Reviews

Das Schiff mit der richtigen Anzahl der Reisenden für die Anlandungen, eine sehr vernünftige Küche, eine Crew, die auf alles vorbereitet war, ausgezeichnete informative mehrsprachige Vorträge zu allem, was einem begegnete, dazu noch ein bißchen Glück mit Wetter und Seegang: Was kann man noch mehr wollen? Alle meine Erwartungen wurden übertroffen.

Right from the start when we embarked Plancius on December 28, 2015, the friendly atmosphere on board the ship and its helpful professional crew were promising signs for a great expedition to Antarctica. And it came true in every aspect. The captain and his crew sailed us to exceptional and remote places, the hotel staff made us feel at home on board and the expedition staff did their utmost to let us experience Antarctica’s nature and wildlife. When weather was too severe for activities on land they worked out alternatives like Zodiac drives or extra early morning landings after captain and crew sailed the ship to more sheltered places. With all the landings we made on different places of the Peninsula and the offered activities like kayaking, mountaineering, camping, etc., we have experienced the incredible nature of Antarctica and its wildlife. In the background always there were the staff, helpful for our convenience and safety. It really was a great experience.

The past 20 years I have experienced the prevelage of being guest on board for 20 times or more. Both the arctic and Antarctic regions not only are the most impresive regions of this planet, but they also offer me the best occasions to learn about living at this planet. During this years I have been able to ad thousands of new images to the image bank of the Int. World Wide Fund for Nature. If I could embar tomorow, I would not hessitate to do again. wim van passel

This trip was an amazing adventure, not only because of uniqueness of Antarctic environment but also because of the people (crew members and passengers). I would like to thank all Plancius team members for the great work they did in order to make our adventure safe, interesting, knowledgeable, tasty and cosy. Never stop and all the best!

I had waited a lifetime to do this trip. I hoped it would live up to my expectations. Well, it was so far above and beyond anything I had hoped for, two years later, I am still under its influence. Most likely will be for the rest of my life. I need to return! My main reason for going was to see blue ice. Anyone who thinks ice is white needs to see it for themselves. The blue is so intense, at times, it hurts the eyes. I needed to walk where the explorers from the heroic age had walked; needed to step inside their huts and 'feel' them. I pushed way past my comfort zone frequently, but always in safety. Oceanwide are good like that. They choose expert guides who take the time to get to know each expeditioner, and instinctively know how far they can push each one to get the most out of the experience. I fell in love with Ortelius. Is it possible to love a boat? The gentle thrum of her engines became like a heartbeat. Being a writer, this adventure was always going to end up in a book. "Why Antarctica? a Ross Sea odyssey" Full of photos and video clips, is now available on: iBooks | Kindle

Everything from food to ship facilities and expedition staff were above my expectations. my trip was to Antarctica on MV Plancius - beautiful scenery, amazing wildlife and all in all a trip that was amazing from every point of view and that I would repeat over and over again.

Had the most memorable voyage of my life when we went to Antarctica on board the MV Ortelius, thanks so much to all the ship's crew who made it easy for me with their kind help and attention all the time.

In January, 2015 I visited the Antarctic Peninsula on Oceanwide Expedition's MV Plancius. Upon return to Ushuaia, Argentina I had day trips to Tierra del Fuego National Park and Gable Island run by a company named Canal Beagle. The entire trip was organized/booked with the assistance of Ms. Jessica Roberts of Adventure Life Travel Agency of Missoula, Montana. Jessica did a wonderful job of assuring the trip went off without a hitch, making sure I had a well-scheduled itinerary. I can't thank her enough for her hard work on this.

Upon arriving in Ushuaia, I stayed a day at the Hotel Altos, located as the name implies at the higher part of the town. Very comfortable with a great view and good restaurant with a free breakfast. 

I visited the Antarctic Peninsula on the MV Plancius, a former Dutch research vessel that was converted into an "expedition cruise" ship with approximately 112 passengers. This turned out to be the perfect choice to visit Antarctica because regulations limit the number of people who can go ashore at one time at most sites. Going on a smaller ship like the Plancius assured a maximum number of landings on the Peninsula and nearby islands. 

Although the Plancius was advertised specifically as not being a luxury cruise ship, I found the food and amenities far better than expected. The food was always delicious and plentiful with great service from the staff. I was in a twin cabin with a window and never felt cramped. Since I traveled alone I was matched with another traveller to share a cabin. He turned out to be a great person. I made friends with him and several other travelers.

The expedition leaders were excellent! Expedition leader Sebastian Arrebola was great. By coincidence I had bought a book by him on Antarctica when I was still in port. Katja Riedel was also excellent and gave several good lectures on climatology and climate change while we were at sea. Also memorable were fellow geologist Andrew Bishop and ornithologist Christian Savingy's presentations and knowledge. Most of the lectures were introductory, a few more technical lectures would have been welcome, but I'm not sure they would have been as well attended by the other passengers.

I suspect we were rather lucky with the weather and had an exceptional trip. Remarkably, the Drake Passage was rather calm on the trip south. Nonetheless, many people were seasick. The ship doctor provided patches to many people. I was fortunate not to get seasick and didn't take medicine. On the return trip the Drake was rather rough (probably typical). Temperatures were typically near to well-above freezing on the trip. Many times I was on deck without a coat for short periods. Onshore, I was usually too warm in the heavy parka I brought. I suspect it is usually colder and more windy than on this trip, so having a heavy coat along is necessary.

The scenery was spectacular, as expected. In Antarctica the ship visited: Cuverville Island, Argentine Base Brown/Paradise Bay, Neko Harbor, Port Lockroy, Lemaire Channel, Petermann Island, Pleneau Bay, Danco Island, and ended with a zodiac ride in the Melchior Islands. 

Many penguin colonies were visited, mostly Gentoo, but an Adelie Penguin colony was visited on Petermann Island. Chinstrap Penguins were occasionally seen. Many other birds were present. Numerous Leopard and Wedell seals were seen, sometimes at close range. While still in the Beagle Channel we saw several Southern Right Whale Dolphins (a rather uncommon to rare animal). In the Drake we saw several Humpback Whales, including a female with her calf. Later in the Drake a group of enormous Fin Whales were seen. Most memorable was pod of Orcas near Port Lockroy that came up to the ship and played for at least twenty minutes. Several Antarctic Minkes were seen, one of which came alongside and along the front of a zodiac boat I was in (I could have touched it).

I highly recommend going to the Antarctic Peninsula on the Plancius. I may wait a couple of years and go on the longer trip that also visits South Georgia and the Falklands on the Plancius. Or I might go on one of the Plancius' Spitsbergen/Greenland trips some summer.

After returning to Ushuaia I went on the Canal Beagle company's trip to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Canal Beagle picked me up at the ship and saw that I got to the Hosteria Linares, a very quiet and comfortable hotel. The National Park trip started out with an inflatable canoe trip to the Beagle Channel (we had to haul out a bit earlier than scheduled because of high winds) followed by a short hike to Bahia Lapatia (a beautiful view) and the end of the Pan-American Highway. The lunch provided was excellent. The rest of the day was a long and somewhat exhausting hike through the National Park to the post office at "el fin de mundo". This was a lot of fun, with spectacular scenery, but the hike was a bit exhausting (I was older and fatter than most of the other people on the trip. To be fair, the trip was advertised as "moderate" instead of easy). Francesca was a wonderful and knowledgable guide on the hike. 

The next day was a trip east of Ushuaia that visited Gable Island and a Malligenic Penguin colony on a smaller island. After being picked up at the hotel, there was a drive through beautiful scenery to a stream that led to the Beagle Channel located in Haberton Ranch. This trip also started out with an inflatable canoe trip. Unfortunately, the wind again was a bit high to reach the Channel, so we had to portage the inflated canoes a short distance. I was clumsy and one of my boots stuck in the mud and I fell into mud. Fortunately, the guides and other tourists were very helpful (and I was smart enough to have brought spare socks). We soon were on a large version of a zodiac boat and pulled up on shore at the penguin colony (we weren't allowed ashore, but there were plenty of photo opportunities from the boat). Besides the large number Magellenic Penguin adults and chicks, there were three large King Penguins (somewhat out of their normal range). 

After the penguin colony we took the zodiac to Gable Island. The trip leaders fixed another great lunch, then we hiked across the beautiful island. This was bit long, but much easier topography to walk than the previous day. There were lots of interesting plants and signs of damage from introduced Canadian Beavers. Norborto was an excellent guide and translated his narrative into English for me (I think I was the only native English speaker on this trip). Eventually we were on the far side of the island where we were met by the zodiac and returned to the ranch we left from. On the way back we stopped and took photos of some of the scenery including the wind swept trees that are famous in the area. I greatly enjoyed the extensions to my trip by Canal Beagle.

I spent the next day in the town of Ushuaia. I visited several museums and had great meals. Prices were most reasonable as the US dollar is strong against the the Argentinian peso.

The next day Canal Beagle picked me up at the hotel to take me to the airport. The extension after the Antarctic cruise including Tierra del Fuego and Gable Island turned out to be a bargain as it included my hotel. I again thank Jessica Roberts for booking the cruise, hotels, and extensions.