A polar bear sighting (we’ll see 16 before the week is out), a whale (two enormous blue whales swam and played right by the ship), sea birds (imagine thousands nesting on high cliffs) or walrus (60 of the huge creatures weighing a ton or more lolling right in front of us on a beach) are all reason enough jump out of bed, bolt from lunch, forgo a shower or get off the ship’s treadmill. It’s why the 145 guests have paid thousands of dollars and traveled thousands of miles to cruise through ice.