Reservations 877·97·CRAFT  (877·972·7238)

24-day ~ Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and New England (Aug 2022)

Holland America Line


Start Date:

   

August 3, 2022

   

End Date:

   

August 27, 2022

Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and New England (Aug 2022) ~ Knitting Cruises Description

24-Day Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and New England with Kristin Drysdale
August 3-27, 2022


Join Kristin Drysdale on a spectacular 24-day journey visiting Canada, Greenland, and New England. This cruise visits southern Greenland and several very off-the-beaten-path ports. Sailing round-trip from Boston aboard the Nieuw Statendam with knitting expert Kristin Drysdale. This late-summer cruise allows participants to enjoy sunny days, cool nights, and the far north's exceptional natural beauty.


Cruise round trip from Boston first to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and New England. This cruise includes stops in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, a complete circumnavigation of Iceland, St. Pierre & Miquelon, and Maine making it the perfect summer getaway for those who enjoy cooler cruising regions. This itinerary takes passengers way off the grid to some of the most untouched areas in the world. In addition to mountains, glaciers, and stunning marine wildlife, this region boasts miles of evergreen forests, rocky coastlines, geological extremes, and scenic fishing villages.


Learn about Norse culture and see Viking treasures and wildlife, including marine mammals, arctic birds, an occasional stray moose, or even an infrequent polar bear. Although part of the North American continent, Greenland is politically associated with Iceland, and Iceland is situated both in Europe and North America but is culturally associated with Europe. This rare cruise itinerary also includes St. Pierre and Miquelon, the last remaining French territory in North America. This cruise is perfect for those looking for dramatic scenery and off-the-beaten-path places that are really nice and very quiet. Departing from Boston, visiting many beautiful places, this is an easy cruise to take that packs a lot of bang for your buck. It is such a popular itinerary this sailing is already filling up.


This cruise offers an outstanding balance of quaint ports, boutique cities, and remote villages. There will be excellent yarn shopping opportunities, plenty of time for knitting and making new friends, and eating fresh seafood to your heart's content. Kristin Drysdale will teach some of her most popular classes on this cruise, including Icelandic Sweaters, Stjerne Slippers, Nordic Hats, Norwegian Fingerless Mitts, and Swedish Lovikka Mittens.


Cruising the North Atlantic in late summer means long days, cool nights. For knitters, the north also brings fiber-related excursions and chances to shop for special hand-dyed souvenir skeins. We invite you to pack up your needles and a sweater, or two, for this fabulous adventure.


24-Day Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and New England Knitting Cruise Highlights


  • Arrive early in Boston to walk in the steps of America's Revolutionary past on the Freedom Trail, shop for yarn at Stitch House Dorchester, and enjoy a farm-fresh lunch or a bowl of New England chowder at Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

  • See the world's largest fiddle in Sydney, Nova Scotia, where you also can enjoy fiddle music inspired by Acadian and Celtic influences.

  • Explore the heritage district of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, where you can view the Memorial to Captain James Cook, who mapped the area in 1767. Shop for fishermen's sweaters or just wander around the waterfront.

  • Founded by Basque whalers in 1530s, Red Bay, Labrador, offers visitors a chance to learn about the rich whaling and fishing traditions of the area.

  • Enjoy hot springs near the small Greenlandic port of Qaqoroq near Cape Thorvaldon.

  • Visit Nanortalik, Greenland, the "Place of the Polar Bears," first established as a trading post in Greenland in 1797, where you'll cruise among icebergs, whale watch, or learn about Greenland's history at the Nanortalik Museum.

  • Experience many geological extremes as you complete a full circumnavigation of Iceland, where you will easily access some of the most remote landscapes in the world, including lava fields, waterfalls, and some of the youngest islands in the world.

  • Isafjordur, sculpted by glaciers and surrounded by the sea, is a place of great beauty where you can meet local knitters and shop for yarn at Klæðakot, go birding, or photograph rare flowering plants.

  • Akureyri, the capital of North Iceland, is a center of fishing and trade, with a pretty old town where visitors can explore museums and historical houses, see Arctic flora at the botanical garden and shop for Icelandic yarn at a number of local yarn shops, including the grocery store!

  • In Seydisfjordur, visit the local craft market, Handverksmarkadurinn, where you can shop for a variety of arts and crafts made from wood, metal, wool, clay, glass, and reindeer bones, as well as a good selection of Icelandic hand-knitted garments.

  • Djupivogur is a quiet fishing village where you can see deep blue icebergs, Europe's largest glacier, secluded waterfalls, or visit a local Icelandic horse farm.

  • In Reykjavik, take a tour of Iceland's Golden Circle and visit the Álafoss Wool Shop, where you can shop for Ístex Lopi yarn and locally hand-knit sweaters.

  • Visit the Handknitting Association of Iceland in downtown Reykjavik where local knitters, using the wool from Icelandic Sheep, sell their work.

  • Throughout Greenland, shop for qiviut, yarn spun from musk ox, or local carvings of polar bears, whales, and other figures made from reindeer antler and musk ox horn.

  • In St. Anthony, Newfoundland, visit L'Anse aux Meadows, dating from the 11th century and considered the oldest European settlement in North America outside of Greenland.

  • Stop for an ale at the local brewery in St. Johns, Newfoundland, or learn about Signal Hill, where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic radio signal in 1901.

  • St. Pierre and Miquelon, a French Territory, offers visitors a chance to sample French wines, freshly baked bread and practice their language skills right here in North America.

  • In Halifax, watch a dyeing demonstration with Fleece Artist and Handmaiden, as well as enjoy a trunk show with a local designer.

  • Also, in Halifax, see Fairview Cemetery, where 121 victims of the Titanic disaster were laid to rest.

  • Revel Bar Harbor, where you can enjoy lobster rolls or take a carriage ride in Acadia National Park, home to scenic views from atop Cadillac Mountain.

  • Shop for gorgeous souvenir yarn when you meet the maker, Karen Grover, at a pop-up shop in Bar Harbor.