New Cruises to the Russian Arctic

In 2019, Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic has scheduled fascinating new cruises to the Russian Arctic. The voyages will be aboard the 102-passenger National Geographic Orion, a state-of-the-art expedition ship equipped with 14 Zodiacs (including one with a glass bottom), as well as a remotely operated vehicle. Departing on June 18 and July 21, the 22-day “Across the Bering Sea: From Katmai to Kamchatka” will cover more than 3,800 nautical miles.

Travelers can expect to see coastal brown bears, Pacific walrus, northern fur seals, a variety of whales, sea otters and Steller’s sea eagles. The 13-day “Exploring Russia’s Far East & Wrangel Island,” departing August 11 and 23, will venture well above the Arctic Circle to Wrangel Island Reserve, located between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, spending several days in a pristine landscape that is home to the world’s highest density of ancestral polar bear dens. Wrangel Island is also thought to have been the last place on earth where mammoths survived.