Even vacations have goals: On a Caribbean cruise, you want to see
beaches. On a European cruise, you want to see museums and historic
sites.
Those are easy goals to achieve. But many travelers
booking their first Alaskan cruise want to see wildlife, and they wonder
how hard it is to ensure they will. After all, beaches, museums and
ruins stay put, but whales and bears tend to move around.
So how hard is it? According to cruise experts, it isn’t hard at all.
“If
you were to actively try to not see wildlife, you would have to work at
it,” said Gary Smith, owner of a CruiseOne travel agency franchise in
Eugene, Ore. Smith specializes in cruises, and particularly in Alaska.
“Even
if you didn’t book any excursions or only booked ones like salmon
bakes, you would have to not look out your window, to not sit on your
balcony,” he said. “Most likely you will see something.”
Still, he said, making smart decisions will ensure that you get the most out of your trip.
“I
have done this trip many different ways, and I always saw something.
But most of the animals have been chased away from large population
centers. You’re never going to find a bear walking down the street in
Juneau.”
Over his more than 10 years as an agent, Smith has
developed some strategies to make sure his customers see the most
animals on an Alaskan cruise.
Choose a small ship.
The big
ships have all the amenities – casinos, large spas, massive gyms,
multiple specialty restaurants and large-production stage shows – but
they don’t necessarily offer the best trips for spotting the most
animals.
“If you really want the max wildlife, the small ship is the way to go,” Smith said.
“Most
of them carry Zodiacs (small inflatable boats), and they go out to the
islands, which are unspoiled. A small ship doesn’t have a tight
schedule, so they can follow the wildlife and cut the engines.”
Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief Cruisecritic.com, agrees.
“If
getting seriously up close with wildlife is what’s drawing you to
Alaska in the first place, consider an expedition cruise on a small ship
line, where the focus, every day, is on getting out into nature in
small groups,” she said.
Choose a large ship, but book the high-end shore excursions.
Some
cruisers want the amenities of a big ship, and you can have them
without giving up the access that a small ship provides, if you make
some smart decisions.
“You can have an intense wildlife
experience if you allocate funds to do what you want to do,” Smith said.
“Take the money you save on a big ship and use it on high-end shore
excursions. I think it’s a valid strategy.
“You can go out in
Juneau or elsewhere and do a bear watch, and they will take you in a
float plane and set you up in a platform overlooking a river that is
known to have salmon and bears. There’s no guarantee, but it coincides
with salmon run season in spring and summer. In that time of year, you
can almost walk across the river, it’s so thick with salmon.”
And even on a big ship, the captain will do his best to help passengers see the wildlife outside the window.
“The
big ships keep their schedule, but the ship will slow down and the
naturalist will announce that you’re passing by, say, a pod of whales,”
Smith said.
Go into the interior.
“When you go to Denali,
the No. 1 thing you want to do is go into the park,” said Smith. The
National Park Service runs the tours there, and there are two options
for shore excursions: a three- to four-hour “Wilderness Explorer” tour
and a seven- to eight-hour “Tundra Wilderness Tour.” Smith advises
taking the second one, but that means you have to book a cruise that
offers “Double Denali” – when the ship stays there overnight.
“You go twice as far into the park and you have a better chance of seeing the larger animals,” Smith said.
But
there’s a caveat: “Beware of lines that call it ‘Double Denali’ but
spend the night at the southern edge,” he said. Princess has a great
view of Denali from their southern edge lodge, but there’s not enough
time to do the longer tour.
Time your trip carefully.
Every
destination has its own peak, low and shoulder seasons. The best (and
most expensive) time to cruise in Alaska is in June and July, when kids
are out of school and the weather is warmest.
“But while it’s a
comfortable temperature for us, it’s hot for the animals. And the
foliage is in bloom, making it harder to see the animals,” Smith said.
“I
actually like to go during the shoulder seasons – May, August and
September. You save money, and it’s a better viewing experience. May is
birthing season, and there isn’t as much foliage; the end of the season
is mating season. Foliage is in bloom, but you get a beautiful change of
color.”
Time your tours well.
“Early morning and late
afternoons are the best times,” Smith said. “In the middle of the day,
it’s warm for the animals, and they’re not as active.”
This is
more important if you are setting off on your own, or booking a tour
directly through an operator or private guide rather than through the
cruise line.
“The (cruise line sponsored) excursions usually run
at the best time,” Smith said. “The high end ones start in the morning,
or late afternoon, and they’re going to take you to where the animals
are. They know that people don’t get to see what they pay for, they’re
not going to be happy.”
And when it comes to whale-watching excursions, cruisers have little to worry about.
“The
whale watchers all share a network of spotters,” Smith said. “That’s
why most of the whale-watching excursions actually guarantee you’ll see a
whale. All the companies talk to each other. They’re very collegiate
that way.”
Book the right tours in the right ports.
It’s important to know which port is the best place to see specific animals.
“Juneau
is the best place to see Humpback whales,” Smith said. “They’re usually
solitary animals, but they do this thing called ‘bubble net fishing’
there. They swim around in a circle and herd all the krill and fish, and
then one dives in the middle and sucks down all the fish. And they take
turns. That is worth seeing, and it happens in the middle of the summer
in Juneau.”
But if you want to see orcas, Smith said Victoria
has a resident pod that lives there. They don’t migrate, so that’s
always your best port for orca sightings.
If you want to fish,
rather than photograph, Smith recommends deep sea fishing in Ketchikan.
And at the end of the tour, a fishing excursion comes with its own
souvenirs.
“They’ll package the fish – usually halibut – and ship it home for you,” Smith said.
Consider visiting a wildlife preserve.
Birding
is popular in Alaska, but it can require time, patience and luck to see
some of the state’s larger winged residents. So Smith has an
alternative to just setting up camp with binoculars for the day.
“There
are 40-50 officially designated viewing platforms throughout the
state,” he said. “Juneau and Sitka have raptor centers, where they
rescue the injured, damaged birds and care for them, and these are great
opportunities….
“You’re up close to them, and it’s a zoo-like experience and they’re great centers.”
For cruisers who want to be sure to see larger mammals, Smith likes the Alaska Wildlife Centers, located in Anchorage or Seward.
“It’s
a giant preserve, and they have birds, moose, elk, bears, everything.
And that’s a great way to guarantee you get to see everything, even
though it’s not in the wild,” he says.
In addition, a little research can help you get the most animal sightings out of your trip.
“Alaska.org,
the state website, has a section with a list of where to see animals
from viewing platforms,” Smith said. “A lot of them are not places you
can get to on a cruise, but it’s a great resource.”
