Whale sightings on panama cruise?

[TGSplano]

I don't cruise often but I'm on a cruise from Florida to Columbia and back up the coast to Florida. We splurged for a balcony and I was trying to locate maps of where whales might be on the trip. I've seen spinner dolphins on the last cruise which didnt go nearly as far south. We depart the end of October and return the first week of November. Any ideas where to find whale sighting information per month?

 

 

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[hel0013]

On our PC cruise we saw a pod of Orcas from our balcony when leaving port in Nicaragua. It was pretty cool seeing them breach.

 

This was in early December btw.

 

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Edited October 14, 2016 by hel0013

[hel0013]

ON EDIT: I see you're doing a partial transit and not going on the pacific side so my reply may of not helped you.

 

 

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[Krazy Kruizers]

On our full transit cruises (have done quite a few of them) we have seen whales only on the Pacific side.

On our partial Panama cruises -- several of them -- never saw any whales.

[Saab4444]

No whales in the Caribbean.

 

 

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[thinfool]

No whales in the Caribbean.

 

 

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Agree...whale sight sightings in the Caribbean are few and far between. There are whale watching excursions out of Dominica and Martinique, but that is a long way from Colombia and Panama.

 

OTOH, whales and Alaska are synonymous. :):D

Edited October 14, 2016 by thinfool

[Nebr.cruiser]

I have not seen whales in the Caribbean--I think it would be very unusual. We have seen whales, as others have said, on the Pacific side, especially near Acapulco and Cabo.

[idraconis]

On the way back to Miami three years on the Breeze, we saw two whales may be a quarter mile away on the starboard side. Must have been mother and calf. They were heading south, us north. Just doing their whale thing. A few times a big flipper would pop out of the water. Kinda cool.

[CruiserBruce]

On the way back to Miami three years on the Breeze, we saw two whales may be a quarter mile away on the starboard side. Must have been mother and calf. They were heading south, us north. Just doing their whale thing. A few times a big flipper would pop out of the water. Kinda cool.

 

That sounds like you were actually in the Atlantic...where there are whales.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I don't cruise often but I'm on a cruise from Florida to Columbia and back up the coast to Florida. We splurged for a balcony and I was trying to locate maps of where whales might be on the trip. I've seen spinner dolphins on the last cruise which didnt go nearly as far south. We depart the end of October and return the first week of November. Any ideas where to find whale sighting information per month?

 

 

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Next time: Pacific Ocean

[DRS/NC]

We went whale watching in St. Lucia in Dec. some years ago. Also, northern Atlantic humpbacks usually winter around the Dominican Republic.

 

Both may be outside your itinerary.

[chengkp75]

No whales in the Caribbean.

 

 

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Actually, there are about 25 species of whale in the Caribbean. This is their winter home. Humpbacks breed and calf off of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, just as humpbacks breed and calf off of Baja California.

 

They are rarer in the Western Caribbean, though they have been sighted off Turks and Caicos.

 

Whales feed in cold water (Alaska, New England) and breed and calf in warm water (Caribbean, Sea of Cortez).

[Capt_BJ]

The Gulf of Gonave Haiti .... just off of Port Au Prince

 

 

there's whales in the Carib'

 

I also know of a case where a USN PHM - hydrofoil patrol boat ... they used to have a squadron of these in Key West - hit a whale while 'up on foils' in the Bahamas ..... causing a most dramatic drop to the water for the hull ... and serious injuries to some of the crew.

 

The NAVY no longer operates these boats ..... the whales still swim around ....

[EGG]

If you want a balcony to look out at the sea go ahead. But you will probably not see any whales. You are more likely to see whales while out on deck because there are other people also scanning the ocean. FYI, we found the Panama cruise hot and humid in November. Too hot to sit outside. I might consider saving my money if your main reason for a balcony is to see whales.

 

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[TGSplano]

Thanks for all the responses.

 

We already booked a balcony so money is spent. I didn't even consider it might be too warm to enjoy. I've only been as far south as Jamaica on a ship and in September.

 

I'll try to respond when we return in November.

 

I was looking at the California to Hawaii cruises as a future option. It sounds like that might have a better chance to see them.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Depending on the time of year you will almost definitely see whales in Hawaii. We were anchored at Maui, end of February, and saw tons of whales from our balcony and on the decks.