This is truly more of a warning than anything.
I do not recommend Quark expeditions unless you have a high tolerance for losing half your trip or more.
We were scheduled for an Arctic cruise that boarded in Resolute. Our flight out of Calgary was delayed two days because their ship, the Ultramarine, could not navigate the ice to get to the port. This wouldn't have been a problem, but because Quark booked two cruises back to back, they will not extend the cruise. We will get three days on the ship. We are being refunded the missed days, but for a trip like this, the value is not enjoying the amenities on-board, but actually hiking/kayaking/seeing a reasonable amount of the Artic.
I have requested a full refund because, by the time we get to the ships, we will barely be able to leave Resolute (assuming that the Ultramarine actually manages to make it out of the ice). That is not enough time to do anything promised by the cruise - it's a day and a half of sailing out and then back, assuming we do not stop to hike/kayak.
Again, all of this is totally reasonable when traveling to a remote location, but Quark has handled this horribly. We were not told until 6pm the day before we were supposed to fly out. We have received zero communication from Quark except for physical updates once a day in the lobby. They irresponsibly booked two cruises back to back. They won't refund me, despite not being capable of actually delivering the trip I paid for. I do not recommend this company.
My opinion would be vastly different had they notified me at all before I arrived in Calgary, extended the trip, and/or refunded my money.
If you choose to go with Quark, book on a credit card as close to your departure date as possible:
- If you book within the time-frame you can do a chargeback with your credit card, at least you have some protection from this behavior.
- As a bonus, the prices also drop precipitously the closer you get to the departure date, which is fairly standard.