Tauck Announces New Spitsbergen 'Arctic Allure' Cruise

Tauck has announced details of its new-for-2019 "Arctic Allure: Spitsbergen and the Midnight Sun” small ship cruise itinerary. The line has also revealed plans to host BBC Earth filmmakers next year on select sailings of four different expeditionary cruises.

The new 10-day journey will explore the island of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago. Located inside the Arctic Circle, midway between Norway and the North Pole, Spitsbergen is renowned for a rugged landscape that includes glaciers, mountains, fjords, and wildlife.

The island and archipelago are home to some 3,000 polar bears, as well as Arctic fox, Arctic moose, Svalbard reindeer, and 30 bird species. Surrounding waters are also inhabited by whales, dolphins, seals, and walruses.

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Tauck will offer one departure of "Arctic Allure,” on June 24, 2019. The itinerary begins with a pre-cruise overnight stay in Oslo followed by a charter flight to Spitsbergen. Guests then embark the Ponant sailing yacht Le Boreal for a seven-day cruise exploration of Spitsbergen.

The itinerary is flexible, taking into account sea and weather conditions and wildlife sightings. It may include centuries-old whaling outposts, tiny Ny-Alesund (the most northerly civilian settlement in the world), Monaco and Kongsbreen (King's) glaciers and the abandoned Russian mining “ghost town” of Pyramiden.

The 234-guest Le Boreal features a main dining room, casual restaurant and three lounges with bars. Beginning at $10,990 per person, the fare includes international airfare, the Oslo overnight, roundtrip flights from Oslo to Longyearbyen, the seven-day cruise aboard Le Boral, and a final hotel overnight in Oslo. Gratuities, shore excursions, house wines and spirits and port taxes are also included.

Guests on the cruise will benefit from Tauck's Earth Journeys partnership with the filmmakers at BBC Earth. On board will be filmmaker Peter Bassett, one of the three BBC Earth filmmakers who will join a total of four Tauck itineraries in 2019, including the sold-out January 7, 2019, Antarctica departure aboard L'Austral.

The BBC team is responsible for award-winning nature documentaries that include Frozen Planet, Life, Blue Planet, and Planet Earth. They’ve produced Tauck-exclusive filmed vignettes that guests will view during the cruises.

Bassett will take part in shore excursions, give lectures and be available informally for guests during the cruise. His 20-year career has taken him to more than 40 countries as a wildlife filmmaker.

Additional BBC filmmakers taking part on Tauck cruises in 2019 include TV host Chris Morgan and BBC Earth filmmaker Tim Martin.