Cruise Ships & Chowder

Cruise ships returned to Arctic Bay and Nunavut this summer.  They were banned from the territory during the COVID-19 pandemic but were permitted to return when the disease was declared endemic.  Arctic Bay only hosts the smallest size cruise ships because our population is only 1,000 people.  We don’t have the necessary infrastructure to host anything larger.  Pond Inlet has hosted large cruise ships, but most of the tourists stay on ship while Inuit go aboard to perform and sell arts & crafts.

The first cruise ship I saw anchored was on August 15.  It was the Hanseatic Inspiration cruise ship, operated by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.  The ship accommodates 230 passengers, not including crew, according to the website.  Crewmembers brought several tourists ashore using Zodiac boats.  The tourists walked around town for a few hours, taking photographs, visiting stores, and talking to locals.  They returned to the ship and the vessel departed before nightfall.

A different cruise ship anchored in the bay the next day (August 16).  The ship was the Sylvia Earle, operated by Aurora Expeditions.  Just like the previous vessel, tourists were brought ashore on Zodiac boats and given a few hours to explore the town, take pictures, visit stores, and speak to locals.  I photographed several tourists speaking to Inuit children while they waited to return to the Sylvia Earle.  The vessel left in the evening.

I was gifted maktaaq chowder by a staff member.  It was made by her husband and the meat came from the narwhal that was cut up on August 9.  I’ve tried raw maktaaq before, but it didn’t agree with my taste buds.  This time, heating the chowder in the microwave did the trick.  I wolfed down the chowder and my stomach didn’t have a problem digesting the maktaaq.  It was so good that I had another bowl.