| | | | | Arrive | Depart |
| 21st21 | SepSep | 202121 | 1 night accommodation before your cruise, staying in Reykjavik | | |
| 22nd22 | SepSep | 202121 | Reykjavík, Iceland, embark on the Greg Mortimer | | |
Sprawling Reykjavík, the nation's nerve center and government seat, is home to half the island's population. On a bay overlooked by proud Mt. Esja (pronounced eh-shyuh), with its ever-changing hues, Reykjavík presents a colorful sight, its concrete houses painted in light colors and topped by vibrant red, blue, and green roofs. In contrast to the almost treeless countryside, Reykjavík has many tall, native birches, rowans, and willows, as well as imported aspen, pines, and spruces.Reykjavík's name comes from the Icelandic words for smoke, reykur, and bay, vík. In AD 874, Norseman Ingólfur Arnarson saw Iceland rising out of the misty sea and came ashore at a bay eerily shrouded with plumes of steam from nearby hot springs. Today most of the houses in Reykjavík are heated by near-boiling water from the hot springs. Natural heating avoids air pollution; there's no smoke around. You may notice, however, that the hot water brings a slight sulfur smell to the bathroom.Prices are easily on a par with other major European cities. A practical option is to purchase a Reykjavík City Card at the Tourist Information Center or at the Reykjavík Youth Hostel. This card permits unlimited bus usage and admission to any of the city's seven pools, the Family Park and Zoo, and city museums. The cards are valid for one (ISK 3,300), two (ISK 4,400), or three days (ISK 4,900), and they pay for themselves after three or four uses a day. Even lacking the City Card, paying admission (ISK 500, or ISK 250 for seniors and people with disabilities) to one of the city art museums (Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir, or Ásmundarsafn) gets you free same-day admission to the other two. |
| 23rd23 | SepSep | 202121 | Westman Islands, Iceland | | |
The name Vestmannaeyjar refers to both a town and an archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest Vestmannaeyjar island is called Heimaey. It is the only inhabited island in the group and is home to over 4000 people. The eruption of the Eldfell Volcano put Vestmannaeyjar into the international lime light in 1973. The volcano’s eruption destroyed many buildings and forced an evacuation of the residents to mainland Iceland. The lava flow was stopped in its tracks by the application of billions of liters of cold sea water. Since the eruption, life on the small island outpost has returned to the natural ebb and flow of a small coastal fishing community on the edge of the chilly and wild North Atlantic. |
| 24th24 | SepSep | 202121 | At Sea | | |
| 25th25 | SepSep | 202121 | At Sea | | |
| 26th26 | SepSep | 202121 | Prince Christian Sound, Greenland | | |
The transit through the Sound is one of this voyage’s highlights. Connecting the Labrador Sea with the Irminger Seat, Prince Christian Sound or “Prins Christian Sund” in Danish is named after Prince (later King) Christian VII (1749-1808). 100 km (60 miles ), long and at times just 500 m (1500 ft) wide, this majestic and spectacular fiord throws you back into a Viking era – flanked by soaring snow-topped mountains, rock-strewn cliffs and rolling hills, it is as if time has stood still and one easily forgets that this is the 21st century. As you marvel at the sheer size of the mountains that surround you, with the Arctic waters lapping deceptively at the hull, revel in the silence enveloping you. Icebergs float serenely by, carrying with them the ages of time. Be sure to wear warm clothing as this is one spectacle that you do not want to miss. |
| 27th27 | SepSep | 202121 | Tasermiut Fjord, Klostertal, Greenland | | |
| 28th28 | SepSep | 202121 | Narsarsuaq, Greenland | | |
| 29th29 | SepSep | 202121 | Hvalsey, Greenland | | |
Northeast of Qaqortoq and at the end of a fjord, Hvalsey is one of the best examples of South Greenland’s many scattered ruins from the Norse period. Today the area is used for sheep-grazing, but until the 15th century the settlement at Hvalsey, and specifically Hvalsey’s church, played an important part. Christianity had spread its influence throughout Europe and eventually had reached remote Greenland, where it established itself in the country in 1000 AD. Hvalsey Church was built in the 14th century and is the best preserved of the churches in Greenland from that period. Apart from the church walls, historical ruins from the time of the Norse are just a few meters away. |
| 30th30 | SepSep | 202121 | At Sea | | |
| 1st01 | OctOct | 202121 | At Sea | | |
| 2nd02 | OctOct | 202121 | Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec, Canada | | |
| 3rd03 | OctOct | 202121 | Torngat Mountains National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
The Torngat Mountains National Park is situated on the eastern side of Labrador’s northernmost point and features mountains sometimes described as the “Eastern Rocky Mountains”. The park covers an area of 9,700 km2 (over 6,000 mi2) and is dotted with remnants of several cirque glaciers. Saglek Fjord has an outstanding array of geological features and the steep cliffs provide some of the best exposures to the earth’s geologic history. The name of the national park goes back to Torngarsoak, who was believed to control the life of sea animals and took the form of a huge polar bear. Polar bears hunt seals on the ice here in the winter months, and herds of Torngat Mountain and George River caribou migrate to and from their calving grounds in the warmer months. Inuit use the area to hunt, fish and travel throughout the year and many still have a strong spiritual connection to this “Place of Spirits”. |
| 4th04 | OctOct | 202121 | Torngat Mountains National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
The Torngat Mountains National Park is situated on the eastern side of Labrador’s northernmost point and features mountains sometimes described as the “Eastern Rocky Mountains”. The park covers an area of 9,700 km2 (over 6,000 mi2) and is dotted with remnants of several cirque glaciers. Saglek Fjord has an outstanding array of geological features and the steep cliffs provide some of the best exposures to the earth’s geologic history. The name of the national park goes back to Torngarsoak, who was believed to control the life of sea animals and took the form of a huge polar bear. Polar bears hunt seals on the ice here in the winter months, and herds of Torngat Mountain and George River caribou migrate to and from their calving grounds in the warmer months. Inuit use the area to hunt, fish and travel throughout the year and many still have a strong spiritual connection to this “Place of Spirits”. |
| 4th04 | OctOct | 202121 | Saglek Fjord, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
| 5th05 | OctOct | 202121 | At Sea | | |
| 6th06 | OctOct | 202121 | Nain, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
| 7th07 | OctOct | 202121 | Hopedale, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
| 8th08 | OctOct | 202121 | Battle Harbor, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
| 9th09 | OctOct | 202121 | L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
Around the year 1000, Vikings from Greenland and Iceland founded the first European settlement in North America, near the northern tip of Newfoundland. They arrived in the New World 500 years before Columbus but stayed only a few years and were forgotten for centuries. Since the settlement's rediscovery in the last century, the archaeological site has brought tourism to the area. Viking themes abound but so do views, whales, icebergs, fun dining experiences, and outdoor activities. L'Anse Aux Meadows on the northern tip of the island of Newfoundland is a remote community of just 40 people, with St Anthony, 40 minutes away, having a population of only 3,500. The region is locally famous for springtime polar bears, nesting eider ducks, the northern extreme of the Appalachians at nearby Belle Isle, numerous spring and summer icebergs, and a rich ocean fishery. L’Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site is the UNESCO World Heritage Site that tells the story of Leif Erickson and the first Europeans in the new world. This site is often the keystone attraction for cruises themed around the Vikings. Discovered in 1960, it is the site of a Norse village, the only known one in North America outside of Greenland. The site remains the only widely-accepted instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact, and is notable for possible connections with the attempted colony of Vinland established by Leif Ericson around 1003, or more broadly with Norse exploration of the Americas. The root of the name "L'Anse aux Meadows" is believed to have originated with French fishermen in the area during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, who named the site L'Anse aux Meduses, meaning 'Jellyfish Bay'. |
| 10th10 | OctOct | 202121 | Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | | |
Twillingate is the self-proclaimed ‘Iceberg Capital of the World’, although icebergs will be a more likely occurrence in the winter months. The community is home to the “Prime Berth Museum”, which is best described as a commercial fishing heritage site highlighting the glory “salt fish days” before the cod fishery moratorium in the mid-1980s. Several historic buildings packed with artifacts are located near the shoreline, in addition to an impressive skeleton of a Sei whale and the two giant racks of its baleen on display. |
| 11th11 | OctOct | 202121 | Saint-John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, disembark the Greg Mortimer | | |
Old meets new in the province's capital (metro-area population a little more than 200,000), with modern office buildings surrounded by heritage shops and colorful row houses. St. John's mixes English and Irish influences, Victorian architecture and modern convenience, and traditional music and rock and roll into a heady brew. The arts scene is lively, but overall the city moves at a relaxed pace.For centuries, Newfoundland was the largest supplier of salt cod in the world, and St. John's Harbour was the center of the trade. As early as 1627, the merchants of Water Street—then known as the Lower Path—were doing a thriving business buying fish, selling goods, and supplying alcohol to soldiers and sailors. |