Introduction

We flew to Oslo, Norway, then flew to Longyearbyen the next morning - this was about a 3 hour flite. Not quite to the North Pole, but getting close. Svalbard is a group of islands half way between Norway and the North Pole. The largest island is Spitsbergen.








We boarded the ship, which was a Russian Research Vessel that had been converted to a "cruising" ship - we had about 50 people total in our group. The accommodations and food were comfortable - but certainly not up to Princess Cruise standards (which was fine with us).








Going ashore: