Reviews

we saw everithing we wanted to see

Fantastic Landscape and impressive flora and fauna. Amazing!!

My girlfriend and I spent a wonderful week on the M/V Hondius, visiting the north west coast of Svalbard and spending two days in the ice floe. We saw polar bears, arctic foxes, Svalbard reindeer, walruses, various seals, minke whales and the very rare Greenland whale (as well as several species of birds). The staff was great, the ship comfortable. We will remember this trip with great pleasure

Fantastic trip - Everyone from the Expedition Team to the Hospitality Team was great. The boat is excellent and very well appointed. Excellent food and service. Really good wildlife and nature viewing with experienced guides. Highly recommended!

we had a great trip with enthusiastic expedition members and saw many different animals in a short time. didn't know what to expect, but it exceeded all expectations.

zo dankbaar om deze reis te mogen beleven , zoveel gezien en gedaan

The voyage was an absolute once in a lifetime! In Svalbard we observed polar bears, whales an walruses from a short distance under the close eye of the great staff! The moment you set foot on board hondius, you are in for a time filled with fun, wildlife and great service! We have felt at home and comfortable all while being 80degrees north!

Well ran ship and guides were knowledgeable.

The destination of this trip were Antartica, Falkland Island , South Georgia in January 2024, for 18 days cruising. For the most part on Hondius, we felt we were discriminated by some of the Expedition team members. This can be seen especially at lunch and dinner time. Most of the team members sit only with Caucasian guests. There were also different attitudes towards Caucasian vs second language English speakers seen throughout this trip. I tried to initiate conversations with some of the team members but gotten minimum replies. It was very different attitude when this team member interacted with Caucasian guests which was always with lots of enthusiasm. I remembered the first day we arrived on the ship, the Team Lead said ‘’ we are on the same ship and we are a big family.’’ But it didn’t feel that we were welcomed throughout the journey. Most of the time it felt been treated as secondary. I understand there was a group of people from other countries who don’t speak English well or at all. But, It doesn’t mean it’s okay to ignore or treat one who doesn’t speak English or who is not Caucasian differently. I am not taking about Language barriers but more about attitudes and Oceanwide appearance in front of its customers from its own expeditions team members. Only the last day or two, some of the team members finally started been seen doing their “homework “ it felt like, by company’s standard I guess..to sit with second language English speaking guests at lunch/dinner whom they have almost never interacted with. The positive sides were the expedition team members were very knowledgeable about Antarctica, from water, ice , birds, whales, winds, penguins, Hondius ….etc. They were able to answer every question, putting efforts to lectures and landings. They even tried to use rope to show us how long each different whale looked like. The Team from the restaurant was impressive, very nice service, excellent food. Front desk, super sweet, friendly and helpful. Housekeeping, they kept our room and bed clean and cozy, surprised towel animals every day. However it does not justify how we were been discriminated. Once again, you can’t treat your guests differently by skin color.

Very good cruise except Ascension island that we could not land. Would be interested in Ross sea cruise in the future.

Departing from Ushuaia on a transatlantic odyssey was truly a voyage of a lifetime, visiting some of the remotest islands in the world, and seeing creatures very few people are fortunate to see. The M/V Hondius was a very well appointed and stable vessel, with a crew and expedition staff who were phenomenal.

It was my first visit to the Southern Ocean and I'm grateful I choose Oceanwide Expeditons to do so. Amazing Team and fabulous itinerary.

Excellent

Dit was de tweede poging om de reis die al 30 jaar op mijn bucketlist staat te ondernemen. Een aantal jaren geleden heb ik me al een keer ingeschreven op een Expeditie Rondreis naar Antarctica. De eerste was al volgeboekt en de tweede werd gecanceld door gebrek aan belangstelling. Dus toen de nieuwsbrief van de ANWB binnen kwam heb ik geen seconde geaarzeld en geboekt. Door verschillende factoren heeft deze reis een Godvermogen gekost maar het was iedere cent dubbel en dwars waard. "Explore and Learning" is niets teveel gezegd , Alle lezingen die werden gegeven waren razend interessant. Ook het feit dat vanaf de brug meldingen werden gedaan om Wildlife te spotten vond ik geweldig. Eenmaal bij het Antarctisch Schiereiland aangekomen maakten de Zodiac cruisses en de landingen het nog mooier. Ook op de terugweg , toen we werden geconfronteerd met de "Drake Shake" en een zware storm boven Buenos Aires die onze terugreis in de war schopte , was het het allemaal waard. Het grootste probleem is alleen dat , als je er eenmaal bent geweest , je weer terug wil. Toen jaren geleden mijn eerste poging werd geannuleerd heb ik me gelijk op de nieuwsbrief van Oceanwide Expeditions ingeschreven en sinds die tijd heb ik heel wat keren kwijlend achter mijn laptop gezeten. Niemand kan in de toekomst kijken maar ik heb mezelf beloofd dat het niet mijn laatste expeditie rondreis is geweest. HET WAS ONVERGETELIJK , FANTASTISCH EN VOOR HERHALING VATBAAR !!!!!

This was the best cruise we have ever done. The guides, the sites, the ship, the food, the weather.... it was all more than we had ever hoped for! The crew and guides kept us safe and gave us a fabulous trip. Thanks for all the wonderful experiences! We hope to do another trip with Oceanwide Expeditions again!