Norwegian discount cruise

In June, Norwegian Coastal Voyage is introducing NCV Expedition Cruises to two Arctic islands--Greenland, the world's second largest island (after Australia), on the Brand Polaris; and Spitsbergen, an island in the Svalbard archipelago midway between Norway and the North Pole, on the Polar Star. The eight-day soft-adventure cruises, which feature naturalist guides, lectures, and Zodiac landings, are being marketed as air-inclusive programs. Cruising on traditional ships during the polar summer, when the sun does not set, is an ideal way to view the Arctic's glaciers, icebergs, fjords, steep cliffs, whales, seals, reindeer, musk oxen, polar bears, migratory birds, and wildflowers.

Expedition cruises on the 92-passenger Brand Polaris (formerly the Disko) focus on nature and the Inuit culture of Greenland; the 12-day packages have departures from June 3 to August 5 with flights to Greenland via Copenhagen; cost is $3,810 to $6,250 per person/double occupancy. The 94-passenger Polar Star (formerly the Njord of the Swedish Baltic Sea fleet) is the first icebreaker to be fully converted to an expedition ship; her 10-day Spitsbergen packages, scheduled from June 12 to September 14, cost $4,995 to $6,100.

NCV Expedition Cruises to Greenland and Spitsbergen include roundtrip SAS flights from New York, hotel and breakfast in Copenhagen or Oslo, three meals daily aboard ship, port charges, air taxes, and transfers. Add-on airfares are available from other gateway cities. AARP members receive a $100 discount.

For more information contact your travel agent or Norwegian Coastal Voyage (Cruise Travel Magazine), 405 Park Ave., New York, NY 10022; or log on to www.coastalvoyage. com.