Day 4 Diamond Princess Alaska Cruise - Whale Watching in Juneau

Alaska Cruise (Juneau) . 2012 . Sep 18 

Whale Watching Cruise and Mendehall Glacier at Juneau USD$179 per pax, JNU630, approximately 5.25 hr

Mention Alaska and the image of snowy mountains, the extreme coldness, and wildlife such as bears and whales comes into mind. Our whale encounter started as soon as we sailed off from Ketchikan.

Snowy Pass

About 3 hours after sailing away from Ketchikan, the Diamond Princess sails through a passageway called the Snowy Pass.  Due to its nutrient-rich waters, this narrow passageway is well known for the presence of humpback whales which often comes into the passageway to feed.  If you are under the impression that whales could only be seen on a whale watching cruise,  imagine our surprise when we were able to spot numerous humpback whales from our balcony.  At one point, one humpback got so close to our ship, we could see its underbelly so clearly as it flipped around in the waters.  To be able to spot whales from the ship as we travel through Alaska waters was one of the most memorable part of the cruise and for the thousandth time, we were glad that we had cabin with a balcony.

Juneau Whale Watching Cruise

In the early morning of 18 September 2012, the Diamond Princess sails into the harbour of Juneau – the Capital of Alaska.  It is yet another misty morning, and we hoped that the weather would hold out while we embark on our whale watching cruise and Mendenhall Glacier tour

Grabbing a bite before the land excursion starts.

Leaving the comfort of the Diamond Princess for the land excursion. Due to its rich ecology, the town of Juneau has much to offer for nature lovers and so therefore, there are a great variety of different tours. Again, logistic management by Princess Cruises was amazing, we did not have any difficulty looking for the right tour bus despite the huge crowd.

A glimpse of the city as we were whisked away to the harbour.  As it was still pretty early in the morning, most of the shops were still closed.

Rivers and plains of Juneau.  Just as in Ketchikan, there is an abundance of wildlife around even at a distance of a few minutes drive from the city centre.  Keep your eyes peeled for bald eagles resting on the mudflats.  They are not that difficult to spot.

Dramatic scenery at the harbour

Our vessel for the whale watching cruise – the St Aquilino, a high speed catamaran which boasts of a comfortable temperature controlled indoor seating area at the main cabin, and an exposed outer deck and upper deck.  Complimentary hot drinks and snacks are provided and there are toilet facilities on board. This tour is actually conducted by Allen Marine Tours.

Off we go to Auke Bay to look for humpback whales.   Tip:  Dress in layers for the whale watching cruise as it can get very breezy out in the waters.

Each passenger are provided with a pair of high powered binoculars for use during the whale watching cruise!  Binoculars are an essential part of the tour as federal laws stipulate that vessels are not allowed to approach within 100 yards of the animal.  So unless the whale swims nearer to the vessel, it would be quite impossible to get a good view of it without some optical aid.

Panoramic windows offers passengers stunning views in the comfort of the warm interior.

Our onboard naturalist keeps a close lookout for whales and makes announcements through these speakers so that passengers on the upper decks could benefit. 

Amazing scenery of snow capped mountains as we caught our first glimpse of the Mendenhall Glacier a few minutes after setting off from the harbour.

The first humpback whale was spotted barely 20 mins into the cruise.  These gentle giants spend most of their summer in the calm and nutrient-rich waters of Auke Bay before heading to the warmer waters of Hawaii to breed.

Whales are easily spotted by looking for a plume of vapour plume above the water surface as the whale exhales as they come up to the water surface to breathe.  Sometimes, if the whale is close enough, you can hear the sounds of water being forced out of their blowholes.

A pod of three humpback whales as we followed their trail along another vessel.   Generally, these whales exhale several times in a row as they swim near the water surface, and you'll be able to catch sight of parts of their shiny black bodies and a small dorsal fin.

Tip: Through our observation, we soon learned that once the whale arches its body, and throws its large tail fluke into the air (get the cameras ready!), it means that the animal is diving into deeper waters and won't surface for a long time.  Whales travelling in a pod tends to stay together, meaning that when one of the whale is diving, you might have some seconds to spare to get that camera ready to capture a tail fluke when the other whales in the pod start diving.

Although there are also incidences of sightings of killer whales (also known as orcas) in Auke Bay, we had no such luck during our trip.  After about an hour and a half on the hour on our whale quest, the catamaran makes its way to a small outcrop. 

Can you spot some wildlife here? 

Answer: A Bald Eagle and a Seal

As we were getting ready to leave misty Auke Bay, we spotted a mother and calf pair of whales.  According to our naturalist, this mother-calf pair makes a trip to Auke Bay to feed every year, but it has been a long time since they were spotted.

Making our way back to the harbour as we caught another glimpse of the Mendenhall Glacier.  More on Mendenhall Glacier in our next post. 

Lots of seagulls hovering near the water surface.  Just like the whales, birds are attracted to the food source in the water. 

Reaching the calm of the harbour at the end of the whale-watching cruise.

Seeing a whale in the wild is a truly awe-inspiring experience and makes the journey through Alaska so worthwhile. We thoroughly enjoyed our whale watching cruise and had a great day out at sea! :)

Coming up next:  Mendenhall Glacier

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