Is whale watching a gimmick?

If you looooove whales, like you collected Lisa Frank whale folders in middle school kind of love, read on at your own peril.

I've watched dozens and dozens of nature documentaries, the Blue Planet series, etc. I've seen a lot of whales in HD in my living room. It's not that I'm not interested in whales. They are pretty neat. But are whale watching excursions all they're cracked up to be?

For every story of, "The whale watching excursion was amazing! Orcas came right up to the boat!" surely there have to be five stories of, "We saw a whole lot of nothing," or "That speck you see in the distance of this picture is a whale--I think." I'd hate to spend $150 per person and 4 hours of a port day just to see the tiniest glimpse of whales through my binoculars for five minutes.

It just seems like a gamble. I mean, it's not like they lure the whales to the boat with fish treats, right? Am I being totally pessimistic?

You will likely see whales surface for breathing and maybe see a whale tale or two as they dive. Some people think that's worth the money for a tour.

There's a 14% chance you'll see whales breeching. Now that's spectacular.

No, they don't use lure the whales to the boat. It's all natural.

We have been to Alaska twice. On our first Alaska cruise, we went for a whale watching tour in Juneau and saw some amazing bubblenet-feeding and breeching. It was all close enough to our small excursion boat to really enjoy it.

The second time we were in Juneau, a few years later, the whales were less active and so far away we felt like we had wasted our time. However, on that same cruise, at our port stop in Icy Strait, we took a whale watch/bear watch combo tour more than made up for it. There were whales all around our excursion boat!

My wife wasn't interested in seeing whales until she had her first experience. Now she's looking forward to doing it again next year.

Perhaps I should pack a bucket of fish in my carry-on.

But have MANY times in Hawaii. The tour providers know the area, know the whale behaviors, and communicate between Captains. They know where the whales are. Most in Hawaii give you a free trip if they don't see whales, and it probably far less than 14% that could ever think of claiming the free trip.

So, no, it is isn't a gimmick. They don't need to use bait, they know where the whales are. I have no idea where The Other Tom comes up with 14% chance of seeing whales. We have seen many dozens of whales on our trips. There have been several trips where the Captain has correctly pointed out we have met the viewing promise within minutes of pulling away from the dock.

Maybe whales aren't for you. That is OK, no one says you have to like whales. But there is lots of people who do.

Last time in Icy Straight Point we had a mother and calf bubble feeding alongside the ship all day (early June). The whale watching excursion that day saw a couple of them.

In spite of what people tell you the tours don't know where the whales are at any given time. There is a pretty good chance that you will see whales and if you are anywhere close your boat will try to get within about 500 yards of them.

When they do get close this is what you can end up with:

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Again, can't speak for Alaska, but yes, at least in Hawaii, within a short time of starting a tour, the Captain will have some intel on locations. And Federal law allows getting to 100 yards. If the whales come to you, and are closer, that is fine. But no boat can deliberately go within 100 yards. We have been within 100 feet. I can tell you from experience, after sitting with our engine off for 45 minutes, with 3 males playing all around us, that they have very bad breath!!!

We leave tomorrow morning for Kona and Lahaina for more whale watching.

I have no idea where The Other Tom comes up with 14% chance of seeing whales. .

He said 14% "breaching" (jumping out of the water) - not "seeing" whales.

For every story of, "The whale watching excursion was amazing! Orcas came right up to the boat!" surely there have to be five stories of, "We saw a whole lot of nothing," or "That speck you see in the distance of this picture is a whale--I think." I'd hate to spend $150 per person and 4 hours of a port day just to see the tiniest glimpse of whales through my binoculars for five minutes.

 

It just seems like a gamble. I mean, it's not like they lure the whales to the boat with fish treats, right? Am I being totally pessimistic?

For my Juneau trip. I think we encounted a dozen or so whales. Because of their size, they did not "perform" with huge leaps in front of us. Most of those encounters were just looking at the backs.

I guess it also depends on where the spectators are from. For those that have seen whales elsewhere, they would react very differently than those see them for the first time.

Yes there appears to be a code where boats must maintain a certain distance to the whales. Having a zoom lens is handy. There was a few situation where whales would come up close to the boats to check us out, but the operator is not to drive into them.

I also went on a trip when I returned to Vancouver. There we saw smaller and faster Orca's. Orca's do jump out of the water more frequently, however because they move so fast..... it was much harder for pictures. It felt like shooting whack-a-mole when they appeared.

>SNIP<

 

For every story of, "The whale watching excursion was amazing! Orcas came right up to the boat!" surely there have to be five stories of, "We saw a whole lot of nothing," or "That speck you see in the distance of this picture is a whale--I think." I'd hate to spend $150 per person and 4 hours of a port day just to see the tiniest glimpse of whales through my binoculars for five minutes.

 

It just seems like a gamble. I mean, it's not like they lure the whales to the boat with fish treats, right? Am I being totally pessimistic?

There are usually several whale watching boats in an area, and they share information. Some humpbacks find an area they like and stay there, which means that the search area is smaller. When one boat sees that humpback, they let the other boats know.

I have never heard of an Alaska whale watch not finding whales, but many operators offer a partial refund if they fail to find a whale.

I personally could spend all day every day for weeks on whale watching.

There are usually several whale watching boats in an area, and they share information. Some humpbacks find an area they like and stay there, which means that the search area is smaller. When one boat sees that humpback, they let the other boats know.

 

I have never heard of an Alaska whale watch not finding whales, but many operators offer a partial refund if they fail to find a whale.

 

I personally could spend all day every day for weeks on whale watching.

This reminds me of my first trip to Yellowstone. We were all excited to search out bears and we spent a good deal of time and eye straining trying to peek through the trees as we drove through Yellowstone, just hoping for a glimpse of a bear. "Is that one?" "Over there...I think!"

Then we discovered the secret...Bear Jams! Turns out that you don't need to be all that lucky in Yellowstone to spot a bear, just look for the cars parked on the side of the road!

Whale watching is sort of the same thing. The tour operators don't just randomly roll around the water looking for random whales, they talk to other boats out there and pretty much everyone at the time is looking at the same bunch of whales. Success rates of getting close to these amazing creatures is very high due to many factors, the most important being the communication between tour operators.

OP, I have never heard of anyone 'baiting' a humpback whale (I can't imagine how much fish that would take), but Orcas in Alaska have been known to hang out near boats looking to poach fish as the fishermen reel them in (I still contend that Orcas are evil geniuses).

Yes, whale excursions are expensive (most excursions in Alaska are), but for me, I am nowhere near where I can see whales (not many whales visit Dallas), so its worth it! Given the opportunity, I could spend days watching those incredible creatures.

Good luck with your decision!

Bruce is correct. The captains of the excursion boats know about where the whales are supposed to be, so with radar, sonar and whatever else they use, it isn't hard to find exactly where they are. What is hard to do is predict how they will behave once you are there. I think it's almost a guarantee you will see whales, just what they are doing is up to the whales. Some one can go out and have wonderful pixs of a whale breeching, while the next boat can have a pix of the tail. How can one predict what the whales are going to do. As I said, you will see whales, that is a given, how much of the whale you do see, is unpredictable.

When we went on a whale watch in Juneau, we also got some very nice pixs of the whales diving and those 'famous' pixs of the whale's tail going into the water. The next day a whale was swimming about 30 feet from our ship while we were cruising and we got better pixs then, than from the whale watch, but, again, who knows.

If you want to see whales, do a whale watch in Juneau . You will see whales and not from 500 feet away, but don't expect them to jump up and do tricks for you like at an aquarium. That's up to the whale.

Cheers

Len

You are being pessimistic. The smaller the boat the better. The whales can get close to you but the boats can't get too close to the whale. How's that for twisted logic. We once had a humpback surface so close to the boat we could smell the fish on it's breath. Gasteneau Guiding has equipment on their boats so they can tell where the bubble feeding is.

I work as a naturalist for a whale watch company and I can tell you... every trip is different and everyone's reactions differ. I've had days where the whales were feeding and taking long dives, and other days where whales have come so close their fins probably touched the hull of the boat. Some days the passengers are completely enthralled and "oooh" and "ahhh" when a whale surfaces even if they're 200+ yards away and other days where the whales are breaching endlessly and passengers go back into the cabin to eat their lunches!

... Then there was this one girl who spent the entire trip trying to take the "perfect selfie" of her with whales behind her. I don't think I ever saw her even turn around to actually look at them.

Granted, I speak as a person with a lifelong passion for whales so for me, every encounter is precious. Even if the whales are being evasive or taking long dives, just seeing them with your own eyes is completely different than watching them on TV. It's not edited or dramatized, it's real, and no movie can replace that experience. When you can hear their breaths echoing through a thick fog, or see scars imbedded into their skin, there's nothing else like it.

As others mentioned, all the whale watch boats are in communication with each other. Often the first sailings will branch out into different areas and report over radios where they find whales. Fishing boats, ferries and even float planes will also report sightings, it's a very good system based on teamwork.

Even if the whales are being evasive or taking long dives, just seeing them with your own eyes is completely different than watching them on TV. It's not edited or dramatized, it's real, and no movie can replace that experience. When you can hear their breaths echoing through a thick fog, or see scars imbedded into their skin, there's nothing else like it.

Stated beautifully! This is exactly why my wife and I are making plans to return to Alaska next summer! Nothing compares to a real-life experience!

Another vote for 'No gimmick but every trip is different'. Our worst whale watching trips have been in Alaska and they were still worth every penny - saw plenty of humpbacks every time, just no bubble-netting or breaches.

But then we've been utterly spoiled by literally every other trip we've taken: surrounded by a superpod of c.100 Orcas out of Victoria; same again with hundreds of pilot whales in dense fog off Nova Scotia; watched a mother humpback teach her baby how to signal with flipper & tail slaps for over an hour right next to our 'not allowed to run the props until the whales go over 100 yards away' boat off Boston; and the best experience of all being lifted out of the water by a fin whale over twice the size of our boat on our first ever trip on the Bay of Fundy.

Turns out my Tilley hat must be lucky - it's the only item which links all the unusual experiences, and even brings seals and otters out to play when I walk the Seawall here in Vancouver...

We've been to Alaska three times. The first time we didn't go whale watching, the next two we did. We're starting to look at a trip again this summer, and if we end up going, the first call I'll be making is to our whale watching tour guide from the last two trips.

Our first trip we sailed out in Auke Bay. The guide turned off the motors, told us that they had to stay a certain distance away from the whales for safety sake (I forget the exact yardage), but that if they were stationary sometimes whales swam closer to the boat. Just as he finished his speech, one breached literally 50 feet from the boat. Unfortunately none of us had our cameras out, so it's one of those memories that is only in my mind and not in picture format. We saw several more whales that day.

The next trip we upgraded our camera equipment for the whales we hoped to see, and we weren't disappointed. We didn't get one as close to us as the first trip, but we saw so many that we weren't disappointed.

One of my favorite sightings that trip was a Mom and baby. We were lucky enough to have them dive in unison -- and had a couple more sightings with two tails, as well as some bubble feeding but my shots didn't turn out too well.

I'll leave you with one photo and the comment that we also prefer the smaller boats. We used Harv and Marv both times and were more than satisfied with our tours.

Our first whale watching trip was off Cape Cod. DH did not want to go, but I talked him into it. He was amazed at how much he enjoyed it. There are other opportunities to see whales without going on a whale watching excursion. For instance, on our first cruise to Alaska we took the ferry from Skagway to Haines. A whale surfaced right beside the boat. The captain had to shut the engines for a few minutes until the whale decided to move on. You can also spot whales from the cruise ship--albeit usually at a large distance. The closest ones I saw were orcas the evening before our ship arrived in Vancouver.

Another vote for a whale watch tour. I hoped for a breaching, of course, or for one to come very near to the boat, neither of which happened, but despite this and some filthy weather it was still a superb experience. All the best, Tony

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Nice! Thanks for posting this video. Brings it all back!

I can only speak from personal experience. Our trip in Juneau exceeded my very high expectations. I posted photos that can be found at post #s 54, 55 and 56 of this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1903541

By way of comparison, I posted some shots of a whale we saw from the ship at post # 104. I would do the Whale Watch trip again in a heartbeat.

I read in one forum to book a later in the day tour as they know by then where the whales are and less time spent searching for them. Makes sense if they are still there!

I was on a tour out of San Francisco a few years ago and it was something to see the whales there. My husband still talks about it. If you are on the fence in booking a tour, book independently and you will probably get a better price. If no whales are seen, some refund a % of your fee but if you see one even in the distance, that perk is off the board!

I just booked an orca tour independently through Eagle Wing tours in Victoria and it was $90 with a discount they gave me so I'm ok if we do not see any as the tour also gets you in on the other wildlife.

I get the feeling you may be super critical on what you see or don't see so maybe spend you $$ on a land tour or flight over some glaciers. Those are always pretty cool!

I hope this question isn't too dumb......

We're going in June and have signed up for a whale watch. Clearly it's going to be wet. We have waterproof jackets, boots and gloves. Should we just wear jeans? Thanks!

I hope this question isn't too dumb......

 

We're going in June and have signed up for a whale watch. Clearly it's going to be wet. We have waterproof jackets, boots and gloves. Should we just wear jeans? Thanks!

That totally depends on what kind of boat you've booked. If you're in an open zodiac, you'll likely be provided with waterproof gear to wear. If you're in a semi-enclosed vessel you should dress in layers (it's very chilly on the water), but you likely won't get wet.