MV 'Clipper Odyssey' Bering Sea and Remote Alaska
 Tlingit totem pole, Saxman Village |
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15 days / 16 nights
| Location | Nights |
| Anchorage | 1 |
| 'Clipper Odyssey' | 13 |
The MV 'Clipper Odyssey' has a reputation as one of the most comfortable and luxurious small ships in the world with 64 spacious staterooms, all outward facing, private well appointed bathrooms and a convivial, intimate atmosphere onboard. A passenger elevator services all decks and the ship promotes an open bridge policy. By day, travellers enjoy fascinating shore excursions, many by Zodiac, with distinguished onboard experts and by night award-winning cuisine and creature comforts. A&K’s hand-picked lecturer/guides include avian ecologists, marine biologists, oceanographers and historians each skilled at illuminating the many treasures found en route. Also on the ship is a cosy well-stocked library, heated outdoor pool, small gym and on-board masseuse.
'Clipper Odyssey' operates 12 and 14 night expeditions to the Russian Far East and Alaska taking in the remote wilds of Kamchatka, Siberian Russia, the Bering Sea islands and the small ports, coves and fjords along Alaska’s coast and Inside Passage.
Day 01 Arrive Anchorage
Evening arrival into Anchorage and transfer hotel to meet fellow travellers. Welcome cocktail reception. Hotel Alyeska
Day 02 Anchorage – Nome
Board a charter flight to Nome, famed starting point of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race and one of Alaska’s furthermost outposts. Afternoon embarkation on 'Clipper Odyssey' with short historical tour of Nome en route (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 03 King Island / Little Diomede
The ship passes King Island which is in imminent danger of being washed into the Bering Sea. View the abandoned stilt village and visit Little Diomede for a walking tour and presentation at the school (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 04 Provideniya, Russia / Cruise the Bering Sea
This morning clear customs and formalities for Russia in Provideniya, Russia’s “Gateway to the Arctic” (losing one day as we cross the International Dateline). This afternoon cruise the Bering Sea toward the closest U.S. border with Russia (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 05 Big Diomede/Cape Deshnev, Russia
Visit the island of Big Diomede, noted as the world’s easternmost land mass separated by only 3kms from Alaska’s Little Diomede Island in the middle of the Bering Strait. Visit Cape Deshnev at the easternmost edge of the Chukhi Peninsula and Siberian Russia (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 06 Yttygran Island / Provideniya, Russia
Explore “Whalebone Alley”, a sacred place for whalers, located on Yttygran Island. In the afternoon after clearing customs in Provideniya cruise back across the Bering Sea. Lecturers and naturalists will recap the fascinatuing experiences of this voyage of culture and natural history. Gain the day lost as you cross the International Dateline (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 07 St. Lawrence Island / Gambell, Alaska
Today visit St. Lawrence Island, where the distinct Yup’ik Eskimo culture and dialect, similar to that found in Provideniya and Siberia, is a reminder of the cultural transition from East to West across the former “Land Bridge” of the Bering Strait. Whalebones, fish-drying racks and umiaks (traditional walrus skin boats) are part of the landscape. View traditional dances, which also bear similarities to those of their Siberian cousins (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 08 Hall / St Matthew Islands, Alaska
Tiny Hall and St. Matthew Islands are a birders’ paradise. Many seabirds nest here, including the indigenous McKay’s Bunting. The cliffs of Cape Upright soar some 300m above the sea providing excellent nesting areas for many of the island’s bird species (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 09 St. Paul & St. George Islands in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska
The Pribilof Islands are home to the world’s largest breeding colonies of Northern fur seal. Many seabird species also reside here including horned puffins, thick-billed murres and crested auks. The islands are also home to the world’s largest community of Aleut people who have lived here for more than 200 years. Enjoy an introduction to their remote way of life. The islands of St. Paul and St. George are the only inhabited islands within the Pribilof archipelago. Venture ashore at St. Paul to view the cliffs of St. George from the sea (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 10 The Great Upwelling / Unalaska / Dutch Harbour / Baby Islands
On deck as the ship arrives in the remote Aleutian Islands there are good opportunities to view whales and seabirds common in the area. Known as ‘The Great Upwelling’ because of the myriad micro-organisms which rise from the sea floor, it is one of the best ocean feeding grounds in the world. A stop is made at Dutch Harbour, the centre of Alaska’s off-shore crab and halibut industry, and home to the Museum of the Aleutians, a beautiful Russian church, and the WWII Memorial Park. This afternoon cruise the Aleutian Islands and learn how volcanic activity beneath the seafloor formed the Aleutian archipelago, comprising 1,600km of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 11 Unga Spit / Shumagin Islands / Alaska
At low tide visit Unga Island to see the remnants of an ancient petrified forest. These date back 40 million years, revealing interesting details of the climate and topography of that time. The village of Unga, on the island of the same name, is now uninhabited, abandoned in 1969. Explore the coastline with opportunities to see Arctic fox, bald eagles and seals. Then on to visit the seabirds of the neighbouring Shumagin Islands (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 12 Simidi Islands, Alaska
With the Shumagin Islands, the Simidi Islands are part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Covering vast stretches of tundra, rainforest, volcanoes and beaches, the refuge comprises 75% of Alaska’s seabird population. Venture by Zodiac to explore the jagged cliffs and rocky shores of Aghiyuk Island (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 13 Bear Island Fish Camp - Katmai National Park
Venture ashore at a traditional ‘set net’ fish camp that has been in operation for generations. Learn how the operation sends the catch, both fresh and canned, to market and about the interesting “other lives” of this pioneer family.At Geographic Harbour and Kukak Bay in Katmai National Park, cruise the shoreline by Zodiac to view the bears and birds. Katmai is a place of otherworldly landscapes and an opportunity to get a first hand look at the incredible beauty of its numerous active volcanoes and abundant wildlife (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'
Day 14 Kenai Fjords National Park
Cruise through the magical Kenai Fjords National Park for breathtaking views of its fjords and glaciers (B,L,D). MV 'Clipper Odyssey'Day 15 Depart Anchorage
Morning disembarkation in Seward and transfer to Anchorage Airport for onward flight arrangements (B).
