Has anyone used Oceanwide Expeditions?

[BobCatter]

I've seen a couple of things about them, and they have some itineraries that are interesting to me. Curious if anyone on here has sailed with them.

[NikolaiAgapov]

I have mixed feelings about this cruise but wanted to share some of the points that really stood out to me. I certainly feel like I didn't get my money worth.

 

(1) Firstly, I want to say that the Hondius is a beautiful ship in several respects. It's new, fresh, not too large and not too small so you have a good feeling of safety whilst on the open seas. It's very comfortable and cozy and has a pleasant relaxed feeling on board. I only have good words for the amazing ship crew and hotel staff that take care of you while you are on board. I felt extremely safe on the ship despite some rough weather. It is spotlessly clean, the beds are extremely comfortable, and you can adjust the temperature in your room to your liking. The hotel staff are extremely friendly and will do almost anything to make you comfortable.

 

(2) The food is also very good. They offer a wide variety of cuisines to suit several tastes. Breakfast and lunch are buffet style, and the evening meal is a sit-down dinner offering four courses (soup, appetizer, entree, and dessert). You can choose your evening meal at lunch time when the menu 

is brought around.

 

(3) The atmosphere aboard the ship is very cozy. There is no need to bring anything fancy to wear unless you would like to. The focus is on warm, comfortable and safe clothing. 

 

(4) One negative issue was with the attitude of some of the expedition guides. Most of them were very helpful and friendly. However, some of them seemed to be very self-centered, arrogant, and unfriendly to the point that they would not even say good morning or hello to you if you saw them in the corridor or lounge. This can make you very uncomfortable, especially if they happen to be your zodiac driver. I found it very strange to pass some of them on the stairway or in the restaurant, say hello to them and smile, only to be met with an unfriendly glare. There is also a large degree of cliques on board with them, especially with them liking to hang out with those guests that obviously had a lot of money and liked to flaunt it.

 

Regarding the outings themselves on the zodiacs, I did feel the drivers were safe. However, with sometimes 11 or 12 people on a zodiac it was extremely difficult to see things, move or even try to take pictures because there were just too many people and heads in the way. 

 

The main disappointment of the trip was not seeing ANY of the main highlights of South Georgia Island (such as the massive colonies of King penguins). It is the main reason most people go to South Georgia Island. Although the avian flu did have some cause for this, most other cruise ships visited at least one of the colonies even if it was just by zodiac boat. Several of the guests were extremely disappointed by this fact, yet it was never addressed publicly by the expedition leader. It is almost like we were supposed to forget about it. 

 

These were my main points about the trip. The highlights was the wonderful ship, the beautiful places that we visited and the incredible wildlife, but it was really all canceled out by the very unfriendly attitude of some of the expedition guides and the fact that main highlights of the trip were not seen. 

Edited May 10 by NikolaiAgapov
Typing errors

[NikolaiAgapov]

Sorry, I forgot to add that I did the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica.

[2552phxcrzr]

We did the Ushuaia to New Zealand via the Ross Sea 30-day with Oceanwide on Ortelius a few years ago and had a wonderful experience.  The cabins had just been redone on the top levels ... basic but comfortable.  The food was good.  No crew issues.  Everyone was friendly.  We had some pax who did not understand the nature of expedition cruising in the polar regions and they caused some issues. It's not an itinerary I would recommend to anyone who is a first time cruiser to Antarctica, but we'd been down there before and loved this itinerary, which included helicopters at no extra expense.

 

We are booked to go with them again for the Remote Weddell Sea itinerary next year.

 

We've done expeditions with both Quark and Oceanwide and have been pleased with both, so our decisions on which to go with are itinerary-driven.

[NikolaiAgapov]

I feel that the itinerary should have been altered for this trip. The selling point of it is (at least one) of the massive King penguin colonies on the South Georgia Island, so this is why it's so much money. To not visit any of this and not mention it is not really good. I did follow on social media this same trip both with Oceanwide Expeditions and other companies and not one single cruise omitted a giant King penguin colony. 

 

I also chose Oceanwide Expeditions because I read good things. Maybe we just had very bad luck with the expedition crew and the places that were chosen to visit. 

Edited May 11 by NikolaiAgapov