It's a madcap, dangerous kind of fun, but there's something to be said for intentionally hitting ice in a ship that's built for it. From the bridge, it looks like the ship is ripping apart a sturdy piece of construction paper, as if it were surfing above the water. It looks alien, because there is no water, except for what the Polar Star creates as it makes a trail of crushed ice behind it that extends for miles in a straight line. The vibration is a byproduct of the action. They're located right under my stateroom, so I am intimately acquainted with what powers the Polar Star through the ice.
Power is the operative word.
This ship is flat whipping ice. It's incredible to watch, a testament to the power of this ship. And after a day of doing this, with only a few breaks for engine maintenance and unclogging the ice from the engine cooling-water intakes, I am firmly convinced that the Devil himself could put a wall of ice in front of the ship and the Polar Star would knock it down. Why the Devil would be doing that is another question, but if the Devil can be a Yankee fan, then he can throw walls of ice up too. Indulge me my allegory, if that's what it is.