Do I need to book a special day trip to see whales?

Question

I am going on a 7 day Alaskan Cruise that departs from Vancouver on Sept. 10th. Will I see whales while I'm on the ship? The ship will stop at 3 ports...Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. There will then be two days of scenic cruising in Glacier Bay and College Fjord before docking in Anchorage. Once there, I'm taking a three day trip inland, stopping at Denali and ending up in Fairbanks. I would really love to see some whales at some point. However, the only day trips listed on the cruiseline form that involved whale watching was in Juneau and I've already booked a glacier walkabout helicopter tour. I'm afraid to book two day trips so close together in case one runs late.

Answer 1

You'll probably see whales all along the way and especially in Glacier Bay. Also you'll see the white Belugas around Anchorage. The helicopter trip is awesome anytime. If you want to take side trip to see whales, I suggest something out of Vancouver before you start. There are orcas all year round.

Answer 2

My friend just got back from this cruise. I asked him your question. He is in SoCal and I am in Vietnam. This guy can pull off miracles. He always bumps into the right person and is in the right place. here is his response to my question about whales and the Alaska Cruise.

Whales are whales. The most amazing thing about Alaska is being there. The place is so untouched, so big, so beautiful that the whales become very secondary to the visual delights. If you can tell me where he's going to be I can, perhaps turn him on to a local that can magnify his trip to truly one of the most incredible places on earth!!!!! Is he only going on a cruise? If that's the case, then if you see one whale, good, if not you're SOL. Yes they will have "watching" excursions, if the ship is in port long enough. Seeing them from the ship is probably not something to bet on, especially if you are on port side and they're on starboard side of the ship. So, let me know his itinerary and hopefully I can help him out. We've been known to pull that off occasionally right? CSL 111. BUENAS NOCHES.

If you give me your email I will contact you with more info and put you in touch with CSL 111--- that's Charles S. Lav****** the third! A really great guy!

Email 2 from Chuck:
R=== The first stop of Vancouver is a must. If she can get there for at least one day early the $30 bus tour is incredible. You can get on and off and the buses come by every stop 15 minutes apart. Stanley Park is magnificent! Whiskeytown Chinatown, the whole ball of wax. Really worth seeing. Ketchikan, iis one of the top 100 Small Arts Communities in the U.S. Lots of window shopping and if she's interested ,the logging show is really worth seeing in the amphitheater across the street from the docks. I'ts where ESPN does the world championships from every year. Juneau, is nice but not alot to do. The aerial tram and shopping downtown. We had friends pick us up at the dock and got the 8 hour locals only tour, bars etc. She should definitely see the Mendenhall glacier there. Skagway is pretty incredible. During " the winter" the entire city locks up and leaves. The only stores that remain open are the liquor store "naturally", the market, the pizza joint and the post office. we're talking 70 below 0! There are two things to do there, 1 is the train over the mountain and the other is going to the musher camp, where they are now preparing for the Idatarod. An unbelievable look into the life of some the knarliest people imaginable. Definitely worth the time and money.After that more than enough time, before the ship leaves to hang out at one of the local, great watering holes. Glacier Bay and College Fjord will definitely change her outlook on life!!!!!!!!!!! That's where she will probably see a whale, if she's on the right side of the ship! But what she will see will make the sighting of a whale very unimportant as far as the memories she will have the rest of her life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At this time of the year, Fairbanks is directly underneath the auroa borealis. There is a place right outside of town where you can sit in a hot tub and look straight up at them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The airport is currently adding a new terminal building to handle the two 747's thatr come in everyday from Japan. They believe that if you conceive under the Northern Lights that it is very good luck for your children and insures sucess in life. Pretty far huh? Why did'nt our parents go to Fairbanks? One more must do in Fairbanks, is the river boat , paddle wheeler. The family that runs it is like on their 4th generation and really is so well done that it's actually one of the highlights of the whole experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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