Adventure cruise line heads north on new Arctic itineraries

Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic says it will head far north next year on two new Greenland and Northwest Passage itineraries.

An "Epic 80°N" cruise on the 148-passenger National Geographic Explorer will trace the rugged, rarely explored coast of northwest Greenland and spend time in the Canadian Arctic – Baffin Island, Lancaster Sound and Ellesmere Island.

"Guests will experience unbridled 21st-century exploration as they venture deep into the far reaches of the ice to Zodiac cruise, kayak and hike the tundra," the line says in promotional materials.

After Ellesmere, days 13 and 14 of the 22-day sailing are marked on the ship's itinerary as simply "Farther North."

In addition to viewing ice in various forms, including tidewater glaciers, activities during the cruise will include visiting Inuit communities and remote archaeological sites and observing polar bears and walruses. The cruise is from Greenland to Iceland, embarking on Aug. 17, with fares from $23,990 per person.

A new 13-day cruise exploring Greenland and the Canadian High Arctic, on the same ship, will navigate the eastern entrance of the fabled Northwest Passage and explore Greenland's fjords, with opportunity to see the Ilulissat Glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Opportunity for polar bear sightings and visiting a historic Inuit village are part of the itinerary. The cruise begins and ends with flights from Ottawa, on July 28 or Aug. 7, with fares from $12,990.

For a deck-by-deck look inside a Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic vessel, click through the carousel below.

Fran Golden is the Experience Cruise expert blogger and a contributing editor of Porthole Magazine. She is the co-author of Frommer's Alaska Cruises and Ports of Call. Golden is serving as Guest Editor of The Cruise Log while Paste BN Cruise Editor Gene Sloan is away.