Why a Canadian river cruise should be top of your bucket-list (2024)

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Why a Canadian river cruise should be top of your bucket-list (1)

Author:Jack Carter

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On Canada’s St Lawrence River, Jack Carter discovers how colonial history and inventive gastronomy combine to create an expedition like no other

As Viking Polaris makes its way along the St Lawrence River on an unseasonably cold mid-April morning, litle do I know that a spooky coincidence is about to occur.

Nearly 500 years ago, a swashbuckling French navigator called Jacques Cartier –who’s no relation to me – also arrived hereon an expedition ship.

Despite not havingViking Polaris’s next-generation stabilisers ora Nordic spa to while away the hours, Cartiersuccessfully led 60 men across the Atlantic,where he colonised the glorious expanseof eastern Canada we now call Quebec.

One of Viking’s expedition leaders says,“It’s easy to see why Cartier fell in love with this place,” just as a flight of white-feathered herons glide along the river, their feet setting off ripples on its mirror-calm surface.

"Mustard fields bordered byenormous windswept trees are blanketedby a Siberian weather front that has draggedtemperatures down to well below freezing.It’s a melancholy yet utterly breathtakingscene, and I’m spellbound.

Like my French namesake, I too am onmakes its way along a mission.

When the Expedition Cruise Network – a membership organisation that connects expedition cruise operators – released its 2023/23 Insights Report, it revealed a growing appetite among travellers for adventure-led cruises that go beyond the polar regions.

So when I was invited to sail the St Lawrence River on Viking's newly launched Canadian Discovery itinerary, it was the perfect opportunity to see if this corner of North America has what it takes to compete with the allure of the poles.

Why a Canadian river cruise should be top of your bucket-list (2)

Locked in

I wake early the next morning and hurryto my window, eager to see what bucolicview awaits me.

I imagine undulating pineforests complemented by a menagerieof razorbills, guillemots and gulls sailingthrough the air.

As my blind disappears, a concrete wall with slime-green splotchesemerges, 15cm from my windowsill. Thenwe start to sink.I’d read about the St Lawrence Seawaywhen we boarded in Toronto, where Ilearned it had taken 22,000 workers fiveyears to build.

Stretching 304kmalong the border of the United Statesand Canada, the seaway – or to give it its colloquial name, Highway H20 – is made up of a series of locks, eachdesigned to carry ships between theGreat Lakes and the Atlantic.

I lower my window and place myhand against the seaway wall, letting it gently graze my fingers as the lockempties.

With barely a Mars bar’s widtheither side of us, we stop descendingand accelerate toward open water.

Locals gathered on the riverbank beep their truck horns excitedly whilechildren dressed like baby lumberjacksscamper alongside us, trying to keeppace. Never before has a ship as largeas this sailed along the seaway and its appearance is causing quite a stir.

Captain Xavier Mongin’s voicetransmits through the ship’s PA system,confirming that we’ve made it throughour third lock unscathed. “Only fourmore to go,” he adds.

Why a Canadian river cruise should be top of your bucket-list (3)

A feast for the senses

The next day we arrive in the city ofTrois-Rivieres, where a culinary tourawaits. One by one my group squeezesthrough the narrow doorway of Epi– the first of three restaurants on theitinerary – where a sweet, herbaceousscent wafts from the kitchen.

Twoheavily tattooed men lead us to ourtables and begin filling our glasses withsparkling red wine from the nearby hillsof Mont Yamaska, east of Montreal.

Soon, another waiter emerges from thekitchen, carrying a plate of shreddedrabbit which has been pressed withfresh herbs into a neat rectangle.

Garnishing it is a fiddlehead, an ediblefern shaped like a coiled chameleon’stail that’s grown in the next province,New Brunswick.

Our waiter explains, “They’reincredibly rare due to their shortharvesting season, so you’re in for a treat.” My tastebuds erupt intosomersaults as I bite into the rich,umami-fied rabbit, while the crunchof the earthy fiddlehead providesa satisfying bittersweet landing.

"With a population of just 60,000people, Trois-Rivieres has morerestaurants per capita than anywhereelse in Canada, and as much as I’dlike to try them all, Viking’s activityspecialists do a wonderful job ofselecting three for us to sample.

Next,we try Japanese fusion at Sushizo,where I watch remarkably young chefsroll, slice and squeeze sushi intoimaginative shapes.

Our final stop isMezcal Taqueria – and after just onebite of my corn and chorizo empanadaI decide this is some of the bestMexican food I’ve ever eaten.

As on most expedition cruises thereare long sailing days between ports, soI use the time to get acquainted withViking Polaris’s nooks and crannies.

What amazes me is just how manyopportunities there are to learn aboutthe world I’m sailing through.

I enjoydaily lectures on everything from algaeto astronomy, I join fellow guests inhelping the onboard scientists tolaunch a weather balloon, and with myown binoculars I spot pods of belugawhales from my well-appointed DeluxeNordic Balcony room.

This ship reallyis a library, museum, science lab andluxury hotel all rolled into one.

Why a Canadian river cruise should be top of your bucket-list (4)

Enriching escapades

We arrive in Quebec City as stormclouds are brewing, making FairmontLe Chateau Frontenac look more likeDracula’s Castle than a luxury hotel asit watches over us from its towering bluff.

After a potter around the old town’ssouvenir shops to find some sensiblypriced maple syrup (I settle for applesyrup instead), we board a coach to visita preserved Amerindian village.

Themuseum is closed for renovation, soour young guide takes us on a privatetour of a reconstructed longhouseinstead, which is hidden behind animposing 15m-high palisade.

He says hisancestors were part of the Wendat tribeand I detect pride in his voice when hetells us that their innovative farmingtechniques once helped them forgea trading empire with the French.

As we journey north, I discover thatthe Wendats aren’t the only ones famedfor their ingenuity around here. Forexample, in 1870 a great fire burnedswathes of land around the SaguenayRiver, souring the forests with acidic,peaty soil.

This, however, providedthe perfect conditions to grow plumpblueberries, and before long tens of thousands of bushes flourished in the scorched ground.

A trip to Domaine Le Cageot vineyardoutside Saguenay city is a chance tosample blueberry-infused products,including liqueurs, vinaigrettes andwine.

I expect the red to be syrupy butam pleasantly surprised by its crisp,zesty notes, so I purchase a bottlefrom the gift shop.

Then there are the residentsof Prince Edward Island, many ofwhom are still rebuilding homes andrejuvenating farmland after HurricaneFiona crashed ashore in 2022.

On awalking tour through Charlottetown,I’m struck by the splintered tree trunksand patched up rooftops, but also howbeautiful the city has remained, withits brightly coloured colonial housesand Gothic churches.

Up to this point, my journey throughCanada has been jam-packed withwonderful culinary discoveries andintriguing insights into the country’sindigenous First Nations people, but I am yet to have the adrenaline-pumping experience that every greatexpedition promises. I’m excited,then, to board Viking Polaris’s specialoperations boat in our penultimatecall – Halifax, Nova Scotia.

As we whizz around the harbour,stopping momentarily to spot birdlifeand have a nosey at grand waterfrontmansions, it dawns on me that greatexpeditions are about more thanfull-throttle Zodiac tours and citizenscience excursions.

They’re about having those horizon-broadening experiences in whateverform they come – and over the pasttwo weeks I can say without doubtthat I’ve had my fair share of those.

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Why a Canadian river cruise should be top of your bucket-list (2024)

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