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The Best Things to Discover on a North Pole Cruise
A trip to the North Pole on a nuclear-powered icebreaker is an incredible experience and truly one of the world’s most memorable voyages. Don’t simply imagine two weeks of smashing through ice to the pole and back. On this voyage, the North Pole is only one of the amazing discoveries you'll make.
The Icebreaker
Firstly, the ship itself—I/B 50 Years of Victory — is unique in the world. Powered by two nuclear reactors generating 75,000 horsepower, she is the most powerful icebreaker ever built. Watching, hearing and feeling the frozen ocean being crushed underneath you is an experience unlike any other. Never has standing at the railing of a cruise ship been so exhilarating! Climb up on the bow platform to feel like you are flying over the ice. Then immerse yourself in the heated pool below decks to feel the rumbling all around you. Complete your icebreaker experience by visiting the bridge, touring the engine room, and taking advantage of the many amenities on board such as massage therapy, basketball court and two saunas. The phrase “getting there is half the fun” has never been more appropriate.
Franz Josef Land
On your roundtrip , you'll pass through the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land. This remote and enigmatic High Arctic wilderness is home to polar bears, walrus and the elusive bowhead whale. Franz Josef Land is notoriously inaccessible, but Zodiacs and the ship’s helicopter enable you to discover the islands’ hidden treasures, such as surreal geology and the historical remains of legendary polar expeditions.
Helicopter Flightseeing
Just when you think “getting there” couldn’t get any more fun, you'll be called to board the helicopter for an amazing flight-seeing experience. From your window seat, you see the vessel and environment from an exciting new perspective. The ship — as colossal as she seems when you are walking on her decks—now seems dwarfed by the immensity of the frozen Arctic Ocean. Still, she powers on toward the northern horizon, crushing her way inexorably through the ice as you watch spellbound from aloft. The experience is as humbling as it is exhilarating.
Top of the World
Upon reaching the geographic North Pole—90 degrees North latitude—you'll have arrived at one of the extreme edges of the world. You will be 700 kilometers from the nearest land in one of our planet’s most interesting and unique environments. Here, where the axis of Earth’s rotation meets its surface, all time zones and longitudes converge. You cannot go farther north; east and west are meaningless here. You will enjoy a day of unique activities: a special BBQ on ice, dancing around the pole, hiking through an icescape of melt ponds and pressure ridges, and even a dip in the freezing ocean are on offer. This is your time to savor the satisfaction of achieving one of the great prizes of adventure travel: the Top of the World.
