Spring 2020 Pacific Pelagic Cruise Introduction

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One of the Princess Cruise ships we will be abord.

The majority of our days at sea are spent on the bow of the promenade deck, moving from one side to the other if weather conditions warrant. Here, several stories above the ocean, you have a huge field of view when on watch that allows scanning for pelagic birds and marine mammals with ease. The promenade deck is covered, the ship is large and stable enough to allow the use of spotting scopes and the list of pelagic bird species is long and filled with potential deep-water goodies.

Our cruise begins in Los Angeles. We should find a good sampling of near-shore pelagic species as we begin our cruise northward. Before the sun sets we hope to see Royal and Elegant Terns, Pigeon Guillemot, an assortment of gulls and Black-vented and Sooty Shearwaters.

As the sun rises on our first day at sea, we’ll be in deep water far off California. Here is where we begin our search for expected rarities as Murphy’s, Hawaiian and possibly Cook’s Petrels. Storm-petrels of several species are possible, topped by striking Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels pattering about the ocean all around our ship. Shearwaters are well represented with five regularly occurring species possible. While Black-footed Albatross may be quite common, it’s rarities like Laysan and Short-tailed Albatross that we yearn to find.

Our last full day will be spent on Vancouver Island. We’ll arrange an optional outing to search for birds, punctuated by a dedicated search for Eurasian Skylarks, which should be ‘skylarking’! Pacific Northwest beauties like Northwestern Crow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pacific Wren, Harlequin Duck and Golden-crowned Sparrow are likely.

Highlights from our 2017 Spring cruise include no fewer than three Hawaiian Petrels, a double handful of Murphy’s Petrels (several so close they filled your binocular view!), four species of shearwaters, hundreds of albatrosses, thousands of storm-petrels and a good showing of whales topped by many breaching Humpback Whales and prolonged looks at a Cuvier’s Beaked Whale. 2018’s cruise saw a dozen Hawaiian Petrels, 20-30 each of Murphy’s and Cook’s Petrels, a dozen Laysan Albatrosses as well a thousands of shearwaters.  Three amazing days at sea!

It should be noted that this is a true pelagic birding experience and we’ll have two full days at sea, scoping for seabirds from dawn to dusk. Folks can come and go from our gathering on the promenade deck as they like for meals and rest breaks thus making birding much less difficult. And pelagic birding is often difficult. Just much less so when you have all the amenities of a luxury cruise liner at your disposal.

Leader’s Take: Our Pacific Coast Pelagic Cruise is a fantastic option for anyone who gets seasick easily, wishes to search for deepwater pelagic species and do so in comfort. Our 2017 and 2018 cruises proved that photographic opportunities are surprisingly good as well. I can’t wait to see what 2019 brings. Join us and let’s find out together!

Day 1 – Arrive in Los Angeles. Group members arrive independently at LAX Airport, Los Angeles, California and transfer to our cruise ship, the Pacific Princess. WE WILL MEET IN THE EXPLORER’S LOUNGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE MUSTER DRILL AND THEN TO THE APPROPRIATE SIDE OR BOW OF THE SHIP TO BEGIN OUR PELAGIC ADVENTURE.

NOTE: Folks planning to arrive on May 11th, our day of departure, should insure that their flights arrive as early as possible in the morning hours. If your flight is delayed or cancelled causing you to miss our ship’s departure, joining us becomes an impossibility. You might be better served arriving in Los Angeles the evening of May 10, 2020. 

Cook’s Petrel
NW of San Francisco on Spring 2018 Pacific Pelagic Cruise. Photo by Rick Bowers ©.

Day 2-3 – At Sea.  Two full days are spent aboard our home for three nights, the exceedingly comfortable 951ft long cruise ship, Pacific Princess. While daily activities are up to each individual, leaders will spend the majority of the day scanning and scoping for seabirds from the forward deck of the ship for deep-water pelagic species. Group members will be able to come and go as you like for meals or breaks. We plan to eat dinner near the same time each evening so that we can have a social period together in order to review the day’s sightings, discuss ID challenges, etc.

Murphy’s Petrel on Spring 2018 Pacific Pelagic Cruise. Photo by Rick Bowers.

Most of our time at sea will be in deep water, as much as 50 or 60 miles offshore. The ship does move steadily while at sea, so getting everyone on each bird can sometimes be a challenge. Pelagic birding is often difficult and weather can complicate matters. While scopes are not required, if you are proficient with your scope you might find it helpful. NatureScape Tours will have a scope set up at all times. With patience and a bit of luck, everyone should get good looks at most things.

Hawaiian Petrel on the 2019 Spring Pacific Pelagic Cruise.

Seabird possibilities at this time of year are many. Possibilities include Rhinoceros Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot, Common Murre, Black-footed Albatross, Pink-footed, Sooty,  Black-vented Shearwaters, Fork-tailed, Black, Ashy, Wilson’s and Leach’s Storm-Petrels, Hawaiian, Murphy’s and maybe Cook’s Petrels, Northern Fulmar, perhaps Ancient or Marbled Murrelets, Tufted Puffin, Black-legged Kittiwake, Sabine’s Gull, Pacific Loon, Arctic Tern, Red-necked and Red Phalaropes, perhaps a Scripps’s, Craveri’s or Guadalupe Murrelet and maybe a Laysan or, if exceedingly lucky, a Short-tailed Albatross!

Day 4, May 12 – Victoria, Vancouver Island.  The rising sun view from your window will show the stately spruces and coastline of Vancouver Island. We’ll arrange an optional day of birding ashore for those who wish, and we’ll depart immediately after breakfast. Our first priority is of find members of the introduced population of Eurasian Skylarks that are resident on Vancouver Island. We should be able to find them singing and ‘skylarking’ before we leave to visit some of the local birding hotspots. Targets for the day would include west coast specialties such as Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Vaux’s Swift, Northwestern Crow, Glaucous-winged Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Bewick’s Wren, Bushtit, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Pacific Wren, Harlequin Duck among others. Visiting the scenic shore may give us shorebirds such as Marbled and Hudsonian Godwits, Western Sandpiper, Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher, Wandering Tattler and perhaps Pacific Golden-Plover. We’ll return to the Star Princess for our last evening together as a group.

Day 5, May 13 – Arrival in Vancouver, transfer to SeaTac Airpoet  After breakfast, we’ll complete our off-loading procedures and say, “Good-Bye!” to the Pacific Princess. Boarding our comfortable coach bus, we’ll make the multiple hour journey to the airport in Seattle. We do have to clear customs & immigration along the way, but we’ll soon arrive at Seatac Airport where our tour ends. Those continuing onto the Washington State in Spring tour will depart for local birding once we have everyone and their luggage loaded into our vehicles. Everyone departs with fond memories of our Spring Pelagic Cruise…and hopefully some great photographs as well.

Pricing and Information

TOUR COST: $ TBA

COST – The cost of this trip, based on a minimum group size of SIX is $ TBA per person from Los Angeles, California. If the final group is smaller than six participants, a small group supplement may be charged.

COST INCLUDES:  Expert guide service. All transportation, this may be by private or chartered car, station wagon, van or bus. Taxes & local fees, all group admissions, park entry fees and local access fees are included in the tour price.

COST DOES NOT INCLUDE: Not included are transportation to Los Angeles and from Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, meals not on the ship, laundry, personal tips, alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, juices, mineral waters and other beverages, souvenirs, insurance of any kind, telephone calls, and overweight baggage fees.

MEAL COSTS: Meals are included in the cost of your cabin. Water, tea, and coffee are available at all meals free of charge. There are six restaurants to choose from that are included in your cabin fee. There are several restaurants that offer higher end meals for an additional fee.  Most soft drinks and alcoholic beverages are available for an additional fee that is charged to your shipboard account.

UNANTICIPATED COSTS:  Rarely we have had unexpected costs. Cancellation of a flight or train has required staying in a hotel an extra night, hiring vehicles for extra excursions and other services. At times schedule changes or route changes have been necessary. If such changes are proposed and accepted by participants, it is with the understanding that they accept the obligation to pay any extra unanticipated costs.On all of our tours, participants are responsible for any extra expenses incurred from deviations to our scheduled tour itinerary which result from events out of our control (additional hotel nights, transfers and transportation by air, water or ground). During fall on the West Coast this could be a rare weather related event, or could be a result of flight or rail cancellations, labor strikes, acts of God and the like.

DATE OF COST QUOTATION: July 15, 2019 We can only quote current costs. Tour planning begins more than a year before the tour runs. While we try to arrive at the best estimates, we cannot predict fluctuation of currency exchange rates, increases in hotel or vehicle rates, etc. Therefore, we reserve the right to increase the tour cost when there are justifiable reasons. However, we make a sincere effort to arrive at the closest possible estimate and even absorb small increases at times to avoid raising tour costs.

REGISTRATION: THIS TRIP IS LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF NINE PARTICIPANTS WITH ONE LEADER OR EIGHTEEN PARTICIPANTS WITH TWO LEADERS! Your non-refundable tour deposit of $300.00 and completed registration form are required to confirm space. Without these, no one is considered registered.

TO REGISTER FOR THIS TRIP PLEASE CONTACT THE NATURESCAPE TOURS OFFICE TO INSURE SPACE IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR THIS TOUR.  SUBMIT YOUR REGISTRATION FORM WITH FULL PAYMENT FOR THE TOUR TO HOLD YOU SPACE ON THE TOUR. IF THERE IS SPACE AVAILABLE, YOU NEED TO CONTACT PRINCESS CRUISES DIRECTLY TO BOOK YOU CABIN.  YOU WILL BOOK A CABIN FOR THE 11 MAY 2019 SAILING OF THE PACIFIC PRINCESS, LOS ANGELES to VANCOUVER, B.C. CLICK HERE TO SELECT AND PAY FOR YOUR CABIN AFTER YOU HAVE CONFIRMED WITH THE NATURESCAPE OFFICE THAT SPACE IS STILL AVAILABE ON THIS TOUR. ONCE YOU HAVE RESERVED YOUR CABIN, EMAIL THE NATURESCAPES OFFICE WITH YOU CABIN NUMBER AND FLIGHT INFORMATION.

CANCELLATION:  To cover the work and expense of handling registrations and canceling them your $TBA non-refundable tour fee will NOT be returned. Some participants have lost substantial sums when illness or other circumstances prevented them from taking a tour. Therefore, we advise you to buy trip cancellation insurance that may reimburse the entire unrecovered amount if it becomes necessary for you to cancel.  This insurance can also cover medical emergency costs, flight costs, flight delay costs, etc.

UNUSED PORTIONS OF A TOUR: We cannot offer refunds for unused portions of a tour unless agreed to before the tour. If you fail to show up or meet the tour regardless of the reason, we are under no obligation to provide any refund. Trip cancellation insurance may reimburse losses if you must leave a tour early for illness or other valid reason.

COMPLETION OF PAYMENT Foreign travel agents, hotels, boat operators etc. require advance payment. We can offer better rates on our tours because of contracted payment dates. Your cooperation with timely payments helps to avoid problems with your arrangements. For this tour we require final payment to be received in our office by February 1, 2020.NOT included in your cabin cost are gratuities of $13.50 per person per day that will be billed to your shipboard account, optional excursions, drinks and any services not included with your cabin. Cabins are based on double occupancy, and we may be able to find you a roommate. If we cannot, you will be charged the cost of single accommodations by Princess Cruises.

Note that our Pacific Pelagic Cruise can be taken in conjunction with NW Washington in Spring tour.

Leaders: Kim Risen

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