I know, I know, not long ago I was planning a cruise around Japan and now here I am looking wistfully at sailing through the Northwest Passage. But that is the thing about cruising, ships go to so many fantastic destinations that it’s impossible to pick just one. And when it comes to the Northwest Passage, there really is no other way to do it than on a cruise ship.
I’ve cruised around Antarctica, Greenland and Svalbard, but so far, a voyage through the Northwest Passage, a vast sea of icy water that separates Arctic Canada and Greenland, has eluded me. Which is about par for the course for this stretch of water as finding the route through the islands between the two continents eluded many an explorer in the 1800s.
One of them was Captain Sir John Franklin, a 59-year-old Arctic veteran who set off from Kent at the helm of an expedition to find the Northwest Passage in 1845. Neither he, his two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, or his 129 officers and crew were ever seen again.
It might be an unlikely candidate given it is a long way from the sea, but you can visit on a cruise. Oceania Cruises’ Baltic voyages this summer have tours from the seaside town of Warnemünde. It’s a great introduction to the city that was once the symbol of a divided Europe.
Actually, that’s not strictly true. A search party went to look for the missing expedition in 1845 and discovered artefacts from the ships and the remains of two of the crew. More recently, in 2014 and 2016 respectively, the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were discovered.
All anyone knows for sure is that the ships got trapped in ice and that in 1848 those crew still alive (papers found much later show Franklin died in 1947) decided to take their chance on land and died variously of hypothermia, starvation and lead poisoning from the tins their food was in.
It’s a tragic story but the history of Northwest Passage exploration does have a happy ending. In 1906, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to find the route - his voyage took three years - opening the way for others (us) to follow in his footsteps.
And my goodness, what a spectacular journey it is! Sailing into fjords and past vast glaciers, navigating around remote islands and meeting Inuit peoples in their own homes.
Expedition cruise lines generally transit the Northwest Passage once a year - a lot quicker than Amundsen, you’ll be relieved to hear! - but Hurtigruten Expeditions goes one (or should that be three?) better. In late summer this year, it has four voyages through the fabled route, including an epic 26-day sailing on an ice-strengthened ship fittingly named MS Roald Amundsen that has Scandi-chic looks and can operate for short periods on battery power.
Whichever Hurtigruten Expeditions voyage you choose (there’s another epic - this time 27 days - on MS Fridtjof Nansen and 19 and 20-day sailings on MS Fram - the experts at ROL Cruise can help you choose the one that suits best), get ready for an adventure like no other, on a voyage like no other.
It’ll start and end with scheduled port calls, but once in the Northwest Passage you literally go with the flow as the route and landings depend on the weather and ice. Nothing is guaranteed but fingers crossed you’ll get highlight trips ashore (landings are made in small expedition boats) to explore the deserted settlement of Dundas Harbour, see Gjoa Haven, where Roald Amundsen learned polar survival skills from the Netsilik Inuit people, and visit Beechey Island, where the Franklin expedition spent winter 1845-46 and the graves of three members of the expedition were discovered in 1850.
This is one cruise where you can leave the suits and sparkles at home and instead pack woollies, scarves and waterproof trousers. There are lectures and talks to attend hosted by the marine biologists, geologists and other experts in the expedition team and a Science Center to check out for some back-to-school hands-on learning. Oh, and you’ll also need to be out on deck to marvel at the scenery and spot any passing whales, polar bears, narwhals, seals and seabirds.
And after all that, you’ll need to go home for a holiday! 
