Whales

We just got off the Golden Princess on Sept. 7th, this was our 9th cruise to Alaska and I’ve never seen so many whales from the ship as we did on this cruise. Just about every Port we went to we saw whales as we were leaving. One morning we saw dozens of Humpback whales off both sides of the ship heading South, what a show.

Congratulations. As you well know after 9 cruises to Alaska the sighting of whales from the ship tends to be a by chance opportunity, it sounds like you hit the Jackpot this time.:)

and speaking of whales I see that a new baby Orca has been spotted as part of L pod which is one of the 3 southern resident pods of Orcas.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/bigscience/2014/09/07/orca-baby-spotted-among-resident-puget-sound-killer-whales/#24619101=0&26269103=0

Lucky you. :)

On the Radiance about 10 days ago we were travelling between ports and were lucky enough to have around 2 doz Dolphins come within a few feet of the ship and followed us. I seem to remember it was a formal night so we eat in the windjammer, there were not many of us in there so all the staff were at the windows watching as well. They played for around 10 mins or so and then within seconds they were gone.

You were lucky.

We have sailed the first week of September and saw some whales as they were heading south. But as many as you described.

Wow how lucky!! I hope we can see some whales during our cruise .. especially since we don't have a whale watch excursion booked :p

We were on the Grand Princess the week before Labor Day and saw a whale breech right off our balcony. Also saw spouts and tails from the ship several times. This is our 5th Alaskan cruise and our first with this type of sightings. So wonderful!

I just got off the NCL Sun, having just spent time on 3 Alaska cruises. Humpbacks are in the consistant areas, IF you either know them or happen to be out looking at the time of transit.

I did not see humpbacks in the numbers I am used to on Icy Strait however, on any of the three trips done. (I am not talking about Hoonah, I am referencing the water way) My further inquires have verified, they seem to have moved away from this particular area.

I have many sightings of wildlife from the cruise ship, but I also did several wildlife tours- which is my priority for extended sightings and always, superior to any cruise ship viewing. :)

This year I spent 10 weeks in Alaska on 7 cruises and 3 weeks of mainland touring, so I had a good reference for where the better sighting areas were.

Also just off NCL Sun. Booked the ship's Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour for Juneau. Not long after boarding the ship in Auk Bay, we spotted a couple of humpbacks. Within a few minutes, the ship's crew informed us that we were leaving (what? we're seeing what we came to see)...they had gotten word of orcas in another location...and sure enough, a female, a baby, and a third (no one said but I assume it was a male)...we have some incredible video... :) 2 orcas (someone saw the white spot) was spotted yesterday on the way to Vancouver....that was nice, too!

What is the best time of he year to see whales in Alaska? I am assuming there is a time in early summer when they are seen migrating north, and times like this poster's cruise in early September when they migrate south? Does anyone know approximate times?

it feels (that means i'm taking a SWAG w/o any documentation) the feeding grounds have moved further east and southeast in Frederick Sound. The Marine Mammal Center here estimate half of the humpbacks in SE use Frederick Sound as a feeding ground.

30 yrs ago you had to go to the intersection of Stephen's Pass and Frederick to see whales when motoring out of PSG. 20 years ago we start hearing vocals and splashing (i'm 150' from saltwater at high tide, 600' at low). 15 years ago the city built a whale observatory and we all groaned at the waste of $. last thursday i was shoreline shoveling bunny poo for the humane assoc and donated half my volunteer hours to watching the 4 humpbacks about 600' offshore.

i had been hoping the closer to town sightings was an indication of increased feed, but i don't see it in my shrimp pulls

Just off the Jewel this past Saturday.

We did a whale watching excursion through ncl out of Juneau (?). We saw a lot of whales and even heard a group (3) trumpting! It was totally amazing!!! :D

What is the best time of he year to see whales in Alaska? I am assuming there is a time in early summer when they are seen migrating north, and times like this poster's cruise in early September when they migrate south? Does anyone know approximate times?

They most certainly are NOT migrating south in Sept, as you mention. Migrating humpback whales can be seen in May between the Queen Charlottes and Dixon Passage, south of Ketchikan. The first arrivals are in Alaska in April. But humpbacks can be seen the entire cruise season. The southern migration is way after the cruise season ends, in Nov.

MoMo07 - many humpbacks DO begin their migration in September.

The last several years, first humpback sightings in Maui have occurred in the first week of Oct.

From the Pacific Whale Foundation's website:

"Each year, humpback whales migrate from cool waters near Alaska to their warm-water breeding grounds in Hawaii. The first whale sightings of the year typically take place in late September or October."

http://www.pacificwhale.org/content/faqs

Glad to hear this has been an active year with good sightings from the ships. We found the same to be true of our Sept Radiance voyage a couple years ago.