Ocean Nova Ship Reviews

The highlight for us was the day we went through the Lemaire Channel, visited Pleneau Bay and Port Charcot, did the polar plunge, and had a deck BBQ dinner. It was an amazing day. The landscape and wildlife were incredible. Conceptualizing the sheer quantity of ice surrounding you is breath taking. And the penguins were always funny to watch. The guides were incredible and beyond knowledgable. Their passion is contagious and it was clear they love their job. Fellow passengers and other ship crew were also extremely friendly and interesting. One unfortunate surprise was the final payment process. The payment processor was through a different company and country than any of the previous payments, so getting approval from one's card issuer was unnecessarily challenging for many passengers. This could've been prevented by communicating the information prior to departing Punta Arenas. Our most magical moment was at the Port Charcot hike where scenery was truly amazing and looked like a painting.

Christmas morning. Waking up to kayak in water surrounded by ice chunks. A minke whale pops up right as we are switching the zodiacs. The sun came out for the first time and it was magical.

The impressive silence (except for the sounds of breeding penguins) in the area, being so close to wildlife and respecting that for a full 100%

Seeing tens of thousands of penguins going about their business, and realizing that I was irrelevant.

Over the top fabulous trip. Surprise: 1)I don't think I understood that the trip was not a "Swoop" trip but rather a brokered trip booked through the ship's operator. 2)I didn't expect that over half the people of the trip (China residents) would not speak English. Made it tough for getting them understanding instructions. The variety of people from 13 countries was great; the other 12 countries could speak some or fluent English.

Loved everything. Being welcomed by penguins and ignored by seals was priceless. Traversing the LeMaire Strait on a clear, blue, calm day with mirror-like reflections of snowy peaks in the water was stunning. The guests on the cruise were highly compatible and the ship crew and expedition staff were wonderful.

The highlight was Charlotte's Bay as described above. It was a totally perfect experience on a perfectly calm and sunny day. The landscapes were absolutely breathtaking with the Seven Sister who were complete visible due to the awesome weather. I traveled alone, so I didn't have a group as others did; however, I met very nice people from the US, Hong Kong, UK, Australia and New Zealand. I was surprised at how skilled the crew was to adapting to new contingency plans due to changing weather. Charlotte's Bay was a magical, mystical and spiritual experience that will be forever embedded in my mind.

We saw a lot of ices, which is all whites, the scene is fantastic. I believe that there will be no where else like here in Antarctica. The penguins and seals are so cute, and we saw many of them. It was my first time seeing a whale this closely. the weather there when we went ashore are amazingly sunny; people on ship are all nice and kind, we really enjoyed talking to them when we had a coffee or tea on deck 5. I will definitely recommended this trip to my friends.

The pure and spacious of Antarctic, the abundant of wildlife, the greatness of the nature, the efforts and enthusiasm every expedition staff are also very impressive. I still missing all of these when I back home.

Great experience, not one particular highlight, just the whole experience! Landscape stunning, difficult to describe its uniqueness. Lots of penguins, seals. Limited whales which was a little disappointing but thats wildlife...... Crew and expedition staff were friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Unfortunately on board ship there was a rude and disrespectful Chinese party.

Sitting in a kayak surrounded by 10+ humpback whales in Fournier Bay

The highlight was having the opportunity to fulfull my bucket list in ,of my husband. The landscapes are breath-taking and the wildlife interesting. Watching the penquins walk, run, fly, swin was delightful. Seeing whales jump about was a sight to be seen ! Beautiful birds everywhere !! There were 65 folks on the tour - 4 continents, 7 languages. I was the oldest passenger. Many of the young chinese ladies, told me that I was their inspiration which made me feel good. They were delightful !! Biggest surprise was the rough waters the first night out, going through the Bransford Straight. I was very sea sick as were many folks !! A big surprise to say the least. The magical moment is simply the beauty of the land.

I answered NO above because, at my age, there are just too many other places to see. Chile was a completely new country to me and it was interesting to learn about the history. The Andes are awesome. Antarctic wildlife was like just a few places in the world were humans are not feared. That is so unusual and a privilege to experience.

While in the front of a kayak surrounded by cocktail ice to watch a Humpback adult and calf breech in unison while they swam directly towards us.

Two highlights were crossing the Antarctic Circle and stepping foot twice on the continent.

Incredible views and peace, we were lucky with 2 curious humpback wales who added to the wonderful wildlife that we enjoyed.

I think for me it was the feeling of a vast space, extraordinary geological riches, of course the wildlife, but also the human footprint.

Highlight was kayaking landscapes were beautiful, and the wildlife, although not comparable to Africa, was enjoyable Nice people on the trip No surprises

Being attacked by a leopard seal while in a kayak

Penguins Icy Very good N/a How rough sea was