Reviews

Expedition Crew from Oceanwide has tried their very best to bring everyone on board to Snow Hill and meet the Emperor Penguins twice! That was really a memorable and touching moment. Thanks for the great effort you have made!

Sono ritornata in Antartide dopo 6 anni..il mio paradiso personale a cui si accede dopo l' inferno del passaggio di Drake..sempre sulla Plancius perché e' la nave perfetta, piccola, organizzatissima e green..non pensavo che avrei uguagliato le emozioni di 6 anni fa..invece il viaggio e' stato ancora più fantastico e spettacolare..quante balene, quante orche, centinaia di pinguini, le foche, all'atmosfera e cormorani..non potevo chiedere di più.. e' stato indimenticabile! Grazie di cuore e sono cetta che tra qualche anno, non troppi, ci sara' pure la terza volta!!

This was the trip of a lifetime. Every detail from the staff, to the food, accommodation and tours was perfect.

Felt like a real explorer, travelling in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton! We were lucky enough to reach Vahsel Bay and Berkner Island which was incredible and further south then Shackleton went! Saw wonderful wildlife and ice. Spent time just watching beautiful emperor penguins on ice and a humpback whale logging close to our zodiac. Crew were incredibly hard working and cheerful. My dietary intolerance was catered for by the Chef with cheerfulness and respect and I enjoyed fantastic meals for 4 weeks with no problems. Expedition staff were very knowledgeable and passionate about their subjects. The prime aim seemed to be to make the trip as interesting and special for every guest as possible. They succeeded!

Overall an incredible voyage with an incredible crew. A true journey to the southern unknown with passionate and experienced guides and crew. A true adventure of a lifetime!

A fantastic voyage that included South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and Weddell Sea. For the first time as non government passenger ship made it to 78.3 degrees parallel. Highly recommended this trip to all looking for wildlife, beauty and experience.

Had a fabulous time at Antarctica. Oceanside took very good care of us. We were able to do all activities. They kept us busy and well informed. The food was outstanding and you got plenty to eat. Highly recommend them.

Excellent trip. The expedition team, and all the crew including the catering and housekeeping team were outstanding. Very lucky to have Pippa as our expedition leader, heard informally from several of the expedition team that she was the best leader they'd worked with. Landings and zodiac cruises very well managed. Interesting breadth and depth of lectures and activites. Very lucky to also have obliging weather for most of the trip.

Fascinated with Antarctic exploration from childhood especially Shackleton and with a long term friend who came from the Falklands we chose this trip because it was advertised as an expedition ship with just over 100 passengers meaning we could all go on every excursion. It seems we were very lucky with the weather and so our excursions and sightings were much better than average. Got to know the birders who spent most of their time on deck glued to binoculars and were remarkably generous with sharing their knowledge of the birds that flew around the ship and those we saw on land. The whale sightings were frequent, most notable were the two prolonged sightings of killer whales, the first when a pod of 20-30 literally played around the boat for an hour and the second a “David Attenborough” type experience when a similar size pod surrounded a fin whale with the intention of hunting it for its 2000kg tongue. The landings just seemed to get better as we progressed. The Falklands was a great start, Georgia had great scenery and huge penguin colonies, anchoring off the site where most of Shackleton’s men were left behind on Elephant Island was a good stop even if it was too rough to get ashore but entering the Weddell Sea and the pack ice was for me the highlight. Other reviews of this trip lament that we were unable to make a landing on the subarctic continent although this was the aim but was prevented by the ice conditions and restrictions on a couple of landing sites due to avian flu, so we had to land on the islands instead. Adding another day on the trip so longer could be spent in this region would perhaps be optimal. It was a pleasure being on a boat with such a happy and helpful crew. Ali’s leadership skills should be complimented but all the guides were knowledgeable and helpful, the hotel crew were fabulous hosts, the food was amazing, what a chef, and our cabin staff were particularly lovely. I should add that the bar and wine prices were more than reasonable and the laundry was much cheaper than most hotels. We are unlikely ever to afford a repeat trip as it is expensive to get to the Antarctic but are so pleased that this was the company, boat and itinerary we chose.

Such an awe inspiring trip, seen loads of wildlife and stunning scenery. Staff were incredible so knowledgeable, helpful and friendly.

A trip of a lifetime with passionate educated team all excellent - pippa and George outstanding

Great professional and knowledgeable expedition team made the trip so enjoyable. The ship and all the crew onboard were well organized and a joy to travel with. Nice mix of traveller's backgrounds and ages plus wonderful shore and zodiac activities. Highly recommend Oceanwide.

Words cannot fully express pure joy of Hondius Antarctica 20 day Adventure just breathing the air once breathed by brave explorers , witnessing stunning wildlife,landscape crew of Hondius is a once in lifetime game changer

What can I say about the trip of a lifetime? The trip far exceeded my expectations. It was the combination of the spectacular wildlife, the islands and locations we visited. Undoubtedly the weather helped, with a beautiful sunrise in Antarctic Sound. The expedition staff were excellent and knowledgeable in their fields of expertise. The living quarters were excellent and the hotel staff couldn’t be faulted. The food was outstanding, with its quality and variety, even if soup wasn’t always served owing to the sea conditions. I give full marks to the chef and his team for producing such quality food on a moving vessel. I would have been very happy if I only saw half of what we did see on this trip, it was truly outstanding.

Sehr gutes, relativ kleines Schiff in gutem Zustand und in guten Händen. Tolles Expeditionsteam, das viel weiß und freundlich und immer um die Gäste bemüht ist. Unschlagbares Wildlife.