Quark ExpeditionsReviews of quarkexpeditions.com

The whole crew was very well trained, friendly, helpful and pleasant. Most of the expedition team members were awesome. The food was below expectation. A question out of curiosity, why did we have to start in Calgary instead of Reykjavik? For guests like me coming all the way from Asia, its an extra unnecessary long haul to Calgary.

Had a great time, met some nice people, saw some amazing sights ! I was a bit disappointed not seeing much wildlife but that’s no ones fault, and also missed the the Western fjords of Iceland but again no one’s fault as the weather is as it is! All the staff are amazing!

Patagonia was an area I'd flown over but never visited. It was good to be amongst the mountains & glaciers - interestingly there was little wildlife in the water, mostly due to time of year. The only negative was that we couldn't get to Torres del Paine National Park, definitely a disappointment, but reasons are understood. The crew did their best to "pacify" some angry passengers - most of us understood the reasons and accepted them.

Was a good trip, got to see 10+ polar bears which was a highlight, but other wildlife was limited. Visits to the Intuit villages were very interesting

Quark is an excellent company, excelling in attention to safety and comfort of guests. Every staff member looked out for the guests with the goal of maximizing their positive experiences. The presentations were excellent, enhancing the experiences at sea and adding meaning to the daily activities. Who can top learning about polar bears after seeing them floating on the ice or stopping a presentation on whales to see them out the window or from the top deck! The ship, Ocean Explorer, was comfortable with wonderful open spaces to gather. It felt stable, even in rougher conditions. The cabins were well designed. The itinerary to the Canadian high arctic and Greenland provided an opportunity to visit parts of the world that are hardly ever accessed. That being said, it required more long days at sea than was expected. It also meant that there were fewer zodiac excursions, causing it to be a less physically active trip than some of the others. Overall, I would give a 5 star rating if the itinerary had more closely matched my expectations, but that is not the fault of Quark. Thank you for a wonderful experience! I would highly recommend Quark to adventurers wanting to explore the ends of the earth!

The staff of Quark is outstanding. They are knowledgeable and passionate about what they do.

Superb guides, excellent knowledge. The ship was perfect for this type of voyage and the helicopter provision was the icing on the cake.

Lets start with the fundamentals - Quark provides a fantastic expedition team with deep knowledge of animals, birds, glaciers, cultures, history, geology, etc.; the newer boats are fully customized for the polar regions with an excellent layout; and the on-board "hotel staff" running the restaurants and attending the cabins is first rate. Food is solid and plentiful. We have done four zodiac-based, small boat trips (two with Quark) to antarctica, Svalbard, and Greenland/Northwest Passage. I could not give this trip a 5 not for the quality of the staff, etc., but because I felt that the Greenland/Northwest passage itinerary was much weaker than either Antarctica (which can't be beaten) or Svalbard. In short, northern Canada had too much fog, too much culture/history for my taste, and not enough ice, whales, etc. Greenland is great, but felt we had a much better experience simply flying to Ilulissat and doing boat trips into Disko Bay, along with local hikes, then we experienced from the Quark boat - they fundamentally under leveraged what there was to see and do in Disko Bay.