Freeze Frame Creature comforts and the natural world in sharp focus on a luxurious Arctic cruise.

Over the long days of the northern summer, the Arctic is teeming with wildlife. A once-in-a-lifetime cruise gave a front-row seat. Jo Jarvis

Our inflatable Zodiac motorboat is speeding over freezing waters off the coast of Svalbard, a largely uninhabited Norwegian territory, when the call comes on the radio: “Bears east on the hill”. The driverturnssharplyandtheboatracestowardstwowhite specks on a grassy slope. This is what most of us have come for, so our first sighting of polar bears – a mother and her cub – is thrilling. Stunned, we watch them return our gaze. There’s a long silence until the mother bear growls and ambles away with her offspring in tow.

Seeing the world’s largest land carnivore in its element is the main reason many travel to this remote zone at a latitude of 80 degrees north. Most of us never expect to see polar bears in the wild. Now, with their numbers dwindling due to climate change, a sighting like this is even more significant.

We are holidaying with leading luxury-travel company Abercrombie & Kent, aboard a small cruise ship called

Le Boreal. Our 15-day journey begins with a flight from Oslo to Svalbard, where we embark. From there, our route takes us west to Greenland and south to Iceland

For many, this is the trip of a lifetime. For me, it certainly is. The fare is expensive – upwards of $1000 per day – and I’m fortunate to have a generous relative funding my passage. More than that, however, the remote and inaccessible nature of such an itinerary makes it an experience you’re likely to have only once.

For much of the year, large parts of the Arctic are frozen. But in summer, the pack ice recedes as temperatures rise, and tourists appear. Not that much human life is evident once our trip gets underway. From day three onwards, other than a visit to an indigenous community in Greenland, we don’t see anyone until we reach our final destination, Iceland. The life we witness is nonhuman and glorious: a blue whale and her cavorting calf, scores of walruses lolling on a beach, and thousands of birds, including teeming flocks of guillemots packing the crevices of towering cliffs.

Part of the attraction is going where few others have ventured and seeing things few others will see. And experiencing it in luxury takes this to another level. There’s something fantastic, yet almost bizarre, about enjoying fine food and wine while watching the parade of icebergs and glaciers out the restaurant window. Or returning from a trek on the tundra to be greeted by a waiter serving French Champagne on the shore.

Mind you, I’m not complaining. Who doesn’t want to see one of the planet’s greatest wilderness areas from their bed or private balcony? I’ve experienced luxury and I’ve experienced wilderness, but to have both of these at once is quite something.

Heightening the experience is the very real danger whenever we step off the boat. ‘Bear guards’ (crew members armed with rifles) are always with us. They surround our group and constantly scan the horizon. While we appreciate the protection, we hate the idea of any harm coming to this endangered species, especially given that we’re the interlopers in their territory.

Fromthebeginning,ourplaceintheecologicalpecking order is made clear. “Our presence on Svalbard is actually endangering the polar bear, not you,” the cruise director tells us. It’s a reminder that we’re guests in this part of the world. And it’s a part increasingly affected by global warming. In one of the daily onboard lectures, a scientist from the crew outlines the impact of climate change, and explains how melting sea ice affects the entire Arctic ecosystem.

In fact, the level of expertise among the crew is one of the most impressive aspects of this trip. They’re multiskilled, engaging and passionate. It’s not unusual to