Iceland circumnavigation cruise

Planet

On this exciting expedition you will discover one of the most beautiful environments in the world, visiting enchanting areas and learning all about the country’s culture, nature, people and history. This remote volcanic island is rich in landscape and wildlife diversity, and as organisers of this tour we place the utmost importance on ensuring that these fragile lands are protected and that travel to the area is carried out in a responsible and conscientious manner. One of the many ways in which we can do this is to strictly only use operators whose environmental mantras are as stringent as our own. The operators of this tour are completely committed to their sustainable practices both onboard and ashore.

Onboard practices in place include, but are not limited to, solely using eco-friendly and biodegradable cleaning, hygiene and washing agents in all cleaning and maintenance practices onboard the ship. Toiletries provided for guests including shampoos and shower gels are all also biodegradable. One of the most important factors onboard are the stringent recycling and waste management practices in place. All onboard waste is sorted and recycled wherever possible and the use of plastic and disposable items such as plastic stirrers and straws is either absolutely limited or avoided completely by the use of environmentally friendly alternatives made of paper or other biodegradable raw materials. What’s more, in at attempt to eliminate plastic use, all guests are provided with high-quality refillable water bottles that can be used throughout their trip, massively limiting plastic use and plastic waste. Packed lunches that are provided for daytime excursions can also be made up by each individual guest, reducing the likelihood of wasted food as compared to staff assuming what a guest will eat. Throughout your expedition your experienced crew and expedition team will offer advice on traveling in an environmentally conscious manner, including responsible recycling and waste reduction, and as part of our commitment to you we can provide information on this in your electronically delivered pre-departure information.

In a further example of the operator’s commitment to traveling in an environmentally responsible manner, the fuel used on the ship for your Iceland cruise will have been pre-treated with a special fuel oil treatment that reduces emissions and coke. Heavy fuel oil is completely avoided by the use of marine gas oil (MGO) which has less than 0.1% sulphur (Low Sulphur Marine Gasoil: LS-MGO).

As well as endeavouring to protect the pristine environments of Iceland, a huge emphasis is also placed on protecting the wildlife and birdlife that resides in this beautiful country. Before departure you will be provided with guidance on appropriate behaviour around any wildlife that you may encounter on your trip, including safe distances to keep and ensuring not to encroach on habitats or disturb the animals.

Your onboard experts will also continuously offer guidance on how to behave around the wildlife and will ensure that the strict safe distances are kept. They will also provide advice on conservation charities and efforts that they support and how you too can support these worthwhile causes. As a company we support numerous wildlife and conservation charities across the globe including Birdfair, Africat, the Dian Fossey Foundation, the South Georgia Habitat Restoration Project, How Many Elephants and much, much more. We feel that by giving to these charities in both a financial, marketing and logistically supportive manner we can help the fight to ensure the ongoing survival of the world’s endangered animal populations. We find that the vast majority of our customers return from Polar wildlife adventures with a renewed sense of understanding of the plights facing the wildlife and birdlife that they will have encountered on their trip. This renewed sense of understanding usually results in a high uptake of support for the wildlife charities that we support and promote, along with those supported by the operators.

People

As a company we are proud of the values that our community can always depend on. We prioritise using local guides and operators who know and love their regions and are dedicated to showcasing these lands to customers from around the world. By using local providers we can offer the most up-to-date advice on visiting the particular countries and areas, including information on traditions, cultures and appropriate behaviour at cultural sites. This advice will be offered in your pre-departure information along with recommended locally-owned accommodations, bars, restaurants and shops that you may which to avail of before and after your cruise.

The operators of your tour are a dedicated Icelandic travel team and so their knowledge of this remarkable country and its communities is unrivalled. This means that the information you receive will be completely up-to-date and will go hand-in-hand with their Icelandic Sustainable Travel policies. They are Vakinn Eco-Certified Partners and place a great emphasis on supporting the country and its residents. As well as bringing valuable tourism revenue to the country they support the local economy, whilst also reducing transport emissions, by buying approximately 80% of the food that is used on board from regional Icelandic traders. They also only use fish and seafood products that are officially MSC-certified, which in turn helps the local fishing practices by ensuring the local fish stocks are preserved.

Throughout your trip your experienced, knowledgeable and predominantly local expedition team will share with you the history, cultures and traditions of Iceland and its many remote communities. You will stop at some seldom-visited areas to gain an insight into the way of life here and at each stop there will be local excursions and activities offered. These locally operated activities mean that the smaller communities can benefit from the tourist income that is often confined to the larger cities such as the capital Reykjavik. Advice on interactions with locals and respecting cultural sites will be given throughout the cruise.

As a company we support numerous charities both at home and overseas including sponsorship of individual and underprivileged children in many countries.