Arctic cruises: how to choose between Svalbard, Greenland, Canada and the North Pole

Choosing an Arctic cruise starts with the region, not the ship. We have priced about 80 expedition voyages for 2027 from 18 companies, and they fall into five groups: Svalbard round trips, Greenland, Arctic Canada and the Northwest Passage, one-way voyages that join Svalbard to Norway, Jan Mayen, Iceland or Greenland, and the North Pole. The groups differ in length, price per day, season and how likely you are to see a polar bear. Pick the region that fits those four, then the ship and line that sail it best.

Which Arctic cruise should you choose?

The one whose region matches what you want to see. This table sums up the 2027 voyages we have priced, using the lowest fare open to book on each when read on October 14 or 15, 2026, per person; some of the cheapest are shared triple or quad cabins, and the per-day ranges are our arithmetic:

Svalbard gives the most choice and the shortest trips. Greenland adds icebergs and Inuit towns, Arctic Canada the longest voyages and the history of the Northwest Passage, and the North Pole the highest price by far. Our guides to Svalbard cruises, Greenland cruises, Northwest Passage cruises and North Pole cruises list every departure in each.

How much does an Arctic cruise cost?

Most 2027 voyages in our data cost about $800 to $1,300 per person per day, so roughly $7,000 to $16,000 for a 9 to 12 day trip, before any flights the fare leaves out (our arithmetic from the voyage data). HX's 11-day Circumnavigating Spitsbergen, $9,306 with Oslo flights, is typical at $846 a day.¹⁶ The extremes are far apart:

What the fare includes closes or widens the gap. HX folds economy flights between Oslo and Longyearbyen into its Svalbard fares, Quark's Svalbard prices include charter flights from Helsinki and airport hotel nights, and Oceanwide excludes "any airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights".¹⁶¹⁹³ Oceanwide's lowest prices are also single berths in three- or four-berth cabins. To set this against the other end of the earth, see how much an Antarctica trip costs.

Which month is the best for an Arctic cruise?

July and August for most people: that is when the most voyages sail and when sea ice is far enough back for ships to try to circle Svalbard or push into the Canadian Arctic. Each month suits a different trip:

• April and May: Svalbard while Barents Sea ice is near its usual April maximum. Lindblad's first Svalbard round trip leaves April 23, and the midnight sun starts in Longyearbyen about April 19.²⁰²¹²²
• June: the widest choice of Svalbard voyages, and the first Greenland departures from Iceland and Kangerlussuaq.
• July and August: the circumnavigations. Oceanwide rates its chance of getting all the way around Spitsbergen at about 30% in the first half of July and 95% in the second half of August.³ Most Northwest Passage voyages sail in July and August.
• September: Greenland and the last Northwest Passage voyages. The midnight sun ends in Longyearbyen after August 23, and two September voyages are sold on the northern lights: Aurora's 11-day Iceland and East Greenland trip on Douglas Mawson, September 8, from $13,596 in a triple, and Swan Hellenic's 8-day Greenland voyage on SH Vega, also September 8, from $9,000.²²²³²⁴

For polar bears on land rather than from a ship, Travel Manitoba gives October and November as peak season in Churchill; see our polar bear tours guide.²⁵

Which ship and line should you pick for Svalbard?

HX for most first-timers, Oceanwide for the lowest price. HX's three Svalbard itineraries sail on MS Spitsbergen, and one also on MS Fram, with Oslo flights in the fare, and its 14-day Circumnavigating Svalbard, at $11,662, costs less per day than most shorter trips.¹⁷¹⁶ Oceanwide sails Svalbard on Hondius, Plancius, Ortelius and Rembrandt van Rijn, a schooner for 33 passengers, with round trips from $3,250 for 6 days in a shared quad.¹²⁶

• Best for bears and ice: a circumnavigation in late July or August, with HX, Oceanwide's Around Spitsbergen voyages, or Poseidon's 14-day trip to Kvitøya on Sea Spirit from July 7, from $14,795 in a triple.²⁷
• Best with flights and hotels arranged: Quark, on Ultramarine or Ocean Explorer, with charter flights from Helsinki. Ultramarine's two helicopters do not fly on its Svalbard and Spitsbergen voyages.¹⁹²⁸
• Best for suites: Silversea or Scenic's Scenic Eclipse, at $1,330 to $2,150 a day.²⁹²
• Not for: travelers who need certainty. Every circumnavigation depends on the ice, and ships carrying more than 200 passengers may not enter Svalbard's protected areas.¹⁷³⁰

Which ship and line should you pick for Greenland?

Oceanwide for Scoresby Sund on a budget, Lindblad for a short East Greenland trip from Reykjavík, and Swan Hellenic or Atlas to go farthest north. Oceanwide's 10-day East Greenland voyage on Plancius explores what it calls "the largest fjord system on Earth", from $6,250 in a shared quad.⁵ Lindblad's 8-day Arctic Edges on National Geographic Explorer crosses from Reykjavík to the coast of East Greenland, from $7,400 with no flights.³¹

If a polar bear matters, look east. Visit Greenland says bears are found most often in North and Northeast Greenland, travel the whole east coast, and are "extremely rare on the west coast from Upernavik and down to Paamiut".⁷ The west coast voyages to Ilulissat and Disko Bay are for icebergs and towns instead: Swan Hellenic promises "thousands of colossal icebergs" from the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier.²⁴ Polar Latitudes' 7-day round trip from Kangerlussuaq on Ocean Victory is $7,347, plus a mandatory $1,300 package of flights between Copenhagen and Kangerlussuaq.³²³³ Swan Hellenic's 13-day Deep Greenland on SH Vega goes on to Thule, then Qaanaaq and Siorapaluk, which it places among the northernmost permanently inhabited places on Earth, from $14,575 with charter flights from Reykjavík.³⁴ Atlas's 16-day Thule and Beyond, a Nuuk round trip on World Navigator, also calls at Qaanaaq, from $17,710.³⁵

• Best with suites: Seabourn's 14-day Reykjavík round trip on Seabourn Venture, $17,498 including taxes, or Scenic Eclipse's 12-day East Greenland voyage from $16,781.³⁶⁶
• Not for: travelers set on a bear sighting who have booked a West Greenland itinerary.

Which ship and line should you pick for Arctic Canada?

HX for a full Northwest Passage transit, Adventure Canada for the central passage on a budget, and Lindblad or Atlas for Baffin Island and Hudson Bay. HX sails the passage in both directions in August 2027, on Fridtjof Nansen from $25,840 and Roald Amundsen from $27,118, with flights at both ends included.¹⁸³⁷ Adventure Canada's 17-day voyages on Ocean Victory between Kangerlussuaq and Kugluktuk start at $13,297 in a triple or $15,747 in a double, with 30% off until November 26, 2026.⁸

For the eastern Canadian Arctic without the passage, Lindblad's 13-day Baffin Island voyage on National Geographic Resolution had Category 2 cabins open at $15,650, and Atlas's World Navigator sails from Nuuk to Churchill through the Hudson Strait and Hudson Bay, 17 days from $19,399.⁹³⁸ Viking's 13-day round trips from Nuuk on Viking Octantis start at $17,199 for the cheapest stateroom listed (Viking's headline fare is $16,999), in a Fall Sale that ends October 31, 2026, plus $1,999 for flights from US gateways, and Viking takes no one under 18.³⁹⁴⁰

• Not for: anyone on a fixed schedule. HX sells both of its transits as an "Attempt", with an adapted itinerary if ice does not allow the planned route.¹⁸³⁷

Which ship and line should you pick for a Jan Mayen or Iceland crossing?

Oceanwide for the price, Poseidon or Aurora to see Greenland too. These one-way voyages join Svalbard to Norway, Iceland or East Greenland, and many stop at Jan Mayen. Oceanwide's spring crossing from Aberdeen on Hondius, a birding voyage by Fair Isle and Jan Mayen, is the cheapest Arctic trip in our data at $330 a day.¹¹ Aurora gives Jan Mayen's Beerenberg as 7,470 ft (2,277 m) high and calls it the northernmost active volcano in the world.⁴¹

Poseidon's 14-day Arctic Odyssey sails between Longyearbyen and Reykjavík on Sea Spirit from $13,356, with 20% off most cabins for bookings by November 30, 2026.⁴² Aurora's 16-day Northern Lights Explorer runs from Tromsø by Jan Mayen and Scoresby Sund to Reykjavík, from $13,842 in a triple.⁴¹

• Best for: travelers who want Svalbard and Greenland on one trip.
• Not for: travelers short on time; these routes include full days at sea, such as Aurora's crossing to Jan Mayen.⁴¹

Which ship goes to the North Pole?

Only Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot among Western lines in 2027. Its 13-day round trips from Longyearbyen start at $44,370, and the 18-day voyages that add East Greenland run $54,980 to $67,730.¹⁵¹³¹⁴ Most of the days go to sailing through the sea ice to 90°N and back, so you are paying for the latitude more than the wildlife. Our North Pole cruises guide compares the six departures and cheaper ways to get close.

Can you see the Arctic on a regular cruise ship?

Yes, from Norway's coast. Hurtigruten's Svalbard Line sails 15 days from Bergen to Longyearbyen and back from $5,349, about $357 a day, and says polar bear "sightings on our trips are very rare".⁴³ In Svalbard, ships with more than 200 passengers may not enter the marine areas of the national parks, nature reserves and bird reserves.³⁰ If wildlife and landings are the point, choose an expedition ship; our guide to small vs large expedition ships explains the trade-offs.

What is the best Arctic expedition cruise?

For a first Arctic trip, a 10 to 14 day Svalbard circumnavigation in August; for history, the Northwest Passage; for icebergs and Inuit towns, Greenland. Our picks:

Deciding between the two ends of the earth? Read this alongside how to choose an Antarctica cruise.