Sampo Icebreaker Cruise & Ice Swimming in Kemi, Finland

Here’s a once in a lifetime cruise you may not have heard of! Imagine being onboard a ship as it breaks the ice as it moves forward or swimming in a sea of ice. It sounds dangerous but the Sampo Icebreaker cruise in Kemi, Finland is anything but. While gaining in popularity the Sampo Icebreaker was the very FIRST icebreaker to allow tourists onboard. It cruises along the Baltic Sea in the Northern Gulf of Bothnia. This is one cruise you need to add to your bucket list!

Our shuttle to the Sampo Icebreaker was late picking us up so we arrived about 5 minutes before the cruise was to depart. We quickly made our way into the building and gave our names to the man at the desk. For some reason, he didn’t have our reservation. After some discussion with the crew (telling them to wait) and our travel planner, we had tickets in our hand and made our way onto the ship. (Just so you know, check in starts one hour before scheduled departure time and you can get on board 30 minutes prior.)

We met our enthusiastic tour guide who ushered us in to lunch. Included in the ticket price is the choice of reindeer herder’s soup, Icebreaker’s salmon soup, or cream of coconut-carrot soup. We chose the reindeer herder’s soup. Bread was also served. Drinks and dessert were available for purchase at an extra price.

While we were enjoying lunch, the ship began to move. I snapped this picture just as we had started moving. We were really happy that we were on an afternoon tour because we were able to see versus the early morning tour that leaves when it’s dark outside.

The Sampo Icebreaker has a round hull so it glides over the top of the ice, then its weight comes crashing down into the ice breaking it apart. The sea here is able to freeze because of the low salt content. Every once in a while when the ice was too thick, the ship would back up, reposition, and press on forward.

The Sampo Icebreaker worked for the government for 25 years before it was retired. The ship was no longer useful at clearing the way because ships were becoming larger. Thanks to the mayor, he came up with the idea to use it as a tourist attraction. And now, the ship has been in service for tourism use longer than it did icebreaking for other ships.

Our tour brought us to the captain’s area. This was really awesome because it’s where the ship is controlled.

Our guide explained the job duties of the staff onboard the ship. After our tour, the ship stopped for us to walk on the ice. As far as the eye could see was white. (Make sure to dress warm so you can enjoy being outside on the frozen sea!)

Once we had enjoyed walking on the frozen sea, we got dressed in our thermal neoprene suits to swim in the freezing sea.

While keeping our clothes on, minus shoes, hats, and coat, we made our way outside to float. To enter the sea, we had to sit and then lie back as we were pushed into the water. It is important to keep your neck towards your chest to avoid the water going down the opening near the face.

We floated in the ice for a few minutes. It was fun pushing the ice around and just floating in the water. The suit kept us from sinking and getting cold. However, Chris played in the sea a bit longer than I did and said his hands started to get cold.

If was fun getting to float among big chunks of ice in the frozen sea. This was definitely a bucket list check!

After changing out of our suits, we explored the ship some more and continued to watch the ship break the ice as it move along its path back to the dock.

When we disembarked, we were presented with a certificate for our participation on the Sampo Icebreaker cruise.