Region: Arctic

Destinations: Svalbard

Ship: m/v Hondius

the trip did not live up to the title, no pack ice and a single bear at a range of 3km !

Oceanwide Expeditions

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.

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