20260614 Sunday, June 14, 2026 - At sea from Norway to Svalbard
After several action-packed port days, we look forward to having a day at sea. The midnight sun does make it have an undesirable effect on circadian rhythms.
We had a light breakfast in Mamsen’s while birds rode the air currents at the bow of the ship, gliding effortlessly by the windows.
Black Footed Kittywake
Janet attended the morning lecture on Norway’s national identity while Ben got a workout and spa day in.
After lunch, our group got second place in trivia, being outscored by 1 point. It’s frustrating when everyone blocks on something like knowing Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb. We certainly should have had that answer since we had been to Egypt only a year ago.
The ship had a special culinary event at lunch featuring hearty soups (Bergen fish soup, Minestrone, Hungarian beef goulash) and 16 different types of cheesecake.
There were several lectures on Svalbard. Longyearbyen is the largest settlement in Svalbard, and the northernmost settlement in the world at 78º 13’N latitude.
Depending on how you define it, the polar bears outnumber the 2000 residents of Longyearbyen and Svalbard if you include the entire archipelago and surrounding sea ice and ice flows.
There is a law that you must carry a long rifle firearm to venture outside the city limits of Longyearbyen because of polar bears and on average, 3 polar bears get shot each year. But since polar bears are an endangered species, it is also illegal to shoot polar bears, so when possible, they try to avoid shooting the bears, using bear spray, flash bangs, and avoidance primarily. While they do have rifles available for rent, the permitting process to be approved for renting one takes about 2 months, so this has to be done well in advance of arriving in Svalbard. It is possible to hire guides who carry rifles if you want to wander outside the city limits.
Svalbard is home to an internationally important seed bank, which is buried in a former coal mine overlooking the airport. It is deeply embedded in permafrost such that even if the facility, which houses over 1,300,000 different crop seed varieties, loses power, it will maintain the seeds at close to 0ºF for preservation.
In the afternoon, Janet, Ben, and Doug attended a gemstone trivia held at the jewelry store. We were mostly hoping for door prizes, but Janet and Ben tied for the highest scores of 10.5 out of 15. Janet and Doug sat together in the front row while Ben arrived later (after grabbing a cup of coffee) and sat in the back. The store manager looked a bit confused when he scored the quizzes and said we have a tie with two exactly same scores, and they both have the same stateroom number, so there was no tiebreaker question. We had missed different questions but got the same scores. The prize was a small jewelry cleaning kit (small tub of cleaning solution with brushes) and a gift card worth $500 off any gemstone purchase from the store during this cruise only. We presume everything in the store is over $500, and more likely over $1000, but we’ll have to visit later on to see if that is indeed true.
The ship arrived in the waters off Svalbard’s southern tip in the late afternoon, and we sailed north along the western edge as the night progressed.
We closed the evening with the theater production featuring the 4 Viking vocalists doing a medley of southern music, which included many of Janet’s favorite artists and songs. This show didn’t have any costume changes. It was another good show with lots of energy and musical talent.
Tomorrow, we arrive in Longyearbyen and have our included Highlights of Longyearbyen excursion at 1:10 p.m. The ship should dock by 8 a.m. and will remain overnight. We will probably go ashore in the morning to walk around the town and try to do a bit of a hike if it is within the polar bear exclusion zone.
