Reviews

Excellent trip. Great that there are so many excursions. Friendly crew. Professional guides. Solid good food. No complaints.

We were standing in the midst of thousands of penguins, seeing seals, sea-leppards and sea-elephants. Whales, close to touch and birds who were not afraid of humans. In the storm, we were seasick before we could be astonished at house-high bizarre icebergs. We entered the 6th continent and it became the journey of our live. The crew consisted of young people who had a good understanding and enjoyed together. Nobody simply practiced an job. All follow their vocation and live their dreams and ideals. This makes the decisive difference between a good trip and a successful expedition. The leader was David Berg. The man out of the ice! He has often shown on this tour that he always has the right instinct. Thank to the team from Caroline & George.

Outstanding 19 days. Fabulous expedition leader David Berg and Assistant Katja Riedel. All the expedition guides gave of their all with hugely informative lectures, great zodiac cruises and careful attention to safety and also respect for wildlife and the environment. The hotel team on board were delightful - imagine that all the cabin staff and dining room staff knew all guests' names from the start. The Hungarian chef oversaw the provision of really excellent food. When we were threatened with a perilous storm near the S Orkneys Mr Berg, Expedition Leader, courageously changed all the plans and took us south along the peninsula early, and found three days of pure sunshine and magical vistas, breaching whales, and breathtaking sunsets. Even the Drake was calm and we got to see Cape Horn too. We were blessed with exceptional wildlife viewing. Hundreds of thousands of King Penguins at Salisbury Plain in South Georgia, an albatross colony at Saunders Island in the Falklands, Fin whales, Orcas, Peale's dolphin, diving and spy hopping humpback whales off Enterprise Island and a leopard seal kill at half Moon Island. The trip was outstanding: it touched our souls.

Difficult in a short space to explain a trip like that, specially if English is not your first language.. For me, that was what I have expected, the weather was correct, that permits helicopter tours, but too short; the zodiac landing were nice. Nothing special about the atmosphere during the long days of navigation, many boring days, on the bridge, the crew was for a minimum welcome, no more, they felt happy when we were leaving, sometimes with a suspicious look... I didn't appreciate that, I was very interested in navigation, but every time on the bridge, I felt like a disturbing people. The lectures: Could have been more interesting, good English required. The restaurant ok, but I was on Plancius last year, and Plancius was superior! Cabins on level 3, you have to renew, 5&4 have been rehabilitate, but not 3. I will recommend only to people well informed. Marc Cossart

Excellent trip to Antarctic!

The Antarctica Peninsula was a spectacular destination, with beautiful landscape of glaciers, icebergs, mountains, channels and intriguing wildlife. We were fortunate to have witnessed three prolonged sitings of humpback (2) and Orca (Killer) Whales (1). But the exceptional aspect of our trip was the crew of the Plancius, all of whom went out of their way to provide for our desires. I am 86 years old and my balance is not what it once was, but the expedition staff cheerfully lent a hand boarding and getting off the Zodiacs and climbing on the rocky surfaces on land. Special diets didn't bother the dining staff. The captain turned the ship around twice so we could be close the the whales, and maneuvered so we were able to change landing sites when necessary. Our return through the Drake Passage was rough (Beaufort Scale = 9) but staff were helpful to make sure everyone was safe. This was an exceptional expedition and the Plancius' staff deserve lots of credit

Unsere Reise zum anderen Ende der Welt - tolle Adventure-Crew, viele und gut ausgewählte Informationen, sehr gute und auch individuelle Betreuung, alle sorgten für das Wohl und hohe Erlebnisqualität der Passagiere, riesiges Glück gehabt mit dem Wetter, viele und ausgedehnte Tierbeobachtungen, Eisberge, Zodiacfahrten sehr gekonnt, Verpflegung an Bord sehr gut, frisch und abwechslungsreich rundum ein einmaliges Erlebnis, alles bestens. Viel mehr Tiere gesehen als die Auswahlmaske zulässt , es waren noch dabei: Königspinguine, Eselspinguin, Macaronipinguine, Magellanpinguine, Seeelefanten, Seeleoparden, Küstenseeschwalben, mehrere Albatrosarten uvm.

This year in january I have been onboard of the Noorderlicht for my second time. The new owners are amazing. One day we had lots of orcas and humpbacks around the ship - wow. Unfortunately we were not so lucky with the weather and had really stormy conditions. That was a special experience! Being back in Harstadt one day earlier because of the storm Oceanwide organized a trip to the Polar Park in Bardu. Thank you for that! I'm looking forward to visit Spitsbergen next year with the Noorderlicht!

One of the best trips of my life. Pure beauty and strength of mother nature. The weather was very kind to us and we fully realize how blessed we have been. Perfect organization, excellent team (guides, ship crew, hotel staff), very comfortable ship and of the perfect size. We have seen lots of wildlife - penguins (Gentoo, Adelie, Chinstrap and 1 Macaroni), seals (crabbier, wedded, leopard), orcas and whales (in particular very close encounter with feeding humpbacks), birds (albatrosses, sterns, skuas, kelp gulls, cormorants, petrels, ...) - but landscape here is as important as wildlife. Thank you Oceanwide for making this possible.

We had the most amazing adventure travelling to Antarctica with MV Plancius. A great, small expedition ship, with a brilliant sailing crew and wonderful expedition staff. The trip was meant for active travellers who like adventure and it did not disappoint - with people aged 11 to 82, everyone had the same sense of wonder at the Antarctic continent, which is breathtaking - as well as fun and excitement on the many shore excursions and activities. Meeting them was as much part of the trip as going to Antarctica. There is always lots to do, even when sailing to and from the continent - with talks on everything from Antarctic wildlife to the great explorers, as well as excellent activity briefings. The ship is a floating hotel as well and we found the accommodation to be really good, the food excellent and the service was outstanding. I can't recommend an expedition holiday and this ship highly enough.

My trip to Antarctica on the Plancius 2016/17 was the most wonderful trip of my life. I love the Plancius, have also been to Spitsbergen on her. It is an excellent ship, homey yet graceful, the crew and the meals really first class. I fell in love with all the male crew.. especially the younger ones and our wonderful leader Andrew Bishop, but everyone of the crew was so friendly and the lectures were very interesting.. And also the passengers looked after me with with a pat on the back when I managed something difficult, like camping or kajaking or trudging through the snow. And the Chinese were also so nice: every one would ask me: Where you come from? Vienna, Austria. What your name? Luise. You all alone? Yes I came all alone. How old are you? So I will tell you now: On March2, 2017 I will be 80. And thank you all for my birthday present of Antartica.

The voyage was way more fantastic than I had anticipated in terms of majestic beauty, ambience on board, friendly staff and crew, accessibility to the Peninsula with 10 landings, the maximum possible, close proximity to whales, seals, penguins, and birds, and the staff's attentiveness to questions and zodiac safety. The seas were luckily very cooperative as was the weather on all our landings. The meals were surprisingly excellent as I did not expect such unusual attentiveness and variety and fantastic cuisine. The lectures on board during down times were excellent and informative. On just my iPhone, I was able to capture countless and priceless photos worthy of placement in National Geographic, because the scenery was breathtaking. The fact that all passengers could fit at the same time in the lecture space and the dining area was a big plus. One seating meant we all got to share our stories of the day. This also marked my clown performance there, which made me First Clown to Perform on All 7 Continents in History. I could go on and on, but the choice of the Plancius and the voyage we all shared was simply exquisite.

Words are not adequate. Astounding scenery - surprising colourful Falklands, historic South Georgia with so many penguins, majestic islands, fascinating and colourful icebergs, sea ice and bergy bits - how many shades of blue are there?. So fortunate with the weather calm seas, wonderful sunsets. Wildlife fascinating. For wellbeing everyone should meet a penguin a day! Saw so much - king penguins, magalllenic, rockhopper, Gentoo, chinstrap and adelie. Fur seals with pups, elephant seals - massive bulls and friendly pups. Albatross - close up to black browed on their nests, wandering, sooty backed, light mantled sooty headed - all majestic. Soaring petrels. Close up encounters whilst in the zodiacs with feeding humpback whales. Ship's captain and crew, hotel staff and guides all professional and friendly. Learned so much and will never forget the experience. Buenos Aires and Uschuaia good experiences too.

I cannot say enough good words about this trip, including what I saw, experienced and learned, and about the Captain, crew and all the staff who made it n amazing experience. The Captain always found a way for us to see the best of scenery, animals, scientific and the remains of whaling stations that weather and other factors allowed. I found the crew and staff always friendly, courteous and vey helpful. I very much appreciated the call from the bridge telling us wildlife was close by and the slowing of the ship to allow viewing and pictures. The rooms were small but very adequate and the lounge comfortable although I suggest that it would be good to have video screens both at the front and the back as the chairs face both ways. The food was more than adequate and plentiful and served by amazing people who manage even in tumultuous seas, and how do they remember so many names and so quickly. I found all the crew and staff always friendly, courteous and vey helpful. I applaud all the staff and crew in very position as there hard work and expertise of keeping us safe and contributed immensely to an incredible journey that I will never forget. Thank you.

We were lucky in having good weather the whole trip. The morning of our arrival the scene was breathtaking and only got better from there on. We keep telling friends that to look at pictures or video is only 20% of Antarctica. Even while under power the solitude and tranquility is unbelievable. We had a great group of passengers who seemed to hit it off well and we met people from Russia to Israel; from Canada to New Zealand, from Germany to China. The staff is incredible. Our dining room and lounge staff knew our names and room numbers after just a few hours., and could not have been more accomadating to any requests. The expedition staff were knowledgable and efficient as well as friendly. At one point we had a conflict going to a site since another ship was already there, so we picked a new spot and quickly set sail. Over the 6 days we had 11 landings and 1 kayak trip with all of them being memorable as were the zodiac tours along the coastline or through the growlers and icebrgs. Camping in the snow without tents was incredible. We have seen much of the world but this trip has to be the 'icing on the cake' for adventure adicts.