Whales in Juneau

[vwgolf]

We're cruising to Alaska from Seattle in early August and I was wondering about spotting whales in Juneau. Would people recommend going on a whale watching excursion (either through Carnival or independently) or are whales/orcas often visible from the ship itself, assuming they are around? On a European cruise we once booked a dolphin watching excursion and saw very few but then saw literally hundreds swimming alongside the ship when we left port!

 

Cheers!

[masterdrago]

We had been hoping to view some wildlife from our ship. Unfortunately, the only wildlife I got to view was dock life. We had a balcony on the starboard side but in every port, the ship was docked with our balcony facing the dock. I don't know if that is unique to RCI or other cruise lines. We did get a short view of a pod of Dall Porpoise playing just off the helipad during our Inside Passage entry. I would recommend looking at the reviews here and on TripAdvisor at the different vendors for Juneau whale watch tours. We had a bit of nice luck with Harv & Marv's. I believe I saw what looked like an Orca nearly making breakfast out of a Sea Lion. Scroll down a bit in my post #93 to see the sequence of images of this attempt. It's on page 4 of my trip report. It's hit or miss with wildlife viewing. When we went on an Orca watch out of Seward, it was mostly cloudy, a bit stormy, and rain off and on. We saw a few Orca but the tours the day b4 (great sunny weather) had much, much better sightings. All of the independent tour operators have a commitment to get you back b4 departure time. Although if you book thru Carnival, I suspect the ship would wait if something delayed their return.

 

[vwgolf]

Thanks - and a very good trip report! We have an excursion booked for Skagway where hopefully we will spot some bears and I'm currently undecided whether or not to commit to another excursion at Juneau. I'm sure they city has plenty to offer if we decide to walk around.

[karatemom2]

We almost always will see whales from the ship - particularly good opportunities are coming in and out of Juneau, and in and out of Glacier Bay. But keep in mind, it is very different seeing whales from a large cruise ship from a considerable distance than from a smaller vessel that is specifically designed for whale watching. You will get a much better experience on a whale watching tour - they will stop and position the boat so you can actually watch the whales where sightings from the cruise ship are very random and of course the ship does not stop so you can watch - you will get some glimpses as you pass by, but that's it. Now, that being said, if you want to see whales from the ship just be sure you are out with binoculars and looking and watch for spouts. We have also seen orcas, otters, dolphins and puffins from the ship - so wildlife viewing is an opportunity but you just have to be eagle eyed and ready with those binoculars!

 

Juneau is a charming city but don't limit yourself to just walking around town - take a taxi to Mendenhall or the tram up to the top of Mount Roberts if you want to get a glimpse of the beauty of the area. Both of those options are really easy to do on your own.

[josher_m]

We went on the whale watch/salmon bake and did see some whales in Juneau just last week.  We also saw whales from our balcony arriving into Juneau.  But, the best part was while we were leaving we saw a pod of orcas!!

We also saw a ton of Eagles on this tour as well, mostly from the parking lot waiting on the bus to take us back.

Edited July 8, 2019 by josher_m

[joepeka]

10 hours ago, vwgolf said:

We're cruising to Alaska from Seattle in early August and I was wondering about spotting whales in Juneau. Would people recommend going on a whale watching excursion (either through Carnival or independently) or are whales/orcas often visible from the ship itself, assuming they are around? On a European cruise we once booked a dolphin watching excursion and saw very few but then saw literally hundreds swimming alongside the ship when we left port!

 

Cheers!

We will be on Carnival Legend in a few weeks and have booked the Discover Alaska's Whales excursion in Juneau. Never done it before but the reviews are positive and they offer a $100 refund if whales are not seen. Everything I've read about Alaska indicates that Juneau is the best port for whale sighting excursions so we're looking forward to it.

[geoherb]

I saw plenty of distant whales (humpbacks and minkes) on my back-to-back cruises on the Island Princess from June 19-July 3. We also saw a close pod of orcas, Dall porpoises, coastal brown bears, eagles, harbor seals, and sea otters. My best wildlife sightings were on a glacier cruise in Whittier. We saw more humpbacks and even fin whales (which are the second largest whale species; only blue whales are larger).

[Herfnerd]

Captured this photo from our balcony at full zoom - 720mm equivalent.  We didn't see anything closer from the ship.

[RNRcruisers]

We have been on two Alaskan cruises and both times did a small boat whale watching excursion in Juneau. Both times we saw lots of whales and it was a great excursion. There is no guarantee but they really do their best to take you where you will see some.

[skrufy]

The ship is hit and miss. You have to be in the right spot at the right time to see them. And then they are quite a distance away and the ship does not stop. You should have a pair of binoculars and a keen eye to search the ocean. We were lucky and saw a group of Orcas outside our OV window moving parallel with the ship. My wife’s 200mm lens caught some great pictures. The best way to see whales is by excursion. 

[vwgolf]

OK so I'm sold on an excursion! Next thing to decide is whether to book Carnival's own excursion or to book independently. And if the latter, should I book in advance or wait until I'm there? I've always booked the ship's own excursions but these are pricier and there seems to be a good choice of independents. Is it safe to wait until we arrive in Juneau?

[Glaciers]

1 hour ago, vwgolf said:

OK so I'm sold on an excursion! Next thing to decide is whether to book Carnival's own excursion or to book independently. And if the latter, should I book in advance or wait until I'm there? I've always booked the ship's own excursions but these are pricier and there seems to be a good choice of independents. Is it safe to wait until we arrive in Juneau?

There are usually whale watch tours being sold in kiosks as you depart the ship, depending on which dock you’ll be at.  The problem is that you won’t know who the tour is with and the most popular ones may be sold out and you may not get the time you want.  Since you know you want to do this, why wait?  You’ll have more options by booking early. Many of the more popular tours are on smaller boats.

 

The cruise lines have been using Allen Marine and their 100+ passenger boats as well as Gastineau Guiding with about 12 passengers. There are many independents that get excellent reviews.

 

[Herfnerd]

We found Juneau Whale Watch to have the best prices for whale watching excursions and they have discount codes if you pre-book online.  Ships are modern and clean,  not  crowded (maybe 2 dozen people on our boat) and the on board naturalist was very informative.