June Reviews

The Trip was great. We were lucky with the weather and the wildlife. We must have seen over twenty polar bears, include cubs. The highlight and magical moment had to be Mama and Baby bears swimming right up to the ship to say hello. The landscape was like a mini Antarctica - we did not see the large ice-floats as we did down in Antarctica but the glass smooth sea surface and the reflections of blue sky and milk white glaciers were very photogenic. It is not easy to comment on fellow passengers when there are over 10 nationalities on-board. The inherent different tongues and customs can dampen the moments.

Kayaking in the thick brash ice by a big glacier on a beatutful, sunny day was a highlight....but then again, so was when the walrus popped its head up out of the water right in front of me when in the zodiac....and watching and filming the polar bear that swam around our ship - so close. The swimming polar bear was a surprise, as was all the reindeer we saw up close and the freedom we had kayaking. The wildlife was beautiful. We did see some foxes and a lot of birds. I did not see much of the puffins, but I was kayaking the one day we went to where they were and the weather was not very good (a bit rainy and windy - a lot of wave action). The landscapes were increadible - a lot like Antarctica, but a lot closer and cheaper to get to - and you get to do excursions right away and much better weather than Antarctica. There were many Australians on the trip and I found them delightful - down to earth, very-well traveled, friendly - so wonderful to talk to. The down side is that I felt we disturbed the polar bears more than I would have liked to have. We spent a day in one spot watching a mother with two cubs. She was by a hole, waiting for a seal. I can't help but think a large, smelly ship nearby would not improve her hunting success. It seems to me there should be a limit, say 2 or 3 hours, that you can stay and watch one polar bear - in order not to disturb them too much or interfere with hunting. Also, it was a lovely day and to spend one day on the ship with no excursions, watching once polar bear and cubs was a bit much for me.

The Polar Bear sighting on the morning of the 4th day, and the zodiac cruise along Alkefjellet - a cliff face with hundreds of thousands of birds nesting on it - later that day.

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

Seeing polar bears with cubs and with kills was great, but the moment that got me was the bird cliffs (Alkegjellet in particular). Just to see such a huge concentration of wildlife in one place was stunning.

Would consider the trip to contain high quality vs a high quantity of experiences. Our trip was highlighted by a half-day observation of lone young female polar bear and a haul-out of a herd/huddle of bearded walrus. One of the benefits of traveling with One Ocean is getting to know fellow passenger. The arctic trip was no exception. Very interesting ship mate from all over the global seeking a unique experience.

After watching a polar bear feed on land for an hour, the adrenaline from hearing about, then seeing then following another polar bear swimming directly for the first bear, and then witnessing the tense interactions that followed between them as they faced off for the food.

Highlights were wildlife sightings and excursions off the ship. People were very nice with a good mix of backgrounds and nationalities. The second 4 hour visit to Longyearbyen after the cruise was unnecessary. We did not know about the stop in Tromso to re-enter Norway.

Seeing a curious young male polar bear come across the sea ice to check out our small ship… Spotting us, he came across the ice, sliding down ridges, rolling over, sniffing the air at our scent, until he checked us out. Amazing! He them a baked off to hunt, having dufficuktung climbing out of the water into the ice, at some points.

The quietness of the Arctic is amazing. The vastness is hard to capture in words or photos. We loved having the opportunity to hike up to a vantage point vista and sit and enjoy the quietness of the world.

Polar bears!

Overall the trip was very good. G Adventures' personnel couldn't do enough to make everyone's trip special. The lectures and activities were interesting and the ship was very comfortable and clean. The food was fantastic! Our fellow travellers were nice especially the Canadian youngsters who were full of fun and enthusiasm. As for the wildlife - as Steven {one of the guides on the ship] said we were very, very lucky with the weather and wildlife viewings. We were not disappointed in any way.

I was able to capture a great shot of a Minke whale breaching while feeding.

Pacing of 2 polar bears from a zodiac as they traveled along a beach.

Seeing polar bears relatively close and behaving completely naturally, undisturbed by human presence

Seeing the polar bear and the blue whale in the wild

In one single day when we saw a head of walruses (50+) in the morning, and saw a couple of belugas in the afternoon while we were kayaking and a polar bear and seals (from far) during the night.

Impossible to choose. Obviously all polar bear sightings but arctic fox carrying off eggs from bird cliffs in last moment of last zodiac trip was fabulous

There were so many memorable moments that it is hard to choose one. The wildlife was amazing - 9 polar bears, walrus, bearded seals, whales, foxes and so many birds. The zodiac cruises near the glaciers were also incredible.

Excellent. Friendly, attentive, knowledgable staff and crew. We were very lucky to have seen several polar bears.