How do you choose a Greenland cruise? Routes, ships and 2027 fares

Greenland cruises come in two kinds. Expedition ships build whole voyages around Greenland's fjords, icebergs and small settlements, landing by boat; big cruise ships crossing the Atlantic usually make only one or two stops, most often at Qaqortoq, Nanortalik or Nuuk.¹ This guide compares 40 expedition voyages for 2027 that call in Greenland and have published fares, from 18 operators, and four big-ship cruises, all read on October 15, 2026. Fares are per person, two sharing unless we say otherwise, in the operator's own currency; the per-day figure is our division of the lowest published fare by the number of days the operator lists, before compulsory extras.

For the country itself, see our Greenland guide; for the whole region, Arctic cruises.

Greenland cruises at a glance

Expedition voyages fall into six routes; the cheapest per day are the long Svalbard to Iceland crossings and Oceanwide's East Greenland trip from Akureyri, and big ships cost less again but stop only briefly.

How much does a Greenland cruise cost?

From $6,250 for a shared berth to $67,730 for Ponant's 18-day voyage to the North Pole and East Greenland, and by our count 26 of the 40 expedition voyages cost $900 to $1,400 a day per person, with a median of about $1,120.⁴¹² These are the ten lowest fares:

Read the fine print. Polar Latitudes adds a compulsory $1,300 flight package between Copenhagen and Kangerlussuaq, $8,647 in all, while Intrepid sells the same departures with those flights included.³¹³ Only one $7,400 cabin was open on Lindblad's July 24 departure when we read it.⁹ Some fares are sales with deadlines: Hapag-Lloyd's early-booking discount ends October 31, 2026, and Heritage's 20% off is for bookings made before October 30, 2026.¹⁸¹⁶

The luxury lines run from about $1,200 a day (Silversea's 14-day Reykjavik to Nuuk voyage on Silver Wind, $16,800) to $2,750 (Ponant's 17 days from Reykjavik to Svalbard, $46,750), and $3,763 on Ponant's North Pole voyage; Lindblad's 24-day Northwest Passage costs $63,500.^19201221 Compare what each fare covers:

• Flights: included by Swan Hellenic (Reykjavik charters), Intrepid (Copenhagen), HX (New York) and Atlas (charters to or from Toronto on its Canada routes); a compulsory extra with Polar Latitudes ($500 to $1,300); not included by Oceanwide, Lindblad, Scenic or Seabourn on their Iceland round trips.^{1413222334242526}
• Drinks and tips: included by Lindblad, Swan Hellenic, Silversea and HX; Hapag-Lloyd includes gratuities and selected soft drinks.^2714192218
• Cabin type: the cheapest fares are often berths in shared triples or quads. Oceanwide's twin is $9,150 against $6,250 for a quad berth, and Aurora's twin is $13,996 against $13,596 in a triple.⁵²⁸

Should you cruise East or West Greenland?

Choose the west for towns, Disko Bay's icebergs and short trips from Kangerlussuaq, and the east for Scoresby Sund, the national park and far fewer people. Visit Greenland says most expedition cruises go to East Greenland, while a number of dedicated Greenland cruises begin near the airport at Kangerlussuaq on the west coast.¹ Port counts show the difference: in 2025 Nuuk received 44,156 cruise passengers and Qaqortoq 46,327, against 5,634 at Ittoqqortoormiit, the town beside Scoresby Sund.²⁹³⁰

Which Greenland cruises go to Disko Bay and Ilulissat?

Most west-coast voyages: Visit Greenland says a cruise that starts in Kangerlussuaq will almost certainly head north to Disko Bay and Ilulissat.¹ The main 2027 options:

• Polar Latitudes, Disko Bay and Ilulissat (7 days, June and July). Kangerlussuaq round trip on Ocean Victory from $7,347 plus the $1,300 flights, or from $8,876 with flights through Intrepid.²¹³
• Swan Hellenic, Land of Northern Lights (8 days, September). By the Evigheds Glacier, Qeqertarsuaq, Uummannaq, Eqip Sermia, Ilulissat and Sisimiut, from $9,000 with Reykjavik charters.¹⁴
• Hapag-Lloyd, north-west Greenland (12 days, July). By Uummannaq, Disko Bay, the Icefjord and Sisimiut, from €11,290 with gratuities and a loaned parka and boots.¹⁵¹⁸
• Swan Hellenic, Deep Greenland (13 days, August). North to Thule, Siorapaluk and Qaanaaq, then south by Upernavik, Eqip Sermia and Ilulissat, from $14,575.³³
• Polar Latitudes, Greenland Explorer (12 days, June). Reykjavik to Kangerlussuaq from $12,746 plus a $650 flight package home to Copenhagen.³⁴³
• Hapag-Lloyd, Iceland and south-west Greenland (15 days, June). Around Iceland, then Prince Christian Sound, Nuuk, Disko Bay and the Icefjord, from €15,090 in a balcony cabin, the cheapest category left.¹⁵³⁵

Ilulissat counted 10,931 cruise passengers in 2025.²⁹ What to do ashore is in things to do in Greenland.

Which cruises go to Scoresby Sund and East Greenland?

Mostly round trips from Iceland, plus Svalbard crossings. Oceanwide's 10-day trip on Plancius from Akureyri, from $6,250, is built around long hikes, which it lists as free.⁴⁵ Lindblad's 8-day Arctic Edges spends two days on the East Greenland coast between Iceland's Westfjords and north coast, and warns that June ice may block the fjords.²⁴ Aurora Expeditions' Iceland and Greenland voyage on Douglas Mawson gives six days in East Greenland in September, from $13,596 in a triple, with a Reykjavik hotel night.²⁸

The luxury ships go farther in. Scenic's 12-day round trip from Reykjavik on Scenic Eclipse reaches Ittoqqortoormiit, Kong Oscar Fjord, Ella Island and Nordfjord in the national park, from $16,781, though Scenic lists its helicopters and submersible as not operating in Greenland.²⁵ Seabourn's 14-day round trip on Seabourn Venture, from $17,498, sails the south and southeast instead: Qaqortoq, Prince Christian Sound and Tasiilaq.²⁶ Atlas's Greenland Fjords Explorer links the two coasts, from Tasiilaq round Prince Christian Sound to the Uunartoq hot springs and Hvalsey, ending in Nuuk.⁶

Can you cruise from Iceland to Greenland?

Yes, and Iceland is the most common way in. By our count, 11 of the 40 voyages board their ship in Reykjavik or Akureyri, 6 more start in Reykjavik with a flight to a ship waiting in Greenland, as Swan Hellenic's and Quark Expeditions' do, and 8 sail from Svalbard or Norway to Iceland by East Greenland.¹⁴³⁶ The shortest round trips from Iceland are Lindblad's 8 days and Oceanwide's 10.²⁴⁴ One-way voyages from Reykjavik end in Nuuk (Atlas, 11 days; Silversea, 14 days with a charter flight back) or Kangerlussuaq (Polar Latitudes, 12 days; Hapag-Lloyd, 15 days).^6193735 There is no ferry between Iceland and Greenland, so outside a cruise you fly.³⁸

Which cruises combine Greenland and Svalbard?

Voyages between Longyearbyen and Reykjavik that cross the Greenland Sea, stopping in East Greenland and often Jan Mayen, in 12 to 17 days. G Adventures is cheapest at $9,099 for a triple berth over 15 days, without flights.⁷ Heritage Expeditions' 15 days include a charter from Paris to Longyearbyen and a hotel night, from $11,845.¹⁶ Atlas sails by Jan Mayen to Ittoqqortoormiit and Scoresby Sund in 12 days on World Voyager, from $12,699, and Poseidon Expeditions' 14 days on Sea Spirit cost from $13,356 with 20% off for bookings by November 30, 2026.³⁹⁴⁰ At the top end, Silversea's 17 days on Silver Endeavour start at $27,450 and Ponant's 17 days on Le Commandant Charcot at $46,750.⁴¹²⁰ For Svalbard itself, see Svalbard cruises.

Which cruises combine Iceland, Greenland and Canada?

Expedition voyages across Baffin Bay or the Davis Strait, from 13 days, and the big ships below. Lindblad's Fabled Lands of the North starts with a recommended group flight from Reykjavik to Nuuk, not included in the fare, then sails by Disko Bay and five days on Baffin Island to St. John's, Newfoundland, in 17 days, from $14,750.⁸⁹ Atlas runs four Greenland and Canada routes on World Navigator from $15,608, with a Toronto hotel night and charter flights, including Thule and Beyond, a Nuuk round trip to Qaanaaq and Pond Inlet.²³⁴² HX circles Baffin Bay in 19 days on Roald Amundsen from $17,928, with economy flights between New York and Nuuk.²²

The Northwest Passage voyages start or end in Greenland too. Viking's 13-day Into the Northwest Passage on Viking Octantis is the shortest, from $17,199 for the cheapest stateroom listed (Viking's headline fare is $16,999) in a Fall Sale that ends October 31, 2026, a Nuuk round trip by Ilulissat, Uummannaq, Pond Inlet and Sisimiut; flights from US gateways cost $1,999 more.¹⁰ Adventure Canada's 17-day voyage from Kangerlussuaq to Kugluktuk on August 25, 2027 costs less, $13,297 in a triple or $15,747 with two sharing, after a 30% saving that ends November 26, 2026; the charter flights are extra.⁵⁸ Full transits to or from Alaska run 24 to 29 days.⁴³²¹⁴⁴ See Northwest Passage cruises.

Which big cruise ships go to Greenland?

Celebrity, Oceania, Holland America and Viking all sail to Greenland in 2027, mostly on crossings between North America and Iceland or Europe that spend a day or two in South Greenland and try to sail Prince Christian Sound if icebergs do not block its mouth.¹ They are the cheapest way to see Greenland from a ship, at $226 to $867 a day on the 2027 sailings we priced, but you see one to three towns instead of the fjords and settlements that expedition ships reach.

All four fares include taxes and fees.^45481147 Celebrity's inside and ocean-view cabins were sold out, and the page's 75% off the second guest offer applied only to bookings made on October 15, 2026, the day we read it; Greenland is one tendered stop at Qaqortoq from 8:00 to 18:00, then a morning in Prince Christian Sound.⁴⁵⁴⁹ Oceania's promotional fare, against a $14,698 brochure fare, also covers gratuities, Wi-Fi and specialty dining but not flights, and its Fall Sale runs to November 3, 2026.⁴⁶⁴⁸ Viking includes one shore excursion in every port, Wi-Fi, and beer and wine with lunch and dinner; flights cost $1,299 more, its Fall Sale ends October 31, 2026, the same ships sail the route in reverse from New York, and Viking Vela carries 998 guests.⁴⁷⁵⁰ Holland America asks a $99 deposit and also sells a 21-day crossing from Amsterdam to Boston by Iceland's fjords and Greenland on Zuiderdam from August 14, from $4,739 inside.¹¹ Norwegian Cruise Line listed no Greenland port among its 811 itineraries when we searched.⁵¹

Big ships carry most of Greenland's cruise passengers. In 2025, 27 cruises on ships with room for more than 1,200 passengers brought 57,181 of the 93,897 people who cruised to Greenland, and the busiest ports were Qaqortoq, Nuuk, Paamiut and Nanortalik.⁵²⁵³ Expedition ships are far smaller: AECO says its members' vessels carry from under 12 to about 500 passengers, 200 on average, and that outside settlements no more than 100 passengers should be ashore in the same area at once.⁵⁴⁵⁵

When is the best time for a Greenland cruise?

July and August, when most ships sail, with September for northern lights and the most open East Greenland coast. Visit Greenland puts the cruise season at June to October and says most ships visit from mid-July to mid-August.¹ In 2025, 102,540 of Greenland's 213,674 port visits by cruise passengers came in August.²⁹ June brings the most light, with the sun up around the clock at Ilulissat from May 21 to July 23 in 2027, but more sea ice in the east; the East Greenland ice is at its minimum in August and September.⁵⁶²⁴³² September voyages such as Swan Hellenic's and Aurora's are timed for the first northern lights.¹⁴²⁸ Month by month weather is in Greenland weather by month.

Can you cruise to Greenland from the US?

Yes. Holland America sails a 35-day round trip from Boston, Celebrity leaves from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, and Viking sails between Reykjavik and New York in both directions.¹¹⁴⁵⁴⁷ Expedition voyages start with a flight: HX includes economy flights from New York to Nuuk on its Baffin Bay voyage, Viking sells flights from US gateways to its Nuuk round trip for $1,999, and Atlas flies guests from Toronto to Nuuk on a charter.²²¹⁰²³ Flying there on your own is covered in getting to Greenland; US citizens need no visa for stays under 90 days.⁵⁷

Which cruise line is best for Greenland?

None is best for every trip; the pick depends on what you want:

• Lowest price: Oceanwide to East Greenland from $6,250, or G Adventures from Svalbard at $607 a day.⁵⁷
• Shortest trip: Polar Latitudes' 7-day Disko Bay round trip, or the same departures with flights from Intrepid.³¹¹³
• Flights and drinks in one fare: Swan Hellenic from Kangerlussuaq, or HX from New York.¹⁴²²
• The far north: Swan Hellenic's Deep Greenland or Atlas's Thule and Beyond, both reaching Qaanaaq.³³⁴²
• Luxury: Seabourn, Silversea, Scenic and Ponant, from about $1,200 to $2,750 a day, more on Ponant's North Pole voyage.¹⁹²⁰
• A taste of Greenland on a bigger ship: Celebrity from New Jersey or Holland America from Boston, from $265 to $356 a day.⁴⁵¹¹

For more on ship sizes and lines, see Arctic cruises.