Luxury cruise conquers fabled route

The first large-scale passenger cruise ship is to sail through the Northwest Passage, the Arctic sea route made navigable by steadily shrinking ice cover. The route has never before been attempted by a ship of this size

CRYSTAL SERENITY

Length 250m

Beam 32m

Draught 8m

Decks 13

Crew 655

Passengers 1,000

Ticket $22,000

SAFETY MEASURES: Ship fitted with ice detection radar, special search
lights, thermal imaging and navigation system that displays near real time satellite ice imagery

RRS Ernest Shackleton: British research vessel will escort Serenity to provide ice-breaking assistance. Ship carries two helicopters for real-time ice reconnaissance, emergency support and sightseeing flights

Ice extent Sep 1985

North Pole

Ice extent Sep 2015

Nome

Dutch Harbor

Kodiak

PACIFIC OCEAN

START, Aug 16: Anchorage/ Seward, Alaska (U.S.)

Arctic Circle

Ulukhaktok (Canada)

Cambridge Bay

CANADA

U.S.

FINISH, Sep 17: New York City

Greenland (DENMARK)

Ilulissat (Greenland)

Sisimiut

Nuuk

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Bar Harbor (U.S.)

Pond Inlet

Boston

Newport

Sources: Crystal Cruises, NSIDC

Pictures: Getty Images, NERC