Back in September last year we thought we had all of our summer travel plans in place for 2026. No need to add anything to a very busy schedule.

Then Cape Spear happened.

We were at the Cape Spear Lighthouse, and it ended up costing us a lot of money.

We were on the Seabourn Sojourn and in St John’s for the day. Usually, we like exploring ports on foot, but the weather was cold and rainy so we thought the shelter of the hop on hop off bus would be just the thing. It was not a bus as it turned out, more like a large van, and the large pink sign on the side which failed to identify it as the hop on hop off bus, but we had our tickets so off we went.

We had failed to hop off or on at any of the stops, but despite the freezing cold weather (for which we were totally inadequately clothed) we felt we had to hop off at Cape Spear. I mean it is the eastern most point of the Americas. We couldn’t resist seeing it.

We saw it, got drenched and frozen, but luckily found that there was a little coffee shop there, so we took refuge with a coffee and a hot chocolate in hand.

The only other person crazy enough to be there and risk getting blown away out to sea was a woman who had just disembarked from the Seabourn Venture. She had sailed through the Northwest Passage from Nome to St Johns. She couldn’t stop talking about the amazing experience she had had. The polar bears, and narwhals in particular. It sounded fabulous. Something we had to do one day in the future. Then she said that 2026 was the last time Seabourn would be sailing through the Northwest Passage, and that the cruise was completely sold out.

When we had boarded the bus/van this morning the Northwest Passage was the farthest thing from my mind, but by the time we had returned to the ship I was convinced we had to do this even though we had the July Queen Mary 2 voyage booked, and we were going to Zimbabwe in September for our 50^th university reunion. That was more than enough time away.

Back on board I went straight to see Ryan, the future cruise salesperson, and although the cruise was basically fully booked, he was able to find one cabin for us. So, suddenly, I had paid the deposit, and we were all set to go. It was a ridiculously expensive cruise, but then expedition cruises tend not to come cheap.

I could have found a Russian icebreaker to go on for the trip, but that just didn’t appeal. Unfortunately, I am just too set in my ways for Russian icebreakers, I have become very used to bubble baths and hot tubs when the weather turns nasty. So the Venture it is!

This will be our first experience on a Seabourn expedition ship, and I am looking forward to comparing it with their regular cruise ships, and the Silver Cloud on which we sailed to Antarctica several years ago.

So here we are- all set to explore the Northwest Passage – and hopefully see polar bears and a puffin or two. Yay!