A fixed feature of a cruise to Iceland and Greenland is the Prins Christian Sund Passage. It is about 100 km long and at its narrowest only around 500 meters wide. The Prins Christian Sund is a strait on Greenland’s east coast and is named after Prince Christian of Denmark, who would become King Christian V. It separates the mainland of Greenland from the offshore islands.

The crossing takes six to eight hours and depends on the weather conditions. Depending on the weather, it is quite possible that the ship cannot sail through the Sund. You have to be prepared for that, especially in Greenland.

On our approach to the Sund, there was dense fog, which had accompanied us since we left Akureyri. Although it was already fairly certain early on that we would be able to sail through the Sund, our captain warned us that the fog might accompany the entire passage.

But as soon as we were in the Sund, the fog vanished and the Sund lay before us in bright sunshine.

The weather in this region can change quickly and is difficult to forecast. Cold currents from the North Atlantic meet inflowing freshwater from the surrounding glaciers here. This leads to variable water conditions, large icebergs drifting in the strait, and rapidly changing visibility. The ever-changing landscape—bright ice floes, sheer rock faces, and even green zones—makes this passage uniquely beautiful.

On our way through the Sound, there is a very impressive glacier in a side arm. We were lucky here as well; there was only a little ice in the fjord, so we could navigate the side arm. Our captain took his time, so everyone had enough opportunity to admire and photograph the glacier. At the end, he turned the ship twice to give all of us another clear view of the glacier. As a crowning moment, it calved at that very moment, which I unfortunately didn’t manage to capture on film.

On our way to the glacier, we came across seals that had made themselves comfortable on ice floes to enjoy the sun. There are also many seabirds and occasionally Arctic foxes. A whale or two can be seen here as well; we were accompanied for a while by one of them, which I unfortunately didn’t manage to photograph well. But even here, it’s best to put the camera away and enjoy with the naked eye.

In the evening there was a barbecue on the pool deck, so we could really enjoy the passage to the very end. For us, the transit in truly beautiful weather was one of the highlights of the trip, also thanks to our captain, who made the voyage to the truly impressive glacier possible.

We had already formed a really good impression of Greenland, which made us even more excited for the next destinations in Greenland.

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