🧭 My Arctic Cruise Adventure on Silversea’s “Silver Endeavour”
Luxury, Ice, Wildlife & One Very Cool Birthday!! 🤩
✈️ Why I Always Arrive Early
Things kicked off with a classic travel hiccup—my flight out of Vancouver left two hours late, which cut my Zurich layover down to just 30 minutes. Could’ve been a nightmare… but it wasn’t.
Why?
Because I follow my own advice. 😉
I always arrive at my cruise departure city at least a day early… and, as I talk about here & here, I recommend the same to all my clients.
On this trip, I had a full two days in Oslo, which gave me plenty of buffer.
No panic, no missed connections—just peace of mind!
Oslo in a Nutshell
- I had a full day to explore Oslo before heading north to Svalbard. Oslo doesn’t top my list of Norway’s best cities, but it was still worth a stroll.
Top picks:
- Vigeland Sculpture Park
- Exploring Grünerløkka
- Quick bites along the waterfront – Mathallen Oslo
In my opinion, one day in Oslo is plenty to see the highlights before your cruise. Spend your extra time elsewhere in Norway—or in the Arctic, like we did.
Check out some of the Oslo highlights I experienced:
Silversea Starts the Experience Early
Silversea, who is one of the cruise lines in the “Small Ship/Luxury/All-Inclusive” categories of cruise lines (learn about the different types of cruises here) knows how to set the tone!
We stayed in a hotel near the airport the day before our charter flight to Svalbard… reason being, to help get over the jetlag but more importantly, to allow a little extra leeway for potential flight or bag delays before flying North to the middle of nowhere!
This extra night before the inter-Norway flight definitely made the transition to Longyearbyen effortless as…
…the next morning at check-out our bags were taken straight to the ship without us having to touch them at the airport…
…and the airport gate area had waffles, coffee, salmon wraps, and branded signage—it felt more like a luxury lounge than a boarding gate… perfect to make our way to our Luxurious Cruise! 💯😀
Even on the charter flight, Silversea details stood out: branded seatbacks, upscale lunch menus, and attentive service that started well before we boarded the ship.
As I talk about here, Silversea is known for this Excellent type of service throughout their whole fleet!
Time to Board “Silver Endeavour”! 🤩
Stepping onboard Silver Endeavour, all guests were greeted with champagne 🥂, caviar, and that signature Silversea scent.
And since it was my Birthday the day we boarded, I had a birthday surprise 🎉 as my suite was decorated with balloons and had a cake & Champagne waiting for my arrival—a thoughtful, classy touch that speaks to Silversea’s impeccable hospitality! 😃
Below is a peek at my “Premium Veranda Suite” that I stayed in… as I talk about in that video, “Classic Veranda Suites”, “Superior Veranda Suites” & “Deluxe Veranda Suites” are all identical to my room, the only difference is your locaton which determines the name & “Category” of your Suite:
Normally when I Cruise I take videos of a lot of the different rooms onboard but at the end of this sailing I had an early flight to catch for my next Cruise (As I talk about here, I did 3 “Back to back to back” sailings during this trip, a GREAT way to travel if you’ve never tried it!!) so I didn’t get a chance to capture lots of videos as I typically do on my final morning.
With that said, I did manage to capture one more room…
…FYI, the room I stayed in was 355 square feet… and that was the most basic onboard so a way above average size for a Cruise!!
The bigger options were the “Silver”, “Signature”, “Master”, “Grand” & “Owner’s” Suites that ranged between 535-1,868 square feet.
Here’s what the “Signature Suites” (Around 700 square feet) look like:
Getting Expedition Ready
If you’re not sure what “Expedition” means compared to a normal Ocean Cruise, then it’s going to be hard for you to get “Expedition Ready”! 😉
So, if you’re not familiar with what Expedition Cruising is all about, then watch this video which explains the difference!
:
After a smooth check-in, we received our expedition jackets, backpacks, and water bottles. Later that day, we had the mandatory briefing—but unlike your standard muster drill, this one was packed with personality.
We learned how to dress for polar weather 🧤, navigate the zodiacs and even got a crash course in polar bear safety.
Speaking of zodiacs, if you’ve ever worried about getting on and off these things, this video shows you why you have nothing to worry about! 😃
🧊 Zodiacs, Wildlife & Ice Walls
Over the next couple days, we cruised through broken sea ice, got stuck a few times (which added to the adventure!), and spotted walruses, seabirds, and one massive ice wall that looked like a frozen fortress.
Insider tip: Arctic summers can still be bitter cold. I underestimated it—Antarctica actually felt warmer on some days! Come prepared with a good toque, gloves, and neck warmer. With that said, as we went South towards Iceland, it warmed up a lot so make sure to layer to be prepared for lots of different temperatures!
🛶 Kayaking + Polar Plunge = Unforgettable
One morning, we kayaked near a thunderously active glacier—just surreal.
Note: Only 12 guests go kayaking per outing via lottery but everyone who was interested was able to get out at least once.
Later that day? The polar plunge! 🧊🎉 Music, butlers, cocktails, laughter, and freezing cold water. It was as fun as it was freezing. 😃
Overall, it was scenic, serene & lots of fun during our time in “The Arctic” with Silversea Cruises on their Expedition Ship… “Silver Endeavour”!!
Here are some of the Highlights of Svalbard that we experienced during our Journey:
Rare Landing on Jan Mayen Island — A Bucket List Arctic Destination
We made an extremely rare landing at Jan Mayen—a remote volcanic island between Svalbard and Iceland… our expedition leader has only landed there 5 times out of 27 attempts!
Imagine a blend of Iceland, Hawaii, and Newfoundland—that’s the vibe here. Only about 500 people per year make it to the island!
Jan Mayen video:
🛳️ Life Onboard: Where Luxury Meets Adventure
“Silver Endeavour” is a purpose-built polar ship with thoughtful luxury touches:
• EVERY room onboard has a private Veranda & the smallest rooms are 355 square feet… well above the average room size on a Cruise Ship!
• Spacious Mud Room with personal lockers for your Expedition landings
• Free laundry room onboard
• 1:1 staff-to-guest ratio
• Most dining choices of any expedition ship.
Speaking of dining, this food video shows you all the yummy Culinary options onboard:
FYI, Silversea matches your “Celebrity” Cruises & “Royal Caribbean” Cruises loyalty tiers so if you have high status with them, let me know when I’m booking your Silversea Cruise for you so I can make sure you get all the “perks” you’re entitled to! 😃
❄️ Arctic vs. Antarctica: Which Should You Choose?
This Arctic Expedition Cruise reminded me a lot of my Antarctica Expedition Cruise with Tauck that you can check out here.
In my opinion, Antarctica is more remote and pristine & has more wildlife to see while the Arctic offers more variety in scenery and is much easier to get to.
I’m Happy to help you choose between the two, or like me & many of my clients, you can do both! 😉
✨ Final Thoughts
This trip had everything: glaciers, whales, zodiacs, champagne, a birthday surprise, and even a polar plunge!
On top of that, our journey was pure luxury so if you’ve ever considered visiting this region, “Silver Endeavour” might just be the perfect ship for you to sail there on! 😃
Check out my experience onboard Silversea’s “Silver Endeavour” in this video:
FYI, after visiting Svalbard & Jan Mayen onboard “Silver Endeavour”, we spent the better part of the next week checking out Iceland… as you’ll see in the below video, that was an awesome Journey as well!!
If you’re dreaming of something extraordinary, whether it’s the Arctic, Antarctica, a River Cruise, a Tauck Land Tour or beyond…
…contact me and let’s make it happen—and do it in style! 🤩
I Appreciate You!
Shawn Power
Your Trusted Cruise & Tauck Tour Expert!