Do I really need binoculars in Alaska?

[cj1000]

Are binoculars a must-have item for Alaska? I don't really want to buy them but if I'll miss out on something then I'll bite the bullet.

[momthecruisedirector]

You do need them while you are on board the ship. We bought a pair at a garage sale (so we'd each have one) and they worked wonderfully and only cost us $1.00! We had bought a pair on ebay that were great and they were only $20 - a very good purchase.

 

When you are on deck looking for whales you have to look into the distance and track them as they are coming closer - making the binoculars important. That said, if you are ondeck with others and they have binoculars just keep looking where they are looking and when the whales, seals, eagles, ice burgs, bears, get closer you'll see them too.

[postalgrrl]

Yes you need them. I bought a pair of Nikon's for about $100 and used them all the time on the ship. I never thought of looking at a garage sale:eek:. Oh well...I love the ones I have.

[tee_wrecks]

Not really necessary to buy binoculars for Alaska. You won't miss much...maybe the eagles on the islands 1/4 mile off the route of the ship. Or the humpback whales that for some reason seem to know where the ship is and stay a ways off. Or the Dall sheep on the hillsides above the Seward Highway and Turnagain Arm. Or the puffins on a Kenai Fjiords cruise....

 

Get the picture? Yes, there will be plenty of wildlife to be seen with the nakid eye but wouldn't you rather be able to see the expression on a moose calf's face when momma moose says it's time to go?

 

Buy the binoculars for Alaska. You can always sell them on e-bay when you get back.

[Mike2131]

Are binoculars a must-have item for Alaska? I don't really want to buy them but if I'll miss out on something then I'll bite the bullet.

 

They are essential. Do your homework (threads on this board are a good place to start), go try them, and then purchase. Two pieces of general advice: 1) Everyone should have their own pair; 2) Make sure you get a pair compact enough to easily use. You don't want a pair so large that you need a tripod or other rest to enjoy them.

[calee]

If I had to pick between shoes and binoculars in Alaska I'd leave my socks at home also. LOL

[cruisingbug]

We got two pairs of 8*21 binocs at Wal-Mart for $10 each - much better than the naked eye, but if you can afford a little more or if you find more powerful at a yard sale or on ebay than even better! I felt bad for the people who were at the Horizon Court when the capt. spotted the bear onshore - and lent them my binocs - but best to have your own than rely on the kindness of strangers.

[jstducky]

I think that binoculars are a must if you really want to see wildlife. I bought a pair of 10x25 mm and they worked perfectly. I had them with me all the time on the ship and it was great. Most of the time with whales if the water is calm you can probably see them with your naked eye. But I felt that the binoculars really came in handy for me when our ship sailed through Misty Fjords and the ship came around to "Bear Beach." There was a brown bear playing in the stream, but you couldn't have seen it with your naked eye. I was one of the few people on deck that day with my bincoulars and as soon as the captain made the announcement about the bear I was able to see it clear as day with my binoculars while everyone else around me weren't able to see it with their naked eyes.

[hotmike98]

"Naked eyes?" I hope this is not another thread on wearing thongs at the pool!

[Gayle2]

Get the binoculars! They'll be selling them as you walk up the gangway to the ship (at least they were when we sailed on the Diamond Princess on June 4 but don't buy them then. They had a "sidewalk" sale onboard the ship and I got a great pair of 8x30's for $18.00. They were terrific and nice and compact. My brother (who has a big expensive pair) tried to steal them from me. :D But I caught him.

 

Gayle

[drwong]

Bring the most powerful binoculars you can afford. My wife bought a pair of "opera glasses" binoculars aboard the ship, and they weren't worth a darn. I brought my spotting scope, and aside from the crosshairs, I saw everything up close, including the otters frolicking in the waters ahead of the ship - they'd dive as we approached, surfacing in our wake.

[Budget Queen]

Absolutely a MUST. :) But I strongly recommend wide angle if you are interested in marine wildlife, the field of view is necessary in all that Alaska vastness, and 10 power the min for land animals. Otherwise you won't get any detail. So my 10x50's have gone with me for years. Try out several and see what you like best, try Ebay perhaps??

[etoile]

I'm so glad I saw this thread! I just posted a notice on my local Freecycle, so I am hoping somebody will have an old pair they don't want anymore and they'll give them to me. My mom is a birdwatcher but I know the binoculars she uses were very expensive - I got them for her! - and she wouldn't want them to get hurt. Free is always good, hence looking at Freecycle. The nice thing is that I can always pass them on to somebody else when I come back.

[whale-watcher]

We never went anywhere on the ship without our compact binoculars, and also brought a larger pair for "serious" whale and bird watching.

[Kenwoody]

I have to agree, take a pair for yourself.

In our group, I was the one who didn't go anywhere without them. I could see the Eagles eyes and I watched the bear's mouth pick up grass and chew it. And lots of other things. While everyone else missed it.

[cruisingbug]

I'm so glad I saw this thread! I just posted a notice on my local Freecycle, so I am hoping somebody will have an old pair they don't want anymore and they'll give them to me. My mom is a birdwatcher but I know the binoculars she uses were very expensive - I got them for her! - and she wouldn't want them to get hurt. Free is always good, hence looking at Freecycle. The nice thing is that I can always pass them on to somebody else when I come back.

 

You might want to try craigslist.org, too...

[danielle24]

yea you really need them to see the brids and other animals

[LHP]

while we were sitting at the Havard Glacier, we would not have been able to watch the sea otters without them. (just for one example)

 

I did share with several people around me and they said they could kick themselves for not bringing a pair.

 

Carnival Spirit did have them for sale and rent...but I did not check into the prices....since we had our Steiners. (free when we purchased a Honda four wheeler several years ago)

[emilygrace]

A few years ago my brother gave my husband a really nice pair of binoculars for Christmas, knowing we had just discovered cruising and that Alaska would be a destination someday. Well, that day is here and even though my brother passed away two years ago I feel like he will be "with" us on this cruise when we use those binoculars.

[lmmn]

Yes, you'll want them. We were fine with one pair for our family. We are very light packers, but still took them everywhere. On a hike in Juneau, others thought they saw a bear, but after looking in the binoculars, turned out to be a deer. We saw lots of whales, eagles, and seals. You'll be glad to have them.

[SourDoughSteve]

First of all congratulations on your upcoming Alaska adventure. I highly recommend you purchase binoculars. You won't be disappointed.

During the many years I've been traveling to

Alaska I have found my wide angle Bausch & Lombs are pretty much

perfect. I found them at a local photography shop that only had 2 pair

left and wanted out of the binocular business so I got them for half

the normal retail price.

 

 

 

Here are a few tips for their use...

 

 

Get up early. Wildlife are much more active in the early morning

hours. While sailing keep an eye on the shoreline as bears often are

seen on the beaches digging for clams. Keep an eye out for the Q-Tip

in the trees...that would be a bald eagle. I highly recommend the

whale watching tour from Juneau and the Kenai Fjords tour out of

Seward. If you ship is sailing to or from Whittier the Prince William

Sound cruise is out of this world. Those binoculars will come in handy

on any of these adventures.

 

 

While on the land portion of your tour, especially in Denali, keep an

eye on the sides of the mountains. Look for the moving haystack...that

would be a grizzly! You may also see Ptarmigan, Dall Sheep, mountain

goats, moose and caribou in different areas of the park. A sharp eye

might even catch a glimpse of a wolf or a golden eagle.

 

 

Keep your binoculars and camera with you at all times. The transfers

to and from the ships in Whittier and Seward travel along Turnagain Arm

where you'll often see sheep along the cliffs and at certain times of

the year Beluga whales feeding right along the edge of the water.

Hopefully you'll have a transfer driver that will stop the coach so you

can get a good look.

 

 

There is also a healthy population of moose that live in Anchorage. We

usually spot moose before leaving the airport to begin our tour.

Have a great time in the Great Land!

 

SourdoughSteve

[Deb in Cali]

Let my count the ways

 

1. Capt Larry whale watching tour even tho they had some on the ship Whales, sea otters, bald eagles, seals, Dall dolphins and looked for bears on the islands.

 

2. Bald eagles in Sitka

 

3. Look for whales and lighthouses and landmarks on the way up

 

4. Looking for wildlife at the Mendenhall glacier

 

5. The White Pass RR tour I used them to find the Big Horn sheep on the moutainsides

 

6. Found a bear near a waterfall in the Tracy Arm glacier area.

 

7. Alcatraz Island tour (we left from SF) we were able to watch the ships and harbor activities.

 

8. In Tracy Arm we didn't get a chance to get real close because of the ice floes in the water, but was able to see a few things with the binoc.

[Time2sail]

Yes. And get some pretty good ones. Have a great cruise:)