The highlight was the polar bear at 82 degrees North Not much wildlife apart from many walruses. The light was great for landscapes The people were wonderful especially the lectures Every speaker was infectiously passionate about their subject Go to the Arctic before global warming spoils it No surprises but I would choose max 50 people on a ship next time. The max was supposed to be around 134 but we had 116 and even then that was too many people although everything about Quark was superb food , personal etc

The Arctic has a magical quality of its own There was very little sea ice and we had to sail to 82 degrees North to find the polar bears

Yes

The Polar expert was very helpful. Choosing the photography trip seemed best but it was in fact a bit crowded with photographers wanting the best spot to view wildlife also with 10 + zodiacs out at once it was crowded. They did their best to accommodate us all The cabin was perfectly placed and couldn’t have been better The ship was nice but rather larger than ideal , that being said if it were smaller maybe we couldn’t have gone that far North ??? SWOOP service was wonderful prior to the voyage Not really any differently as far as I can see.

My best moment was the polar bear sighting at 82 degrees North. The captain and expedition crew were very diligent at trying to spot polar bears and to go as close as possible The landings were OK but allowing more free time would have been much better rather than leading us on a hike The wild life was not as abundant as when I was there in 2017 Then I was on a boat with 12 passengers and we could sail into narrow fiords, so there are advantages and disadvantages between large and small vessels The expedition staff were second to none. Professional,passionate and knowledgeable and made up for the lack of wild life

The Ocean Adventurer is a great ship. The deck space adequate . I found the front deck with its sloping sides difficult to view and photograph wildlife but the sides and the stern decks were great I was happy in a lot of ways, but probably would recommend a smaller ship for photography enthusiasts. Going to the arctic to see what it is like the Ocean Adventurer would be an excellent choice

The SWOOP specialist was very helpful Probably some advice on flight and hotel bookings would have been a great help For example there was little information as to when was the exact time the ship returned to the pier. I was reluctant to book a flight returning on the last day for fear of missing the flight if the ship was delayed due to bad weather and would have saved an extra day on my journey.The flights recommended by SWOOP were routed via Europe when Iceland was far better from Toronto But all in all we are very pleased with your service

Yes speak to a Specialist who has personal experience of the Polar regions and state what your goals are. Personal experience is very important

I am going to Antarctica withSWOOP and hope to have the same positive experience