Glacial Expeditions — Your Experts in Adventure Travel

Journal

Expedition Travel Journal

We write one of these after every voyage. Ships we were aboard, places we landed, and what actually happened.

Chris and Erika Commisso write a journal entry after every expedition they sail. Each entry names the ship, the region, and the operator, and records what the voyage was actually like — the landings that worked, the weather that changed the plan, and what we'd tell someone considering the same trip. We also write up the custom land expeditions we plan — Churchill, the Canadian Rockies, and others — which follow the same principle: we've been there.

  • Green northern lights arcing above black spruce on the tundra outside Churchill, Manitoba.
    Land expedition

    The Churchill Trifecta: Belugas, Bears and Northern Lights in One Day

    14–22 August 2026 · Churchill, Manitoba

    Nine days in Manitoba with Discover Churchill in beluga season. Hundreds of belugas in the Churchill River, twenty-three polar bears on the coast, and northern lights on two nights. On the nineteenth we had all three between sunrise and midnight — the reason to come in August rather than November.

  • Blue icebergs floating in a Southeast Greenland fjord under a clear sky.

    Ten Days in Southeast Greenland Aboard the National Geographic Resolution

    5–14 July 2026 · Greenland

    National Geographic Resolution · Lindblad Expeditions

    In July 2026 we sailed Lindblad's National Geographic Resolution round trip from Reykjavík on a new itinerary into the fjords of Southeast Greenland, some of them mapped as we sailed. We saw three polar bears, four sperm whales and about thirty pilot whales. A guest's medical emergency sent us north to Kulusuk, and gave us an unplanned day in Tasiilaq.

  • Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, with turquoise water below rugged Canadian Rockies peaks.
    Land expedition

    Banff and Jasper: A Custom Land Expedition

    1–6 June 2026 · Canadian Rockies

    Spring in Alberta is an invitation to explore further while treading lighter. Our custom land expedition through Banff and Jasper paired wildlife viewing with Indigenous-led guides, the thundering spring runoff at Siffleur Falls, and the wildflower meadows of Waterton — much of it without a car, thanks to the Rockies' excellent shuttles and transit.

  • Pinnacle Rock rising above the volcanic shoreline of Bartolomé Island in the Galápagos.

    The Galápagos aboard the Santa Cruz II

    12–16 January 2026 · Galápagos

    Santa Cruz II · HX

    Five days on the Santa Cruz II's Northern Route, with Quito and the Mindo cloud forest first. Las Bachas flamingos, deep-water snorkeling with sharks and a manta ray at Buccaneer Cove, red sands at Rábida, Pinnacle Rock and penguins at Bartolomé, the seabird colonies of Genovesa, and giant tortoises in the Santa Cruz highlands.

  • Sunset over a Tikehau lagoon with thatched overwater bungalows and coconut palms silhouetted against an orange sky.
    Cruise and land

    Two Weeks in French Polynesia: The Paul Gauguin and Tikehau

    6–20 November 2025 · French Polynesia

    Paul Gauguin Cruises

    A week aboard the Paul Gauguin through the Society Islands followed by six nights on Tikehau in the Tuamotus. Manta rays at a cleaning station, the most pristine coral we have seen anywhere, and a boat followed by hundreds of dolphins. Also a great deal of rain.

  • Erika Commisso wearing a CLIA lanyard at Longyearbyen, Svalbard, with two expedition ships at anchor in the fjord behind her.
    Ship tour

    Six Expedition Ships in Four Days: The CLIA Summit in Svalbard

    16–20 July 2025 · The Arctic & Svalbard

    Sylvia Earle · SH Diana · Ocean Albatros · Le Lyrial · Ocean Explorer · World Voyager

    Four days in Longyearbyen at the CLIA Expedition Summit, touring six expedition ships back to back. Three of them share a hull and a shipbuilder, which made the differences between operators unusually clear — the same vessel laid out three ways. Belugas, a walrus and a great many puffins in between.

  • The rugged green coastline of the Scottish Hebrides under spring skies, seen from the Spitsbergen.

    The Scottish Hebrides aboard the Spitsbergen

    28 April–8 May 2025 · Scottish Hebrides

    Spitsbergen · HX

    Ten days island-hopping Scotland's wild edges on HX's Spitsbergen in the fresh bloom of spring: Arran's Highlands-in-miniature, e-biking Islay's Three Distilleries Pathway, community-owned Gigha, Tobermory's coloured waterfront on Mull, a rare landing at UNESCO St Kilda, Skye's Cuillins, the 5,000-year-old Callanish Stones, Fingal's Cave by Zodiac, and Colonsay's gardens.

  • The Aurora Expeditions ship Greg Mortimer, with her X-Bow hull, anchored in calm Antarctic water beside snow-covered mountains.

    Ten Days to Antarctica Aboard the Greg Mortimer

    9–18 December 2024 · Antarctica

    Greg Mortimer · Aurora Expeditions

    Ten days to the Antarctic Peninsula aboard Aurora Expeditions' Greg Mortimer. Landings at Port Lockroy, Danco Island and Deception Island, whales in the bay all day, and a citizen science programme that turned five of our whale-tail photographs into three confirmed identifications, two of them new to the database.

  • A polar bear walking through driving snow on the tundra outside Churchill, Manitoba.
    Land expedition

    Eighty-Three Polar Bears: Nine Days in Churchill

    16–25 November 2024 · Churchill, Manitoba

    Nine days in Manitoba with Discover Churchill, timed for the polar bear gathering on Hudson Bay. Eighty-three bears in six days on the tundra, including one that walked past us at arm's length, plus foxes, ptarmigan, Arctic hare and owls. We arrived to open water and left as the bears were walking out onto new ice.

  • A Svalbard reindeer grazing on mossy green tundra beside a patch of snow.

    The Svalbard Express: Longyearbyen to Bergen Aboard the Trollfjord

    11–22 September 2024 · Norway · The Arctic & Svalbard

    Trollfjord · Hurtigruten

    Eleven days from Oslo to Longyearbyen and then the full length of the Norwegian coast to Bergen aboard Hurtigruten's Trollfjord. A polar bear at a glacier before we even boarded, a walrus, reindeer at Ny-Ålesund, and more rainbows than we could photograph. Working ports rather than tourist stops, and the transition from high Arctic to temperate over a single voyage.

  • Gentoo penguins and the World Navigator in front of a glacier and snow-covered Antarctic mountains.

    Antarctica Aboard the World Navigator: Our Journey to the White Continent

    24 February–6 March 2024 · Antarctica

    World Navigator · Atlas Ocean Voyages

    Eleven days from Buenos Aires to the Antarctic Peninsula aboard Atlas Ocean Voyages' World Navigator. Humpbacks spyhopping around the Zodiacs in Fournier Bay, leopard seals hunting chinstraps at Duroch Island, and a night camping ashore at Eckener Point — nine hours, twenty-five minutes and forty-seven seconds off the ship, listening to glaciers crack.

  • Luxury expedition yacht Evolution sailing on blue ocean water under a cloudy sky.

    The Galápagos Aboard the Evolution

    23 November–3 December 2023 · Galápagos

    Evolution · Quasar Expeditions

    Ten days in the Galápagos aboard Quasar Expeditions' Evolution, a 32-guest yacht. Marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies and sea lions before we even boarded. Snorkelling with sea lions, white-tipped sharks and green turtles. Flamingos at Espumilla, giant tortoises at El Chato, and a marine iguana swimming past the panga on the final morning.

  • A humpback whale breaching clear of the water off a cold northern coast.

    Alaska Aboard Seabourn Odyssey: Juneau to Vancouver

    5–12 August 2023 · Alaska

    Seabourn Odyssey · Seabourn

    In August 2023 we spent two days in Juneau, then sailed Seabourn Odyssey, a luxury expedition ship, to Vancouver from August 4 to 11. Juneau gave us bubble-feeding humpbacks, Mendenhall Glacier and the Mount Roberts Tramway. Aboard, the Ventures Team took us Zodiac cruising at Dawes Glacier and kayaking in Misty Fjords. Weather cancelled one outing. This is what it was actually like.

  • An expedition ship anchored off a rocky Antarctic shoreline, with chinstrap penguins in the foreground and snow-covered mountains behind.
    Land expedition

    Iceland Ring Road: Fire, Ice & the Freedom to Stop

    8–19 April 2023 · Iceland

    We drove Iceland's full Ring Road over twelve days in April 2023, starting on the Reykjanes Peninsula and circling counter-clockwise through the south coast, the eastfjords, Lake Mývatn and Snæfellsnes. Early spring meant full waterfalls, almost no crowds, and one genuine blizzard. We'd do it again in the same season.

  • A brown bear running through shallow grey river water, sending up spray.
    Ship tour

    Getting to Know the Roald Amundsen: A Boston Ship Visit

    23–25 September 2022

    Roald Amundsen · HX

    Two days aboard HX's Roald Amundsen alongside in Boston — no penguins, no Zodiac rides, no ice. Just the chance to walk a 530-guest expedition ship from the mudroom to the Science Center and work out how she actually functions, before ever seeing her in the places she was built for.

  • An expedition ship anchored off a rocky Antarctic shoreline, with chinstrap penguins in the foreground and snow-covered mountains behind.
    Coming soon

    Circumnavigating Iceland aboard the Ocean Diamond

    27 May–5 June 2022 · Iceland

    Ocean Diamond · Iceland ProCruises

  • The National Geographic Sea Lion anchored in a forested Alaskan cove with a kayaker alongside.

    Alaska aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion

    25–30 June 2021 · Alaska

    National Geographic Sea Lion · Lindblad Expeditions

    A five-night Lindblad “Wild Escape” in Alaska was meant to be a cruise. It turned into the trip that changed our business. This is how one voyage led to Iceland, the Galápagos, ten ships, and eventually to Glacial Expeditions.

  • Coconut palms and clear shallow water along the shore of Bird Island, Tikehau.
    Land expedition

    French Polynesia: An Island-Hopping Adventure

    10–21 November 2020 · French Polynesia

    Two weeks island-hopping through French Polynesia by air and boat — Tahiti, Tikehau, Taha'a and Bora Bora. Reef sharks outside the bungalow, a lemon shark on a motu snorkel, a drift channel we swam ten times in a day, and a guide who took us to the spot he brings his own family.

Written by your expedition advisor

Chris Commisso standing beside a glacial lagoon in Iceland, with icebergs and a snow-covered mountain behind him.

Chris Commisso · Expedition Expert

Signature Travel Expert

Chris and Erika have sailed ten expedition voyages and toured seven more expedition ships. Favorite explorations so far: Antarctica, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Alaska, the Galápagos, the Scottish Hebrides, Churchill and French Polynesia.

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