Reviews

Oceanwide Expeditions on Hondius was an incredible trip. Amazing in every way possible, the excursions on land to the zodiac rides, the landscapes and wildlife are unforgettable. But the highlight is the crew, the expedition guides make the trip what it is. Their knowledge and energy are unmatched. One guide in particular, a strapping young lad named Ross Wheeler. His knowledge of photography, birds, and whales are top notch and his willingness to share and teach are obvious. Truly and #1 guide at the #1 company in Antarctica. Thank you Oceanwide.

Excelente viaje en un barco de expedición con un equipo inmejorable.

We had a pretty rough trip with multiple storms with high winds. This made it extremely challenging for the expedition team to get us landings. But I am extremely confident they got us ashore as often as possible, in the best places available in the conditions, and kept us safe. Great job Team!

Excellent trip.

A special world

This was a great trip. Despite being the the landing group with the worst luck (seeing no chinstraps) we enjoyed spectacular scenery and gaining a different perspective on this part of the world.

Einer unserer schönsten Reisen die wir je erlebt haben. Perfektes Team, perfekte Organisation, perfektes Schiff. Einfach unbeschreiblich, werden uns immer daran erinnern.

It's difficult to sum up this trip as it was so full of wonderful experiences. I had never visited any of the destinations before and I had no pre-conceptions. We saw such a range of wildlife and visited some really remarkable places. Staff were highly professional throughout, placing appropriate priority on safety, and also on ensuring minimum disturbance to wildlife. Staff were very generous with their time and were engaging.. They were widely knowledgeable and I found I learnt a lot about the polar environment, polar history and the wildlife we were seeing. The weather was quite challenging on the trip which resulted in a need to curtail or miss some landings. Staff always explained why this was clearly and I fully understood the need for changes. Thet were also quick to put on additional talks if required, to use additional time at sea positively. The stars though of course were the wildlife and the environment. Memories will stay with me for the rest of my life. Not all customers were as happy as I am with the trip. These people, in my opinion, demonstrated a lack of knowledge and appreciation of the polar environment- they were treating the trip as a visit to a theme park!

Fantastic trip. Just what I wanted. We got to see most of what was planned. The only things we didn't do were because the weather was bad and it would have put the passengers and crew in danger. The staff went above and beyond in giving us a wonderful experience. There were several obnoxious passengers on board the ship and they made the crew and other passengers lives difficult, complaining about everything, but otherwise brilliant. The food was great as was the accommodation. The trip was a credit to Oceanwide.

Our expedition was one with challenges from beginning to end with those being primarily high seas and wind. Then too there some passengers who didn't seem to read the fine print that they weren't traveling on Carnival Cruise Line and that the Southern Ocean is a wild place. The Oceanwide staff from Day 1 was not just professional, they were personable. They made lemonade so often out of the lemons sent us by Mother Nature, that the trip that could have been a disaster remained an adventure with more seen that one would have expected under the conditions. Their presentations were extremely well done and informative so to complement the journey well. The logs of our trip that they sent us was Amazing! Thanks! They dealt with folks who should have been thrown overboard with professional response and never showed outwardly that those people bothered them. The Hotel staff was extremely attentive and learned our names and preferences early- and none of us wore name tags as they did. The ship's crew did a great job from Captain Ermesto on down in rough sea conditions, and it was appreciated how they were so accommodating up on the bridge with questions and visitors. Thank you Oceanwide!

A must for every adventurer! Oceanwide and the onboard team know exactly how to make an adventure happen! From the early morning wake up calls, beautiful scenery, off ship excursions and wildlife, they made it happen! Safety was the number one priority on board and then came the fun! I almost forgot the variety of different meals they provided each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Did I mention the late afternoon tea snacks, etc...:-) I don't want to spoil the splendour by writing about everything as this is a journey you need to make and that's when you realise that there is a bigger place out there! Let your adventure start with Oceanwide!

perfekte organisatie en bijzondere reis

Being on the first expedition since covid-19 got hold of the world, one feels privileged, very privileged. One could sense the happiness of the crew and staff to be at sea again with guests. We had mostly (very) good weather and, therefore, many landings. It gave us the opportunity to watch penguins and seal from very nearby. Plenty of pictures were taken, as well as video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_0xiP2WffA). Almost every day, one or more high level lectures were given on a variety of subjects. Amongst others, about whales, astronomy, space flight (we had an astronaut on board), birds, adaptation of animals to cold (Why penguins don’t wear socks) and many more. A special of the trip was the total solar eclipse on 4 December. We had to get up at 3 a.m., drinks and snacks were standing ready for us in the bar. We experienced the eclipse in almost ecstasy. There was only one tiny detail: cloud coverage was 100 %, but it did get dark. Food, let's not forget food. We were astonished that for breakfast, lunch and dinner, there was always fresh, crispy salads and a wide variety of types of food. The chef and his crew did a terrific job.

1 What a fine crew this was. And this goes from the expedition leader Adam Turner and the whole staff to the ship crew and the many servants for room service and food services. Simply a crew that Oceanwide could be very proud of! 2 The custom to have crew members join passengers at meal time was a great way to get more personal contacts and at times more insights about the way things were organized. 3 Food is always an important part, of course, but we felt this kitchen was extraordinary! We particularly appreciated the fact that there was such a rich selection of salads and vegetables. 4 The weather was definitely in our favor from what we heared from Plancius passengers. But a very important part for the success was due to the flexibility our expedition team demonstrated to get the most out of it.

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