Where are the albatrosses?
by Lorenzo Lorente
Departure in November 2023
Region: Antarctica
Destinations: South Georgia
Ship: m/v Plancius
Highlights: Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctic Tern, Killer Whale, King Penguin, Macaroni Penguin, Giant Petrel, Light-mantled Albatross
This trip would have been adequate except that we did not visit the Prion island albatros colony which was the highlite of the trip, but it was closed for 5 years and we were not told about it. That was a great disapointment. Had they advised us of this, I would choosed another trip. Otherwise this trip was satisfactory.
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Comment from Oceanwide Expeditions
We are sorry to learn you were disappointed about the closure of Prion Island and about our communications in this regard. Ultimately, we cannot guarantee any of our landing sites, whether due to local conditions (weather, ice, wildlife) or legal ones (permits, permissions, etc.). We therefore prepare no notification of opened or closed sites in advance, though we endeavor to make the variability of shore visits and wildlife encounters clear on our itineraries and website.
Though it is true that Prion has been closed for three seasons, we have received no notification of long-term closure for this site, so every season it can potentially be reopened. This is why we continue to include this island among our possible landings. It has come to our attention that one or more of our guides may have thought this closure had been in effect for five years, but this is not the case.
Had Prion been reopened and weather conditions permitted it, we would certainly have tried for a landing and will continue to do so in future voyages. We hope that, despite this unfortunate but uncontrollable aspect of your trip, you still enjoyed the many other sites and species you encountered in the far south.