Reviews

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!

With the kayaking.... it is extremely important to have one leader at the front and one 'sweeping' at the back. This didn't happen at all. But both leaders were excellent, friendly, helpful and wonderful.

From the first briefing when we were told that plan B was already in operation due to severe weather around the Falklands and S Georgia, taking a passenger to King George Island to be medevacked off the ship, then doing the whole trip in reverse, it was brilliant. The expedition crew certainly new their stuff, their English was excellent ( with one exception) and they certainly got us to every landing and zodiac cruise possible. Even backtracking around South Georgia and a full circumnavigation just to get us to all possible landings was fantastic. Another example - out last day in the Falklands and we were visiting New Island. The plan was North Beach in the morning and South Beach in the afternoon. As we approached North Beach the wind was far too strong for a landing so we didn't stop, and headed straight to South Beach. A great landing had by all and then as we had lunch we went back to North Beach - the wind was reasonable so we could land and had a great last afternoon before sailing back to The cabin stewards were thorough in their work and very friendly. All the crew on the boat were first class, especially getting us on and off the zodiacs. Food fab!

Pipa Low excellent

I just can not say enough good things about this trip, how I am satisfied and how I love it. The places we have been, the activities, the diligent, hard-working crew and Expedition team guides. It's a once in a lifetime trip, the feeling and memory will last forever and become my history. Thanks Oceanwide for organizing a special "Beyond the Polar Circle" itinerary like this. It's an unique experience, wonderful and spectacular! Thanks every crew member and every Expedition Team member who has tried their best effort to make all the good things happen and has accompany us the whole trip, thank for the good memory they have left us.

I have been to many amazing places, quite a few in the 'trip of a lifetime' category. But this one tops all of them. This truely was a trip of a lifetime. Pippa and her team did an amazing job taking us to remote places to see extraordinary wildlife. At one point we were the southern most ship on the planet! That is hard to beat, more than 71 Deg south on the Wiklins Ice Shelf. I knew it would be a good trip, but I was not expecting it to be THIS good. It was also full of landings, zodiac trips and lectures. The food was excellent and service could not be faulted. I have already put down to do another trip on Hondius in 2026.

Thanks to Oceanwide and its fantastic crew. We were able to do numerous dives and landings due to the experience of the leadership on board.