August 22^nd, 2026

Northwest Passage

We had another early morning, but this was for a good cause. One of the benefits of being a Seabourn Club member is that you can get a free 25 minute massage. This may not seem like a long time – I usually like a 90 minute one, but 25 minutes actually works out well, and it is an excellent start to the day. With all of this getting in and out of Zodiacs, sometimes you just need a little bit of relaxation.

I spent the morning in the Constellation Lounge watching us make our way through the sea ice.

We looked out at the ice floes and tried to predict which course through the ice our captains would choose for our passage. We weren’t always correct, but it was fun watching us weave through the ice.

Great excitement in the afternoon! We get to do another Zodiac ride through the ice and when we all return, there will be a polar plunge.

We bundled up, it was really cold out there and off we went. The fog was closing in and quite soon after we left the ship and looked back, the ship was barely visible, but we could see the beam of the fog light. Hopefully this will help us find it again.

It is quite eerie passing through the ice in thick fog.

The sun did make an attempt at an appearance.

We sat in the Zodiac, surrounded by ice and turned the engine off. The total silence when the boat’s engine is turned off is magical. We just sat there in the boat, looking at the ice around us, the water was totally still, I was savoring the moment. What an incredible experience!

We saw some seals, but alas no polar bears. In a way I was quite happy about this. They would have been quite difficult to spot in the fog.

The fog came and went, one minute the visibility was fine, the next you couldn’t see a thing at all. All very weird, but when you could see the ice it was great.

The fog cleared a bit, and lo and behold there was an ice floe with what looked like the expedition team directing us to it.

We landed our Zodiac at the edge of the ice, and we all disembarked and walked around on the ice.

This was a first, I have never walked on an ice floe before. We did walk on ice in Door County, Wisconsin, but that ice was firmly attached to the shore, not out here in the Arctic.

We had a great time wandering around and exploring the ice floe, Brian was taking photos, we were both totally enjoying the experience.

All too soon in was time to get back in the Zodiac, the next group was coming..

Getting off the Zodiac was a breeze, getting back on again was a challenge. It looked easy if you were taller than 5 foot 4 inches, but if you were shorter, it was impossible to do it unaided. I was in luck. There was help, but I felt like a seal flapping around on its stomach as I made an ungraceful reentry.

Luckily there was a good supply of hot chocolate, so I soon got over the embarrassing display of a few minutes ago.

Back on the ship it was time to get ready for the polar plunge.

I do the polar plunge every New Years Day when we are in Mexico, the water is 70 degrees and as I don’t usually get in to water that is less than 85 degrees, it is quite the challenge. But I am up for it.

The polar plunge here is also quite the challenge. If you think about it the salty sea water around you has turned to ice. So the current water temperature was -4 degrees Celsius, which is about 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Now that’s cold. But once you get below 70 degrees I’m not sure it really matters.

The polar plunge is very well organized. You change into your swimsuit and bathrobe and go down to the mud room. This has miraculously been turned into a bar. Here there is a polar bear (Olivia) plying you with alcohol shots.

Then you must take off your robe. You are already feeling a bit chilly. They place a cold wet buoyancy belt around your waist, and you go down the stairs to the landing zone where there is a Zodiac tied up to the ship. You stand shivering there watching those intrepid plungers  in front of you leap from the side of the Zodiac, and before you know it it’s your turn. You can’t say this was all a big mistake and you would rather go back to your cabin and eat caviar at this stage. That would be seen as a failure I am sure.

So I stood on the edge of the Zodiac, I was now attached to the Zodiac by a rope hooked on to the buoyancy belt – to drag me out of the water should I not resurface after my jump? I help my nose, and to the background music of Van Halen’s jump, I did just that.

It was amazing. I opened my eyes while underwater, but I really couldn’t see much, but I was so excited.

I surfaced, my eyes stinging from the salt water, and being rather  myopic I could only vaguely see the stairs they had placed on the side of the Zodiac. I doggy paddled my way over there, hauled myself up the stairs, and was greeted with a warm towel and a mug of hot chocolate.

I went back to the cabin where, thanks to Brian, there was a warm bubble bath awaiting my return. Good man.

I soaked in the warm bubbles for a while, tried to get the salt out of my hair (not easy in a bubble bath) and headed up to the Constellation Lounge where Brian had a glass of champagne waiting for me, and the dance party was in full swing.

The previous dance party which had been held at 9:15PM really hadn’t been a great success. So Olivia, thinking out of the box, decided to hold one at 5:30. This turned out to be an excellent idea. The Constellation Lounge was packed, the music was playing, people were dancing. It was a huge success.

Olivia, Charlie (the guitarist), Barry and Merle (the singing duo), and Jim (from Wendy and Jim) had put together a band, which they named A Band on Ship. Hopefully we will not need to abandon ship, there is still a lot of ice out there.

We had predinner drinks by the fire in the Expedition Lounge. It had been a really wonderful day. Tomorrow we will be out of the ice fields, no more Zodiac rides. I really think that the last 2 days have been the best 2 days of the cruise. Every day since we boarded in Greenland has brought amazing experiences, it is all so fantastic, but these 2 days have been something extra special. I am just so lucky.