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Selling Spectacular: Interview with Maria del Pilar Fernández

We regularly interview our expedition guides and crew, gushing about all the fantastic locations these lucky souls get to call their office. But what about the Oceanwide staff whose office is, well, an office?

Earth vs. Mars: Polar Regions Compared

It’s common knowledge that Mars, like Earth, has its own polar regions – lovingly referred to as the Martian ice caps. But is that all there is to it, or are there distinctions between these regions?

Path of Polar Heroes: Hiking Shackleton’s Historic Route

Our voyages touch on much of the same ground the giants of polar history explored, endured, and (to a lesser degree) enjoyed during their historic expeditions, most of which describe acts of such superhuman resolve they almost defy belief.

Arctic vs. Antarctica: A Traveler’s Guide [Infographic]

Sunrises vs. sunsets, coffee vs. tea, Wonder Woman vs. Superman. The world contains a virtually limitless supply of things to compare, contrast, juxtapose, differentiate. But few things so perfectly express the polarities of our planet as its literal magnetic poles – or more generally, the Arctic (north) vs. Antarctica (south).

Seven Things to Do around Ushuaia

We often recommend arriving early to Ushuaia before embarking on an Antarctica cruise, and for good reason: Ushuaia, on top of being the southernmost city in the world, has in recent years developed into a decidedly charming tourist destination.

Antarctica in Pictures: Photos from 2018

Until you join us in Antarctica yourself, enjoy these stunning photos from the past year.

The Wonderful Weddell Sea: Places, Pics, and Impressions

When talking about Antarctica, it’s easy to slip into familiar verbiage: amazing, astounding, extraordinary, exceptional. And though most Antarctic locations deserve these descriptions, some do so more than others. The Weddell Sea is a prime example.

Port Lockroy: History, Post Office, and Resident Penguins

Sometimes it’s so easy to focus on all the beautiful coastlines, fjords, and other natural wonders of Antarctica that we overlook the man-made attractions in between.

Kayaking in Antarctica and the Arctic

Though our focus is always providing our passengers maximum possible polar shore time, sometimes off-shore time is just as important. For this, there’s no better adventure than polar kayaking.

Emperors Everywhere: Letter from Snow Hill Island, Antarctica

Yesterday marks two years in a row that we’ve been able to take our guests to the spectacular but seldom-visited Snow Hill Island emperor penguin colony.

AECO, IAATO & OEX: Polar Travel Partnerships

Nature-based travel asks its share of responsibilities to the planet, and travel in ecologically vulnerable areas even more so. Thankfully, the polar regions have two vital and widely respected organizations in their corner: AECO and IAATO.

Antarctica: When to Visit, How to Plan, What to Expect

If Antarctica is an astonishingly exotic location coveted in equal measure by ice enthusiasts and continent hoppers (and it is), it also asks a lot in return for its prestigious polar status.

A Moveable Feast: Interview with a Polar Cruise Chef

Polar cruises are luxurious, but they aren’t luxury cruises. The beds are wonderfully comfortable, but nobody expects goose-down pillows. The bar is appropriately well stocked, but no bottles of triple-cask Macallan 21 glow atop the shelves. The food is delicious, ample, and hearty, but…

Two for the Snow: Polar Cruises for Couples

You know the old saying, “Cold hands, warm heart.” We’re not doctors or anything, but in our opinion that bodes well for couples who visit the polar regions.

The Seven Best Things to Do in Antarctica

Unless you’re a scientist, there’s no such thing as a means-to-an-end trip to Antarctica. Merely being there is reason enough to make the journey - even, we would wager, for most scientists who travel to Antarctica solely for research.

Keep It Green: Our Commitment to Sustainable Polar Travel

It doesn’t make much sense for polar travel if every time we visit the Arctic and Antarctica we leave them worse than we found them. And that’s just considering things from a purely human perspective, which we don’t.

Polar Mountain High: Interview with a Ski and Mountaineering Guide

There are good jobs, and there are great jobs. And then there are jobs where you climb mountains and ski back down them and get paid for it. These are different jobs entirely. Tim Blakemore, one of Oceanwide’s mountaineering and skiing guides, has one of these jobs.

Five Reasons You Should Cruise the Ross Sea Immediately

In our quest for the little-known holiday destination (that’s still popular enough to have its own fully developed spa and gift shop), we travelers sometimes overlook the truly underrated gems this planet has hidden up its sleeve.

Why a Polar Diving Cruise Should be Your Next Great Decision

Not so very long ago, all you had to do to qualify as a thrill-seeker was hop a ship to the polar regions and make it back with all your fingers – or your life, if you weren’t picky.

15 Falklands Bird Photos

Few places offer as unique and abundant a selection of birds, particularly seabirds, as the remote sub-Antarctic archipelago of the Falkland Islands. With this in mind, we’ve compiled 15 images of the most photogenic birds in the Falklands. Some were taken by you, some by us, but every one of them was lovingly photographed during our exciting Falkland Island voyages.

The First Float of m/v Hondius

On the morning of Saturday, June 9, a newly constructed polar expedition cruise vessel slid down the timber-and-steel slipway of a sprawling Croatian shipyard, plunging into the pale blue waters of the rocky Adriatic coast. The launch of this vessel, one of 28 new expedition ships currently on order, might have seemed commonplace, even insignificant, to the world at large.

A Diving Dream Fulfilled

Last January, Mark Hatter accomplished a dream he’d been training two years to fulfill. Booking his berth aboard our m/v Ortelius and making the long flight to Ushuaia, Argentina, he and two of his friends sailed down the famous Drake Passage, bound for Earth’s southernmost continent.