 hour ago, CurlerRob said:

 

I don't have that book, but your information intrigued me as I have tried to follow the two expedition ships closely, beginning with their launches.

 

Fortunately, we have a stellar contributor on these boards, @CharTrav, who publishes a comprehensive spreadsheet that tracks the full Viking Ocean and Expedition fleet. I was able to find some old documents that appear to be the trip you reference.

 

Arctic Adventure - August 2022 - Itinerary.pdf 149.08 kB · 2 downloads

 

Arctic Adventure & Undiscovered Iceland Rev 1.pdf 1.21 MB · 0 downloads

 

I was not able to confirm if this particular cruise ever actually happened - it appears to have been announced around April 2021 and was scheduled for August 2022 on Polaris. Given that Polaris was delayed by post-pandemic supply chain issues and was not launched until September 2022, my speculation is that this particular voyage never happened.

 

Following her launch in September 2022, Polaris headed south, working the Antarctic region for the Austral summer. I have not found any indication that she ever returned to the Svalbard area following that, but others may know definitively.

 

As you pointed out, the Norway - Svalbard R/T is not on the books at all now. Unfortunate, as it would be an excellent trip. I'm sure you're already aware that the 'usual expedition suspects' continue to be heavily invested in Svalbard-intensive offerings. 🍺🥌

If you look at VO’s Norway and Arctic Explorer - https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/baltic/iceland-norway-arctic-explorer/index.html?startLocation=bergen&endLocation=reykjavik&year=2025#noscroll - that includes many of the port stops that were on the cancelled VE Arctic Adventure  that we were booked on for its first sailing but which got canceled because Polaris wasn’t going to be ready in time. I decided not to delete it and post extension we were going to do from DropBox thinking it might return. Which it hasn’t.

 

Doing Canada & the Norhwest Passage on the Octantis next Summer will be a bit of makeup for our cancelled Arctic Adventure. I’m still thinking tho about Norway & Arctic Explorer as an alternate to our cancelled Arctic Adventure. Need to convince hubby tho  Maybe the weather will be better in Honnigsvag. Last year it was socked in. Completely. 
 

Anyway - look at the VO site with the search filtered on Longyearbyen. 

 

@Mike07For VE cruises above the Arctic Circle - look at the one we'll be on next year - Northwest Passage. There are two versions - the one we're doing that starts in Toronto, goes to Nuuk via the St Lawrence, heads into the Northwest Passage above the Arctic Circle and returns to Nuuk. The other shorter version starts in Nuuk, does the Northwest Passage and ends in Nuuk. 

Edited August 11 by CharTrav

[CurlerRob]

7 minutes ago, CharTrav said:

If you look at VO’s Norway and Arctic Explorer - https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/baltic/iceland-norway-arctic-explorer/index.html?startLocation=bergen&endLocation=reykjavik&year=2025#noscroll - that included many of the port stops that were on the cancelled Arctic Adventure  that we were booked on for its first sailing but which got canceled because Polaris wasn’t going to be ready in time. I decided not to delete it and post extension we were going to do from DropBox thinking it might return. Which it hasn’t. Doing Canada & the Norhwest Passage on the Octantis next Summer will be a bit of makeup for our cancelled Arctic Adventure. I’m still thinking tho about Norway & Arctic Explorer as an alternate to our cancelled Arctic Adventure. Need to convince hubby tho  Maybe the weather will be better in Honnigsvag. Last year it was socked in. Completely. 
 

Anyway - look at the VO site with the search filtered on Longyearbyen. 

 

Thank you - it was due to your having saved the Arctic Adventure info that I was able to make some sense of Mike07's question. I understood he was more interested in more exploration of Svalbard than the VO version.

 

We are actually on the VO trip next year, as part of an AMS - NYC voyage. We were lucky enough to get to Longyearbyen and Ny Alesund, as well as cruise further up to the ice pack, a number of years ago, before the new hull class restrictions came into force. 🍺🥌

[dreamercruise]

I took an expedition to Svalbard in July 2022 (not with Viking).  The attached photo shows the daily stops circling around Svalbard in the 11-day cruise portion of the trip. On Day 4, the ship went as far north as Ice Edge (location at top of the photo blocked by the video equipment, but you can see the label “Ice Edge”). Someday, Viking may add this itinerary to its offerings.

 

[dreamercruise]

Photos of Ice Edge on Day 4 and the residents in Faksevagen/Alkefielet on Day 5.

[CharTrav]

52 minutes ago, dreamercruise said:

Photos of Ice Edge on Day 4 and the residents in Faksevagen/Alkefielet on Day 5.

Hubby did a research cruise along what's called the Marginal ice Zone. I think what I'm seeing in your picture is part of it. 

[Mike07]

9 hours ago, CurlerRob said:

 

Following her launch in September 2022, Polaris headed south, working the Antarctic region for the Austral summer. I have not found any indication that she ever returned to the Svalbard area following that, but others may know definitively.

 

As you pointed out, the Norway - Svalbard R/T is not on the books at all now. Unfortunate, as it would be an excellent trip. I'm sure you're already aware that the 'usual expedition suspects' continue to be heavily invested in Svalbard-intensive offerings. 🍺🥌

 

 

Didn't even think about that (early on in ship's life repositioning to the Americas).

 

It looked like a potentially solid itinerary... but I agree, I doubt the ship ever returned. I've looked for the sailing on both VE and VO side of the house and nothing... indicating to me it was either a very unpopular itinerary or they just don't do it anymore. 😞

[Mike07]

7 hours ago, dreamercruise said:

I took an expedition to Svalbard in July 2022 (not with Viking).  The attached photo shows the daily stops circling around Svalbard in the 11-day cruise portion of the trip. On Day 4, the ship went as far north as Ice Edge (location at top of the photo blocked by the video equipment, but you can see the label “Ice Edge”). Someday, Viking may add this itinerary to its offerings.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing. I really want to visit Svalbard, but the more research I do, and the more I think about it... not sure how thrilled I am with seeing a polar bear through a high-zoom photo lens or binoculars. I do know tours cannot go on land when polar bears are present.

 

As much as I'd like to see a polar bear, to spend the time and money to get up there and see a little white dot miles and miles away, I don't know.

[dreamercruise]

8 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

Thanks for sharing. I really want to visit Svalbard, but the more research I do, and the 

As much as I'd like to see a polar bear, to spend the time and money to get up there and see a little white dot miles and miles away, I don't know.

My husband felt the same way, after we had been spoiled by hundreds of thousands of  penguins (plus other wildlife) near our feet in Antarctica/South Georgia.  Definitely, you need to observe polar bears from far for safety reasons (and also not wanting to disturb their habitat). In fact, when we did kayaking, there were three staff members (with guns) accompanying us while two others did the scouting/guarding nearby. The bears will easily outrun and out swim us (yes, in ocean).

We had to observe other wildlife from far as well. They include Arctic foxes, walruses, birds, lion seals, and etc..

Similar to Greenland and northern Canada, Arctic appeals to a small niche of people with special interests.  Perhaps, this limited interest is why Viking does not have the itinerary there.

i like to explore a variety of places:  popular, exotic, and semi-adventurous.

[CurlerRob]

8 hours ago, dreamercruise said:

I took an expedition to Svalbard in July 2022 (not with Viking).  The attached photo shows the daily stops circling around Svalbard in the 11-day cruise portion of the trip. On Day 4, the ship went as far north as Ice Edge (location at top of the photo blocked by the video equipment, but you can see the label “Ice Edge”). Someday, Viking may add this itinerary to its offerings.

 

 

Looks like a great cruise. You win big time on the northern limit - the pic below is from the days when PC6 ratings were not required ... 🍺🥌.

 

[Mike07]

9 hours ago, CharTrav said:

@Mike07For VE cruises above the Arctic Circle - look at the one we'll be on next year - Northwest Passage. There are two versions - the one we're doing that starts in Toronto, goes to Nuuk via the St Lawrence, heads into the Northwest Passage above the Arctic Circle and returns to Nuuk. The other shorter version starts in Nuuk, does the Northwest Passage and ends in Nuuk. 

 

 

Thank you... I've seen those before, and I'll definitely do one, or both, at some point. VE is still the best ship in Viking's fleet. (excluding the longships as it's a completely different category)

[CurlerRob]

1 hour ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Thanks for sharing. I really want to visit Svalbard, but the more research I do, and the more I think about it... not sure how thrilled I am with seeing a polar bear through a high-zoom photo lens or binoculars. I do know tours cannot go on land when polar bears are present.

 

As much as I'd like to see a polar bear, to spend the time and money to get up there and see a little white dot miles and miles away, I don't know.

 

I would offer that Svalbard, like many of the polar regions, is well worth a visit even without bear sightings. (I have one of those "fuzzy white dot" photos).The scenery, unique location, connection to history and the warmth of the (few) people continue to stand out in my mind.

 

If polar bears are a priority, I recommend a land tour out of Churchill, MB. Much more like an African safari, with strengthened vehicles for security. Having grown up near there and having high respect for the north's apex predator, I was a bit edgy when we saw these signs in Ny Alesund - after all, bears can't read! 🍺🥌

 

[CharTrav]

5 hours ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Didn't even think about that (early on in ship's life repositioning to the Americas).

 

It looked like a potentially solid itinerary... but I agree, I doubt the ship ever returned. I've looked for the sailing on both VE and VO side of the house and nothing... indicating to me it was either a very unpopular itinerary or they just don't do it anymore. 😞

They never did it so no way to call it unpopular.  It was canceled when the Polaris wasn't finished in time in 2022 and just never returned to the schedule. I had assumed at the time that the plan was for Octantis and Polaris to do that part of the Arctic on alternate years but they've dropped it entirely. Instead the Arctic cruises are the Northwest Passage. From a scheduling perspective it makes sense - allows both ships to limit their travels to the Americas - no trans-atlantic cruises required. I fully expect that we'll see polar bears next year. 

[81Zoomie]

We did an 11 night circumnavigation of Svalbard in July this year.  Great cruise!  Ship held 198 passengers and we had 137 onboard plus 127 crew.  It was different than Antarctica, but just as magical.  A polar bear 🐻‍❄️ swam by our ship (Atlas Voyager) in open ocean!  We saw 3 polar bears from a distance, whales, many birds, lots of walrus, and several seals. It was wonderful expedition and thoroughly enjoyed seeing some of the 2100+ glaciers, countless waterfalls, zodiacing in the ice pac above 81N, exploring the islands, and even seeing fossilized dinosaur footprints!  And, the sun never set ☀️.  Highly recommend the circumnavigation if you are able.

Loved Svalbard, but now looking forward to our first Viking cruise 🛳️!

 

Edited August 30 by 81Zoomie

[millybess]

20 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

We did an 11 night circumnavigation of Svalbard in July this year.  Great cruise!  Ship held 198 passengers and we had 137 onboard plus 127 crew.  It was different than Antarctica, but just as magical.  A polar bear 🐻‍❄️ swam by our ship (Atlas Voyager) in open ocean!  We saw 3 polar bears from a distance, whales, many birds, lots of walrus, and several seals. It was wonderful expedition and thoroughly enjoyed seeing some of the 2100+ glaciers, countless waterfalls, zodiacing in the ice pac above 81N, exploring the islands, and even seeing fossilized dinosaur footprints!  And, the sun never set ☀️.  Highly recommend the circumnavigation if you are able.

Loved Svalbard, but now looking forward to our first Viking cruise 🛳️!

 

That looks like an amazing cruise!  Thanks for the map and the photos.  It looks like it was about 10 days?  Is that correct?

[81Zoomie]

Just now, millybess said:

That looks like an amazing cruise!  Thanks for the map and the photos.  It looks like it was about 10 days?  Is that correct?

It was 11 (sunny!) nights.  We had charter flights roundtrip Oslo.

[millybess]

 

6 minutes ago, 81Zoomie said:

It was 11 (sunny!) nights.  We had charter flights roundtrip Oslo.

Very interesting.  Thank you.

 

We may have further questions about your cruise once we are looking for another cruise in the not too distant future.

 

It looks fascinating.

[CurlerRob]

2 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

It was 11 (sunny!) nights.  We had charter flights roundtrip Oslo.

 

Thank you for the post - wonderful photos and you were so fortunate to have such extraordinary weather! We were lucky enough to visit Longyearbyen, Ny Alesund and the polar ice pack in 2015 (before that level of approach to the ice was limited to PC6 hulls).

 

Our weather was nowhere near as good - still would not have missed it. 🍺🥌

 

[Frenchberet]

We were booked on the Arctic Adventure expedition on Polaris in August 2022.  The itinerary began and ended in Tromso and spent 8 nights exploring Svalbard and the Jan Mayen Islands.  As discussed above, Polaris wasn’t ready to sail so the cruise was cancelled.

 

We visited Antarctica on Octantis in February 2023, and finally got to Svalbard as part of Iceland and Norway’s Arctic Explorer on Saturn in August 2023.  I don’t think the expedition ships ever made it to Svalbard.