Whale Watching in St.Lucia

Was wondering if anyone had done a whale watching tour in St.Lucia and if so who do they reccomend? We are taking our 5 yr old daughter along and think she would get a kick out of seeing the whales and dolphins :)

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreicated! Thanks

(we are crusing on the Celebrity Constellation, does Celebrity offer any whale tours threw their excursions desk?)

We have each time the last 4 years and will be going again in March on our Emerald Princess cruise. We charter privately with Hackshaw Boats, but if your cruise line does not offer an excursion, you should email Hackshaws and see if you can share with someone else. They are a class outfit....when you email them, tell them that "marc from Canada" sent you and they will take care of you.

Here is a short video I put together on youtube of some of our whale viewings....

Unfortunately, we did NOT see any whales, on a whale watching excursion, at St. Lucia.

I viewed chyrsalis's video of their whale sightings; it was awesome.

We did not use Hackshaw's, but booked through another company. The ocean was extremely rough, the day we went. The only sea life we ever observed, was a school of dolphins. The excursion advertised that whale sightings, are not guaranteed. That is expected.

What is disturbing is: what a crew member advised, on our return trip to the pier.

He commented that whales are seldom observed, in recent years, due to the "navy" having used that area, for "bomb practice."

** I am thrilled to see CHYRSALIS video proof, that this is not true. That the whales still frequent the area.

On our next cruise to St. Lucia, I will definitely consider Hackshaws.

Sorry that you did not have a good day.

We have done Hackshaw's the past 4 years (March each time) and have them booked again for this coming March.

Our record has been sperm whales 50% of the trips (last year saw 5 of them), pilot whales 100% of the time (dozens and sometimes hundreds per trip) and dolphins 100% of the time (hundres of them and multi species).

Having said that, you just never know your luck.

Perhaps next time you will see more and have calmer seas. Spotting them is hard when it is rough.

Can someone tell me what time of year you are most likely to see whales in this area? Thanks!

Can someone tell me what time of year you are most likely to see whales in this area? Thanks!

The Sperm whales and Pilot Whales are year-round residents, so I don't think any months is any better than another.

We have each time the last 4 years and will be going again in March on our Emerald Princess cruise. We charter privately with Hackshaw Boats, but if your cruise line does not offer an excursion, you should email Hackshaws and see if you can share with someone else. They are a class outfit....when you email them, tell them that "marc from Canada" sent you and they will take care of you.

 

Here is a short video I put together on youtube of some of our whale viewings....

 

What does Hackshaw charge for a full charter? I've seen their website, along with 2 others, and the other 2 give tour prices, but not Hackshaw.

We're *considering* a cruise in the Fall, and I promised my wife if we're close we'll go see the whales, so I'm trying to gather info to see if it's worth making sure we stop in St. Lucia for a shot at this.

Also, how far from the pier in Castries is Hackshaws' slip? How long does the tour take?

Just call me Mr. Curious.

THANKS!!!

PB

What does Hackshaw charge for a full charter? I've seen their website, along with 2 others, and the other 2 give tour prices, but not Hackshaw.

 

We're *considering* a cruise in the Fall, and I promised my wife if we're close we'll go see the whales, so I'm trying to gather info to see if it's worth making sure we stop in St. Lucia for a shot at this.

 

Also, how far from the pier in Castries is Hackshaws' slip? How long does the tour take?

 

Just call me Mr. Curious.

 

THANKS!!!

 

PB

Hackshaw's offers a couple of different charters...we do a custom charter for the entire day which includes whalewatching, swimming/snorkelling, cruising the Pitons and lunching in Marigot Bay. That tour lasts about 7-7.5hours. He has shorter ones if that works better for you.

I would suggest that you email Chris Hackshaw (tell him that "Marc from Canada" sent you), and ask him to quote a couple of options for your day , and for different boats (we use the 63 footer). He can be reached at

sales @ hackshaws dot com

His boats are docked very close to the cruise ship docks but he picks you up right beside the ship at your appointed time. Very convenient and easy.

They run a class operation, and I would not be going with them for 5 years in a row if that was not the case.

Thanks Marc!