Tell us about your company.
Oceanwide Expeditions is a leading expedition cruise provider that has offered exploratory wildlife-centered voyages in the polar regions for thirty years.
A five-time winner of the World Travel Award, Oceanwide operates shore-based trips in the Arctic, Antarctica, and sub-Antarctic islands. Our small-scale vessels enable us to visit seldom-seen locations often inaccessible by any other means. Some we visit by sea, others by air.
We operate our own fleet of ice–strengthened vessels continuously updated for minimal environmental impact and utmost maneuverability.
That means our guests enjoy the greatest possible contact with the terrain and wildlife, engaging in a range of activities that immerse them in the polar world. But the focus is always on exploration and the exotic wildlife that can only be seen in the polar world.
What are your unique selling points?
Oceanwide Expeditions is distinguished by its small-scale, wildlife-centered, exploratory approach to expedition travel. Our focus is getting our guests off the vessels and into the action often as possible, immersing them in the Arctic or Antarctica via a range of exhilarating outdoor activities.
From hiking to camping, ski-mountaineering to scuba diving, our activities encompass a range of interests and abilities. But these activities always have the guiding principal of putting our guests into close contact with the polar world and its unique wildlife.
Our thoroughly advanced but modestly sized vessels allow for better maneuverability, closer camaraderie among passengers, and enhanced ability to respond to every weather and wildlife opportunity as it occurs. This is the exploratory focus that sets Oceanwide apart.
What is your most popular itinerary/destination?
Our most consistently popular itinerary is our signature Antarctica Basecamp cruise. This program is especially designed for active travelers who want to engage in the widest possible range of activities: kayaking, camping, snowshoeing, and more are available on this adventurous voyage.
These activities are included in the price of booking and serve to fully immerse our guests in the polar environment. Along the way, guests might encounter seals, whales, penguins, and a large variety of other seabirds. Our focus is always wildlife, and these trips are no different.
But while our other voyages tend to make longer routes, primarily using Zodiacs and shoreline hikes to reach the wildlife, our highly active Basecamp cruises anchor the vessels in a few highly scenic areas and explore them fully via the many activities offered.
This makes our Basecamp voyages ideal for travelers who want to go deep and experience the polar world in the most active way possible.
What is new for 2024/25?
ANTARCTICA 24/25
Remote Weddell Sea Explorer (OTL30-25): Expanding on the itinerary offered by our Weddell Sea emperor penguin voyage, this ambitious expedition visits such famed locations as Elephant Island, the Larsen Ice Shelf, and Vahsel Bay, among many others. This far-ranging route gives you a great chance of encountering multiple species of seal, whale, penguin, and other seabirds, while our tour of the Weddell Sea ice shelves gives you the best of this region's exotic polar scenery.
Antarctica Beyond the Polar Circle (OTL32-25): This classic Antarctic expedition visits many of the places discovered by Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache, delivering you to some of the top spots on the planet for seeing the southern lights. Not only will we seek to visit the legendary Wilkins Ice Shelf, we will also explore such fantastic sites as Alexander Island, Bellingshausen Sea, and Marguerite Bay. Orcas, leopard seals, Adélie penguins, and more are all possible on this epic voyage.
ARCTIC 2024
North Spitsbergen Basecamp (OTL04-24 ): Our Basecamp cruises are known for using a range of exhilarating outdoor activities to immerse you in the wonders of the polar world. Included in the price of booking, these activities include but are not limited to kayaking among the icebergs, hiking the shores and inlands, and joining photo workshops that ensure you return home with the best possible photos of your trip. Designed for the active explorer, this voyage provides the ultimate Arctic adventure.
East Spitsbergen Special (OTL05-24 / PLA04-24 /HDS04-24): Exploring the lesser-visited shores of eastern Svalbard, this voyage not only gives you access to one of the best places on the planet for viewing polar bears but also the starkly beautiful scenery that only this Arctic archipelago can provide. Walruses, fur seals, Arctic foxes, and a wide range of exotic birds are possible on this trip, which also includes the birder's paradise of Bear Island. Here you can see kittiwakes, guillemots, and other seabirds nesting on the cliffs.
Meet the Oceanwide Expeditions team.
Franklin Braeckman
Antarctic Program Manager
M +31 (0) 615 490 950
Franklin has worked in the tourism industry his entire professional career, with experience in marketing, e-commerce, tour-operating and sales. Working in the fascinating world of expedition cruises and more specifically polar expeditions is not only a passion for him, but more importantly it feels like a privilege. He joined the Oceanwide Expeditions team in 2018 as marketing manager and has since been responsible for the Antarctica program, from development to sales.
Florian Piper
Director Sales Arctic
+31 118 410 410
The icy regions of this world are his passion, his CV marked with everything that has to do with mountain sports and polar regions. In 2000 he completed his Bachelor's degree in Outdoor Education and later his Master's degree in Sports Science and Management in Scotland. After graduating, Florian spent six months as an expedition leader at a British research station in Antarctica. He certified as mountain hiking guide in Tyrol in 2002. His private ski expeditions took him to Iceland , South Georgia and across the Greenland ice sheet from coast to coast. Florian joined Oceanwide Expeditions in 2008 and helms the Arctic program and sales coordination.
Toto Vermue
Sales Account Manager
M +31 (0) 6 27 39 62 45
My name is Toto Vermue, Sales Account Manager at Oceanwide Expeditions. I’ve worked at Oceanwide Expeditions since 2020 in the reservations department and recently switched over to our sales department. Travel has always been in my blood, in my younger years my family and I moved around a lot due to my father’s work and my mother’s heritage. After high school I decided to explore the world on my own. Having lived in places such as the United States, Greece, Tanzania, Oman and more my love for the world, its nature and cultures grew even more. So I decided to venture to some of the most remote places on earth and started my dream job at Oceanwide Expeditions.
Iris van Zalinge
Sales Account Manager
M +31 (0)611 400 594
“My name is Iris van Zalinge, Sales Account Manager at Oceanwide Expeditions. After several seasons working abroad as a tour guide, I decided to come back to the Netherlands and joined Oceanwide Expeditions in 2019. Oceanwide Expeditions has always fascinated me because of the product they offer in the special areas. I started in the staffing and operations department where I dealt with everything around the expedition guides. Recently, I switched to the sales department, which I really enjoy. Working with such a special product is a treat every day and remains very special.”
Danique van Burken
Senior Marketing Manager
M +31 (0)627534468
Hi there! My name is Danique van Burken and I am responsible for Marketing at Oceanwide Expeditions. I joined the team quite recently, at the beginning of 2023. Becoming part of this team has been heavily influenced by my love for travel, having visited more than 50 countries so far and Antarctica had sparked my interest many years ago. The experience of joining an Oceanwide Expedition is truly magical and I look forward to making this dream come true for our passengers!
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