Realm of the Polar Bear - M/V Greg Mortimer

The trip was absolutely wonderful. I really enjoyed it. The "Greg Mortimer" was fantastic. The food and accommodation were perfect. The crew and expedition team were so kind and helpful. We visited some amazing places and saw some incredible sights. Visiting the bird cliffs and sailing through the pack ice were two of my highlights that will stay with me for a long time. My only quibble would be calling this trip "The Realm of the Polar Bear" as the chances of seeing a polar bear are virtually nil. Even if you do, you have to stay 500 metres away and most likely get away from the area fast. DO NOT go on this trip purely to see a polar bear because you won't, but there are so many other fantastic things to see anyway it's well worth going

We had a wonderful time, fantastic ship and lovely expedition team but the real star is Svalbard itself which is utterly amazing. Go while you can.

While I don’t really think anyone should be setting foot on this pristine wilderness, the planning and management of the sailing and Zodiac experiences raised customers’ consciousness of the potential damage. We were expected to walk in each other’s footprints to avoid damage to the fragile plants and soils, but in reality the terrain, and some of the attitudes, made this very difficult. It was sad to see tiny saxifrage plants ground into mud, aged lichens kicked off rocks. Even sea ice must be damaged by the ship. We did learn a lot about the environment and the ship seemed better suited than others. But should anyone be going for fun and exacerbating the climate related destruction?