Whale Watching on Grenada?!

[SqueakyDust]

Our Cruise ship is now offering a Whale & Dolphin Watching tour off Grenada - anyone done this? (they also say it can be done off St Lucia & Dominica)

 

Can it be done independantly, or do you have to book via the ship?

 

I'd much rather give my money to the locals :D

 

Thanks.

[denboy]

Our Cruise ship is now offering a Whale & Dolphin Watching tour off Grenada - anyone done this? (they also say it can be done off St Lucia & Dominica)

 

Can it be done independantly, or do you have to book via the ship?

 

I'd much rather give my money to the locals :D

 

 

 

Yes you can book to go on whale watching trips when you visit Grenada direct with the operator. The company that does them is First Impressions who offer half day trips and boast of a sucess rate of over 90%.

Bookings can be made through their web site which is www.catamaranchartering.com/whale.htm If you take the trip I hope you will not be on one of the tiny minority that doesn't see a whale.

It would be this company that the cruise ship would book you with but no doubt they charge a premium for making the booking.

[MOMofONE]

Has anyone experience whaled watching here in early December?

Was wondering what to expect in terms of chances to see how many whales and what kind, and sea conditions when we are there Dec. 3rd on NCL Spirit.

Since the companies advertise whale AND dolphin watch, I'm curious if the success rate is based on seeing only dolphins - I'm sure our fam with 12 yr old would not be thrilled if we see only dolphins which we've experienced in various ways already.

Thanks!

[digital_curator]

I have spent 2 weeks in Grenada, once over Christmas/New Year's and once in April. Never heard anything about whale watching but we saw dolphins everytime we went out on a catamaran....

 

Cheers,

[m steve]

We saw whales last March around St.Lucia both Pilot and Sperm. Both were small. We made up a group from CC and it was about 1/3 less than the tour the ship offered and had a nice lunch and time to shop. I am sure you can find the same thing for Grenada.

[denboy]

Has anyone experience whaled watching here in early December?

Was wondering what to expect in terms of chances to see how many whales and what kind, and sea conditions when we are there Dec. 3rd on NCL Spirit.

Since the companies advertise whale AND dolphin watch, I'm curious if the success rate is based on seeing only dolphins - I'm sure our fam with 12 yr old would not be thrilled if we see only dolphins which we've experienced in various ways already.

Thanks!

 

Where wildlife is concerned there is never any guarantee of a successful sighting but the operators do know where are the best places to look. In Grenada they boast a success rate of 90% and that is to spot whales.

Whale types that can be seen in Grenadian waters include Sei and Sperm whales.

In conclusion all one can say is if you take the trip I hope you are able to see some whales.

[SqueakyDust]

Thanks for the link Denboy.

 

We've not had much luck booking independantly on the other islands, so may do it via Grenada. I'm sure we'll still have time to have a quick walk around the spice market and then hop over to Grande Anse.

[SqueakyDust]

Has anyone dealt with this company lately?

 

I've had no answer to my e.mail and I can't seem to be the site on my PC!

 

thanks

[MOMofONE]

I emailed them a couple of weeks ago and received an email promptly quoting price of $60 per person.

I checked with another company who I have arrangements with for a half day land tour and was quoted same price to add the whale/dolphin watch in afternoon. But was also told that the cruise ships booked them exclusively (2 ships in port that day) - not sure if this was a different or the same boat?

best of luck - I'll wait until I cruise Alaska some time in future. :)

[Julie Jean]

Just back from Grenada

 

We did a whale & dolphin watching trip.

It was excellent. We saw 100+ dolphins and 5 pilot whales.

We also did some fishing which was an added bonus!

 

It cost $60 US each and was through a company called Sunsation Tours

www.grenadasunsation.com is their website (I think!)

 

I would recommend this trip.

[SqueakyDust]

Thanks Julie Jean.

I've e.mailed them so hopefully I'll get an answer shortly so we can decide.

Only 7 weeks until we're off!

[SqueakyDust]

I e.mailed sunsation and they advised that the cannot do private tours - only ones through the Cruise Ships.

 

Looks like we can only do this tour via the ship now - whether its in Grenada, St Lucia or Dominica. :confused:

[denboy]

I e.mailed sunsation and they advised that the cannot do private tours - only ones through the Cruise Ships.

 

Looks like we can only do this tour via the ship now - whether its in Grenada, St Lucia or Dominica. :confused:

 

I guess the cruise operators have done a deal with the tour company creating themselves a monopoly.

[MOMofONE]

Check with "Impression" or maybe "Impressions" whale watching tour for privately booking - they are the ones that emailed me quote for $60 pp and did not mention restrictions regarding cruise passengers (I think my initial inquiry STATED I was arriving via cruise ship).

Sorry - info is on my currently crashed other computer so you will have to do a search or perhaps find a link on a Grenada tourism website.

 

BTW - if you decide to do a land tour, we too are booked with Sunsation with guide Ian - he has been very diligent and helpful anwering a number of my questions. Their website info is also very user friendly & packed with info. So I already recommend them based at least on customer service pre-cruise. Lots to do & see on land if your boat excursion doesn't work out.

[SqueakyDust]

Thanks for all the info, everyone :)

 

I got a reply from a Tour centre on Dominica who have agreed to add an extra WW tour (Friday is not their 'usual' day) so we're going to go with them.

So it's back to Fort George, the Spice Market and Grand Anse on Grenada I think.

 

I'm beginning to get excited now LOL

[denboy]

Thanks for all the info, everyone :)

 

I got a reply from a Tour centre on Dominica who have agreed to add an extra WW tour (Friday is not their 'usual' day) so we're going to go with them.

So it's back to Fort George, the Spice Market and Grand Anse on Grenada I think.

 

I'm beginning to get excited now LOL

 

 

I'm sure you will enjoy your visit to Grenada, best wishes for your day in Greenz