Reviews

Our cruise was wonderful. It was our second time around Svalbard, both of them with Plancius. We deliberately chose the same vessel because we really enjoyed our first experience : crew, meals, expedition guides, rooms...We had a superior room, more expensive but the best choice if you can afford it. This year we had the surprise of 100% - different crew and expedition team, and they were perfect : a good sign that proves that Oceanwide is a great company. About the cruise itself : in August we had some kind of automnal weather, July may be a better fit for sunny conditions. The principle of daily landings and zodiac cruises corresponds to our expectations. In a nutshell we built additional unforgettable memories.

Its was great, well organised and a wonderful experience

Spitze

8 days of excellent guides, food, wildlife and stunning scenery. Superbly organized by Ali and the rest of her team (plan C was frequently adopted at short notice but always brilliant)

We had an excellent cruise. The Expedition Team and all the boat crew & staff were very good - knowledgeable and friendly and provided a very good service. The food in the dining room was very good. The drinks in the bar were reasonably priced. Our cabin was comfortable. The 2 areas where we feel there could be improvements are: 1. The explanation of how to connect to the boat wi-if - we needed to ask Alex for his help and he was great. Without him we would not have been able to use the wi-if effectively. 2. We thought the distribution of the final slide show could have been better planned.

Not really sure what to expect, the trip blew our mind. Sceneries were lovely, wildlife beautiful and life on the ship excellent. We would love to see more of the Arctic and Antarctic!

Friendly staff, lovely guides, beautiful landshapes, wonderful sights of animals, delicious food... Everything worked very well. We had a great tour.

Fantastic trip , beautiful landscape and excellent staff ! only disappointed to see the polar bear so far , even if it is a government rule it is something you did not expect!

This expedition had it all - breathtaking natural landscapes, wonderful wildlife, very comfortable expedition boat & a tremendous crew both in terms of the expedition leader Christophe & his team of guides & the whole crew aboard MV Plancius. It was a delight from start to finish.

fantastic crew, very experienced guides, fine food, choice of the landings perfect, visitors of the cruise like a family...

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.

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!

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.

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

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