For Oceanwide Expeditions guest Lisa, travel has never been about luxury for luxury’s sake. For her, true travel means stepping far beyond the ordinary, chasing total immersion in unfamiliar landscapes, and returning with a deeper understanding of the places she has visited. She recently returned from a 9-night adventure exploring the dramatic fjords and glaciers of northern Svalbard, including multiple days in the ethereal world of the pack ice above 81°N, where we caught up with her.
Returning to the Arctic
This wasn't Lisa's first rodeo in the wild north. Her connection with the Arctic began in Greenland, where she fell in love with the region’s ancient landscapes, varied wildlife, and frontier feel. Since then, she has continued to explore other Arctic destinations, including Svalbard. The realm of the polar bear, however, is the kind of place that once experienced, forever pulls you back - something that Lisa knows full well. “There was no real surprise,” she says of returning to the archipelago. “But for me, that was part of the experience. I loved that I liked it again so much; my feelings and emotions hadn't changed since my first time there. I still felt as though it was the first time seeing all these great places - the wonder remained!”
Over the course of the expedition, Plancius explored some of Svalbard’s iconic landscapes. In the Hinlopen Strait on the shores of Nordaustlandet, a group of walruses, including several pups, hauled out on a sandy spit - the ideal photography subjects, while at Alkefjellet, Lisa and her fellow guests were awed by the tens of thousands of guillemots, kittiwakes and glaucous gulls swooping and darting to and from the mist-covered sea cliffs. "I was particularly hoping to see walrus again," says Lisa. "And they didn't disappoint! They are such great animals to watch, so iconic, and such a treat to see them in the wild."
Picture by Lisa
At locations such as Texas Bar, Faksevågen, and the northern shores of St. Jonsfjorden, the group stretched their legs with hikes to outcrops overlooking vast glaciers, along tundral slopes, and through a land where nature's dramatic beauty supersedes human history. "I found myself appreciating these places even more, given it was my second time there. I didn't feel the need to rush to take a picture of everything, and I found myself able to breathe in the details and appreciate the views I remembered from last time in an entirely new light. We also saw so many new places - it proved to me that Svalbard has so much more to offer than can be packed into one adventure!"
Over several days, the vessel also ventured north of the archipelago, heading into the mazy pack ice pressing down from the North Pole. “It was just amazing,” Lisa says. “The endless views - just ice, ice, and more ice, stretching off on all sides! It was also so special to encounter wildlife there, and to see the harsh conditions they live in."
For four days, the ship slowly traveled through a world of white and blue. Endless daylight shone down upon a frozen sea; hummocks and pressure ridges broke up an otherwise white, endless horizon, while groups of seals leaped from the water in open leads. A variety of bird species were constants in the sky above and around the ship, and in the surrounding ice, including little auks, kittiwakes, Arctic terns, glaucous gulls, guillemots and the occasional ivory gull. A lone walrus relaxed on a large floe, raising one eyelid lazily as the ship slipped almost silently by. A pair of blue whales emerged from the depths, fluking mere meters from the side of the ship; minke whales fed at the surface, and, most remarkably, a rare encounter with the bowhead whale left all aboard speechless in a 20-minute-long encounter at the edge of the ice.
Picture by Lisa
Traveling solo? No problem!
Lisa currently helps others discover the world, working for a tour operator specializing in adventure travel, based in Dresden, Germany. When she had the opportunity to join Plancius in Svalbard, it wasn't only a personal trip - it was a chance to experience the destination and the ship firsthand, so she could better advise her clients. Svalbard, like many of the world's least-traveled places, needs to be experienced to be truly understood - true of writers, artists, and travel specialists!
“It’s always kind of a bonus if you could say, ‘Yes, I have been there and experienced it before,’” Lisa says. “It makes everything more authentic, and you can better match your client to the experiences they are seeking, and that they will truly appreciate. So, it was great to experience the ship, the activities, and the Oceanwide approach firsthand.”
Because of this, Lisa traveled solo, one of many guests on board with varying ages, backgrounds, and interests who joined as individual adventurers. The Oceanwide experience is built to be communal and accessible to all, whether traveling in a family group, as a couple, or solo, with informal dining, shared areas such as the on-board bar & lounge, and a warm, engaging atmosphere where new friendships form and shared memories are created. “Even if you’re traveling alone, you’ll never feel alone during a trip like this,” Lisa says. “You might join alone, but you'll leave with new friends! You can take your ‘me-time’, but if you like, you can socialize at any time - there are plenty of other people, other solo travelers, but not so much to be daunting!”
Picture by Katrin Frosin
For solo travelers, that can be one of the most appealing aspects of expedition cruising. You can always share a meal, join a shore landing, swap stories after a wildlife sighting, or bond over shared interests or the journey at hand. At the same time, you can step away and enjoy some solitude, basking in the feeling of finding yourself at the edges of the map.
With guest numbers capped at 170, each vessel in the Oceanwide fleet retains an intimate, personal feel, with a limited number of guests, and the expedition team mixing with guests, creating an informal atmosphere in which guests are a member of an authentic expedition - not a number on a cruise manifest. "I loved the atmosphere on board," says Lisa. "All round, it was excellent service and an amazing crew, from restaurant, housekeeping, expedition staff and the vessel crew, including the captain. I loved being able to visit the bridge and ask questions."
Catching the polar bug
Like many visitors to Svalbard and other parts of the Arctic, Lisa has well and truly caught the polar bug. Her next adventure is already booked - a trip to Western Greenland. "I've well and truly caught the bug," she admits. "Along with the Arctic, Antarctica has been on my list since I was 9 or 10, reading about it in magazines at my grandparents' house."
Whether in the wilds of the Arctic or exploring Antarctica's vast beauty, the same reality changes people. There are no crowded streets, no traffic noise, and no constant notifications. Instead, there is the sound of wind, the rising swell of the sea, and the sight, smell, and sounds of wildlife you may only have ever seen in a nature documentary. Plus, of course, there is also almost complete silence - a luxury in today's modern world.
For Lisa, this sense of stillness was one of the strongest impressions from her time in Svalbard. “The silence up there was intoxicating. To be surrounded by stunning landscapes, isolated from ‘real life’, with truly fresh air, fantastic wildlife... in a way, life feels easier up there in the north." Several times throughout the trip, Lisa could be found standing in silence on deck, making full use of Plancius's remarkably quiet engine to absorb every second spent in such a special corner of our world.
Picture by Lisa
You don’t simply visit the Arctic; you become immersed in it. And then, eventually, you have to leave. This return to normal life can be a harsh adjustment. “To be honest, it was horrible!” she laughs. “It’s always hard to return from holidays, but to return from the Arctic it’s even harder. The difference from the silence and the rough landscapes to the city life is crazy.”
As the renowned polar explorer Frank Wild once said, "Once you have been to the white unknown, you can never escape the call."