TravelWild Expeditions Sales Director Dennis Mense has spent much of the past 20 years as an expedition leader on Arctic and Antarctic cruises. These days he helps our clients choose expeditions based on their travel interests and his vast experience in the polar regions. We asked Dennis to share a little about his background and how he approaches his role helping TravelWild clients select a cruise.
How did you get started in the expedition travel business and how long have you been a part of it?
My wife, Sabina, is a marine biologist who began working as a naturalist on sailboat cruises in 1986. She was offered a position on a three-month trip from Japan to Alaska, and along the BC Coast to Seattle, but since we’d just gotten married she decided to pass it up. They really wanted her on board, so they asked if her husband could drive a Zodiac, which I’d been doing for years. I took a leave of absence from my job in the University of British Columbia Department of Zoology and we worked that trip together. That was 21 years and many, many voyages ago.
What is your role at TravelWild Expeditions?
My job is to help people choose the expedition that is right for them among a confusing array of choices. Because I have run trips in the Arctic and Antarctic for more than 20 years, I know the ships, the staff and the destinations so I can share the differences between one expedition and another—down to the details of individual cabins—to help people make an informed choice.
What are the advantages to booking an expedition cruise with TravelWild (as opposed to booking with a full-service travel agent or directly through a cruise ship operator)?
Three things differentiate us: expertise, specialization and objectivity. When you work with a full-service travel agent, they are expected to know about a very wide array of travel choices—from spas to resorts to leisure cruise packages. Their knowledge is typically broad, but not very deep. We [TravelWild] specialize in expedition cruises. While we can’t help you with a Las Vegas junket or selecting a resort in Hawaii, we are true experts in polar expedition cruising. That means we can help you understand—down to the very fine details—the nature of an Arctic or Antarctic cruise, help you plan for your trip and offer excellent, responsive customer service throughout.
Now, when you work directly with a cruise ship operator, they are obviously inclined to sell you on one of their own cruises—whether or not it’s the best fit. Once I talk with you about your travel preferences—how much you can spend, when you can go and so on—I can help you choose from a much wider array of choices, because we have working relationships with numerous expedition ship operators. This objectivity on our part really benefits you—the client—to make sure the trip you ultimately select will best meet your travel requirements.
I've led these trips and am familiar with the wildlife you are likely to see in each destination. I know the stops ship captains make on each voyage, so I have a good idea of which animals are likely to be seen in each spot. I can help folks determine what’s best for them based on what’s most important to them. If food and dining is the main thing, I would choose one ship. If education is primary, I’d direct them to another. I can help people choose a trip based on the number of other people they’d like to travel with, as well as which cabin is best if they are prone to seasickness, or which cabin choices will save them money. I’m here to help them sort through the nitty-gritty details. My number one goal is to get people booked on the trip that's right for them.
With so much to see and do in the Arctic and Antarctic, how do you help clients narrow down the choices and pick a single cruise from so many options?
It comes down to asking the right questions so I can help people meet their individual expectations for a trip like this. I recognize it’s a really important decision because, for many of us, this is the trip of a lifetime.
If you could only recommend one Arctic cruise and one Antarctica cruise destination, what would they be?
In the Arctic, hands down it would be Spitsbergen. And in the Antarctic, I’m partial to a trip that includes The Falklands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula, because it provides a total overview of what can be found in the Southern Ocean.
What do you like best about your job?
I like talking to people who have a similar interest in the environment, and I really do enjoy sharing my knowledge to help them make the right choice. I’m drawn to helping people.
What is the biggest misconception about traveling to the Arctic or Antarctic?
The biggest misconception about the Antarctic is that it’s cold. In January, for the last 10 years, it was warmer in the Antarctic than here at home. It was 50°F there, and I’d come home to 42°F winter weather.
As for the Arctic, the common misconception is that wildlife abounds there. Though there is wildlife and it’s amazing, it’s a much more subtle environment than many people expect. Of course what you see depends on where you go.
In your experiences in these places, what has been your favorite thing to show clients—or to have them experience?
What I try to do when I have people onshore is to get them to really look at things. Not just to say “oh, there’s a penguin,” but to notice feather patterns, to take time to listen to their calls, to look at the toenails on their feet and consider what they can do with those to climb steep icebergs. Once you start to look more closely, it opens up a whole new world of questions. It’s not so important to know the answers at the time, but to ask yourself the questions. You get more involved with the environment when you start to ask why.
Whether it’s something about the animals, geology or people, I like to come home from a trip and fill in a new blank in my knowledge and understanding of the planet. This helps me be a better sentinel of the planet so I can better share how important these areas are to all of us. Even though we don’t all travel to the Arctic or Antarctic, they are essential to us as a whole.
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