Whales in Alaska in May or June?

[Cobber76]

We have been on two Alaska cruises—both of which were at the end of July.  Watching for sea life is a real passion for us—especially humpback whales and orcas.  We have been fortunate to have seen numerous whales from our ship on both cruises, plus we’ve taken whale-watching excursions in Juneau.

 

We are now planning our 2021 Alaska cruise and would like to try a different month—so either May or June.  I’m looking for advice as to whether you’ve seen humpbacks and/or orcas in either of these two months.  We realize that seeing wildlife of any type can be hit or miss, but if one month is more likely than another, it may swing our decision.  

 

[PandaBear62]

We sailed in June this past year (Vancouver to Anchorage), departing June 8. We had an amazing Whale Watch trip in Juneau, seeing about 11 orca's (babies and juveniles).  Our naturalist said these are seen maybe two or three times a season and she noted that the next boat out wouldn't see them. She was seriously so excited sharing this experience with us.  We went out farther and saw humpback whales as well as some incredibly playful sea lions. It was fantastic.

[Gwendy]

A few years ago my daughter paid quite a lot to go whale watching in Victoria in May saw whales but a long way away,  few days later near Juneau pod of orcas did a sail pass so close to ship. Amazing sight.

[crystalspin]

 

2 hours ago, Cobber76 said:

We are now planning our 2021 Alaska cruise and would like to try a different month—so either May or June.  I’m looking for advice as to whether you’ve seen humpbacks and/or orcas in either of these two months.  We realize that seeing wildlife of any type can be hit or miss, but if one month is more likely than another, it may swing our decision.  

June. Have been on Alaskan cruises twice in June before or over the Solstice, and once in August. Although we did have close encounters with humpbacks on an otter boat at Sitka in August, this was our lucky day -- others have not seen a one. We did whale watch at Seward in June, and Juneau in June and August, and the difference was notable. In June the whales are so happy to be home from Hawaii there is much more surface activity (breaching etc), and also the babies are smaller and hang around the mothers where they seem to be playing sometimes! In August we saw mostly flukes (when they dive) or just the surface of the back when they spout to breathe.

 

Late May you should also see whales, but some may not be through with their migration. 

[Coral]

I have seen both on my trips in May and June.

[Jnsplace1]

It depends.   I did a mid-late May and I heard that folks saw some whales on their tours, there were also a few sightings far off. 

That said, I'd go in May again, it's quieter and there were barely any clouds up north, and Mt Denali was plain as the eye can see it.

 

[martincath]

If you're doing a one-way cruise, May is the best month for Orcas - they're usually present up at the north end of your cruise (Major Marine run an Orca-focused whalewatch trip mid-May through early June - the rest of the season the odds of seeing Orcas are probably down in the ~20% ballpark, compared to 100% for humpbacks). The other advantage to May is on Northbound trips - as the ship sails up the coast you have more migrating Gray and Humpback whales to see, swimming the same way as the ship if you're heading north so if you do see some they stay in view longer. Mostly they've arrived by late May, so June trips you might catch the very tail end of the migrations but it's mostly going to be the feeding grounds they're present in - i.e. small boat trips are the best way to see them as cruise ships actually try to avoid dense whale populations.

 

May or June otherwise is completely irrelevant for either Orcas or Humpbacks - the resident pods of the former are already hanging around Vancouver/Victoria/WA State waters, as the first salmon are coming in from the ocean, with all local companies offering whalewatch guarantees in these months ('see a whale or get free trips for life until you do' is the format in this neck of the woods), and the first migrating humpies will have already made it to AK waters before you, with the vadst majority there by May. Yes, there will be a few more still arriving into June but again, all companies out of Juneau/ISP offer their guaranteed sighting or $100 cash handed to you at the gangplank - which nobody has ever claimed on! - throughout the whole of cruise season.

 

How spectacular the sightings will be is entirely random - more time on the water gives greater opportunities to get lucky and see bubble-netting, spyhopping, breaches, etc. but you should always approach a whalewatch trip with the expectation that you will see 'backs & blows' only. Anything else is a bonus - and getting physically close to the whales is getting harder as the regulations (both voluntary codes of conduct and legally-enforced restrictions) continue to increase the distance boats are supposed to keep, to minimise the negative effects on the animals.

 

So if you want to maximise your whale-sightings, book a one-way cruise Northbound in mid-May so that you can go whalewatching in both Vancouver and Seward primarily looking for Orcas - which tend to behave in a far more spectacular fashion than the big filter feeders, they're way more likely to breach and spyhop - and also hit Juneau for a humpback-focused whalewatch, and spend as much time as possible on-deck looking for whales while the ship is moving between ports!

 

[Cobber76]

Martincath, thank you for this great information . . . And thanks to all who replied to my question!!

[fluffybunny22]

We saw a humpback in Seward playing and breeching for 20 minutes in mid June.

[Host Carolyn]

Always go late May to mid June and have never been disappointed. Always excellent whale watching in Auke Bay and often to and from Juneau near Endicott and Tracy Arm

[Near PDX]

Just to show you what you might see, this is a baby humpback outside Juneau in late May

 

 

[masterdrago]

We did mid May to June and in Icy Strait saw more than I could have ever imagined on a small boat tour with Glacier Winds.

 

 

 

 

 

We also had a great small boat experience in Juneau with Harv & Marv's

 

 

And in Seward on a 4 hour Orca watch with Major Marine. We were lucky the weather was pretty awesome.

 

 

And the 4 days we were in Denali, the weather was near perfect.

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by masterdrago