Reviews

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.

The grandeur of Antarctica is beyond any words or pictures. In the undisturbed tranquility, isolated to the notion of timelessness, I was in awe of its magnificence and our insignificance, and my mind become like ice: clear, crystalline and uncluttered. From the over 40 countries I visited nothing compares to this. The magic can't happen without our incredible crews and staffs! All the adventurers activities, insightful workshops, attentive service and thoughtful programs never ceased to amaze me. The trip was beyond my wildest dreams, passengers all over the world bonding in the vast wilderness. Special thanks to: Andrew, Michelle, Beau, Chris, Marijke, Bruce, Cube, Mal, Louise, Nacho, Jerry, Karen, Johnny, Katie and all the rest 40+ staffs on board. I loved and miss every second of the this adventure, and can't wait until my next expedition with Oceanwide! (Damn it, Polar Bug!)

The trip far exceeded our expectations. The staff and crew were professional and knowledgeable. Andrew Bishop and his team took great care of the passengers and ensured that we had the opportunity to land as often as safely possible on the various landing sites. We were particularly pleased that the crew/team cared about the environment and explained the many effects of poor environmental policies and undertakings in their lectures. The hospitality staff and the dining room staff were exceptional. The food was too much and very good. I still want to know how the wait staff knew our names from day 2 of the trip!! Unbelievable. This will be a trip that we will not forget.

Wetterglück "Zimmerkolleginnen" gut Essen und Hotelservice gut Mitpassagiere gut gesehen: div Pinguine inkl Kaiserpinguin (1) Seals div Vögel Wale

Everybody I spoke to on the trip agreed it would be impossible to find the words to describe Antarctica - you've just got to go!

Great trip,great sea sick hahahah great weather.staff very very kind loved every minute of it just the drake passage was a little bit rought on the way to antartica but perfect on return with the pacth of doctor Hans we would love having a longer kayak ride,,,,would love kayaking before dinner since the sun was still high in the sky

It was absolutly fantastic, and it fullfilled all my dreams about the tour. The guide´s and the crew really worke´d hard to give us the best experience.

I had the most amazing time in the entire world on my Antarctica trip!!! :) I am very grateful for the opportunity to travel with Oceanwide Expeditions and can't wait to tell the world all about it. The Plancius vessel quickly became home and all the accommodations were in great shape — I was in the quadruple room and we had plenty of drawers and closet space to keep our things in. Loved our porthole view, the bunk beds were comfortable and the individual curtains around each bed made the room perfect and cozy. Antarctica changed all of our lives and it was the most spectacular trip of a lifetime. I can't say enough amazing things about Oceanwide Expeditions -- from the most incredible staff, to the constantly helpful expedition guides, to the delicious food and snacks, and of course the basecamp adventure activities! We had magically perfect weather and every moment was special -- I even loved the Drake Passage too! We had the best basecamp activity passenger crew and had so much fun together, definitely the best choice I could have made for a very memorable and active trip to Antarctica.

We had a fantastic trip with the Ortelius to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the South Orkney Islands, the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands. The crew and staff on board were very enthousiastic and positive, even when an activity could not take place, due to the weather. They always looked for an alternative. The lectures were informative and interesting. The auction for the rat eradication programme on South Georgia was very funny, especially when Adam, the Swedish staffmember, tried to repeat a Chinese bid in Chinese.Our cabin was larger and more luxurious than we had expected. The choice at breakfast, lunch and dinner was great. The weather was great too, although we had a lot of wind. We saw a lot of wildlife, like penguins, whales, dolphins, seals and seabirds.

Mit der ganzen Reise und dem Wetter, sehr zufrieden! Was hätten wir bei ständig schlechtem Wetter gemacht?...

In march 2016 I visited the Lofoten on board of the SV Noorderlicht. It was an unforgetable trip. The landscape is amazing, the crew was absolutely friendly and very well prepared and the Noorderlicht stole a part of my heart. Many thanks to the whole group. I will be back next year!