new cruiser- dolphin question

[happyiam]

Is there an area where you are more apt to see dolphins swimming along side the ship? We are new to cruising and found this forum to be so informative that we know someone can answer this for us. :)

[CruiserBruce]

The bow area seems common, but sometimes they are just playing in the bow wave off the side of the ship.

 

So no, there isn't a specific place.

[DisneyKidsDad]

I'm thinking the OP meant where in the world and not where on the ship. But I could be wrong. :rolleyes:

[happyiam]

Thanks CruiserBruce. This was what I wondered.

 

Never thought about where in the world..good question though DisneyKidsDad. I think I'll stick with our cruise to the Caribbean for now:)

 

Are the dolphins seen closer to land or further away? I am a dolphin lover and am hoping to be able to get some pictures of them in the wild..not in a zoo.

[cb at sea]

You'll seldom see dolphins cavorting in deep water....but,they are quite common along the shoreline (Va. Beach is a GREAT place to watch dolphins from the beach!!!)...

 

On the ship, the only sealife we've ever seen, is flying fish....they shoot out of the water alongside the ship....they look like small birds!

 

If some sort of sealife is visible, someone will say something...the word will travel, so keep your ears open!

[lilianani]

We were in the Caribbean in April - can't remember where we saw them (somewhere along the journey south from San Juan) we saw whales off in the distance splashing their tails, jumping out of the water and blowing from their blowholes. We saw some dolphin alongside the ship, a fellow passenger saw a mother and baby. We also saw flying fish.

[Hollywood Traveler]

You'll seldom see dolphins cavorting in deep water....but,they are quite common along the shoreline (Va. Beach is a GREAT place to watch dolphins from the beach!!!)...

 

On the ship, the only sealife we've ever seen, is flying fish....they shoot out of the water alongside the ship....they look like small birds!

 

If some sort of sealife is visible, someone will say something...the word will travel, so keep your ears open!

I agree. I've seen dolphins numerous times, even surfed with them, off shore and smaller boats. But I wouldn't get my heart set on getting pictures of them from a cruise ship. It might happen, but being in the right place at the right time would take a good amount of luck. Enjoy your cruise. It might happen.

[Hollywood Traveler]

You'll seldom see dolphins cavorting in deep water....but,they are quite common along the shoreline (Va. Beach is a GREAT place to watch dolphins from the beach!!!)...

 

On the ship, the only sealife we've ever seen, is flying fish....they shoot out of the water alongside the ship....they look like small birds!

 

If some sort of sealife is visible, someone will say something...the word will travel, so keep your ears open!

Sorry. Double post.

[happyiam]

Thanks all for your answers. Maybe I've just seen too many documentaries with the dolphins along side a ship (probably took them a month to get those.) Anyway I'm a glass half full type so I'll take what I get. The flying fish sound interesting...and whales! I'm just looking forward to this first cruise so much I'll probably take pictures of the seagulls even though I've seen too many of them all over. Thanks again.

[Mands&Ian]

But I wouldn't get my heart set on getting pictures of them from a cruise ship. It might happen, but being in the right place at the right time would take a good amount of luck. Enjoy your cruise. It might happen.

 

When it does happen it really is lovely. Spotted a pod of about half a dozen outside the porthole a couple of hundred miles short of the Azores. I was absurdly excited :)

 

[bbwex]

You can, of course, see dolphins and whales in the open sea, but it is hard to pick them out if they are any distance away. Imagine trying to pick out that porpoise in the picture just posted if it was 1,000 yards away. Possible, but you had better be staring at just the right spot at just the right moment. Good luck with that!

 

Porpoise/dolphins will play in the bow wave, so if there is one spot that is the most likely to see any that is it. Again, that puts them close and easy to spot which is another reason to look there. I have seen hammerhead sharks swimming along with the bow wave as well. You don't have to be right at the bow -- the bow wave carries back a short distance, and it is this wave as it starts to come away from the ship that they play (?) in.

[happyiam]

Thanks for adding the picture. They just seem so peaceful. I can see how much they blend into the water. I may get ring around the eyes from my binoculars! Seriously I'm not going to be obsessed about it. I do appreciate your comments about the bow area as the more likely area for seeing them.

[tmitchell82]

When we sailed on our Mexican Riviera cruise in Jan of this year, we had a number of times when we saw dolphins of the side of the ship. Got some great pictures.

 

[Colorado Kat]

In January, on the Dream, I saw dolphins in the wake at the front of the ship, as we were leaving Port Canaveral.

[njdevil08]

You're most likely to see them as you're entering/pulling out of port. As others have said, they like playing in the waves the ships create. We saw two or three as we were leaving Jamaica - they couldn't have been more than 20 feet off of the bow.

 

Good luck.

[Capt_BJ]

looking straight down

 

these are bow riders

 

[Lvs2Cruise2]

We saw a bunch of dolphins swimming alongside our cruise in the Mexican Riviera. It was the first time I saw them! Amazing! Have you ever taken a dolphin swim excursion?

[happyiam]

Love the pictures. Thanks. I'll be at the bow, with my head down and binoculars on during sailaway. The dolphin swim is on my wish list for an excursion, either in Nassau or St. Thomas.

[jocap]

Passing through the Straits of Gibraltar one spring, there were dolphins, porpoise and a whale all at once- people were running from one side of the ship to the other!

Jo.