Reviews

We had the trip of a lifetime aboard the Ortelius. Everything was perfect, the crew and the expedition guides were always friendly and helpful with a huge knowledge about Antarctica. The lectures were very interesting and informative. All the landings were amazing and the places we visited were beautiful with amazing wildlife. The ship is very comfortable, our room (twin porthole) was very spacious and always clean, the food was always delicious and varied, served by very friendly staff. Everything was very well organized, the landings and the zodiac trips. We loved that it was more like an expedition than a cruise, and that it was very informal and there was a great vibe on board. At the end we were like a big family. Thank you to all the staff on board, to Sebas and the guides, to Michael and the hotel crew and to all that made our trip unforgettable. Thank you as well for the trip log it is amazing!!! Hope to see you in the Arctic!

Eine ausgezeichnete, aufeinander abgestimmte Crew, die bis zuletzt für die Teilnehmer da war."Du kannst uns jederzeit ansprechen" waren nicht nur hohle Worte. Hanne Krafft 8.01.2016

Das Schiff mit der richtigen Anzahl der Reisenden für die Anlandungen, eine sehr vernünftige Küche, eine Crew, die auf alles vorbereitet war, ausgezeichnete informative mehrsprachige Vorträge zu allem, was einem begegnete, dazu noch ein bißchen Glück mit Wetter und Seegang: Was kann man noch mehr wollen? Alle meine Erwartungen wurden übertroffen.

Right from the start when we embarked Plancius on December 28, 2015, the friendly atmosphere on board the ship and its helpful professional crew were promising signs for a great expedition to Antarctica. And it came true in every aspect. The captain and his crew sailed us to exceptional and remote places, the hotel staff made us feel at home on board and the expedition staff did their utmost to let us experience Antarctica’s nature and wildlife. When weather was too severe for activities on land they worked out alternatives like Zodiac drives or extra early morning landings after captain and crew sailed the ship to more sheltered places. With all the landings we made on different places of the Peninsula and the offered activities like kayaking, mountaineering, camping, etc., we have experienced the incredible nature of Antarctica and its wildlife. In the background always there were the staff, helpful for our convenience and safety. It really was a great experience.

The past 20 years I have experienced the prevelage of being guest on board for 20 times or more. Both the arctic and Antarctic regions not only are the most impresive regions of this planet, but they also offer me the best occasions to learn about living at this planet. During this years I have been able to ad thousands of new images to the image bank of the Int. World Wide Fund for Nature. If I could embar tomorow, I would not hessitate to do again. wim van passel

From the first minute to the last, it was a very great adventure. For me the different icehills were the best!

This trip was an amazing adventure, not only because of uniqueness of Antarctic environment but also because of the people (crew members and passengers). I would like to thank all Plancius team members for the great work they did in order to make our adventure safe, interesting, knowledgeable, tasty and cosy. Never stop and all the best!

Vous voulez remettre vos idées en place, vous sentir hors de la civilisation stressante , heureux et libre à bord de votre Brise-glace "l'Ortélius" sur le toit du monde dans un silence parfait, Gater par une organisation parfaite ......alors je peus vous garantir un bonheur inoubliable ......MERCI "OCEANWIDE" et "GRANDSESPACES" pour m'avoir permis ,un trop court instant, de me couper du monde entre la faune et paysage unique ,grandiose de beauté.

It was a wonderful trip in Lofoten: landscapes are amazing. One week with a surprise each day. Our guide was excellent and we had such a nice crew. Just do this trip, but take care as it is not always easy to go out of the ship...

excellent-journey

Very good weather, wonderful landscapes, a lot of animals, a small but nice ship, a good crew with excellent captain and expedition leader, good food, interesting conferences, what do you want more ?

Incredible trip, great weather, wonderful folks and fabulous ship. Scenery was out of this world.

Everything was perfect, Many thanks to Our Capitain Evgeniy "ZHENYA" Levakov, Rinie "Magic" Van Meurs and every person of the staff and team ! It was like a dream came true !

It really is not hard to write a positive review about such a well run operation in what has to be one of the most stunning parts of the world, observing the abundant wildlife that calls this remote area home. The expedition team and the ship's captain and officers spent countless hours making sure that this voyage lived up to its title. As a result, we enjoyed numerous memorable sightings of polar bears, walrus haul outs, whales around the ship, arctic foxes, reindeer, seals and, of course, many species of birds. The onboard lectures from experts in their various fields were most informative and the zodiac shore excursions most enjoyable. Finally, one has to mention the jaw dropping scenery of the Svalbard Archipelago. High peaked mountains with glaciers reaching to the sea in every direction, huge bird cliffs reaching for the sky and sea ice from horizon to horizon. All very aptly summed up as "Magnificence at its Utmost Best". Thank you to all involved. The memories will last a lifetime! Frank Broadbent and Carol Dockley - Ohakune, New Zealand.

This was our second trip on the Plancius and we would go anywhere with them. Great ship, great crew, great trip. Eight polar bears with five on the one sighting was amazing but the highlight of the trip was the encounter with Mrs Bear who hung around the ship for at least an hour. Had the gang plank been down she would have just come on board.