Whales in May?

[all is good]

:confused: I am hearing conflicting reports about not wasting time & $ on Whale Excursions in late May as there arent very many whales then?? I am thinking of trying one in Juneau or Sitka. Or other ideas about going to Fjords? Thanks

[SC-Cruiser]

We went last year at the end of May and saw plenty of whales on our whale watching excursion. Book and enjoy but be sure to bring a camera.

 

Mike

[Yukon]

There are lots of whales at Juneau in late May - we saw only 1 whale in two trips at Sitka.

[Purplehaze21]

Glad I found this question. I was wondering the same thing!

[Toyz711]

juneau has a few resident humpbacks that stay all year.

the migration back to alaska, is still going on..but the humpbacks leave hawaii at different times. i was in hawaii in beginning of april (a few years ago) and saw very few humpbacks..most were on their way home.

the ones you see, in alaska, should be active..as they are VERY hungry from a winter with no food...

[all is good]

I appreciate the comments and confirmation for the whale trips - now I will try to find a company to book with in Juneau - unless anyone has suggestions! :D

[wrp96]

Harv and Marv or Cap't Larry's (Orca Enterprises).

[coach_cruiser]

There are lots of whales at Juneau in late May - we saw only 1 whale in two trips at Sitka.

 

I've booked whale watching in both Juneau and Icy Strait Point. So I have high hopes of seeing whales. I was going to do Bear Watching in Icy Strait Point, but I have been told that bear sightings are more common in July (not that it is not possible in May, just harder and less likely). I was on a Holland America cruise in 1988 in late May and saw whales from the ship outside of Glacier Bay

 

Phil

[Sailorgirlseattle]

We saw a ton of whales off the ship when we were up there in May. Hoping to see more this year :rolleyes:

[JerseyJaguar]

I went in May last year and saw humpbacks and orcas in Juneau and went on the Sea Otter trip out of Sitka and saw otters, humpbacks and very far away a bear on the beach.

[Napi's Mom]

According to a whale watching site, the Grey whales are passing thru Kenai area from Baja on their way further north in May...an opportunity most people on Alaska cruises don't get, as they are very early in the season. Humpbacks & Orca can be native to area. ME I want to know which city has the best ORCA (Yes I know they're Dolphins) sightings. We've seen Humpback in both the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, and Kenai Fjord, but although many people on our last cruise saw Orca along side the Cruise ship in the inside passage, we saw nary a one. We're wondering also about the Bearing (sp?)Crab boat trip out of Ketchikan, intead of the whaling tour. (Sounds like I mean to harpoon them doesn't it??) :rolleyes:

[whale-watcher]

According to a whale watching site' date=' the[u'] Grey whales [/u]are passing thru Kenai area from Baja on their way further north in May...an opportunity most people on Alaska cruises don't get, as they are very early in the season. Humpbacks & Orca can be native to area. ME I want to know which city has the best ORCA (Yes I know they're Dolphins) sightings. We've seen Humpback in both the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, and Kenai Fjord, but although many people on our last cruise saw Orca along side the Cruise ship in the inside passage, we saw nary a one. We're wondering also about the Bearing (sp?)Crab boat trip out of Ketchikan, intead of the whaling tour. (Sounds like I mean to harpoon them doesn't it??) :rolleyes:

Last year we saw Orca everywhere..but we spend TONS of time watching and are NEVER without binoculars...but we spotted them on our way into ketchikan, again about 3 hour north of Ketchikan, near the mouth of Glacier Bay, in PWS, and near the mouth of Resurrection Bay on our way in and out of Seward. Our BEST orca experience was on a whale watching tour out of Victoria...we had long and close looks at two different pods, and enjoyed lots of different behaviors, including spyhopping and breaching..But we had a long port stop in Victoria and had time to take a private 3 hour excursion; BQ has posted many times that the ship's excursions here are usually too short and offer a much lower chance of success.

 

I would think that May is too late for Gray Whale migration...although last year there was a single gray whale that spent the summer in Sitka Bay and many of us on our sailing had wonderful looks at this individual (on private tours).

 

Last year at least, the humpback watching was excellent in both Sitka and Juneau. We took a private boat tour in Sitka that included St Lazaria Island and saw a great variety of wildlife, including Puffins and other seabirds, Humpback and Gray whales, and many otters and seals...a wonderful and very worthwhile excursion even without the whales! If your budget allows, I would suggest boat tours in BOTH ports.

[intopuffins]

We've seen plenty of whales in Sitka During mid may even. We're going to AK for our 4th time this year. Capt. Paul (http://www.sitkacharter.com) emailed us the other day and said there are plenty of whales around already! Surely the puffins are soon the return! Getting excited!

[LVSue]

I just got off the phone with Orca Enterprises (our 6th excursion) and she said that last weekend there were mama orcas teaching their babies to kill, and one of them killed a baby humpback. My point? The whales are there.

 

I suspect that many of the orcas inexperienced watchers see from the ships are really Dahl's porpoises, whose coloring is very similar to orcas.

[JCrewz]

When we get to Juneau on May 19th, my wife and I are booked with Alaska Trophy Fishing, which owns "The Kaytos" captained by Luis Jeurgens. We ordered the Alaska Toursaver 2009 book and this was the "buy one get one free" company. That was exclusively the reason we chose this company.

 

I see plenty of rave reviews on whale watching companies....but nothing on this one. Is limited publicity just the plight of the small excursion businesses, or should the lack of mention send up red flags? We like the price ($75 each for three hour trip with the coupon), but want to have a good experience. Any thoughts from the veterans or anyone that has used this company?

[sherryf]

I suspect that many of the orcas inexperienced watchers see from the ships are really Dahl's porpoises, whose coloring is very similar to orcas.

 

One of my favorite stories from our previous cruise to Alaska involved Dahl's porpoise. On the last full day of our cruise, sailing south through the inside passage, we were hanging out with the kids at the covered pool. Someone spotted some animals swimming below and started telling everyone around that there were whales or dolphins below. My oldest son, 8 years old at the time and a HUGE whale/dolphin lover, went over to the rail and took a look. He promptly announced that they were Dahl's porpoise. He got a lot of skeptical looks from nearby adults, but I assured them that he was probably right. I checked his whale guide when we got back to the cabin later, and I am sure he was right. I wouldn't have known what they were either, but that kid knew his cetaceans!

[dfitz]

I went in May last year and saw humpbacks and orcas in Juneau and went on the Sea Otter trip out of Sitka and saw otters, humpbacks and very far away a bear on the beach.

sorry, have to go off topic ... JerseyJaguar, noticed your cat pic, my daughter has a manx that looks very much like your cat! they both even have the orange spot to the left of their nose. See attached pic :)

 

Glad to hear we should see whales end of may ... we're going whale watching with Keith of Teckk Outfitters in ISP :D

[Budget Queen]

When we get to Juneau on May 19th, my wife and I are booked with Alaska Trophy Fishing, which owns "The Kaytos" captained by Luis Jeurgens. We ordered the Alaska Toursaver 2009 book and this was the "buy one get one free" company. That was exclusively the reason we chose this company.

 

I see plenty of rave reviews on whale watching companies....but nothing on this one. Is limited publicity just the plight of the small excursion businesses, or should the lack of mention send up red flags? We like the price ($75 each for three hour trip with the coupon), but want to have a good experience. Any thoughts from the veterans or anyone that has used this company?

 

This company is new to the whale watching business. In the past few years, there has been a "cross over" of fishing charters to whale watching tours.

 

I am one to find the established whale watching vendors, being superior, with EXTENSIVE knowledge of the whales, tracking, trends etc. Information I seek. Everyone is different. :) Humpbacks are seen 100% of the time.

[JSWalk]

Not to change the topic but I am wondering about whale sightings in mid August, Inside passage.

[JCrewz]

This company is new to the whale watching business. In the past few years, there has been a "cross over" of fishing charters to whale watching tours.

 

I am one to find the established whale watching vendors, being superior, with EXTENSIVE knowledge of the whales, tracking, trends etc. Information I seek. Everyone is different. :) Humpbacks are seen 100% of the time.

 

BQ:

 

Your sparkling diplomacy seems to be masking some skepticism about this new crossover company. Anything specific that we should watch out for....it sounds like you've done this enough to know there is a difference in the quality and ability of the operators. If your policy is to say nothing if you can't say anything nice....we completely understand!

[Budget Queen]

Not to change the topic but I am wondering about whale sightings in mid August, Inside passage.

 

Whales are there. :)

[Budget Queen]

BQ:

 

Your sparkling diplomacy seems to be masking some skepticism about this new crossover company. Anything specific that we should watch out for....it sounds like you've done this enough to know there is a difference in the quality and ability of the operators. If your policy is to say nothing if you can't say anything nice....we completely understand!

 

I write on what I experience. And my preference is clearly for information and trends, of long term whale watch vendors. I have no experience with this company.

[MichTraveler]

One of my favorite stories from our previous cruise to Alaska involved Dahl's porpoise. On the last full day of our cruise, sailing south through the inside passage, we were hanging out with the kids at the covered pool. Someone spotted some animals swimming below and started telling everyone around that there were whales or dolphins below. My oldest son, 8 years old at the time and a HUGE whale/dolphin lover, went over to the rail and took a look. He promptly announced that they were Dahl's porpoise. He got a lot of skeptical looks from nearby adults, but I assured them that he was probably right. I checked his whale guide when we got back to the cabin later, and I am sure he was right. I wouldn't have known what they were either, but that kid knew his cetaceans!

We have seen Orca "whales" from the ship just about every year. Then someone told us they were Dolphins. Now you're telling me they were probably Dahl's porpoises? You're probably right. But, we've told our story many times and we're gonna have to stick with "Orca - Killer Whales". :D

[Budget Queen]

We have seen Orca "whales" from the ship just about every year. Then someone told us they were Dolphins. Now you're telling me they were probably Dahl's porpoises? You're probably right. But, we've told our story many times and we're gonna have to stick with "Orca - Killer Whales". :D

 

Dahl's porpoises are much more common to see, significant differences from orcas- same coloring, but smaller. Much faster swimmers, and NO dorsal fin, NO distinctive blows. If you took photos, that will tell it all.

 

MANY people get all excited thinking they are seeing orcas. Usually are "happy" to see wildlife.

 

I always advocate, if of interest, spotting wildlife, you invest some time, and find out about behaviors, differences, characteristics. Will greatly IMPROVE you identification and knowing what you are seeing.

[MelMazz]

This thread has been quiet for a minute, but I thought I'd chime in now that we've recovered from our FABULOUS first trip to Alaska. We were on the Star May 2-9 and sailed out with Luis from Alaska Whale Watching Company on May 5th. Now, while I have nothing to compare the experience to (as far as whale watching companies goes) I can say that we had an AMAZING time. It was truly the highlight of our cruise, among a city tour in Skagway (great), a zodiac boat tour in Prince Rupert (terrible), and even a float plane tour in Ketchikan (also great). When we arrived in town we caught a chartered bus to the dock and were delighted to see that our small group of 4 had the entire boat to ourselves.

 

To start with, the boat is really gorgeous. Very well maintained and well suited for whale watching. It looks brand new, and has a bathroom, heat, all the amenities really. The biggest bonus was the delicious salmon dip. My husband has been trying to re-create it ever since!!!

 

For whale watching- while my mom is always cold, she was able to spend time inside with Luis and still see all the action from the heated indoor area AND from a cozy and comfy seat. My husband and I, and our family friend, spent the majority of time out on deck.

 

We saw a few whales and they surfaced again and again- got lots of gorgeous shots, even one gorgeous "tail" shot with the sun glistening off the tail. We also saw several sea lions and eagles.

 

We were out with a few other boats, some small, some large, all more packed in than us. We giggled all day, joking about our "private charter". (I do realize there could have been more people, and it was luck of the draw- but I was really impressed that he went out with just the four of us-- and we used the toursaver 2-for-1 coupons!!!)

 

We just can't say enough about how well run the tour was. Luis was very knowledgeable and seemed genuinely interested in making sure we enjoyed the trip. If your on your way to Juneau, and looking for whale watching I highly recommend Luis.

 

If you have any questions on anything I missed, let me know, I'd be happy to answer!!! :D