See whales from the ship?

We're sailing the last week in Sept - Baltimore, Portland, Bar Harbor, St John, Halifax & Boston.

What are the chances (if any) of seeing whales from the ship en route? If possible ... where?

(Hoping against hope ):D

A question before I answer, has the embarkation port changed from Boston to Baltimore?

Here is the itinerary:

• Day 1 Boston, Massachusetts, depart - 5:00 PM
  
• Day 2 Portland, Maine, arrive - 7:00 AM; depart - 6:00 PM
  
• Day 3 Bar Harbor, Maine, arrive - 7:00 AM; depart - 5:00 PM
  
• Day 4 Saint John, New Brunswick arrive, - 7:00 AM; depart - 5:30 PM
  
• Day 5 Cruising
  
• Day 6 Halifax, Nova Scotia, arrive - 9:00 AM; depart - 6:30 PM
  
• Day 7 Cruising
  
• Day 8 Boston, Massachusetts, arrive - 6:00 AM
  

If you look at the times of departure from each of the ports of call, the earliest start is at 5:00 PM. You'll have the briefest of times before nightfall; here in Connecticut, sunset is now 7:00 PMish. All your passages between ports of call will be after dark. Your 2 sea days will provide the greatest opportunities with the second being the best. A good pair of binoculars and good eyes would be very helpful. JMHO

SBtS

Sailing Itinerary

Date Port Arrive Depart Activity

22-Sep Baltimore, Maryland 4:00 PM

23-Sep Cruising Cruising

24-Sep Portland, Maine 10:00 AM 7:00 PM Docked

25-Sep Bar Harbor, Maine 7:00 AM 5:00 PM Tendered

26-Sep Saint John, New Brunswick 7:00 AM 3:00 PM Docked

27-Sep Halifax, Nova Scotia 9:30 AM 7:00 PM Docked

28-Sep Cruising Cruising

29-Sep Boston, Massachusetts 8:00 AM 4:00 PM Docked

30-Sep Cruising Cruising

01-Oct Baltimore, Maryland 7:00 AM

Summersigh, Fran is bringing binoculars.

It looks like I had a SM :o; but what I wrote is still valid. Any trips between ports of call are done at night. A good chance is still on any of the sea days. IIRC, on a question about whale watching from Bar Harbor, I found that the whales remain off the Maine coast into October before they head out in search of warmer waters. So I would think that the best chance for a sighting would be in the waters north of Boston.

Of course, a whale watching tour out of BH would provide the best opportunity for a sighting: http://www.barharborwhales.com/default.php

SBtS

When you return please let us know if you had any luck with whale sightings!

In August we sailed from Baltimore to Portland, Bar Harbour, St John's, Halifax, & Boston. We saw whales sailing between St John's and Halifax and also between Halifax and Boston. I think it's just luck of the draw, being on deck, on the correct side at the exact moment.

Enjoy the trip. I hope you see whales too!!