Amazing Azamara – Days 10/11/12 – Next stop, Greenland!

Reading time: 4 minutes...

Days 10/11/12
Monday, 11th August to Wednesday 13th August
Sailing to Greenland

Morning all. Welcome back to our BIG Holiday of 2025! It’s another period at sea as we head for Greenland. On Monday morning, we got the internet back too, but it’s all a bit temperamental. Consider this an extra ‘simplified’ Post that I didn’t think I’d be able to publish to set the scene for our next stop! 🤔

The clocks went forward an hour on Sunday night, and they did the same again on Monday and Tuesday.

Highlights

Day 10 (Monday, 11th August) – A surprisingly warm day/breakfast on deck/another DNA talk/Outdoor BBQ for Lunch/Saw an iceberg!/4 hours behind UK time
Day 11 (Tuesday, 12th August) – A complete contrast to yesterday – far too cold to sit on deck/Fascinating Q&A session by Maggie & Jens, our ‘Ice Pilots’/Another talk about the wildlife – Seals v Sea-Lions/Ate at the fancy Italian Restaurant tonight/3 hours behind UK
Day 12 (Wednesday, 13th August) – We’re over two-thirds of the way to Greenland/Nothing to see out at sea due to the fog that’s been around for the past day/We’re now just 2 hours behind UK – same time as Greenland – no clock change tonight.

Missed a Post?

Day 9 – Havre St Pierre, Quebec, Sunday, 10th August
Day 8 – At Sea, Saturday, 9th August
Day 7 – Saguenay, Quebec, Friday, 8th August
Day 6 – More of Quebec City, Thursday, 7th August
Day 5 – Quebec City (1st Day), Wednesday, 6th August
Day 4 – All Aboard!, Tuesday, 5th August
Day 3 – Montreal (2nd Day), Monday, 4th August
Day 2 – Montreal (1st Day), Sunday, 3rd August
Day 1 – Montreal Bound!, Saturday, 2nd August

As we said goodbye to the St Lawrence River, we briefly headed south before the Captain pointed Azamara Quest north all the way to Greenland’s capital city, Nuuk (more about that on Thursday). It was a trip of just over 1000 nautical miles, and we needed these full three days to get us there.

Again, we weren’t sure what the scenery would reveal, but the fog has been quite persistent 🤔. Having now seen an iceberg (quite rare, given our position at the time, and it was the only one too!) and (almost) a whale, I’m sort of ‘in credit’! 👍

Meanwhile, there were plenty of things organised by the Ship to stop us going mad whilst we spent the three full days away from land. It’s a regular challenge for ALL cruises and the Azamara Quest did a great job offering a generous supply of physical and mental activities, plus food, plus drink – plus more food and more drink!! 😉

Greenland, here we come! ‘Nuuk’ is next!

Then, at the regular noon announcement by the Captain, on Wednesday, we heard the news no-one wanted to hear! 😕

“Due to the appalling weather conditions, we’re unable to land at Nuuk”.

Instead, they offered a ‘Plan B. Tomorrow, we’re all remaining on board and sailing to a nearby picturesque fjord, complete with a glacier.

Well, at least it’s still Greenland! So I’ll just leave these notes here…

About Greenland

I confess not to have known much about Greenland before we planned this holiday! So, time for a bit of research – so you don’t have to! 😉

As you can see, Greenland is larger than the UK. It has a population of just 56000 (Kettering has close to 63000) so there’s plenty of space, even though the majority of the land mass is unoccupied. According to our Ice Pilots earlier, some of the surrounding waters are still uncharted. To be able to visit this country is a logistical challenge – and for us, a real privilege! 👍

Just like Australia, most Greenlandians live around the edge, where the country is officially recognised as the ‘World’s largest island’. But wait! Why isn’t Oz (that’s three times the size of Greenland) considered the largest? Answers on a postcard, please! 😁. Actually, more accurately, ‘Greenland is the largest island in the world, that’s not a continent’.

Ready for your next Greenland Pub Quiz? Here we go…

• The country belongs to Denmark
• The currency is the Danish Krone (1 DKK = 10p)
• It became self-ruling in 2009
• Official language is now Kalaallisut, but Danish and English is also heard
• There are more boats than cars
• There are NO roads that directly connect any of the towns
• It has only ONE town that’s not on the coast (Kangerlussuaq – that’s easy for you to say!)
• Life expectancy in Greenland is 10 years lower than the UK
• The country has the largest national park in the world (the entire north-east!)
• It’s easy to see whales and the Northern Lights here (yeah, right!)
• Around 75-80% of the country is covered in ice
• You can only get to Greenland from Denmark or Iceland – or if you’re on a Cruise!
• They have 4G, but only around the edges
• Temperatures can hit 18-20℃. Scorchio!
• There are very few trees!
• There are midges in Greenland
• The word ‘Kayak’ comes from the Greenlandic word ‘qajaq’
• Greenland has the northernmost capital in the world – Nuuk

You’re welcome! 😉😊👍😁

Well, we’re about as prepared as we’re ever going to be as we sailed towards Greenland’s capital. That’ll teach me to prepare! 🙄

On a more positive note: tonight is ‘Steak Night’ (photos to follow!) 😋😋

Whales Update!

Today had been a day where both Ralph and I had been on high alert for the sighting of whales. According to those in the know, it was going to be a good day for it.

Well, maybe not in my case. We’d gone the whole day without seeing ANY! By 5pm, I’d pretty much given up and turned my attention to getting ready for the evening meal and the entertainment.

In a perfect example of IMperfect timing, around 5 minutes after we’d headed for the Bar, Ralph had been lucky enough to snap this beauty. Again, these intelligent species had outsmarted me and waited until I was looking the wrong way before making their appearance!

Going Italian

We enjoyed another fantastic meal in the Italian Restaurant – Aqualina – tonight.

The Show

We rounded off the evening with a visit to the (packed!) Cabaret Lounge to see Daniel Diaz perform. Clearly a very talented musician, we were treated to an unusual mix of musical styles that included Classical and Latin with a bit of Michael Jackson thrown in! You don’t often see all of those performed in the same programme! Infectious, toe-tapping stuff (except for the Chopin piece!)

Tomorrow in Nuuk…

Tomorrow, we say hello at last, to land – and Nuuk, Greenland’s capital city where it used to be known by its Danish name, Godthaab.

See you tomorrow for an unplanned adventure! 👍