one whale trip enough??

[BarbaraM]

I'd love to see whales on my upcoming Late July Alaska cruise, but also would like to see other sights -- such as bears. Will I get decent whale sightings on a Seward 6 hour boat tour, or should I consider booking another whale excursion at another port.

[jer_l]

I'd love to see whales on my upcoming Late July Alaska cruise, but also would like to see other sights -- such as bears. Will I get decent whale sightings on a Seward 6 hour boat tour, or should I consider booking another whale excursion at another port.

You won't know until you've done it. You could have many sightings or none at all on any whale trip in any port. Last summer we saw two humpbacks on our Juneau Whale Watch, two HUGE gray whale in Sitka on a marine wildlife tour and both Orcas and humpbacks on a Kenai Fiord's cruise.

[Wanderbug]

I saw brown bears on the shore when I went whale watching in Icy Straits. It's not guaranteed, but it is very common. We also saw sea lions and porpoises.

[Budget Queen]

Out of Seward has your "lowest" chance for whales. Its a route trip. If whales are in the area you will see some, if not, you won't. My averages on over 12+++ trips of Kenai Fjords is only about 50%. These sightings are also brief compared to the whale watch tours out of Juneau or Hoonah. Sitka, also has better sightings, but also a varied wildlife trip.

 

You have the option, to park yourself out on a front deck and look as well. Especially if your ship has a naturalist- it would be VERY helpful to you for areas. Necessary is a good pair of wide angle binoculars.

 

If whales are indeed your priority, then, my opinion would be to do a whale watch from Juneau which has sightings of 100% humpbacks. It takes, many, many, multiple trips to get a look at a range of behaviors. Expect nothing more than, blows, backs and tails.