Meet your local expedition team!
The local Expedition Team will be by your side throughout your voyage on the Svalbard Adventure Mini-Cruise, sharing stories and insights about Svalbard’s culture, nature, and history. Their enthusiasm, knowledge, and love for the Svalbard archipelago will ensure your Spitsbergen voyage is a truly memorable one.
Each member of the team has a range of specialised topics in their repertoire, ready to share with you on board, on deck, and ashore.
Meet Guri
Languages: Norwegian and English
Guri hails from Stavanger in Norway. She was fortunate enough to grow up with a family cabin on Svalbard, where she spent many vacations during her childhood. Naturally, this led her to move to Svalbard in August 2021 to study Arctic Nature Guiding at the University Centre in Svalbard. Before this, she completed a bachelor’s degree in biology but realised that guiding allows her to spend more time in nature and less time crunching statistics.
Guri works as a snowmobile guide during the winter and then onboard M/S Serenissima, as well as driving one-day RIB tours from Longyearbyen during the summer. You might spot her on the aft deck, knitting or birdwatching, as she loves observing all kinds of wildlife
Meet Sigrid
Languages: Norwegian and English
Sigrid is from Svalbard and has spent her whole life in Longyearbyen. Like a true Svalbardian, she grew up with a life full of snowmobiling, skiing, hunting and spending long days in the arctic nature. Her fascination with the history of Svalbard, as well as its flora and fauna, led her naturally to the guide profession, following in the footsteps of both her parents.
The first time she worked as a guide for Hurtigruten Svalbard was the summer of 2023, and since then, she has spent a year in the Norwegian army, serving on the Norwegian-Russian border. Her strong love for Svalbard pulled her back north and now she is excited for a new and adventurous season in the wilderness!
Meet Hedda
Languages: Norwegian and English
Hedda grew up by the sea in a small village in Norway, spending most of her childhood at sea with her parents. She moved to Svalbard in 2018 to study Arctic geology and became a glaciologist specialising in Svalbard’s glaciers. She loves the frozen parts of the world so much that when she is not on Svalbard, she works in the Antarctic, Greenland, and Canada.
Meet Martin
Languages: English and French
Martin first set foot on Svalbard in 2018 after spending his entire life in the heart of the Swiss Alps. His passion for nature, and the challenges it can present, made Longyearbyen the perfect place to conclude his studies in environmental engineering. There, he discovered a unique environment while writing his Master’s thesis on snow studies.
Once back home, Martin found office work unfulfilling and left his engineering job after two years. He became a ski patroller and joined the Arctic Nature Guide program in Longyearbyen in 2022. Since then, he has explored Svalbard on skis, snowmobiles, on foot, or aboard the Svalbard Adventure Mini-Cruise, immersing himself in the magic of the Arctic. You'll likely spot him on deck with his camera, capturing the beauty around him.
MS Serenissima
Explore the MS Serenissima, a vessel that seamlessly blends the charm of a classic ocean liner with modern amenities. Originally built as the Harald Jarl in 1960 for Hurtigruten at Trondhjems mekaniske Værksted (TMV), the ship has been renovated several times over the years, preserving its history while offering a comfortable and intimate Arctic cruise experience.
Read moreMeet Svenja
Languages: German and English
Svenja grew up in Northern Germany and loves mountains and snow. Unfortunately, her home region has neither, so she had to be creative. That’s why before, during and after her studies in environmental management and sustainability science, she went out into the world – preferably somewhere cold like Sweden, the Alps or Mongolia – where she worked, studied or both.
Svenja first came to Longyearbyen in 2019, studying physical geography at Svalbard’s university centre (UNIS). What was supposed to be a one-time semester abroad soon became her 2nd home, and she returned multiple times, taking courses in geoscience, Arctic safety and biology. In 2023, she also started working as a guide for Hurtigruten Svalbard, first in town and now for her second season onboard this arctic expedition cruise.
The many big and small life forms and natural phenomena that Svalbard has to offer fascinated Svenja since the beginning, and she is happy to share her interdisciplinary background and general enthusiasm for the natural world while guiding.
Meet Raphael
Languages: English and French
Raphael grew up in the south of France and spent his childhood dreaming about mountains. During his engineering education, he visited Svalbard to study Space Physics and the Northern Lights.
As an outdoor enthusiast, he found in Svalbard an Eldorado. After 2 years in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, he is now living in Tromsø, northern Norway, working as an engineer in space telecommunications. He has spent his holidays guiding on board Serenissima since 2022. You will often see him behind his camera, or birdwatching…
Meet Stéphane
Languages: French, English, and Norwegian
Stéphane is from Geneva, Switzerland, and moved to Norway in 1998. His first job as a field assistant for the Norwegian Polar Institute took him to Sassendalen (Sassen Valley) on Svalbard, where he spent a summer working with Arctic foxes. He also spent four years studying, hunting, fishing, and dogsledding in various places across Norway, including Lofthus in Hardanger and Tromsø. In 2003, Stéphane returned to Svalbard as a kayak guide for a French company. Since 2004, he has been working for Hurtigruten Svalbard as a trekking, kayak, and cruise guide on the Svalbard Adventure Mini-Cruise.
Stéphane spends five months a year on Svalbard and the rest of his time in El Hierro, Canary Islands, where he grows vegetables. He is patient and loves sharing his knowledge of fauna and flora with others. Stéphane enjoys walking and kayaking, immersing himself in nature.
Svalbard Adventure Mini Cruises
Wednesday to Monday | Longyearbyen – Liefdefjorden - Longyearbyen
5-Night Svalbard Itinerary: Half-week cruise on MS Serenissima • Stay in Longyearbyen with a sightseeing tour* • Meals and transfers included *Staying at either the 5* Funken Lodge or 4* Radisson Blu Polar Hotel, Spitsbergen.
Sunday to Fridays | Longyearbyen – Moffen – Longyearbyen
5-Night Svalbard Itinerary: Half-week cruise on MS Serenissima • Stay in Longyearbyen with a sightseeing tour* • Meals and transfers included *Staying at either the 5* Funken Lodge or 4* Radisson Blu Polar Hotel, Spitsbergen.