Alaska: beat time to see wildlife?

[MickeyEarrings]

DH would only consider cruising Alaska if he would get to see overwhelming amounts of whales, bears and eagles. What's the prime wildlife viewing time?

 

[sambycat]

You will see overwhelming amounts of eagles and whales and possibly goats the entire season DCLcruises. Bear and salmon peak more around July.

 

[RebelHawk]

I can only speak to what we saw on our cruise last year. The first 3 days on our Aug/Sept 2015 cruise if you heard someone shout whale, eagle or general wild life everyone ran to that side of the ship or whipped out their cameras. Around the 4th day of the cruise you might look up from what you were doing to casually look around. The amount of wildlife we saw was frequent and stunning. Going on another Alaskan cruise went back on our to do list sooner than later.

 

[DizMagic]

I can only tell you what we saw on our Aug 31 sailing. From the boat we saw mountain goats, whales (humpback and orca from a distance) and eagles. We also took wildlife excursions at all ports as that was our main focus as well. We did Harv & Marv in Juneau and saw about 5-6 different humpbacks, some seals and eagles. In Skagway we did a private car service up to Yukon and saw mountain goats. In Ketchikan we did the DCL bear excursion (land based) and saw about 11 different black bears. As I am sure others will say, this is the BEST vacation we have ever had. We enjoyed Alaska so much that we came home and booked an Alaskan Interior tour for next year.

 

[dcassetta]

4 cruises to Alaska and the only animal I would be willing to guarantee is eagles. One cruise in June we saw no whales except for the very last night (2am) coming into Seward harbor when a pod of orcas swam by.

 

[MeLaNie9]

DH and I took the 1st Celebrity cruise of the season to Alaska in May 2013. We saw 3 bears during the ship's passage into Tracy Arm fiord. When we hiked around Mendenhall Glacier park they had signs posted documenting when and where hikers saw bears last and there were sightings almost every day while folks were hiking around (not by us though, which, in the end, we were a bit relieved about!) We saw a few whales swimming behind the ship (our room was aft) basically seeing the mist out of the blowholes, and a few via the windows in the dining room. I think folks that went on whale watching cruises saw quite a few. We saw lots of eagles on the Deadliest Catch boat ride in Ketchikan, because they actually feed them off of the boat and they swarm around and swoop right over you. That excursion also had them hooking crab pots and showing different types of crab and there were other marine animals in the small tanks on board. DH saw otters and seals/sea lions? at Icy Strait Point.

 

[princesskayla]

There is no guaranteed time to see tons of wildlife in Alaska. Some people get a bunch of wildlife sightings and others get very few. It's very much right time, right place. I lived in Alaska for a full year before I even saw a moose (granted, I live in a pretty desolate section of the state). However, I can defiantly say that if you don't go- you won't see a thing! Even if you don't run across a bunch of animals, Alaska is still a remarkable place and you will never be disappointed.

 

[xlxo]

There's lots of wildlife in the MDR and buffets to sample. It feels like an unlimited supply.

There's only so much you can see from the boat..... getting on those excursions will offer the best chances of seeing wildlife in their habitat.

• Juneau offers whale watches of humpbacks. There's a stop by a buoy to see the sea lions trying to stay dry.
• some say August is the best time to see wildlife feeding
• I've seen a few bears around Mendenhall
• Tracy's offers a great crab experience at the shack
• Vancouver has Orca's to check out by Storybrooke
• When in Vancouver... check out Grouse Mountain pre/post cruise.... they have a great bird show.
  https://grousemountain.com/birds-in-motion

 

[Karlzmom]

We cruised the same week late in August in 2014 & 2015. Its time, lots of whales, dolphins, eagles.....2d time I saw one whale....period. A couple of eagles at a distance.....the water was a bit rougher and the temps had been strange according to our fishing captain. Not as much wild life out and about. Still thought it was an amazing trip and am planning to go again in 2016!

 

[princessnicchia]

On a cruise, I think you are unlikely to see bears. You just won't have the time to get into the wild enough. (Not that it's impossible, just unlikely). The glacier is the best spot in Juneau to try to see them if they are haunting that area. They won't be downtown during the day. There are lots of raptors year round, and whales throughout the summer as well, sea lions, otters, lots of sea life. Salmon jumping late July/early August. Lots of dead salmon after that. Sitka has a place where you can go see bears if Disney goes back in there in 2017. Hope that helps!

 

[Ofinn]

On a cruise, I think you are unlikely to see bears. You just won't have the time to get into the wild enough. (Not that it's impossible, just unlikely). The glacier is the best spot in Juneau to try to see them if they are haunting that area. They won't be downtown during the day. There are lots of raptors year round, and whales throughout the summer as well, sea lions, otters, lots of sea life. Salmon jumping late July/early August. Lots of dead salmon after that. Sitka has a place where you can go see bears if Disney goes back in there in 2017. Hope that helps!

Raptors? Like in Jurassic Park.

 

[dcassetta]

Raptors? Like in Jurassic Park.

Raptors, as in birds of prey such as Eagles, Hawks and falcons.