In search of polar bear and pack ice
by mick woodford
Departure in June 2023
by mick woodford
Departure in June 2023
Been on one of our voyages?
Leave your own review26 Jul - 4 Aug, 2025
•Tripcode: PLA09-25
Take a cruise around Spitsbergen and explore the icy waters of the North Atlantic. This special expedition offers you the chance to catch sight of whales, reindeer, Arctic foxes, walruses, seals, and the star attraction, the polar bear.
14 Aug - 23 Aug, 2025
•Tripcode: HDS10-25
This cruise around Spitsbergen gives you a great chance to see whales, foxes, reindeer, seals, and polar bears.
23 Aug - 5 Sep, 2025
•Tripcode: HDS11-25
The Spitsbergen and Northeast Greenland cruise sails waters filled with breath-taking scenery. The expedition passes through areas that are home to seals, seabirds, whales, and polar bears, topped off with nighttime viewing of the Northern Lights.
1 May - 8 May, 2026
•Tripcode: RVR05-26
This program is designed for experienced ski mountaineers who have mastered ski techniques both for ascent and descent in challenging snow-covered alpine terrain. A typical day involves ski climbs on mountaintops averaging heights of 700—850 meters (2,300—2,800...
25 May - 27 May, 2026
•Tripcode: OTL01-26
Search for whales, seals, and seabirds on a scenic voyage from our home port of Vlissingen to culturally rich Aberdeen, the "Granite City" of northeast Scotland. White-beaked dolphins, harbour porpoises, minke whales, orcas, and various species of seabird...
Comment from Oceanwide Expeditions
Thank you for your review. We value any feedback that helps us improve our voyages.
In this case, however, we can only reiterate what we state frequently in our itineraries and other content: wildlife sightings are not guaranteed and are determined entirely by the animals, not by us. Their presence or absence, like that of pack ice, is beyond our control.
While it is a shame we did not see bears any closer, there are strict guidelines governing how close we are able to get to bears when there are other vessels in the vicinity. The vessel did, however, navigate the fringes of pack ice that had begun to break into smaller floes.
Our trip titles reflect our goals and the general way each trip is meant to go, but nature is under no obligation to agree. Sometimes it has other plans, making it more difficult for us to deliver a trip the way we intend. This is the variable nature of expedition travel. It is the risk we all take when embarking into such remote regions.
Nonetheless, we hope your voyage afforded you some pleasure and memorable moments, and we are pleased you chose to sail with us.