Will I see whales from my cruise that stops at Iceland?

Will I be able to se whales from the cruise at my stop in Iceland? I'm not going to go on a whale watching boat so I want to know if I can see the whales from the cruise.

Will I be able to se whales from the cruise at my stop in Iceland? I'm not going to go on a whale watching boat so I want to know if I can see the whales from the cruise.

Very hard to answer. See them from the port where the ship stops? Depends on how near the open sea the dock is, but I would think the whale watching boats go out more to sea to see them, so not sure what the odds would be in port.

At sea nearing Iceland? Perhaps that would provide a better chance. But l would think even that would be hit or miss.

I don't think there is an Iceland port of call board on CC, so not sure where to re-direct you. Perhaps check with the website for your cruise line to see what more can be learned of your port of call.

Ok i'll try to look out for them as I'm coming into Iceland thanks for your help!

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Ok i'll try to look out for them as I'm coming into Iceland thanks for your help!

 

 

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I'm afraid I probably wasn't much help, but enjoy your cruise and hopefully you'll sight some whales!

It can't hurt to look, but we did not see any as we crossed a few years ago

Not likely to see whales from the cruise ship - If you want to see whales when in Iceland do a whale watching tour from either Husavik or Reykjavik.

Whale watching tours are operated from Reykjavik, Vestmannaeyjar islands of the south coast, Husavik Akureyri and Dalvik in the north and Olafsvik on Snaefellsnes peninsula by eleven different companies.

I think season and the route your ship take are factors, also perhaps size of ship. I was recently on a 800 passenger ship docking in Akureyri, several people said they saw whales along the fjord. I was in a whale watching boat with Ambassador, we saw whales and whales.

The thing I noticed between the whale watching boat and the ship is the whales are much closer to the smaller boat. Ambassador is totally worth the price, the naturalist said we saw about 8 different whales maybe 35 times, in a two hour period.

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You could check on the Ports of call forum to see if anyone has seen them

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

When we were at anchor at Maui in February we saw a couple of whales from our balcony. At dinner that evening a couple of our table mates were mourning their totally unsuccessful whale watching tour. My wife kcked me to shut up before I could mention what we saw.

The moral; like pretty much everything else in life -- it depends.

If it's the right season, I hope more people take whale-watching excursions in Iceland.

It might help to convince the Icelanders to support whale tourists instead of hunting whales! :loudcry:

If you are close to shore, and there are whales, you might see them. At sea, it's quite unlikely....it's very difficult to see anything but a passing ship while in the open ocean. Flying fish are the main observances....they do tend to come close to ship.....and maybe, seaweed!

What is the price range of a good whale watching tour? And what's the best season for whales i'm taking the Serenade of the seas in August.

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August is fine for whale watching - you can choose either Reykjavik or Akureyri - price will range from 100 to 200 USD (10000 to 20000 Icelandic Krona).

Reykjavík is located right next to a huge bay called Faxaflói. The water there is rather shallow, and the most common whales to spot during summer are minke whales. Other species to be seen are white beaked dolphins, humpback whales and harbor porpoises.

The whale watching tour from Akureyri are good for persons who tend to get seasick. The main species to be seen on this tour are humpback whales. The tour starts from the docks in Akureyri, which is located in the end of Iceland’s longest fjord, Eyjafjörður. This means it is sheltered from the strongest winds and highest waves.

There are several restaurants in Reykjavik that have whale on the menu, if that helps.

There are several restaurants in Reykjavik that have whale on the menu, if that helps.

Definitely not my favorite. Looks like a steak and tasting like fish.

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Definitely not my favorite. Looks like a steak and tasting like fish.

 

 

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Yep, but the sauce was nice.

We cruised to Iceland and Norway in mid-September a few years ago and quite a few whales from the ship. So you might see some.

We saw a couple of whales as we left Reykjavic, but they were a long way in the distance, and we could really see little more than the spout. If you are keen to see whales, I would really recommend a whale watching tour. We went on a whale watching trip at Isafjordur, and were lucky enough to see several whales very close to the boat. A fantastic experience!

I just got home from the Azores today. We spoke to a family that had done a whale and dolphin watching tour, they saw a lot of dolphins just outside the port of Ponta Delgada and later on several different whales. We did a whale and dolphin watching tour two days later and we sailed for 1.5hr before we saw any dolphins. We never saw any whales during our 4hr tour...

It's a bit random. I was there last week and took a cruise out of Reykjavik for about $100. All we saw were a few pods of porpoises. There were other boats in the area with similar results, so it wasn't that we had an inept captain. Sometimes you see 'em, sometimes you don't. DH and I were there 2 years ago and saw quite a few, but no dramatic breaches like they show in their brochures. More expensive trips take you out in high-speed boats that are totally open; they issue rain gear. I chose one with an indoor section.

Whether or not you'll see them from your cruise ship depends on whether or not it passes through areas where whales are sighted frequently, It's also a little bit of luck!

If it's the right season, I hope more people take whale-watching excursions in Iceland.

 

It might help to convince the Icelanders to support whale tourists instead of hunting whales! :loudcry:

There are already hundreds of whale watching tours every week in Iceland. And yes, they do eat whale in Iceland (and puffin and horse).