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Ocean Adventurer

Ocean Adventurer has long been a fleet favorite among guests and crew who’ve appreciated the charm and intimacy of this 128-passenger vessel, its ample outdoor…

About Ocean Adventurer

Ocean Adventurer has long been a fleet favorite among guests and crew who’ve appreciated the charm and intimacy of this 128-passenger vessel, its ample outdoor deck space, numerous cozy spots to socialize onboard—and the outdoor jacuzzi. A few years ago, Ocean Adventurer underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation involving a talented team of marine architects, engineers, interior designers and polar expedition specialists. Quark Expeditions is proud of the enhancements to the much-loved polar vessel—which subsequently won the Travel Weekly Magellan Award for Overall Small Cruise Ship (500 passengers or under).

The refurbishments now enjoyed by guests:

  • A refreshed, contemporary new look and feel throughout the ship
  • The addition of six new twin cabins and three new suites
  • All existing cabins furnished with new soft furnishings and brand new bathrooms
  • Remodelling of common areas such as the Lounge and Dining Room
  • Major technical enhancements, such as two new Rolls Royce engines, which increase fuel efficiency and minimize carbon footprint.

Ship Facts

Launch yearRefit yearLanguageGross tonnageLengthWidthCurrencySpeedCapacityCrew countDeck countCabin countElectrical plugs
19752017en4364101 meters16.3 metersUSD12 knots12887454 types:
EU 2 Pin 220v
adapters provided:
false

Accommodation

Owner's Suite

An Owner's Suite has a double bed and private sitting room. One features a large panoramic window facing aft, and the other two suites face port and starboard. Cabin 403 has a bathtub; other Owner's Suites have showers.

Facilities

  • Double
  • Lounge Area
  • Shower
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Bath

Suite

A Suite has a double bed, windows with exterior views, private facilities.

Facilities

  • Double
  • Shower
  • Bath
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Vanity Area
  • Telephone

Deluxe

A Deluxe Cabin has two lower berths, private facilities, and windows with exterior views.

Facilities

  • Twin
  • Shower
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Vanity Area
  • Telephone

Superior

A Superior cabin has two lower berths, private facilities, and windows with exterior views. Note: this cabin has either corner or parallel bed configuration.

Facilities

  • Twin
  • Shower
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Vanity Area
  • Telephone

Main Deck Twin Window

A Main Deck Twin Window cabin has two lower berths, private facilities, and two windows with exterior views.

Facilities

  • Twin
  • Shower
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Vanity Area
  • Telephone

Main Deck Twin Porthole

A Main Deck Twin Porthole cabin has two lower berths, private facilities, and a porthole with exterior views. Please note that porthole covers may be closed during sea days or during inclement weather as a safety precaution.

Facilities

  • Twin
  • Shower
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Vanity Area
  • Telephone

Lower Deck Twin

A Lower Deck Twin cabin has two lower berths, private facilities, and a porthole with exterior views. Please note that porthole covers may be closed during sea days or during inclement weather as a safety precaution.

Facilities

  • Twin
  • Shower
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Vanity Area
  • Telephone

Triple

A Triple Cabin has two lower berths and one upper berth, private facilities, and a porthole with exterior views. Please note that porthole covers may be closed during sea days or during inclement weather as a safety precaution.

Facilities

  • Twin
  • Pullman Bed
  • Shower
  • Toiletries Provided
  • TV
  • Safe
  • Hair Dryer
  • Desk
  • Vanity Area
  • Telephone

Entertainment

Main Lounge and Lecture Hall

Our theater-style auditorium in the Main Lounge on the Upper Deck can accommodate everyone onboard, so it serves as our main lecture hall where presentations and movies are provided for your education and enjoyment.

Polar Boutique

If you forgot any essentials or need a little souvenir from your voyage, the Polar Boutique on Deck 5 is our onboard gift shop.

Bar

The well-stocked bar on the ship is open to enjoy with your fellow shipmates in the late morning, afternoon and evening. Soft drinks, juices and water are available at no cost, and beer and wine are offered with dinner. A selection of liquors, spirits, and premium beer, wine and champagne is available and can be charged to your shipboard account.

Please note that it is Quark Expeditions®’ policy to not serve alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 18 years. 

Library

On the Captain's Deck you will find a library of polar books, reference and general reading materials in multiple languages covering subjects like wildlife, history, marine biology, ecology and geology. The library is open 24 hours a day and also includes a selection of games for your entertainment.

Clipper Club

Enjoy a more private dining experience in the Clipper Club, just off of the main Dining Room.

Bridge

During your voyage you may be given access to the Bridge, where you can observe how the Captain and officers sail and navigate the ship.

Dining

Dining Room

There is one dining room located on the Upper Deck. If there is one constant at sea, it is that you’ll enjoy delicious meals on a daily basis. While meal times may change due to landings and wildlife encounters, you’ll always be served three meals a day.

Enrichment

Every vessel in our fleet becomes an expedition base camp. Unpack once. Visit an exciting range of places, because the ship moves from place to place. The ships are equipped with inflatable landing crafts known as Zodiacs. They are used for shore landings and ocean-level cruising.

Activities off the ship are called shore landings or Zodiac cruising. These are daily activities. In the Arctic, you may visit Inuit in their home communities. In the Antarctic, you may visit research stations manned by scientists who brave the extreme environment to add to our knowledge of wildlife, climate and ice. You will hike carpeted tundra valleys or glistening ice fields. Optional activities include kayaking, cross-country, camping, skiing and mountaineering.

The capacity of the vessel determines where you go ashore and how often in Antarctica.

In Antarctica, we operate under International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) guidelines that limit the number of travelers and Expedition Staff ashore during a landing. No more than 100 people can be ashore at any one time, and in some locations that number is 50. Quark operates small expedition vessels, and none of our Antarctic vessels carry more than 199 travelers.

Expedition Team

The perfect polar expedition doesn't just happen. It takes a team of talented, knowledgeable and experienced professionals to bring it all together. Our Expedition Team is comprised of seasoned veterans with rich backgrounds in marine biology, history, glaciology, geology and more. With the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the industry, our Expedition Teams safely deliver your trip-of-a-lifetime to maximize your polar adventure every step of the way.

Zodiac Cruising

Zodiacs are used for transferring you ashore, transporting your luggage when necessary and for taking you ocean-level cruising among icebergs, whales and seabirds. During the expedition, you will visit remote and isolated sites that are accessible only by Zodiac.

These large, heavy-duty inflatable vessels are extremely safe and were specially designed for expedition work. Zodiacs are the workhorses of Polar expeditions. Separate air compartments retain a large reserve of buoyancy even if these sturdy boats are damaged. Their flat bottom design permits the craft to land directly onto the cobble and ice-strewn beaches that you will encounter on your Polar expedition.

Sea Kayaking

Sea kayaking is offered on all of our departures and you require no previous experience to enjoy this activity. Our sea kayaks are the ideal means by which to get some good exercise and explore the cliffs and shores of the various visitor sites around the archipelago. A typical cruise week offers great opportunities to go kayaking around secluded coves, shores, mangrove estuaries and beautiful beaches. Galapagos penguins, flightless cormorants, sea lions and many other animals can be seen up close on a kayak and even as they swim.

Stand-up Paddleboarding

Stand-up Paddleboarding, popularly known as SUPing, originated in Hawaii. Quark Expeditions is the first company to bring this watersport all the way to Antarctica.

SUPing combines the immersive experience of kayaking but in a standing position. Participants, if they prefer, can kneel, sit or even lie down and stare up at the azure Antarctic sky. Because of their wide base and tail fins, SUP boards are quite stable, enabling participants – after a bit of practice – to stop staring at their feet and admire the surrounding scenery. Imagine seeing Gentoo penguins gliding below you, or making eye contact with a Weddell seal lying on a piece of ice as you paddle by.

Guests receive on-ship and on-water instruction from a qualified SUP guide. In addition, a safety driver (in a Zodiac) stays within range to offer assistance.

Polar Plunge

The Polar Plunge is scheduled once during each voyage. Throughout the journey, the Expedition Leader and Captain constantly monitor conditions in order to choose the optimal time and location. The Polar Plunge sometimes takes place onshore or, in many cases, from the gangway or Zodiac. All participants wear a tethered harness and plunge into the polar waters from the side of Zodiac or safety of the gangplank cheered on, of course, by fellow passengers and Expedition Team.

Safety is paramount—the onboard physician always attends the Polar Plunge. Guides in survival gear circle the area in Zodiacs as guests take their turn jumping or cannon-balling into the polar waters.

Hiking

Hiking in the polar regions differs from your typical trail experience. Here, in a tree-less terrain, you are the tallest figure on the landscape as you walk over spongy tundra, crusty snow or sandy beaches in remotes parts of the Arctic and Antarctica. Stepping ashore anywhere in the polar regions means you’re not a distant observer.

Our organized hikes range from short jaunts to the top of lookouts or visits to see wildlife or longer walks of several kilometers over ice and rock and snow. Hiking excursions may last from two to three hours with plenty of time for photographs of wildlife, learning moments from your experienced guides, or just time to stand back and admire the incredible polar surroundings.

No experience is necessary but participants should be able to get in and out of a Zodiac and walk on uneven terrain. Hiking options are tailored to all interests and abilities, from those who want to contemplate the landscape in silence to photographers who want that perfect image to energetic travelers who want to summit a peak in the hopes of seeing wildlife in their natural habitat.

Paddling Excursion

Explore the ocean from a more intimate vantage point on a sit-on-top kayak. No experience is required to manoeuvre these very stable kayaks, allowing you to enjoy an unforgettable experience on the water, taking in breathtaking landscapes and wildlife. Whether it’s your first time in a kayak or you want greater flexibility to try other Adventure options, this shorter excursion is for you.

Paddling in the Polar Regions is highly weather-dependent and a one-time experience. Your kayak guides will attempt to take you out on the water for 1-1.5 hours of paddling. Offered on most voyages, spaces are limited. All equipment, guides and instructions are provided by Quark.

Pricing subject to change based on season. Please proceed to checkout or contact a Polar Travel Adviser for more details. 

Camping

Imagine for a moment, staring at the stars in the indigo glow of an Antarctic night as you bed down for the night outside in the elements. The buzz of your daily life becomes a distant memory as you listen to the bray of penguin, the ethereal calls of the Weddell sea – even the exhalation of a humpback whale. And then you fall asleep.

Antarctic Camping with Quark Expeditions is an unforgettable experience. After dinner onboard, you'll be escorted ashore by Zodiac to camp out on the snow for the night in your ready-to-roll bivy sack (tents can be used upon request). Once you decide on your spot, you set up camp and enjoy the peace as the Antarctic night unfolds.

Camping in Antarctica is limited to 50 participants, all of whom will be briefed beforehand on the principals of basic camping. Prior to you settling down for the night, Quark Expeditions staff will prepare the site, including setting up a perimeter in safe, flat to gently-sloping and beautiful site. You’re free to choose where (within the perimeters) you want to settle down for the night.  

Health & Fitness

Gym

Located on the Main Deck, gym hours are posted at the door, with facilities available on a first come, first served basis.

Deckplans

Observation Deck

  • Observation Deck

Bridge Deck

  • Bridge
  • Owner's Suites

Captain's Deck

  • Polar Library
  • Clinic
  • Suite
  • Superior Cabin
  • Deluxe Cabin

Upper Deck

  • Dining Room
  • Clipper Club
  • Main Lounge
  • Reception
  • Polar Boutique
  • Superior Cabin

Main Deck

  • Zodiac Boarding Rooms
  • Gym
  • Main Deck Twin Window Cabin
  • Main Deck Twin Porthole Cabin
  • Triple Cabin

Lower Deck

  • Lower Deck Twin

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