Jump to content

Ruby Princess Victoria cruise line whale watching


Recommended Posts

Can anyone give me any info on this excursion?  I tried the search feature but didn't have any luck.  We dock at 7:00 and I've looked at several independent groups, like Eagle Wing, but the late docking time won't work for anything I've seen.  Thanks in advance for any help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unless someone takes it this season, it's impossible to say who the vendor will be (cruiselines have used more than one) but it should list how long the trip is at least (often it's a cut-down 2 hour tour with the cruiselines, at a higher price than the 3 hour indy tours of course!) Key thing to be aware of - even if you are in Victoria in June when sunset is after 9pm, any whalewatch running much after 6pm will be compromised due to lack of good light. Orca are the bread & butter target species but their most obvious characteristic - a six foot plus black fin - becomes very hard to see against dark water under dark skies!!! Other whales are even harder to see well in poor light - with humpbacks, grays it's usually just 'backs & blows' which are harder to see than orca dorsals. There's a very simple reason that none of the companies run their own tours that late - in layman's terms, they suck 😉

 

Your best-case scenario for one of these 'sunset trips' is that there are whales close enough to see in the first hour so you get some good sightings. That's possible but unlikely - Orca are fast and roam far and wide, even the full 3 hour tours cannot always reach them in time (local captains always know where they are, they all communicate, so they know before even pulling away from the dock if this will be a ' no whales' trip and focus on the coastal scenery, seals, that sort of thing instead of just sailing around in open water with nothing to see). These special cruise-chartered trips have no whale sighting guarantee - the independent ones all offer a 'keep getting free trips for life until you do see a whale' guarantee, as unlike Juneau we never hit 100% success (though across the whole season, it's usually >90% success with all the indy companies).

 

Edited by martincath
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your reply.  We always go whale watching in Juneau and have always had good luck.  We've been to Butchart Gardens a couple of times and wanted to do something else.  We will be there the middle of July so we may give it a shot.  Even if we don't see orcas, seeing other wildlife and being on the water at sunset will make it worth it.  Thanks again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...