Typical Day on An Arctic Expedition Ship - 2016

© 2016, R. Ono

We just returned from a 13-day Quark Expeditions trip, on the Sea Adventurer, to the Svalbard polar region in the Arctic. I thought that it might be interesting to share what an expedition day looks like. Though every day at sea can be fairly unique. there is a general flow to each day. This post may help you to decide if a polar trip is for you.

Our days started with a wake-up call from the expedition leader over the cabin intercom. This individual is a well-experienced senior staff member that is responsible for the overall itinerary, daily agenda, expedition crew assignments and coordinating with the ship’s captain and hotel manager. The expedition leader is also responsible for general guest safety and attempting to find scenic opportunities for passengers. This morning call can vary between 15 and 30 minutes prior to the following announcement by the reception desk that breakfast is being served in the dining room. Breakfast starts anywhere from 7:30am to 8am, depending on the planned start of the first outing. An earlier outing generally translates into an earlier breakfast time.

Open seating was the general rule in the dining room. Breakfasts and lunches were buffet style and dinners offered three courses - soups and salads, main dishes with vegetarian, fish and meat entrees, and several desserts. Wine, beer and sodas were available to purchase. We purchased a three bottle wine package and one additional wine bottle during our time on the Sea Adventurer.

© 2016, R. Ono

During our Svalbard circumnavigation, we were largely in calm seas; however, there were a few days and evenings with periods of heavy swells. Several guests employed different methods to deal with seasickness. The on-board expedition physician also had a number of drugs to help those passengers that neglected to bring any seasickness medication. I will admit that heavier sea swells can make loading and unloading a moving zodiac a bit of a challenge.

In regards to outings, there were two daily planned zodiac activities.  However, the nearby presence of dangerous wildlife (polar bears), heavy sea swells, sea ice location, wind, rain and temperature were continually monitored by staff. These conditions determined whether we could use the rubber zodiacs for a landing, take a zodiac cruise to explore closeby inlets and bays or simply remain on-board the expedition ship. Generally, this polar expedition appeared to schedule hikes from zodiac landings in the morning and scenic cruising by zodiacs in the afternoon. That said, on one day, we remained on the ship in the morning, but had two zodiac activities after lunch. When conditions dictated that we remain on board the Sea Adventurer, lectures on regional wildlife, geology or natural history were provided by expedition crew members. Occasionally, movies or videos were shown during these times in the main lounge.

© 2016, R. Ono

With about 85 passengers on our trip, zodiac embarkation was effectively managed by crew members. We were divided into three zodiac departure groups and each group rotated for an early embarkation position. A 30-minute alert was provided before the first group queued to leave the Sea Adventurer. This permitted passengers plenty of time to put on their baselayers, mid-layers, water-proof pants and jacket, boots and life jacket. We did find that during the hikes, we avoided our mid-layers to keep from overheating and, in fact, on one unusual day, I hiked in a short sleeved polo shirt! One advantage of the polar expeditions with smaller passenger capacity is that all passengers can participate in a zodiac landing at one time. In many polar areas, expedition operators commit to refrain from unloading over 100 passengers to land at one time.  

The lunch buffet started between 12noon and 1:30pm. This time depended on when the morning zodiac activities began, These outings ranged from 90 minutes to 3 hours. Lunch was scheduled to begin after all morning zodiacs had returned to the Sea Adventurer.

© 2016, R. Ono

Compared to our Antarctica expedition, this Arctic trip permitted greater opportunities to participate in two to three hour guided hikes during our zodiac landings. In Antarctica, guests on zodiac landings were often limited to self-explore areas marked by expedition staff with safety boundaries. On this Arctic itinerary, passengers were able to choose an Arctic hiking group based on the aggressiveness of the walk – contemplative, medium or fast charging. The chargers often hiked the longest distance and up to the highest elevation locations. We tended to hike with the medium speed interpretive group so that we could take time for photography and for observing wildlife and plants that were identified by expedition naturalists and crew members leading the walks. The walks were often over thick tundra that felt like walking on thick carpet. There was one walk where several hikers, including me, struggled to keep from becoming stuck in mud that was about 10 to 12 inches deep.

For all hikes, due to possible polar bear danger, the crew members carried flare pistols and rifles, as well as GPS devices, distance rangefinders and binoculars. Where we were permitted to self-explore, armed expedition crew members placed themselves at area perimeter locations.

© 2016, R. Ono

Access to food was never an issue during the expedition. Besides delicious meals, an afternoon tea with sandwiches and desserts was served at 4pm and an endless supply of ship-baked cookies were always offered in the main lounge, along with coffee, teas, hot chocolate and filtered water.

Returning from our afternoon zodiac trip, a pre-dinner discussion hosted by crew staff was held in the main lounge between 6:30pm and 7pm. Warm hors d'oeuvres were also served at this time.  During this meeting, crew members reviewed what we had seen during the day, displayed a photo of the day and finished with a preview of the next day’s planned activities.

Our evening dinners started as early as 7pm to as late as 8pm. Again, dinner time was dependent on our return time from the afternoon zodiac activity. A brief presentation by a crew member in the lounge was held after dinner and these were often humorous and interesting stories. With the evening activities ending between 9:30pm and 10pm, we had a little time for evening reading before going to bed.

As you can see, daily life on an expedition trip is subject to constant change and there are available activities to keep as active as you would like to be. Every day presented an opportunity to see and experience something new in the Svalbard polar region. Our daily expedition schedule on this trip was similar to our Antarctic trip in 2015. I suspect that the schedule and activities are similar to other polar expeditions that carry 100-200 guests. The larger cruise ships often do not offer either zodiac landings or zodiac cruises.