Northwest Passage – Across the Top of the World

Enjoy the city before your expedition cruise begins! The adventure begins in the Emerald City of Seattle, on the Pacific coast of the United States.

If you can, why not arrive early and see what the Emerald City has to offer. Take a stroll through the nine-acre Olympic Sculpture Park for incredible views of Puget Sound and the surrounding mountains, admiring the work of renowned artists as you go.

For a feast of the senses, visit the famous Pike Place Market. Operating for over a century, this lively farmer’s market boasts everything from buskers and bars to salmon-throwing fishmongers!

You’ll spend the night here in Seattle before your connecting flight to Alaska tomorrow.

Seattle is a scenic seaport city in western Washington, situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound to the west and Lake Washington to the east. It is the largest city in Washington. Five pioneer families from Illinois first settled the area in 1851, and named the town after a friendly Suquamish Indian chief. It was incorporated as a city in 1869, and grew quickly after the Great Northern Railway arrived in 1893, especially during the Alaska Gold Rush of 1897. When the Panama Canal opened in 1914, Seattle became a major Pacific port of entry, and today it is the region's commercial and transportation hub and the centre of manufacturing, trade, and finance, with an estimated 684,451 residents as of 2015.

Nome is located on the edge of the Bering Sea, on the southwest side of the Seward Peninsula. Unlike other towns which are named for explorers, heroes or politicians, Nome was named as a result of a 50 year-old spelling error. In the 1850's an officer on a British ship off the coast of Alaska noted on a manuscript map that a nearby prominent point was not identified. He wrote "? Name" next to the point. When the map was recopied, another draftsman thought that the “?” was a C and that the “a” in "Name" was an o, and thus a map-maker in the British Admiralty christened "Cape Nome." The area has an amazing history dating back 10,000 years of Inupiaq Eskimo use for subsistence living. Modern history started in 1898 when "Three Lucky Swedes”, Jafet Lindberg, Erik Lindblom and John Brynteson, discovered gold in Anvil Creek…the rush was on! In 1899 the population of Nome swelled from a handful to 28,000. Today the population is just over 3,500. Much of Nome's gold rush architecture remains.

Herschel Island—also known as Qikiqtaruk—is a remote Arctic island in the Beaufort Sea and part of a territorial park. It was once a major hub during the late 19th-century whaling boom and still has preserved historic buildings from that era. Today, it’s valued for its rich wildlife, including caribou, muskoxen, and migratory birds, as well as its importance to the Inuvialuit people. The island’s tundra landscapes and rapidly eroding coastline also make it an important site for studying climate change in the Arctic.

Ulukhaktok is a small Inuvialuit community located on the west coast of Victoria Island in the Canadian Arctic. Formerly known as Holman, it is renowned for its distinctive printmaking and carving traditions, which reflect local culture and Arctic life. The area offers striking tundra landscapes and opportunities to see wildlife such as muskoxen, Arctic foxes, and seals. Its remote setting and strong cultural heritage make it an important center for Indigenous art and northern traditions.

Cambridge Bay is a growing Arctic community on the southeastern coast of Victoria Island along the historic Northwest Passage. It serves as a regional hub for research and transportation, with facilities like the Canadian High Arctic Research Station supporting Arctic science. The area is rich in Inuit culture and history, with nearby archaeological sites and traditional hunting practices still central to life. Visitors are drawn to its wide tundra landscapes, northern lights, and wildlife such as caribou, muskoxen, and Arctic char.

Gjoa Haven is a small Inuit community on King William Island, closely tied to Arctic exploration history. It’s named after the ship Gjøa, used by Roald Amundsen during the first successful navigation of the Northwest Passage. The area is rich in Inuit culture and oral history, including knowledge connected to the fate of the Franklin Expedition. Today, it offers stark tundra scenery, abundant wildlife, and a strong sense of traditional Arctic life.

Coningham Bay is a remote Arctic bay in northern Nunavut, part of the intricate waterways around Prince of Wales Island in the heart of the Northwest Passage. It’s known for its stark, pristine Arctic scenery and sheltered waters set amid isolated islands and shoreline. The area is rich in marine life, with nutrient‑rich currents that can attract beluga whales and, in some seasons, polar bears along the coast.

Fort Ross is a remote, uninhabited former trading post on Somerset Island in the Canadian Arctic. Established in 1937 by the Hudson's Bay Company, it was one of the northernmost trading posts ever operated. The harsh conditions and ice-choked waters of the Bellot Strait made it difficult to supply, leading to its closure in 1948. Today, the remaining buildings stand as a historic site, reflecting the challenges of Arctic trade and exploration.

Beechey Island is a small island off the southwest coast of Devon Island, separated by a narrow waterway called the Barrow Strait. Captain William Edward Parry was the first European to visit the island in 1819. His lieutenant, Frederick William Beechey, named the island after his father, the artist William Beechey (1753–1839). Beechey Island played a significant role in the history of Arctic Exploration. During the winter of 1845-46, Sir John Franklin and his men camped on the island as part of their ill-fated quest to find the Northwest Passage. Mummified remains of three of Franklin’s crew were discovered, giving a better understanding of what happened before the disappearance of the expedition. In 1850 Edward Belcher used the island as a base while surveying the area. Later, in 1903, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen stopped at the island at the beginning of his successful voyage in search for the Northwest Passage. Subsequently, Beechey Island has been declared a "Territorial Historic Site" since 1975 by the Northwest Territories government

Croker Bay is a remote Arctic bay located on the southern coast of Devon Island, one of the largest uninhabited islands in the world. The bay is surrounded by stark tundra and rugged cliffs, offering dramatic Arctic landscapes. It is visited occasionally for scientific research, particularly studies on geology, glaciology, and climate, due to its pristine, isolated environment. Wildlife in the area includes polar bears, Arctic foxes, and migratory seabirds, making it an important site for Arctic ecology.

Dundas Harbour is located in the southeast of Devon Island, Canada’s 6th largest island. It is a forlorn but starkly beautiful spot. The island was first sighted by Europeans in 1616 by the English explorers Robert Bylot and William Baffin. But it did not appear on maps until after explorer William Edward Parry’s exploration in the 1820’s. Parry named it after Devon, England. In the local Inuktitut language, the place is called Talluruti, which translates as “a woman’s chin with tattoos on it.” This refers to the deep crevasses and streaks on Devon Island, which from a distance resemble traditional facial tattoos. On land there are remains of a Thule settlement dating back to 1000 A.D., including tent rings, middens and a gravesite. There are also much more recent remains a Royal Canadian Mounted Police outpost. The first post was established in 1924 to monitor and control illegal activities, such as foreign whaling, in the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage. But conditions were so isolated and severe that the post was abandoned in 1933. It was reopened in 1945, but again closed, this time permanently, in 1951. Today, Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island in the world.

Located in northern Baffin Island, Pond Inlet is a small, predo¬minantly Inuit community, with a population of roughly 1,500 inhabitants. In 1818, the British explorer John Ross named a bay in the vicinity after the English astronomer John Pond. Today Pond Inlet is considered one of Canada's "jewels of the North" thanks to several picturesque glaciers and mountain ranges nearby. Many archaeological sites of ancient Dorset and Thule peoples can be found near Pond Inlet. The Inuit hunted caribou, ringed and harp seals, fish, polar bears, walrus, narwhals, geese, ptarmigans and Arctic hares, long before European and American whalers came here to harvest bowhead whales. Pond Inlet is also known as a major center of Inuit art, especially the printmaking and stone carving that are featured in the town’s art galleries.

Known as the birthplace of icebergs, the Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly 20 million tons of ice each day. In fact, the word Ilulissat means “icebergs” in the Kalaallisut language. The town of Ilulissat is known for its long periods of calm and settled weather, but the climate tends to be cold due to its proximity to the fjord. Approximately 4,500 people live in Ilulissat, the third-largest town in Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut. Some people here estimate that there are nearly as many sled dogs as human beings living in the town that also boasts a local history museum located in the former home of Greenlandic folk hero and famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.

Located just north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut is the northernmost town in Greenland where the port remains free of ice in the winter. Yet it is also the southernmost town where there is enough snow and ice to drive a dogsled in winter and spring. In Sisimiut, travelling by sled has been the primary means of winter transportation for centuries. In fact, the area has been inhabited for approximately 4,500 years. Modern Sisimiut is the largest business center in the north of Greenland, and is one of the fastest growing Greenlandic cities. Commercial fishing is the lead economy in the town‘s thriving industrial base.

Evighedsfjorden, also called “Eternity Fjord,” is a dramatic fjord located on the eastern coast of Greenland. It features steep, glaciated cliffs and deep, icy waters, typical of Greenland’s rugged fjord landscapes. The fjord is largely uninhabited and remote, offering pristine scenery and opportunities to observe Arctic wildlife such as seals, seabirds, and occasionally whales. Its isolation and striking natural beauty make it a destination primarily for adventurous explorers and scientific research.

Perched on the seaside in the shadow of ice-capped Sermitsiaq Mountain, Nuuk is the world’s smallest capital city by population, with some 19,000 inhabitants experiencing tremendous cultural and economic growth. Watch for harp seals as you enter the harbor, and hear from local residents to learn how the community has changed over the generations. At the National Museum, examine the extraordinary 15th-century Qilakitsoq mummies found near Uummannaq—a discovery that was featured in a National Geographic magazine cover story in 1985. The Arctic ice preserved these mummies so well that researchers have been able to study their tattoos, their medical conditions and even what they ate.

Discover Iceland's modern capital! Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and discover the city before connecting to your onward flight home.

Packed full of art, culture and history, Iceland’s capital is a delight to explore. Visit Laugavegur, the main shopping street, and head towards the striking Hallgrímskirkja church. Or why not explore the many galleries and museums dotted around the city?

If you have the time, we recommend booking a Post-Program with us and discovering some of Iceland’s natural highlights!