Adventure Canada

Expedition Cruises

Reykjavik

Toronto

New York (Manhattan)

Arctic

Canada & New England

Excellent

Terrible

Poor

Ocean Endeavour (Adventure Canada)

Torngat Mountain Beauty and more

I took Adventure Canada’s High Arctic Explorer cruise from August 5 to 16, 2023 and was very disappointed.  (Note: from Resolute to Kangerlussuaq.). The scenery was almost never worth photographing, and there was very little wildlife to see.  I freely admit that I made a basic mistake—I didn’t research the itinerary.  

Anyone considering going to the Arctic or Antarctic should first watch the video course “National Geographic Polar Explorations: that The Great Courses sells.  (Ignore the list price—it’s less than $100 after you get on their mailing list.)  From this course, I learned that Mount Thor in the Arctic Cordillera  is spectacular.  To have seen it, the route would have been south from Pond Inlet (the last stop in Canada on the cruise) along the east coast of Baffin Island.  Instead, the ship spent two days going at 12 knots to reach Greenland, during which time there was nothing to see.

Greenland is much more photogenic, but I took an expedition cruise there in September 2022.  I recommend going to Greenland and skipping the stops in Arctic Canada.

I really object to how much the wifi on board cost--$100 (US, not Canadian) for only 200 minutes.  On my cruise on Norwegian in June, they charged $200-something for unlimited internet access.  Be aware that the charges on the ship are in US, not Canadian dollars.

The night before the cruise, Adventure Canada recommended that we stay at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa, where they had a presentation about the cruise.  From the hotel’s website: “Fairmont Château Laurier is Ottawa's grand icon: a soaring historic château playing host to political leaders, film stars, and royalty for over a century. From exceptional guest rooms…”  My room wasn’t exceptional in the least and cost $368 US dollars.  Something like 100 travelers on the cruise must have stayed there.  Incredibly, Adventure Canada didn’t negotiate a group rate for us.  There was absolutely no need for them to have used such an expensive and overpriced hotel.  If there’s a hotel near the Ottawa airport that has a room where presentations can be made, Adventure Life should have picked that one instead, which would also have saved the taxi fare ($34.53).  Finally, after arriving in Toronto after the cruise, Adventure Life recommended staying overnight before flying home the next day.  Instead of staying at the hotel they recommended, the Sheraton Gateway Hotel ($270 US dollars), I stayed at the Alt Hotel Toronto Airport, which only cost $213.61 and has a good restaurant.  That was the one good deal.

Disappointing--very little was photogenic

I have always wanted to explore more of Canada, especially the arctic regions. And Labrador has always fascinated me. This exploration of Greenland, Labrador (especially the Torngat Mountains) and Newfoundland was fantastic. Adventure Canada brings together a wonderful assortment of folks to add color to the trip, from storytellers to archeologists to naturalists. The zodiac rides brought us from the ship to walk through the tundra, spectacular in it's autumn colors. The expedition team provided great interpretation everywhere we went, whether it was abandoned historical sites or UNESCO Heritage locations. And in the process, shared a lot of themselves, making the trip seem like a intimate mall classroom instead of a large lecture hall. The food was plentiful, nutritious and delicious. It was wonderful to learn so much about the Inuit culture and struggles. Having been on the ship to recognize their Day of Truth and Reconciliation was a huge honor and I will feel its impact for years to come.

Riga

I cruise a lot on ocean liners, but had never been on a river cruise before. This was the worst trip I've ever been on.  Staff completely inattentive, food mediocre and the wait times/lines unacceptable (to me). The cabins were much smaller than indicated. And whatever their idea of entertainment is, it is completely different from my expectations.

Take heed, Stay away from this cruise line.

And now they will not leave me alone. They are constantly mailing brochures to me, wanting me to cruise again. Are they for real? I have requested multiple and repeated times to stop sending these to me, but apparantly my requests are falling on deaf ears.

One redeeming factor is that, thank goodness, their drinks are generous, the only generous thing about this trip.This was truly disappointing to me. Maybe my expectations were too high, or perhaps it was my comparison to major cruise lines. Either way I will NEVER sail with this line again.

Worst trip I've ever been on

Rarotonga

This was a trip circumnavigating Iceland (the system won't permit writing Iceland as the destination -- Iceland is below the arctic circle except for a tiny area on one offshore island, so Arctic is not the correct destination, but it's the only reasonable one to choose from the available choices).

Adventure Canada tours (this was our second trip with them) involve intensive experiences with the local sights, people, culture. The level of professional personnel on board is exceptional. On this trip were 5 experienced Icelandic guides, a vulcanologist/geologist, an ornithologist, several naturalists, an Icelandic story-teller and cultural interpreter, and many others, experts all. 

If you want to learn something about where you are, Adventure Canada trips are best bar none. Included were at least one excellent excursion per day, often two. For example, a two-hour whale sighting expedition, top notch. On this trip, there were a few excursions that cost extra (such as snowmobiling on a glacier), but if you took only the excursions included in the price of your ticket you had a wonderful time on excellent daily excursions, saw things you'd never see at home, got excellent value for money. Given the prices in Iceland, I understand why they had to charge extra for some excursions, but the included ones (such as the whale watching) were of first quality, not done on the cheap. Ship went to 9 towns, circumnavigating the island. Tiny fishing villages, a town two-fifths of which was buried by volcanic ash and lava etc etc.

Iceland is cool in the summer, so follow the advice in the copious Adventure Canada briefing material before you leave.

This type of cruise is very different from big ship cruising. It is called adventure cruising, like Celebrity X in the Galapagos. About 140 passengers, very friendly atmosphere among passengers. Seating is free in the restaurant, but people sit with others just to get to know them. Staff often sits with passengers, enhancing the experience. At many destinations, the ship anchors and you get to shore in 10-passenger Zodiac inflatables. Specifically in Iceland, the ship physically docked more often than in Newfoundland (also a fabulous trip) the previous year, meaning fewer Zodiac rides to shore. 

In more than one port, Zodiac cruises along shorelines with very interesting volcanic geology and wonderful seabirds, with highly knowledgeable guides were offered among other excursions.

There are briefings the day before all outings, a daily summary, informative short talks, entertaining evenings. This is an outing for folks who want to get up early, and get going on exciting days. While there were also small children, many of the passengers were over 60 years, and the excursions were entirely appropriate and doable for them (well, for us!). In a number of places, excursions for very fit people were available such as long hikes in mountainous terrain. Bicycles were available for rent. 

Most tourists to Iceland see famous sights in the southwest of the island (Geyser, Gullfoss, etc). These sites are not included on the cruise, so you might wish to do as we did and take a few days to drive around the southwest, or take an organized tour of that inland region. 

The Ocean Endeavour is an excellent ship, well-maintained, comfortable, clean, with excellent facilities for a ship this size (sorry, no casino). The ship-based staff and crew are excellent, service is topnotch, the staff is friendly and accommodating.

The Adventure Canada staff is super helpful, and deal graciously with special requests.

Excellent value. 

We are planning additional trips with Adventure Canada. The two we've been on have been fabulous. As you can tell from the above, we have no gripes at all about this trip; it was terrific and excellent value.

Adventure Canada is a family owned business that has been around since 1987. On this trip, a total of 5 members of the two families that own the company were aboard, interacting with passengers all the time. You can chat directly with the owner over dinner!  Adventure Canada leases the Ocean Endeavour for half the year each year.

Fabulous circumnavigation of Iceland

This cruise was fantastic.  Better than I ever imagined.  The food was incredible and endless.  The cabin and dining staff are just awesome, very friendly and personable.  The Adventure Canada staff were amazing.  The experience and level of education that they brought to the passengers was truly a treat.  Very relaxed atmosphere on board, casual and lots of fun.  Highly recommend this cruise to anyone who wants something out of the ordinary.  The expeditions in the zodiacs were a blast.  We cruised through icebergs, past bird sanctuaries, and of course thats how we got to landing sites.  We went to several archeological sites and our on board archeologist was very informative.  We had a marine biologist on board who was always on the lookout for marine mammal.  When something was sighted it would immediately be announce over the PA system so all who were interested could go see.  When a polar bear was sighted on sea ice, the ship stopped for over an hour so we could all watch the bear and have lots of time to get pictures.  There were great cultural experiences as well.  We had several culturalists on board to enriched our experiences.  We even got to eat Narwhal.  The Polar Plunge took place under the midnight sun....10:30 at night at Resolute Bay.  Not dark at all, although a little chilly, as was expected

The Magical Arctic Safari

We have traveled with other adventure cruise companies but have yet to find one that compares with Adventure Canada.  My entire family booked passage with them from Arctic Canada to Greenland - it was the trip of a lifetime.  As an artist, the voyage provided an incredible amount of inspirational reference material for future artwork.  Beyond this though, we were treated to comfortable cabins, great food, and Adventure Canada’s wonderful staff - it was almost as if we were royalty.  

It is Adventure Canada’s people and the connections between them and their guests, that truly sets them apart from other similar adventure tour companies.  Their leadership team is where AC stands out - all are so knowledgeable and passionate with respect to their field of expertise and it shows.  On other adventure cruises (with other companies), after the lectures and presentations were over, some presenters became somewhat ‘invisible’ or unapproachable - their attitudes came across as indifferent and ‘just doing their job’.  Adventure Canada is so different - the leaders go out of their way to associate with the ship’s passengers, even sitting down with them at mealtimes.  

The meals were very good - so much food - I have never eaten so well.  For activities, lectures and presentations were interesting and informative and the shore excursions were thrilling.  Entertainment, in the evenings, was handled by a very talented musician, who put on quite the show.  The onboard staff, from the Dining Room to Housekeeping, were fabulous - they were professional yet friendly.

This hospitality doesn’t just stay onboard the ship though - it also extends to the amazing communities that are visited along the way.  The camaraderie lead to the major takeaway for me from the trip.  I fully expected to be moved by the spectacular scenery of the Arctic - what I didn’t expect though, was how much meeting the people of the north would affect me.  Having the chance to interact with communities in Greenland and especially the Canadian Arctic (as facilitated by the Adventure Canada leaders) has changed my life forever …it touched my soul.

I highly recommend Adventure Canada.

Trip of a Lifetime

My wife and I love wild places and this cruise certainly satisfied that. We flew by charter aircraft arranged by Adventure Canada from Toronto to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, along with all 140 passengers and boarded the Ocean Endeavour. The next 12 days were one awesome experience after another. We explored small towns on the west coast of Greenland such as Sisimuit and Ilulissat. We hiked to viewpoints overlooking Ilulissat Icefield (50 km long and 6 km across) and the Karrat Fjord. We did birdwatching on the cliffs of another fjord. We took daily zodiac rides to the towering  face of glaciers. After 5 days in the fjords of Greenland, we crossed Baffin Bay to Baffin Island, then followed its coast north and west into Lancaster Sound. A historical highlight was the graves of 3 members of the 1845 Franklin expedition at Beechey Island. We finished at Resolute and another charter aircraft flew us to Ottawa. 

The food on board was exceptional, all served buffet style in the one dining room at a set hour. There was great variety. 

About 15 experts in many different fields such as geology, archeology, Arctic history, glaciology, First Nations, and ornithology gave fascinating lectures in the two lounges on board. Sometimes there were 3 or 4 talks per day and they ran simultaneously so we had to choose which one to attend. 

The recreational facilities were limited. A fitness room had a few machines. The pool was only filled once, but the hot tub was available daily. 

Fares are in US dollars even though Adventure Canada is a Canadian company. Since the US dollar is strong now against the Canadian dollar, fares are expensive for Canadians. 

Our cruise was called Arctic Safari but the company offers several routes. 

We found this cruise to be one of the most memorable we have ever taken and have already booked the Greenland and Labrador cruise for 2017.

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