Whales from the ship?

[CruisinKiddo]

Hello everyone! We'll be cruising to the Mexican Rivera late Feb./early March - during whale season. What has your experience been with seeing whales from the ship?

Thanks!

[Puffinater]

We have sailed in March and December and we did see whales from the ship. I would suggest binoculars the whales typically are not very close to the ship. Also we have only seen them in the area of Cabo.

[AlbertaCruisers]

We sailed the HAL Ryndam last April and we saw lots of whales from the ship. The problem is you have to be looking at the right place at the right time. On our first sea day down to Cabo, a pod of killer whales swam behind the ship, it was amazing. They were pretty close but you had to be at the back pool at that time to really have seen them. No announcements or anything.

 

There were also lots of dolphins swimming along with the ship, doing flips, etc. The captain announced a couple of times when we were coming up on schools of dolphins.

 

And other then that we would see some spouts and some tails etc. of other wails, but we also heard lots of other stories of people who saw whales. Again, right place at the right time.

 

I found all the wildlife to be one of the highlights of that cruise.

[Loganeski]

The best way to see whales is stillto book one of the whale-watchtours, either in Puerto vallarta or Cabo.

Great way to see many of those animals

[AlbertaCruisers]

The best way to see whales is stillto book one of the whale-watchtours, either in Puerto vallarta or Cabo.

Great way to see many of those animals

 

Good point, I believe we were outside of the prime whale watching season that is why we didn't book any whale watching tours.

[vtxriders]

We say several pods of whales on our last day at sea during our tripin September. They were in the Cabo area.

 

We also saw a LOT of dolphins on this itinerary.

[B+S]

Due to the maneuverability of the small tour boats they are by far the best way to see whales when in ports like Cabo - they follow the whales around and the whales really don't seem to mind.

 

However, to answer your question, I'll never forget sitting in the "art auction" last year on the Sapphire and looking out the window only to see a whale completely breach - right along side the cruise ship. The auctioneer saw my startled face and asked "Did you see something out there?" Not really wanting to ruin his show I would preferred to have not said anything but I answered honestly anyway and about half the atendees instantly jumped up and ran to the window to look and see - ruining his sales momentum. Fortunately the whale surfaced again for them, but what I had seen was the full body of the whale out of water... pretty fantastic!

[CruisinKiddo]

That's what I'm hoping for!! I plan on taking a whale watch tour in Cabo and maybe PV, but am hoping to be able to see some when I'm sitting on my balcony drinking my morning coffee. Ahh....sounds wonderful!

[arlodog]

We did see some whales from the ship, but you can't really see them like you can on a whale watching excursion. We used Pez Gato in Cabo and it was definately a highlight of the cruise! We did see a breach and I can't tell you how much fun it was to see one of these beautiful creatures out of the water! Can't wait to do it again.

[PamelaRic]

That's what I'm hoping for!! I plan on taking a whale watch tour in Cabo and maybe PV, but am hoping to be able to see some when I'm sitting on my balcony drinking my morning coffee. Ahh....sounds wonderful!

 

My experience has been that the sea is full of life just as the sun rises. The night before I order a caraffe of coffee and tighten down the lid. Seems to keep hot for the morning. I then get up just as dawn approaches, put on my snuggly robe, take my still hot caraffe of coffee and sit on my balcony. Ohh...be sure to take a camera out and some binocs. I hope you have a ball. Things I've seen are an ocean filled with dolphins, must have been a thousand or more, hammer-head shark swimming along side, dozens of sea turtles, whales, killer whales, and once I saw a sail fish jump completely out of the water five times before he disappeared and no one else saw him because no one else was up at that hour. It's my very favorite time during my cruises.

Pamela

Tucson

[quincytoo]

My experience has been that the sea is full of life just as the sun rises. The night before I order a caraffe of coffee and tighten down the lid. Seems to keep hot for the morning. I then get up just as dawn approaches, put on my snuggly robe, take my still hot caraffe of coffee and sit on my balcony. Ohh...be sure to take a camera out and some binocs. I hope you have a ball. Things I've seen are an ocean filled with dolphins, must have been a thousand or more, hammer-head shark swimming along side, dozens of sea turtles, whales, killer whales, and once I saw a sail fish jump completely out of the water five times before he disappeared and no one else saw him because no one else was up at that hour. It's my very favorite time during my cruises.

Pamela

Tucson

 

I was visualizing this and it brought a huge smile to my face....thank you for sharing the wonderful way you start each morning on a cruise, I am going to try that :)

[PamelaRic]

I was visualizing this and it brought a huge smile to my face....thank you for sharing the wonderful way you start each morning on a cruise, I am going to try that :)

 

Just be forewarned that not every single day brings unique critters. Sometimes it's just a wonderful way to commune with the morning sky. :) Ohh, almost forgot. If you happen to see fish flying out of the water, you are not hallucinating. Fish along the pacific coast do fly. lol They always make me giggle. Sometimes they skip off of wave tops like the rocks you used to skip on the water with your dad when you were a kid. Just be open and aware...it will be amazing how many things you see. Make sure you spend some time leaning on the railing and looking down in the water. That's how I saw the hammer head and the sail fish. Good luck and have fun.

Pamela

Tucson