Reviews

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A wonderful overview to the Antarctic acessible from the sea.

This was an amazing trip, my first to Antarctica and something I'll remember forever. The wildlife sightings from deck, the zodiacs and on the land were just brilliant and much more than I was ever expecting. The ship was comfortable and spacious with nice facilites such as the coffee machine on tap! All of its crew were so helpful, patient and friendly throughout. The Expedition team, led by Martin and Pippa were also very friendly, and so well organised, knowledgeable and full of enthusiasm, they really made the trip special. Thanks everyone, from someone who never wanted to go on a cruise before, ( due to fear of sea sickness and formal dinners) I will definitely consider one to the Arctic with Oceanwide in the future. Thank you so much.

Trotz einiger NATURBEDINGTER WIDRIGKEITEN, die durch die Crew (in allen Bereichen) für mein Empfinden gut kompensiert wurden, war die Expeditions-Reise ein LOHNENSNSWERTES , SPANNENDES, BEWUSTSEIN ERWEITERNTES u. dadurch zum NACHDENKEN anregendes Erlebnis !!!!!!!!!!!!! 2015 habe ich mit der PLANCIUS eine SPITZBERGEN-UMRUNDUNG gemacht - GROSSARTIG !!!

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A really fabulous adventure to Antarctica, South Georgia Island, and the Falkland Islands aboard the Plancius. The boat is a perfect size for our 100 passenger voyage. The staff is very personable and helpful. Each day they give presentations about climate, geography, wildlife, a daily recap and plans for the next day. We had ample onshore excursion and zodiac tours of various islands and inlets in the Antarctic peninsula. After several days here, we moved on to South Georgia Island. This seems to be the Galapagos of the South Atlantic, with wildlife that is extremely approachable. The rugged mountainous terrain is breathtaking, and we all visited Grytviken to see the old whale processing station, the museum, and visit Shackleton's burial site. Our final stop on thje voyage was the Falkland Islands to visit the Magellanic penguins and the town of Stanley. All along the entire voyage there was so much to experience!

The most amazing lifetime experience. Great ship, brilliant crew and wonderful wildlife seen so close on the zodiac landings and cruises. Life on board was great with excellent food and nothing too much trouble for the crew. If you make one trip in your lifetime make it this one!

Trip far exceeded our expectations. The expedition guides and the Doctor Moniek were very knowledgeable, patient, kind, and wonderful. We got to know them fairly well. it was hard to say goodbye at the end of the trip. The places we went , the scenery we saw, hiked over and through, was truly new unspoiled, uncharted territory. Best ever trip and I share the experience with everyone and recommend this trip and others that Oceanwide offers

The Oceanwide Expeditions Basecamp Antartica Cruise was amazing on every level! I couldn’t have asked for a better Antarctica experience. The expeditions, lectures, meals and excursions were outstanding. The entire staff and crew were dedicated to creating a once in a life time experience for each and every one of us. I will never forget our first day in Antarctica, and our very 1st Zodiac ride. How exhilarating it was to float with the Humpbacks, patiently watching the water to see where they would surface next. The sound they made with their blowholes is something I will never forget. The knowledge and passion of all the expedition leaders was truly inspiring. Oceanwide has a special place in my heart not only for the Antarctica experience but also for how they safely navigated getting us home during the Covid19 crisis. I am forever grateful for the leadership at Oceanwide Expeditions. Their level headed behind the scenes support was certainly critical to the success of our safe journey home. I highly recommend them for a trip you will never forget. I hope to cruise with Oceanwide Expeditions again.

Our mother/daughter trip to Antarctica truly was one of the most unique, fantastic experiences of my life. The guides, excursions, wildlife sightings, and meals surpassed my expectations. The expedition guides, each with a disparate expertise, were eager to share their knowledge on each zodiac expedition and landing on the continent. On one particularly special experience, we were boarding a zodiac to leave a fantastic landing on one of the Orne Islands (having seen a colony of chinstrap penguins and several fur seals), and our guide Pippa spotted humpbacks in the distance. She detoured the zodiac, boating through a series of icebergs to watch a pair of mothers and babies lunge feeding. While watching, she kept a respectful distance and explained all about the feeding practice and the whales. The Expedition Leader, Iain, also went out of his way to have multiple plans for each day in case bad weather deterred us. In the end, we kayaked next to a sunken ship, mountaineered on a glacier, were playfully pecked by baby penguins (who approached us, not the other way around), hiked next to whale bones, ate tasty food by chef Charlotte, and generally had a fabulous time.

I can't properly express to you my gratitude (and those of my fellow shipmates) at the care the Plancius crew (and the Home Office) took of us during our extended Antarctic cruise (March 9-26). The statement that the Home Office relayed to us, though our incredible crew, that WE WOULD NOT BE STRANDED in any port (all while we were trying to make connections home) lifted the despair that so many of us were beginning to feel (when Argentina closed its borders). You kept us on board at no extra expense to us (and what had to be a huge amount for the company- in food stuffs, time, crew salaries, internet usage, etc). I'm sitting here "safe" at home in Des Moines, IA., (practically in tears) because of your company's generosity. I JUST CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!! (PS: I'm already planning to take an Arctic trip with Oceanwide, when we can travel again.)

The Plancius is a really cool ship. The entire crew: Expidition, Technical, and Guest Services is AMAZING and easily the best part of the operation. This is not a criticism of anyone on the boat. But from a corporate and marketing standpoint, they sell this as an adventure / expedition cruise. The advertise things like "snowshoeing, camping, kayaking, mountaineering." What happened was all camping was cancelled due to weather. All snowshoeing was cancelled due to weather. "Mountaineering" was cancelled half the time. If you got to do an activity it was one time for about 2hrs. Not much activity for 2 weeks on a boat. They sell higher expectations than they deliver.

The Captain and Crew were extremely professional in their duties. As was the Ships Doctor. The Expedition Staff were very knowledgeable in their respective fields. All of the above were very friends and would take the time to answer any questions that had arose. Before being allowed to embark we were given medical screenings and our temperatures were taken. Otherwise the journey had started off as normal as could be with a looming global pandemic. The journey to the continent was pretty uneventful. Once arriving in the area of the continent the views of snow covered granite peaks and glaciers were breathtaking. During our expeditions the close encounters with the wildlife were amazing. It was great to be within yards of Whales, Seals, and Penguins living in their natural environment. The weather was mostly overcast, very windy, and the temperature was usually around freezing. I guess that is to be expected, after all it is Antarctica. This trip was well worth every penny. And I hope to do it again someday. I would also like to thank everyone at Oceanwide Expeditions for their behind the scenes work too. Everyone went above and beyond the call of duty.

Due to COVID our ship was at sea for 5 extra days, during which the staff and crew went above and beyond to make our time aboard the Plancius as comfortable, safe, informed, and FUN as possible. From trivia to movie nights, camping on deck and a pirate costume BBQ, a scavenger hunt and game tournaments, they really pulled out all the stops. Antarctica was pretty amazing too!

I wish to share our great respect and appreciation for the crew and staff of the Plancius during both the spectacular expedition cruise and the challenging second phase of our extended voyage - seeking a port at which to dock. I wish to single out the tireless work of the expedition leaders and staff, particularly Iain, Pippa, Steffi, Rustyn, Mal and Celine, with great support from Dorette, Felicity, Dave and Tom. At all times Iain and the team ensured that communication was swift and complete, that the passengers were fully informed and were getting the information, assistance and support they needed from the start of the trip through each challenging phase. I know that they did not consider their work complete until assured that every member had a plan to return home. Iain, as expedition leader, served as the perfect representative of Oceanwide in the demonstration of positive communication and support skills, transparency, and temperament. We would be remiss not to commend all of the hotel, dining, and cabin leaders and teams for their excellent work and positive attitudes as well from start to finish.