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Luxury all the way with Silver Explorer’s Arctic tusk force

By SeaView editor David Simpson, the first UK journalist to be invited to sail on the Prince Albert II

It was a tiny shape on the horizon, but it was what we had all been waiting for. Binoculars were set to full magnification, cameras on maximum zoom, and, right on cue, the lazy white giant rose to his feet. For many of his it was our first glimpse of what we had come in search of ... a polar bear.

Regrettably it was to be the only sighting of our nine-day fjords and Arctic icefields adventure, but this, added to a spectacular meeting the following day with a strictly male-only gathering of gargantuan walruses which even left our expedition leaders spellbound, was more than enough to send us home happy.

Actually it was simply the icing on the cake, as the entire voyage from Trondheim through the Norwegian fjords, including the magnificent pencil-thin Trollfjord, to the North Cape and on to the frozen territory of the Svalbard and its most northerly outpost of Longyearbyen, on the western coast of Spitsbergen, was one breathtaking experience after another. And all the time we were cocooned in the comfort of the most luxurious expedition ship at sea, Silversea’s Prince Abert II, (now renamed Silver Explorer), pictured.

Silversea was already renowned for taking cruising to new heights when it decided to take on board the 6,000-ton World Discoverer II and convert it into a brand new cruise experience, adding ultimate luxury to the usual trappings of expedition cruising. The result was a vessel that carries just 132 guests in 66 ocean-view accommodations, 18 of them suites featuring more than 400sq ft of luxury with private verandas.

She was launched in June, 2008, by Albert, the environment-conscious Prince of Monaco, into a programme of Arctic, Antarctic and South American voyages that leave nothing to chance - wonderful destinations, magnificent wildlife, expedition leaders specialising in marine life, geology and galacial biology, among others, and hugely enlightening lectures.

I was grateful that the PA2 is an ince-class vessel, as her strengthened hull was put to the test as we left the Norwegian fjords and edged our way into the white wilderness of the Svalbard.

In a Titanic moment, I was made aware of that fact at 4am in the morning when we jolted in to consciousness by a reverberating thud. This was it ... man the lifeboats, women and children first. Kate Winslet, where are you?

But there was no alarm call, no listing. I looked out of our panoramic window ... there are two of them in the silver suite,. which is among the best at sea ... and in the brilliant sunshine the sight was jaw-dropping indeed. Large chunks from the slowly melting icefields were gliding past as Captain Peter kept us masterfully out of harm’s way.

It may have been four in the morning, but by this time the sun was well and truly up. In fact it had never gone down. I had remained glued to the window until 1am to see if it would disappear, even for a second. It didn’t.

By lunchtime we had already got used to the sound of ship making contact with ice. It just goes with the territory. And now that we had put the beauty of the fjords and the North Cape behind us - who will ever forget the moment we nosed our way carefull up Lofoten’s narrow, steeply sided Trollfjorden pictured, having been granted special permission by the maritime authorities - the expedition bit was truly under way.

It might look beautiful and warm outside, and in a protected spot out of the wind, you could easily admire the Svalbard in shirt sleeves. But after a few seconds on one of the ship’s Zodiac dinghies, used for the serious business of exploration, you realised why you had layered up with silk long johns, fleeces and topped them all off with the complementary parka which keeps you warm as toast.

And dry, as we were also to find out. After two hours in pursuit of those elusive polar bears - there are only 5,000 in the entire Arctic region - two of our flotilla of six Zodiacs decided it was time to return and refuel with some gluhwein. The journey should have taken no more than 15 minutes but a fierce wind blew up from nowhere and we were making little to no headway. We were suddenly getting a very wet and wild taste of nature as the vessel ploughed through the waves ... a white nuckle ride to end them all, Juan, our Colombian expedition leader, offered words of reassurance, not that we could heard them above the wind and the laughter.

We all made it ‘home’ safely, including the four Zodiacs who had pressed on and, for their efforts, found a polar bear. Not to be outdone, the captain, who had never seen a bear himself, took off in pursuit and we were all treated to the sight of this magnificent beast, sunbathing and unperturbed by the advancing party.

One species down ... one to go. Walruses. And on the final day of our expedition we featured in the peak experience that even the expedition leaders had never witnessed before. The Prince Albert II had carved its way into the blanket of ice pictured, opening the way for the following procession of Zodiacs to engineer its way to an island where these magnificent creatures had been spotted slumbering. As we approached, several slid into the water and then, in a display of inquisitiveness for which they are not renowned, threaded their way between the vessels, so close thast we could have stretched out and touched them.

This was regrettably our final adventure. What a way to finish.