Latest news with #icebergs
The Independent
09-07-2025
- The Independent
Cinematic landscapes, epic wildlife spotting and plenty of ice – our unforgettable family cruise through Alaska
Icebergs and cruises may seem like uneasy companions, but at 5am on board Discovery Princess, nobody seems particularly concerned as sheets of ice float silently alongside our ship as if they are joining us for breakfast. Far from panicking, passengers are wide awake and leaning over balconies, smartphones in hand, snapping away like paparazzi on a polar red carpet. This is not a dream sequence or the set of a disaster movie – although the snow-capped peaks and icy fjords could easily fool you. There's no Leonardo DiCaprio balancing on the rails of the Titanic, no Kate Winslet clutching pearls or a raft with room for two. Just the raw and cinematic landscapes of Alaska, where snow-capped mountains kiss the clouds and floating icebergs – known as growlers – as well as the chance to spot wildlife such as bears, eagles and whales draw your eyes and ears to the great outdoors. We're sailing through Endicott Arm, a 30-mile-long fjord in the south east of Alaska that is among the gems of our Princess Cruises ' Inside Passage itinerary. It is enough to get my 10- and 12-year-old daughters out of bed early to direct their smartphones away from Snapchat and towards the sea. Chunks of ice drift gracefully like modern art installations. Now and then, there's a low rumble in the distance, followed by a splash – the thunder of ancient ice falling off the nearby Dawes Glacier. Thousands of years of geological history peeling away in front of our eyes. It's just one of many moments on our sailing where I find myself quoting Disney's Frozen under my breath: 'Now that's ice!' And for once, the kids don't roll their eyes. More than 1.7 million cruise passengers visited Alaska last year, up 3.8 per cent annually, according to the Cruise Lines International Association. It is one of the fastest-growing routes for cruise ships and passengers, with regular departures from ports such as Seattle, San Francisco and Vancouver. After a week on board, it was easy to see why visitors keep coming. Princess Cruises' on-board naturalist and Alaska expert Mike Modzelewski advises guests early on in our sailing that the sites and sounds of Alaska will 'slather your soul with special effects that Hollywood can't create' and warns us to keep our camera memory clear. More than 1,100 pictures later, my smartphone and I now understand what he meant. With 1,400 balcony cabins – the most in the Princess fleet – Discovery Princess is a perfect ship for Alaska. It's designed for viewing, not just cruising. The Sky Suites offer sweeping 270-degree balconies, which means you don't have to jostle for position when the scenery starts performing. Out in the public areas, the captain even announces wildlife sightings on the tannoy, prompting passengers to dash from one side of the ship to another, binoculars in hand, in the hope of spotting nearby groups of whales and even a submarine at one point. Wildlife spotting takes priority, with plenty of bars and open spaces where you can sit eagle-eyed by a window looking out to sea. Where else in the world can you say, 'Sorry I was late for dinner, but a whale sailed past my balcony and I just managed to catch a picture of its tail'? This isn't just a cruise for adult explorers, though. Alaska cruises are as family-friendly as any traditional Mediterranean or Caribbean destination when it comes to entertainment and excursions, just with less risk of sunburn. There is a saying that it rains for 74 days of the month in Alaska and that the region has two seasons, winter and July. It felt like we experienced a whole season of rain in Ketchikan as we wrapped ourselves in waterproofs and optimism after transferring to an excursion on a smaller boat, determined to get closer to the local furry and winged wildlife. Our binoculars spied plenty of eagles drying off their wings high in trees and our cameras started snapping as a deer with its young fowl emerged on the banks of the Nichols Passage, south of Ketchikan. But despite scanning every soggy corner, none of the headline bears or whales fancied making a cameo in the downpour. We barely noticed the rain on another wet stop in the Alaskan capital, Juneau, to learn about dog mushing – once a form of transportation in the mountains of Alaska, and now a state sport. The unique pastime involves 12 excited huskies pulling a sled in the snow. We experienced the fast-paced thrill of a puppy-powered ride in a cart through the rainy mountain trails, laughing hysterically as the dogs dashed through the rain, barking instructions at each other as if they were chasing a long-lost ball. We even got to pet the dogs at the end of the ride, after they managed to put their competitive natures aside for a cuddle. Aside from the wildlife, Alaska is also steeped in gold. The state is best known for the Klondike gold rush of 1896, where 100,000 people travelled through areas such as Skagway towards the Yukon Valley in Canada when news emerged of discoveries of the precious yellow metal. We followed in the footsteps of the hopeful miners of the 19th century, minus the pickaxes, on a stop near the Skagway river in Liarsville – named after journalists of the time who told false tales of people finding gold here rather than 500 miles away in the Klondike region of Canada. But we weren't fooled into trekking into the wild for a shiny reward – although a comfortable coach ride into the Yukon Valley and the Alaskan border with Canada meant we were able to see the snowy mountain views and rugged weather of the White Passage that the gold miners of the past would have met. It was also another opportunity to proclaim, 'Now that's ice!' Back in Liarsville, local guides taught us the art of gold panning, where you use a metallic bowl to sift through grains of mud for gold nuggets. We shook and swirled our pans excitedly at the promise that we could keep as much gold as we could find. Needless to say, I'm not ready to retire yet but did find some small nuggets and a very large sense of accomplishment. There are plenty of nods towards Alaskan culture across Discovery Princess as well, from (plastic) axe throwing competitions to rival the real lumberjack shows ashore to the food. The main dining rooms on board are named after Alaska hot (cold) spots such as Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, where we enjoyed local delicacies such as Alaskan salmon and juicy halibut. Mike explains that while the lower 48 – the name Alaskans give to the rest of the US – dine on beef burgers, halibut burgers are actually the local dish of choice – and an option I would highly endorse. The ship also offered its own wildlife spotting adventures. Forget bears or gold, the most valuable commodity on a cruise ship, if you are a child, is rubber ducks. There is a tradition on cruise ships where passengers hide rubber ducks around the ship for fellow passengers to find. You can then either keep them, post a picture on social media or hide the object for someone else. It is a great way to pass the time on a wet sea day, and in many ways it was more exciting – and less messy – for my daughters than panning for gold. We may not have spotted any bears but our children were happy to have a haul of ducks and gold nuggets to take home with them as souvenirs. And while our clothes will get over the wet days, the sights and sounds of Alaska are something we will never forget. And that is an experience worth its weight in gold. Marc Shoffman was a guest of Princess Cruises. How to do it Several ships in the Princess Cruises fleet offer Alaska itineraries with roundtrip sailings throughout the year from Seattle, Vancouver and San Francisco. Passengers who are flying from Seattle Tacoma International Airport with British Airways can also try the expanded airport lounge, available to those in First Class, Club World or Club Europe, as well as silver and gold members of the airline's executive club. Refurbished in February, it offers bright, soft seating where you can charge devices and relax or work surrounded by captivating textile art by local artists such as Hannah Mason. There is also a sleek modern bar with a wide array of drinks and soft red leather bar stools, inviting you to the 180-degree views of the runway where you can raise a glass to the mountains ahead of your flight, the perfect way to prepare for a long flight home at the end of a cruise.
CBC
10-06-2025
- CBC
Come aboard with us, breaking ice in Antarctica
Take a seat in the captain's chair, dodging icebergs and breaking ice, as CBC News gets exclusive access to the first all-Canadian expedition to the Antarctic. Come aboard HMCS Margaret Brooke on its historic journey.
BBC News
04-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
The great iceberg hunt on Canada's epic new road
A sweeping new highway – nearly 25 years and C$1bn in the making – is reshaping life in Newfoundland and Labrador and opening up Canada's iceberg coast. Standing on a windswept outcrop on the island of Newfoundland's northern coast, I scanned the churning, blue-steel sea for icebergs. Somewhere beyond the restless waves lay the glaciers of Greenland and the ice fields of Arctic Canada. I was hoping to glimpse their offspring – behemoths calved from ancient ice shelves, carried south over two or three years by the Baffin Island and Labrador Currents into a region known as Iceberg Alley, a stretch of water between the southern coast of Labrador and the south-eastern shore of Newfoundland. Squinting, I caught sight of a solid white shape; a still patch in the Labrador Sea. For a heartbeat, I thought I'd found one. Then it vanished in a burst of froth and spray. My husband Evan and I continued along the rocky trail, ducking out of the wind behind a patch of tangled tuckamore. Made up of hardy, slow-growing boreal trees like balsam fir and black spruce, the wind-contorted forest barely reached my chin. Up ahead, Evan pointed out an osprey, fragile and exposed, as it spread its wings to dry. Beyond it, the ocean vista was punctuated by sea stacks, sculpted cliffs and a small, curved bay dotted with abandoned homes. Despite the blue sky and warmth of late spring, life in Newfoundland and Labrador demands ingenuity and resilience. Like the meadow grasses and wildflowers clinging to the salt-laced soil, the people here have only ever held a precarious grip on this wondrous place. I inhaled deeply, marvelling at the austere beauty – then another glint of white caught my eye. "Only a boat," Evan said, following my gaze. One week into a two-week road trip across Newfoundland, we had yet to spot an iceberg. They were out there; each morning, the iceberg-tracking map showed giants drifting to our west. The problem was geography. Newfoundland and Labrador's pleated coastline means a berg 50km away by water could be 400km by road – and this season, they were clustered in the southern bays of Labrador, a region that was, until recently, among the hardest to reach. In a place where the ocean long served as the main highway, roads came late. When Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, there were just 195km of pavement for a province with more than 29,000km of coastline. The obvious solution was to build roads, with the goal of improving access to jobs, schools and healthcare. But this came at a cost. Building takes time and the initial roadways bypassed many small coastal settlements, leading to the abandonment of more than 300 outport communities. "But a new road can change everything," Keith Pike, the city manager in Red Bay, an outport on Labrador's southern coast told me, after I'd continued my trip west. Just 80km north of the Quebec border and the Newfoundland-Labrador ferry terminal in Blanc-Sablon, Red Bay hugs the edge of the Strait of Belle Isle. Not long ago it also marked the end of the old gravel road; isolation that forced Pike to leave the place his family had called home for generations. But with the recent completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway – known as Expedition 51 for the latitude it follows – he has returned, and is hopeful others might do the same. The 1,200km highway, nearly 25 years and C$1bn in the making, threads across Labrador's sweeping terrain, linking inland towns, distant outports and more than 9,000 years of human history. It's the kind of rugged drive that road-trippers dream of, forming a loop through Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and even touching into the US and the French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon. While only a few people are expected to drive the entire circuit, Pike sees the road's greatest legacy in its promise. "People like me are able to come home because of the opportunities it's creating," he said. In simple terms: the places Newfoundlanders and Labradorians call home have proven to be alluring to travellers looking for wild landscapes and meaningful cultural encounters. And along Expedition 51, visitors aren't just welcome, they're needed. It's a place where thoughtful tourism can help sustain places that have endured against the odds. In Indigenous communities, the road is already sparking new ventures. Barbara Young, marketing coordinator for the Newfoundland and Labrador Indigenous Tourism Association, says local entrepreneurs are building businesses rooted in tradition. From guided hikes with Kaumanik Adventure Tours in Port Hope Simpson to Inuit art at Caribou Place in Mary's Harbour, these stops invite travellers to engage with cultures that have thrived here since time immemorial. History, too, is central to Red Bay's story. A major Basque whaling station in the 1500s, the long-abandoned settlement grew out of the whale oil that once lit Europe's lamps. Today, Parks Canada and the townspeople are betting on the new highway drawing more visitors to the Red Bay National Historic Site. They've invested in a new interpretive centre, expanded boardwalks through Saddle Island's archeological sites and improved hikes like the Boney Shore Trail where whale bones still line the coast. More like this:• Canada's remote (but accessible) dark-sky sanctuary• A cutting-edge tourism model in Newfoundland• The only land disputed between the US and Canada As Evan and I chased icebergs, I realised Expedition 51 is also opening more of Iceberg Alley. New operators like Whaler's Quest Ocean Adventures now offer boat tours out of Red Bay, often with a side of traditional music by locals like Pike. It may seem ironic that a seafaring province closely associated with the Titanic – just one of the more than 600 documented ship-iceberg collisions that have claimed more than 3,400 lives over the past two centuries – is embracing iceberg tourism. Back when most communities relied on the cod fishery, the massive bergs that drifted by each spring were deadly navigational hazards. But as coastal populations dwindled, the icy giants offered a glimmer of hope. Twillingate was one of the first to embrace the shift. Straddling two islands linked by a narrow tickle, and just 100km from Gander's airport, Twillingate gained road access in the 1970s. After the cod fishery collapsed in the 1990s, the town began to reinvent itself. Locals transformed old footpaths – once used to reach now-abandoned communities or favourite berry-picking patches – into hiking trails, launched iceberg tours and started businesses like Great Auk Winery, which uses iceberg water in its products. Drawn to the now-famous town, Evan and I continued our daily scan of iceberg-tracking sites. Even though the icebergs drifted stubbornly west, locals helped us build a very Newfoundland bucket list. We were directed to puffin and whale lookouts, tipped off about the perfect fog-free window for visiting the lighthouse, told where to buy fresh-caught lobster, sent to see several root cellars and urged to visit the Beothuk Interpretation Centre to learn about the tragic demise of the Indigenous Beothuk people. On the hiking trails, we reflected on the empty outports and watched for untracked icebergs. "They've given people a reason to come home," an employee at Great Auk Winery told us as we sampled a flight of wines. The bakeapple iceberg wine – infused with golden-orange berries handpicked from nearby bogs – offered a honeyed apricot note. Blended with harvested iceberg water, it showcased how seafaring traditions are being reimagined. We bought a bottle; even if we didn't spot one of the elusive giants, we could still savour the taste of 50,000-year-old water. In a typical year, 700 to 800 icebergs drift through Iceberg Alley; some years, none appear at all. I had nearly given up when I glimpsed my first one at Red Bay. Floating offshore from Expedition 51, the glittering hulk told the story of a snowflake's improbable journey from cloud to glacier to sea to tourist attraction. It had taken thousands of years to get here – but without the new highway, I wouldn't have seen it at all. -- For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Birds, bergs and beautiful landscapes in this week's audience photo gallery
We love seeing your photos! Email us at nlphotos@ Image | Brighton Iceberg Caption: Karen Pinsent sent us this stunning iceberg shot during a kayak trip near Brighton - while staying a safe distance away, of course. (Submitted by Karen Pinsent) Open Image in New Tab We're past the middle of May, and with snow — hopefully — behind us, it's the perfect time to get out and enjoy what Newfoundland and Labrador has to offer. This week's photo gallery features just that, with views of great landscapes, birds spreading their wings and the occasional iceberg for everyone to see. If you'd like to take part in a future gallery, don't forget to scroll to the bottom to find out how. Image | Hell Hill Pond Caption: Victoria Day weekend marked the official kick off of camping season! Don Drew sent us this from Hell Hill Pond, near La Manche Provincial Park, earlier this month. (Submitted by Don Drew) Open Image in New Tab Image | Hummingbird Caption: Harrison Bragg sent us this photo from Searston in the Codroy Valley. He writes, "The hummingbird is back, but having a hard time with the cold and wind." (Submitted by Harrison Bragg) Open Image in New Tab Image | Sandbanks Park Caption: Sandbanks Provincial Park is beautiful any time of year, especially when the sun is splitting the rocks. (Submitted by Julie Baggs) Open Image in New Tab Image | Northern Lights Labrador City Caption: The Northern Lights made an appearance in Labrador City earlier this month over a moonlit Albert Lake. (Submitted by Larry Jenkins) Open Image in New Tab Image | Elliston Puffins Caption: The puffins are stretching their wings in Elliston. (Submitted by Lorraine Winsor) Open Image in New Tab Want to submit a photo? Have a photo you'd like to share? Here's how to get in touch with us: email nlphotos@ It's a dedicated address just for photo submissions from across Newfoundland and Labrador. Here's what we need from you: your name, where the photo was taken and a caption that tells us what's in the image. We encourage you to add any information you think our readers would enjoy! We share the photos we receive here, and we might also use them on Here & Now each weeknight during Ashley Brauweiler's weather segments. And we always give credit. Because of the volume of submissions we receive, we cannot respond to everyone.
