Probably how these expeditions work, but I found the trip quite memorable - the right balance of getting to know and learn about wildlife, marine flora fauna, geology, history & geography, culture of the people in the ship, and adventure with fun. Cherishing every moment here. Not only had the best times in exploring the unknowns but also found the time to reflect within.
The skiing and mountaineering experiences were amazing and their availability on the Ocean Endeavour is why we chose this boat over others. Getting to go out 3 times for each of these experiences was amazing and far exceeded my expectations. The hotel management was amazing . Rosemarie who cleaned our room was lovely and went above and beyond to make our experience with this tour operator even more memorable. The chef always had the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face . The food and dining room staff were exceptional . The guest experience on board this vessel has been phenomenal
Great trip to Western Arctic: Canada and Greenland First two days due to strong winds we were exploring unexpectedly fjord near Kangerlussuaq airport in Greenland. This affected the planned itinerary and expedition team worked hard to resolve various issues. It was a very memorable experience with 18 nights on board of Ultramarine. We have visited places where no other expedition ships have been or only visited on rare occasions. We were lucky with clear skies on the first 6 nights and the Aurora Borealis was better and better on each night. Glaciers, icebergs were nice backdrops on many photos and experiences were enhanced with helicopter flights over magnificent landscapes of Baffin island (Sam Ford fjord especially) and Greenland. Wonderful autumn colours of tundra and rock formations were explored on many hikes in addition to the visits to archeological sites. Introduction to Inuit culture and history was during visits to Itileq, Ilulissat, Uummannaaq, Nipisat island and Pond Inlet. It was enhanced by performances of local artists and visits to Inuit colourful homes. Although the wildlife of Arctic is not so plentiful as in Antarctica, we managed to have wonderful observations of numerous polar bears (12 in one day!), seals and birds. We also followed somewhat the footsteps of Franklin's expedition and reached the Beechey island where the expedition has spent the winter in 1845/46 and where are some graves of the sailors. Expedition team members presented many interesting lectures on history, geology, birds and bears. It was also a nice culinary experience of Greenlandic cuisine: Tundra to Table.