Whale Watching

For those who have sailed Alaskan waters...what is the best time of year to see whales? This trip is on our "bucket" list and I so want to see whales!

You will see whales all Alaskan cruise season long, but not necesarrily from the ship. Mainly humpbacks, but there's a pod of orcas that live outside of Juneau too. The number you see will vary, but it doesn't have anything to do with time of year (the cruise season in AK is very late April to mid-September). You should take a specific excursion (probably in Juneau) for whale watching.

Females leave in the winter and head to Hawaii and other warmer locales for birthing....about March or April, they (and their new babies) will head back to the arctic areas. So, since most Alaskan cruises are in the warmer months, you should have the opportunity to see them....it's amazing! We saw them in Hawaii, along with their new babies, in early April!

Right now is a great time ... we saw them on our 5/21 cruise ... humpbacks, orcas, porpoises, seals ... incredible experience (this was our second trip to Alaska, and we'll be going again next year).

Whale-watching tours (either booked through the cruise line or independently) are expensive (well over $100/pp) but worth it. My recommendation is Harv & Marv ... here's the link ... http://www.harvandmarvs.com/. Have a terrific cruise!

Al

Thanks so much for the advice everyone! Can't wait to book now:D

For those who have sailed Alaskan waters...what is the best time of year to see whales? This trip is on our "bucket" list and I so want to see whales!

Just did a cruise last week. Did a whale watching tour in Juneau on the 13th and saw lots of whales! Was great

If you go on a whale watch in Juneau during cruising season, you will see Humpbacks guaranteed.

Last summer we only saw a few, but they stayed around a long while, and one even surfaced right next to the boat. I felt it was great, even though there were not many whales about that say.

We've done Alaska cruises in early, mid and late May, in August and in September.

We didn't see any whales during our cruise during the first week of May, except on the way back to Vancouver. We have seen lots of whales from mid-May and on. After that first week in May cruise, we have always booked for cruises that leave mid-May or later.

Alaska is awesome! Have a great cruise!

Thank you so much for the information. We are booked on the Diamond Princess next May. This helps this is a Bucket List item for us as well:)

ditto on Harv/Marv We were there first week June '08 and saw many. Can't wait to go back and do it all again. Enjoy.:)

We've done Alaska cruises in early, mid and late May, in August and in September.

We didn't see any whales during our cruise during the first week of May, except on the way back to Vancouver. We have seen lots of whales from mid-May and on. After that first week in May cruise, we have always booked for cruises that leave mid-May or later.

Alaska is awesome! Have a great cruise!

From the ship, or on a whale watch excursion?

A big yes to Harv & Marv!

a couple I took on 5/25/11 on our tour:

Check out Capt Larry at:

http://www.orcaenterprises.com

Pretty much anytime cruise ships are in Alaskan waters is a good time to be able to see whales.

If seeing whales is important, I would strongly suggest going for a whale watch in Juneau. It is not easy to see whales from a cruise ship -- they are hard to pick out at a distance, and the ship is not going to "chase" them at all. Not that it isn't possible, it just isn't nearly as likely.