Reviews

A life changing experience

by Ashley Toye

For anyone who has dreamed of travelling to the Polar regions, Oceanwide Expeditions is the (only) company to go with. From start to finish the quality of service was impeccable. I felt well taken care of. The value for money is indescribable. The memories are priceless. Oceanwide sets the bar extremely high, upholding a strong focus on sustainable adventure tourism.

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Excellent

by Joke Sens

Astonishing nature (cliffs, rocks, glaciers, tundra, beautiful plants, mosses, fjords). Arctic silence (except for a few moments completely offline), the sun that never sets. An international crew that thinks along. A fantastic expedition leader Jordi and captain Ismael, 27 pleasant fellow travelers and 2 bird guides. Animals in their own habitat, such as polar bear, walrus, seal, bearded seal, arctic fox, reindeer, graceful belugas, minke whale, colonies of auks, kittiwakes and puffins. History of Svalbard, whaling, mining, the science centre, information about past expeditions to the North Pole, geological background etc. etc. too much to mention. Good food and good weather!

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Arktische Schönheit

by Doris Mayr

Unsere Reise startete mit dem ganz besonderen Ereignis, gleich am ersten Tag fünf Eisbären beobachten zu können - und das schon am Vormittag. Das Wetter hat mitgespielt, wir haben Polarfüchse, Rentiere, Walrösser, Robben, unendlich viele Vögel gesehen, aber wir haben auch genau die richtige Zeit, um die blühende Vegetation zu bewundern. Ich habe vor allem genossen, einmal ohne Internet und Telefon eine Woche Auszeit von der digitalen Welt zu nehmen und die Natur zu genießen. Wir hatten ein großartiges Expeditionsteam, geleitet von Philipp und auch die restlich Crew des Schiffes war toll. Eine sehr behutsame Reiseorganisation, die immer auf die Tierwelt und die Natur geachtet haben. Und ich konnte Mitternachtssonne oft genießen!

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Outstanding trip/guides/ship/wildlife

by sue cobley

A for us once in a lifetime trip to Svalbard. We picked the Rembrandt as we wanted a small boat experience,rather than luxery and wildlife and outdoor walks/rib boat expeditions was our priority without disturbing wildlife. From start to finish the trip exceeded expectations. The boat as described-yes cabins are rather bijou but apart from sleeping /changing we were not in them. The food was wholesome and plentiful. The guides (Jordy & Bill) were fantastic, good humoured and knowledgable. We were exceptionally lucky to see lots of polar bears close up from the Rib boats and ship ( The Rembrandt can get closer than the bigger ships) along with artic reindeer,foxes and lots of birds. The glaciers and scenery were outstanding. We particularly liked that the schedule could be adjusted- we watched polar bears for 3 hours one morning having been called at 4 am for an exceptional sighting and all the ship crew helped make this very special. Please pass our thanks onto the whole team.

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Your expedition guide can determine your experience, it is really sad. Need some improvement in order to attrack young people to this company

by Alvaro Cabello

I cannot say that I dis not enjoy the experience as we visited some new places and the environment with other customers was very good. Food was also great. However I cannot say the same for one rude female guide who needs to improve her social skills. Her comments were not apropiated and she was ridiculously strict when approaching the animals. I was in her boat when we spotted the polar bear but she said we could not go closer as she had to be in the last posiition of the zodiac in order to check all the other were ok. It is extremely unfair betweeen the customers as we paid the same amount of money. This was really frustrating. Furthermore, there was not any kind of rotation between zodiacs, some of them half distance from the animals that us . We have been always 3-4 times further that legal distance to the animals. Protecting the animals is not only about distances. Photography options in the tour were 0. Even during the trekkings we had not time to take pictures as we were always in a hurry because a polar bear who find us....... I dont know why it is called expeditions as we did not focus in animals at all and the trekkings were very short and not for real artic experiences. In my view you have to improvefew things in order to attrack younger people to this cruises. For now, thats an experience for old a chinese people that may be impressed with anything.

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BEST TRIP EVER

by Jennifer stergion

Absolutely breathtaking scenery, TONS of wildlife, stunning blue glaciers, excellent staff, great food and wonderful new friends!

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a journey to a dreamland

by Adele Merlini

I was enchanted by the surroundings, the navigation, the wild untouched nature, where I feeled like an intruder. All the staff was competent, friendly and helpful

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Arctic from Svalbard

by Francoise Brown

Excellent really on all front. Only, the mattresses may need replacing soon.

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great visit to Svalbard

by Hilbert Heitmeijer

A comfortable and active expedition trip with great team on board

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Phenomenal experience amongst lovely people

by Charlotte Marwood

From the moment we connected with the Oceanside team in Longyearbeyn the experience was fantastic. Managing everyone’s expectations is not easy and yet we arrived as newbies to the whole polar experience and were welcomed into the community. Balancing our mad family and friends antics with showcasing the best of all the opportunities possible it was a fantastic trip for all and has left a life long impact on us all.

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Arctic expedition

by Philip Millward

99% excellent 👌

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Great trip!

by Jana Vollebregt

Great trip

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fantastically beautiful svalbard trip

by Daniela Weber

Everything was nearly perfect! I wanted to see Polarbears in their real habitat - we saw 1 mom with 2 cups, 1 thin male (hope he will survive!) and 1 male in very good constitution! And a lot of wildlife by sea and land! Many thanks to Sarah and her great team of guides. Special thanks to Misha for his wunderful recap of this week! Also thanks to the crew of Ortelius, which have been made this trip so comfortable and sure!

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What a great trip!

by Esther Officier

Wat een geweldige trip hebben gemaakt met dit keer de Hondius, alles wat we gezien hebben en de ontzettend vriendelijke en gastvrije bemanning maken het tot een onvergetelijke trip. De enige opmerking die ik heb, dat ik verbaast was dat er een aantal zeer jonge kinderen aan boord waren. Ik vind dit namelijk geen reis voor jonge kinderen en de mede reizigers die ik er over sprak vonden dit ook vreemd.

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