Greenland & Canada

A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture and fashion, and entertainment. The city consists of five boroughs and an intricate patchwork of neighborhoods. Some of these include Lower Manhattan and the New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park and South Street Seaport, Chinatown, trendy SoHo and Greenwich Village, along with Little Italy, the flat Iron District and Gramercy Park. Famous Central Park covers 843 acres of paths, ponds, lakes and green space within the asphalt jungle. Many districts and landmarks have become well-known to outsiders. Nearly 170 languages are spoken in the city and over 35% of its population was born outside the United States.

The capital of Nova Scotia and the largest city in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces, Halifax was once Great Britain’s major military bastion in North America. The beautifully restored waterfront buildings of Halifax’s Historic Properties recall the city’s centuries-old maritime heritage. Stroll the waterfront, and you may find Nova Scotia’s floating ambassador, the schooner Bluenose II, tied up to Privateer’s Wharf, just as old sailing ships have done for over 200 years. Halifax is also the gateway to Nova Scotia’s stunning scenery, including famous Peggy’s Cove, where surf-pounded granite cliffs and a solitary lighthouse create an unsurpassed scene of rugged natural beauty.

Cape Breton is fabled as a magical travel destination and the Port of Sydney is the gateway. Known for its beauty and unique Celtic music and culture, Sydney puts some of the Island’s greatest sights and attractions at your fingertips when you disembark into the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion.

The dockside pavilion offers an array of Shopping Boutiques, a Craft Market and the World’s Largest Fiddle. You will also find wireless Internet services, a Visitor Information Centre, and the Cape Breton Island Exhibition Centre featuring artifacts, images and an overview of the rich culture and heritage of this historic Island. Or you can simply sit and savour our local seafood cuisine at the Range Light Cafe, or enjoy a glass of wine on our second level balcony.

The city of Sydney has a deep history and was originally founded in 1785 by British Loyalists fleeing the perils of the American Revolution. The rich natural resources led these new settlers to establish prosperous coal and steel industries, which attracted immigrants from a myriad of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. To this day, Sydney remains a haven of multiculturalism.

The Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion is just a short drive from the community of Baddeck and the breathtaking Bras d’Or Lake where Alexander Graham Bell lived, worked and studied. On the east coast of Cape Breton lies the largest historic reconstruction in North America, the Fortress of Louisbourg. The Fortress is a Parks Canada National Historic Site and is described as a Williamsburg-style attraction that is not to be missed.

As Canada’s most easterly province, the island of Newfoundland is situated on the North Atlantic, with St. John’s as its provincial capital. The city of St. John’s is on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, and is the oldest city in North America. It has always been a busy fishing port with a good natural harbor bounded by hills. Its history and cultural spirit show strong Irish and Scottish influences evident in its pubs and music. The surrounding land is rugged, with a dramatic coastline heavily indented with bays and inlets, which give way to an interior terrain of wild mountains, hills, lakes and rivers.

Nanortalik means “place of bears” in Greenlandic. Summer visitors to this extraordinary – and extraordinarily isolated – port may spot polar bears on the offshore flow ice. Those offshore waters also teem with seals and Minke, humpback and fin whales. Ashore, brightly painted wooden houses cluster to a rocky peninsula in the harbor. Dramatic boulders dot the landscape, and mountains surround the port. (Nanortalik is well known to the world’s elite rock climbers.) Ruined Viking farmsteads and ancient Inuit sites dot the surrounding countryside.

The port was founded 1797 as a Danish whaling station. Today, Nanortalik is a fishing port, and many people are traditional seal hunters.

If you’re a seasoned traveler with a taste for destinations untrammeled by modern tourism, Qaqortoq is the ultimate port of call. Qaqortoq means “White Palace” in Greenlandic, and this small town of about 3,400 is the cultural and commercial center of Southern Greenland. Inuit and then Europeans were drawn to the site over 200 years ago, they were lured by the wealth of marine mammals that thrive in the offshore waters during summer.

The climate is, at best, highly unpredictable. Summer temperatures normally compare to summer temperatures in Northern Europe, but weather is variable even in summer. In winter, Qaqortoq is frequently isolated by winter sea ice and accessible only by airplane or helicopter. The harsh landscape and harsher climate have helped preserve traditional Greenlandic culture – the centuries-old Inuit skills of hunting, kayaking, and fishing are still revered in this unique place.

Organized shore excursions for Qaqortoq may not available on select voyages, but the town is easy to explore on your own. The ship’s launches drop you off at the pier, providing you with the opportunity to stroll the streets, visit the small local museum, talk to the local residents, buy a souvenir stamp at the Post Office and perhaps purchase an Inuit handicraft as a remembrance of your visit to one of the unique communities on the planet.

Note: Your ship anchors at Qaqortoq and passengers are transferred to shore via ship’s launches, weather conditions permitting.

Although Greenland is the world’s largest island, it remains relatively unknown to most people. Only about 15 percent of Greenland is NOT frozen year-round. Although city’s are a relatively new concept for Greenlanders, Nuuk is the island’s capital and largest city, at about 16,000 people. It lies on a peninsula along the central west coast and is the key to an extensive system of fjords. Like most places in Greenland, it displays a magnificent vista of mountains and valleys. Nuuk’s formal history generally dates from 1728, when a Lutheran missionary Hans Egede, came from Denmark to join 12 Greenlandic families in this place, which was then called Godthåb. He built a trading post, a Lutheran mission, and opened the doors to slow, but steady integration between Inuit and European people.

Organized shore excursions are not available, but the town is easy to explore on your own. The ship’s launches drop you off at the pier, providing you with the opportunity to stroll the streets, talk to the local residents, buy a souvenir stamp at the Post Office and perhaps purchase an Inuit handicraft as a remembrance of your visit to one of the unique communities on the planet.

A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture and fashion, and entertainment. The city consists of five boroughs and an intricate patchwork of neighborhoods. Some of these include Lower Manhattan and the New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park and South Street Seaport, Chinatown, trendy SoHo and Greenwich Village, along with Little Italy, the flat Iron District and Gramercy Park. Famous Central Park covers 843 acres of paths, ponds, lakes and green space within the asphalt jungle. Many districts and landmarks have become well-known to outsiders. Nearly 170 languages are spoken in the city and over 35% of its population was born outside the United States.