This MSC Cruise Is Going to Islands You've Never Heard of, and All the Profits Are Going to Wildlife Conservation

Prince Edward Islands is a group of two islands (Prince Edward Island and Marion Island) located around 1,200 miles from the coast of South Africa in the Southern Indian Ocean, and 12 miles from each other. Because of their location so close to Antarctica, they are considered sub-Antarctic islands.

Needless to say, passengers on board this cruise should not expect either sunshine or turquoise waters. The islands are windswept, often surrounded by clouds, and rarely warm. But there’s a bigger allure than good weather for travelers.

Prince Edward Island and Marion Island belong to South Africa, and Marion, the biggest of the two, is home to a meteorological station and a research station staffed by 50 people who live there temporarily — but not much else. The terrain is mountainous and rugged, the coast consists of 500-foot-tall, jagged cliffs, and the vegetation is limited to moss, fern, and a type of Antarctic cabbage. What the island has in abundance, however, is birds. Millions of them.

Marion Island, is home to huge diversity of seabirds. There are 29 different species of seabirds present on the island, including several species of penguins, petrels, terns, and 25 percent of the the world’s wandering albatrosses, making it an obvious bucket-list destination for birders the world over.

MSC’s voyage to Marion Island, only the second-ever MSC sailing to the island, is organized in partnership with BirdLife South Africa, a non-profit organization that’s dedicated to the conservation of birds, their habitats, and their biodiversity.

The cruise on board MSC Musica will accommodate 2,000 bird lovers for a seven-day voyage (from January 24 to January 31). Currently 1,000 passengers are already booked for this very special sailing, including seabird expert, author, and artist Peter Harrison.

Starting rate for this bird-watching voyage is $950 per person based on double occupancy. Bookings can be made at any time on MSC’s website.

While the most appealing part of this special cruise is the unique opportunity to see a huge variety of seabirds up close, the fact that all the profits from the voyage are going towards their protection via the Mouse-Free Marion Project is a big draw, too.

Indeed, unfortunately, Mario Island is infested with house mice since the early 1800s. While small, the invasive rodents are destroying the island’s ecosystem and preying on the birds’ eggs and chicks.

“Without intervention 19 of the 29 species of seabird breeding on Marion Island face local extinction,” BirdLife South Africa explains.

The goal of the Mouse-Free Marion Project is to eradicate the mice from the island entirely and make Marion Island a safe haven for wildlife again. Cats, also previously present on the island and a big threat to the birds, were eradicated in years prior.

If you can’t make it on the cruise but would like to help the Mouse-Free Marion Project, know that you can sponsor one or more hectares of land on Marion Island for $70.