Eight agents joined Quark Expeditions National Business Development Manager Nick Hindle on an 11-day fam trip from Iceland to northeast Greenland onboard Ocean Explorer.
Guests searched for Arctic wildlife, visited an Inuit community, hiked in the tundra, went on kayaking adventures and explored the fjords of east and northeast Greenland.
Nick said: “This was a far cry from back-to-back site inspections, countless room categories, and endless hosted dinners. Instead, it was a fully immersive experience, giving our agents the chance to truly live expedition travel.
“For many, it was their very first taste of this kind of adventure, and now they’re empowered to inspire their clients with authentic stories of what Quark Expeditions is really like.”
Here are the words of two agents who went on the trip:
Kath McDonald
Hays Travel Personal Travel Consultant Kath McDonald said: “I entered a competition at the Hays PTC conference last year by attending the supplier market place and, listening to Nick’s presentation, I was hooked from the off, and was lucky enough to win a place
We boarded Ocean Explorer and I was blown away, this is a beautiful ship with hot tubs, swimming pool and spa, and the cabins are pure luxury. It’s like a boutique hotel – all the staff quickly knew your name and what you drank and took time to have a chat.
The cabins are absolutely stunning. There are a few single cabins with a window, the rest of the cabins all have huge balconies, I stayed in a veranda suite which was a whopping 19.2sqm. When I entered the cabin my Quark Parker was laid out on the bed for me to wear and keep. There are even some cabins with a bath, I especially loved the heated floor in the bathroom.
The food was a buffet lunch and the evening meal was a la carte with plenty of choice, and every day at lunch there was a pudding and custard, which went down especially well.
Each day the expedition team would hold talks on various subjects and I found myself immersed in the subject – whether it was Tara’s story of kayaking around Svalbard encountering polar bears at every turn; Jean the ornithologist who loved to remind us there was no such thing as a seagull, we quickly learned the actual names; and not forgetting the GOAT [greatest of all time] Norm. What he didn’t know you could write on a postage stamp. He had the warmth and knowledge of a David Attenborough character and we never missed one of his talks.
The knowledge and experience of the expedition team blew me away.
The first day at sea we had a pod of minke whales frolicking next to the ship for what seemed like hours, then Amy the Expedition Leader explained what our ‘hopes and dreams’ were for the sailing. Due to the changing weather, this is meticulously planned and changed accordingly.
We did various hikes, zipping through the icebergs on zodiacs, paddled in kayaks and took a visit to the village of Ittoqqortoormiit to meet the locals and see their way of life. We watched icebergs carve in front of us and – the icing on the cake – we spotted seven polar bears.
One of the Expedition Leaders was a photographer who gave a talk on how to get the best pictures. On the on the last night he put a slide show together in the lounge, which was so emotional.
This was my first expedition cruise. I’ve learned so much and been pushed out of my comfort zone. But this certainly won’t be my last. I’m absolutely hooked.
This trip has shown me who I can market this to, as the demographic is a lot wider than I thought prior to sailing. It’s certainly a great trip for anyone who loves hiking, wildlife or photography.”
Jane Middleton
Jane Middleton went on the expedition cruise with partner Fiona King. They both run the Authentic Travel Company in Hampshire.
Jane said: “We have been talking to Quark for a while, and the idea was to experience their product before we can sell. A lot of our market is high-end and before we recommend something, we need to go and see it.
East Greenland was so remote – other worldly. You’re kayaking and there’s no sound at all, then all of a sudden you hear the crack of ice breaking.
It’s a very comfortable ship, very clean and bright, with nice spacious cabins and very friendly. The Explorer Lounge is a nice area to sit and enjoy the scenery – it’s also where guests go every night for recaps on the day’s excursions.
The best bit for us was the lounge on Deck 5, with a staircase up to the library on Deck 6, looking out to sea from the front of the ship.
When you go on an expedition cruise it is about what you see outside and, within two hours of leaving Reykjavík, we were surrounded by minke whales. The photographer said he’d never seen the pod so large. On the last day, we’d got off our zodiac on to land, when the bridge spotted some polar bears, so we got back on the zodiacs and got to see seven bears, including a mother and two cubs.
It was a humbling experience. You realise how insignificant humans are in this world, when you look at the amazing animals and amazing scenery that has been there for thousands of years. That was our last memory before we sailed back to Iceland.
The Quark Expeditions team were the best I have ever sailed with. I have never been kayaking before but you just have to trust them. Now we really do want to sell them. We are passionate about it.
It’s top end but there is a market for it. We are seeing young middle-aged professionals wanting to do expedition cruises. The retired guys are not the only ones with money anymore. We’ve been sending emails to clients and posting our Insta and LinkedIn. We’ll be organising client events, and looking for groups such as photography and hiking groups that we can do talks to.”
An 11-day northeast Greenland expedition cruise starts at £12,500 per person.
