Eager Anticipation… This is the stop on our South American cruise I had been planning for the longest time.
As soon as we booked this cruise (a year in advance) I contacted a local guide for a 4×4 tour to the penguin colony. Patrick Watts comes highly recommended by Trip Advisor. Unfortunately, he was ALREADY booked, so we went on his waiting list.
We purchased our waterproof hiking boots, pants and jackets especially for this tour.
After the 90 day final payment day passed, we still did not have a spot, but we had moved up on the waiting list. Ugh. I didn’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime event, so I talked with Patrick and he graciously gave me the name of one of his competitors: Tanya and Jimmy Curtis were also great to work with online, and we were guaranteed a spot.
Stanley is a tender port, and we were advised to be in line ready to collect our tender ticket in order to board one of the first tenders off the ship.
Ticket in hand, we waited in the dining room. I looked out the dining room windows and saw that the water was a little choppy, but it did not look too bad. I took a preventative Dramamine just in case.
What I forgot is that those waves look small from high up on the ship. Once the tender boats were released, we could see them bouncing around all over the water, and the weather prediction indicated that the wind speed would increase throughout the day. The captain decided it would be too dangerous to allow passengers to disembark. I’m glad I witnessed the tender boats precariously bobbing around. It made the disappointment much easier to bear.
I understand that ships have to skip this stop quite often. As much as we were disappointed, I feel bad for the tour operators who lose out on that income. Fortunately, they are aware of this and do not charge tourists when the ship cannot make port.
Yes, I hope to return someday….
And when I do, I will try for the 4×4 cruise again. Also, I will make sure to get a postcard to mail from Stanley – that should be a rare one for my collection.
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