Clipper Adventurer Review - High Arctic
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Clipper Adventurer
with Uummannaq island and town,
Greenland in the background |
We (my wife and I) were
on the Clipper Adventurer for a High Arctic
cruise from August the 2nd to August the 14th
2010.
We joined the ship in Resolute Bay, Nunavut,
Canada (Latitude
74° 38'N Longitude 94° 45'W)
and left it in Kangerlussuaq Greenland (Latitude
66° 57'N Longitude 50° 58'W).
We cruised from that part of northern Canada
where it starts to dissolve into myriad islands
and then across the open sea to Greenland and
down the west coast of Greenland to Sondre Stromfjord
which at 160 km (100 miles) long is one of the
longest in the world, our flight home was from
the end of the fjord.
This was the kind of cruise that the Clipper
Adventurer does, wild places in some considerable
style. It was a cruise for people who most of
all want to go to the places that the ship visits,
and secondly want to go for the cruise experience. |
Clipper Adventurer
in the Evigheds Fjord, Greenland |
Ship Specification
-
Staff & Crew -
72
-
Guests - 122
-
Zodiac fleet (small
inflatable outboard powered boats) for
shore transfers
-
All cabins have exterior
views and en suite facilities, all lower
berths (no bunks)
-
One dining room -
unreserved seating
-
Lounge and presentation
room
-
Length - 101.1 meters
-
Breadth - 16.2 meters
-
Draft - 4.5 meters
-
Diesel Twin Engines
- 5,200 horsepower
-
Ice Class - 1A (strengthened
hull - doesn't need to run away
from ice)
-
Cruising Speed - 12
knots in open water
-
Lifeboats - 4 partially
enclosed
-
Registered - Bahamas
|
Returning to the
ship by zodiac after an excursion |
Uummannaq Town Harbour,
Greenland |
As we booked primarily for the places we went
rather than for the style in which we went there,
it was a very pleasant surprise to find ourselves
on a ship where the way in which you appreciated
the style of the journey was as important to
the ships compliment as the places we went.
Cabin
We were fortunate in that the ship was not full
and so there was some flexibility as to our
cabin we chose to go to what apparently was
one of the least desirable on the ship, cabin
100. We had our own bathroom with shower, which
while not being large enough to swing a cat
of any significant dimensions in was big enough.
We had a porthole to the outside which you could
look out from if you stood on the bed. It did
however have a metal cover which was very useful
in the 24 hours daylight we had for the duration
of our trip.
We didn't spend much time there other than
sleeping, dressing, showering or other necessities.
There was plentiful wardrobe space and enough
space to put our cold weather gear on and sit
down. What we liked about the cabin was that
it was at the front of the ship and so we were
soothed by the sea breaking against the bows
or pushing ice aside. Others may find this a
bit noisy but we both found that sleep followed
within minutes of hitting the pillow whatever
the conditions.
Daily routine
A typical day started with the dulcet tones
of our tour leader waking us over the ships
intercom with an update as to where we were,
what the weather was like and what the plans
were that day.
Typically we would have a trip ashore by zodiac,
come back for lunch and then repeat in the afternoon.
Sometimes we would go ashore to a town and sometimes
we would have a zodiac tour in an area of interest.
Sometimes the trip was later and on one occasion
we had a trip ashore before breakfast to watch
the sun rapidly rise over a mountain to illuminate
a glacier.
There were always guides looking out for animals
of any kind from the ships bridge, and there
would be an announcement if anything exciting
was to be seen - cue a rush to grab cameras,
binoculars and clothing and get up on deck asap.
Otherwise there were plenty of places to go
on the ship, on one of the decks out of the
wind to watch the (ridiculously scenic) world
going by. My favourite was on the uppermost
deck above the bridge where an effective wind
barrier meant a calm oasis with 360 degree panoramas
of the passing world, Catherine preferred the
back of the ship where she could sit with her
feet up enjoying a book in the world's most
impressive reading room.
Most days there was a lecture of some kind by
one of the guides or some form of entertainment.
No professional entertainers though or "shows"
that you might get on other kinds of cruise
ships.
One event that I particularly enjoyed came during
a lecture on glaciers, the guide illustrated
his talk with a casual "If you look at
that glacier over there, you can see... while
that glacier over that direction shows another
aspect..." etc.
Meals
Oh joy! I really hadn't expected this. After
a couple of days the waiter on our section at
breakfast would say "Darjeeling?"
which after a happy nod from myself would result
in a pot of proper tea of the aforementioned
variety delivered to my table. I would then
unfailingly select something significantly more
calorie laden than I had intended from the menu,
often the days special or if not, possibly something
bacon-centric. There was also extensive
fresh bread,
pasties, cereal, fruit, yoghurt and other healthier
stuff for the hair-shirted or more likely for
the two-coursed.
Lunch and dinner were also an extravaganza of
choice and quality, I always ended up having
at least more than one course than I intended
out of the several available. I cannot think
of anyone who would realistically think the
food is not at least to their satisfaction and
more likely to their great pleasure.
Overall
We loved the trip which was made all
the better by the unexpectedly high standard
of accommodation and service that the Clipper
Adventurer provided. Highly recommended, it
will swing our choice in the future if we want
to go on another cruise and this ship offers
it.
 |
Pack Ice in Lancaster
Sound Looking Towards Devon Island |
Two young polar bears
seen on a zodiac excursion |
The upper observation
deck |
Zodiac cruise with
the Clipper Adventurer in the background, Prince
Leopold Island Canada |
Gibb Fjord, Baffin
Bay, Canada |
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2001 Paul Ward |
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