A Cruise with Whales

[dmacleod]

I am looking for a cruise for next summer. The other couple we are going with really wants to see whales. My wife and I did Alaska this summer and saw tons of them. I don’t mind doing Alaska again, but if we could do something else, I would prefer that. Is there a northern Europe cruise we could do in June or July that would give us a good chance of seeing whales? I realize there is no guarantee, but if there is one that gives us good odds, I’d rather cruise somewhere we haven’t been yet.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Alaska is always going to be your best option/odds of seeing whales. While one would think you would see whales in Northern Europe it is not mentioned much. I know of several that did Europe/Northern Europe cruises this year and one friend specifically mentioned  wanting to see whales and stated they really did not see any sea life.

If you want to see whales and want to go somewhere different I suggest Western Mexico/Pacific Ocean October. November and early December. Anywhere around Cabo or Sea of Cortez is excellent. When ever I cruise there in those months we see plenty of whales. The second option is Hawaii anytime between November to Early March.

[wandrr]

Antarctica. Not in the northern hemisphere summer, but VERY highly recomended.

[dmacleod]

I appreciate the responses. Unfortunately, as a teacher, summer is my only option for an extended vacation. Like I said, I don't mind doing Alaska again, we loved it, but there is so much world to see that I don't want to go somewhere I've been if there is another option that works. 🙂

[milamber]

July to October is a good time for Canada/New England, especially up the St Lawrence River. Iceland/Greenland is another good destination in mid summer. Both of those destinations will pretty much guarantee whale sightings as long as you are prepared to put in the hours watching for them. 

Edited August 2 by milamber

[JohnCoffield]

You can try Iceland as there are many whales around their shores & the North Atlantic all year 'round, though probably not as many as Alaska.

[Petronillus]

2 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

The second option is Hawaii anytime between November to Early March.

Our first HAL cruise was to Alaska in mid-May, which was just about as early as you can get in the Alaska-cruising season. The temperatures were exceptionally high and the weather was unseasonably nice. There was, IIRC, only one whale sighting, and we missed it.

 

We did a circle-Hawaii cruise out of San Diego a couple of years ago. Because of rough seas we could not tender into our designated port on Maui, where we were booked on a whale-sighting shorex. Table servers in the Lido Market told us, for future reference, that we didn't need to book an excursion because at Maui whales were plentifully visible right from the deck of the ship.

[a1211]

We saw a number of whales on our recent Iceland & Greenland passage cruise through HAL earlier this summer - both on the ship and on our whale watching excursion in Akureyri. Highly recommend itinerary!

[dmacleod]

40 minutes ago, a1211 said:

We saw a number of whales on our recent Iceland & Greenland passage cruise through HAL earlier this summer - both on the ship and on our whale watching excursion in Akureyri. Highly recommend itinerary!

Good to know. I'll take a look at the Norway/Iceland cruises. Thanks to everyone for the responses. 

[Monarda55]

We saw whales in late May/early June on the Canada/New England cruise. It was a huge thrill, as I had never seen them before.  Don’t know what species, though. 

[rbelshaw]

3 hours ago, Petronillus said:

Maui whales were plentifully visible right from the deck of the ship.

Also from the shore just beyond Hanna - I'd say 25-50 meters out. You may also want to look at the Mexican Riviera. There are greys there, but it's seasonal. IIRC they are there in the winter to breed, but you should do some research. My "IIRC" is not as trustworthy as it once was....

[Dancing Shoes]

We are supposed to see Beluga whales on the St. Lawrence River headed up to Saguay on our cruise soon.  Canada/New England Volendam.  I will let you know.

[Caribbean Chris]

20 hours ago, Petronillus said:

Table servers in the Lido Market told us, for future reference, that we didn't need to book an excursion because at Maui whales were plentifully visible right from the deck of the ship.

 

We saw many whales spouting off Lahaina where we were anchored one March, during breakfast in the Lido. I was so excited because we had chosen the Road to Hana excursion and I didn’t expect to see any that day.

[Ken the cruiser]

You may want to also check out cruises that go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, from Dec to late March/early April with prime viewing months for Humpback whales being Jan-Feb. 

[waiting2retire]

I had an amazing whale-watching tour out of St. John’s Newfoundland in August several years ago. If I was in your position, I would seriously consider the 25 day Volendam cruise out of Boston next July. If that is too long, the Volendam has 2 11-day cruises that stop in St. John’s next summer that would be my next choice. 
 

 

[rj59]

I've never seen whales in Europe, so Alaska is your best option. The second best is to just go on a winter cruise that includes Cabo, since that's where many of the Alaska whales go to give birth in the winter, and I always see whales approaching Cabo, and there are always groups of boats out in the bay following whales around. The third best option is to do a short coastal cruise in September or late April/May that includes Victoria, which runs whale excursions. I also often see whales at the entrance to the ocean from the Washington coast, and along the way to or from California, but that's more random. A fourth option, if you don't want a longer cruise, is to take the Alaska state ferry from Bellingham, WA, which starts at Ketchikan and continues north, and you can get off where you want, do some exploring and whale-watching, and fly home from there.