Quark Expeditions

Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego)

Reykjavik

Helsinki

Buenos Aires

Kangerlussuaq

Antarctica

Arctic

Europe - All

Baltic Sea

Iceland

Canada & New England

Excellent

Very Good

Poor

Average

Quark Ultramarine

Ocean Endeavour (Quark Expeditions)

World Explorer (Quark Expeditions)

Ocean Diamond

Ocean Adventurer

Kapitan Khlebnikov

Ocean Nova

Spitzbergen Photography: In Search of Polar Bears 

We travelled before with Quark Expeditions and it was fantastic (to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica). This time (september 2023) we wanted to visit Greenland and the Canadian high Artic. The choice for Quark was easy because of our experience on the other trip and it was again excellent! Everything was fantastic, the room, staff, food (buffet lunch, a la carte diner with great wine), excursions with zodiac, on land and with helicopter etc. 

The operations on the ship are efficient and perfectly organized. We have spend a lot of time on land, in the zodiac or helicopter. Depending on the weather, the plans were adapted, to get the max out of the trip (we had one sea day, mainly due to the weather).

The lectures are very interesting. The staff is  very passionate about their work, very well educated and have different fields of experience (sea biologist, historicus, geologist etc.)

Everything was excellent

We wanted to see Western Greenland, go through the Northwest Passage and also see Baffin Island as well as see the Arctic wildlife.  Sadly, we didn't get to go anywhere near Arctic Bay on Baffin Island and missed a few other stops possibly because of conditions.  We have previously seen Polar Bears up close but we have never seen Musk-Ox or Walrus so we were disappointed we didn't see any and also surprised at how little wildlife (except birds) there were in the Arctic. Have they been over hunted or maybe made increasingly wary because of the hunting?

It was great visiting the settlements in Greenland and the residents presented as very friendly, skilled and interesting.  The staff on the cruise seemed to do all they could to make sure the passengers had an enjoyable time.  The hospitality staff were especially attentive and quickly picked up on people's needs and preferences.  The expedition team were very friendly and enthusiastic and the presentations by the experts in the various fields were entertaining as well as educational.  The Ultramarine certainly stands out as a purpose built ship and it was very comfortable to cruise in.  The experience may have been different though if we had 200 passengers rather than the 96 on our cruise.  The boots were dangerous for hiking and many people seemed to slip or fall.  It was much appreciated (and safer) when we could wear our own hiking shoes.  The bright yellow, very heavy jacket is not an asset post the cruise, so maybe an option to 'rent' a jacket rather than a jacket to keep.  The timing of lunch was problematic at times.  The advertised lunch time was adhered to even if groups only returned about 15 minutes before lunch was due to finish.  It was often a rush to get out of the gear needed for off-ship expeditions and have enough time to eat without feeling we were holding up the clearing away by the hospitality staff.  Seeing the Northern Lights from our balcony was a bonus!

The challenges of the High Arctic

Rarotonga

Southern Greenland has been a top priority for me ever since I flew over it on a flight from Keflavik to Boston. It looked spectacular from the air and was spectacular as I experienced it on Quark's Ultramarine ship. Quark planned a number of excursion experiences to let me and others enjoy the natural wonders close up, not just from on board the Ultramarine. Quark's helicopters permitted us to visit pristine lakes for kayaking and to hike and explore on the top of granite walls that would otherwise be unreachable. This approach allowed us to experience the majesty of Southern Greenland close up.

The Quark crew was knowledgeable, friendly and supportive. The plans for the next day were always reviewed in advance at an in person meeting in which activities were explained and constraints caused by the weather were anticipated. Safety was always high priority. I also enjoyed getting to see local villages and the how people lived in this remote location.

Spectacular scenery and Quark's wonderful and supportive crew.

So we booked this cruise prior to the first sailing of the ultramarine.  We got a substantial discount for paying in advance and were upgraded to a terrace suite.

I'll start with the good.

Our room was beautiful.  Very well appointed, even a heated floor in the bathroom.  The fit and finish were top notch.  We had two televisions in our room and we even had a tub.  There was lots of closet space, our balcony was huge.  We couldn't have been happier with our room.  

The public spaces are also very nice.  The lecture lounge (Ambassador's) is well outfitted with great tech for presentations.

The hotel staff, food and beverage were the best we've had on an expedition style cruise.  We've done two Lindblad/Natgeo tours (Antarctica and Baja) and also the Galapagos.  The staff on this were hands down the kindest, most thoughtful that we have experienced.

The food was good.  There was always a good variety and the chef was up front meeting and greeting and going out of his way to ensure that everyone was happy.  

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give the kitchen/restaurant/cabin/bar staff a 10 for sure

All the gear that they provide - muck boots, PFDs, dry suits, paddles, etc. are all name brand and top shelf.

On to the not so good.

Greenland - where we sailed to - is generally marketed as adventure or expedition travel.  The target audience, one would expect, would be photographers and active adventurers.  This is where things went wrong.

If you expect to be active then I submit to you that you will be disappointed.  Over the course of the week we did one zodiac landing/walk, one group zodiac landing/walk, one kayak paddle, one group helicopter landing on the ice sheet (that didn't turn out well and the majority of the guests were disappointed), one helicopter landing in a beautiful observation area, and one visit to a Greenlandic village.  The second to last day we did nothing at all - just sat on the ship and the last day we were back in port first thing in the morning, off the ship at 9 and our plane departing at 6pm.  It was 2 long, slow days in a row.  This was pretty sedate if you're accustomed to active travel.  I understand that for some this was brilliant and that's fine - but if you are an active person you will find this trip lacking

The onboard photographer was 'nice' but there was very little photography focus in the trip.   There was one talk that she gave on how to take better pictures but that was about it.  The ship itself is the worst platform for photography that I have ever encountered.  There are two decks that have outside access - deck 5 and deck 7.  Deck 7 only has outside access in the bow area and the space is small.  You can't shoot wide angle towards the front on this deck as you will get the lower deck in the image.  Deck 5 has access to the full perimeter of the ship BUT whenever 'helicopter operations are underway' they close the ship from midship back so that there is zero access to the back of the ship for photography.  Helicopter operations are ALWAYS underway.  They're either taking guests out or doing recon or taking out the 'extra' excursions.  Basically you never got access to the middle to stern of the ship for photography.

The helicopter is probably the single most enticing feature of this ship.  It turned out to be the worst part of it.  

I had no idea what to expect with the helicopter.  I had assumed, incorrectly, that we would be going out on it fairly often.  As it turned out the passengers were split into 4 groups.  Our group was the last group that was going to go out and it wasn't until day 5 that we actually did go.  So over the course of the week we had a cycle of build up to 'hopefully gonna go today' to 'can't go today'.  It was a slow, soul crushing experience and we were fortunate that we ultimately did get out as had we not gotten the brief window of decent weather that we did we would not have gone on a helicopter hike at all.  So stand warned that if you are expecting to be whisked off by helicopter repeatedly know that if the weather is perfect you may get out 3 times and if it's average or below you may not go at all.  That's a pretty big risk to take when you're shelling out a very serious chunk of change because of the helicopters.

The expedition team were fine.  Some were very nice - others not so much.  The expedition leader was very professional and tried her best but helicopters are at the mercy of weather and that's just the way it is.  

Overall I'm sorry that we went on this trip.  At the price point we paid we feel like Quark over promised and under delivered.

My final comments would be that if you are not particularly active or have mobility issues then this may be a good trip for you.  It's slow paced with very little physical activity involved.  You need to also be OK with the possibility that you may not get to go on the helicopter at all and if you do it may only be once or twice.

I guess 'active' and 'adventure' are relative terms

We were fortunate to have amazing weather, so the planned portion of our cruise was excellent. Helicopter operations were possible every day, I believe, although a damaged part (one bolt!) meant the second helicopter was taken out of rotation late in the week. Still, every aviation-based activity except Alpine Kayaking (a paid extra excursion for a small group) was offered to every group of passengers. That was heli-hiking, landing on the ice sheet, and the overnight camping excursion (another paid extra excursion offered 2x on our journey.) Those helicopter trips were amongst the best nature excursions of my life. Stepping on the Greenland ice sheet was astonishing, and the mountaineer guides were magnificent.

My basic review is all positive, but will sound like many other reviews. The Owner's Suite--2nd from the top rooms on the ship--was my best cruise cabin ever. We had ample space, excellent service from room steward Benji, and 1.5 wonderful bathrooms (with a great, deep tub in the full bath.) Having both coffee machine (pods) and a tea kettle in the room was my ridiculous favorite part; it can be so hard to get decent tea made with water just off the boil!

I wish they'd add a bluetooth speaker so I didn't have to pack my own (charter flight weight limits!), and I wish the smart TV ship tracker app gave more details and also offered bow and aft camera views. I missed those.

Quark gets the highest marks from me, however, because the end of our voyage went a bit sideways. When we got back to Narsarsuaq, Greenland to disembark, weather conditions (wind) made it impossible for the charter jet to take off. We were delayed 36 hours, and most of the passengers (140-ish people) ended up sailing on to Nuuk to try to get flights out of the major airport there or take a Quark charter back to Toronto instead of our scheduled return to Reykjavik (KEF) in Iceland. A MAJOR change of plans!

What impressed me was the incredible calm and equanimity of the staff overall, and Quark's unrelenting work to keep the passengers comfortable and to fix what had gone awry. I came away from this trip with total confidence that Quark would do what it could to serve its passengers. Obviously, they can't control the weather! I now understand better than before how very flexible one ought to be to even consider travel to remote locations as visited on an expedition cruise. 

Our small group of ten had a pilot (hobbyist) amongst us, and we were able to book seats on a commercial Icelandair flight that got us back to Iceland after "only" 36 hours' delay. There weren't enough seats for everyone on the ship to take that option, nor would it have been the most cost effective choice for many.

Beyond managing the delay in a customer-focused way, I want to specifically mention the high quality hotel staff that made time spent on this expedition cruise as luxurious as what I've experienced on mainstream lines. The food was very well made, and the variety was sufficient for my wishes.

The hotel staff was supposed to get a day off after we disembarked, but then jumped back to work to re-accommodate us all in our same staterooms, though they'd already started preparing for the next journey, fortunately a few days in the future so rooms weren't double booked. I overheard some people happy to get "free extra days" on the ship; in no way were we made to feel like an inconvenience though obviously the hotel team was incredibly burdened by our continued, unexpected presence.

At all times, I felt that guest comfort and safety was paramount. Like the hotel team, the expedition staff was fantastic. They were always well prepared to lead us on our various adventures. They were also universally personable and fun to spend time with. Even mandatory information sessions were full of humor and professionally conducted.

With wine included at dinner, I didn't spend any extra money above my fare on this trip on myself. This is a company for people who want to go do things, not for shopping. I did add a gratuity for the expedition staff to my bill; I'd brought cash for the hotel staff tips, but they do split the two groups into different gratuity "buckets," and I hadn't brought enough cash to give what I wanted to both.

Our group (again: 10 people) included high energy "chargers" who hiked hard and fast, in-betweens (amblers, photographers), and "contemplative" types like myself. Everyone seemed to find plenty to do, with the active ones using the gym as well as taking all excursions if they still wanted more exercise after twice daily guided trips. Perhaps it helped that we had such great conversations over meals, but I think most people with active temperaments will find enough action assuming the weather cooperates and allows for all ship's operations. As with everything else in remote expedition cruising, I suppose one must come prepared to amuse oneself if circumstances don't allow every planned activity to be safely conducted. (I did notice puzzles and games in the Panorama Lounge, but was always too busy to use them, nor did I see anyone else use that corner on our trip.)

I would 100% book with Quark again, but I will do more research about airports into which (or from which) they plan a charter flight. Now I know that small prop planes are a better choice on a short, windy runway like the one in Narsarsuaq. Maybe I will even book a backup, refundable commercial flight if it is possible on a future trip when a charter flight is involved? (My spouse really needs to get back to work on time; we are not retired.)

Quark offered MORE than I expected, again and again. That meant both extra high intensity stuff (e.g., an option to depart early, before breakfast, for those wishing to hike further than standard hours would allow), but also extra thoughtful touches for the less active, like an ATV available as a shortcut when visiting the homestead of Eric the Red for those worn out after a week of constant activity.

Quark stepped up admirably when disembarkation went awry in Greenland

Sydney (Australia)

We wanted to experience a completely different type of trip. So, we chose going to the Arctic  to have that experience. From the moment we landed in Svalbard, we both KNEW this was going to "otherworldly". Just the first view of the landscape is absolutely breathtaking! and then, it got better.....It was one thing "pleasing the customers"  but a whole other level when our captain and crew showed enormous respect for the enviroments we were travelling in and for the animals we had the honor to see. Every day was a new adventure, with beautiful hikes in a completely treeless enviroment. All while being protected by the crew....there were never moments of feeling unsafe. Once we reached 80 degrees latitude, the northernmost area and super close to the North Pole, we celebrated with a champagne toast on an ice flow...How cool is that????? As an amateur watercolorist, I had a great time sketching and painting in the Panaroma Lounge....A magical trip!!

Magical!!!

We chose Quark because it was an expedition and provided an opportunity to get out into nature; zodiacs, kayaks, and hiking.    The highlight was being able to land on the polar ice cap!  The hotel we stayed at in Helsinki was excellent.  We were able to walk from the airport which made it very convenient.  It was also right next to the train station so we could explore the city on our own before we took our chartered flight to Svalbard.  Embarkation and disembarkation was done by Zodiacs and went very smoothly.  We were personally shown to our cabin by one of the guides and from that moment on were treated like royalty.  The staff and crew of the Ultramarine were outstanding! Everyone we encountered was personable, smiling, and went out of their way to assist us.  The level of professionalism was admirable.  The expedition leader and guides work very hard to make sure that we had the best experience possible.  The level of expertise that they each had in their respective fields was amazing and we learned so much from them all.  The food was amazing!! We especially appreciated the variety.  The ship was very comfortable with great spaces to relax.

Fantastic Voyage

This is a once-in-a lifetime trip to the northernmost publicly accessible area in the world - Closest to the North Pole a mere tourist can go. Everything about the trip was excellent. the Ultramarine is a brand new ship and we were the first group to be able to tour the newly-completed bridge. The rooms were lovely. I had a balcony from which to watch ice floes, snow covered mountains, and much wildlife go by.  

   We were flown by charter flight to Longyearbyen where we boarded the ship and spent the 2 weeks roaming through the various fjords and inlets of the Svalbard islands. When the weather was favorable, in the AM, PM or both, we boarded our Zodiacs with our trusty cruise staff and went off to land to roam around hoping to see the wildlife: many birds, polar bears, reindeer, arctic fox, walruses, seals, beluga whales. We were always led by staff members with rifles to protect us if by chance a wild animal got too close.  Luckily that never happened on our trip. We saw much wildlife but most were a bit far away. This was never a problem, as most people had telephoto lenses and everyone shared their pictures at the end of the day.  Our group self-selected into groups depending upon how ambitious they were about trekking, so we were always at a comfortabe pace.  By the way, we had 24 hours of daylight the whole trip - imagine!!

The food and other amenities were top notch. The library was full of relevant books on the arctic, and every day there was one or more lectures by the taff, who were all highly knowledgeable in specific areas such as: birds, polar bears, geology/geography, history of the area, and of course photography. The staff took videos each day and played them to us each evening before or after dinner.  Heavy jackets were provided as part of the cost, and rubber boots were loaned to us for the trip.  All in all, a wonderful trip to put on your bucket list.

San Francisco

The main reason we were on this cruise is because we had no other option. We purchased a 2 for 1 Deal to do the special Shackleton 100 Years Celebration Expedition Cruise but we couldn’t get to it because our State Government in Queensland Australia didn’t open up regarding Covid-19 until a few days prior to the trip. The Economy flight per person was over AU$10K and time taken was 67 hours each way. We cancelled so we could go to Antarctica another time. However the 2 for 1 Deal was not honoured, just a credit for what we paid.  The ONLY trip we could use this large amount of credit was this one here. But we had to pay thousands of dollars more to use our credit.

You can do this same trip much cheaper and better with other companies. We had been to Antarctica before, travelling with Aurora Expeditions aboard the Greg Mortimer, so very much better and I see they are very much cheaper too.  Because there were less than 100 passengers on that ship we could all go to shore at the one time and have a lot more time there.  With Quark and about 160 passengers onboard, there was always 2 groups, half ashore and half zodiac cruising, then swapping over. Only a maximum of 100 people can go ashore at any one time in Antarctica.

Don’t let the helicopter flights influence your decision. That was a 10 minute flight over land and ice you could see from the ship. Don’t for one minute think you will be flying inland from the water’s edge. We, along with many others, were bitterly disappointed.

The Expedition Leader decided to cut short our days in Antarctica and we arrived back in Ushuaia a whole day ahead of schedule. So there was a day to fill in and a bus trip was offered and I was not impressed.  During this day the ship was restocked and refuelled instead of the following day.  

The next morning when a tour of the town was listed on the itinerary we were hurried off the ship straight to the airport and it was a four hour wait for the Quark Charter flight to depart.  

The ship left Ushuaia by 9.30am on that last day of our trip.  So as soon as the last passengers disembarked the ship and crew were heading back to Antarctica to meet passengers who were flying the Drake before embarking the Ultramarine.

So what negatives stick out in mind so far?  It was a bad start and a bad finish, and it was disappointment with the helicopter flights.

Safety issues raised their ugly heads.  While one woman was stepping down onto a zodiac in fairly big swells she slipped down between the zodiac and the metal disembarking platform. That could have ended so badly. I watched how low the zodiacs were dropping in the swells and at times they were dipping in under the metal framework of the platform.

So what made this $100K+  trip a great one?  We enjoyed wonderful wildlife, staff were very good, our cabin was excellent.

Robbery and disappointment 

Everything is perfect

the experience is worth the cost

friendly and knowledgeable staff

(they really do know everything)

gourmet meals every day

food is phenomenal 

all you can eat, three times per day

free wine from 7-9

everything is organized and well planned

I just wish they had better snacks

bed and service is super comfortable

bar is open late (2am, will continue to serve drinks I the atmosphere is busy)

arrival and departure is flawless

you will get to participate in the regular activities

there is opportunity to sign up for the extra activities

coat and boots are provided

you get to keep the coat

there's plenty of bathrooms

I enjoyed the gym (complete with treadmills, machines, weights)

the spa was a nice place to relax (massage available for purchase, free sauna/steam room, free beds to relax, nice range infused water)

there's enough activities to occupy your day

you feel safe and cared for on all of your excursions

Filters

1-10 of 20