bluff cove penguin excursion

[Lcruiser5356]

I'll be cruising on Emerald Princess Feb 14. In the Falkland Islands the first three excursion times to the Bluff Cove penguins are more expensive than the later in the day times. Anyone know why? Are they hiding later in the day?

[lladage]

I'll be cruising on Emerald Princess Feb 14. In the Falkland Islands the first three excursion times to the Bluff Cove penguins are more expensive than the later in the day times. Anyone know why? Are they hiding later in the day?

Have excursions been open for booking for some time? I have noticed this before as the cruise gets closer. The more popular times have fewer openings, therefore the price goes up. Supply and demand...

 

Lynn

 

Forgot to mention. Bluff Cove was a great excursion!!! Just enough time in a 4-wheel vehicle over rough terrain to still be fun.

Edited October 11, 2017 by lladage
Edit

[Lcruiser5356]

Great. Thanks for the Info. I only started looking at the excursions this past week so don't know how long they've been up. Looking forward to the trip and excursion.

[Steelers36]

Great. Thanks for the Info. I only started looking at the excursions this past week so don't know how long they've been up. Looking forward to the trip and excursion.

 

I'd book it if you want it. Princess takes 100% of the capacity and you cannot book it privately. There is another tour that involves much longer travel across rough ground and you can get it privately, but very limited capacity and it books up.

 

We are on 60-day Island cruise. When I booked a morning tour for 9:30am, I had the lower price. By the time our friends booked shortly later, it was up in price. The morning is going to be highest demand as indicated above. People then have part of afternoon free.

 

We cancelled our 60-day booking and re-booked as 3 segments (still the same trip). Of course when I went to re-book the excursion, I had to pay the higher price. I wouldn't worry about $10 if that is what you want to do - it will likely sell out of those early times.

[DougH]

If you have a chance I highly recommend the penguin tour with Patrick Watts.to Volunteer Point. When I went he booked up well over a year in advance so good luck., but this is the best tour I've taken anywhere. At the time his cost was 1/2 the Princess tour

[Loritd]

we did that tour last year and I highly recommend it. Our driver was great but the ride is very bumpy. Got very close to the penguins. Early tours are more expensive and fill up first because you have the afternoon free to see the town.

[azbirdmom]

We are on the same cruise as you and booked the 9:15 AM Bluff Cove excursion with friends a while back. There wasn't a price difference at that point and it was $189. We did this same excursion years ago and it was fantastic. I know people swear by the Patrick Watts tour but this is maybe a third or less of the 4WD jostling as you would experience on the Volunteer Point tour and my back will be much happier.

[san diego sue]

We did Bluff Cove in the morning. First of all it was the most fantastic up close and personal you can get to see the penguins. We saw penguins in three other ports but

this tour was by far the best. Prior to arriving in Faulklands it had rained for two weeks solid. We lucked out by doing morning tour because the later ones got cancelled.

We chose not to do volunteer point (Pattrick Watts or Princess) because of the great distance in a vehicle over hills and no roads bumpy.Bluff Cove had the same kind of roads but only went a short distance.

Our tour got back and all the later ones got cancelled because of the bad very muddy

environment. patrick Watts had cancelled all of his as well.

[Steelers36]

Hope everyone realizes by now there are two different tours to two different locations.

 

Volunteer Point - offered by both Princess and the Patrick fellow, plus another provider. It is a good distance further from Stanley and involves more rough off-road travel than the Bluff Cove trip. I would imagine Patrick is booked up by now. There may be another provider with space. Check the Roll Call for our voyage.

 

Bluff Cove - here is their website for more info than Princess provides: http://www.falklandpenguins.com/

Princess offers this tour and it costs less than the Volunteer tour and I think it costs about the same as booking Volunteer Point with Patrick privately. Princess takes all the capacity if a ship is in, so there is no private option I am aware of (I wrote the team at Bluff Cove a long time back this year and was advised I had to book with the cruise line).

 

Although I have not been there yet, I like the sound of the Bluff Cove trip and overall experience, so agree with SD Sue.

[Lcruiser5356]

Thank you to everyone for your replies and info. I'm getting excited just thinking of the trip. We have booked one of the Bluff Cove tours now. Thanks again.

[SeaDog-46]

I did the Bluff Cove tour March 2017 on Zaandam's last call of the season.

At the dock in Stanley the tour group is formed into 2 & each is escorted in a mini bus & taken to near the farm entrance by the very organized local ladies. A couple of things we were told is that most people on the island have 2 or 3 jobs & that this was Zaandam's 13th call over the 2016-17 summer & landed visitors each time.

At the transfer place 4 passengers go in each Landrover & they must return in the same vehicle. Then the whole group are led off by in our case 70+ year old Keith in his blue Defender with Deer antlers on the roof-rack. He picks the track for the whole group to follow. 2 of his granddaughters were driving other vehicles in the group. Permanent tracks can't be built as the land is either rock, peat or bog. Passed through a small herd of Belted Galway cattle. It takes under 30 mins. to reach the Penguins near the sea in marked-off areas. There were 2 groups of Gentoo & one had 6 Kings in the middle with chicks that were younger than the Gentoo chicks.

After viewing the Penguins you walk to the Sea Cabbage cafe to have refreshments where more local ladies & owners Kevin & Hattie are in attendance. Unlike most land on Falklands - Bluff Cove is owned privately.

Due to a lot of earlier rain the Volunteer Point tour was cancelled by the manager due to damage to the land caused by previous 4WD groups. Patrick Watts is a decorated hero from the 1982 war.

An expensive but very good & worthwhile trip that is so well organized. The best tour of our on our 36 day repositioning cruise - but I may be a bit biased. Watch out for minefields.