
Ocean Diamond Antarctic Cruises
One of our fastest and most comfortable expedition ships
A polar cruise on board the Ocean Diamond
5 Reviews
Medical Services
The Ocean Diamond is a luxurious vessel with spacious cabins. All cabins have private bathroom facilities and exterior views. Please feel free to enjoy the flat-screen TV and DVD player in your cabin. The Ocean Diamond is a modern, stable super-yacht. Carrying a maximum of 189 passengers, this outstanding vessel features numerous adventure options plus onboard amenities for you to enjoy such as a well-stocked polar library.
What is life like on an expedition? During days at sea, you’ll enjoy lectures and workshops presented by our Expedition Team and spend time on deck looking for seabirds and cetaceans. Other days are packed full of multiple landings, Zodiac cruises, and activities. Exhausting or relaxing, smiles abound as do great meals from your onboard chefs! The dress code on the ship is casual, though some may choose to dress up a little for the Captain’s Welcome Reception.
What we love about the Ocean Diamond
The Ocean Diamond offers two single cabin options, both with double beds and windows.
Pictures and Deck Plans of the Ocean Diamond



Cabin Categories on board the Ocean Diamond







All expedition cruises on board the Ocean Diamond
Amenities on board the Ocean Diamond
Fitness Center
Bar
Lecture Theater
Observation Deck
Zodiac Fleet
Observation Lounge
Gift Shop
Medical Services
Library
Open Bridge Policy
Ocean Diamond's take on sustainable traveling
Foremost among our sustainability goals are actively reducing the impact and emission of our vessels, investing in new technology, and continuously improving our existing resources. We have also installed a new low-emission engine in our veteran vessel, Ortelius. This engine complies with all the latest environmental legislation. Another of our important commitments to sustainability is our use of low-sulfur marine gas oil (LSMGO), which has a sulfur content of less than 0.1 percent.\n\nWe limit onboard waste production by recycling as often as we can as well as banning single-use plastics. This ship does not use straws, plastic cups, or any individually wrapped butter, yogurt, and jam. This vessel has a water treatment system and desalination system that uses reverse osmosis, allowing us to eliminate the use of plastic water bottles on board. Rather, guests receive a reusable water bottle they can refill on the vessel. Bathrooms are equipped with biodegradable shampoo and soap in recycled packing, further limiting our use of plastics.
More info about the Ocean Diamond
Category
Premium
Type
Small Ship (<121 Guests)
Cruising speed
14 knots
Safety
2 Lifeboats fully enclosed
Draft
4.9 meters
Capacity
189
Main Engines
2 Wichmann Engines, 7,375 horsepower
Class
1D
Length
124 meters
Crew members
144
Food & Drinks on board the Ocean Diamond
There is one dining room located on the Lower Deck which operates an open seating policy and there’s one sitting for everyone at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This encourages passengers to mingle with their like-minded fellow Antarctic explorers.
While mealtimes may change due to landings and wildlife encounters, you’ll always be served three delicious meals a day. An assortment of freshly baked cookies and/or pastries are offered each afternoon. There is also a selection of hot and cold snacks available in the lounge during cocktail hour, expedition activities permitting.
Breakfasts and lunches are normally served buffet style on Ocean Diamond, while dinners are served plated. À la carte meals are made at the time of your order, allowing the chefs to prepare each dish to your individual needs. Working in a small kitchen, the chefs are able to monitor and control the quality of food being served, ensuring you receive top-quality meals during the course of your expedition.
The well-stocked bar on the ship is open to enjoy with your fellow Antarctic cruise passengers 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.
Reviews of Ocean Diamond

Veronika
5/5
The whole trip was simply incredible. Everything was perfect- everyone in the crew is not "only" the professional in his/her field but an amazing human being. All of them take their job as a mission and make a trip the most wonderful and unforgettable holiday of your lifetime. Special thanks to Dr.Paul for saving my partner from the acute sea sickness :) Beside that the food is equal to the dishes served in the best fine dining restaurants. Cabins are cozy and clean. Whole voyage is well thought and planned to the last detail- you do not waste a minute, the trip is worth every single penny. On the top of that you meet wonderful people from all over the world with whom you can party until the break of dawn - it was as if we knew them for years. Flawless! (Copied from Trip Advisor)

Lindsey W.
5/5
I recently spent 12 nights on the Ocean Diamond for an Antarctica trip. The trip itself was in my lifetime top 3, right up there with the Galapagos Islands and a South African safari. In fact, I've explained the trip to many people as a polar safari. Quark was very helpful and showed their expertise in polar cruising in the booking process, pre-departure and throughout the trip. I can't say enough wonderful things about both the hotel staff and the expedition team on the ship. I came in with high expectations and they were all exceeded. I felt like the expedition team spent the whole trip showing us their favorite place...probably because they were. Even late in the season, their passion was contagious. we knew the excursions would be amazing, but the onboard lecture series let us take so much more home from the experience. The Ocean Diamond itself is not the newest, shiniest ship in Quark's fleet, but the trade is for a cozy, lived-in ship with a lot of character. The ship is very comfortable, well maintained with plenty of comfortable common space and more spacious cabins than I had anticipated. We were in a triple cabin and had plenty of room to unpack all of our suitcases and stash them under the beds and each carve out our own bit of space in the cabin. We never felt like we were packed in, either in our cabin in particular or on the ship in general. The food was both plentiful and tasty, although an Antarctic cruise is obviously not a foodie destination. (Copied from Trip Advisor)

Sainere
5/5
Quark Expeditions came recommended by a popular travel blogger, so I started following them as we wanted to save up to take a trip to Antarctica and South Georgia. Originally we had hoped to travel on their World Explorer ship, but because of a special offer we ended up on the Ocean Diamond. The ship itself is a little outdated and could use some maintenance, but overall it's very clean and comfortable. I have no complaints about Quark Expeditions. It's a very planned, safe, and well thought out experience. The rooms were comfortable, and the food was top notch. They have a shop on board, so if you are missing anything you may have forgotten or need. The entire staff is also amazing. You will love every minute of the trip. I guess the only negative is, the TV on board is so so (you have to rely on them to change the movies every so often), and you have to fork over like 100 bucks to use internet on your devices. Otherwise, you just have WhatsApp wifi access for free. (Copied from Trip Advisor)

Mark
5/5
This ship is not new, but certainly well maintained. Our cabin on the 5th deck was large enough and the service of making up our room multiple times a day was really nice. The 5th deck was also nice since we had direct access to the side decks. The ship had a nice enclosed, warm observation deck on the 7th level right above the bridge. It was also great that we were allowed in the bridge. One of my favorite spots however, was the large observation deck on the top of the ship, which seldom had many people on it. The food was also great, as we never went hungry with the ample snacks between meals. The food selection at the meals was always great and whatever we had was done well. Access to fresh salads everyday was appreciated. Most important however, is that all food was properly appropriated, stored and prepared as we never got sick, something that is always a worry on a ship. I can't imagine working in the kitchen while crossing the Drake Passage under the conditions we had, as we heard several large crashes as the ship swayed so strongly that I was thrown out of my chair in the dining room. (Swoop Antarctica)