Whales - Hubbard or Glacier bay, or somewhere else?

[nijh]

Looking at a 14 day Alaska cruise, trying to decide between 2 itineraries.  

Big ticket for DW is whales, are we more likely to see wildlife in GB or Hubbard?

[Coral]

Juneau is a great place to see whales!

[donaldsc]

Neither.  Coral is correct about Juneau which is were we did it.  Other people on CC have said that Icy Strait is also a good place to see whales.

 

DON

[JRoyston]

As everyone else has said, Juneau and Icy Strait Point are the best ports for whale watching. Glacier Bay and aHubbard are all about the glaciers. Lots of people say that Glacier Bay is a must see, and we are going there this year. On my last trip, we went to Hubbard and were able to get really close, it was spectacular so I didn’t mind not doing Glacier Bay that time.

pother than the glaciers are there other differences between the two options?

[nijh]

Only other difference is the ship, Sapphire vs Grand Princess.  It’s looking like the Grand as that does 2 x Glacier Bay, Sapphire does 2 x Hubbard and DW liked the look of GB on the online videos.

[Coral]

56 minutes ago, nijh said:

Only other difference is the ship, Sapphire vs Grand Princess.  It’s looking like the Grand as that does 2 x Glacier Bay, Sapphire does 2 x Hubbard and DW liked the look of GB on the online videos.

For the first time - I would recommend Glacier Bay. Hubbard glacier can be iced in and sometimes ships can't get that close. Glacier Bay is an all day beautiful glacier day (and National Park) and Hubbard is one massive glacier. Both are great.

 

Look at the itinerary again. Pick a trip that does both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. 

 

I slightly prefer the Sapphire Princess to Grand Princess but they are both great ships for Alaska.

[Glaciers]

Yes, Juneau and Icy Strait Point are the spots for Humpbacks. Since the area around Pt Adolphus is a known humpback feeding area near the entrance to Glacier Bay there is an increased chance of seeing them there. We were surrounded once exiting the bay. Most times, however, we saw none. I’m always up early in the morning 1 hour or so before entering the bay looking for them.  The best way though is to do an organized tour in Juneau or ISP.

[nijh]

6 hours ago, Coral said:

 

Look at the itinerary again. Pick a trip that does both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. 

They both do, 14 days out of Vancouver, turning round in Anchorage.  One goes to Hubbard twice and the other goes to Glacier Bay twice.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, nijh said:

They both do, 14 days out of Vancouver, turning round in Anchorage.  One goes to Hubbard twice and the other goes to Glacier Bay twice.

OK, a B2B? You probably with turn around in Whittier.

[Coral]

Post the dates of what you are looking at so we can look directly at the itinerary.

[nijh]

Yeah, a b2b, although it’s now marketed as a 14 day.

 

Multiple dates with same itinerary but looking at end Aug, early September this year on Sapphire/Grand.

[pdmlynek]

On 1/28/2023 at 6:19 PM, nijh said:

Looking at a 14 day Alaska cruise, trying to decide between 2 itineraries.  

Big ticket for DW is whales, are we more likely to see wildlife in GB or Hubbard?

 

 

You need to specify when you are going, and which whales you are trying to see. 

 

But to answer question: for orcas, see them in Johnston Straights.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, nijh said:

Yeah, a b2b, although it’s now marketed as a 14 day.

 

Multiple dates with same itinerary but looking at end Aug, early September this year on Sapphire/Grand.

Ok. Now I know what you are talking about.

 

Both ships have same itinerary. 

 

Both ships go to Glacier Bay 2x, Hubbard 1x and College Fiords 1x.

 

I have done this route several times. It is fine....... 

 

I am not seeing where the itinerary is different.

[nijh]

I’ll take another look.  Thought one of them did 2 x Glacier Bay and 1 x Hubbard and vice versa for the other.  Maybe I wrote the itinerary down wrong.

Edited January 30, 2023 by nijh

[nijh]

9 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

 

 

You need to specify when you are going, and which whales you are trying to see. 

 

But to answer question: for orcas, see them in Johnston Straights.

Good info - thanks for that.