Richseen Private Journeys · Arctic Expedition

Arctic: Into the High North

Nordic Design & Polar Voyage — Oslo · Norwegian Arctic · Svalbard
10 Days · 9 Nights
From USD 25,000+ per person
"The Arctic's dramatic landscapes — approached with the precision that Seabourn brings to the world's most remote waters."
The Journey

Into the
High North

The Arctic is the counterpoint to Antarctica — equally extreme, equally extraordinary, and considerably more accessible. Where Antarctica is ice and silence and geological time, the Norwegian Arctic is landscape and light and the particular drama of a coastline that has been shaped by ten thousand years of glacial action into something that has no parallel in the inhabited world. The fjords of Svalbard, the polar bear territory of the pack ice edge, the walrus colonies of the remote islands north of 80 degrees — these are experiences that require the right vessel and the right team to reach.

This ten-day itinerary begins in Oslo — one of the most considered small capitals in Europe, and the natural gateway to the Norwegian Arctic. Two days at The Thief, the design hotel on the Tjuvholmen waterfront that represents Norwegian contemporary design at its most confident, provide the orientation before embarkation. From Longyearbyen — the world's northernmost town of significant size, on the Svalbard archipelago — the Seabourn expedition vessel departs into the waters of the High Arctic.

Seabourn's Arctic expedition programme combines the group's characteristic luxury service standard with a team of expedition specialists whose field experience covers the full range of Arctic environments. The vessel is purpose-built for polar operations, with a Zodiac fleet for shore landings and submarine capabilities for underwater exploration. Five days in Arctic waters bring polar bear sightings on the pack ice, walrus colonies on remote beaches, Arctic fox and reindeer on the tundra, and the extraordinary quality of light that the midnight sun produces above the 78th parallel — a light that photographers and painters have been travelling to document for two centuries without entirely capturing.

Signature Moments

Six Encounters
with the High North

Moments that no itinerary can guarantee and no photograph fully prepares you for — defined by light, ice, and the particular silence above 78 degrees north.

01
A Polar Bear on the Pack Ice Edge
Spotted from the bridge at distance, then approached by Zodiac — the largest land predator on Earth, entirely indifferent to the vessel.
02
Midnight Sun at 78 Degrees North
The light that painters have been travelling to document for two centuries — warm, horizontal, and unchanged at any hour of the twenty-four.
03
Walrus Colony on a Remote Svalbard Beach
Hundreds of walrus hauled out on the gravel above the tide line — an ancient gathering, observable by Zodiac from a distance that respects it.
04
Oslo's Waterfront Before the Ice — Two Days of Culture
The Vigeland Sculpture Park, the National Museum, and dinner at Maaemo — the Arctic begins with Scandinavia's most considered small capital.
05
Submarine Dive Beneath the Arctic Sea Ice
Seabourn's submarine capability — the underside of the ice, the marine life of the High North, viewed from below the surface where almost no one has been.
06
Longyearbyen — the World's Northernmost Town
Embarkation point, cultural orientation, and the last settlement before the pack ice — a mining town at 78°N that has become one of the most remarkable addresses on Earth.
Curated Highlights

What Defines This Journey

01🚢
Seabourn — Luxury Expedition Standard
Seabourn's Arctic expedition vessels combine the group's signature luxury service with polar operational capability: purpose-built hull, Zodiac fleet, submarine access, and a team of expedition naturalists whose combined field experience covers every accessible corner of the High Arctic.
02🐻‍❄️
Polar Bears — The High Arctic's Apex
Svalbard supports one of the highest concentrations of polar bears in the world — approximately 3,000 animals on an archipelago the size of Ireland. The expedition team positions the vessel at the pack ice edge, where bears hunt seal. Sightings are not guaranteed; the encounters, when they occur, are extraordinary.
03🌊
Svalbard Fjords — Glacial Landscape
The fjords of Svalbard descend from glaciers that have been retreating since the last ice age — revealing landscapes of absolute scale in which the cliff walls rise hundreds of metres from the water surface and the glacier faces calve ice into the sea with the sound of distant artillery. One of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.
04🌅
Midnight Sun — Arctic Summer Light
Above 78° North in summer, the sun does not set for four months. The quality of the midnight light — low on the horizon, warm and directional, casting long shadows across the tundra and the sea ice — is unlike any other natural light phenomenon. Photographers have been travelling to document it for two centuries without exhausting its possibilities.
05🎨
Oslo — Nordic Design and Culture
Two days at The Thief — the design hotel on Tjuvholmen that represents Norwegian contemporary design at its most assured. Oslo's cultural institutions: the Nasjonalmuseet, the Munch Museum on the waterfront, and the Opera House whose roof descends to the fjord surface and invites the public to walk across it.
06🦭
Walrus Colonies and Arctic Wildlife
The beaches of the remote Svalbard islands support walrus colonies of extraordinary size — hundreds of animals in close proximity, entirely uninterested in the Zodiac observers at a respectful distance. Arctic fox, reindeer, and ivory gulls complete the wildlife picture of an archipelago that exists at the edge of the habitable world.
Sample Itinerary

Key Moments & Movements

The Norwegian Arctic operates best in June and July — when the midnight sun is at its most continuous, the wildlife is most active, and the sea ice has retreated to the extent that the pack ice edge is accessible without icebreaker capability. August extends the season with slightly diminishing daylight and equally extraordinary conditions.

Every Richseen journey is individually crafted. Your private consultant will tailor each day to your preferences, pace, and passions.

Day 1
Oslo Arrival
Private transfer from Oslo Gardermoen Airport to The Thief — the design hotel on the Tjuvholmen peninsula in the Aker Brygge waterfront district, where the Oslo fjord is visible from every room and the city's cultural institutions are within walking distance. Evening: the Aker Brygge waterfront for the particular atmosphere of a Norwegian summer evening, when the city moves entirely outdoors and the fjord catches the long light.
The Thief, Oslo
Day 2
Oslo — Nordic Design and Culture
Morning: the Nasjonalmuseet on the waterfront — Norway's national collection in a building that opened in 2022 as one of the largest art museums in northern Europe. Afternoon: the Oslo Opera House, whose roof descends to the fjord surface and invites the public to walk across its angled white marble surface to the water's edge. The Munch Museum on the Bjorvika waterfront for the afternoon: Edvard Munch's extraordinary production, housed in a building that leans over the fjord as if considering the water below.
The Thief, Oslo
Day 3
Fly North — Longyearbyen and Embarkation
Morning flight from Oslo to Longyearbyen — the world's northernmost settlement of significant size, on the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago, at 78° North. A brief orientation in a town where the polar bear warning signs are not decorative before transfer to the dock and embarkation aboard the Seabourn expedition vessel. The vessel clears the Isfjorden as the midnight sun hovers above the mountain horizon and the expedition begins.
Seabourn Expedition Vessel, Svalbard
Days 4–8
Arctic Exploration — Five Days in the High North
Five days of expedition operations across the Svalbard archipelago and the pack ice edge — the most concentrated Arctic wildlife habitat accessible to private guests. Each day the expedition team identifies the optimal landing sites, wildlife locations, and ice conditions; the programme responds to what the Arctic offers rather than a fixed schedule. Polar bears at the pack ice edge; walrus colonies on the remote northern beaches; Arctic fox cubs on the tundra in late June; the calving glacier faces of the major fjords; the extraordinary silence of a landscape where the only sounds are the wind, the birds, and the occasional crack of glacier ice entering the sea. Naturalist lectures each evening; Seabourn's all-inclusive culinary programme throughout; the midnight sun providing continuous daylight for photography at any hour of the twenty-four.
Seabourn Expedition Vessel, High Arctic
Day 9
Return — Longyearbyen and South
Disembarkation in Longyearbyen as the vessel returns from the High Arctic. The town — 2,000 permanent residents, a university, and the Global Seed Vault built into the permafrost above the settlement — provides a final afternoon of orientation before the evening flight south to Oslo. The Svalbard mountains are visible from the aircraft window until the islands disappear below the Norwegian Sea.
Longyearbyen / Oslo
Day 10
Departure — The North Recedes
Private transfer to Oslo Gardermoen Airport for international departure. The Oslo fjord is visible from the terminal on clear mornings. The High Arctic continues without witnesses — as it has for most of its existence, and as it will for whatever time the current warming trajectory allows it to retain its particular character.
Luxury Stays

Where You Rest Matters

Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway
Oslo — 2 Nights
The Thief
Tjuvholmen, Oslo, Norway
The design hotel on Oslo's Tjuvholmen peninsula — an art collection displayed throughout the public spaces, a waterfront position facing the Oslo fjord, and an aesthetic that represents Norwegian contemporary design without apology or qualification. The most considered address in the Norwegian capital for guests who understand the difference between a hotel and a place.
Svalbard Archipelago, Norwegian Arctic
At Sea — 7 Nights
Seabourn Expedition Vessel
Svalbard Archipelago & Pack Ice Edge
Seabourn's Arctic expedition programme combines the group's characteristic luxury service standard with polar operational capability: purpose-built hull, Zodiac fleet, submarine access, and an expedition team whose naturalist and scientific expertise covers the full spectrum of High Arctic ecology. All-inclusive; all-suite; entirely focused on the expedition.
Exclusive Experiences

Moments Designed for You

🐻‍❄️
Apex Wildlife
Polar Bear — Pack Ice Encounter
The expedition vessel positions at the pack ice edge — where polar bears hunt seal in the most productive hunting ground in the High Arctic. Sightings from the ship's bridge; Zodiac proximity where conditions allow. The polar bear at the pack ice edge is the defining encounter of any Arctic expedition.
🌊
Glacial Landscape
Svalbard Fjords — Calving Glaciers
The major fjords of Svalbard — Kongsfjorden, Magdalenefjorden, Hinlopenstretet — terminate in active glacier faces that calve ice into the sea with the sound of distant thunder. Zodiac navigation among the resulting icebergs provides a perspective on glacial scale that no other experience replicates.
🎨
Nordic Culture
Oslo — Munch, Nasjonalmuseet, and the Waterfront
Oslo's waterfront cultural district — the Nasjonalmuseet, the Munch Museum, and the Opera House roof — represents Scandinavian cultural investment at its most ambitious. Two days here provides the aesthetic context for the expedition north: a culture that has been living with extreme landscape for a very long time and has developed its own response.
🌅
Natural Phenomenon
Midnight Sun — 78° North
Above 78° North in the Arctic summer, the sun does not set. The light at midnight is warm, directional, and possessed of a quality that makes photography at any hour equally rewarding. The tundra, the glacier faces, and the ice-strewn sea surface in midnight light: one of the most extraordinary visual experiences available to a traveller in the current century.
Visual Journey

Through the Lens

Begin Your Story

Craft Your
Private Journey

Every detail — from your first evening on the Oslo waterfront to your final morning on the pack ice — is composed entirely around you. Speak with your dedicated Richseen journey consultant today.

From USD 25,000+ per person

Request This Journey