wales4ever Posted February 21, 2020 #1 Share Posted February 21, 2020 We are on the NCL Sun on their October 3 cruise. Is this too late in the year for whale watching. May be a bit cold for use, but I don't think the whales will mind..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glaciers Posted February 21, 2020 #2 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Humpbacks will have started their migration south but there will still be whales to see. Some winter in Alaska so there are always some around. Sightings may not be as good June-August. If your ship has a naturalist they will know the areas for increased chances of seeing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guindalf Posted February 21, 2020 #3 Share Posted February 21, 2020 Iechyd Da It's always a matter of luck as to when you'll see whales. We sailed in May 11 years ago and again last August and saw them both times. However this last trip, we were lucky enough to see a momma and calf both breaching, a family of Orca and a pod of six or seven humpbacks bubble feeding. Hope you have good luck with the whales. We've sailed on the Sun twice previously and love it. (BTW. I'm not Welsh, I'm English but live in the US) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalspin Posted February 21, 2020 #4 Share Posted February 21, 2020 The humpback whales are more "energetic" in June than August, presume May would be good as well -- they are so happy to be back to food-rich northern waters from Hawaii where they give birth. The babies are fun, too! (August in Sitka was also fine, but less breaching, more just surfacing and spouting.) juneauwhalewatch.com says "Juneau, Alaska is renowned for seeing whales. And sometimes orcas (killer whales) as well. Although the best time to see the whales is during the months of May right through to the end of September." With warmer waters in general, you may get lucky the first week of October. Happy sailing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare martincath Posted February 22, 2020 #5 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I agree that numbers will be down some, as the southern migration will be underway, but since your Sun cruise starts in Vancouver and has a full day in Victoria I suggest you do a local whalewatch here before embarking. Whale guarantee applies April-Oct in Vancouver, and if you get unlucky and don't see any you could take your free trip for your Victoria port day to get rapid use out of your guarantee (just book a company that operates in both cities, like Prince of Whales). No harm in also going on another whale watch in Juneau or ISP - it'll still be Humpbacks that they're targeting, whereas the bread & butter 'whale' locally is the Orca. Of course as humpies and Grays will be on their way south, late Sep/Oct can be the best time locally to spot those as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcdd Posted February 22, 2020 #6 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Do you have to go on a whale watching excursion or can you sometimes see them from the cruise ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crystalspin Posted February 22, 2020 #7 Share Posted February 22, 2020 While marine mammals can be sighted from the ship, there is no guarantee (excursions in Juneau guarantee, and some other places it's a virtual guarantee). But most of all -- it is a monumentally different experience! When a 33 ton humpback surfaces or breaches near a boat or catamaran, it is amazing! I almost didn't book the Kenai whale watching after our first 7-day northbound AK cruise, solely because we had just spend a week on the water... but I did and it was the best excursion of that cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfilpus Posted February 22, 2020 #8 Share Posted February 22, 2020 17 minutes ago, kcdd said: Do you have to go on a whale watching excursion or can you sometimes see them from the cruise ship? You can see whales from the ship, but it is up to luck and patience. An excursion will take you closer to whales. The excursion boats are normally in communication with each other about where the whales are. We went to the wildlife viewing sessions with the ship's Nature Director and learned how to spot whales from the ship. We saw multiple pods of orcas and humpbacks in the Inside Passage. We also did the Kenai Fjords excursion and had orcas on one side and humpbacks on the other at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare martincath Posted February 23, 2020 #9 Share Posted February 23, 2020 21 hours ago, kcdd said: Do you have to go on a whale watching excursion or can you sometimes see them from the cruise ship? Agree with both above posts that yes, of course you can see whales - and sometimes you even get really lucky and a whale with surface really close to your cruise vessel. But the odds of you seeing anything well from umpteen feet above the ocean, let alone managing to get a photo of it from a moving ship, are slim - whereas small boat tours reliably get close to the whales, and always stop when they are near them giving you much better photo and viewing potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorchinsky Posted February 23, 2020 #10 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Is it better doing an early morning tour or afternoon tour to see the whales? I didn’t know if they are more active or around more during certain times of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare martincath Posted February 23, 2020 #11 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Doesn't matter - it's blind chance whether you get a good show or just 'backs & blows' at any given time of day. Technically whales don't even sleep - they just turn off half their brain at a time and chillax a bit while still moving around (pods of Orcas 'porpoising' through the water are often only half-awake) or lying a round for a short time ('logging' - humpbacks tend to take short rests at the surface throughout the day). If you want to maximise the chance of seeing something more exciting, an orca-focused watch down here (or precruise in May/early June when they're most common up at the AK end) means you're looking for inherently-more-active animals (Orcas are actually dolphins, not whales, so are fast and playful). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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