I don’t think we could have had a better time or been more pleased with Dominic Rollinson on our Oceanwide Arctic Cruise this past June. We had a wonderful time touring in South Africa with Dom last year and were eagerly anticipating this trip and Dom did not disappoint!
Dom is the consummate birding guide. He has an absolute command of where the birds are, how they behave, actually finding them, and getting us great looks of them! Dom is very organized and timely with his pre and post trip communications, which was very helpful. Dom shared the trip eBird lists, the well-written and illustrated trip report, and beautiful pictures in a timely fashion. And Dom is just a true gentleman and an absolute pleasure to be with. He is kind, considerate, easygoing, thoughtful, and has a great sense of humor.
Dom was very proactive in coming up with ways to make our arctic experience great! He suggested that we rent a vehicle for our pre-cruise time in Longyearbyen, which was a fantastic idea. And Dom maximized the vehicle rental by taking us out both the evening and morning before we boarded our cruise and we got fantastic close views of all our targets – in particular, absolutely gorgeous views of the Red Phalarope and the Arctic Fox! It was also a very relaxed way to see some local sights including the Global Seed Vault and the northernmost church in the world. Dom also spent the morning after disembarkation with us birding around Longyearbyen on foot, which was such a treat. He was very generous with his time.
We have so many great memories of Dom on the cruise ship! We felt very privileged to have Dom’s expertise available to us and we also appreciated that he graciously shared that expertise with other passengers. Dom was always cheerful and helpful whether we were on excursions, on deck looking for whatever wildlife presented itself, or whatever else we might have gotten ourselves into. I know that the ship’s guides also really appreciated Dom. I heard one of them tell another that they should always listen when Dom was talking because “You can learn so much from Dom!” We all are grateful for the huge amount of time Dom spent on deck scanning for polar bears and other wildlife, no matter what the temperature or wind conditions!
We highly recommend Dom. If you are considering a trip that Dom is leading, I would encourage you to sign up immediately – you won’t find a better guide!