Baby bergs in the harbour of IlulissatProgramming on the Ocean Endeavour sticks to a similar schedule for each full day on board. Of course, expedition travel can change within minutes so, again, you always have a Plan A, B, C, D and sometimes E.
Fortunately, we had such great weather, our programming stayed mostly on track each day!
Here is what a typical day on the Ocean Endeavour looked like when we visited land:
0347: Sunrise
0600: Early bird breakfast in the Compass Club
0700: Breakfast served in the Polaris Restaurant
0730: Wake- Up call
0900: Shuttling to Ilulissat shore
0930: Green and White Zodiac Cruise
1000: Long hike departure from meat market
1230 -1400: Lunch served in the Polaris restaurant
1130-1300: Yellow and Red Zodiac cruise
1330: Long hike departure from meat market
1400-1530: Orange & Blue Zodiac Cruise
1630: Last zodiac from shore to the Ocean Endeavour
1645: Lecture in Nautilus Lounge
1800: Daily Recap and Briefing in Nautilus Lounge
1900: Dinner is served in the Polaris Restaurant
2100: Concert/After dinner programming
2331: Sunset
As you can see from above, there is a lot of scheduled time but there was always a break between programs to step outside, get coffee/tea, or even some afternoon pastries in the Compass lounge. None of these programs are required to attend but we enjoyed each and every one. We also spent a lot of early mornings and late nights looking over the bow at the wondrous beauty that is the Arctic. Some of my favorite memories are from waiting on the bow for the sun to set or rise while holding a steaming cup of coffee and my eyes peeled to the horizon for puffs of air and splashes for signs of life.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
4 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
5 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.