Samana whalewatching excursion

[beaver01]

Has anyone taken a whalewatching excursion in Samana not booked through the cruise ship? My husband and I will be in Samana Feb 28 2010 on Norwegian Dawn and want to do the whalewatching excursion. Tried Kim Beddall without success.

[dmndlil]

Try contacting toursamanawithTerry@hotmail.com. He comes highly recommended as a tour guide on this board. I'm not sure if he does whale watching tours though. Email him and check. He got right bak to me within 24 hours regarding the ATV i asked about.

[Venus4NU]

I have a whale watching tour scheduled with Terry for next week. HOpe the whales show up!

[Maniacminn]

I have a whale watching tour scheduled with Terry for next week. HOpe the whales show up!

 

 

"It was too early to see whales (except for a few in the bay as our ship approached)"

Someone posted this in another thread. I don't think you'll have to worry. I leave in a week and I can't wait!! We are not taking the whale watching excursion but we do have a balcony!!

[kato92]

Has anyone taken a whalewatching excursion in Samana not booked through the cruise ship? My husband and I will be in Samana Feb 28 2010 on Norwegian Dawn and want to do the whalewatching excursion. Tried Kim Beddall without success.

 

We are on same cruise. Did you ontact Terry about a whale watching tour? If so, what results?

[beaver01]

I contacted Terry and he still does not have the 10 people minimum required for the whalewatching excursion.

[kato92]

I contacted Terry and he still does not have the 10 people minimum required for the whalewatching excursion.

 

Do you have any information on the whale watching tour? How long? What size boat? Does it make any other stops? Cost?

We are on same cruise and might be interested.

[beaver01]

Group size for the boat is 20 but Terry informed me that he will arrange the excursion with a minimum of 9 people.

 

The following is information Terry provided to me:

 

Each winter the humpback whales make the journey from the North Atlantic to the Samana Bay to give birth to their calves. One of my associates will be taking a group of up to 20 people in a boat out to the bay to see these mighty beasts. Enjoy the spectacular views of the mountains that surround the Samana Bay. Pass by the famous crystal blue waters of Cayo Levantado island (sometimes called Bacardi Island). Once you see whales you will have about 20 min before the law requires us to head back to shore. We do recommend sun screen, sun glasses and a hat as you will be in the sun most of the time.

You will have all that you can drink: Beer, Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and water.

 

 

This is the price scale for option 4:

 

10 people : $75 for adults $50 for kids 11 and under

11 people or more: $70 for adults $40 for kids 11 and under

16 people or more: $65 for adults $35 for kids 11 and under

[bdgf]

Hi everyone,

My group of 4 on NCL Dawn on 3/14/10 are going to try to get a group together with Terry's Tours to go Whale watching. Our boat arrives in port approx. 10:00 a.m.

 

I got a reply from Terry's Tours that one of his associates will be take a group on Sunday 3/14 for Whale watching. Below is the info from his message, not sure how long the tour is but would guess no more than 3 hours:

 

We will be offering an excursion to see the whales. Each winter the humpback whales make the journey from the North Atlantic to the Samana Bay to give birth to their calves. One of my associates will be taking a group of up to 20 people in a boat out to the bay to see these mighty beasts. Enjoy the spectacular views of the mountains that surround the Samana Bay. Pass by the famous crystal blue waters of Cayo Levantado island (sometimes called Bacardi Island). Once you see whales you will have about 30 min before the law requires us to move along. We do recommend sun screen, sun glasses and a hat as you will be in the sun most of the time.

 

You will have all that you can drink: Beer, Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and water.

 

This is the price scale:

 

9 people min. : $75 for adults $50 for kids 11 and under

11 people or more: $70 for adults $40 for kids 11 and under

16 people or more: $65 for adults $35 for kids 11 and under

 

 

If you are interested please send an email to Terry at toursamanawithterry@hotmail.com and ask to be added to "WHALES KEVIN" group on 3/14/10. Below is the most recent info from Terry:

 

I have room for up to 20 people but I have a boat that can hold up to 40 at my disposal as well.

 

After you see whales you will go to a beach to round out the day. Our policy is to end each tour at least 30 min before the last tender. On Wednesday we did the whale tour and it started more or less at 10:45 and ended at around 3:30-4:00. They were also able to spend far more than 30 min watching the whales. I can't guarantee this for your day but it is a possibility. Each day is different.

 

The sign at the dock will say "WHALES KEVIN".

[scrapbags]

How about booking with the cruiseline itself? Is it more expensive and thats why people are booking with Terry??

[nana&poppy2526]

Scrapbags, since this thread was from 2010, more than likely no one from then is going to answer you, so I will! :) I think the reason people would take a "Terry Tour" vs. a cruise ships's tour is 1) it's a bit less expensive, 2) Terry comes VERY highly recommended, and 3) he takes out smaller groups than the cruise ship does. Also, Terry loves the land and its people and I'm sure would be much more personable than a canned cruiseline associate. This is just my opinion, but I do have one!!!

 

If there is ANY chance you'll be in Samana on Sunday, March 13th (2011), PLEASE consider signing up for Terry's whale watching tour (#4). Hubby and I are signed up, but it requires a minimum (I thought it was 6, but it may be 9, not sure) number of people before they'll go out. So far, he and I are the only ones.

 

If you need more information, let me know.

 

Thanks, and happy cruising!

[hpreece]

Have you guys checked on the "roll call" for your particular sailing to see if anyone there is interested?

[ike97756]

How about booking with the cruiseline itself? Is it more expensive and thats why people are booking with Terry??

 

You also get food/drink and beach stop with Terry. Some of the cruise excursions include beach and some dont.

 

I would recommend going with Terry over any cruise excursion. A much more "authentic" trip

[Dizfan]

We did the Royal Caribbean whale watching excursion end of January. The tickets came with a warning regarding seasickness. I was really concerned, and because I am really prone to this I checked at the excursion desk. The RC rep told me not to worry. He was WRONG. The boat picked you up right at the ship and was slightly smaller than a tender. The trip out was ok but once we stopped to wait our turn at the prime watching spot it was constant rolling. Even members in our group who have great stomachs started getting seasick. I did take a seasickness pill beforehand but it wasn't enough. More than 75% of the group of about 40 wanted to go back early. We were really cramped in the boat also. There were no weather issues beforehand. Best spot was definitely in the back of the boat. Did we see whales? Yes, one mother and her baby. They were magnificent. Would I do it again? Not a chance. It took a bunch of us hours to recover.

[SteveLT]

There are a few local Licensed Tour Operators from the Town of Samana who owns many boats ( usually Motor Catamaran of 35 foot ) and will take you Whale Watching in Samana Bay.

 

These Tour Operators are :

1) Marivanna Tours

2) Cayenas del Mar

3) Moto Marina Club

 

All of them have Websites and are easy to find. Just google them.You can see their prices online and what's included in their tour.

And they all seem to have NO MINIMUM as number of guests.

 

The Whales in Samana are Beautiful, Enjoy Them While they are Here.

( January 15 to March 15 - Every Year )