Poseidon ExpeditionsReviews of poseidonexpeditions.com

Like others I too was very disappointed that we did not get to our planned destination and would like to make two points: 1. I recall a meeting at which an alternative was discussed, cancel the polar plunge and meet our goal. A show of hands indicated the plungers were a small minority but the expedition leader said the planned plunge would not be cancelled. I understand only 20 people actually went on the plunge. Why didn’t the majority count? 2. On another expedition cruise we have taken I felt that land treks were better handled. Details of the trek conditions and distance were made very clear, and alternative shorter walks were also offered. Trek maps were even included. I am not saying this would have prevented this accident, but at least it recognized that less fit people should have a choice. It would be nice to complete the journey another time but for us it won’t be with Poseidon.

The Sea spirit definitely has the most charm, with an amazing crew, expedition team, restaurant, bar & housekeeping. Even stabilizers for rough seas. This cruise also had an great photographer who gifted everyone with a memorable video (hats off to Piet). Sadly enough, it was a few antarctic scenes short from being epic. As well travelled, nature & wildlife lovers and photography enthusiasts, we search to spend the most time outdoors looking for wildlife. We chose this cruise as Poseidon advertises this as an expedition, with an itinerary going half way down the Gerlache strait and a detailed summary describing this as the most beautiful and calm area booming with wildlife. The trip started with the Falklands and the gorgeous sights at South Georgia. An extraordinary place! Where it all went wrong is that an elderly passenger had tripped and fractured her arm during a mediocre hike. Resulting in an evacuation being necessary. With no contingencies in place to offload a passenger at King George harbour, the ship had to remain a drift for an evening and almost 2 full days, untill a plane had confirmed taking off. Resulting in a four day itinerary for the Arctic region being reduced to one day, with most highlighted destinations such as Portal point and Wilhelmina bay being unreachable in the time left. The only option to reach the peninsula was 'Cierva cove' where they chose to do a ten minute photostop on a rocky beach. Doing so, the 'official step on 7th continent' was made before having to head north again. Technically we have not set foot on snow or ice.. on the arctic continent.. Out of shear luck a group off humpbacks crossed paths and a quick zodiac cruise saved the day. Apart from that, wildlife sightings in that regions were minimal. In my opinion this still is a luxury cruise, not an expedition. With the targeted audience being those at retirement age or with money to spend, and such an audience comes with a higher risk level for injuries to occur. Having no contingencies in place to offload a passenger at the Shetlands is a higher risk Poseidon takes, risking a journey to come full stop. An IAATO shared 'waiting station' at King George Island would solve this issue. Before boarding you have to sign off on being fully vaccinated and in good healthy conditions. The person that was evacuated had physical conditions where she broke bones easily. She had been helped down the stairs from day one and bragged about recent injuries at the dinner table. She was also the first covid case on board and in a weakened state, placing her under doctors supervision. In a recent comment Poseidon waves responsibility for the health form to ultimately be up to the passenger, but this in my opinion contradicts their own guidelines. Whether this person forfeited her medical form or not, the doctor failed to screen her and declare her unfit for certain activities. Quote: The Customer is obliged to have themselves examined before the journey, if necessary with the involvement of expert medical advice, whether participation in the journey with its specific contents and its route through extreme climatic conditions is actually compatible with the Customer’s respective physical condition, constitution and current state of health. In these cases, the traveller agrees to be examined by a doctor/ship’s doctor who will check the traveller’s fitness to travel and, if necessary, determine that the traveller is unable to travel, which shall be binding for both parties. This is where Poseidon failed in my opinion, they have taken the health declaration form too likely and risked a cruise with a 100+ people having to wait adrift for one person that did not meet the medical and physical requirements to participate in activities. The obvious response to any further complaint about being stranded there will be 'due to bad weather', however there were calm seas near the original destinations further south. They rushed in a few extra landings so the minimum required was met and the continental landing (roughly ten minutes) has also been ticked off the list. That simply doesn't feel right and justifyable to those that spent a lifetime saving for a once in a lifetime destination. Still, most other guests wil rate this as excellent for the luxurious dining and services rather than the actual destination. Most don't even know what they have missed, such as Portal point and Wilhelmina bay for ex, or what wildlife it harbours. For me this luxury cruise missed its most highlighted final destination.

I’ll start by saying that the crew, food, facilities on board, we are all excellent. However, We were most disappointed with the lack of any significant wildlife, no polar bears, no whales, I feel the cruise was oversold on this very particular aspect so it was most disappointing to not to see either.

Eigentlich eine phantastische Reise von Island nach Ostgrönland und Zurück. Eine tolle Mannschaft inkl. Küche, Servicepersonal, Roomservice, Tourguides die mit Einsatz und Herzblut auf die immer wechselnden Verhältnisse reagiert und immer versucht für den Gast das Optimale herauszuholen. Leider entspricht die Kabine, speziell die sanitären Einrichtungen, in keiner Art und Weise den Ansprüchen die an eine solche, doch etwas ambitionierte Preisgestaltung gestellt werden dürfen. Der Sea Spirit (Bj. 1991) ist ihr Alter im Kabinenbereich deutlich anzumerken.

Overall, the trip was good. The ship, food, staff, and activities exceeded our expectations. The expedition staff was very good and helpful. However, problems began when they announced COVID was on the ship. We had brought tests with us and tested ourselves and discovered, we were positive. We thought the responsible thing was to report it to the ship's doctor and hoped he would have antiviral medication available for us since one of us had underlying medical conditions. He did not. All he could offer us was a drug like Tylenol and tell us not to worry and we would be fine (I am still suffering from the effects of getting COVID on the ship 3 weeks later). For the remainder of our trip (2 days) we were told to stay in our room, which seemed reasonable. Excellent food was brought to us. However, the room did not have windows that opened. There was no option to get any fresh air or exercise. There was no entertainment offered except for one very bad movie channel. We were not offered books to read. We were not informed of the ship's activities or post-briefing activities. We were pretty much ignored and were uninformed of anything that was going on the ship. While everyone one on the ship needed to be vaccinated and test negative before embarking on the expedition, there didn't seem to be any plan to help those that tested positive for COVID. Some suggestions to improve the safety for passengers regarding COVID are: - have antiviral medication onboard the ship for anyone testing positive for COVID, especially since there were many older passengers and people with medical conditions onboard. -everyone should be tested once or twice during the trip. There were many people walking around the ship coughing that likely had COVID. -stagger dining times between two groups so there would be more opportunity for social distancing. -have a room held open for anyone that tested positive that allows some fresh air and the opportunity to exercise. Overall, the trip was good, but we did not feel the safety of passengers was adequate if they came down with COVID. It was a very expensive trip and we were really disappointed with the treatment we received on the last two days. we were

6 weeks after a 9 day cruise around Svalbard and I am still ambivalent. The ship (Sea Spirit) is a very comfortable and pleasant floating hotel - the hotel staff is excellent and it would get a 4.5* rating (the missing 1/2* due to the lackluster entertainment in the bar). The expedition part of the cruise was disappointing. The staff were mostly knowledgeable in their respective domains, but many of the landing sites were old whaling stations and it appeared that the ship was actively trying to avoid the ice. As the cruise was marketed "In Search of Polar Bears" and the bears are most likely to be on and around ice, this was a serious letdown.

The nature in Antarctica is overwhelming and a unique experience. The ship Sea Spirit is good and the crew members a very friendly. The tour guides are doing a fantastic job and are very attentive. Sadly our cabin was incredibly loud, especially compared with other cabins on the same deck. This was very annoying and we could barely use our cabin for sleeping. We reported this several times to the reception and they contacted the Hotel Manager. Unfortunately he did not do anything and never contacted us or tried to solve the problem. This disappointed us very much and reduced the benefit of our holidays significantly.

Positives: the food, the staff, tour of engine rooms and the congeniality of the chief engineer and ship's captain, lectures' quality and quantity and breadth, laundry turn-around time, housekeeping service; the personal consideration I was given by the head staffer when I realized that my return transfers and accommodations and payments had NOT been delineated by my booking agent (staffer called/emailed and got it all cleared up before day's end). Acceptable: Considering the ship is a working icebreaker (being converted only 2-3 times per summer for regular passengers), the twin rooms were comfortable, the room amenities were basic (but no alarm clocks or clock radios, etc., no lavatory sink stopper), good towels including face cloths, considerable storage in desk and underbed drawers and other cubby holes plus an 18" closet (needing more hangers); Negatives: Landings spots were not all that great, but it was nice seeing remnants of early explorers' encampments (lodgings, etc.), minimal sightings of wildlife (but that's the breaks), unclear lists of what to bring/wear and what not to bring/wear, unclear that I actually bought the parka that was "given" to me at trip's end [so I had 2 of these to wear/pack on return], the ship's vibration keeping me up for most of 3-4 nights until I adjusted a bit, one of the Poseidon staff being negative, overly authoritative, and full of herself, a Poseidon transfer guy who made me pace nervously for 45 minutes waiting for him to pick up and show me his Poseidon sign when he came to transfer me across town to the dayroom hotel [he was in back of the exit lobby chatting with the cab driver, not standing at the front barrier where we exited]; the inflated cost (I estimate it should have been about $8K less compared to more extensive, photography-centered tours to Antarctica, So. Georgia and the Falklands for 28 days). But I went to the North Pole!