Region: Antarctica
Destinations: Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia
Ship: m/v Ortelius
Highlights: Gentoo Penguin, Rockhopper Penguin, Wandering Albatross
Everything about this ship and the company as about saving money. From rotating limited staff to substandard food. The ship operates for the benefit of the company and certainly not the passengers. Everything is outdated from their equipment to their operating procedures. No polar plunge but a poorly organised polar wade. Limited indoor recreational space for pax. Poor scenic visibility from lounges. Limited drying space after shore excursions and sloppy attention to security details. Boarding zodiacs from a long loosely secured set of stairs made embarking and disembarking zodiacs unnecessarily dangerous. Cabin staff and waitstaff excellent but unsupported. Costumer contact staff inconsistent in their oft times resentful responses.
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Comment from Oceanwide Expeditions
Thank you for your review. While we are always happy to hear feedback that helps us improve our product, we must regrettably correct you with regard to the condition of our vessel, equipment, and voyage protocols.
Every year we invest considerable resources into keeping our vessels and equipment up to date, and we pride ourselves on our high standard of food supply and preparation. Our guests typically praise these facets of our product.
Zodiac embarkations are done with ladders that have been specially installed for this purpose. Like all resources used by our guests, they are subject to strict inspections and maintenance. We adhere to and often exceed IMO standards.
As for onboard views, guests can enjoy scenery both outside and inside the vessel and can even visit the bridge and bridge deck almost continuously. In other words, there are many places to get exceptional views during sea days.
In summary, it seems as though your dissatisfaction stems from the fact that you did not thoroughly research our product before embarking.
In a nutshell, here it is: We offer expedition voyages, not luxury cruises. Our trips are for people whose priority is wildlife and the environment. Guests who understand this and are keen to experience the polar regions almost universally praise our trips, for which we are very proud.
That said, we appreciate your thoughts and will keep them in mind as we continue to refine our expedition product.