Whales!

[nikkiw60]

This is maybe random but we are booked on the 19th January and the Dominican Republic is on the itinerary. January to March is the whale breeding season in that area. Has any one been at that time and will we see whales from the ship or would we have to find a whale watching trip from the island?

 

 

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[kealalani]

Since seeing your post, I did a little research. It seems that you would have to go on a boat to see anything, but I am hoping that maybe we will see something on the way! We also leave on the same day/cruise. I found the snippet below and hope we do see something!

"Dominican Republic - humpback whale The Silver Bank is located 100 km north of the Dominican Republic and approximately the same distance from the Turks and Caicos Islands and is one of numerous breeding and calving zones of humpback whales. Research indicates that the Silver Bank contains the largest population of humpbacks in the North Atlantic Ocean, if not the world. Conservative estimates believe three to five thousand humpbacks pass through this odd shaped twenty square miles encompassing the Silver Bank during a season.

 

From December to the middle of April waters of the Dominican Republic are alive with migrating North Atlantic Humpback Whales enroute to breeding and calving zones throughout the area. These breeding and calving grounds include the waters of the Dominican Republic (primarily Silver Bank, Navidad bank and Samana Bay), Mona Passage (Puerto Rico), Virgin Bank and Anguilla Bank.

 

The humpbacks gather during late winter and early spring to mate and breed. Male humpbacks serenade females with the longest and most complex songs in the animal kingdom. And you'll probably be encountering a lively party of other whales and dolphins.

 

humpback whale This is a monumental achievement for the sanctuary commission, placing an even larger burden of responsibility in the educational and regulatory aspects of their duties. With distinctive definitions of each areas activities such as breeding and calving, juvenile gathering, whale traveling routes, human interaction, tourism, local boat traffic, water sports equipment, scuba diving, fishing and transient ship traffic, the management of this newly enlarged sanctuary will be required to distinguish guidelines and regulations specifically designed for each distinctive area. With the knowledge gained since the inception of the Silver Bank Sanctuary in 1986, and the assistance of national and international advisors, the sanctuary commission will have the opportunity of designing guidelines and regulations that will be at the forefront of future sanctuaries worldwide.

 

What you might see there: Sperm whales, pygmy sperm whales, pilots, false killers, and a variety of dolphin species including bottlenose, Risso's, Fraser's, spotted, and spinner. When to go: January to April for humpbacks"

[nikkiw60]

Brilliant ! Thank you, I think we need to pack binoculars for this trip, I am pleased we have a balcony so as to not miss anything !

 

 

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[kealalani]

nikkiw60 I looked on line and there seems to be a very reputable agency that has boat tours at a very reasonable price. I am going to email them. We are there on a Sunday. I would think that with such a short season they go out every day that cruise ships are there. There are 5 (yes 5!) other ships in port when we are there so I may see about reserving seats now. It seems to be pretty straight forward on their website. Maybe we will see you out whale watching too!

[nikkiw60]

I will have a look at this over the weekend . We are just off on a camping trip and where we are in Yorkshire it has not stopped raining all day, so hoping we have some wifi. Thanks also for the heads up of there being 5 other ships in port . I wanted to go whale watching in Monterrey last year when we were there but I did not have the correct shoes!

 

 

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[kealalani]

I'm glad that you started the post about whales; I never would have known!

[nikkiw60]

We only found out by chance! We were flicking randomly through TV channels it something came up about the Dominican Republic and the whales breeding there from January to April and thought perfect!

 

 

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[mafig]

Just be a little careful. I can't recall exactly, but this seems to ring a bell with me. I was on a cruise several years back and there was a lot of bad reviews of these excursions. Mostly, if I remember, it was the condition of the boats (little more than a rowboat), rough seas, and no whale sighting, but, of course, paying even though you hadn't seen anything.

[kealalani]

All the current reviews (last year) are good for the company I am looking at. (Not sure if we are allowed to post the website here.)

 

I did notice that the people who went later in the season did not see any whales. (March/April-ish) Yet they still gave them good ratings saying it was still fun, educational, and worth it to them.

 

Also, they give you a "next time is free" if you do not see whales. I have to find out if that expires since we are only docket for the day!

[kealalani]

Nikki, I was wrong! When we are in the Dominican Republic, we are the only ship. However, it docks at 10 and the tours go out AT TEN! I'm still going to email them and see what they say.

 

:( :( :(

[nikkiw60]

I am sure I have seen something about some two hour ones. I will look. Btw if ever any one sees camping bbq pods on camp sites don't do it! Stick to tents or normal wig wam style pods! Bad back alert all round!

 

 

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[nikkiw60]

https://www.toursamanawithterry.com/EXCURSION__4_WHALES.php this is the one I think. I clink on the link on the website for cruise ship arrivals. Not checked reviews yet.

 

 

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[nikkiw60]

I have just posted on the ports of call page to see if anyone has done this one.

 

 

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[lucy12]

We were on RC 3 years ago at the end of January, first of Feb- they tendered at Samana and we took a ship excursion to see the whales-There were a lot of whales, babies and parents- we saw a few from the ship,but many more when we took the excursion- the boat was safe, but the waves were high- there were several boats out and they radioed each other with locations, also made sure there were not too many boats near the whales at one time- definitely enjoyed the excursion