This year’s cruise to the North Pole has already departed from Murmansk, Russia, but next year’s trips, leaving on June 19 and June 30, 2014, might be worth saving for.
And it’s best to start now: It costs $25,000 a person, with a 20% discount for booking before July 31, 2013. Operated by Quark Expeditions, the cruise typically takes about eight days (though it only took four this year).
Each year, about 250 people travel to the top of the world aboard the nuclear icebreaker ship 50 Years of Victory. The journey is not without risks. Two years ago, a zodiac — a small inflatable boat — carrying 12 passengers capsized, resulting in the fatality of one passenger and the injury of two others. The formal investigation report has yet to be released, but a spokeswoman for the company says “all indications point to the fact that this was caused by a sudden wave that overturned the boat.” Read the statement here.
