Having made your way to Calgary, check in at your group hotel near the airport for an overnight stay. Enjoy a drink and meet fellow expeditioners at your welcome briefing this evening. Please visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality desk to collect your luggage cabin tags and to speak with the ground operations team, who may have information to share with you about pre-embarkation procedures and the charter flight to Calgary tomorrow. Receive Aurora Expeditions cabin tags for your luggage. Please clearly label the tags with your name and ship cabin number.

Please ensure your luggage has cabin tags clearly labeled with your name and cabin number. Any valuables or personal items should be kept on you throughout the day. Your luggage will be delivered to your cabin ahead of your arrival on board.

After breakfast at the hotel, board your charter flight to Cambridge Bay, where the Greg Mortimer awaits. After boarding, there is time to settle into your cabin before the important safety briefings. This evening, meet your expedition team and crew.

Begin your journey east along the Northwest Passage. In 1859, a Franklin expedition tent camp was discovered at Cape Felix. Remains attributed to the Franklin expedition have been found at 35 locations on King William Island and the nearby Adelaide Peninsula. This afternoon, south of Cape Felix, in Victoria Strait, you hope to visit Victory Point and get close to where the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were abandoned in 1848.

Note: In true expeditionary style, the itinerary for the following days heavily depends on unpredictable sea ice. The following places are places you hope to visit:
 
Prince Leopold Island
On the southern side of Lancaster Sound from Beechey Island lie the towering bird cliffs of Prince Leopold Island, a historical site where 1848 English explorer James Clark Ross overwintered during the search for the missing Franklin expedition. Prince Leopold Island is the most important bird sanctuary in the Canadian Arctic, with approximately 500,000 birds nesting here in the summer. Ringed seals are often spotted on the sea ice around the island, and polar bears often lurk nearby. The shallow gravel beds attract beluga whales, who come to molt in this part of the Arctic each summer.
 
Cunningham Inlet
On the north coast of Somerset Island, when factors such as weather and whale behavior align, you might see the fantastic spectacle of hundreds of beluga whales shedding their skin on shallow sandy banks. The local scenery provides excellent guided walks, where waterway trails lead to waterfalls and higher ground.
  
Prince Regent Inlet, Fort Ross
Sailing down the east coast of Somerset Island, you might spot beluga whales and narwhals as they feed on the large numbers of arctic char that enter Creswell Bay in late summer. An important bird area, the bay also attracts such species as black-bellied plovers, king eiders, and white-rumped sandpipers. At Fort Ross, see an abandoned Hudson’s Bay Company trading outpost founded in 1937 that closed in 1949 because supply ships could not get through the thick sea ice. Enjoy guided walks on the tundra.
 
Bellot Strait
A deep and windy waterway bordered by steep slopes, Bellot Strait is characterized by intense, swirling tidal currents that require navigation to be undertaken close to times of slack water (four times a day). Point Zenith, the most northern continental point of the Americas, is located in the Strait.
Note: Due to swirling currents up to 10 knots, the Bellot Strait is better transited during eastbound voyages because if it is blocked, there is an alternative to continuing north through Peel Sound. On a westbound journey, making a long detour back north through Prince Regent Inlet would be necessary.
 
Coningham Bay
Across from Victoria Strait, Coningham Bay lies on the shores of Prince of Wales Island. This is a polar bear hotspot where the majestic creatures come to feast on beluga whales, often trapped in the rocky shallows at the entrance to the bay. It is not unusual to find the shoreline littered with whale skeletons—and very healthy-looking polar bears!

You are now in the high Arctic at almost 75° north latitudes. Here, nutrient-rich waters support an abundance of wildlife. Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island on earth and features stunning geology, with flat-topped mountains and glacial valleys, giving it its unique character.

Beechey Island, where you plan to land, is at the western end of Devon Island. Named after Frederick William Beechey, the island is one of Canada’s most important arctic sites and is a designated Canadian National Historic Site. During the Franklin expedition of 1845–46, Franklin attempted to sail through the Northwest Passage with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with perilous results—three of his men are buried here. Roald Amundsen landed at Beechey Island in 1903, during the first successful voyage by ship to transit the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean fully.

You hope to visit Dundas Harbour to enjoy walks on undulating tundra and perhaps some birdwatching. Other places that you might see include Croker Bay and Maxwell Bay. A dilapidated Royal Canadian Mounted Police outpost and remnants of a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post can be found here. In the bay, walruses are often present.

The east coast of Baffin Island features hidden bays that are feeding grounds for bowhead whales and where glaciers calve into the sea. Sail along inlets and fjords surrounded by towering mountains that feature impressive geology. You may visit Home Bay, Sillem Island, John Ford Fjord, Sam Ford Fjord, and Scott Inlet. Conditions permitting, you hope to go ashore at Pond Inlet and be treated to a warm welcome from the local community.

Covered with mountains, icefields, cliffs, snowfields, and glaciers, Bylot provides nesting habitat for large numbers of thick-billed murres and black-legged kittiwakes. You plan to sail along the coastline of Bylot Island to enjoy the scenery and birdlife.

You exit Canada and cross Baffin Bay to Greenland, where you may encounter the giant icebergs that Greenland is famous for. Watch for whales and various seals, such as ring and harp seals. The experts entertain you with informative talks about wildlife, geology, and epic tales of early explorers such as Franklin and Amundsen.

This compelling island has more in common with Iceland than Greenland. While most of the interior is mountainous and glaciated, its beautiful shorelines boast black sandy beaches, unusual basalt columns, hot springs, and dramatic lava formations. The Zodiac cruise in Disko Bay features fascinating geology. It is also a hotspot for marine life, including humpback and minke whales.

Known as the 'birthplace of icebergs,' this region produces some of the most dazzling icebergs found anywhere on earth. Hike to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Icefjord and stand in awe of its immensity. Sermeq Kujalleq, also known as Jakobshavn Glacier, is the most productive glacier in Greenland and throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere. It produces 20 million tons of ice daily, floating into the Ilulissat Icefjord and Disko Bay. Conditions permitting, enjoy a zodiac cruise at the mouth of the fjord and kayak through sea ice and icebergs. An optional 90-minute helicopter over the ice fjord is a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Optional helicopter flight (90 minutes): this excursion is the only way to get close to the gigantic glacier. The 12-seater helicopter departs from Ilulissat Airport, sweeping over hills, lakes, and ice fjords. Land on the mountain at Kangia, in the middle of the preserved area, to revel in the incredible surroundings. On the return flight to Ilulissat, fly above the glacier's edge with breathtaking views of the massive icebergs drifting in the fjord. The views of some of the enormous icebergs that become stranded on a moraine underneath the water just outside the town offer a fantastic finale to this excursion. Please note that this excursion requires a minimum of 8 passengers to operate.

Greenland’s second-largest town, Sisimiut, is located approximately 54 kilometers (33.5 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, meaning that during the summer, you can experience the midnight sun here. The town is famous for the old blue church with a gate made of whalebone. In the cozy museum next door to the church, you can find an excellent reconstruction of an Inuit turf house and exhibits of local history and early life in Greenland.

Sisimiut offers hiking trails with various degrees of difficulty. The more accessible trails take you through the town, its outskirts, and into the mountains, where you can find spectacular vantage points.

Some 4,500 years ago, the Saqqaq culture arrived from Canada and settled there. They lived here for approximately 2,000 years, after which they mysteriously disappeared from the area. The Dorset culture came around 500 CE and stayed until the 1200s, when the Thule culture replaced them, and today, the majority of the population of Sisimiut are descendants of the Thule culture.

Disembark in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, where you farewell the crew and expedition team and transfer to the airport for your charter flight to Toronto for an overnight stay.

After breakfast, check out of your room and continue your journey.