Reviews

A trip on an expedition ship? The Ortelius isn't a luxury cruiser, but she's a comfortable vessel, our cabin (a superior twin) was excellent, with lovely touches like Mars Bars and wine in the fridge. Unlike some cruises, bottled water was provided with lunch and dinner. There's a reasonably priced wine list and Rolando mixes a good negroni (and other cocktails). Our friendly and efficient servers were Jay and Noelle who learned our names very quickly. And the food - a great variety, well cooked and much, much better than anticipated. And the wildlife? Minke and blue whales (the first within an hour of leaving Longyearbyen), walruses, harp and bearded seals, arctic foxes, Svalbard reindeer and polar bears. One bear came so close we thought he was trying to board the ship and share our dinner. The crew, officers and staff are all approachable and the "open bridge" policy means you get the chance of panoramic views of the ice - and the wildlife - ahead. The expedition team - led by Rinie - are excellent. As a birder, I was thrilled with close avian encounters with little auk, arctic tern, ivory and glaucous gulls, black and Brunnich's guillemots, and more An amazing trip!

Alles bestens!

We had an excellent trip on Plancius! Due to unexpected amounts of ice for the season in the north of Svalbard we could not do the routing that was originally foreseen for the Polar Bear Special. However, the expedition team and captain went out of their way to come up with alternative solutions and - clearly based on their extensive experience in the area - changed the plan frequently in order for us to see polar bears in other areas and also otherwise to make the absolute most of our trip. Plus, the entire crew was very warm and welcoming, we felt absolutely comfortable on board and were sad to leave the ship. We will be back!

Das Gesamtpaket, Schiff inclusive Besatzung und Servicepersonal, Speisen und Getränke, Expeditionsteam waren top. Alle unsere Erwartungen wurden erfüllt bzw. übertroffen. Nochmals nachträglich ein Lob an Alle und vielen Dank für die fantastische Reise mit den vielen unvergesslichen Eindrücken.

Voor mij was het de 2de maal dat ik deze reis maakte. En deze keer was nog perfecter en fantastischer dan de eerste! Ijsberen, Walrus, vinvissen en Ross' meeuw waren de toppers! De begeleiding van Oceanwide is super, het schip en zijn staff uitmuntend vriendelijk en behulpzaam! Kortom: een aanrader!

De reis van Vlissingen naar Spitsbergen was prachtig. Veel mooie dingen gezien. Veel lezingen over onderwerpen m.b.t. de reis. Lezingen van gepassioneerde gidsen. De beleving van het hoge noorden, wat we gezien hebben, Spitsbergen maar ook Jan Mayen eiland was om nooit te vergeten. Prima eten aan boord. Gezellig inforeel contact met de bemanning. Wel wat te krap in de eetzaal en rond het buffet. En te warm in onze hut. Het schijnt dat een renovatie voor de hutten in die gang nog niet rond was. While I was on the shore at the edge of the water waiting to go to the walrusses, two of them came swimming towards us. The cam as close as 5 meters and I stood more or less face to face with one of them. I tould him what a wordefull trip I had so far. He nodded and swam off!

Bijzondere reiservaring. Veel wildlife gezien. Zeer deskundige Ocean Widelife staff. Dank aan Jan Belgers, Bob, Bill, Arjen, Sandra, Ian, Alex en natuurlijke DJ, Lilian and.... the Captain!

Enjoyed all the destinations. Very good food. The bar and restaurant are tight. The 4-p cabins are tight as well, too less space to store your stuff. Cabins at deck 3 became very hot during the trip. Information during the trip was good. The staff does his job well.

This year in january I have been onboard of the Noorderlicht for my second time. The new owners are amazing. One day we had lots of orcas and humpbacks around the ship - wow. Unfortunately we were not so lucky with the weather and had really stormy conditions. That was a special experience! Being back in Harstadt one day earlier because of the storm Oceanwide organized a trip to the Polar Park in Bardu. Thank you for that! I'm looking forward to visit Spitsbergen next year with the Noorderlicht!

Mit der ganzen Reise und dem Wetter, sehr zufrieden! Was hätten wir bei ständig schlechtem Wetter gemacht?...

In march 2016 I visited the Lofoten on board of the SV Noorderlicht. It was an unforgetable trip. The landscape is amazing, the crew was absolutely friendly and very well prepared and the Noorderlicht stole a part of my heart. Many thanks to the whole group. I will be back next year!

Organisation: am Flughafen in Reykjavik war so was von katastrophal oder chaotisch wie es nicht schlimmer sein könnte, ein Wunder dass alle Teilnehmer in die Stadt gekommen sind! Am Morgen 2 Std vor dem Hotel warten auf einen Bus das ist Organisation gleich Null ! Keine Orientierung was oder wie es weiter geht, Reiseleiter musste sich selber vor Ort abmühen, ein absolutes No Go! Führer auf dem Schiff unvorbereitet und bei den Wanderungen zT etwas orientierungslos. Philppino Zodiac-Führer Top, Gratuliere. Essen OK, Schiffsreise OK. Kabine 509 extrem lärmig (Technik, Motor usw.)

Wir buchten ein aussergewöhnliches Programm, in einem Teil der Welt, der noch weitgehend unberührt ist, in klimatischen Verhältnissen, die für uns neu waren und in einer Landschaft, die zum Teil atemberaubend ist. Dass unsere Erwartungen erfüllt wurden, verdanken einer ausgezeichneten Schiffsbesatzung & dem höchst professionellen Expeditions-Team. Gewissenhaft, verantwortungsbewusst und mit der immer wieder geforderten Flexibilität führten sie uns an die Naturschönheiten Spitzbergens heran. Wenn die Bedingungen für Landungen nicht günstig waren, wurden keinerlei Risiken eingegangen - das Programm wurde kurzfristig umgestellt und stattdessen wurden sehr interessante Vorträge zu verschiedensten Themen mit Bezug zur Arktis, bzw. Spitzbergen angeboten. Es wurde immer nach der für uns Kunden bestmöglichen Lösung gesucht. Diese kundenorientierte Haltung schuf auch Vertrauen. Hervorzuheben ist ausserdem das sehr hohe Umweltbewusstsein des ganzen Teams, sowie das gute Essen. Eine solche Leistung ist nur mit einem hohen Teamspirit denkbar. Der war spürbar und war Voraussetzung dafür, dass die Reise für uns zu einem einmaligen Erlebnis wurde

It shouldn't have happened in 2016! My daughter, Siân and myself had decided that 2017 would be the year we would both head North to circumnavigate the Svalbard Archipelago. However, work bookings intervened so a hasty decision was made. "Damn it, let's go now!" Fortune smiles upon the impetuous. Not only did we end up with excellent cabin mates and travelling companions, we enjoyed first-class hospitality and witnessed some remarkable sights. The majestic scenery, with jagged peaks and blue-hued glaciers, the opportunity to take a stroll on the sea-ice at 81 deg N coupled with numerous sightings of polar bear going about their business, walrus sporting in the Arctic swell, mighty humpback whales feeding around the ship and reindeer grazing on the tundra kept the camera shutters constantly clicking. The experienced and knowledgeable expedition team, together with our resourceful skipper and the ship's crew and hospitality staff kept us safe and increased our knowledge of all aspects of the Arctic as well as our waistlines! We returned, not just satisfied travellers, but as passionate ambassadors for the vast and beautiful fragility we had been privileged to share.

above all expectations!!! an unforgetable experience.