Best place to see Whales from the ship

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

I am booked on a 14 day HAl cruise leaving this month. I plan on spending a great deal of time outdoors however I want to maximize my chance at spotting whales from the ship (I have good binos).

 

I have read that there are good chances at whale sightings about 2 hours before you enter Glacier Bay. Others have mentioned a pod of whales that hangs out around the cook inlet.

 

I'm not even sure if this question can be answered because I realize that whales move, but can anyone give a summary of the best times/places to spot whales based on this itinerary?

 

 

TIA,

 

Cheryl

[PennyAgain]

Yes to the location prior to Glacier Bay and yes to the area at Cook Inlet. Stay aware on the trip out to Kodiak and the departure from there. You will see a lot of otters as well.

 

Whale spotting from a large ship is not easy. I find it easier if I am wearing a hat with a brim and sunglasses (or otherwise tinted glasses) to cut glare.

 

I've spent my life spotting animals. It takes practice. Start at home and soon. Practice both with and without your binos. You are looking for things that are different. Look for contrast on the water. Do that for bear watching as well. With bears you can look at ridges and places like that.

 

No such for whales, but do look quickly and then look away from time to time. Rest yourself against a railing or a post to steady yourself.

 

My neighbors telephone me when they can't find their cats. I know how to look for them and usually can do so.

 

Your practice time will pay off. You have selected a wonderful cruise. If I had more vacation days to spare I would have taken it myself.

[vbmom87]

On our 2008 HAL cruise we saw a lot of whales from the ship. Each evening we read our newsletter for the next day, and it always told us what we would be seeing the next day and approximately what time. I have to say it was very accurate and wherever it said to watch for whales, we indeed did see them. I just suggest being out a little earlier than suggested, just in case you arrive earlier than originally anticipated.

[mapleleaves]

The inside passage of Vanc Island is a great place to see whales. I visit the island every year because it has so much to offer. There are a few pods of resident orcas that live in the area between victoria and Anacortes. I've seen them a couple of times on the BCferry to Victoria. Pure luck. Also there are resident orcas near the north of Vancouver Island; I've taken several orca tours from Port MacNeil and have never NOT seen them (orcas, greys, and humpbacks). But you'll probably pass thru this area at night and your captn will have an itinerary to follow whereas our captn's job was to find orcas !

I've seen several humpbacks on both trips to Glacier Bay.

On our RV trip last year we were fortunate to see belugas near Beluga Point, about an hour out of Anchorage. Their sighting is linked to the tide but I don't recall if it's high or low. I've probably driven by that area a dozen times and this was my first beluga sighting. So again, luck.

I think Glacier Bay is your best opportunity. I'd be surprised if you don't. As PennyAgain said, you just need to keep watching.

Very nice itinerary. Enjoy your trip! Bet you'll be back!

[Putterdude]

Any whale sightings from a cruise ship is a by chance occurrence. For the most part they are only seen in the distance and far to often by the time you get your glasses or camera on them ... well its only a splash. You really need to spend a great deal of time out on deck to spot any.

[puckster55pics]

Any whale sightings from a cruise ship is a by chance occurrence. For the most part they are only seen in the distance and far to often by the time you get your glasses or camera on them ... well its only a splash. You really need to spend a great deal of time out on deck to spot any.

I will always remember my first cruise to Alaska in August of 81. We were coming into Ketchikan & saw a pod of killer whales as well as porpoises & fairly close to the ship(about a hundred yards) and the porpoises followed closely along side the ship. As we were leaving that evening I saw a humpback breach about 3ooyds off. While it's not easy it is possible & a little prayer can't hurt your chances either;)

[Budget Queen]

There are many more details.

 

First off, you need wide angle binoculars, necessary in my opinion, along with 10 power. You need the wide angle, because, the field of view is FAR easier to track wildlife.

 

Anyway, It's isn't just "2 hours before" Glacier Bay. It depends on your DIRECTION, and daylight. Many times the ships are already past Point Adolphus, IF coming from Juneau/Skagway. IF you are going to either, then you area going to want to be out for several HOURS, from about an hour after leaving the glaciers.

 

To give you an accurate suggestion- post your itinerary and times.

 

For clarification- there are 6 Vancouver Island resident orca pods, 3 northern, 3 southern. I have seen them many times- both groups. BUT they have a very wide range, so those whale watches are no where near 100% like they are out of Hoonah or Juneau. If going to Seward, they also have some resident pods which are sometimes seen.

 

Ship wildlife viewing, requires a great deal of invested time. Necessary is forward viewing, IF you want the greatest chances. You need to be well aware, that you can be out for hours, and then get a one minute view of something. The ships do not stop, and many times no mention either. ALWAYS, the tours are grossly superior, of which my time in Alaska is loaded with them, even though, I am greatly rewarded with my cruiseship viewing, and spend most of my time out on deck.

[MercedMike]

You need to be well aware, that you can be out for hours, and then get a one minute view of something. The ships do not stop, and many times no mention either. ALWAYS, the tours are grossly superior, of which my time in Alaska is loaded with them, even though, I am greatly rewarded with my cruiseship viewing, and spend most of my time out on deck.

 

BQ is the real expert on Alaska whale viewing! What she says is the gospel.

 

We have always had very good luck on the whale watching tours in Juneau. We like the big comfortable boats of the ship's excursions with Allen Marine, but many others recommend the smaller boats of Orca or Harv and Marv. You are going to get whale sightings that will be far superior to the common ones from the ship.

 

We do nothing like the dedicated watching BQ does. But in eight cruises to Alaska we have had lucky strikes three times. On one trip a whale actually cruised past the dining room windows. Somebody yelled, "There's a whale!" and practically the whole dining room headed for the windows. On another trip we were walking past a bar and noticed people clustered at the windows. We went over and in the mid distance saw a pod of several humpbacks breaching and spouting. On our last trip, we were in the special dining venue seated next to the window and actually had quite a show all through dinner with several whales spouting, rolling backs and flukes as they dived. All of these were pure chance encounters! On five other cruises we have spotted nary a whale all week.

 

So if whales are a priority with you, you will have a lot of fun following BQ's advice and being out on deck with your binox. But I really agree with her about a whale watching tour also.

[skierT]

There are many more details.

 

First off, you need wide angle binoculars, necessary in my opinion, along with 10 power. You need the wide angle, because, the field of view is FAR easier to track wildlife.

 

 

BQ, a question from newbie. We have two pairs of binoculars that we plan to wildlife viewing. One is 8x43 with 426ft angle and another one is 10x42 with 330 angle. Should I take 8x or 10x for better viewing experience? I do understand there is trade-off between magnification power and angle.

 

Second question is for inside passage RT of Seattle. Is there a good location for whale watching from the cruiseship without going to whale watching excursion?

 

thanks

[Budget Queen]

BQ, a question from newbie. We have two pairs of binoculars that we plan to wildlife viewing. One is 8x43 with 426ft angle and another one is 10x42 with 330 angle. Should I take 8x or 10x for better viewing experience? I do understand there is trade-off between magnification power and angle.

 

Second question is for inside passage RT of Seattle. Is there a good location for whale watching from the cruiseship without going to whale watching excursion?

 

thanks

 

Neither of these are "wide angle"??

 

I need to know your itinerary, before I can offer any details for the areas.

[surfgram]

I was on the Amsterdam June 14-28 this year and we saw so many whales from the ship that I lost count!! There was a "posse" of dedicated whale watchers and we would start in the Crow's Nest. When whales were spotted, we would go down to the open area forward on deck 6- accessible port side and stay there and watch until it got too cold! You need your layers, jacket, hat and gloves out there.

 

Most of the whales were far away. Some of them were very close to the ship. One evening I was in the Lido by the window and a kid at the next table said "what's that?" and there was a whale swimming right next to the ship below us!

 

I took my binoculars almost everywhere with me- even to dinner in the dining room! There was usually a mention in the daily program about possible whale activity. We watched during the sail aways and some folks got up early to watch while sailing into port. We also saw otters, seals and puffins.

 

I hope that the whales perform for your cruise as well as they did for ours. Many of the "posse" had been on multiple Alaska cruises and we all agreed that this was the most whales any of us had seen from a ship. It really is thrilling to see the spouts- far or near- and then train your binoculars on them and watch.

 

All the other posters have given good advice so I won't repeat it. If you put your hours in scanning the ocean for spouts, you will be rewarded!

[chewap]

The Straight of Juan De Fuca between Canada and Wash St. is a great place to see whales, mainly orcas. They are feeding on the incoming Salmon. 3 years ago in late Aug. We seen over 90 orcas some as close as 100 yrds from the ship in the 100 mile stretch before we came to Victoria. You will also see several types of whales and dolphins which are quite numerous in Aug and Sept feeding on the salmon runs. Out of 4 trips from Seattle, only one captain has pointed out the whales.

[vbmom87]

I was on the Amsterdam June 14-28 this year and we saw so many whales from the ship that I lost count!! There was a "posse" of dedicated whale watchers and we would start in the Crow's Nest. When whales were spotted, we would go down to the open area forward on deck 6- accessible port side and stay there and watch until it got too cold! You need your layers, jacket, hat and gloves out there.

 

Most of the whales were far away. Some of them were very close to the ship. One evening I was in the Lido by the window and a kid at the next table said "what's that?" and there was a whale swimming right next to the ship below us!

 

I took my binoculars almost everywhere with me- even to dinner in the dining room! There was usually a mention in the daily program about possible whale activity. We watched during the sail aways and some folks got up early to watch while sailing into port. We also saw otters, seals and puffins.

 

I hope that the whales perform for your cruise as well as they did for ours. Many of the "posse" had been on multiple Alaska cruises and we all agreed that this was the most whales any of us had seen from a ship. It really is thrilling to see the spouts- far or near- and then train your binoculars on them and watch.

 

All the other posters have given good advice so I won't repeat it. If you put your hours in scanning the ocean for spouts, you will be rewarded!

 

We were on a one week cruise mid-June in 2008 on HAL, and as I mentioned before, we saw many whales from the cruiseship. We did not have to spend hours on deck looking. Just refering to our daily program and being out when they suggested resulted in quite a show. I only went on one trip and this was my experience. Perhaps lucky, or perhaps mid-June is a good time to see whales from the ship? As everyone says, they are in the distance and not up close and personal. YOu are on a large cruiseship. However, we all found it exciting and were happy with it. We weren't going on a whale watch in Juneau as we were heading out to Tracy Arm.

[fleckle]

Another place to look for whales is going through Snow Passage, about 3 - 4 hours north of Ketchikan. We were thrilled to get a close view of humpbacks bubble-net feeding as we cruised through there last year.

But the next time we went through, we did not see any whales there at all.

 

Cruising through Icy Strait is another area where you may or may not see whales from the ship. According to the map you posted, your ship will not stop at Icy Strait Point when it cruises through Icy Strait, but if you are ever on a cruise that stops there, it is a "can't miss" place to see whales up close if you take a whale watching trip out to Pt. Adolphus in a small boat. It is not unusual for whales even to come right up close to the cruise ship when it is anchored at Icy Strait Point.

[whale-watcher]

BQ, a question from newbie. We have two pairs of binoculars that we plan to wildlife viewing. One is 8x43 with 426ft angle and another one is 10x42 with 330 angle. Should I take 8x or 10x for better viewing experience? I do understand there is trade-off between magnification power and angle.

 

Second question is for inside passage RT of Seattle. Is there a good location for whale watching from the cruiseship without going to whale watching excursion?

 

thanks

I personally prefer 8x from a moving ship...for me the extra magnification of 10x binoculars also amplifies ship motion/vibration and body/arm motion, essentially canceling out the added benefit of the additional magnification. Also, I prefer the brighter, sharper images that the 8x binoculars provide. I watch birds much more than whales, and find that I am able to identify distant birds just as easily with lower power glasses from a moving ship most of the time. Just some additional info to consider...you might do fine with the 10x binoculars on a moving platform, but most avid pelagic (sea) birders prefer the slightly lower power.

 

A field of view of 426 feet is fine (my favorite all around birding glasses have a FOV of 420 feet; my son prefers a pair with a 399 foot FOV). Note that image quality is also important. Poor quality binoculars might have a wider field of view, but with a blurry and dark image at the edges of the field; this will not add anything to your viewing quality and may give you a headache or nausea when you scan from side to side.

 

I personally think it is important to test the different options before purchasing...even in the birding community, different people have very different preferences.

[bottom-dragger]

on the leg between juneau and ketchikan (don't know which way you're going) where stephen's passage intersects fredericker sound, around the brothers islands, five finger lighthouse, farrugut bay, port houton, is one of the major feeding grounds for humpbacks in southeast. not uncommon to see a pod of orcas. which is why there is a marine mammel research center in petersburg.

 

i wonder how many whales the 75' adventure class cruise ship saw before running aground and cutting their trip short.

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

A great big Thank You for all that have replied so far. I am all set with great binoculars and prepared to sit on deck waiting patiently.

 

Budget Queen, you asked that I post my itinerary and times, so here it is:

 

 

July 26: Depart Seattle 5:00

July 27: At Sea

July 28: Ketchikan 7-5pm

July 29: Sitka 8-5pm

July 30: Skagway 7am-9pm

July 31: Glacier Bay 7-4pm

Aug 1: At Sea

Aug 2: Anchorage 7 am-11pm

Aug 3: Homer 10am-6pm

Aug 4: Kodiak: 7am-1pm

Aug 5: Hubbard Noon-4pm

Aug 6: Juneau 8am-5pm

Aug 7: At Sea

Aug 8: Victoria 4pm-11pm

 

 

ANY suggestions based on the times above that will increase my odds of spotting wildlife would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks again,

Cheryl

[Budget Queen]

A great big Thank You for all that have replied so far. I am all set with great binoculars and prepared to sit on deck waiting patiently.

 

Budget Queen, you asked that I post my itinerary and times, so here it is:

 

 

July 26: Depart Seattle 5:00

July 27: At Sea

July 28: Ketchikan 7-5pm

July 29: Sitka 8-5pm

July 30: Skagway 7am-9pm

July 31: Glacier Bay 7-4pm

Aug 1: At Sea

Aug 2: Anchorage 7 am-11pm

Aug 3: Homer 10am-6pm

Aug 4: Kodiak: 7am-1pm

Aug 5: Hubbard Noon-4pm

Aug 6: Juneau 8am-5pm

Aug 7: At Sea

Aug 8: Victoria 4pm-11pm

 

 

ANY suggestions based on the times above that will increase my odds of spotting wildlife would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks again,

Cheryl

 

Prime time to park yourself out on a forward deck is VERY early, 1/2 hour before dawn, you Glacier Bay and Juneau day. And stay out, upon departing Juneau through dark.

 

You "may" have luck through Dixon Passage, which may be the pm prior to Ketchikan.

 

Your Cook Inlet transit is mostly at night, which is too bad. (for other's with this cruise interest, by all means, look at sailing around several weeks on each side of June 20, since it doesn't get dark. It's a BIG advantage to do so, for this fantastic scenic sailing) But, again, if you want the most, then get up very early and stay out late, leaving Homer. Anchorage will be dark.

[knorrisb07]

BQ, a question from newbie. We have two pairs of binoculars that we plan to wildlife viewing. One is 8x43 with 426ft angle and another one is 10x42 with 330 angle. Should I take 8x or 10x for better viewing experience? I do understand there is trade-off between magnification power and angle.

 

Second question is for inside passage RT of Seattle. Is there a good location for whale watching from the cruiseship without going to whale watching excursion?

 

thanks

 

Your 10x42 with 330 ft are quite wide for a 10x binoculars. Do need some practice to hold 10x steady on the ship. If possible, I would pick 8x for use on ship and 10x for land tour.

[chipmaster]

IMHO if you must/want to see whales book an excursion in Juneau!

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

Thanks to all who have responded.

 

I do have a whale watch booked in Juneau, but also want to maximize additional spottings while on ship :).

 

I purchased the 2010 Cruising Alaska Book and in there is a map with whale watch areas marked. The map largely coorelated to what was said here with a few exceptions.

 

So, if I can recap the advise given: I should keep a particularily good eye out as the ship passes the following:

 

1) Dixon Bay

2) Petersburg

3) Where Stephens Passage intersects Frederick Sound

4) Snow PAssage

5) Icy Straight

6) Kennedy Entrance

7) Cook Inlet

8) Kodiak

 

Is that sounding correct?

 

Cheryl :)

[Budget Queen]

Thanks to all who have responded.

 

I do have a whale watch booked in Juneau, but also want to maximize additional spottings while on ship :).

 

I purchased the 2010 Cruising Alaska Book and in there is a map with whale watch areas marked. The map largely coorelated to what was said here with a few exceptions.

 

So, if I can recap the advise given: I should keep a particularily good eye out as the ship passes the following:

 

1) Dixon Bay

2) Petersburg

3) Where Stephens Passage intersects Frederick Sound

4) Snow PAssage

5) Icy Straight

6) Kennedy Entrance

7) Cook Inlet

8) Kodiak

 

Is that sounding correct?

 

Cheryl :)

 

It's Dixon Passage, problem is, it's a "transit" area, and some ships do it at night. Same with Snow Passage, going south, will be at night. Cook Inlet, is not a "hot" spot, sometimes whales. Are you going to Homer/Anchorage and Kodiak? The transit of Cook Inlet is, in it's self, an extremely scenic sailing day.

[CherylsCaribbeanTravel]

The map supplied with the book does not correlate 100% with the advice given here, so I am combining the look out spots mentioned on CC with those labeled on the map to increase my chances :). The map lists places that haven't been mentioned in this thread and visa-versa.

 

I have the sunrise/sunset times along with all the twilight times for my trip logged. I plan on taking the map and by using the nautical mileage guide provided onboard the ship, I should be able to tell if we are going to pass any given point in the dark or light prior to sailing through the area.

 

Are you going to Homer/Anchorage and Kodiak? The transit of Cook Inlet is, in it's self, an extremely scenic sailing day.

 

Not sure I am understanding your question. Here is the itinerary:

 

Aug 2: Anchorage 7 am-11pm

Aug 3: Homer 10am-6pm

Aug 4: Kodiak: 7am-1pm

 

Twilight starts at 4:30 on August 2nd (with sunrise at 5:35), so I should be able to get at least a few hours of good viewing sailing up cook inlet into Anchorage. Our ship departs 35 minutes prior to twilight (with the sun setting at 10:35), so the scenic view of Cook Inlet will need to be in the morning as we sail in rather than sailing out.

 

Based on the times we are in the ports of Anchorage, Homer, and Kodiak, it appears that we will be spending a large part of 3 days right around Cook Inlet/Kennedy Entrance. Reports from people on this 14 day itinerary state that this entire area had the most sightings of whales. Might change for my trip, but this is all about increasing odds :)

 

I believe this map will prove very valuable for those looking to spot whales and recommend everyone at least preview the book. My library had the book, so I checked it out. I then decided that I needed to buy a hard copy for myself. If the whale sighting spots marked on the fold-out map hold true, the map itself will be worth what I paid for the entire book.

 

I'll be sure to log any spottings I see and report back.

 

Cheryl :)

[whale-watcher]

...I'll be sure to log any spottings I see and report back.

 

Cheryl :)

I will watch for your posting. This 14 day HAL itinerary is on our short list!

[zelker]

Cheryl - if it's not to much of an imposition, would you bring me a copy of all this info you're putting together please?

 

Thanks! Barb