We want to do Alaska

[T&jw]

We want to do Alaska…inside Passage next year. Looking for feedback from those who have done this. Will we most likely see more wildlife late spring/early summer or late summer/early fall? Thanks!

[Peregrina651]

Not that can't ask the question here but you are bound to find the ports of call section on these boards more helpful.  There are a lot more folks participating  in those discussions and you are more apt to find that your questions have already been discussed there multiple times.

[wolfie11]

4 hours ago, T&jw said:

We want to do Alaska…inside Passage next year. Looking for feedback from those who have done this. Will we most likely see more wildlife late spring/early summer or late summer/early fall? Thanks!

You’ll see lots of wildlife whenever you go. Salmon start running late July, so a better chance to see bears.  Take a cruise that includes Glacier Bay if possible.  It’s an amazing place!

[Mich3554]

We did the Alaska cruise returning from Tokyo, so the first of the season in early May.  When we were in Seward, there were areas closed off as animals were coming out of hibernation.  So we saw no wildlife on land tours.

However, we did see a lot of whale migration and on one of the several boat tours we took saw a pod of grey whales that surrounded us.  There were whales breaching every direction you looked.  The tour guide told us that this inlet was one of their favorite stops on the way further north, so we had timed that very well.  Other tours we saw sea otters, sea lions, some mountain goats (from the boat), eagles and all sorts of birds.  

[JF - retired RRT]

21 hours ago, Mich3554 said:

We did the Alaska cruise returning from Tokyo, so the first of the season in early May.  When we were in Seward, there were areas closed off as animals were coming out of hibernation.  So we saw no wildlife on land tours.

However, we did see a lot of whale migration and on one of the several boat tours we took saw a pod of grey whales that surrounded us.  There were whales breaching every direction you looked.  The tour guide told us that this inlet was one of their favorite stops on the way further north, so we had timed that very well.  Other tours we saw sea otters, sea lions, some mountain goats (from the boat), eagles and all sorts of birds.  

Lucky you. On our one Alaska cruise, we saw an eagle and a seal and a lot of dead salmon.

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Lucky you. On our one Alaska cruise, we saw an eagle and a seal and a lot of dead salmon.

We came upon a buoy that sea lions were sunning themselves on that day.  There were about 4 big granddaddies taking up all the room and a couple of juveniles trying to get up on it too.  Every time one of the juvies got up, they got pushed back into the water.  Didn’t matter which direction they came from, the result was the same.  I guess it was a sea lion version of King of the Mountain.  

[haydn12]

We went in early September and the salmon were everywhere!  It was the end of the whale season as they migrate south.  We did see at least 30 humpback whales and another trip saw a bunch of Orca's.

[wolfie11]

As always, your chances of seeing wildlife are directly proportional to the amount of time you spend outside with a good pair of binoculars.  You will have an advantage on Viking as you will have a natural history lecturer on board who will do wildlife watches in areas of high probable activity.