Quark ExpeditionsReviews of quarkexpeditions.com

The trip itself was fabulous but the availability for the pre-hotel was not great and the change of flight for the return was not at all convenient for those of us on the eastern section of Canada and overseas. I would have happily taken a flight from Nuut to Reykjavik and then to Toronto rather than having to fly over my house and then all the way back again. This was what I also heard from many other people. Flair airlines messed up the allergy food leaving me with nothing to eat and their service was not very good.

All staff on the ship was excellent. Hotel staff, the expedition guides, kitchen staff all excellent. For my own tastes, I found the outings a little repetitive. Hike in the morning, zodiac in the afternoon...while the hikes were not all the same, there were a lot of similarities. i liked most of the zodiac rides except the last one was boring.

If you're thinking about booking a Quark Expedition, do it. They have a team of experienced expedition leaders that do their very best to ensure an expedition to remember. They do this by adjusting the schedule for both water/waves and weather conditions. The Expedition will have a planed route that can and will change because of these factors. In our experience the change was for the better. The leaders are personable, professional, and clearly love what they do. Quark has programs in the evenings or on sea days where they present hour long presentations on local history, flora and fauna, and other topics. The ships crew (including housekeeping, bartenders, waitstaff, and the sailors) are also professional, personable, and interact with the guests. The ship is clean and comfortable with plenty of spaces to enjoy. There are expeditions every day, outside of sea days, that include hiking and Zodiac excursions. You will not be bored. Having been to both the Arctic and Antarctic with Quark I can assure you that these are trips of a lifetime.

The actual expedition was extremely good, the guides, lecturers, food and service were brilliant. My one criticism of the expedition was that there was no dress code for dinner at night. We had the young and not only the young wearing caps, tee shirts and shorts. Not used to this attire for dinner. There is no excuse for not presenting well for dinner at night. It really took the edge off the evening to see people wearing caps and caps back to front.

I found the trip to Svalbard with Quark to be almost perfect. An incredibly good organization, excellent informative guides, good information sessions and friendly, helpful people. One small point disappointing the Zodiac tours: enjoy the silence of the overwhelming nature more and do't talk so much. A fantastic boat and what a nature; overwhelming and indescribable.

Dear Quark Expeditions Team, I hope this email finds you well . My name is Terence, and I was a guest on the Antarctica Peninsula cruise from 18 to 28 December 2025. I would like to share my sincere feedback on the expedition. - Positive Feedback I would like to give my highest compliments to the Sea Kayak team. Justin Szabo, Ian, and Mackerel delivered excellent service throughout the trip. The team was well prepared, highly professional, caring, and the activities were very well organised with a perfect balance of safety and fun. All three instructors performed very well. I especially appreciated that the team allowed me to practise kayak rolling in the Antarctic waters. Coach Ian even joined us and played in the water together, which made the experience truly memorable and enjoyable. Thank you very much for this special opportunity. I would also like to commend Dr. Fabrice, the Penguins expert. He performed exceptionally well. His presentations were delivered in a fun and interesting way, helping guests gain deep knowledge about penguins and their behaviours. His PowerPoint presentations were excellent and very informative. Areas for Improvement Unfortunately, my experience with the Stand Up Paddle (SUP) coach was far below the high standards of the rest of the expedition. He did not seem to know who had joined the SUP activities and failed to count me during the Sea Kayak briefing. I had to ask my Sea Kayak coach to relay the message to him. He had noticeable difficulty getting in and out of the Zodiac boat due to his age and physical condition. During the Zodiac briefing, although he showed some SUP paddling and safety skills, he missed several important points, such as how to remount the board after falling into the water and the use of proper group formation (e.g. buddy system). Most concerning was a safety incident in which one participant fell into the water. Despite being informed, the coach told the group to continue listening to him and did not check on the person in the water. This lack of immediate safety priority was disappointing. As a qualified SUP and kayaking coach myself, these issues were particularly noticeable and did not meet my expectations for a premium expedition cruise. Food Feedback There was limited Asian cuisine offered during the cruise. For Chinese, Thai, and Japanese guests, it would be highly recommended to include more Asian options such as Dim Sum (點心), Chinese fried rice, fried wide noodles with beef, or Thai dishes. Many Asian passengers would greatly appreciate these. Additionally, I found that most of the food — especially at lunch — was overly salty. Overall, I had a wonderful journey to Antarctica and am grateful for the hard work of the majority of the team. I hope this feedback will help Quark Expeditions continue to improve and maintain its excellent reputation. Please feel free to contact me if you need any further information. Best regards, Terence YIU Kwok-man Hong Kong

Excellent guides, food, lectures and ship. Beds were worn out though and need replacing.

Traveling to and from Antarctica was an adventure all by itself, but then actually being able to walk on the continent was a mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime experience and one that we will never forget. This, of course, was in large part due to the outstanding work and dedication of the entire Quark team. Every minute seemed to be filled with an opportunity to learn about and to explore the area with knowledgeable guides and lecturers. One critique that I have personally is that sometimes the lectures felt rushed; a lot could be said about slowing down a little in order to let a vast amount of information sink in before moving on to the next topic. That being said, we appreciated the effort the staff put behind trying to keep us informed about our unique surroundings and the animals that live there. I especially would like to thank the cleaning staff, the servers, the waiters and the various other attendants who, quite literally, waited on us hand and foot. Their tireless efforts made this an adventure where we wanted for nothing and left us free to enjoy all that the location had to offer.