Poseidon Expeditions Blog

Steve Wellmeier // June 24, 2020

North Pole Adventure

Recollections of My North Pole Adventure

By Steve Wellmeier

You say you love to travel and you’ve been all over the world, even to Antarctica, the Seventh Continent. Oh, a member of the Travelers’ Century Club, are you? You’ve been to all the capital cities of Europe, to game reserves in Kenya and Tanzania. Places filled with culture, restaurants and museums on one hand and, on the other, remote environments where wildlife reigns and mere mortals pay homage to Mother Nature.

After all of that, “Why?,” you say. “Why would I want to go to the North Pole?” You’re not the bucket-list type, you add, and you really don’t see the point, when you’ve already experienced Arctic wildlife in Svalbard and seen massive icebergs in East Greenland.

Chantel Loura // August 27, 2019

Polar Bear vs. Walrus

Notes from the Poseidon Expeditions team

The polar bear is often called the king of the Arctic. Within the frozen realm of this renowned monarch, there lives another powerful Arctic denizen who does not readily submit to ursine rule - the mighty walrus. A few of our expedition team members weighed on the subject of these two fearsome creatures to give their views on who really rules whom.

Anton Nikolyuk // April 24, 2019

The High Arctic: Kingdom of Polar Bears

Polar Bear Safety in Svalbard and Franz Josef Land

To see a polar bear in the wild is at the top of many people’s must-do lists. Svalbard and Franz Josef Land are two of the very best places to find polar bears in their natural habitat. In these High Arctic territories, polar bears can be seen engaging in natural behaviors such as stalking seals on sea ice, caring for their cubs, roaming across the vast tundra wilderness, and perhaps devouring a whale or walrus carcass. Remarkably close viewing can sometimes be had from the ship or on a Zodiac cruise. However, close encounters with polar bears on land must certainly be avoided. Polar bear safety will be paramount on your cruise to Svalbard or Franz Josef Land.

Poseidon Expeditions // December 4, 2018

All About West Spitsbergen and Arctic Polar Ice

Remote and rugged, striking and surreal, West Spitsbergen is a unique and wonderful Arctic destination better known as the "realm of the polar bear."

The largest island of Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago, Spitsbergen is one of the world's northernmost inhabited areas. It lies equidistant from mainland Norway and the North Pole, making it a great staging area for historic expeditions to the North Pole, including those of Roald Amundsen and Walter Wellman.

Poseidon Expeditions // March 14, 2018

Polar Bears – An Insider's Perspective

A quick browse of the internet brings plenty of information about the king of the Arctic region – Ursus maritimus – commonly known as the polar bear or ice bear. But what are the thoughts and anecdotes of someone who’s worked in polar bear territory for more than a decade? What can she tell us that you won’t find in Wikipedia?

Meet Anja Erdmann, one of Poseidon’s expedition leaders who can tell us plenty of stories about polar bear encounters. Growing up in Werder/Havel, in the eastern zone of Germany near Berlin prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain, she adopted the Arctic as her second home as a young adult, one she would quickly grow to love. We had a chance to catch up with her shortly before she was heading to Antarctica, to finish the current season as expedition leader of the 114-passenger Sea Spirit before the ship makes its way north to begin the 2018 Arctic season in late May.

Scott Wasserman // January 30, 2017

Want to go on a polar bear expedition? 6 timely fun facts!

Polar bears are among the cutest, and at first glance appear to be cuddliest animals on the planet. However like many wild animals they are actually quite ferocious. If you happen to be on a polar bear expedition in the arctic, you’d even have a chance to see a family up close and personal. (Just not too close.)

Now that we’re imagining the thought of actually going on a polar bear expedition, you may want to arm yourself with some fun facts to share with your travel mates!