Whale Watching Aboard Your Alaska Cruise Tour

Whales are one of the most iconic of all Alaskan wildlife and will be a main component of all the best Alaska cruises. Several species of whales can be seen throughout the summer months around south central Alaska. Humpback and Orca are the two most common species of whales found in the waters frequently cruised by the Dream Catcher.

Humpback whales summer in Alaska and migrate each year to the warmer waters off Hawaii’s coast for the winter months. We’ll take advantage of their presence, motoring through some of the same narrow passages they tend to frequent. Humpbacks are interested in and curious about our vessel and the low pitched hum emanating from our engines. State and federal regulations strictly prohibit any harassment of the whales, but in our experience they seek us out, almost as eager to catch a glimpse of us as we are to see them.

One of the most amazing spectacles in the wilds of Alaska is a pod of whales bubble net feeding. Bubble net feeding is a method whereby the whales work together to trap schools of fish. They form a circle underneath the targeted school then release air in unison to form bubbles that travel to the surface, trapping the fish and carrying them to the surface with the air bubbles. Then the whales take turns jumping through the schools with mouths wide open, bounding into the air and crashing back to the water. This is a unique form of hunting only exhibited by a small proportion of animals and in few places.

"When you get on the boat you hope you'll see whales, but you don't really expect to. But then you see your first, second, third whale . . . and eventually you feel guilty when the captain announces a whale sighting and you don't even go to the deck to have a look."

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