Reviews
Overall rating based on 1,156 votes
Overall rating based on 1,156 votes
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Overall, it had been a very attractive trip. Every effort was made to provide a memorable experience for the guests. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Most lectures were of good quality and general interest. Unfortunately, the dining facility resembled that of a cafeteria or canteen, often being extremely noisy making conversations very hard. Considering the consistently long lines at the beginning of breakfast and lunch, requesting to be ready for boarding of the zodiac identical with the official end of breakfast and lunch times doesn’t make sense and leads to the unpleasant feeling of being rushed. There is definitely room for greater flexibility. One needs to be aware that embarkation takes place via zodiacs. The ‘complimentary’ data volume of 100 MB and wine via wine card worth EUR 20 are kind of a joke. Even if it’s free of charge, charging EUR 4 for barely 0.1 deciliter of wine comes close to a rip-off. At times, the daily evening wrap-up meeting contained quite a bit of self-congratulation on what had been 'presented' that day, and kind of ‘selling’ the daily experiences as absolutely unique in an almost cheerleader-like fashion.
This was an amazing trip which exceeded my expectations. The crew were superb and the guides were fantastic being knowledgeable, friendly and excellent at spotting wildlife and driving the zodiacs. The expedition leader, Sara, was brilliant, dealing with all that came her way be it requests from passengers or short notice changes to the itinerary due to polar bears, mist and/or ice conditions. Her briefings were clear and contained all the information that we needed to know. The ship was comfortable, the food excellent and the lectures interesting, showing the passion the presenters had for their specialist subjects. Chloe certainly infected us all with her enthusiasm for plankton, and we shared in her joy at catching a sea angel. We were lucky with the weather and sightings, including a polar bear that swam right up to the ship and arctic fox cubs playing only feet away from us. The itinerary was well planned and the scenery was wonderful. The slideshow presented on the last evening was great and its hard to believe that Charlotte was able to put it together so quickly from the photos taken. This was an experience that we will never forget.
Everything about this experience exceeded our expectations, and left us scratching our head on how you could possibly do any better. The abundance of wildlife allowed us to tick off everything on our must see list. The staff and accommodations were superb. The learning opportunities were tremendous, and left us hungry for more ecological education. A great job all around. The best piece of advice I could pass- listen to the staff when they encourage you to stay out of your camera or phone. Keep your head up and experience the whole moment. There is so much to see and hear. The staff took wonderful pictures of every aspect of the journey, and made them available for us after the trip. Take it all in, and the shared gallery will effortlessly fill out your photo album. These photos are from the shared file of our trip. It's a great adventure.
The most phenomenal experience. Everyone was so knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. I spent the entire trip with my mouth open in awe at the sheer beauty of everything we saw and can not believe the time and effort every single person on the ship put into making it the most wonderful experience. Everything was perfect and every moment was brilliant.
Meine Erwartungen wurden in jeder Hinsicht weit übertroffen was sowohl die Betreuung, die Qualität der guides, die Unterkunft, die Landschaftserlebnisse, die Verpflegung als auch die Tierbeobachtungen betrifft. Es war eine der schönsten Reisen in meinem Leben überhaupt.
Circumnavigation of Spitzbergen, beautiful trip managed perfectly
Ho partecipato al periplo delle isole Svalbard. Tutte le mie aspettative sono state soddisfatte e spesso anche superate. Viaggio ed organizzazione eccellenti. Team preparatissimo e personale di bordo gentile ed accogliente.
We have seen a lot wildlife, impressing how much wildlife in the Arctic!
This trip surpassed all expectations. The polar bears were much closer to the ships than expected. The entire crew where wonderful and the scientists knew their subjects and talked with passion about them. The expedition leader always managed to find interesting excursions, even when the fog prevented Plan A. The Polar Plunge was an unforgettable experience.
Fantastic trip. Very well organised. Expedition leader Christophe was really on-the -ball when it came to changing the daily zodiac activities due to unfavourable weather conditions. All the expedition team were really knowledgeable and helpful. Food and cabins also very good.
Excellent expedition cruise, perfect organization, extreme luck with weather and many animals met
The voyage around Svalbard was the best I could choose to experience fully Svalbard and its nature. Everything was perfect, the guides were fantastic, and my biggest concern, that there will be not enough outdoor activities and that we will be asked to watch Svalbard mainly from the big boat, was totally wrong. The whole expedition is organized by people who like to explore and be in nature so they understand you want to go there and experience it first hand. The do their best that everything is smooth and every time they have plan A, B, C .... depending on the fog, wind, bears etc. There are zodiacs for everybody and the boarding is smooth. Really, if you want to experience Svalbard, choose these guys.
Expedition guides, even the ship doctor, were so informative and friendly!
fantastic holiday
It has been a wonderful and awesome voyage. I saw so many Artic animals ( blue whales, artic fox, puffings, lovely birds, walrus …….and the star for me was Polar bears I saw 8 of them , it was like a dream .I am very happy and satisfied with my voyage. I highly recommend it.
