Scotland to Svalbard | Ocean Albatros

Our adventure begins in Aberdeen in North East Scotland, where the Ocean Albatros is located by a dock in the Dee River. In the afternoon we will board and have our staterooms assigned. We then need to complete a mandatory security review and drill, before we sail out through the mouth of the Dee River towards the North Sea.

We are set to approach Lerwick near the "Main Land" of the Shetlands in the morning. The island of Shetland consists of more than 100 islands and shores, of which only 15 are inhabited year-round. The islands form the northernmost part of the British kingdom, located approximately 300 km north of the mainland of Scotland. This "central" location in the North Atlantic has through the ages led many to the islands, and the Scandinavian heritage still shines through dialects, folklore and place names.

Once securely docked at the port, we depart through Lerwick towards Scalloway for a short scenic drive. From the elevated position we can enjoy the view of the charming village and the imposing Scalloway Castle. After a short photo stop, we continue eastwards through the area that is locally known as the “Black Gates” – an area where peat is still cut to use as fuel.

Following the road northwards our main destination of Clickimin Broch is only a short drive. There will be free time to discover this well preserved and restored Broch and learn more about life in the Iron Age.

(The coach excursion is part of the excursion package and is not included in the price of the trip).

Afterwards, we will return to Lerwick and the ship in the middle of the day. The rest of the day is for enjoying at leisure before departing in the early afternoon.

We arrive after breakfast at Tórshavn, possibly the smallest capital in the world, ruling the scattered 18 islands that make up the Faroes. Centred around the charming grass-roofed Parliament on Tinganes, Tórshavn is now an almost bustling modern city with shops, cafés and even five traffic lights!

By midmorning you can participate in an optional bus excursion where we will try to look a bit back in history. We drive out of the capital and over the mountains to the south. As the climate on the Faroe Island is ‘stable unstable’ it is not unlikely that we will drive through the cloud base and experience some fog on the way. But if you wait a moment, it also not unlikely that it will clear up. We arrive in Kirkjubøur, the most important historical site on the islands. Kirkjubøur was in medieval times the Episcopal centre of the Faroe Islands, and also its undisputed cultural centre. We visit the ruins of the impressive Magnus Cathedral that perhaps never was completed, and the St. Olav church – the only remaining medieval church on the Faroe Islands. Upon our return to ‘Havn’ – as Tórshavn is often just called – you can go for a leisurely stroll through the old citadel near the harbour. A visit to the Art museum and the Nordic House is also very recommendable.

(The coach excursion is part of the excursion package and is not included in the price of the trip).

The sailing northwards towards Jan Mayen will probably go through Vestmanna Sound, along the west-facing shore of Streymoy and the south side of Mykines. But the route depends on winds, sea and comfort.

Listen to a lecture from our experienced expedition staff, see a film about Arctic nature – or go out on deck to catch glimpses of migrating birds and hopefully some whales.

Approximately in the middle of the North Atlantic lies the enigmatic volcanic island of Jan Mayen. And if not exactly in the middle, at least it is located precisely on the Mid Atlantic Ridge, the reason for its volcanic existence. And enigmatic it is not only because of its isolation but also due to the almost perpetual clouds and fog that hovers above it.

Jan Mayen belongs to Norway, and the mountain Beerenberg is one of the higher of Norways 300 summits above 2.000 meter. The island is habited by only 18 persons, running the meteorological station and the Norwegian Defence.

We will try to go ashore at the narrowest part of the island, from either south or north, depending on the prevailing wind and surf. The volcanic origin is visible all over with cinder cones, lava flows and the Mount Fuji like appearance of Beerenberg looming above.

After a pleasant stroll on the narrow isthmus we board the Zodiacs and return to our ship to continue our voyage north.

Lectures, movies or maybe a game are some of the activities and this sea day.

We are getting closer towards the islands of Svalbard, and it should be possible to spot the largest island, Spitsbergen during the night.

Our route for this day and next are much depending on conditions. Not least the pack ice coming from Arctic Sea as well as from calving glaciers, and also solid winter sea ice. Our vessel has an ice class of 1A and the Captain should be able to safely approach the edge of the ice to give us opportunity to spot our first polar bear, hunting for seals.

The west coast enjoys the warmer water coming up through the Atlantic, so winter ice should now have melted.

During the night the ship will sail north along the coast of Spitsbergen.

During the ‘night’ (what is night, when the sun never sets?), we have passed Prins Karls Forland and have arrived in the magnificent Kongsfjord. Our visit to Svalbard is in the early summer and this is both the challenge and gift of this special voyage. Winter ice will possibly block the inner waters of many fjords, but this will give us the best opportunities to observe the omnipresent – but still elusive – polar bear, hunting for seals in its prime habitat. At this time of the year, the migrating birds have just arrived. They are all eager to settle and feed to get the best start for the coming hectic summer months.

Our first landing will be at Ny Ålesund. This settlement is in fact further north than Longyearbyen, making it THE northernmost town. But… is a group of scientific stations, a post office and a single shop open for a few hours a real town? You will have to judge for yourself. The setting is nice, the scientific projects are very interesting, and so is the town history. The Captain will try to get berthed alongside the pier, so we can enjoy an easy walk through the area.

Continuing our exploration of Kongsfjorden, Ocean Atlantic will anchor behind Blomstrand Peninsula. As we will immediately see, the name is a bit misleading. Blomstrand is now an island - the Blomstrand Glacier has receded, revealing a shallow water strait. We will cruise through this on our Zodiacs and make a landing on the island.

We have now entered North West Svalbard, which was declared a national park in 1973. The day could begin with a Zodiac cruise in Danskergattet, looking for seals in Virgohamna, before crossing from Danskøya to Amsterdamøya to make a landing at Smeerenburg, the legendary whaling town of 17th century. 200-plus men were living – and quite often dying – here in the heyday of blubber production.

There are several interesting places to visit in this northwestern corner of Spitsbergen. If conditions allow we’ll make a landing on Ytre Norskøya, where whalers would have their lookout posts.

During the night we have entered Forlandssundet, that separates Prince Karls Forland from Spitsbergen. Our destination is Poole-pynten (Poolepoint), a small headland named after the British whaler Jonas Poole. Today the area is inhabited by herds of walruses who can be seen (and smelled!) from a distance. The large mammals flaunt their tusks and whiskers, as well as their considerable bulk.

After the visit, we are southbound towards the entrance to the Icefjord.

On our way towards Longyearbyen as we cruise through the Icefjord, we hope to get our last glimpses of wildlife as well as the truly unique landscapes of Svalbard.

Early in the morning the ship has made it to port in Longyearbyen. After breakfast and farewell greetings to the expedition team and crew, disembarkation will take place. Transfer is arranged to the airport. From here you will board your chartered flight to Oslo.

Please note that all the outings and landings rely on weather, sea and ice conditions being favorable both for the ship to access the areas, as for the zodiacs and kayaks to maneuver under adequate conditions, ensuring the safety of all our passengers and staff.

For this reason, during moments of harsh weather and throughout the entire trip, Ocean Albatros has excellent public areas, such as wellness/sauna, restaurant, bar and a library for our passengers to spend their spare time. Our ship is staffed by experts in the field who will also share great lectures along the way, ranging from exploration history to biology, geology, ice and wildlife.