Reviews

Despite not managing the full circumnavigation, we had a a wonderful and memorable trip. Great to see the Polar bears and Walrus, and all the wildlife and amazing scenery. Kayaking amongst the sea ice was amazing, and seeing the glacier calving incredible. We loved the ship and met some great people. The guides were all great too!!

很高兴能在奥特留斯号上遇到很多好玩的朋友，和遇到那么多幽默的探险队员，当然还有度过了那么完美的一段北极时光。“脚印会消失，但记忆永远会留下。” 我觉得自己以后还会继续选择“船客”（新私享）旅游，更希望以后会再次遇到奥特留斯号的船员和队员。 短短的9天，在我的记忆里留下的全部是笑声和难忘的记忆。谢谢你们！

It was an amazing experience. I will travel with Oceanwide next time because they have a fantastic human staff.

Reise sehr empfehlenswert, Optimale Betreuung durch ein sehr verantwortungsbewusstes Team, das alle Möglichkeiten entsprechend der Wetterlage ergreift um eine unvergessliche Reise zu erleben. Ausgezeichnet ist die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kapitän unser seiner Crew - hohe Flexibilität was den Programmablauf betrifft.

This trip exeeded my expectations. What I wanted was a smaller ship with an accent to seeing wildlife. Here I got all I wanted. The crew and the guides were all dedicated to getting us to see as much wildlife as possible. Even though half of the guests on the ship were part of the same group (and language), staff did everything possible to ensure that we all could enjoy this trip (getting into zodiacs took incredible little time!) Once we got up at 6am because they saw a polar bear; and another day we did 3 zodiac trips in a single day! Professional, efficient and competent (I liked their lectures on wildlife). I also liked the ship; very clean, the cabin was large and confortable, food was plenty (even too much!) and of good quality. This trip has been faultless, from the booking process to disembarcation. I highly recommend this trip and Oceanwide Expeditions. Many on board were returning guests, I will also book another trip with them!

Die Reise hat unvergessliche Eindrücke hinterlassen. Die lehrreichen und leicht nachvollziehenden Vorträge von den sehr kompetenten Guides haben mich gefesselt. Das Schiff ist komfortabel, die Küche abwechslungsreich und lecker.

Alles bestens, Organisation, Alternativen wegen zu dicken Eises, Wetter,

Der Titel der Reise weckt Erwartungen, die mit dem Antreffen von 2 Bären an nur einem Tag von 7 für mich nicht erfüllt wurden. Es wurde mehr Wert auf den Besuch von Fjorden gelegt als nach mehr Eisbären im Packeis gesucht. Das Hin und Her zwischen Packeis und Fjorden war nicht zielführend, so dass ich den Eindruck hatte, hier wird doch mit gebremstem Schaum gefahren.

Not a complete loss, but for a trip sold as a "polar bear special", we left feeling like we'd just been hoodwinked. A single bear at great distance is hardly special. Similarly, a single blue whale, visible for maybe 2 minutes. Walrus - a dozen, rather than 80 reported on other trips. No beluga. No bowhead. No fin whale. No arctic fox. Hundreds of seabirds rather than thousands. Reindeer - the only species we got a decent look at. No doubt we were unlucky. Wildlife sightings on our trip were significantly less than on other trips, as reported in the various trip logs (up to 26 bears in one case!). But I would expect the crew to know where to find the animals, and to move the ship to where the wildlife is. Yes, wildlife is unpredictable, but others manage to find them. Furthermore - the food on the ship was also well below advertised standard. Edible, certainly, and plentiful, but much closer to "good canteen", and most certainly NOT "fine dining". Finally - many of the guides were uncooperative. The tour leader (in particular) when asked a question would avoid answering, just tell me what a good time I'm having. Will NOT be back.

«Good Morning my Dear Polar Explorers!» was the wake up call we received every morning from our Expedition leader Michael. This kind of expedition was a first time for me and it met all my expectations: the ship was neat, really comfortable and the entire crew was great: amazing guides, crew and a great team of hotel staff; they all worked tirelessly to let us have a great experience, and they did it more than right. Sailing through the ice, landings, strolling with zodiacs in front of glaciers, all made this experience to be worth living. I really had a great time onboard and I hope to join soon on another one!

Tolle Reise! Crew: Supernett und zuvorkommend Expeditionsteam: Kompetent und immer für uns da Kabine: Total in Ordnung Essen: Gut und abwechslungsreich LEIDER: Nur einen Eisbären gesehen...

Had a fantastic time. Never been on a cruise, but the boat was great. Nice room, plenty of places to spend time, and always great views. Loved the food, and really good vegetarian options. Activities were fun, especially the snorkeling, though a bit too tame for me. They threw in a few surprises that took it to another level and made it unforgettable. The staff are universally great and tried hard to help us have the best time possible.

We just got back from Norway and I just want to say how satisfied I was with Oceanwide Expeditions for a fantastic cruise of Spitzbergen on the s/v Rembrandt van Rijn sailing ship where we chartered the ship for our Spitzbergen expedition cruise from June 9th to June 16th, 2017. The ship holds 33 passengers plus 12 crew. My experience on that sailing expedition was that they run a first-class well-run company. For a beautiful sailing “tall ship” that was originally built in 1924, the ship was in first-class condition and updated for modern comforts. Although the cabins are small and all have bunkbeds, they were quite adequate. In fact, most of the cabins had a bottom bunk that was a small double-bed. There is plenty of lounge space, a bar, lots of windows and portholes, and plenty of deck space. We loved the sails that were put up on our last full day of the journey when there was finally a breeze in the air. From the ship’s captain, Ali, to Lars, the ship’s chef, to Bogdan, the hotel manager, to Jordi, our expedition leader, to Ali, our assistant expedition leader, and to the rest of the crew that many times were unseen but working hard, they gave us a wonderful journey.

Es war eine wunderschöne Reise, und auch das Team auf der Plancius war toll und hat uns gut über die Natur sowie alles informiert. Auch das Küchenpersonal darf man nicht vergessen es hat uns wunderbar bekocht das Service Team ist immer freundlich und nett zu uns gewesen. Danke nochmal für die schöne Zeit an Bort.Beate und Werner

Sehr interessante, erlebnisreiche Reise. Der Kapitän fuhr sogar durch das Packeis sehr vorsichtig in etwas größere, angemessene Nähe an die Eisbären heran. Viel Zeit für Tierbeobachtung. Ausgesprochen nettes und kompetentes Personal, das immer für Fragen offen war.