Whale watching from the ship vs an excursion

[Ugaaucruisers]

We are taking our first Alaska cruise tour in August. I've read a lot of discussion about seeing whales from the ship ( Pacific Princess) or taking a private whale watching excursion in Juneau. Would like opinions on both. Are you able to see whales from the ship? Do the private smaller boats have the ability to get closer to the whales? And I know, all this being said you might not see whales on either!

Thanks for the help.

Laura

[MpwdMom]

Are you able to see whales from the ship? Do the private smaller boats have the ability to get closer to the whales? And I know, all this being said you might not see whales on either!

 

Yes we did see whales from the ship. But they were not nearly as close or as numerous as the ones on the whale watching tour. The difference was significant - we were there 10 days ago.

 

Also, the company we used for whale watching, Orca Enterprises - guaranteed that we would see whales. Pretty bold promise, but then I imagine they have years of experience...and they know where the whales are. :)

[mapleleaves]

There's a huge difference between seeing whales from 1/2 mile away when you're 10 stories up in a ship vs being 200 yds away and at "eye" level. It's especially wonderful if your small boat turns off the engine and sinks a microphone so you can hear the whales communicate.

 

Fed law requires boats/ships to stay 200 yds away. The whales sometimes get curious and come very close, but the boats aren't supposed to harass the whales by approaching them within 200 yds.

[ksm77]

There is no comparison to seeing whales from the ship and doing a whale watching tour. On our last whale watching tour we saw whales, sea otters, seals, walrus, bald eagles. best tour ever. We are leaving for our 3rd cruise to Alaska on Monday. We will be doing the land tour first. We have not taken the land tour before. We have always done the whale watching tour out of Juneau. This cruise we are doing the whale watching tour with salmon bake. If you want to see whales you will need to take a tour. Seeing whales from the ship is good but not the same as on a tour you can get so much closer.

[peety3]

Take a look at our pictures from last year.

 

Pictures BDBI-BCBG are what we saw from the ship after leaving Ketchikan and underway to Juneau. Pictures BEJD-BEJG are what we saw from the upper level of a two-story tour boat on the Tracy Arm tour. Pictures BGCH-BGGA are what we saw on a Juneau Whale Watch (JNU-700).

 

Decide for yourself. :)

[Budget Queen]

I always see whales from a cruise ship, I have the big advantage of being patient and knowing the areas. :) It does require a large amount of invested time- forward viewing with a GOOD pair of wide angle binoculars. BUT- you also will always see me on whale watch tours- which you will "always" see humpbacks on out of Juneau. (consistent over many years)

 

From a cruise ship- I move side to side from the lowest possible open deck. Most people don't consider this, and are up on top decks- 5+++ stories higher. I frequently see people unprepared in their attire- which is also important. BUT- mostly- when I comment on the areas of seeing humpbacks- I get the "what time, and what side" questions. Many times- people come out for just a few minutes, expecting a performance. Not reality based.

 

As an example- the itinerary I was just on, sailed Tracy Arm- I was up at 3:30a and enjoyed seeing countless humpbacks until our entry at around 3pm. On the way out of Tracy Arm- 7/8 I remotely recall, there were sightings of 5 bears 2 different areas- which MOST people missed, as nobody was out, and I kept hearing they were missed. :) (due to dining/shows etc)

 

Depends on YOU.

[TATraveler]

As our ship cruised near Western Vancouver Island, we saw both puffins and whales. One whale stayed extremely close to our ship for awhile.

 

We saw whales in quite a few places along our cruise. Some were reasonably close, others farther.

 

In Hoonah, a whale mom(?) and infant came very close to shore. Another put on quite a show a ways off shore, but certainly close enough that the binoculars and zoom camcorder could find them.

 

If you're on a budget and you want to do a whale tour, you can do tours out of both Puget Sound near Seattle and Vancouver/Victoria. The price is much less than in Alaska.

[librarymom]

Whales from the ship are hit or miss. A whale watching tour in Juneau guarantees you will see a whale. We used Orca last week and saw plenty.

[diane.in.ny]

Take a look at our pictures from last year.

 

Pictures BDBI-BCBG are what we saw from the ship after leaving Ketchikan and underway to Juneau. Pictures BEJD-BEJG are what we saw from the upper level of a two-story tour boat on the Tracy Arm tour. Pictures BGCH-BGGA are what we saw on a Juneau Whale Watch (JNU-700).

 

Decide for yourself. :)

 

Wow! You got pictures of them feeding. Fantastic!

[emdaisy98]

Take a look at our pictures from last year.

 

Pictures BDBI-BCBG are what we saw from the ship after leaving Ketchikan and underway to Juneau. Pictures BEJD-BEJG are what we saw from the upper level of a two-story tour boat on the Tracy Arm tour. Pictures BGCH-BGGA are what we saw on a Juneau Whale Watch (JNU-700).

 

Decide for yourself. :)

 

Your pictures are FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for sharing! Which tour did you do in Juneau? I am torn between several different tour companies listed on tripadvisor.

[Crew News]

Your pictures are FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for sharing! Which tour did you do in Juneau? I am torn between several different tour companies listed on tripadvisor.

 

It is important to note that all whale watching in Juneau takes place in the same location. When whales are spotted, a radio call goes out and both private and ship-sponsored boats head for the whales. Whale-watching has nor higher probability for private excursion than ship-sponsored excursions.

 

The big variables in whale watching are the size of the boat and level of comfort.

 

The larger boats have comfortable indoor benches, snack counters, nice bathrooms, ADA compliant for wheel chairs, and probably a naturalist. Larger vessels are not as prone to severe reactions to the waves caused by other boats. A big con for the larger vessels is competition for space at an outdoor railing to take photographs is fierce.

 

The smaller boats holding less than 25 passengers have marine bathrooms (tiny), no snack counters, no comfortable indoor benches, no wheel chair options, and probably a college student guide. Pros are no competition for space to take photographs. A big con is big reactions to the waves caused my other boats.

 

Ship-sponsored, as well as private, excursions may operate both large and small boats. Before booking, research the size of the whale-watching boats and then choose your comfort level.

 

More whale-watching pictures from Juneau:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty/wildlife/humpback-whales/nggallery/page/2

Edited June 1, 2015 by Crew News

[NancyL2]

Take a look at our pictures from last year.

 

Great pics!

I noticed you did a float plane and went over glaciers. Question: How difficult is it to get into that small plane?

[peety3]

Your pictures are FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for sharing! Which tour did you do in Juneau? I am torn between several different tour companies listed on tripadvisor.

We did "Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari" by Gastineau Guiding. It's JNU-700 on Princess if that helps. We find that it's the absolute best choice out there, as it combines the intimacy of a small boat tour (this one is max 14 passengers, or they have a nearly identical one without the "Photo Safari" element, which is photo instruction if desired, which is max 20 passengers) with the convenience of a bigger boat (pontoons really stabilize the boat relatively well, and swing-in/up windows give you fantastic wide openings to photograph through on either side).

[peety3]

Great pics!

I noticed you did a float plane and went over glaciers. Question: How difficult is it to get into that small plane?

Both of the floatplane tours that we did (I did a Neets Bay bear watch, DW did a Misty Fjords flight) were through ProMech Air (via ship-sponsored excursions) and both were on DeHavilland Turbine Otters. Those are some relatively roomy planes, with 1+1 seating for I think 9. They had a ramp to climb in, which was very reasonable for all including a man with I think a prosthetic leg with minimal ankle function. On my wife's tour, the plane lands on the water in Misty Fjords and shuts down, then passengers can step out onto the floats to experience the beauty and quiet - apparently that was a little scary with a camera around her shoulder/neck, as you'd expect, but nothing too crazy.

[Crew News]

Great pics!

I noticed you did a float plane and went over glaciers. Question: How difficult is it to get into that small plane?

 

Just a few step up a ladder as shown below:

 

[donaldsc]

I do not know if you are into sports. However, consider the difference between seeing a football game from row 3 on the 50 yard line versus the top row in the end zone. The difference between seeing whales from the ship and on an excursion is the same. Add to that the fact that you are almost guaranteed so see whales on an excursion while on a ship the chance of seeing them is an indefinite perhaps and even then only if you are looking in the right direction at exactly the right time.

 

Take the excursion but make sure that it is a private excursion instead of a ship excursion.

 

DON

[mbafsuno1]

I am traveling with family on the Crown Princess in a couple of weeks and we are exploring doing that while in Juneau. We already have one excursion earlier that day (helicopter to glacier with Coastal) but wanted to do whale watching as well and it appears that Juneau is the best spot for that. Thanks!:)

[5waldos]

Agree with all that a whale watching excursion is way different than seeing them from the ship.

 

We are also sailing on the Pacific Princess in August (17th) and there is an excursion offered by Princess that we settled on- Animal Planet Exclusive: Discover Alaska's Whales. Small group (no more than 20) but a slightly larger boat than some of the very small ones. I wanted something a bit bigger since one of our group of 3 has just had an ankle replaced and the small boats can get difficult to maneuver around in case of bad weather.

 

This will be my 3rd visit and I cannot imagine not going out to see the whales.

[Cornishpastyman1]

Do the private smaller boats have the ability to get closer to the whales? And I know, all this being said you might not see whales on either!

Thanks for the help.

Laura

Hi Laura

This was our experience. I reckon we were about 30-40 yards from the whales. You are bound to see them, as today's technologies pinpoint where they are and the various operators share information, so all you need is a nice day, although the whales don't care if it's raining :) All the best, Tony

 

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[Crew News]

I am traveling with family on the Crown Princess in a couple of weeks and we are exploring doing that while in Juneau. We already have one excursion earlier that day (helicopter to glacier with Coastal) but wanted to do whale watching as well and it appears that Juneau is the best spot for that. Thanks!:)

 

I have done the evening whale watching in Juneau and it must be noted that with sunset at 9:30, there is plenty of daylight left to see whales. In fact, evening lighting is perfect for photography. The only downside is missing dinner on the ship.

[coco33]

Not sure if you made up your mind yet, but there is a huge difference between whale watching from the ship and going on a whale watching tour. The tour boats go to where they are feeding, so they are plentiful. I must have seen at least 10 whales when I went on a whale watching tour, and a baby whale came right up to the boat.

 

In the last cruise I went to I did actually devoted time to scanning the water for whales, paying attention to whale sightings etc. The times that I did see a whale, it was pretty underwhelming imo, a distant spout that disappeared.

I did see whales while I eating at the Lido deck. But again, it was one of those blink and you missed it type moments, because the ship is moving at a certain speed and the whale cannot keep up. I did take a photo of a lone killer whale, with it's dorsal fin out, but that was from a distance.

My advice, is take a whale watching tour if you want to see whales.

[Ugaaucruisers]

Thanks for all of the great advice! I just love Cruise Critic!!

[NancyL2]

Just a few step up a ladder as shown below:

 

Thank you so much for posting this pic! Definitely gives me a better idea on getting in/out of a float plane! I just booked the Five glacier/Taku lodge excursion for my September cruise. Very excited now! :D

[NancyL2]

Thank you so much for the info on the float plane....much appreciated!

At 67 I don't think I will be stepping out on the floats. lol My luck I would fall in the water. :eek:

 

Both of the floatplane tours that we did (I did a Neets Bay bear watch, DW did a Misty Fjords flight) were through ProMech Air (via ship-sponsored excursions) and both were on DeHavilland Turbine Otters. Those are some relatively roomy planes, with 1+1 seating for I think 9. They had a ramp to climb in, which was very reasonable for all including a man with I think a prosthetic leg with minimal ankle function. On my wife's tour, the plane lands on the water in Misty Fjords and shuts down, then passengers can step out onto the floats to experience the beauty and quiet - apparently that was a little scary with a camera around her shoulder/neck, as you'd expect, but nothing too crazy.

[Mrs.Gosse]

We saw them from both but I think that possibly the whale watching was our favorite tour.! I would absolutely take it the tour even though you will probably see them from the ship. They were very far away and it was often hard to tell if they were orca or humpback.