Reviews

This year I had been injured in an accident and hospitalized during March this year. It took a lot of time and effort to start walking again and be able to do some serious hiking. I had been on previous Oceanwide Expeditions trips and decided to book the Greenland trip to Scoresbysund in september. It turned out to be my best trip ever. To start with the ship itself and the crew. You might think this is an old and battered ship. It is not. All cabins are neat and nicely outfitted. The ship itself is sturdy and very suitable to navigate the Polar regions. Not too small, not too big. The captain and officers are very experienced. The deckhands do an excellent professional job. They are approachable and friendly. The expedition staff was amazing. Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The hotel management and stewards trying to do their utmost to serve you as best they can. We were lucky to have very nice weather with blue skies offering fine photo and video opportunities. We saw a lot of wildlife, four polar bears, several polar fixed, whales, seals, musk oxen, arctic hares, and various birds. On various nights we had fabulous Northern Light sightings. I can still hear the crackling of the ice, the calving of ice sheets from the glacier, the tumbling of the small icebergs, the looming big icebergs while we were driving by in our zodiacs. The landscapes were amazing, red mountains, stark black mountains covered with snow and ice, immense tundra plains with scattered skeletons of musk oxen. We also visited Ittoqqortoormiit, an Inuit settlement. School was out and all the children waving at you. No harbour so the landing was with the zodiacs. But the thing that stroke me the most was the absolute serenity of the long hikes and the kayaking. Being in touch with the landscape. That was the lifestyle experience I was looking for. I will be back. Thank you Oceanwide for a memorable experience.

Second trip with Oceanwide (first was Antartica in Feb 2023). Spotless organization. Great staff and crew. Various offshore activities to choose according to own’s abilities. Staff and guides very professional, available at any time, worked around the clock to maximize the experience on and off-shore. Services on board (restaurants, facilities) very good. Excellent food.

I’ve just had the most amazing 9 day trip around Svalbard with Oceanwide. We had great weather with very little arctic fog and wall to wall sunshine and light winds. We saw 6 polar bears; 1 on the sea ice and 5 on land. We also saw a blue whale, lots of Svalbard reindeer, walrus, arctic fox and so many different seabirds. I especially loved the puffins and little auks, but the Brunnich guillemot cliffs were just awesome. Seeing 6 polar bears was just incredible.

I enjoyed the nature very much, glaciers, the sea and the wildlife. The crew was wonderful and the staff the expedition team handled everything in a professional manner without being apart from us“normal“ passengers.

excellent adventure

My wife and I spent 2 consecutive dates - ORT 04 + 05 in cabin 521. The cabin was really spacious and comfortable, however, there was a problem with the smell in the bathroom during the entire cruise, when even the air purifier that we had in the cabin from the beginning did not help. After the end of the first term, I described this deficiency in the form, but there was no improvement. For this reason, I did not fill out the next form after the end of the second trip. In other respects, I cannot complain about the cleaning. The cruise itself was pretty good, we saw almost everything we came for. Disappointingly, although we booked long hikes, not a single real one took place. This was not due to the weather, but rather to long and frequent downtime. We rarely left the ship at the appointed time. Zodiac guides often went out for so-called scouting only at the scheduled boarding time of the passengers. The whole thing often had the effect of deliberately shortening the time away from the ship. Although gateways were opened on both sides of the ship, boarding was restricted to one side, causing additional delays. Under these circumstances it was not possible to organize a full day long hike. On the other hand, I have to say that most of the guides including the leader Claudio were great people, professionals in their place. Unfortunately, this was greatly spoiled by one exception, especially his incorrect and often incomprehensible behavior. The catering and management of the hotel were absolutely fine, everyone was welcoming and helpful. I apologize for the above criticism and thank you for the opportunity to comment, otherwise we really liked the cruise and would like to repeat it in the opposite direction - to Antarctica.

I sailed with a private hire which was brilliant and extended the trip to navigate around Svalbard with Oceanwide which was very different but also brilliant. fantastic team and captain Per and Sarah as manager. Everyone so professional. Food outstanding

We enjoyed the amazing wildlife as the polar bear nearby on the shore. But also the beautiful flora, the incredible calving glaciers (Monaco Glacier was very active). The zodiac cruises were an great adventure and the expedition team was excellent. Also the captain (Peer) and the whole staff on board did an excellent job. We can fully recommend the lovely Ortelius and the trip to Svalbard.

Great Esploration, very professional and reactive to any weather conditions changes , also in the shortest time, great support by the staff and crue members, familiar athmosphere. Wish to do some other trip with the same staff and trip leader.

A comfortable and active expedition trip with great team on board

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.

99% excellent 👌

Great trip

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!

It was an amazing cruise/expedetion with great staff, well trained guides and amazing wild life spotting