Ortelius Ship Reviews

Too many memorable moments to list though, if pushed, I'd have to say the look on my husband's face when he saw Brabant Island, an island he'd spent 9 months on back in 1984, for the first time in 39 years. This would shortly be followed by reaching the summit of Cuverville Island on snow shoes, taking the polar plunge and disco dancing on the helideck of m/v Ortelius on New Year's Eve.

It is impossible to single out one experience. Carola was with us in every step and her help was incredible - she made this experience perfect for us. Due to a late flight, we needed rebooking of flights and communication with drivers and hotel which she handled seamlessly and without any hiccup. Carola made everything happen like it was a walk in the park for her. Swoop does an excellent job and Oceanwide ship, facilities, staff, crew made the experience incredible. If there was any one thing that might be improved it would be the shipboard TV as there was constant buffering of the programs as well as erratic behavior. Granted, the trip is best without any TV but my mate had difficulty with sea sickness and reliable TV would have helped her. I realize it is satellite based and that is difficult in Antarctica but this is just a comment. If I ever do another booking through Swoop, I will definitely ask for Carola if she is available. Hold onto her in every way as if I had a professional need for her, I would offer her a executive position in an instant.

Helicoptering to a landing on sea ice, and then walking 20 minutes on the ice to see the grandeur of a huge Emperor Penguin colony. It was a beautiful blue sky day in the vastness of ice, surrounded by iceberg's frozen in the sea ice. The curious penguins, proudly showing off their chicks, made it difficult to maintain distance. When one would approach there seemed always another behind. I fantastic experience. And then we got to do it again the next day!

Too many to mention them all. We were so close at times to bubble-net-feeding humpbacks in our Zodiak, I could not fit the huge heads in my photo frame! We sailed through a "conference" of orcas about 50 strong; one swam under the Ortelius (our ship) and popped up right under where I was standing. I gained a deeper appreciation for the athleticism and resourcefulness of gentoo, chinstrip and Adelie penguins. The blue-eyed shags were a hoot with the crazy necking courtship dances. Even more impressive were the people. The guides, crew and staff were super helpful and worked hard to make as many adventures possible while keeping us safe. I enjoyed the camping in a snow pit, kayaking through brash ice, snowshoeing in blizzard conditions, the polar plunge, the photo workshops, the many related talks about wildlife, glaciers, avalanches, history. I especially liked being included in viewing the weather forecast maps. The travelers (about 113 from 20 countries, I heard) were as excited and enthusiastic about our adventures as I was. I have found a new "tribe" to which I am proud to belong.

There were many memorable and each unique moments. While penguin sighting was not necessarily a highlight, seeing tens of thousands of them all gathered together for as far as your eyes can see, was very special.

ALL OF IT!! Kayaking with humpback whales, seeing some much wildlife, the indescribable landscapes, the overwhelming awe, the incredible captain, staff, and crew, and all the open minded and flexible passengers who brought so much positive energy to the experience.

I felt overjoyed, ecstatic to witness this once in a lifetime journey. Breathtaking views, gorgeous, huge icebergs. Being among the massive icebergs and the vastness of the sea ice gave me a sense of awe. The pristine icebergs after icebergs gave me a perspective of how much larger than life and timeless they were. It reminded me that my life is transient, they will stand the test of time and stand tall and mighty long after I am gone. Being here in the silence has a deep sense of peace and tranquility. I stood staring at the vast ice landscape enjoying their beauty and strength. It felt fantastic walking on the sea ice. The Emperor Penguins and the hungry rolly polly chicks stole my heart. Brought tears to my eyes, my dream came true! What an absolutely magnificent, beautiful, thrilling fairy tale journey, the memories are imprinted in my memories forever. It Felt completely magical, out of this world experience, like we were not on planet earth.

There were so many, it's hard to pick one. Getting upclose with a leopard seal, seeing the beautiful twin arch iceberg, stepping onto the Antartica continent the first time, so many memorable moments.

Camping in the snow, going to sleep with clear skies and being woken up by snowflakes

Highlights: 7 species of penguins, wale watching, information given in the lectures, food on board. The people were nice and many charing also pictures and videos. The weather surprised us with lots of sunshine and one hurricane - the Drake was calm and smooth. A magical moment was a wale appearing right next to the zodiac and staying a while to be filmed.

I describe this adventure as going to the moon and back. Of course, a trip like this is very weather dependent - but our weather could not have been any more perfect! Our expedition leader, Sarah, was determined to get us off the ship as much as possible. She only wanted to share her knowledge and the beauty around us. Her enthusiasm was infectious. We had 17 landings and 2 cancelled landings, of which one was substituted for a zodiac excursion so we didn't miss the penguin colony. So you ask what was my most memorable moment - every day, every longing, every guide, every lecture was memorable. This was an other worldly experience.

Seeing type D orcas.

This adventure has exceeded my expectations on many levels. The event that will be forever engraved on my heart will be when I completed the 2nd Polar Plunge at Deception Island. It was a culminating celebration of mountaineering, kayaking, camping, and new discoveries with the wildlife. It was also an opportunity to celebrate like children at a birthday party. I loved the bonds I established with the other participants over cold and hot waters. It really felt like a celebration.

An incredibly hard question - so hard to pick between that first thrill of wildlife at West Point with the albatross and rockhopper colony, the full day sitting amongst and soaking in all the wildlife at sunny Saunders Bay, or the Adelie penguin overload at Paulet island. Or maybe the excitement at seeing an orca pop up out of nowhere on New Years Eve. It really is a trip of endless memorable moments that would each be the highlight of any other holiday.

Experiencing the power of the Drake Passage, we had the Drake Shake both ways, made me understand the risks of the early explorers and the extreme ecosystems. Seeing a leopard seal catch and flay a penguin reminded me that nature is not cuddly.

Seeing whales really close while zodiac cruising

South Georgia and Falkland island was good but Antarctica it was just covered for the sake of showing us and it was totally different than the itinerary which was promised. You can look at the logs of ships to see where they took us in Antarctica. They just wasted 3 days and not showed us anything in Antarctica. Please look at the ship logs and I have sent email to Malva(Swoop resource) what ocean wide provided after trip and what ocean wide shared before trip. They did the same ship route back and forth and wasted 2 days to cover that in Antarctica that is something any person will say its blunder.

Spotting the humpbacks right in front of our zodiac.

Lots of contenders, but: Seeing two humpack whales swim past me as a I sat in a kayak with my wife.

First landing on the continent and seeing the first colony of chinstrap penguins. And camping!