collector Posted July 31, 2008 #1 Share Posted July 31, 2008 We are looking at booking a whale watching excursion (not through the cruiseline), and we wondered if the whales are still around the end of August and who would be good to book out of Sitka. This is our first trip to Alaska and we are so excited. Seeing the whales would be the icing on the cake. We saw them several years ago off the coast of California,and it was really exciting. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whale-watcher Posted July 31, 2008 #2 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Sitka is an excellent port to book a private small boat whale and wildlife watching excursion...this was one of the highlights of our cruise! Late august should be fine. we used Captain Rich (forst@gci.net) and were very happy with our excursion, as were other people on our ship who used Captain Davey (puffinsandwhales.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budget Queen Posted July 31, 2008 #3 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Yes, Sitka now does have humpbacks eating there all cruise season and this city hosts the annual Whale Fest every November. But it's an excellent port for varied wildlife and the ability to get to St. Lazaria puffin rookery, if of interest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacti4ever Posted July 31, 2008 #4 Share Posted July 31, 2008 We just returned from cruising Alaska on the Spirit. We did a sea otter and wildlife quest excursion and saw lots of sea otters, saw several whales (one of which breached!), deer on the shore, as well as a grizzly grazing in a meadow. I think that was my favorite shore excursion (well, okay, after the helicopter ride and glacier). If you get a chance to go whale watching, go for it ~ we loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFAM Posted July 31, 2008 #5 Share Posted July 31, 2008 We just returned from cruising Alaska on the Spirit. We did a sea otter and wildlife quest excursion and saw lots of sea otters, saw several whales (one of which breached!), deer on the shore, as well as a grizzly grazing in a meadow. I think that was my favorite shore excursion (well, okay, after the helicopter ride and glacier). If you get a chance to go whale watching, go for it ~ we loved it! Same here for last year. The Sea Otter and Wildlife quest was absolutely terrific for us - certainly our favorite excursion of the week. They showed us a bit of everything (we even saw a puffin from far away). The ending part they spent around 30% of the total time looking for whales - in our case we hit the jackpot. First we saw a few single humpbacks, and then came upon a mother and calf that ended up breeching 18 times. :) There was also a whale tour also offered off the cruise ship at the same time. They saw whales but didn't get the fun stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7seven7 Posted July 31, 2008 #6 Share Posted July 31, 2008 We also did the Sea Otter and Wildlife Quest out of Sitka. Saw everything from whales, bear in meadow, eagles in nest, otters. It was the best tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie321 Posted August 1, 2008 #7 Share Posted August 1, 2008 We've gone with Captain Davey twice! He does a wonderful job! We saw whales and tons of other wildlife. Here is a link: http://www.puffinsandwhales.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holidaybound Posted August 7, 2008 #8 Share Posted August 7, 2008 We also did the Sea Otter Quest in Sitka a couple of weeks ago and also saw humpbacks and sea otters. A great tour and Sitka is so beautiful. We saw Whales from the ship (Infinity) every day except the first and last on the way up from and back to Seattle. It was reassuring to know that the ocean seems to be full of whales! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cacti4ever Posted August 7, 2008 #9 Share Posted August 7, 2008 We only saw a whale once from the ship, although we seemed to talk to people who had seen whales, so I was really happy to find the ones on our excursion. Next time we go, I'd like to take the shore excursion that looks for puffins. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted August 7, 2008 #10 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Have been to Sitka several times -- even the end of August -- saw lots of whales and other wildlife. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbaqua Posted August 7, 2008 #11 Share Posted August 7, 2008 just back from Alaska (on the Westerdam) we, too, did the Sea Otter & Wildlife tour out of Sitka we saw otters, seals, eagles, a bear (well, I didn't see the bear but others did), a gray whale which our guide said was rare for that area and about 12 humpbacks. The whales were very playful and at one point our boat was surrounded by them. It was fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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