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Towering over Seward, yet still dwarfed by the mountains, sat the Crystal Serenity, a luxury unmatched at sea. The ship was packed with food, supplies and the luggage for its roughly 1,700 passengers, ready to begin their historic adventure through the Arctic on Tuesday.
The all-inclusive cruise will take 32 days to sail from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean via the Northwest Passage, a first for any large cruise ship.
“Every aspect of this voyage is literally unparalleled in the luxury cruise industry, and nearly the entire travel industry as well,” says Crystal president, Edie Rodriguez.
“It is a tremendous undertaking to embark on such a historic journey, but also an honour for us to be able to offer the world’s most discerning travellers the opportunity to experience a region of the world that so few others have or ever will.”
The voyage has not been without controversy, however, with environmental groups arguing the damage caused by large vessels passing through the Arctic will destroy the environment guests have come to see.
Throughout the voyage, which will conclude in New York City on September 16th, Crystal Serenity will sail with additional crew, training and equipment in consideration of the unique operating conditions in the far north.
Two veteran Canadian ice pilots will be on board to advise the master of Crystal Serenity, captain Birger Vorland and his bridge team.
Earlier this year, the Captain and ice pilots attended an ice navigation simulator training in St John’s Newfoundland, and during a routine scheduled dry-dock in May, Crystal Serenity was outfitted with two ice searchlights, forward looking sonar, a thermal imaging camera and software to improve the ability to pick up small contacts on the radar such as small amounts of ice.
In addition, Crystal Serenity will be receiving constant ice condition updates form Canadian Ice Services that can be overlaid on its electronic navigation systems.
This technology is not typically found on cruise ships and represents the best possible preventive measures to detect any unforeseen anomalies along the ship’s path.
Agencies/Canadajournal
