IKALUKTUTUAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
Hundreds of passengers from the luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity took turns being shuttled by inflatable boats to see the sights of Cambridge Bay and buy souvenirs Aug. 29.

Sam Anayoak, left, Jerry Puglik, and Felix Tologanak-Labrie perform a drum dance on board the Crystal Serenity after they were brought on board by a zodiak from Cambridge Bay. - photo courtesy of Niore Iqalukjuak

Many were impressed with what they saw, spending an estimated $120,000 while touring the hamlet.

"As the passengers were coming back I got a lot of comments about how our community was so friendly and so welcoming," said Mayor Jeannie Ehaloak, who was on board the Crystal Serenity during the day. "That made me proud."

The ship's voyage began in Seward, Alaska, stopped off the coast of Ulukhaktok, NWT, and is bound for New York on a 32-day transit of the Northwest Passage. The 820-foot, 68,000-tonne, 13-deck ship is carrying approximately 1,650 people, including crew and staff members. Passengers come from all over the world, although a majority are American. It is accompanied by an icebreaker, the British Royal Research Ship Ernest Shackleton.

"In one day we doubled what we usually get in a whole season," said Vicki Aitaok, who co-ordinates activities for tourists through her company, Qaigguit Tours.

The hamlet itself has a population of roughly 1,600.

"There was over $120,000 spent in the community, and about 600 people came to shore," she said.

Passengers arrived at the beach in Zodiacs, in groups of around 100, cycling through an organized shore schedule. "The town was not overpopulated at all," said Aitaok.

On shore there was drum dancing, arts and crafts, serving of traditional food and children performing square dances.

The Nunavut Arts Festival, which ran Aug. 25 to 30, was organized to correspond with the cruise ship's arrival. Artists travelled from across the territory and beyond to display and sell their unique handiwork.

The cruise ship's owners presented the hamlet with a plaque showing its appreciation for the community's hospitality, as well as a cheque for $2,000 towards youth and recreation development.

Cultural presentations, including throatsinging and drum dancing, was offered on board the cruise ship after about 40 people from the community were hired to act as guides and presenters.

Julia Ogina of Cambridge Bay was part of the traditional dance group that performed on board the ship.

"The people were so happy, so excited," says Ogina. Afterwards, passengers were peppering the performers with questions about their stories, dances and traditional garb.

She has performed on other visiting ships with her dance group but says, "this was by far the biggest and the fanciest."

The community members participated in the passengers' vacation by joining them for meals, playing in the tennis courts and by the pool. "The children just enjoyed themselves. The little ones are still talking about it."

Sarah Jancke performed as a throat singer on the ship. She says passengers were fascinated with the traditional music style and asked her questions about how it is done.

Jancke said the tourism venture is an opportunity for the community and for the promotion of Inuit heritage. "I hope the community sees the potential."

She says preparing for the performance gave the locals the space to practice sharing traditional stories and practices. "It develops a sense of pride."

Ehaloak says the only problem she noticed was how slow the Internet and cellular phone services got during the visit, with so many more people accessing the bandwidth.

"I just want to thank the community for all the hard work they did. It took a couple months of planning," she said. "If there was ever another cruise ship I am sure the community would welcome them back."

The cruise ship is scheduled to arrive in Pond Inlet on Sept. 4 before crossing Davis Strait to Greenland before going on to New York City.

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