Arctic Kingdom - Iqaluit, Nunavut

M Petsod

In June 2019, I took a trip with Arctic Kingdom to Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada to see narwhals. I have taken 11 trips to the Arctic and Antarctic regions, the majority of which was in a small group of 12 or fewer. The trip with Arctic Kingdom was the worst I have ever experienced.

Pros:Breathtaking scenery, excellent food, welcoming staff, great Arctic presentations, abundant wildlife, awesome aerial viewing, and very good rental polar package.

Cons:
1. On arrival, 5 other guests and I were stuck in Iqaluit with no transportation, no guide. After a complaint to my booking agent, we were taken for a quick ride to the cemetery then back the hotel. It was a laughable and useless "organized tour".
2. At camp, we spent 2 1/2 days on the floe edge flanking on both sides within a stone throw of hunting parties. On the last morning narwhals were shot no more than 500 meters away from us.  Had I known that we would be witnessing the killing of the wildlife that I had come so far to see, I would not have booked this trip at all.
3. I had read that the inuits used every part of the animals they hunted leaving no waste. However, we saw several abandoned narwhal carcasses.  I also learned that the inuits didn't even eat narwhal meat and that narwhals were hunted  for their tusks.
4. False advertisement. Many offers on the Arctic Kingdom brochures were merely selling points. "Snorkel and kayak amongst sea ice and possibly with whales" Who would go into the water or kayak when the hunters were shooting right and left? Arctic Kingdom knew this. That's why kayaking or snorkeling with whales was not offered during the day under the bright blue sky. Instead, the activity occurred near midnight under heavy fog with no narwhal, no wildlife around. "Visit the Bylot Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary, which attracts more than 200,000 birds annually"  - This did not happen. It was not even mentioned anytime anywhere while we were in Pond Inlet.
5. Poor communication. Example: The last evening after dinner we travelled to the floe edge again.  Six of us were not given any details, so I thought we would go watch narwhals as usual. By then heavy fog had rolled in.  When we arrived at the floe edge, there was not a single narwhal in sight.  Several guests changed into wet suits and went kayaking and swimming. But nobody had told us about the activity in advance. Nobody offered it to us either while the others were changing their outfit and participating in the activities.  With the poor visibility and the absence of wildlife, we didn't see the point of kayaking or snorkeling. Thus, 6 of us waited for more than 3 hrs. in the cold. Had we known that this would happen,  we might have participated in the activities or gone to bed instead.
6. A guest flew her drone every time on the floe edge despite my objection made to Arctic Kingdom. Further, the guides smoked around us whenever we stopped to take a break and also around the camp. Coupled with exhaust fume from the snowmobiles and propane inside our tent (my tent mate turned the heater back on whenever I turned it off before going to bed), where was the pure Arctic air & peace and quiet I came for?
7. The cold weather tent* was a far cry from a deluxe yurt with a private toilet I had booked for. I had been told me at the last minute of the switch of accommodations and location due to inclement weather. However, we were told at camp that the reason we were sleeping in a tent was that it took only 24 hours to set up the tents while it would take two weeks to set up the yurts. So, since Arctic Kingdom saved money and time in setting up the tents, shouldn't it refund us money for the difference in switching the sleeping quarters?  (*12 guests shared 1 shower and two toilets. I am 4’ 10” tall. The shower setting controls were beyond my reach.)
I am highly dissatisfied with this trip. The mediocre quality of service and poor communication did not merit even half of the exorbitant price tag as mentioned in another post. I would not recommend Arctic Kingdom to anyone.

Steve Kapaun

We recently completed the "Narwhal & Polar Bear, a Floe Edge Safari" with Arctic Kingdom. We have had the good fortune to travel to many places around the world with similar types of travel companies so we have a strong frame of reference for comparing this trip to others that are similar in terms of expected experiences and cost. The following is information that should have been more accurately communicated in marketing material and the guest guide that was provided to us:
- The snowmobile ride to the camp and back to Pond Inlet was supposed to be two hours. It took 6 hours to get to the camp on the first day. We ran into problems (snowmobiles and qamutik got stuck numerous times in the slush). This is understandable but we should have been told the realities of travel to the camp.
- Each day we spent 4 - 6 hours in the qamutik (sled pulled behind the snowmobiles). That was never communicated to us. Also, more comfortable seats and some way to block wind would have made the rides less traumatic.
- The marketing materials said that the rides in the qamutik would be smooth pleasant rides. The brochure says “gliding” on the ice. Far from it. Three guests with back problems really had difficulties on the long and, often times, very rough rides.
- The food was not ‘gourmet.’ We recognize that the kitchen may not have been fully equipped and it is difficult to keep the food hot. However, many of the dishes were poorly prepared and nearly flavorless. It was wrong to advertise them as gourmet meals.
- We saw some narwhal from a great distance on our fifth day. We saw no polar bears. It would be ideal to know how many of each animal have been seen on past trips. It would have helped me determine the best week to go or whether the $20,000 was even worth spending on the trip if there is a low probability of seeing polar bears or narwhal.
- It would have been nice to see where we were going each day — provide in the dining tent a detailed map of the area.
- Most of the staff was top notch and very service oriented. Simon, Will and Jean-Francois were standouts.
- The tents were warm enough and had enough space for us. We were pleased with the accommodations.
- The pictures we got of the Narwhal were so far away that only guests who had 500MM lenses with a teleconverter were able to get usable photos. The reality of photographing narwhals should have been communicated.
On the whole, we were disappointed and are now planning to go to Churchill in 2023 to see polar bears in the wild (not through Arctic Kingdom).

Linda Casson

I have gone on several trips with Arctic Kingdom, both 1/2 day and weekend trips. I find that the customer care is wonderful, the attention to detail just great and i loved my experiences. I've found the guides to be very professional and safety conscious so the clients can just relax and enjoy this amazing part of the world.

Omar M. Y. Elasaikri

Venessa (Ven)

Scuba Tom

Thomas Bantzhaff

Ahmed Rizvi